Peter Jones Wildlife blog

Another Reptile survey in the New Forest, my license runs for the 1st half of the month, so I get a break now until June. Today's survey was quiet sadly, with just a fleeting glimpse of a Common Lizard. Hot days perhaps not the best for surveys. I did, however, find a couple of nice insects: a Pine Ladybird, which is a fairly small species, with comma shaped red marks; and also a Dor Beetle.

Another moth trap session last night, but with fairly limited results. 1 Brimstone , a couple of worn looking pugs. Smartest moth was a Small Phoenix, photo below, and a Micro moth which I initially struggled to identify. However, shining a torch on the moth brought out all the colour, and I was able to identify it as an Esperia Sulphurella!

Mild weather recently, so I have run the moth trap in the garden a few nights. Haven't ran the trap so early in the year before, so I got a few new ones. A selection of pics below.. Satellite, Lunar Marbled Brown, Brindled Beauty, Frosted Green, Lesser Swallow Prominent, and Muslin.

A pretty good reptile survey in the New Forest this morning. My allocated survey is 3x1 km with 40 artificial refugia to look under, so it takes awhile. The weather today was furiously hot! so not ideal, and I was conscious of this when I started out. With hindsight, I started a little too early, and also spent too much time surveying into the sun. But these are little mistakes I can iron out through the season. Best of the sightings under Refugia were an Adder inches away from a Toad! and several Slow Worms. A fast moving stream had a Palmate Newt, and what I presume was an Eel!, and a nearby pond was packed with Palmate Newts. Nice to watch them under the surface. There is something relaxing about Newts! Elsewhere, a Common Heath Moth was a first for me, and plenty of birds including Dartford Warbler, Curlew, Snipe, Lapwing, Hobby, Tree Pipit and Willow Warbler.