A WALK along the Taw or the Torridge now brings its winter rewards and it is common these days to see eight or nine little egrets together most days. These white members of the heron family now breed in North Devon and are obviously happy with the habitat, and weather conditions and find adequate food.

On a metal gate along the Tarka Trail a spider's web had caught an oak eggar moth and there it hung, waving in the wind to passers by. The oak eggar was once known as the Banded Monk, a name derived from the male looking as if he wears a rust red monk's cloak. Old names of insects are interesting, even the Emperor moth once being known as the Great Peacock.

The Oak Eggar, Lasiocampa quercus is seen on the wing mostly in July and August but I have seen them in late June. They may be confused with the Northern Eggar, L. quercus callunae, a dark form not uncommon in North Devon, and especially so on Exmoor I find. At this moment in time the quercus larvae are in hibernation and next spring they will feed on a variety of plants including bramble, broom, hawthorn and sallow until June or July when they usually pupate, the moths emerging in July and August. Those of callunas feed on heather as well as other plants and do not normally pupate until the autumn. They pass their second winter in the pupal stage and emerge in the following May or June.

A reader tells me she and her husband saw a short-eared owl flying over the marshes at Braunton, their first sighting of the species, and asks is it a common bird hereabouts. Actually it isn't and it may well have been a migrant from the Continent when seen at this time of year.

Short-eared and long-eared owls regularly visit North Devon during the winter particularly if the weather is harsh northwards. We are likely to see the short-eared owl as it hunts by low level searching during daylight hours or at dusk. It has a preference for treeless countryside so places such as Braunton Marshes are ideal habitat, with short-tailed voles being their main prey. This owl has a distinctly moth-like flight which helps greatly with identification and if perched look for a semi-horizontal stance and yellow eyes. The long, barred wings will be seen to have dark patches both above and below on what we might call the "wrist" areas.

Its scientific name is Asio flammeus, asio (L) for a horned owl referring to the rather inconspicuous ear tufts that resemble horns.

Trevor Beer will answer your natural history & countryside questions.

Drop him a line at 38 Park Avenue, Barnstaple, EX31 2ES