Enjoyed a morning at WWT Welney. Particularly enjoyed our coffee overlooking Lady Fen, with about a dozen Common Cranes and a group of Cattle Egrets.

They are tiny and seemingly insignificant but such stunning female flowers on the hazel in our garden today #Wildflowerhour

Lots of spring flowers in the garden now - snowdrops, cyclamen and aconites in this photo. Violets and pulmonaria are flowering just to the left of the photo, but not included here.

Pleased to see the Bee Orchids are growing again our lawn. Roll on summer!

My local patch bird report, covering species seen at Whitlingham & Thorpe Marshes (Norwich, UK) during 2025 is now available to view/download here: drive.google.com/file/d/12pEC... A big thank you to everyone who has reported sightings and allowed their photos to be used in the report.

252 pages of back issue diptera excitement (Dipterist Digest Vol 30 pts 1 and 2) now available to download free from our website dipterists.org.uk/news/dipteri... World class science in action! @britentsoc.bsky.social @royentsoc.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social

Interesting new YouTube from Trevor Pendleton (Ramblings of an entomologist) where he sieves leaf litter for eg pseudoscorpions. Sounds familiar @vannabartlett.bsky.social

A mild night forecast so the first trap of 2026 🤞

A small isolated Yarrow in flower yesterday #wildflowerhour

Good to see Duration Brewery, in West Acre, in the Sunday Times magazine today as one of the favourite UK Brewers! Their Tap Days are great too.

I see Scrobipalpa ocellatella is making headlines on beet crops in our region www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

What are others doing now that the years Mapmate extension is ending? How are you going to record your sightings in future?

My post-Christmas reading

Ophiomyia alliariae -almost invisible stem miner of Garlic Mustard A. petiolata), Hedge Mustard (S. officinale) etc. I was unsuccessful looking for it last year but found it this autumn. Fresh mines are pale green colour but turn white (and slightly easier to find) when old. This was new to Norfolk.

This bagworm case puzzles me. Spotted on a tree trunk in Heacham this afternoon. It doesn’t look like Luffia lapidella. Perhaps a Dahlica sp??

Hundreds of Pink-footed Geese travelling north past the house at 7:45 this morning. Incredible sight and sound!

Four new species for Dorset (and a belated one for Britain) are among the highlights of the Dorset Moths Annual Report 2024. Free PDF downland from dorsetmoths.co.uk #teammoth @dorsetmoths.bsky.social @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @migrantmothuk.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

WOW! We have just passed 3.5 million records, it is certainly a record breaking year, details to come in December as I attempt a New for Norfolk advent calendar and post a species per day 😅... Yes we have had that many!!! #teammoth #norfolkmoths

Too cloudy for the aurora last night but 7/4 in the trap. This Mottled Umber was NFY. 3 Udea ferrugalis (Rusty-dot Pearl) were highlights too #norfolkmoths

Really pleased to trap a December Moth last night - a rarity in my garden Such kitten-like moths! #norfolkmoths

The very early mines of Ectoedemia heringella are visible now on Evergreen Oak (Quercus ilex) as tiny brown spots on the leaves. These leaves will be covered in their mines by next February #norfolkmoths

Tiny fungi in the veg patch - Bonnet species (Mycena sp.)? Can it be taken to species? Photographs of the same group @norwichbirder.bsky.social

Just three moths last night but Sprawler was NFG #norfolkmoths

After 163 nights of religiously hanging out the ORI pheromone lure in the garden, I finally caught a Slender Burnished Brass (T. orichalcea) in the lure trap! 3rd site record. St Mellion, Cornwall #teammoth

A PLUMED PROMINENT from last night in West Suffolk - one of three trapped in a new 10km square. 😀 #mothsmatter

Put the trap out last night. No rain forecast and mild too. We had some rain but 4 moths in the trap including two Udea ferrugalis (Rusty Dot Pearl) #norfolkmoths

We had lunch on the North Norfolk Coast today and I looked for Pink foot Geese as we came home, but didn’t see any. But, as I stood in the garden late afternoon, a large skein flew over - first of the year!

Stigmella naturnella was discovered only recently in the low countries (nl.pensoft.net/article/99360/) but in my region (Ghent, Belgium) it already seems to be the most common birch #leafminer. It probably spread naturally from S Central Europe. Here's how the mines look. #mothsmatter #teammoth

A great resource made more accessible by @britentsoc.bsky.social - thanks

Arrived this morning and looks an interesting read - Norfolk Bird and Mammal Report 2024. A huge effort to publish it so promptly and beautifully illustrated!

The new leafmine site update is now out. Has many excellent photos including some rarely seen eg Dialectica imperialella, Scrobipalpula tusdilaginis and Stigmella spinosissimae. Others more common. The amazing spiracles of Cerodontha iraeaos - like cow horns! www.leafmines.co.uk/html/updates...

Hedgehog Harvestman Nemastomella bacilliferum, Plymouth, Devon, this very distinctive but tiny harvestman is found at several sites around the city. It has not been found anywhere else in the UK but may be overlooked? It is usually found sat on the underside of rocks lying on the ground.

Fen nettle (Urtica dioica subsp. galeopsifolia) at Wicken Fen today. A nettle which doesn’t sting!

Lots of green islands today in leaves blown down yesterday - makes mine spotting so much easier Stigmella trimaculella in Black Poplar Ectoedemia subbimaculella in Oak. Note the slit underneath where frass is ejected

Ectoedemia turbidella and hannoverella mines in green islands from Grey and Black Poplar trees (growing side by side!). Note the petiole mines where the larvae feed from into the leaf

I see, in the latest British Wildlife magazine, that Adrena nitidiuscula (Carrot mining bee ) has been discovered in Downham Market. Quite shift north and definitely one to look out for next year bwars.com/bee/andrenid...

Phyllonorycter comparella- an uncommon leafminer which emerged yesterday from a mine on White Poplar collected 11.x.2025 #norfolkmoths

Stigmella aceris mines show up well on the yellowed leaves of Field Maple today. I love the ‘black spot’ mines of Ectoedemia occultella on Birch. The larvae hide under the spot and feed from there #norfolkmoths

4 Large Wainscots last night with such colour variation. #norfolkmoths

Merveiille du Jour - such a stunning moth. One of Britains prettiest? One in the trap last night NFY #norfolkmoths

Pleased to have the white mines of Cerodontha ireaos on Yellow Flag Iris in our pond. The black frass is collected in one spot with the puparium in another. Then puparium has anterior spiracles just like cow horns (see the next lesafmine site update for photos!).

20/9 in the moth trap this morning. This very smart Gold Triangle (Hypsopygia costalis) was on the outside of the trap. They are flying late this year #norfolkmoths

Back again! Highlight of last night was a Rusty Dot Pearl (Udea ferrugslis). Looking very fresh for a supposed immigrant moth