Sheepdrove Organic Farm, National Moth Night, 18 Sept 2009

The Berkshire Moth Group visited Sheepdrove Organic Farm near Lambourn for National Moth Night on Friday 18th September 2009. One of the most productive lights was in the Herb Garden at the back of the Eco-Conference Centre. Highlights of the catch here included Deep-brown Dart, Black Rustic and Oak Hook-tip. In the background, the bat-detector clicked away and the rams in the next paddock (who were taking a keen interest in the proceedings) emitted a chorus of grunts and belches. Waste water from the Conference Centre is filtered through a series of reed-beds and ponds. A walk through the reed-bed with torches revealed various moths, including Sallow and Large Wainscot on the flower-heads of the reeds. The actinic trap there caught the only Beaded Chestnut of the night. Sheepdrove Farm is high up in the Berkshire Downs and a long way from any other reed-beds, but this has not prevented specialist reed-bed moths from colonising the site. Three traps were run in or adjacent to Nut Wood, an area of ancient woodland. The commonest moths in the woods were Common Marbled Carpet, Green Carpet and Snout. Tawny Owls were calling from the trees. Two other Robinson traps were run in the Paddock between the wood and the Conference Centre. Their catch included the only Bulrush Wainscot and Frosted Orange. In all, 36 species of moth were identified and the event was attended by 20 people. We would like to thank Sheepdrove Organic Farm and ecologist Jason Ball for their excellent hospitality at this very interesting location. (See also Jason Ball's account on the Sheepdrove blog.)