Busy Busy Painting ! With a few Moths thrown in !

Copper Underwing

 Well it's been busy busy busy!! I have been able to get the moth light out a couple of times recently, the wind seems to pick up along the coast here at night recently and so I have not put it out as much as I would of liked, still I was able to add a few new species each time, and thanks to Dave from Overstrand, on the 14th August the tobacco plants he gifted us did their job and attracted in my very first Convolvulus Hawkmoth.

 Straw Underwing

 Small Pheonix

 Magpie

 Tree-Lichen Beauty

This Tree-lichen Beauty was another great addition and lifer, a lot of these were reported around Norfolk at the same time. The birding has been quiet but there is stuff now moving around, a juv Cuckoo was a nice addition to the patch list and probably the same bird seen a few days later around the same area. A surprise sight was a Chinese water deer feeding in a Barley field whilst walking the dogs one morning, a Willow Warbler was a nice addition to the garden, it seemed to be moving with a large flock of Chaffinch that had been downed by a lot of rain. I saw my first Common Terns for the patch, a adult and juv heading east along the front, Chiffchaffs were moving through a few days ago, and 5 Reed Buntings were found when walking the dogs along the clifftop path towards Sidestrand. The Swifts had all but cleared off except for a single one a couple of days ago, but this morning (19th Aug) we counted 23 fly past us whilst sitting on the clifftop bench.

 Square-spotted Clay

The artwork has been continuous and all on wood, some pieces for Cley Spy and some for Sarah's upcoming craft fair in Mundesley. A change of subject got me started on painting moths on the wooden pieces, great fun and plenty more to follow. But my favourite piece was the one of a Bittern, painted on a lovely piece of wood with bark edging, which really set off the work. Looking forward to the next ones, especially after obtaining some very nice cherry wood and bark edged sheets.

 Swallows

 Long-tailed tits

 Lime Hawkmoth

 Elephant Hawkmoth

 Grey Dagger

Burnished Brass

Barn Owl & Sanderling

 Bittern

 Hare

Wooden Birds ! and more Moths.

These are new wooden art pieces that Sarah and I worked on for Cley Spy. It is an enjoyable change to painting on paper and I want to create some moth pieces shortly which I can't wait to start.

The Mothing has been very good lately and I am adding some lovely species to the new garden list, and a few lifers mixed in.

 Clouded Magpie

 Coronet

Rosy Footman

And one from a few nights ago, 3 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings which one looked like a Langmaid's Yellow Underwing, but unfortunately was not convincing enough to have it accepted, the searching continues.

New Art and Moths.

It's been a quiet time around Trimingham bird wise, there are plenty of young birds around and it is nice to hear the Swifts screaming overhead again. One day when passing through Cromer we saw the Pied Crow that was present, I nearly got a nice record pic as it flew and landed near our car, I pulled focus on my zoom camera.........just as 2 blue rinse old girl birders drove straight toward it stopping just feet away before hanging out the window with a camera to get a shot of it flying away!!! many thanks for that old dears!

 The closest thing to birds at home has been helping Sarah for her craft fair (been and gone) once Sarah had prepped the wood it was down to me with the painting, and they have come out really well, there will definitely be more designs on the way.

I have been getting the moth trap out on a few occasions, adding new species to the garden list and indeed some new species for me also. 

 This Small Angle Shades (above) and Scalloped Hazel (below) were both new species for me.

 This Shears was found on our car one morning! 

Iron Prominent 

 This Lobster Moth(above) was a welcome addition to the garden list and I believe only the second one I've seen. 

 Foxglove Pug (above) another new species. The Burnished Brass is always a welcome addition in the trap. So the list is slowly increasing and with the warm weather due to stay the trap will be getting out more often.

A Quieter Time as May Progresses.

 Lunar Marbled Brown

 May started off busily for me but it quickly quietened down! Colder evenings and a breeze coming in off the sea put a hold on getting the moth light out except for one evening when I managed a few hours, getting 9 species of moth for the new garden list.

 Yellow Barred Brindle

 Pebble Prominent

 Grey Pine Carpet

 Coxcomb Prominent

 I tried to get out as early as possible, I was rewarded with a female Marsh Harrier one morning, the Swifts were becoming more numerous, and a lot are screaming through the towns nearby.

 Marsh Harrier

 Common Whitethroat

The Common Whitethroats were in decent numbers around the village lanes and along the clifftops. I had briefly seen a Lesser Whitethroat but it was soon dispatched by a Common.

  Common Whitethroat

  Common Whitethroat

With the sunnier days upon us the butterfly numbers were growing, numerous Orange Tips and Speckled Woods and a Painted Lady which seems to of taken up residence at the end of one of the lanes as we've seen it a few times in the same spot. This Frog was seen chilling out on the coastal path early one morning, I had to step back to get him in focus! 

Common Frog