Rare Moth.

 Missed by the moth trap but arriving through the bathroom window last night was the rare Jersey Tiger Moth. Thought to be an imegrant which only occurs along the south coast, my last record was in July 2020. 

Jersey Tiger Moth. Photo. John Elliott. Click to enlarge. 

 

 

 

 

There have been a number of records so far this year, it is thought to be having a good year.
 

Elm Trees.

When I came to Dorset fifty years ago there was a magnificent avenue of Elm trees as you entered Dorchester along the Bridport Road, now all gone having succumbed to Dutch Elm disease. For a while a Witch Elm by the old 

Dying Wiley Croft Elms. Photo. John Elliott. Click to enlsrge.

Pound at the western edge of the village seemed to be surviving but that eventually browned and died.  What remained were a few very young elms, perhaps only three or four years old, one behind the derelict Reading Room and four just below Wiley Croft. Ten years later the Reading Room one is completely dead, and this year some of the Wiley Croft ones, though breaking out with green leaves have now turned brown and are unlikely to see another summer.

Beautful Demoiselle Damselfly.

 

                                            Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly.   Photo: John Elliott. Click tro enlarge

Every time I report Beautiful Demoiselles in my garden  I am told it is scarce in the South West, with the field guide showing it no further west than Hampshire. First found down the Weymouth Road three years ago it is now a frequent visitor to the village and seen almost daily. It only breeds in running water so likely to be working its way up the South Winterborne rather than breeding in my small pond. Three of the bright, metalic blue males were present in my very overgrown front garden today, as also was a single Southern Hawker Dragonfly.  These rarely settle so no picture I am afraid.

My new Cuckoo

 My new Cuckoo, Arthur, flies south.

The latest bulletin from the BTO on my new Cuckoo.    Arthur surges south Another of our Suffolk Cuckoos, Arthur, has also beaten the desert. He has taken the westerly route via Morocco, Western Sahara and Mauritania to reach his current location in Senegal in west Africa. Both Ashok and Arthur were tagged at Surlingham Marshes in Suffolk but right now they are 2,200 miles apart!

 

My new Cuckoo.

                                                        
 I have sponsored a new cuckoo and received the first bulletin from the BTO today.

 

Status : Active
Tagged : Sat, May 31, 2025 - 07:30
Age when found : Adult
Tagging Location : Worlingham Marshes, Suffolk

Satellite Tag No. : 286062
Wing Length (mm) : 229
Sex : Male

Arthur's journey from 31st May 2025 to 8th July 2025

Updates on Arthur 's movements

Arthur springs into Spain

07 Jul 2025

Arthur is another of our Cuckoos who seemed quite content hanging around in Suffolk, before suddenly springing into action and heading south. He is already in south-western Spain, more than 1,750 km (1,087 miles) away from where he was tagged at Worlingham Marshes on 31 May. 

Just north of Seville, Arthur is in the wooded hillsides within the Dehesas de Sierra Morena Biosphere Reserve, known for its Iberian Lynx, Black Vultures and Wolves.

08 Jul 2025

Arthur has now crossed over into Morroco .

Introducing Arthur

12 Jun 2025

Arthur was tagged at Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s Worlingham Marshes reserve, in the Broads National Park on May 31.

Not much to look at, but-

 Every so often something new appears in the village and it is always worth checking to see if it has been recorded before. It was exciting therefore to find that a small, hardly noticeable, plant growing on the grass verge outside my house had not been. Here it is.

You will see why I put 'not much to look at' on the heading. My first thought was this must be a very stunted Dove's Foot Cranesbill going by the shape of the broad leaves, but on checking in the Flora it seems to be Small Flowered Cranesbill, Geranium pusillum. The lilac flowers, only a quarter of an inch wide, are stated to be common in the Poole Basin but rare in the west of Dorset. Click to enlarge the photo to find them.

Unsurprisingly there is no Dorset name for this plant, though its close Geranium relative, Herb Robert, has many. (Shortly after I took the photo the Dorset Council mower came along, but I hope they flower again.)