It's the "Moth" Wonderful Time of the Year

RSPB Mersehead Blog 24^th February - 1^st March

The months are flying by, I cannot quite believe it’s March already! At Mersehead, the start of March marks the beginning of our moth trapping season, which I am very excited to be involved with this year. From March until November, we take part in the Garden Moth Scheme (GMS) which involves setting up a moth trap each week to gather data about garden moths. It's a very worthwhile scheme to be part of as the data collected provides vital information about populations of common garden moths in both the UK and Ireland, and aids in moth conservation efforts. Anyone can get involved, you simply need to record and count the number of different moth species you see in your garden one night a week from March through to November.

Moth species found in the moth trap at Mersehead a few years ago. Photo credit: RSPB Mersehead

At Mersehead, we set up our moth trap every Thursday evening in the Sulwath Garden (unless it is pouring it down with rain) and identify the moths we have caught the following morning. It's always thrilling to go out to the moth trap the next day to see how many moths are there, and I love the challenge of searching through ID guides to identify different species. Identifying moths can be a bit of a challenge as, incredibly, there are over 2,500 species of moth found in the UK alone, and you often capture a lot of individuals in your trap in one evening. For example, on 27^th July 2023, a total of 135 individual moths were caught in one night at Mersehead, consisting of 43 different species! Here are some photos of moths that have been seen at Mersehead in recent years:

 Beautiful Golden Y (Autographa pulchrina). Photo credit: C. McMurray

 Poplar Hawk-moth (Laothoe populi). Photo credit: RSPB Mersehead

Garden Tiger (Arctia caja). Photo credit: RSPB Mersehead

 Campion (Sideridis rivularis). Photo credit: C. McMurray

 Elephant Hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor). Photo credit: RSPB Mersehead

Angle Shade (Phlogophora meticulosa). Photo credit: C. Murray

Dotted Border (Agriopis marginaria). Photo credit: F. Sanders

White Ermine (Spilosoma lubricipeda). Photo credit: RSPB Mersehead

Burnished Brass (Diachrysia chrysitis). Photo credit: RSPB Mersehead

Buff-tip (Phalera bucephala). Photo credit: RSPB Mersehead

Oak Beauty (Biston strataria). Photo credit: N. Bone

On Thursday 22^nd February 2024, we put our moth trap out for the first time this year and discovered two moths the next morning: Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica) and Red Chestnut (Cerastis rubricosa). Now that it's the start of March, we will start to put our moth trap out regularly and submit our data to the GMS. In addition to this, the moth trap was put out on Thursday 29^th February 2024 and the following two moths were recorded: Oak Beauty (Biston strataria) and March Moth (Alsophila aescularia). 

Moth trap set up in the Sulwath Garden, Mersehead. Photo credit: F. Sanders

I hope this blog may have sparked a new interest in the magnificent, marvellous world of moths! 

 

Reserve bird counts

We are fast approaching the breeding season so many birds are starting to disperse and therefore numbers on reserve are generally starting to dwindle. The tables below show a summary of the latest reserve counts carried out at Mersehead and Kirkconnell reserves: 

Mersehead Reserve

Whooper swan	15
Canada geese	23
Barnacle goose	4466
Shelduck	112
Wigeon	289
Teal	402
Mallard	21
Pintail	63
Shoveler	51
Goosander	2
Little Egret	3
Grey Heron	3
Moorhen	1
Oystercatcher	259
Ringed plover	2
Lapwing	165
Sanderling	19
Dunlin	110
Snipe	1
Curlew	88
Redshank	2
Water rail	1

 

Double rainbow seen at Mersehead. Photo credit: N. Bone

Kirkconnell Reserve

Pink-footed geese	550
Barnacle goose	4320
Shelduck	13
Wigeon	152
Teal	346
Mallard	21
Goldeneye	11
Goosander	3
Little Egret	1
Cormorant	1
Oystercatcher	23
Dunlin	30
Curlew	76
Redshank	162
Greenshank	12

Reserve count at Kirkconnell. Photo credit: N. Bone

Freya Sanders, Assistant Warden

Upcoming events

For more information on individual events and to book a place, please go to our website: https://events.rspb.org.uk/mersehead

*Flooding - Please note that Mersehead nature reserve is prone to flooding during periods of high rainfall and/or strong winds and tidal surges. To avoid disappointment at these times, please contact the reserve in advance of your visit by email in the first instance at mersehead@rspb.org.uk or check the RSPB Dumfries and Galloway Facebook Page for daily updates.