Thursday 30th
A brief lull with hardly any rain allowed a range of traps to be put out. An actinic trap in the Elms caught 14 moths of four species, the highlight was a Pine Beauty; an attractive moth which is not annual.
The car park trap held 38 moths of nine species. New for the year were Dotted Chestnut and Small Quaker. A second Dark Sword-grass for the year was still well before we normally catch this migrant species.
Monday 20th
More unsettled and windy weather is building up. The breeze reduced the catch to 46 moths of five species, 28 of these were Hebrew Characters. Early Thorn was new for the year.
A few small LED traps in The Elms produced 11 species including our first Small Quaker.
Sunday 19th
The minimum was down to 6.1°C but the catch increased to 56 moths of 10 species. A Dark Sword-grass was very early but there has been a scattering of reports around the country. Powdered Quaker and Herald were also new for the year but much more expected. Hebrew Character continued to lead the way with 31.
Saturday 18th
It was two degrees cooler last night and the catch reduced to 27 moths of eight species. Two Red Chestnuts were new for the year as was a Tawny Pinion. The latter is the rarer of the two pinion species here and we have not had one for a couple of years.
Friday 17th
It has been a long time since we have had suitable conditions. Last night, despite a bit of rain, was overcast and relatively mild with a minimum of 8.6°C. There were 54 moths of nine species: Hebrew Character 22, Common Quaker 15, Chestnut 1, new for the year March Moth 4, Clouded Drab 6, Twin-spot Quaker 1, Diurnea fagella 1, Agonopterix yeatiana 1 and A. alstroemeriana 3.