Description


A diary of my mothing activity covering highlights and photos from my moth trapping activities. Mainly Norfolk (UK), occasionally beyond. I may mention other wildlife sightings here, especially insects, but for birds see my birding diary.

Tuesday 19 April 2016

Possible Polecat

Thursday night produced Shoulder Stripe, Early Thorn, 3 Small Quakers, 2 Common Quakers, 6 Hebrew Characters and Early Grey.  A paltry total but better than the next few nights.  There was also a Red Chestnut, but the same distinctively worn individual that I'd trapped on Monday and Tuesday nights (and I trapped it again on Sunday night).

Shoulder Stripe, North Elmham, 14th April


Non-avian highlight on Friday was a Chinese Water Deer at Choseley in my lunch break.  The moth trap was dire with just Common Quaker and 2 Hebrew Characters.

Birding the patch on Saturday produced little non-avian animal/invert interest so I resorted to photographing some fungi in the hope that I might be able to identify some of it, not that I often succeed in that.  For some reason I thought this bracket fungus was going to be more interesting than Turkeytail, but in the end I think it might just be that.  (Update: thanks again to James for commenting - apparently I need to see the underside, but could be Turkeytail or Yellowing Curtain Crust).


possible Turkeytail, Bittering, 16th April


This one hanging off a Birch didn't look like anything I remembered seeing before.  I think it's Yellow Brain, though there is at least one other similar species.  (Update: James agrees - either this or Tremella aurantia - need to see what it's feeding on as they have different host fungi, but on this example that might be tricky - the branch overhangs water so I can't get any nearer or a different angle).


probable Yellow Brain, Bittering, 16th April


Not sure about the next, probably one of the Waxcaps?  (Update: James says no, which I'm quite relieved about in a way as I've identified Waxcaps before and didn't think this was like them.  Looking at the books later I thought some of the Waxcaps looked similar while the other similar-lloking fungi weren't grassland species.  Anyway James is the man and he suggests Galerina sp.  Yep, I can see that now.)

possible Waxcap sp., Bittering, 16th April


I think the next one is Jelly Ear.  It was on a fallen branch at the base of a Copper Beech tree.  (Update: yes... James says I'm right.  Hoorah!)


Jelly Ear, Bittering, 16th April


There were no moths at all on Saturday night despite the trap being out all night.  Sunday wasn't much better with 2 Hebrew Characters.  Earlier on Sunday evening I had a look round Lolly Moor in the hope that some moths might be flying in the evening sunshine.  They weren't.  Some more fungi though including this Bracket fungus that I can't put a name to.  Doesn't help that I can't remember what tree it was on.  (Update: thanks again to James who says Blushing Bracket... and that the tree was therefore probably Willow).


Blushing Bracket, Lolly Moor, 17th April


On Sunday morning I noticed a dead animal on the B1145 just east of Billingford.  It seemed to resemble a Polecat, though it might have been a lookalike Ferret.  Polecats are very difficult to separate from some Ferrets (which are basically domesticated Polecats I think).  I returned later in the day in the hope of taking photos but there was no sign of it any more.

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