Mothing and ringing aren't complimentary

Much excitement last night at Druridge, well there was if you like your moths.

NWT organised a moth trapping night with Tom Tams and his trailer set-up, there was also a crowd of batty people doing some bat survey work.

Tom's trailer, complete with lamp and tablecloth

The moth people were out before dark with the sweep nets, I retreated tot he top of the big dune to look for owls. On Thursday night I had an hour at Druridge before dark looking for owls, I had had no success until Bob Dack arrived and almost immediately picked up on a long-eared owl, quartering the silage field beyond the Budge fields. We watched it for 20 minutes or so, a species I didn't see last year.

No luck with LEO's last night, but I did have a tawny owl calling very close, I've not heard tawny at Druridge for many years. Tawny owl is a species I am happy to year-tick on call only, like quail.

The batty people recorded noctule and pipistrelle, they aslo saw and recorded long-eared bat, which would've been a new bat for me at Druridge - I was busy looking for long-eared owls!

Once it was dark, Tom got the mercury-vapour bulb going on his trailer and the moths started to flock to it, they also had a few traps scattered about.

Excitement as the moths come in

my kind of moth - small elephant hawkmoth

fox moth laying egss on a pot-lid. I transported the moth and eggs to the grass to let er continue in peace.

This hedgehog put in a brief appearance.

 It was after 1am when we left, so the plans to ring at Druridge this morning were scuppered, it was too windy by the time we got up. With hindsight, we should have put the nets up before dark and stopped down there, hindsight is a marvellous thing.

127 long-eared owl
128 tawny owl