Tessera

Phil Saunders

@beardybirder.bsky.social

Professional bird botherer & bug chaser (not like that), based in Dorset. Freelance ecologist / leader for Wildlife Travel #LGBTQinSTEM. Mainly birds, inverts, & plants, with the occasional arty photo. All views my own.

915 Posts1389 Follower 1217 Folgt

John Walters @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social · 13h ago

The Pebble Hook-tips Drepana falcataria in my 'caterpillar zoo' are now ready to pupate. They first use silk to fold a living Birch leaf. The cocoon is formed within the fold. The leaf will fall into the leaf litter where the pupa will overwinter. Time lapse over 2 hours. Buckfastleigh, Devon

Migrant Lepidoptera (GB & Ireland)@migrantmothuk.bsky.social · 17h ago

1/2 After what seems like an entire summer of northerly winds we may finally see the return of N African air from Tues-Thurs next week. Low pressure to the west of Iberia over the weekend should start to pull up the warm air (& insects) into S Europe, hopefully reaching SW Britain by Tues #teammoth

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 2d ago

A post-rain(!) wander at St Aldhelm's Head this afternoon prod'd singles of Whinchat, Wheatear, & Lesser Whitethroat (the latter subsinging), alongside 4 flyover flava Wag's & 100+ Linnet @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Dr Alex Bond @thelabandfield.bsky.social · 4d ago

Big new @adriftlab.bsky.social paper - we show for the first time that plastics affects seabirds at the POPULATION level. Plastic ingested as a chick reduces recruitment of birds to the breeding population. And the story is pretty grim. 🧵 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Andy Symes @andysymes.bsky.social · 7d ago

Two recent crazy nights trapping with cheap LEDs and homemade traps on chalk grassland in North Herts: 3 Aug >>1,000 Small Mottled Willow 13 Aug c150 Delicate British records for both? A crazy summer, or the new normal? Answers on a postcard (that's covered in Small Mottled Willows) #TeamMoth

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 4d ago

Two very cool flies from the @footprintecology.bsky.social Cold Harbour office moth traps this morning: the Lauxaniid - Peplomyza litura & the bizarrely beautiful Sciomyzid - Trypetoptera punctulata #diptera @teamdiptera.bsky.social

A Peplomyza litura fly, showing dark bars on its translucent, backswept, wings as well as large reddish eyes, perches obliquely facing left on a grey egg box.

A beautiful Trypetoptera punctulata fly rests, facing upwards, on brown masking tape. The fly has bright red eyes and its broad wings are densely chequered black and white.

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 4d ago

Bordered Grey was the undoubted highlight from the traps at the @footprintecology.bsky.social Cold Harbour office this morning, as I went through them alongside Durwyn, with Cloaked Carpet, Langmaid's Yellow U'wing, & Stenolechia gemmella other good local records #TeamMoth @dorsetmoths.bsky.social

A Bordered Grey moth, wings & plumose antennae spread, rests inside a clear plastic tube.

A Bordered Grey moth, showing broad light and dark bands across its spread wings, perches obliquely on a green Heather sprig amongst brown vegetation.

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 4d ago

A frosty-mohicaned Pearly Underwing the best from the Upton garden MV this morning, alongside another Nutmeg, Rosy Marbled, & Celypha rosaceana #TeamMoth @dorsetmoths.bsky.social @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

An arrowhead shaped, brown and black marbled, Pearly Underwing moth faces the camera as it perches on the light wooden floor of a moth trap.
The moth's distinctive pale thoracic crest can easily be seen at this angle.

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 4d ago

I had a repeat visit from a Convolvulus Hawkmoth in the Upton garden at dusk this evening. So pleased to finally have these gargantuan migrants visiting! #TeamMoth @dorsetmoths.bsky.social @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 5d ago

Record shot of an apparent Verge Cricket (based on the head barring) recorded as an extremely brief visitor to @agrimsey.bsky.social Swanage moth trap on 23rd June (photo reproduced with permission) - potentially superceding the run of records from Kent, Hants, & elsewhere in Dorset in recent weeks?

An apparent Verge Cricket, showing dark transverse barring on the head, rests vertically on a pale wall lit with the greenish glow from a moth trap.

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 5d ago

If you plant it they will come... two massive (but sadly camera shy) Convolvulus Hawkmoths, feeding on the garden Nicotiana just after sunset, were a much-wanted addition to the Upton garden list #TeamMoth

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 6d ago

More interesting moth trap bycatch in the form of two of these beautiful #Ichneumonids at Quarr Farm campsite this morning, provisionally identified as Eutanyacra picta & a new species for me.

A slender Ichneumonid wasp rests vertically on a grey egg box. The wasp's body is mainly black, with red and white striping on the abdomen, ans it's long legs and antennae are banded black and red.

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 6d ago

Chancing the actinic at Quarr Farm campsite (just outside of Langton Mattravers) last night prod'd yet another Ni Moth, Sc.Bordered Straw, 2 Vestal, 5 Portland Ribbon Wave, Dark Sword-grass, 2 Turnip, 2 Euro Corn-borer, RDP, & Diamondback #TeamMoth @dorsetmoths.bsky.social @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

A grey and brown coloured Ni Moth rests, facing left, on a pale brown box. The moth has large black eyes and an obvious broken white "Y mark" on its wing.

A sandy coloured and triangular shaped Vestal moth rests, facing upwards, on an orange, blue, & white patterned chair back. The moth has a thin red line running across its wing.

A pale orange coloured Scarce Bordered Straw moth rests upright, facing left, on a blue egg box. The somewhat worn moth has bright green eyes and is subtle banded and stippled with brown.

Portland Bird Observatory @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social · 7d ago

Weird night in the Obs moth-traps: several completely blown out and very quiet but the ones within shelter were rammed full. The first island record of Large Conehead the highlight, with the first Obs gdn Verge Cricket and a Passenger great back-ups; also E ocellea, 7 Striped & 3 Convolvulus Hawks.

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 7d ago

A modest 168/70 in the Upton garden traps, after a surprisingly windy night, with highlights of Nutmeg, Treble-bar, Celypha rosaceana, Palpita vitrealis, & the first Agriphila geniculea of the year #TeamMoth @dorsetmoths.bsky.social

An arrowhead shaped Nutmeg moth rests, facing downward, on a grey egg box. The moth is finely banded with black, brown, and grey.

A long and slender Agriphila geniculea micromoth rests at an oblique downward angle on a red brick wall. The moth is light brown in colour, with a pair of sharply angled darker lines obvious on its wings.

An arrowhead shaped Treble-bar moth rests at an oblique upwards angle on a light brown wooden fence panel. The moth is pale grey, with three wide black and dark grey bands angled across its wings.

A satiny white Palpita vitrealis micromoth rests, wings spread and facing upward, o. The clear perspex sleeve of a moth trap, with the pale wooden wall of the trap visible in the bottom of the image and the background. The leading edge of the moth's wings is edged with gold, and the top of its spread front legs are ringed with the same colour.

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · last wk.

A typically inquisitive Southern Hawker, prowling the Privet hedge just now, brings the pond-less garden #Odonata list to a respectable 10 species.

Butterfly Conservation @savebutterflies.bsky.social · last wk.

Rare moth makes a comeback after more than 70 years! For decades, the only site where the Dark Bordered Beauty could be found in England was Strensall Common in Yorkshire. Now a second population has been rediscovered at the National Trust's Wallington estate, providing new hope for the species.

A Dark Bordered Beauty moth, with yellow and brown patterned wings, resting on a green leaf amongst grass

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · last wk.

As the ONLY natural history travel company donating ALL of its profits to nature conservation, & having provided expert guided holidays for nearly 40 years, it's great to see the @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social 2027 brochure up on the website wildlife-travel.co.uk/wp-content/u... Do take a look.

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · last wk.

It was great to watch y'day's partial eclipse from the St Aldhelm's Head patch with the other half. There was a real festival atmosphere - I've rarely seen the place so busy (or so many vehicles parked at the end of the private entrance track...)

A line of seated people are silhouetted against a blue sky as they sit behind a wire fenced field boundary on a coastal headland. The sun is visible in the right of the image and the sea is visible on the horizon to the left.

View westward from St Aldhelm's Head looking towards Portland, with the sun shining in a blue sky above the sea and brown clifftop vegetation visible in the foreground.

St Aldhelm's Chapel sits under a blue sky at the right of the image, with a line of parked vehicles stretching off to the right. A wire fence and brown coastal field are visible in the foreground and a sliver of sea is visible on the horizon.

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · last wk.

More interesting bycatch from the Upton garden moth trap this morning, with this large froghopper that appears to be the nationally rare Aphrophora major - an acid bog specialist feeding on Bog Myrtle #hemiptera

A large brown froghopper faces left on a grey-green egg box.

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · last wk.

267/78 in the Upton garden MV after a warm night incl'd the 9th(!) (camera shy) Ni Moth of the yr, Bordered Straw, Blair's Mocha, 3 Portland Ribbon Wave, 18 R.Veneer, 2 P.vitrealis, & 3 Euro Corn-borer, plus a box fresh Small Ranunculus #TeamMoth @dorsetmoths.bsky.social @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

A pair of orange, white, and black-banded Horse Chestnut Leaf-miner micromoths (2 of 45+ in the trap this morning) mating abdomen to abdomen on a grey-green egg box.

A buff coloured & densely stippled Blair's Mocha moth rests, wings spread, on a the bright green serrated lead of a Rowan. The moth has obvious, small, red-ringed white spots in the centre of each wing.

An arrowhead-shaped Small Ranunculus moth, vibrantly patterned with grey, grey-green, and dull orange spotting, rests facing upwards on a vermiculated black table top.

A Blood-vein moth rests, wings spread and obliquely facing right, on a grey-green egg box. The moth's acutely pointed wings are whitish-pinknin colour, with a think red line running the width of the forewings.

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 2w ago

Some impressive bycatch in the Upton garden moth trap this morning in the form of the inch long Hornet Rove-Beetle (Quedius dilatatus) - a scarce sp (unsurprisingly) associated with Hornet nests and looking a lot like a Devil's Coach-horse that's definitely been eating its greens #coleoptera

An elongate and black coloured Hornet Rove-Beetle rests on a reflective black table top, facing right and with its abdomen raised from the vertical.

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 2w ago

Migrant interest in the Upton garden traps this morning incl'd 2 Ni Moth, Langmaid's Yellow U'wing, Blair's Mocha, & Vestal, with a Striped HM briefly visiting the Nicotiana last night, plus Anania perlucidalis (NFG) & Agriphila latistria #TeamMoth @dorsetmoths.bsky.social @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

A slender Agriphila latistria micromoth, brown in colour with a broad white streak running the length of the wing), rests just off the vertical on a terracotta pot.

An Anania perlucidalis micromoth rests, wings spread, on the transparent perspex sleeve of a moth trap, with the white body of the trap visible behind. The moth's broad, cream coloured, wings are densely stippled with grey.

A Ni moth rests, head downward, on the pale wooden inner wall of a moth trap. The moth is subtly patterned in shades of grey, black, and brown, and shows a white "Y" mark in the centre of each wing.

A Ni moth rests horizontally, facing right, on a grey egg box. The moth is subtly patterned in shades of grey, black, and brown, and shows a broken white "Y" mark in the centre of each wing.

Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 2w ago

Looks like it has finally happened, British breeding #CaspianGull! #takingovertheworld #gulls #ukbirding

Screenshot of a many forwarded whatsapp announcement

David Steel @steelyseabirder.bsky.social · 2w ago

The last of our Pufflings on the Isle of May are leaving although it was still a surprise to find this little fella in the moth trap! I soon released it successfully into the North Sea

Peter Moore @moorebirdsbybike.bsky.social · 2w ago

The sea was boiling with Tuna feeding frenzies from Scillonian III last Sunday - seen with @purbeckpilgrim.bsky.social @beardybirder.bsky.social and @jolmitchell.bsky.social

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 2w ago

Several male Cistogaster globosa (Bishop's-mitre Parasite Fly) were nectaring on Wild Carrot at Monk Sherborne this morning - a really funky little tachinid that I don't encounter too frequently #diptera

A male Cistogaster globosa (Bishop's-mitre Parasite Fly) nectaring on white Wild Carrot flowers, against a blurred brown backdrop. The fly's abdomen is small, orange, and globular, with dark markings across the top, whilst the rest of its body is brownish. Its spread wings have orange bases.

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 2w ago

It's been a long time since I last saw a new UK butterfly species, so I was totally spoilt during a cross-border jaunt into Hants this morning, with both the Long-tailed Blues (3) at Portsdown Hill & the Queen of Spain Fritillaries (2+) at Monk Sherborne showing superbly @savebutterflies.bsky.social

A beautifully patterned Queen of Spain Fritillary, facing right and wings up, nectars on a pink thistle flower against a blurred brown backdrop. The base colour of the underside of the butterfly's wings is pale orange, with the forewing marked with black spots and the hindwing with large, reflective, silver patches.

A beautifully patterned Queen of Spain Fritillary, facing left and wings spread, rests atop a dead plantain flowerhead, against a blurred brown amd green backdrop. The butterfly's upperwings are pale orange marked with numerous black spots.

A Long-tailed Blue butterfly, facing left and with wings partially spread, rests on a dead grass stem, set against a blurred green and yellow background. The butterfly's upperwings are dark blue nearest its body, fading to blue-grey further out, and a single black spot and thin "tail" is present at the hindpoint of each hindwing.

A Long-tailed Blue butterfly, facing left and with wings closed, rests on a dead grass stem, set against a blurred green and yellow background. The butterfly's underwing is banded with grey and white, and two black spots and a thin "tail" is present at the hindpoint of the hindwing.

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 2w ago

Gem, Caloptilia honoratella, a brace of Portland Ribbon Wave, & a late Scorched Wing the best from the Upton garden traps this morning, alongside yet more Small Mottled Willow #TeamMoth @dorsetmoths.bsky.social @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

A Gem moth rests, wings spread and facing downward, on a grey-green egg box. The moth is banded in shades of brown & umber, with an obvious small white spot on each forewing.

A Small Mottled Willow moth, viewed from the side and facing right, rests on a dead brown flower head, against a blurred backdrop of brown and yellow vegetation. The moth has elongate wings which are greyish in colour, with an obvious brown spot.

A Portland Ribbon Wave moth, sporting bands of light brown and grey and with a small black dot in the centre of each wing, rests (wings spread and facing upwards) on a red brick wall.

A Scorched Wing moth rests, wings spread and facing right, on a grey-green egg box. The moth is striated with shades of fawn, pink, & umber.

Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 2w ago

Masses of butterflies were still crowding the thistles in Pier Bottom at St Aldhelm's Head this morning, including 6+ Clouded Yellows (with at least 1 'helice' female) & numerous fresh Small Coppers @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social

A bright orange and brown marked Small Copper butterfly feeds on a pink Creeping Thistle flower, with another flower visible above it.

A bright yellow Clouded Yellow butterfly, facing right, nectars on a purple Knapweed flower, set against a blurred backdrop of brown and green vegetation.