Scilly 2018 Moths, dragonflies and birds!

Staying at the fantastic Watermill Cove area with my father 8th to 17th October, lots of very rare moths thanks to a strong southerly airflow from the Canary Isles. We were out dawn till dusk most days looking for birds as well as after dark looking for moths, so it was fairly full on and very enjoyable!
The following is a quick photo record of my trip to the Scillies. (I did a fuller write up, but when I pushed publish it deleted the lot...so this is a slimmed down version)

Marvelous moths!!

Silver Striped Hawkmoth, 1st for Scilly! I netted this moth while it was being chased by a bat... I thought it would be a convolvulus hawkmoth, so when I saw it in the net I got the surprise of my life, what a moth!

Herpetogramma licarsisalis 15th for uk!

Porters Rustic

Uresiphita gilvata- like a cross between a leggy Rusty Dot Pearl and a large yellow underwing!

Many Lined 47th for UK

Standard Flame Shoulder (for comparison)

Radfords flame shoulder (note the difference to above picture regarding the continuous pale costa leading to the patagia)

Wedgling- 3rd for UK, caught by Dave Grundy on St Agnes

Box-tree moth 1st for Scilly! (a 'true migrant')

A very good start to the trap when you can see this!

Dark Mottled Willow

Tawny Pinion

Bordered Straw

Palpita vitrealis

Scarce Bordered Straw

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

Pearly Underwing

White Speck

Vestal

Notable moth species (for me) recorded during my stay 8/10 to 17/10.

(peak means most specimens found in one night)

Blairs shoulder knot 4 Box-tree 1st for Scilly Cosmopolitan 1 on several nights Cyprus Carpet 9 peak Dark mottled willow 1 Deaths head hawkmoth 1 Delicate 10 peak Four spotted footman 1 Gem 1 Golden twinspot 1 Herpetogramma licarsisalis 15th for UK Many lined 1 Opogoma omoscopa lots Palpita Vitrealis 22 peak Pearly underwing 1 Porters rustic 1 Radfords flame shoulder 2 RDP 75 peak Rush vaneer 18 peak Scarce bordered straw 3 peak Silver striped hawkmoth 1st for Scilly Small mottled willow 5 peak Tachystola acroxantha 4 peak Tawny pinion 1 Uresiphita gilvata 2 Vestal 9 peak Wedgling 3rd for UK D. Grundy White Speck 74 peak

 The moths were certainly pretty amazing, so it was great to continue the rare insect theme with dad and I finding a dragonfly hawking the strand line at Pelistry bay. The dragonfly was clearly a yellow colour all over with yellow tints to the wings and had an interesting flight pattern with lots of short glides, quite unlike a migrant hawker, then on a close flyby in binoculars I could clearly see an unmarked side of the thorax....VAGRANT EMPEROR! It soon disappeared over the bushes, but I soon relocated it perched and obscured in the middle of the field, it did confirm the long yellow pterastigmas to further the identification... a new odonate for me!

 

 ...And birds.

The birds were not quite as good as they could have been however I did manage a fairly respectable list during my stay.

Barred Warbler

lots of Yellow Browed Warblers

several Firecrest

Tawny Pipit

Red Backed Shrike

Greenish Warbler

Probable Aquatic Warbler (looked very good to me!)

Siberian Chiffchaff (self found)

Wryneck 

Black redstarts

Redstarts

Ring Ouzels

Red-Breasted Flycatcher (self found)

Eastern Yellow Wagtail (probable) (partially self found- heard calling near accommodation and reported as possible EYW)

....and probably more that I have left off by accident

Potential Eastern yellow wagtail

'standard?' yellow wagtail

Greenish Warbler

Whimbrel