Jack Levene

@snapsjackel.bsky.social

Bird, dragonfly, butterfly, moth and other wildlife photographer. Living on Suffolk/Essex border. Founder of Wildlife Computing in 1989. See my photos at https://JackLevene.smugmug.com

Poor moth trapping recently but today that changed with Striped Hawk-moth (Hyles livornica) and Breckland Plume (Oxyptilus distans) both NFG and third records of both Oak Processionary (Thaumetopoea processionea) and Marbled Clover (Heliothis viriplaca) amongst 150 of 65. #suffolkmoths

Breckland Plume Oxyptilus distansStriped Hawk-moth (Hyles livornica)Marbled Clover (Heliothis viriplaca)

Went to Landseer Park in Ipswich hoping to see a Brown Hairstreak. I have never seen Brown Hairstreak before so was very pleased to find one. It showed briefly, long enough to get a quick picture but soon disappeared under leaves and appeared to be ovipositing. #suffolkbutterflies

BildBrown Hairstreak (Thecla betulae)

The smart Tawny Pipit at Landguard Common was largely elusive late afternoon today but eventually appeared close enough for a pic! Almost like a new tick, this is the first I have seen in Suffolk since 1991 and the first in the UK since 2003.

Tawny Pipit (Anthus campestris)

Today was the first chance I had to try for the probable 1st winter Isabelline Shrike (Daurian) (Lanius isabellinus isabellinus) at North Warren. Thankfully the bird was still present and showed extremely well in the sunshine. It was feeding well, frequently catching wasps.

Probable 1st winter Isabelline Shrike (Daurian) (Lanius isabellinus isabellinus)Probable 1st winter Isabelline Shrike (Daurian) (Lanius isabellinus isabellinus)

Yesterday was the first chance I had to get to Hollesley for the Brown Shrike. Windy conditions made viewing difficult the bird frequently spending long periods hunkered down in a bush sheltering from the wind. The bird was never close enough for good photos but I did manage some record shots.

Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus).  Not a great photo but this is the best I have of the tail.Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)

The Red-tailed (Turkestan) Shrike (Lanius phoenicuroides) at Dunwich Heath gave wonderful, prolonged views. The bird was feeding actively, the majority of prey items were wasps but was also catching spiders and bumblebees which it was also storing in a larder for later (see LH side of third photo)

Red-tailed Shrike (Lanius phoenicuroides)Red-tailed Shrike (Lanius phoenicuroides) with waspRed-tailed Shrike (Lanius phoenicuroides) with bumblebee in larder. see extreme left.

Just finished converting the Wildlife Recorder species IOC taxonomy to AviList. There are a lot of lumps, my World list of 3061 species lost 19 to lumps e.g Carrion and Hooded Crow are lumped and are now groups in a single species. Update is now available to Wildlife Recorder users

A coldish night with bright skies was not the best time to put out the MV trap so only 27 of 14 species were trapped. Of note , for my garden, were 1 Clancy's Rustic, I Cypress Pug and 1 Beet moth.

Clancy's Rustic (Caradrina kadenii)Beet Moth (Scrobipalpa ocellatella)Cypress Pug (Eupithecia phoeniceata)