(Sort of) One that got away...

I helped out with a meeting of a local RSPB Wildlife Explorers group my children are members of yesterday morning: they set their moth trap (another Robinson similar to the one I use) on a lakeside nature reserve, maybe 300 metres from our garden, and among a medium-sized but rather good haul caught this beauty:

Eyed Hawkmoth, 14th June (but not in our garden!)

Not a species I'd ever seen before, but given its proximity to us, I'll be looking forward to the possibility of one with some relish from here on in. Our own haul the last couple of nights has been decent if unspectacular: new species for the year have included on the 14th Silver Y and a couple of micro moths, Prays fraxinella and Celypha striana, and on the 15th Buff-tip and Shears (both new to the garden altogether), with a Brown China-mark also showing up during the day on the 16th. Bright-line Brown-eyes are becoming the default moth in the trap for the time being, which suits me fine as I think they're handsome creatures!

Buff-tip, 15th June

Brown China-mark, 16th June

Silver Y, 14th June

Celypha striana, 14th June