A splash of yellow for spring...

I've always rather liked Yellow-throated Warblers, but they have mostly remained elusive for me in Ontario. Anyway, as luck would have it I had the opportunity to twitch one this morning in a small park near Stoney Creek near Hamilton. And what a fantastic bird it was too! Very obliging and putting on a great show for the few birders present. It sang a few times which was nice since I'm pretty sure I have never heard one sing before. Mostly it crept around on the trunks and large limbs of trees B&W Warbler fashion - very distinctive.

Other birds present included Pine, Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers and numerous Kinglets. We looked for the Least Bittern reported nearby but drew a blank with that one. Not too surprizing since the bird was seen in the middle of a small woodlot in the middle of nowhere in particular!

No moths in the trap overnight. I did see a nice Black-and-white Warbler on the way to Hugh's place though, and there did seem to be lots of White-throated Sparrows around...

Eric the half-a-wing...

And apologies to anyone out there who is not a Monty Python fan!

Well, they jusy keep coming. Only one moth in the trap and another new one for the back yard list. This time it was Phigalia titea, The Half-Wing. Was in immaculate condition and sat very nicely for the obligatory photo-shoot.


The Half-Wing is fairly common in Ontario, but is rarely encountered because of its early and relatively short flight period. I hadn't seen this geometrid for a few years so was well pleased with this one. The food plants include American basswood, American elm, blueberry, hickories, maple, oaks and poplars.

Compared to the Small Phigalia of a few days ago, The Half-Wing is markedly larger with bold, crisp blackish lines and speckling.

Not many birds this morning. Singing Ruby-crowned Kinglets and White-throated Sparrows and not a lot else...

Quaking Quakers...

The small run of back yard moths continues with this smart-looking Speckled Green Fruitworm Moth. This is a regular moth in the back yard in early spring - indeed it is usually the first moth I catch. It is part of a small group of moths in the genus Orthosia, usually known as Quakers.




This species is generally rather drab with some reddish shading in the median part of the forewing. Notice the black blob within the reniform spot and the heavy reddish shading along the st. line. This species can be separated from the otherwise similar Ruby Quaker by antenna form - serrate in this species and bipectinate in Ruby.

Few birds this morning. A singing Chipping Sparrow was nice. Better was a distant singing Eastern Towhee - bit of a rarity in these parts.

Oh, what a gem...

A bit naff this morning with only a single Gem in the trap. I think it may be my earliest ever in the back yard though so highly significant!



Orthonama obstipata - The Gem. This one is a male. It is quite common and may be a partial migrant to southern Ontario. The larvae feed on a wide variety of plants.

Very few birds this morning. Singing Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Song Sparrow, a few Robins and blackbirds flying over and the odd Flicker waking everyone up. Most exciting was an immature Herring Gull flying over, a species I rare see here for some unknown reason.

Glorious weather brings moffs...

Well, it's always nice to catch the first moths of spring, and especially so when one of them is new for the old back yard list. After some initial faffing around this season due to me leaving ALL my moth gear up at the cottage last July before departing for UK , I was able to "borrow" back an old trap from a friend in order to get things started - thanks Karen for bringing this vital equipment over!

First night I caught nothing! This in spite of warm overnight temperatures. Last night I trapped two moths. We'll see how it progresses from here. Is always slow in the city for spring moth catching.



This is a small micro in the family Tischeriidae, quite possibly Tischeria zelleriella but I'm not confident enough to call it for sure. Is a small shiny buff moth with a deeper orange-yellow head and shading on outer half of the forewing. If I nail the id. I'll be sure to let you, the waiting world, know all about it...



This is Phigalia strigataria, the Small Phigalia. I was most pleased with this since I'd not seen one for many years and didn't have decent photos. It was sitting on the top of the trap when I went out early this morning to check for birds flying over. Was new for the back yard list - hooray! It is a common geometrid in southern Ontario which is on the wing fron April to mid May. The larvae feed on American Elm and other trees.

There were a few birds whizzing over early on. New for the yard for the year were Chipping Sparrow (4), Common Loon (6), Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Yellow-rumped Warbler and an early Chimney Swift. Up to 42 species now which is more in line with the average for this date.

The Gibson...

Here's another guitar for ya...


I was playing this "Black Beauty" whilst I was in Kent, Uk last year - my friend Phil generously let me use it for several months. I loved it so much I decided to buy it off him! Hopefully my sister Rosemary will be able to bring it over when she visits in June. Can't wait...to see Rose AND the guitar of course...

It is, of course, a lovely Gibson Les Paul Custom. It plays beautifully and sounds great. It's very solid and rather heavy but has tons of character. Is a few years old but has been looked after well and looks very swish!

Moths? I've seen none...but my son James caught one whilst he was playing street hockey a couple of evenings ago. Sounded like a Spring Cankerworm Moth - way to go James! I have a photo of one on one of my April posts from last year if you'd like to take a look...

The Big Shiny Hollowbody...

Well, it does say in my bio that I like big shiny guitars...and they don't come bigger and shinier that this one! The dude with the flower necklace, Mr. Cavesson (see comments) let me "borrow" this one for a while. Is a lovely guitar to play, loadsa tone.

"This has nothing to do with moths" - I hear you say in unison. Well, maybe not, but is a big part of my life right now and even TMM has to do something whilst awaiting the first moths of spring...if we ever get one this year that is...

All systems go...

Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes The Moth Man, once again, rises from the burnt-out wreckage of his ancient and mystical moth trap! And, as always, he is glad to be back in the land of the living bloggers! Okay, you can all breath a sigh of relief now and start sending in all those inane comments we all know and love. Mr. Bolder...come on down, Bushy Bill, come on down, Gulp, Moth Chick and, of course and needless-to-say, Ms. Dong, do please come on down!

Just one thing...how are ya gonna know I'm back...


Oh how I wish I had a better photgraph of this delightful creature. This once majestic luminous gem looks as though it has survived a thousand moth-goop induced drunken binges only to end up in TMMs cunningly set trap! Well folks, it is all uphill from here I promise. I'm gonna turn over a new scaly wing and try to contribute to these hallowed pages on a semi-regular basis. Give me a break though cuz it is cold out there...and there are no moffs right now...and I AM very busy...and and and blah blah blah.

BTW this once lovely moth is indeed Actias luna - the Luna Moth. And it's gonna be my mission to bring to you a better image sometime this summer...so watch out...