Norfolk via Hastings

Chris and I made a trip to Norfolk our first joint retirement sortie. Our route there was via relatives in Sussex to catch up with some family history research. Chris was able to produce the whole line back to William the Conqueror, which was a bit of a pleasant surprise for some of them. The Cornish pirate was a bit of a shock too :-)

In Norfolk, I was keen to find a moth that I was pretty sure I had already seen years ago. When I was a bird ringer at Walberswick in Suffolk, the cottage we stayed in to do our ringing was next to one used by the Natural History Museum. We got to meet several visiting experts including moth people. They would often show us things they had caught out in the marshes the night before and I even photographed the nice colourful ones. If only I had photographed those drab, brown Wainscots they kept on bringing back I might not still need to point a camera at Fenn's and White-mantled Wainscot. A visit to Catfield Fen was very productive and I caught Fenn's Wainscot along with a great variety of other reedbed specialities.























Fenn's Wainscot

While in Norfolk we had a chance to meet up with Chris's brother, a keen sailor. We joined him and his partner, Sue, for a trip along the River Yare to Rockland Broad. We saw some nice birds including Great Crested Grebe, Egyptian Goose and Marsh Harrier doing a food pass to a gang of hungry young ones. The faunal highlight of the trip came in the form of an Otter that crossed the river ahead of the boat then swam in the riverside reeds calling to a mate or young on the other bank.















Great Crested Grebe























Under Sail


















Otter

Just before leaving Norfolk, we spent an afternoon on Great Yarmouth North Denes with our long time friends Michael and Terry O'Hara. On a windy afternoon with patches of cloud often covering the sun, photography was trying at best but we managed to get some results. For me, the highlight was a Cuckoo Bee feeding on Sea Holly flowers. Whenever I go out with my camera, I am happy if I get one shot that I can feel makes the trip worthwhile. This bee was my shot of the day.















Coelioxys mandibularis

Where did June and July Go?

As you can see, I'm not a natural blogger, preferring to spend most of my time out in the field. My photographic file is expanding rapidly, as is my moth list. This is mostly due to having had the opportunity to travel around a bit more. As my wife only recently joined me in retirement, at the end of July, the months of June and July were an opportunity to go on some extended tours. A four day trip to Ireland expanded into a two and a half week saga that encompassed Wales, Norfolk and some remote parts of Scotland. The Irish trip was to try to photograph White Prominent, a moth that was only rediscovered in the south west of Ireland last year after about 100 years without a record. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in our endeavours despite "help" from the people who rediscovered it. We did, however, turn up a lot of good records for that part of Ireland, so at least someone profited from our excursion. We will return next year and trap in the place where we had thought it might be but didn't actually go to. I did manage an excursion to the famous Burren while over there and caught up with the Irish form of Transparent Burnet.
























Transparent Burnet

A much more successful trip was to look for Pine Tree Lappet in Scotland. This species has also been recently discovered. The Forestry Commission were keen to find out the extent of its range and enlisted the help of amateur naturalists to augment their own efforts and give greater coverage. Our group managed to attract twenty one males to light traps with pheromones placed alongside them. A further seventy individuals were trapped later in the week by a second group of amateur naturalists who made the long drive up to Scotland. It was good to see the Forestry Commission and their professional ecologist showing such an enlightened approach to the use of amateur naturalists. While appreciating the need for caution due to the continued existence of collectors, most people I trap with are fervently anti collecting and a good photograph or a sighting is all they seek. The extra they give back in better coverage and a wealth of ancillary records makes for a win/win situation.



Pine Tree Lappet

While in Scotland, I took the opportunity to catch up with one or two other species that had long been on my wish list for late June but that small thing called work had intruded.

New Forest Burnet

Kentish Glory larva



Northern Emerald