Hurricanes and Convolvulus Hawk-moths

The tail end of hurricane Bertha hit Skokholm on Saturday night as forecasted, bringing with it some pretty impressive weather. The wind and rain combination was relentless for the best part of a 24 hour period; filling up the ponds, stirring up a huge sea swell and leaving the island with a completely new 'autumnal' feel about it that I haven't previously experienced.

The wildlife has also made a noticeable turn to the autumnal, with an "interestingly large hawk-moth" found inside one of the observatory's heligoland bird traps by our 'stranded' guest ringer yesterday morning. Walking into the kitchen to find a Convolvulus Hawk-moth staring back at me from the inside of a pint glass is certainly one of the more surreal wildlife encounters I've experienced, but I'm not complaining... it's one of my dream moths!