Waved Black - Darley Dale

Amazingly this is Simon's 6th record of the Waved Black in Darley Dale during the past 13 years. There are very few records elsewhere in the County and it appears that a colony has established itself at a wood yard close to his house sometime in the past with the original insects arriving on imported timber. 
This example is in good condition although it looked like a bird had taken a section off the tip of the left hand wing which I have Photoshopped back on.

Waved Black (c. Simon Roddis)

Red Kite juvenile - Flash Lane

A superb juvenile Red Kite flew over Flash Lane this morning and it was in sunshine for a change. This bird will have fledged during July so it would be very interesting to know how far it has flown from its nest.

Red Kite juvenile

Hoary Footman - Darley Dale

Simon Roddis trapped this moth a couple of evenings ago in Darley Dale. As far as I am aware this would be a first record for the county of Derbyshire so the record is only provisional at the moment. 
The identification of the footman is not straightforward as there are a number of similar species, the most likely confusion species with Hoary is the Scarce Footman (search the blog for photos) which, despite the name is regularly recorded in the area.
What struck both Simon and I when we saw the moth was the pale colouration, the slightly smaller size, compared to both Scarce and Common, and the absence of a contrasting orangey/yellow leading edge to the wing. The moth is rather worn so there is a need for caution, both in judging the colour of the upper parts and in the absence of the costal band but having caught quite a few worn Scarce Footman I have never seen one like this. 
Simon photographed the hindwing and you can see this on his Twitter site

Hoary Footman

Hoary Footman distribution c. NBN Gateway

The published distribution of the Hoary Footman on the NBN Gateway is largely coastal and restricted to the SE and SW with a scattering of records from the Welsh coast and the Lake District.
Interestingly there have been recent records from the Leicestershire & Rutland recording area where the status of Hoary Footman is given as uncommon with a comment that some prior records of Scarce Footman may have actually been Hoary.
We'll have to wait and see if the record is accepted as Hoary Footman by the Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire Entomological Society but I'm happy to leave it labelled as such pending any decision by that Society.

Grey Heron - Chatsworth

Not done a great deal today due to the poor weather with frequent rain showers but did make a visit to Chatsworth. An adult Grey Heron, still in breeding plumage, has been present for a couple of weeks below the weir and is a little more confiding that usual and a got a nice flight shot as it flew down river despite the poor light.

Grey Heron - adult

Sycamore and Blackneck moths

Several scarce moths trapped in the last few days including Beautiful Hook-tip, The Suspected, another Orange Footman and the dark form of the Sycamore plus Blackneck. The Sycamore is at the NW edge of its range in the Peak District so is quite a rarity for me. The Blackneck is well established at Clough Wood and on Flash Lane and appears to be extending its range in the area.
Still no migrant moths though, may be tonight?

Blackneck

Sycamore f.infuscata

Batia lunaris - new for the garden

A reasonable selection of moths caught over the last few days which included Batia lunaris which is new for the area for me.

Batia lunaris

Peregrine - Darley Dale

Three Peregrine were over the house earlier this evening, an adult and two juveniles. These are local birds and its good to see the juveniles on the wing. This is my only photo of a juvenile in flight this year and its great to see them from the garden. It may not be entirely coincidental that the juvenile Wood Pigeon, below, was also taken in the garden.

Peregrine - juvenile

Wood Pigeon - adult and juvenile

Interesting behaviour from this juvenile Wood Pigeon trying to get food from the adult, as soon as it could get close enough to the adult it put its wing around it so that it wasn't easy for the adult to then move away.

Wood Pigeon - adult and juvenile

Red Kite - Rowsley

A cool start to the day with a strong NW wind but what would have been rather a quiet morning was improved significantly by another Red Kite sighting. It drifted down the valley from Beeley, circled over Rowsley then carried on down the valley on the eastern side following a similar route to the bird seen in early June.
Looks like the Curlews have left the moor now so it is much quieter up there.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth briefly in the garden early afternoon was my first for the year.

Red Kite

Barred Carpet - Via Gellia

The Barred Carpet is one of the rarest resident moths in the County and Via Gellia is one of the few places where it can be seen. I've mentioned in past posts the difficulty of catching a fresh example of the Barred Carpet but Simon caught this one earlier this week which is one of the best I've seen.

Barred Carpet 

Hobby - Beeley Moor

I've mentioned previously that the Hobby can occasionally be seen hunting over the moor, when the prey is generally the larger moths. 
This bird has already commenced the post breeding moult, having shed two inner primaries (numbers 4 and 5),which will be completed in the winter quarters in southern Africa. Given the length of the migration its a little surprising that it is undertaken with some primaries missing.

Hobby - adult

Cloaked Carpet makes a welcome return to the garden

The first Derbyshire record of the Cloaked Carpet was as recent as 2007 at Frogatt, I caught three the following year and it was caught locally in each of the following years to 2011 but then nothing for the following three years until this fine example appeared in last night's catch.

Cloaked Carpet

Wren with flowering heather backdrop

The Bell Heather (Erica cinerea) has been in flower for a little over a week now and provides a colourful backdrop to this singing Wren. It will be a few more weeks before the moor assumes its purple cloak from the flowering Ling Heather (Calluna vulgaris). 

Wren

A couple of micro's for the local list

Neither of these are uncommon moths but I have not posted them previously. 
The Red-barred Tortrix is common around gardens, this is a males which is smaller but more brightly coloured than the male.
Teleoides vulgella is less common, not sure how widespread it is in Derbyshire, the host plants are Hawthorn and Blackthorn, so plenty of those around.

Red-barred Tortrix, Ditula angustiorana

Teleoides vulgella 

Northern Eggar - Beeley Moor

The last of the big three (Emperor, Fox and Northern Eggar) moorland moths is on the wing now. Ken came across this female Northern Eggar yesterday evening. The moth is unusual in that some of the population have a one year cycle whilst others have a two year cycle with the larvae overwintering as a small caterpillar. This split has been noted amongst larvae from the same brood.

The Northern Eggar is a favoured food of the Hobby and in good years for the moth the Hobby can put on a fine display hunting over the moors on warm summer evenings.

Northern Eggar - female (c. Ken Smith)