Devon Holiday cont'd
21-08-2017
I didn’t have to wait long for some more ‘butterflies’ as after the evening meal and while preparing another round of drinks my dad pointed out a small black and white moth on the wall. Best ID so far is Nemapogon clematella . Either way it was a species that I’d not encountered before so I was chuffed with one of my easiest lifers; “I was getting another G&T and there it was” I’ll be able to recount in future years...
22-08-217
The next morning the moths again took the limelight with my first Setaceaous Hebrew Character. I’d wanted to photograph on of these for ages as it’s a species that stands out when swiping through my UK Moth App, not for its appearance but its unusual name.
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Today was the day that we were going to get booted up and head out onto the Moor. I’ve been out and about on Dartmoor many times but not since I’d gotten into butterflies and so I was intrigued as to what it would offer species wise, where the butterflies would be and whether it would be like the Heathlands of home in species range? However I’ll have to make another visit to answer these questions as the day was the worst of the holiday weather wise. It was terrible with cloud blocking out all the sun, a cool and damp feel to the air and as we headed up and up onto the moor the fog rolled in. For most of the drive all that could be seen were the hedges on either side of the road. Even when we stopped occasionally (Widdecoombe “where the hell are we going to visit?”, “pee stop” and Becka Falls “How much to park? Stuff that”) visibility was poor and it was so cold and clammy you were glad to get back in the car.
Eventually we made it to Badgers Holt and the magnificent cream tea more than raised my spirits. Outside the River Dart flowed eventually dropping off the moor and flowing more sedately past the cottage we were staying at. The Grey Wagtails ‘chiswick-ed’ away and added a splash of vibrancy as did an Emperor Dragonfly and a few of the Common Darters. On the stroll down towards the old bridge a Red Admiral flew by a few times – well it was either that or 6 different individuals – possibly the vanguard of the subsequent high numbers we’ve seen this autumn? The girls loved the place splashing about, climbing the rocks and dipping their toes into the icy cold water.
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As is typical it started to brighten up as we headed homewards. We could see further and further on either sides of the hedges and walls and eventually right across the moor. After another brief pit stop for the Pixie Museum we got back home. By now the weather had turned for the better, we could see all of the surrounding hills and the sky was blue with only slight cloud mottling. I headed straight out into garden this time walking up to the top of hill/garden. The large bramble bush housed a Common Carpet and a Red Admiral basked in the sun in quite a precarious place – under the swing in the scuff marks. There was also another moth but this one was really worn so any ID was difficult to make (Common Rustic/Lesser Common Rustic).
The weather didn’t hold and so we headed in, lit the wood burner and started to get cosy.
Have a goodun
Wurzel