Elephant Hawk Moth

The other night a big moth flew in through the open patio doors, presumably attracted by the light. I tried to chase it out before I closed the doors, but it disappeared, and I thought, Oh well I'll find it dead in the morning somewhere. When I put out the breakfast bowls in the kitchen before bedtime, I spotted the moth on the floor. Quickly I got a glass out and intended to catch it in order to set it free outside. It did not move much, only enough to attach itself to the outside of the glass.

It was then that I discovered how beautiful it was. Wow! The moth seemed content to just sit there, making no attempt to fly off. So I got the camera out and got some stunning pictures. I later researched it on the net and found that it was an Elephant Hawk Moth, quite common in both the UK and on the European continent. Did you know there are such colourful moths out there? I thought they were all grey or pale brown, but this!?

On a sadder note, I discovered that our garden had turned into some nasty killing fields. As you might remember I feed the birds all year, and at this particular time there are a great number of them, in particular since they all have had little ones. But next to the feeding place there is a shrub, that until yesterday had like a skirt of branches hanging down, a perfect hiding place for cats. You can guess the rest. I found a total of fifteen (15!) Great Tits, mostly young ones, in various states of decay under that shrub. There are still loads of them, but sometimes I can't help but think that Mother Nature is very cruel. I had seen birds getting caught on a couple of occasions, but it wasn't until I lifted up the low branches that I discovered the whole gruesome truth. The most annoying thing about it is that the cats don't eat them, they just kill them. I know it is instinct rather than malice, but anyway. Consequently I trimmed the shrub so there is now nowhere to hide. It looks rather like a big fat lollipop, round on top and held up by a cluster of wooden stems.