Moth Bonanza ....

.... in lots of places, just not here.

I can't remember such a poor spring for garden mothing. My garden is never great in the early and late season but this has been ridiculous. This spring has seen far more clear, cold, windy, snowy or wet nights than moderate conditions. On the few occasions when I've put a trap out, there have been more blanks than nights with a moth, and one or two moths at the most has been about it. Last night felt like it should have been much better, with mild cloudy conditions early on though it was forecast for rain in the early hours. It was certainly the best night so far this year, but it was still pants: 5 of 5sp. in the garden trap, 2 of 2sp. at the front of house actinic bulb, six species overall. Three new species for the year in that paltry lot; an Early Grey that refused to sit for a photo and I gave up after an hour, and these two:

Oak Beauty

Clouded Drab

Meanwhile spring keeps stuttering. I had a Brimstone flying through the garden yesterday, along with what was probably a Small Tortoiseshell. I've seen a few large bumble bees - only one of which lingered long enough for me to get out and look at (Buff-tailed). But whilst yesterday was nice and sunny and felt like a turning point, today has gone back to mainly grey and damp. I need a day of decent sunshine to perk me up and get me out and about walking.

Tape Tip

Yesterday was gloriously spring-like in the morning, and not too bad in the afternoon either. Warm, sunny, light breeze, perfect for getting out. I was busy. Today ... meh, wet, wild and windy. In between a return to college-taxi duties, I noted this on the front of the house:

One of those oddly leggy things that by virtue of having halteres qualifies as a fly. By the way, can you imagine how truly horrifying that 80s film would have been if Jeff Goldblum had morphed into a giant leggy twat with massive palps. He is quite tall .... Anyway.

A Tipula sp. There are a few very similar species, of which I tend to see one earlier in the year and one later. Or at least I believe I do, I don't look at enough of them critically to be certain. A quick check from the side should confirm ....

... a nice clear and obvious dark line on the side of the thorax from the neck to below the wing, which should be enough to declare this is Tipula rufina. I'm not going to pretend I keyed it all the way, I already knew what it could/should be.

A bloke that I'd never heard of died today, but whose work had a major impact on the lives of many of us that are a certain age. Lou Ottens, the lead inventor of a nifty recording device - the tape/cassette. Imagine how different life would be not having experienced the massive adrenaline rush when you pushed the buttons bang on time to record the latest pop smash without getting the radio DJ voice spoiling it ... it'd be like living in my kids generation where everything happens by magic and no one gives a shit about how it happened.

Virtually Nostalgic

Do not feel obliged to click on any of the hyperlinks!

Christmas 1983 - what did you get? Back then my interests included music and girls; natural history was something I enjoyed on the telly, but never experienced or looked for in the real world.

Christmas 1983 I was 15, and I know exactly what I got; a particularly special present that I'd clamoured for and that my parents must have felt was worth saving for. Expensive presents were not the norm in my happy childhood, I must have been a very good boy that year! It was one of these ....

The iconic Roland SH-101; a truly excellent monophonic analog synth with built in step-sequencer, Gate in/out and - best of all, a separate modulator hand grip so you could hang it with a strap like a guitar and look like a real synth-wanker. It came in grey initially, with red and blue models to follow. It only had a single oscillator, and in the great scheme of things was about as basic a synth as you could get even then. But it sounded brilliant, especially for snappy bass sounds and squelchy leads. This cost c£240 back then, a fair chunk; a decent condition one now costs £900-£1200. With heavy heart I sold mine for £250 in c1996 when I needed the money more than what was by then an obsolete and not much use to me 'gadget', before the term vintage applied and retro gear costs escalated rapidly.

This was desired as part of a plan involving a mate Kev and his cousin Liam. We'd already got some very basic keyboards (not synths), including the ridiculously popular Casio VL-Tone which (literally) was a calculator with a built in 2.5 octave keyboard, some tinkly sounds on it and a some basic rhythms (remember Da Da Da by Trio - based on a VL-Tone with some additional guitar and shit vocals, also the track Get Carter on Human League's Dare album is a VL-Tone). Anyway, around the same time that I was truly creaming my pants on finding the SH-101 was before me, Liam was enjoying the same feeling whilst Kev was going one better. He got one of these ....

Wow - look a the knobs on that. The equally iconic and in many ways more capable Sequential Circuits PRO-ONE; also monophonic, with two oscillators that could be detuned, big beefy analog sounds, again a built-in step sequencer and Gate in/out. But no grip, wooden frame and reduced synth-wanker potential. I think these were c£350 back then; you might pick one up for c£1800 now ....

With the acquisition of these three synths, we set about becoming a globally renowned electronic band. That was the plan anyway. Within a short time we'd saved and added a couple of key items to get us going properly .....

The Roland TR-606 'Drumatix'. At the time this small box was the tinniest and crapiest drum machine you could imagine, but it was affordable for us and - crucially - it could be used to sync all three synths and the drum machine together through the gates to keep in time. We used the step-sequencers to run basslines, arpeggios and simple sequences over a series of programmable electro-drum patterns, and it was a thing of spellbinding beauty. With the one exception that none of the synths had the ability to 'save' sounds or sequences etc. Every time we wanted to do something it was start from scratch and run it all again. Until we got this ....

The Tascam 244 Portastudio - a four-track cassette machine. It used both sides of the tape from the same direction, with each stereo channel on each side becoming one track. It allowed us to record the drums, bass and backings and then to play over as a more finished track. Importantly, we always used one track to record a sync signal so we could add further sequences timed in with the existing tracks. It also allowed us to 'bounce' tracks, so we could mix two tracks to one and add another allowing us to record demos. With this, and a couple of basic Boss foot pedals for delay and reverb, we were set for some great times creating sounds, crafting our songs, recording backings and eventually playing a few gigs. And locally there was no-one else doing this in the same way at the time; I'm sure other bands had synths that were played with other instruments but it was another couple of years or more before we had other local electronic bands. Later in our journey we played alongside other bands in all-electronic nights.

Before I go further we picked up another, older, monophonic analog synth in the early days that is worth a mention too ....

The Moog Prodigy, the source of the name for the band The Prodigy ... which is exactly what we had called ourselves seven years earlier before we got the proper synths and became The Red Branch.

But it was a time of technical revolution. The synths we had were already a world away from the patch/matrix synths of the late 70s, and increasingly affordable and accessible. But equipment was superseded and obsolete within a couple of years. Or months! Right at the start of our journey, MIDI was in its infancy and only included on absolute top-end gear, but soon became the industry standard. FM synthesis was new enough that no one outside of the professional world knew much about it, until the DX-7 was all over Top of the Pops. Sampling was new in the mid-80s, multi-faceted workstation synths came along, direct to hard disk recording etc etc. Our journey became more of a race to keep up than being the next global electro phenomenon.

Our growing list of equipment included: Roland TR-707 drum machine - with MIDI and gate outputs which allowed us to run analog and digital together; x2 Yamaha CX-5M computer systems which were basically half a DX-7 FM synth in a box with some sequencing software and MIDI; DX-27 FM synth; Kawai K1 digital synth; Akai s612 single-shot sampling rack; Prophet 2000 multitimbral sampling synth. Our last major purchases were the Akai s2800 sampling rack and a Roland MC-50 step sequencer (which replaced the CX-5Ms). With these two, along with a Roland DEP-5 effects rack, we could effectively create and record a whole track in one go using nothing else as the sampler was multi-voice and the sequencer held multiple patterns and tracks - like a modern computer based DAW in that respect. And we could save everything to disk. We gained control, but lost the soul.

So, what's all this nostalgic techno-bollocks all about then.

Every now and then I get an unnaturally intense feeling that I should be searching online to see if the prices of some of the properly capable vintage analog poly synths are dropping. In particular, I would massively like to own either of these beasts:

The flagship Jupiter 8. Sliders, buttons, massive sounds. Which last time I looked was going to cost the best part of £12000. Or one of these maybe ....

The Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, like a polyphonic PRO-ONE but way better than that. A slightly less eye-watering £3000 - £4000 ish.

But then I have a moment of clarity. Maybe the nostalgia is rose-tinted, the sounds are retro, the synths themselves are bigger than I have space for and - most importantly - they can't really do anything that I can't recreate on the desktop through FL Studio and virtual studio technology (VST) plug-in synths. In fact, I have working demo versions of both of the above classics that I can create sounds and record into Audacity, and then load into a VST sampler to use. For free. With no more space than the PC keyboard. Even if I put that to one side and went for it, why spend £12K on a vintage Jupiter 8 when Roland have recently launched the Jupiter X - which is like having x4 Jupiter 8s and other synths wrapped up in a keyboard package that looks like the real thing but is essentially a number of VSTs in a big box with a keyboard. For c£1700.

And anyway, modern synths are nothing like they used to be; they use a variety of wavetable, digital, virtual analog, formant, sampling and any mix of these generators to create much bigger sounds than were possible before. There are even synths that will use a 'picture' as the basis for an editable sound. Here's a demo of a VST synth I downloaded today as an example:

Arturia Pigments: colourful, powerful, virtual. No physical knobs.

I'm sure the sun will come out soon and I'll have something to photograph and take my mind of other nonsense, but today after catching up with work I've had a great time just playing with creating sounds. Relaxing for me, probably aural torture for anyone else in the house.

Here's a proper synth-wanker, on a track that largely uses (probably several) SH-101s for the synth and bass parts (though not the way he's posing with it ....).

Suck, Don't Blow!

I've had a sedentary and unproductive week on the natural history front, mainly due to feeling a bit crappy from the chemo but at least I've not missed a load of great weather in the process. I've not been completely unproductive, I've sorted out a couple of tools for the coming invert season. With the impending easement of lockdown measures coming up it seemed the right time anyway.

So, I've been busily spending money on Amazon and suchlike. I've restocked with some entomological setting pins and a couple of new handtools for dissection and fiddling about (pin handles mainly), and a couple of chemicals that might come in handy. I've ordered some white Correx board to make some flight intercept vane traps. And, most importantly, I've finally got hold of one of these ....

It's a 36V cordless model, which is actually very lightweight. That comes with having the build quality of a child's garden toy and I doubt it would survive being dropped to the ground or being abused too much. But it does suck, and I know others use this model with success so should all be good. I've sourced some jam-making muslin bags but they may be a bit big - not sure yet. Also not decided on how best to affix the bags to the tube - gaffer tape, tie-wrap, jubilee clip - all suggestions welcomed.

I hope this will get some use in the next couple of weeks - I'll wait until another prolonged dry spell so I'm not sucking up wet debris, and head out to somewhere with tussocks after the first stage of easement which seems to allow leaving home for recreation (social one-to-one, picnics, suction sampling ....).

Update

End of the month, how are the various lists going ....

Today should have been a golden opportunity to add a few bits, if I'd gone out. I was working this morning, watching LCFC capitulate in worrying fashion from midday to early afternoon, and then sat around waiting for the district nurse to turn up and flush and dress my PICC line. I should be optimistic and wait to see if I can add something late this afternoon / early evening, but actually I've got stuff to do.

In between waiting and wailing, I had a play with the TG-6 using a solitary Common Quaker that I'd forgotten was in the fridge since Thursday morning. I've realised a couple of basic things: the camera was set to 'normal' compression, which in the great scheme of things is more noisy than the 'superfine' setting which I've now got it set to. Image file size has more than doubled, as the sensor is gathering more data. I also found that the auto white balance had an additional 'keep warm colours' setting, which I've turned off for indoor use with the daylight lamps. Finally, I found how to force the ISO to lower numbers (which is fine if subject sat still and camera on tripod) - so I forced to 100. All in all that gave me a much cleaner and better colour-balanced starting image than the last moth I tried. Perhaps not perfect, but getting better. Tripod and daylight lamps used as normal, and no more photoshop tweakery than I'd normal apply ....

Later, after chucking this out to fly off, I realised more about the TG-6 that I knew I was missing. Basic stuff that I couldn't see how to set/change from the menus. Essentially pressing 'OK' at any time brings up a series of icons on the right hand side of the screen that are then selectable and options can be changed without having to go through the menus. Including switching between AF/MF, changing white balance and ISO. I also found from that method how to select a RAW and JPEG file. I don't use RAW normally, but until I am happy with a repeatable and reliable set-up it might be worth having the option to tweak a completely uncompressed image. Anyway enough of that for now.

February saw me spend the better part of two weeks not doing anything whilst it was cold/snowy and/or I felt a bit crap. I've not got out into the square as much as I did in early January, and I've not been out with my bins as much either. Still, the lists have steadily crept up.

The SP5595ish square list stands at 222 species (+5 aggregates). It was 159 at the end of Jan, so +63 species. During the 2013 effort the list at the end of Feb was a paltry 158 species. I haven't bothered to analyse the comparison any further than that, perhaps something for the end of April when variance in conditions etc may have equalled out.

As things progress I'll include a separate breakdown of insects (eg splitting out hoverflies, sawflies, moths etc).

The birding lists have also grown, though not substantially. You'll remember that within the overall 5MR list there are various sub-lists: Garden List, SP5595ish square list excluding garden, patch list, and birds within the 5MR outside of the square and patch. The overall total was 51 at the end of January, and is only 58 now. Additions were Raven, Teal, Little Grebe, Coot, Tufted Duck, Skylark and Green Woodpecker. Out of those, only Skylark was added from the square; finally a couple of birds singing over the fields on Thursday, no idea where they disappeared to in the weeks before the snow and subsequent thaw. I am still missing a few obvious common birds including Rook, and so far only 20 species on all four sub-lists. March should see the first returning breeders etc.

Trust Me, I Know What I'm Doing ....

 .... or not! I've had a couple of moments of doubt in the last 24hrs.

Firstly, a Carabid that I found lurking under a pile of stones in a damp copse with loads of leaf litter. It immediately looked Calathus-ish, and I keyed it through to Calathus fuscipes which I'd not seen before. But when checking on-line images for this species, I wondered if I'd missed something or gone wrong. Whilst everything seemed to fit the main characters, there was one nagging doubt. Every key I checked referred to strongly punctured pronotal fovae, and I wasn't entirely convinced that mine was that obviously or strongly punctured. I gave up any hope of getting photos of it alive and set about carding it and getting some better efforts with it permanently still. A quick check with Graham Finch via e-mail, and an open question on Facebook, and consensus is that I was right all along.

The other moment came about with the Norellia spinipes that I'd pinned and keyed using a Scathophagidae key that I found online (Ball, 2014 v4.1). It keyed too easily, and I wondered if it was actually to early for this species. Maybe I'd jumped in at Scathophagidae incorrectly. Another Facebook question was quickly answered - ID correct, apparently they overwinter as adults and can appear at any time when daffs are in bloom.

I've been out and about today sorting a couple of bits for my Mum, so not in the square or looking at anything in particular. Which is a bit of shame as today has been gloriously sunny and warm .... and tonight is predictably clear and cold with a big bright moon.

Full Moon 1 - Moth Trap 0 ?

It's just a full moon - no wanky nickname required depending on the month etc.