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Fourth garden Clouded Yellow this autumn/year/ever this afternoon, a Wheatear on nextdoor's roof, and a few hirundines still trickling south #loveautumn #salopobs #ukbirding

Clouded Yellow taking off from a dandelion

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Corn Bunting has become more and more regular at #salopobs over the last few years, but this morning's flock of 14 doubled the previous high #ukbirding

3 Corn Buntings in the very top of the Ash tree

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Reposted by Tom Lowe

Cellular Tracking Technologies @celltracktech.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

A Northern Waterthrush tagged in Cape May, NJ left after sunset on Sep 11. Two weeks later it was over Colombia! Jamaica -> Colombia included ~800 km of open Caribbean. 3,082 km so far! @birdscanada.bsky.social @originalstu.bsky.social #MotusWTS #BirdMigration #ornithology @nature.org

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Third garden record of Clouded Yellow this afternoon, all this month but this was the only one to sit still. Morning #vismig produced 474 Mipits and 2 Swallows #loveautumn #salopobs #ukbirding

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Lovely lunar halo out there tonight, first one I've seen for a long time #loveautumn #moon

The waxing Moon shining through a veil of high cirrus cloud, creating an optical effect known as a 22 degree lunar halo

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Vestals have taken on the baton from SMWs in terms of daily occurrence in the #salopobs mothtrap, although there were two of each today in the sea of Lunar Underwings #salopmoths #teammoth

A smart pink-tinged and very pink-striped Vestal perched in the grass

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Red sky in the morning, gloriously-sunny-and-freakishly-warm-for-September warning. Migrant Song Thrushes at #salopobs first thing, and another flock of #nocmig Common Scoters overnight #ukbirding

Fantastic orange and red sunrise sky over the Wrekin (bottom left) from the front garden

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

A Delicate (our 3rd, Shropshire's ~8th) was this morning's highlight amongst a sea of 126 Lunar Underwings and the first SMW for a while #salopmoths #teammoth #vc40

A Delicate and a Beaded Chestnut amongst Lunar Underwings

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

What a day. One of the best Leach's days for years. 36 in 2.5hrs for me, and reports of lots more all day, wish I could have stayed. A fully-spooned pale adult Pom was the icing on the cake #seawatching #ukbirding #superseabirdsunday

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

This delightful adult Baird's Sand was a great find for a friend on a farm pond local to where I grew up yesterday, and it did the decent thing by remaining until I was passing today. Only 200m outside #shropshirebirding... #ukbirding

Adult Baird's Sandpiper on a muddy field flood

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Magical morning on the Wirral with 36 Leach's Storm-petrels heading west into the wind, some more offshore than others 😍 #seawatching #superseabirdSunday

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Watching and listening to Common Scoters on the coast the other day reminded me of another flock of #nocmig birds over #salopobs last week, the same night as a Turnstone, garden tick 💥153💥 our 20th species of wader! #ukbirding

7 drake and 1 female Common Scoter in flight over the sea. Imagine a similar flock heading west over woods and stubble fields in the dark! 🤯

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Drizzly autumn morning at #salopobs produced the first Pinks of the year (11 NW), Marsh Tit, 740 LBBGs, 2 Yellow Wags, 4 Little Egrets west, 140 Swallows SW, Chiffs, raptors... #vismig #ukbirding

Juvenile Sparrowhawk pausing to reassess House Sparrow attack tactics

Lesser Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls

Juvenile Goshawk monitoring the gull flocks with me

Screenshot of Marsh Tit spectrogram recorded on the Merlin app in the garden

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Pearly Underwing amongst the brown this morning. Still less than annual in Shropshire according to West Mids Moths #teammoth #salopmoths #vc40

Pearly Underwing showing its little white landing lights

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

More blue sky wader #vismig today when this Whimbrel merrily headed west over inland #lincsbirding farmland #ukbirding #loveautumn

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The pink theme continued with another 6 Vestals 💖 this morning, and Small Mottled Willows passed 550 for the year 🤯 #salopmoths #teammoth #vc40 #notthesouthcoast

Pink-tinged Vestal clinging to a blade of grass

A duller (cooler-bred?) Vestal nestled between bramble thorns

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Roobarb! Shropshire's first Rosy Knot-horn made it through the rain last night along with a fresh Scarce Bordered Straw, 3 Vestals of varying flavours, 4 Angle Shades, 5 Silver Ys, SMW... #salopmoths #teammoth @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

Rhubarb and Custard / Rosy Knot-horn / Oncocera semirubella in a glass tube on moss

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Came home to find 2 ad YLGs behind #salopobs with 620 LBBGs and a plough. Not as good odds as #GooleFields (where these were taken), but nice to see after such a lean summer for them (not just me it seems, as mentioned in the latest @birdguides.bsky.social podcast) #lovegulls

And another adult Yellow-legged Gull with Lesser Black-backed Gulls

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

#vismig gold this morning when 3 Barwits flew west over the East Yorkshire Wolds in a clear blue sky, presumably overlanding to the Irish Sea?! #yorkshirebirding #ukbirding

3 Bar-tailed Godwits migrating through a clear blue sky into the lightest of westerly breezes

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

More East Yorkshire Casps today, 2cy, 1cy and something German in a field above Burton Agnes with 1,000 Herring Gulls #lovegulls #CaspianGull #yorkshirebirding

Slightly grotty looking Caspian or Cactus (cachinnans x argentatus) with yellow ring H4CPC

H4CPC looking a bit better at a distance

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

This lovely little Birch Mocha was new for me on #GooleFields today #teammoth

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

⚠️ First Pinks of the year alert ⚠️ 19 dropped onto Thorne Moors at dusk last night and these 16 have just lit up the blue sky over #GooleFields 😍 #loveautumn #skybluePinks #yorkshirebirding

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The #GooleFields gull flocks produced this ad Baltic type today, mahogany-hued and attenuated with primary moult up to P3 whilst most graellsii were around P7. Not bad but not ideal. Also 15 YLGs, the 3+Casps & a GBBG amongst 500+ LBBGs #lovegulls #yorkshirebirding #ukbirding @tmbirding.bsky.social

Adult Baltic Gull candidate between adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Adult Baltic Gull candidate with adult Lesser Black-backed and Yellow-legged Gulls

Adult Baltic Gull candidate in flight showing P1 growing and P2/3 missing. No moult at all would be better...

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

1cy Casps have become a feature of East Yorkshire autumns since I was last at #GooleFields and today 3+ welcomed me back onto the hallowed ground! #lovegulls #yorkshirebirding #ukbirding

1cy Caspian Gull (back right) with Lesser Black-backed Gulls

1cy Caspian Gull (back right) with Yellow-legged and Common Gulls

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Unless anyone tells me otherwise, this hefty micro appears to be a Great Fungus Moth (Morophaga choragella), c5th for Shropshire! Two county rares next to each other last night (amongst 255/28 in two traps) #teammoth #salopmoths @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

A 13mm behemoth in a tiny glass tube. Great Fungus Moth

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Feels good and mothy out there and the new LED trap is currently buzzing. What appears to be Shropshire's 3rd Buttoned Snout has already found it, which is nice #teammoth #salopmoths #vc40

A Buttoned Snout on the house wall, the third for the county according to West Mids Moths, following others in 1908 and 2002! Fluffed potting it though...

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

When a friend sent this gripping pic of a Clouded Yellow in his Lancs garden, I showed it to Alex amidst a flurry of (complimentary) adjectives. She looked out of the kitchen window and calmly replied that there was one flying across our garden 😱 My photo wasn't quite as gripping...✅️ #ukbutterflies

Stuart's excellent photo of his garden Clouded Yellow

My not quite so impressive photo of our Clouded Yellow departing high east 🧐

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

A fancy raspberry-tinged Vestal was amongst 9 Silver Ys and a lone Small Mottled Willow at #salopobs this morning #teammoth #salopmoths

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Saved the best for last in the holiday mothtrap with this smart and very localised Black-banded this morning, alongside presumably Ceredigion's 4th L-album Wainscot and an Olive-tree Pearl #teammoth #llangrannog @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

Black-banded on the patio this morning. A smart and very localised coastal moth

Black-banded from the side. A really smart moth

L-album Wainscot on a lump of wood. Less well-marked than the one from a couple of days ago so presumably a different individual

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Happy 1st September! Best day of the year, start of meteorological #autumn - we made it through another summer. Season of moths and mellow fruitfulness 🍂🧡

Llangrannog beach and Carreg Bica through the sloes and bracken near our cottage this morning. Welcome to autumn!

Frosted Orange moth on blackberries this morning

Lilac Beauty moth on the patio this morning

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

L-album Wainscot is just the third for Ceredigion according to the county recorder, following other coastal records in Sept 2016 and Oct 2018 #teammoth #migrantmothuk

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Two new wainscots for me in the holiday LED trap in Llangrannog: an absolutely stunning L-album and a tiny Small. Also 2 SMWs, Silver Y, 2 Rush Veneers #teammoth @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

Immaculate L-album Wainscot on the patio

Small Wainscot, also on the patio where it was found under the LED trap

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

A Bittern flew over #salopobs early on Monday morning, giving seven clear calls over 4mins, a year to the day after the only previous autumn record. Same bird?! Not annual in the county but that's the 7th #nocmig record for the garden 💥 macaulaylibrary.org/asset/663744... #ukbirding

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Juvenile waders are some of the best birds, and juvenile Curlew Sands are some of the best juvenile waders. This stunner at Venus Pool today is an excellent #shropshirebirding record #ukbirding

Juvenile Curlew Sandpiper feeding constantly. All day

Juvenile Curlew Sandpiper looking as crisp as a... Dorito

Juvenile Curlew Sandpiper jumping for joy at finding some decent mud in Shropshire for once

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Second eclipse of the month! 🌘 Worth getting up for the 93% partial lunar eclipse this morning in practically the same piece of sky as the solar eclipse #shropshire

Maximum eclipse when the Moon turned orange and the stars appeared

Maximum eclipse through a bit of hazy cloud

Another glimpse before the Moon dropped behind the wood

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Another evening of spectacular skies as thunderstorms passed either side of us again. Structure, lightning, and a whole lot of rumbling #shropshire #stormhour

Dazzling lightning through the clouds to the north from the back garden

Brilliant structure on the approaching storm

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Always leave the mothtrap on during thunderstorms! What might be the first Evergestis extimalis for the West Mids, along with the county's 6th or 7th Delicate, Vestal, 10 SMWs... #salopmoths #teammoth #vc40 @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

Marbled Yellow Pearl (Evergestis extimalis) on the windowsill. West Mids Moths website has no records but anything could've happened in this crazy year...

Delicate, the second garden record and maybe 6th or 7th for the county

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Finally getting in on the storms after dark tonight. Some huge flashes of lightning beyond the Wrekin #shropshire #stormhour

A bright pink-tinged flash of c-c lightning above the Wrekin (centre left with the beacon shining near the summit), taken from our front gate this evening

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Can anyone ID these bugs please? Photographed on my car tyre, but they were at a similar high density across acres and acres of OSR stubble in Devon today, billions of em!

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Awesome rumbling skies from the garden today. Makes a refreshing change from the endless sunshine #stormhour #loveukweather ⛈️

Clouds and rain approaching over the yellow fields

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Really pleased to come across a flock of 8 Cattle Egrets with cows by the Ribble at Freckleton this morning to a backdrop of 20 Spoonbills, 2 Great & 30 Little Egrets #lancsbirding #ukbirding

6 of the 8 Cattle Egrets amongst the cows

2 Great and 2 Little Egrets roosting on the Ribble

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

A moth flew into the car whilst I was parked near Fleetwood today. It's 2026, so of course it was a Small Mottled Willow #teammoth

Small Mottled Willow inside the car door

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Experimented last night with cheap UV LEDs as described recently by @andysymes.bsky.social - needs work but 150/31 including SMWs back up to 18 and Treble-bar NFY #salopmoths #teammoth #vc40

A plastic bottle clad in UV LED tape, resting in an old actinic funnel

A sample egg box full of moths the next morning

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

The rise of Poplarism... still nothing stripey but a handful of Poplar Hawks this morning, a visit from a Hummer as I was going through the trap, and the SMW tally reached 451 (78, 74, 72 the last 3 days) #salopmoths #teammoth #vc40

Another Small Mottled Willow on an egg box. Number 451 so far this year

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

During yesterday's eclipse, we found a drought-toned Vestal in the garden. After dark there were two on the buddleia, and this morning, six in the mothtrap #salopmoths #teammoth #vc40 #vestalinterest

Partial solar eclipse through clouds and wildfire smoke

Male Vestal and Silver Y nectaring on buddleia

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

An impressive 425 macros of 40 spp this morning, including a White-point (only 5 county records on West Mids Moths?), a well-travelled Bordered Straw, 2 Maiden's Blush, 6 Vestals and 💥78💥 SMWs! #salopmoths #teammoth @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

White-point packed in with some of the 147 Common Wainscots

A particularly small and battered Bordered Straw

Vestal, Small Mottled Willow, a little weevil and a bug

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Well that was a really fun evening, watching the partial solar eclipse from the back garden using the Swaro to project it onto some baking paper #astrophotography

A skinny crescent of sun at maximum partial eclipse, phonescoped through clouds

The crescent sun projected through a telescope onto some baking paper

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Really pleased for this stunning fella. Two nest failures this year, but one was early (due to wind and rain can you believe it?!) and so replaced, and juvs successfully fledged. He was non-stop all summer, so nice to see him leisurely mooching about today #marshharrier #ukbirding

Exquisite male Marsh Harrier over stubble

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Tom Lowe @saloplarus.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Finally! After hearing dozens over this amazing summer and thinking I'd missed my chance now that drought and harvest have pushed them further north, I managed to see a #Quail this morning as it shuffled around in the stubble with the Corn Buntings. Brilliant! #yorkshirebirding #ukbirding

Head and shoulders above the stubble, a Quail on the edge of one of the few remaining (partially) unharvested cereal fields left in the land

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