30 Days Wild June 2018 Week 3

Week 3 began with a quiet day but a busier evening. A moth event was advertised locally - running from 8-10pm on Day 15. Warm clothing, waterproofs and a head torch were advised as essential equipment. We added a couple of pots and torches and off we went. A local expert and local NNR reserve staff were waiting at the appointed meeting place. We were joined by 6-8 other people and had a great time emptying and identifying moths from 3 traps. Many of the spectators were new to moth-ing, so we helped them identify the moths and listened to their oohs and aahs as the moths were revealed! People are so surprised at the variety of colours and sizes of moths when they really take a close look. After identifying the moths we then went on a short walk through the wood for a little dusking - using a net to catch any moths flying around in the dusk. There were quite a few moths flitting around, but they were not easy to catch as we tried to avoid the brambles with our nets.
A very enjoyable evening with a group of friendly people.
Day 16 was a very miserable day with rain for most  of the day. Not much going wild today - just recording the birds in the garden and watching the mute swans on Carlingwark Loch. Apart from a few mallards and the usual black-headed gulls looking for food scraps, the swans were all we saw in the short while we were there. We always seem to find that a lot of birds disappear during the summer.
Day 17 began rather damp after the rain yesterday but we did manage a walk along the river at Moffat. There were wild flowers all along the way and a wide range of trees too - some of which were obviously very old with trunks so big it would be impossible to reach all round them.

Every 2 years the Royal Entomological Society organises Insect Week, to encourage people of all ages to learn more about insects. Day 18 coincides with the first day of this so another Bee count was in order. Many bees were enjoying the flowers on our hebe and in just a few minutes I counted 7 tree bumble bees, 2 white-tailed, 1 buff-tailed and 1 red-tailed bee - and that was just on one bush! Inspecting the Bug House revealed that many of the solitary bees had developed and broken through the "filler" at the end of their tunnels.
Not very wild again today but the strawberries are coming thick and fast so more strawberry jam is in order on Day 19 and as the local supermarket were selling off raspberries - raspberry jam too!
Day 20 's wild activity was watching the birds in our garden. Baby starlings were on the lawn pecking for worms and bugs, while the baby sparrows were everywhere again! We saw our first baby goldfinches too -  the yellow flash on their wings giving the game away as to what they were.Both the robin (s) and blackbirds are very busy too feeding young chicks. We watch them fill their beaks with food and then fly off to next door's garden or the hedge to feed their offspring.
Although the sun returned, the wind was still very strong on Day 21 but a Large Yellow Underwing was around the garden this afternoon so we wondered about putting out the moth traps?  The wind did drop as the evening went on but as it was the Longest Day today it was very light until quite late.
We were not expecting a great catch as it had also gone rather chilly so Week 3 ended quietly.