Sunday 30th June 2019

June started with a dip. On the last evening of May somebody who lives at Le Bigard posted a recording on Facebook of a calling Nightjar and so a few of us went down the next evening and lurked in the gloom. It was a bit of a long shot as it wasn’t exactly good Nightjar habitat and so the bird was just likely to be passing through. We heard nothing.

Looking at the database it seems that I recorded zero bird sightings in June, a very poor show. However, I did get the moth trap out every weekend and the highlight was a new species for the garden and my second ever Bright Wave on 28th June. Quite a rare visitor to Guernsey although I have had one before, flushed in the daytime at Rousse, so it may breed here locally. Even if so, it is likely a recent colonist. That night was a good night in general and there were 57 Large Yellow Underwings which is very unusual for my garden. I also had 3 Dioryctria abietella (probably a migrant here) plus a few others I rarely get - Light Arches, 2 Mottled Beauty, Lathronympha strigana, Caloptilia elongella.

Bright Wave - garden, 28 Jun 19

I’d also had a new species for the garden on 1st, the tortrix Lobesia reliquana which I’ve seen before in the wooded valleys. Other notable moths were a Little Thorn on 1st and a Marbled White Spot on 14th.

Lobesia reliquana - garden, 1 Jun 19

The other interesting thing that I found was a plant growing by the road at Port Grat. I had driven past it a few times and couldn’t be sure what it was, so I stopped one day on the way home from work. I discovered it was a rather beautiful iris, of a species I didn’t recognise. It had pure white petals and a deep golden yellow centre to the lower lip. I liked the sound of “Fried Egg Iris”. It wasn’t in my flower book, but some research online revealed it to be Turkish Iris (Iris orientalis). Not a native species of course but it is growing in a wild area amongst other coastal grassland species. This doesn’t seem to have been recorded “in the wild” in Guernsey before and not very often in the UK either.

Turkish Iris - Port Grat, 14 Jun 19

Turkish Iris - Port Grat, 14 Jun 19

I didn’t really see much else different this month. June is often quiet for me as my hay fever restricts my time in the field. But here are a selection of photos from the month.

Pale Oak Beauty - garden, 1 Jun 19 - until recently a great rarity on Guernsey but now regular in the garden

Pine Hawk-moth - garden, 1 Jun 19 - with the larger moths the camera on the phone is good enough nowadays and much more convenient for a quick snap.

Lauritrioza alacris or ‘Bay Sucker’ - garden, 2 Jun 19 - I noticed interesting galls on one of the shrubs in the garden and looking closely found loads of these distinctive creatures seemingly dancing.

Procumbent Yellow Sorrel - garden, 1 Jun 19 - I’ve been selective about which ‘weeds’ I have been removing from the shingle, this species seems to like the conditions and grows well.

Knotted Hedge-parsley - 6 Jun 19 - this species isn’t uncommon on certain parts of the coast and has these tiny flowers up against the stem. It is an umbellifer but doesn’t look like one.

Scaeva pyrasti - Port Grat, 11 Jun 19 - hoverflies can be difficult to ID from photos, so for these species the proviso is that they may actually be a similar-looking species than the label says.

Blue-tailed Damselfly - Grand Pre, 22 Jun 19 - presumably a female of the violet form

Buff-tailed Bumblebee - Grand Pre, 22 Jun 19 - lapping up water with its tongue from a small pool in a leaf.

Eupeodes sp. - Grand Pre, 22 Jun 19

Helophilus sp. - Grand Pre, 22 Jun 19

possibly Chrysopilus cristatus (but maybe not) - Grand Pre, 22 Jun 19