My Cuckoo, Valentine, is now covering large distances in Africa. Here is the latest bulletin from the BTO.
Valentine has also been busy over recent days. Since our last update he has flown 1,351 km (811 miles) east from Burkina Faso to Nigeria. He is 3.5 km (2.2 miles) north of the town of Bebeji in Kano State in northern Nigeria. In 2019 he stayed in Burkina Faso until mid-November, not reaching Nigeria until 24 November so it is interesting that he has moved east so much earlier this year.
Uncommon moth. 15th August 2020.
On first inspecting the moth trap in the morning the moths, which are mainly night flyers, have all settled down under the egg boxes where they will remain until nightfall. Recently there was a wildly fluttering moth, a Jersey Tiger, when I first looked. These are not as common as the similar species the Garden Tiger and are worth a photo. However I made the mistake of defering the picture until after breakfast and it managed to escape. I am indebted to a Devon friend for a picture of one of three Jersey Tigers which appeared in her garden.
My tagged Cuckoo has reached his winter quarters. Here is the latest bulletin from the BTO.
Since arriving in Mali, Valentine has moved 20 km (12.5 miles)
west, towards the Sahel river. He is now 22 km (14 miles) north east of
the town of Niono in the Ségou region of Mali. The temperature is
currently 31 degrees C and it is the rainy season. In Niono, most rain
falls during the 31 days centered around August 13, with an average
total accumulation of 5.7 inches. Last year Valentine stayed in west
Africa until mid-November so we don't expect him to make any more big
movements anytime soon.
Most of the moths caught in my nightly moth trap are old friends, seen many times before, but at not infrequent intervals a new one will turn up. Quite often it will turn out to be a species not recorded in the 2x2 Km square in which Martinstown sits. This is not surprising, as far as I know I am the only one recording in the village and there are 1876 species of moths known in the county.
Last night this dramatic moth ,a Black Arches, arrived. Moth names often give a clue to their appearance, this is no exception.
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| Black Arches Photo: John Elliott |
My sponsored Cuckoo, Valentine, has now completed his crossing of the Sahara. Here is the latest report from the BTO. Over the last few days Valentine has made a huge movement south,
flying 2,840 km (1,764 miles) from his previous location in southern
Spain across the Sahara into Mali. At 05:37 this morning he was in
southern Mali, approximately 320 km (199 miles) north-east of the
capital Bamoko. In 2019 Valentine first stop after crossing the Sahara
was a few hundred miles east in Burkina Faso, where he stayed until
mid-November. 