August was a bit of a wash out weatherwise but it did allow us to concentrate on the mundane stuff like getting quotes for double glazing and a new boiler. We also sourced a new bed, the thinking being that now we are retired we need all the energy we can get from a good night's sleep to allow us to function at this hectic pace :-)
I managed to squeeze in a few moth and photography forays, highlight being Dusky Scalloped Oak in Dorset. Another real bonus was getting to see and photograph a White Prominent larva. I also started to use my 65mm MP E Macro lens a bit more. It will magnify to five times life size so anything that is too small for my aged eyes to make out is fair game. The problem lies in finding the subject matter in the first place!
I have recently had the good fortune to be pointed at several really interesting weevils (bet you never dreamed anyone would write that in a sentence)and have managed to take photographs of them that are satisfying. None of my Flickr photographs are in Explore yet but I get 150 hits a day on my photostream so someone must be enjoying them. www.flickr.com/photos/oldbilluk if you are interested.
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
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
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
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
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
Where did May go?
They say once you retire, you wonder where you found the time to go to work. Well that is so true. I've been so incredibly busy sorting out the detritus of retirement that May has almost gone. I have managed to get out and do photography fairly often and I now have a new car, life insurance sorted, home insurance sorted and am slotting into the retirement groove very well.
I have seen some very nice beetles at different spots in Somerset and adjacent counties. One I saw at Martin Down was, I thought, a new record for Hampshire. A little research then threw up that Martin Down is in VC8 (Wiltshire) for record purposes and then the Hampshire beetle recorder told me that he had already found that species elsewhere in Hampshire so no cigar for me. It was a very nice beetle anyway.
I have seen some very nice beetles at different spots in Somerset and adjacent counties. One I saw at Martin Down was, I thought, a new record for Hampshire. A little research then threw up that Martin Down is in VC8 (Wiltshire) for record purposes and then the Hampshire beetle recorder told me that he had already found that species elsewhere in Hampshire so no cigar for me. It was a very nice beetle anyway.
Agapanthia villosoviridescens
My other real "find" was suddenly discovering that Sand Lizard can be found on Dawlish Warren. I've been going there for years and had not heard about them. As I was wandering around in the sand dunes looking for insects to photograph, one suddenly sauntered onto the path right in front of me. It seemed churlish not to take its photograph.
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Spent some time today sorting out my fast dwindling financial empire in preparation for paying off the mortgage. Spent a frustrating hour talking to people about cars. I think Ford must have one "test-drive" Fiesta Econetic in the whole south west that they borrow from each other. The Citroen C3 Picasso looks nice and roomy but it just strays into the £120 per year tax bracket so that is a bit off-putting. The ordinary C3 has much less boot space for all my moth gear. I'm going mad weighing up all the options.
I finally got outside with a camera late this afternoon and spent a happy time in the local field that doubles as my outdoor photographic studio. I just hope the farmer doesn't suddenly get it into his head to plough it all in and grow something. Mind you if I see him, I might be cheeky and ask if he'll let me have an allotment on part of it. We've already run out of planting space in the back garden.
Saw a nice Green-veined White and for once it didn't disappear into the far distance while I was still stalking up to it. It had probably just had its cocoa and was thinking of turning in for the night.
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