A Small Mottled Willow at Dingestow Court VC35 was my first of the year, and a minor highlight for a very dull night with just 15 moth species to MV.

A Delicate to MV at Dingestow Court VC35. They have become almost annual here in recent years, presumably wandering in from established English colonies rather than being primary migrants from southern Europe. Another Small Mottled Willow too.

The rain has brought out the fungi at Old Lands at last, including two ECM on Oak I haven’t seen here before: Amanita vaginata (Grisette) and Russula plumbeobrunnea (checked with Kibby Russula key).

Is this Platynota stultana? I was sent the photos by Nick Felstead from Chepstow who caught this in his garden on 8/8/23. He saw another on 14/8/23. I initially misidentified it as Sparganothis, only checking when George Tordoff queried the record. Google Search suggested Platynota!

Abietinella abietina seems to have declined substantially in its former hotspot in the NE of Tywyn Aberffraw (vc52), so I was pleased to find 1000+ plants of it along c50m of species-rich turf in the southern part of the dune system today.

Preissia quadrata is colonising the dune scrapes at Tywyn Aberffraw quite well, which is an encouraging sign, although I couldn’t find any Petalwort in the scrapes. Thanks for your careful work on this site Sands of LIFE

In the current debate about the Trees for Life announcement to import 15 or so "Tauros" cattle to their Dundreggan site near Inverness, one thing has really come to light for me in terms of levels of support (or not) expressed here... a wee thread 1/

A clamber up the rocky slope above the Skewen A465 Service Station for a geocache this evening revealed lots of the INNS Lophocolea semiteres. It’s still quite scarce in south Wales, but spreading it seems. It shares the slope with several Cotoneaster spp and Pampas Grass.

Delattin’s Grayling, Eastern Rock Grayling, Lattice Brown and Oriental Marbled Skipper - 4 new butterfly species for me to start day 3 of our Corfu holiday.

A depressingly productive early morning Beach Clean on Kogevina Beach, Corfu as part of Geocaching’s autumn Cache In Trash Out season. #cito #geocaching

Pygmy Skipper (short hairs on base of hindwing costa) yesterday and Millet Skipper (hyaline spots on forewing) - two exciting new butterflies for me in the Kassiopi area of Corfu.

Eek, I think the wainscot I dismissed as a worn L-album might actually be a Cosmopolitan. If so, that’s two new Macros for Dingestow last night. Migrant Lepidoptera

While everyone else was catching migrant moths from Africa, my most ‘interesting’ moth in 2 traps at Dingestow VC35 was a Lesser Yellow Underwing. At least I tried…

My sister has just told me she saw a huge white Egret fly over Dingestow Court Lake this morning. Argh - the first Great White Egret for my home patch and I missed it!

15 Hawfinch Dingestow Court garden, Gwent just now. The largest flock here for several years.