Birdie-bug-bug

My main interests are birds and butterflies, moths in particular. I always try to find some when travelling abroad, but without a trap I had to cope with random lamps around the hotel. Not the greatest catch, but I managed to put a name to most of them: Lunar Thorn ( Selenia lunularia) . This species is actually one of 3 Selenia -species that can also be found in Norway, but this was the only one not present in Western Norway, and therefore also the one I had not seen before. A generalist living on a number of different trees and bushes.  Cerastis faceta . Occuras around the western part of the Mediterranean. A polyphagous species with a number of host plants. Cilix hispanica . A moth in the Drepanidae -family, found around the western Mediterranean. Mainly on Prunus - species (plums, cherries etc). Shuttle-shaped Dart ( Agrotis puta ). Mainly in southern Europe and North-Africa, but recorded a few times as far north as Scandinavia. Gerinia honoraria (= Campaea

Spent last week in Tarifa, Spain watching migrants crossing the Straits of Gibraltar. My first visit here. Excellent birding but you can't stop wherever you like along the road like you can in Extremadura, the traffic is terrible. Nice weather although the wind was a bit strong at times. Three afternoons with westerlies at Punta Carnero was magical at times, as birds were coming in low over the sea and gliding low overhead as they gained altitude along the cliffs. The migration in late March/early April is dominated by Booted Eagle, Black Kite and Short-toed Snake Eagle. I've made a quick selection of mostly booted eagles and Short-toed Snake Eagles as a first entry to this brand new blog!    Booted eagle, adult pale phase  Booted eagle, adult pale phase Booted eagle, adult pale phase  Booted eagle, adult dark phase underside.       Booted eagle, adult dark phase upperside. same as above. Punta Carnero March 27th. Booted eagles and b