June 2026 — Just A Bird

June was all about the lepidoptera, with some terrific catches in the traps. I’ll start with 20th June because that’s when I saw one of my most wanted species - Latin. We’d set a few traps down on the cliffs down at Corbiere, hoping for a few good migrants or rarities, and it was certainly a good choice of nights to do this. One of the first things I saw when I looked inside my trap, clinging to the edge of the cliff, was this little hairy-legged weirdo. With its pink swirls, white splatters and golden-brown scales, and its crinkled wings and crooked antennae, and its furry legs akimbo, it was a superb specimen.

There were lots and lots of other things in the trap too, and even rarer was Sciota rhenella (Poplar Knot-horn), a rare immigrant to the UK, and new for Guernsey. Although similar to many other species of long-winged pyralids, the broad black band stood out.

The traps were heaving with about 580 moths of 110 species identified, including the subtle Agonopterix scopariella (Broom Buff) which was new to me but no doubt common on the broom plants on the clifftops. Other moths in the traps were 243 Large Yellow Underwings (I’ve never seen so many), 5 Small Mottled Willows, a Palpita vitrealis, 2 Radford’s Flame Shoulders, 28 Barrett’s Marbled Coronets, and a Catoptria verellus, a species I hadn’t seen for years.

Moth trap set up at Rue des Bergers/Pre D’Enfer NR

On 13th June we also had a field-trapping session, at Pre d’Enfer, in the rushes and reeds by the pond. In amongst the selection in the morning were two new species for me, Aethes cnicana (Thistle Conch) and Eudonia delunella (Pied Conch), plus, what turned out to be Coleophora taeniipennella (Small Rush Case-bearer) which was commonly netted in the evening. It was mostly expected species but a Grey Arches was only the second I have seen.

As we were in the unusual position of being in front of the hide, we had a potter around in the evening. There were lots and lots of Aproaerema larseniella and Glyphterix thrasonella there and I found a few figwort weevils on the Water Figwort, which were Cionus hortulanus, rarely recorded in Guernsey. Also, we were able to see two of the very few Royal Fern plants which grows on the island.

It was another fantastic month of trapping in the garden, although the conditions were not great in the first half of June. As the weather became hotter mid-month, I had over 80 species on 17th and 19th albeit containing nothing unexpected. There were similar numbers on 22nd but this included a few better species. I had only my second Eudemis profundana (Oak Marble), after one in 2004, a Catoptria verellus (Marbled Grass Moth), the first since 2018, a Lunar-spotted Pinion, a True Lover’s Knot, and an incredible 29 Brown-tails, after just one in the whole of 2024.

Conditions were even better on the night of 24th June, with the air feeling warm and sticky and the temperatures still 22°C at 10PM. In nearby France, during the day, it had been in the upper 30s and with the breeze drifting from the east from Normandy, it resulted in a very busy night. I counted up 472 moths of 121 species (although this does not include the c.200 Ectoedemia heringella in the trap, which I never count, just estimate). Looking back over the last ten years this is my largest count and second largest species number (124 is my record I think).

There wasn’t any big rarities in there, but good macros included my first Oak Hook-tip for ages, 3 Broad-bordered YU, a Pearly Underwing, a Scarce Merveille du Jour, 7 Small Mottled Willows, a Bordered Straw, and 31 Brown-tails. I also totted up 97 Large Yellow Underwings, which might be usual to many but is unheard of in my garden. Micro-wise, there were 7 Twenty-plume Moths, another Catoptria verellus, and 2 Acrobasis tumidana. Also noticeable was the number of other insects that came in, mainly attracted to the white sheet and walls, lots of weird beetles and flies that need identifying, and there was an unfamiliar hopper. This turned out to be Aphrophora salicina which has never been recorded before in Guernsey, and I had 4 or 5 of them this one night!

Oak Hook-tip - garden, 24 Jun 26 - now its a case of looking at all the Spiny H-T in case I spot an Oak.

The night of 26th June was also very good, this time 330 moths of 101 species, with another Acrobasis tumidana, a Splendid Brocade, Caloptilia leucopennella, and still 27 Brown-tails. I had the trap out on just 6 days in June and I managed 1737 moths and 210 species.

On 20th June I received a message that White-letter Hairstreak had been seen by The Bowl car park, in the same spot as someone snapped a pic of one last year. When I got down there I soon saw one near the top of one of the small elm trees, and after a while in the blazing heat we managed to see three individuals. This indicates, along with 2025’s sighting, that White-letter Hairstreak has colonised Guernsey, which is somewhat unexpected. This is the first time I have seen this butterfly in UK&CI, although I saw a few in Germany once. It’s very rare that I get a butterfly tick nowadays.

White-letter Hairstreak - The Bowl, 20 Jun 26

On 26th June, a bat was found resting in the school canteen and rescued and put in a box. Luckily, I was nearby and took a few phone pics. I was delighted that it wasn’t the expected Pip’, but a fabulous and freaky Grey Long-eared Bat. This species is quite rare in the UK (Brown LEB being more common), but Grey is the standard one here. The second pic below shows better the greyish fur on the upperside. Another unexpected tick.

Just A Bird

Just A Bird

Mark Lawlor's Nature Blog

Just A Bird

Just A Bird