Only the second Herald I’ve trapped in 3 years at Rye, so it deserves an honorary mention and photo. This moth emerges in late summer and hibernates as an adult, re-emerging from March, hence the rather worn red-orange patches on the forewings. It’s quite large, about 2 cm long, and the bright patches, crosslines and scalloping are diagnostic. The larval foodplants are willow, aspen and poplar, and adults feed by night at flowers, ivy, ripe berries and sugar. Never common, it comes to light only in ones and twos, so it’s definitely a nice find in the moth trap!

In the 1950’s Brian Heritage told me that they rapidly colonised new gravel pits at Lydd Airport, and I was told of local school boys who,  just before the 1st World War, used to catch leeches on Dungeness and place them in jars with frogs to watch them feed on them.  I came across an even older record last week in an article in the Zoologist, published in 1896 by Boyd Alexander who described a trip to the Hoppen “Petts” (the Open Pits, as we know them today) which he described as two large pieces of water of unknown depth, fringed with treacherous reedbeds possessing all the qualities of a treacherous bog, that were the home to numerous leeches.  Although he did not identify the species I suspect it was the blood-sucking medicinal leech he was refering to.

Interestingly at that time there was a breeding colony of black headed gull nesting next to the pits, unlike today, and there would not have been any willows fringing the pools, as is the case now.  These water bodies are still highly treacherous, however, and this feature, together with the surrounding band of willow means that we do not know if the leeches still survive in these pits today.

So as I journeyed south I anticipated a chorus of breeding frogs in my pond. Not a squeak.  It was totally devoid of them, despite having held five frogs a few weeks ago, and one female last week? So what is going on?

Perhaps it is still too early?  I rather doubt that because the weather down here seems mild enough.

Our pond has Chytrid disease, but so far this infection has never been found to affect common frogs, occuring on newts and toads instead.  There has been no sign of frogs with Rana virus in our garden, another recently imported infection that can devastate frog populations.

Could another neighbour have created a shallow pond in a sunnier part of the garden?  Frogs are notoriously fickle if warmer water is available for breeding.  It is a possibility.

But I also suspect a couple of predators may have finally impacted on my frog population.  We have a burgeoning population of newts, and it is several years since I saw any froglets successfully emerge from the pond.  We also get visited by a local heron, so perhaps it finished off the few remaining adults?

Whatever the cause of the mystery our pond is rather quiet and sad.  I hope I am wrong and they are just late!

Seawatching from West St Leonards and Hastings Harbour produced c.1500 Brent Geese, 50 common scoter, 5 garganey, 17 teal, 13 shoveler, 5 wigeon, 2 pintail, 8 eider, 2 red-breasted merganser, 7 gadwall, and a shelduck. As well as wildfowl a little gull, a marsh harrier, a merlin and a red-necked grebe were recorded moving east, also small numbers of black-headed gull.

Grounded migrants recorded included a firecrest at West Hill and 3 wheatear at Glyne Gap. Three purple sandpiper were also at Glyne Gap.

Firecrest at Watch Cottage yesterday.