We tried to tell ourselves we were just not the people to get downhearted rather than a bunch that couldn't learn from previous failures. Keith and crew arrived on Saturday afternoon and we spent a pleasant couple of hours beating Blackthorn for Sloe Pug larvae and marvelling at the wide array of caterpillars, beetles, spiders and weevils that infested the sloe flowers. As the day drew towards evening we set up the Merryfield traps at the Aspen grove where James had caught Lead Coloured Drab on an earlier trapping session.
As we left the ride where the traps were, I saw a small moth fly out from the Aspen at the end of the ride, fight bravely against the stiff north-westerly breeze then give up and disappear quickly downwind. The others got onto it too and we all agreed it looked suspiciously like one of the Orange Underwings. I got very excited then as there is virtually no birch on Merryfield and here we were in the only Aspen grove for miles. As it was 6 pm by then we had to go off to set up the other traps.
It did prove to be a cold evening and numbers were down. We did however have a surprise at Piddle Wood in the shape of 2 White Marked, a new site for this rare Somerset species. Keith was rewarded for his perseverance when we returned to Merryfield and found 2 Dotted Chestnuts in the traps there. We also had a Lead Coloured Drab so all in all a very useful trapping session.
I returned to Merryfield this morning and sat under the Aspens for two hours staring up at the tops for any sign of movement. I was joined by James McGill and just as we were beginning to get bored I saw a moth leave the Aspens and fly across the ride. Needless to say it was at great height and we lost it among other trees fairly quickly. James decide to go get his very long handled net assembled and while he was doing so I noticed another moth fly around the Aspen tops and land again. James returned and stood with net poised while I gave the Aspen a sharp jolt. Things became a little confused then, the moth left the tree as if it had pretensions to be in the Grand National, with James in hot pursuit. On good to soft ground going uphill, the moth was clear favourite but once it left the grass and started to cross the tarmac of the runway its fate was sealed and with a cry of triumph that made the model aircraft brigade across the airfield look up in startled surprise, James had netted it.
On inspection it proved to be a female Light Orange Underwing, the first modern record for Somerset and such a great surprise we were both left speechless for some time. Duly photographed and released it will hopefully go on to lay many eggs and help this new-found population grow.
Brindled Beauty
A different form
Great Prominent - an early one
Lead Coloured Drab
James poised to net
James in hot pursuit, finally netting the moth some 20 metres beyond my car!!
What a wonderful sight, Light Orange Underwing on the Somerset moth list.