Early Moth
These can be a bit of a pain to photograph when fresh, as the wings are shiny and reflective.
Sunday, 19 January 2014
An Early Moth
Literally. First garden moth of 2014, attracted to the synergetic light and sitting tightly on the adjacent fence.
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
Overdue - Seraphim
About time to highlight another moth from my garden list that is overdue for a reappearance ......
Just two records to date, both of individuals. The above was the first on 29/05/2003 and the second came almost exactly a year later on 30/05/2004. However apart from a ridiculous 26 at Pickworth Great Wood on 01/05/2011, I've only seen a handful of other individuals. And actually, given that the main foodplants are Aspen and Black Poplar and that its habitat preference is broadleaved woodland, perhaps it's more of a surprise that it has appeared in the garden at all rather than one to expect to reappear?
Seraphim
Just two records to date, both of individuals. The above was the first on 29/05/2003 and the second came almost exactly a year later on 30/05/2004. However apart from a ridiculous 26 at Pickworth Great Wood on 01/05/2011, I've only seen a handful of other individuals. And actually, given that the main foodplants are Aspen and Black Poplar and that its habitat preference is broadleaved woodland, perhaps it's more of a surprise that it has appeared in the garden at all rather than one to expect to reappear?
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Eating the Tart
My interest in all things natural was established and rooted in birding, gradually grew and expanded with mothing, and has over the last couple of years started to flourish into full blown pan-species listing (albeit at a relatively leisurely pace). It is entirely unsurprising that there are literally thousands of species that I have yet to see that would be considered, certainly by those with a specific interest in that group, to be complete 'tarts ticks'. But of course the reality is that for everyone embarking on the PSL adventure, whatever their roots and background, there will be a number of essentially easy species to pick up.
A bit of banter on Twitter with Graeme Lyons a few weeks ago centered around 'bogey' species, and perhaps establishing a bit of a Bogey Blitz in 2014. My immediate thought was that I haven't really got any bogey species as such - there is nothing that immediately comes to mind that I have specifically tried and failed to see several times. But it did get me to thinking about species I really should have seen.
Despite a few years of avid twitching in the 90's, there are a number of birds that I really should have seen but haven't on account of never having once made the effort. I guess I always expected that I'd connect with these during a twitch or other birding trip. Similarly, most birders drift into watching butterflies and dragonflies in the summer months, but I never really did as mothing was my main alternative focus. Therefore my butterfly list, currently 40 species, is largely thanks to incidental encounters and there are some blindingly obvious gaps in my list. My odonata list is even more laughable at just 17 species, as previously I've really struggled to be bothered with looking for/at them.
So, my personal 2014 challenge will be to tackle some of these gaps ......
Metaphorically speaking, I'm going to attempt to devour this big tart by seeing the following omissions from my bird, butterfly and odonata lists:
Ptarmigan Cairngorm 29/05/2014
Cory's Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Leach's Petrel
Roseate Tern
Greenish Warbler
Swallowtail
Lulworth Skipper
Silver-spotted Skipper
Grayling Aylesbeare Common 13/08/2014
Pearl-bordered Fritillary
Small pearl-bordered Fritillary
Silver-washed Fritillary Brampton Wood 22/06/2014
High Brown Fritillary
Purple Emperor
Brown Hairstreak
White-letter Hairstreak
Black Hairstreak
Chalkhill Blue Barnack Hills and Holes 09/08/2014
Beautilful Demoiselle
Common Emerald Damselfly Woodwalton Fen 02/08/2014
Variable Damselfly
Azure Damselfly Ketton Quarry 11/06/2014
Red-eyed Damselfly Huncote Embankment 21/06/2014
Small Red Damselfly
Common Hawker
Hairy Dragonfly
Club-tailed Dragonfly
Downy Emerald
Keeled Skimmer
That's a nice round 30 species. Whilst I doubt that I'll see all 30 I'll have a good go, and I will be calling on the advice, help and company whenever possible of friends and the the various bloggers, twitterers and facebookers that I've made contacts with. Of course it would be great if other PSLers had hit-lists like this so we can share the odd tick along the way.
A bit of banter on Twitter with Graeme Lyons a few weeks ago centered around 'bogey' species, and perhaps establishing a bit of a Bogey Blitz in 2014. My immediate thought was that I haven't really got any bogey species as such - there is nothing that immediately comes to mind that I have specifically tried and failed to see several times. But it did get me to thinking about species I really should have seen.
Despite a few years of avid twitching in the 90's, there are a number of birds that I really should have seen but haven't on account of never having once made the effort. I guess I always expected that I'd connect with these during a twitch or other birding trip. Similarly, most birders drift into watching butterflies and dragonflies in the summer months, but I never really did as mothing was my main alternative focus. Therefore my butterfly list, currently 40 species, is largely thanks to incidental encounters and there are some blindingly obvious gaps in my list. My odonata list is even more laughable at just 17 species, as previously I've really struggled to be bothered with looking for/at them.
So, my personal 2014 challenge will be to tackle some of these gaps ......
Metaphorically speaking, I'm going to attempt to devour this big tart by seeing the following omissions from my bird, butterfly and odonata lists:
Cory's Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Leach's Petrel
Roseate Tern
Greenish Warbler
Swallowtail
Lulworth Skipper
Silver-spotted Skipper
Pearl-bordered Fritillary
Small pearl-bordered Fritillary
High Brown Fritillary
Purple Emperor
Brown Hairstreak
White-letter Hairstreak
Black Hairstreak
Beautilful Demoiselle
Variable Damselfly
Small Red Damselfly
Common Hawker
Hairy Dragonfly
Club-tailed Dragonfly
Downy Emerald
Keeled Skimmer
That's a nice round 30 species. Whilst I doubt that I'll see all 30 I'll have a good go, and I will be calling on the advice, help and company whenever possible of friends and the the various bloggers, twitterers and facebookers that I've made contacts with. Of course it would be great if other PSLers had hit-lists like this so we can share the odd tick along the way.
Tuesday, 31 December 2013
The BFG ...
..... that's Brünnich's Fecking Guillemot!
"My name is Mark Skevington, and I am a twitcher." Like anyone trying to come clean following an addiction, there will be times when the resolve weakens and you relapse. Between 1993 - 2002 I was a twitcher, albeit to varying levels at different times of the year or depending on how seriously I was taking committments to family or work. My heart really wasn't in it during 2002 though, and I pretty much packed up birding altogether for a few years until starting this blog late in 2007 and getting back in touch with a few mates woke me up a bit.
Since 2002, excluding armchair ticks, I had added the sum total of seven species to my British list until yesterday when I headed down to Portland with John Hague in tow to twitch Brünnich's Guillemot. The species I'd added since 2002 were mainly ones that I felt compelled to see due to it being a species that was high on my 'wants' list when I was more active. Here they are, and for a bit of reference I've listed all the species I twitched/ticked since Jan 2000 (again excluding armchair ticks):
There's been loads of accessible species that I could have gone for, but generally I just can't be arsed and honestly haven't lost any sleep over them. But 2013 has produced a steady stream of ridiculously rare megas and you can only ignore so many before the bug starts to bite back. Brünnich's Guillemot ticks various boxes: exceptionally rare, difficult to twitch, evocative (boxes it doesn't tick are spanking to look at, colourful and passerine, but you can't have it all). So when one is poncing around a very accessible marina like a plastic floater, it was too good an opportunity to miss.
We arrived on-site very shortly after first light (having stopped for a bite in Weymouth on the way) and there was already a crowd gathered but no collective sense of purpose which clearly indicated that the blasted thing wasn't quite as nailed on as we'd hoped. After a good while of scanning and searching the sheltered marina, we broadened our search to the more open bay (four Great Northern Divers, several RB Mergs and a Black Guillemot duly picked up whilst searching). I briefly picked up a guillemot just as it dived and I was trying to convince myself that it was the target, but with such a brief glimpse I needed to see it more fully before shouting up. Then nothing. I spent a good 15 minutes searching the same general area without seeing anything guillemot-like at all. Then a shout went up and the masses breathed in collective relief - the Brünnich's Guillemot was a bit closer in-shore from where I'd earlier seen what I'm now sure was it. It soon became clear just how active and unpredictable it was - every dive took it a good distance and it would pop up pretty much anywhere in a large radius every time. Once we'd got some scope views, we made our way over to get closer to the bird and try for some shots, although it had chosen the darkest unlit corner of the harbour for its morning feeding. There are loads of great shots on the web, here are some that are not.
It had a very odd diving action, almost appearing to struggle to get under the water. But after every dive it would come up and stay on the surface for just a few seconds before going down again, I therefore got lots of shots showing the clean white flanks.
After we'd watched it for a while, we headed off for a brief Glossy Ibis interlude and some Med Gulls at Radipole. The resident plastic floater at Radipole didn't appear, but the Ibis was another ridiculously tame bird feeding in a small kids park near to the swings.
We were constrained for time as John needed to be home in the afternoon, but we headed back to the harbour to see if the BFG was more ameniable just as it decided to head into the sheltered, shallow and well lit marina. And I don't mean on the far side of the pontoon in this shot.
We got absolutely stonking views, though it was still restless and spent more time under the water than on it. Great photo opportunities for those with proper DSLR rigs, didn't really add anything for me with my bridge and shutter lag! I did manage a very short vid clip though.
A brilliant bird that I never thought would grace my pathetic British list, and well worth the relapse. Whether I head back into twitching rehab or gradually slide back into full scale addiction is uncertain ...........
"My name is Mark Skevington, and I am a twitcher." Like anyone trying to come clean following an addiction, there will be times when the resolve weakens and you relapse. Between 1993 - 2002 I was a twitcher, albeit to varying levels at different times of the year or depending on how seriously I was taking committments to family or work. My heart really wasn't in it during 2002 though, and I pretty much packed up birding altogether for a few years until starting this blog late in 2007 and getting back in touch with a few mates woke me up a bit.
Since 2002, excluding armchair ticks, I had added the sum total of seven species to my British list until yesterday when I headed down to Portland with John Hague in tow to twitch Brünnich's Guillemot. The species I'd added since 2002 were mainly ones that I felt compelled to see due to it being a species that was high on my 'wants' list when I was more active. Here they are, and for a bit of reference I've listed all the species I twitched/ticked since Jan 2000 (again excluding armchair ticks):
| Species | Date | Location |
| Brünnich's Guillemot | 29/12/2013 | Portland Harbour |
| Sharp-tailed Sandpiper | 24/11/2011 | Chew Valley Lake |
| Rufous Turtle Dove | 20/02/2011 | Chipping Norton |
| Brown Shrike | 14/10/2009 | Staines Moor, Surrey |
| Collared Flycatcher | 02/05/2009 | Southwell, Portland |
| White-crowned Sparrow | 13/01/2008 | Cley |
| White-billed Diver | 17/11/2007 | Selsey Bill, Sussex |
| American Robin | 06/01/2004 | Grimsby, Lincs. |
| Glossy Ibis | 22/10/2002 | Bowling Green Marsh, Devon |
| Solitary Sandpiper | 14/09/2002 | Rye Meads, Herts. |
| Pallid Harrier | 11/08/2002 | Elmlea, Kent |
| Least Sandpiper | 24/05/2002 | Drayton Bassett, Staffs. |
| Ross's Gull | 30/01/2002 | Plym Estuary, Devon |
| Snowy Owl | 17/11/2001 | Felixstowe, Suffolk |
| Snowy Egret | 10/11/2001 | Seil Island, Argyll |
| Paddyfield Warbler | 13/10/2001 | St Mary's, Scillies |
| Rose-breasted Grosbeak | 13/10/2001 | St Mary's, Scillies |
| Green Heron | 25/09/2001 | Messingham GP, Lincs. |
| Red-necked Stint | 21/09/2001 | Somersham GP, Cambs. |
| Marmora's Warbler | 29/05/2001 | Sizewell, Suffolk |
| Little Swift | 26/05/2001 | Netherfield, Notts. |
| Steller's Eider | 18/11/2000 | Hopeman Harbour, Moray |
| Cliff Swallow | 30/09/2000 | The Verne, Portland, Dorset |
| Isabelline Shrike | 08/09/2000 | Whittlesey, Cambs. |
| Fan-tailed Warbler | 28/05/2000 | Hengistbury Head, Dorset |
| Asian Desert Warbler | 10/05/2000 | Sammy's Point, Spurn, Humberside |
| Bonaparte's Gull | 27/04/2000 | Teign Estuary, Devon |
| Marsh Sandpiper | 13/04/2000 | Stanpit Marsh, Dorset |
| Great Spotted Cuckoo | 13/04/2000 | Pennington Marsh, Hampshire |
| Franklin's Gull | 18/03/2000 | Cheddar Reservoir, Somerset |
| Sora | 24/01/2000 | Stover CP, Devon |
There's been loads of accessible species that I could have gone for, but generally I just can't be arsed and honestly haven't lost any sleep over them. But 2013 has produced a steady stream of ridiculously rare megas and you can only ignore so many before the bug starts to bite back. Brünnich's Guillemot ticks various boxes: exceptionally rare, difficult to twitch, evocative (boxes it doesn't tick are spanking to look at, colourful and passerine, but you can't have it all). So when one is poncing around a very accessible marina like a plastic floater, it was too good an opportunity to miss.
We arrived on-site very shortly after first light (having stopped for a bite in Weymouth on the way) and there was already a crowd gathered but no collective sense of purpose which clearly indicated that the blasted thing wasn't quite as nailed on as we'd hoped. After a good while of scanning and searching the sheltered marina, we broadened our search to the more open bay (four Great Northern Divers, several RB Mergs and a Black Guillemot duly picked up whilst searching). I briefly picked up a guillemot just as it dived and I was trying to convince myself that it was the target, but with such a brief glimpse I needed to see it more fully before shouting up. Then nothing. I spent a good 15 minutes searching the same general area without seeing anything guillemot-like at all. Then a shout went up and the masses breathed in collective relief - the Brünnich's Guillemot was a bit closer in-shore from where I'd earlier seen what I'm now sure was it. It soon became clear just how active and unpredictable it was - every dive took it a good distance and it would pop up pretty much anywhere in a large radius every time. Once we'd got some scope views, we made our way over to get closer to the bird and try for some shots, although it had chosen the darkest unlit corner of the harbour for its morning feeding. There are loads of great shots on the web, here are some that are not.
It had a very odd diving action, almost appearing to struggle to get under the water. But after every dive it would come up and stay on the surface for just a few seconds before going down again, I therefore got lots of shots showing the clean white flanks.
After we'd watched it for a while, we headed off for a brief Glossy Ibis interlude and some Med Gulls at Radipole. The resident plastic floater at Radipole didn't appear, but the Ibis was another ridiculously tame bird feeding in a small kids park near to the swings.
We were constrained for time as John needed to be home in the afternoon, but we headed back to the harbour to see if the BFG was more ameniable just as it decided to head into the sheltered, shallow and well lit marina. And I don't mean on the far side of the pontoon in this shot.
We got absolutely stonking views, though it was still restless and spent more time under the water than on it. Great photo opportunities for those with proper DSLR rigs, didn't really add anything for me with my bridge and shutter lag! I did manage a very short vid clip though.
A brilliant bird that I never thought would grace my pathetic British list, and well worth the relapse. Whether I head back into twitching rehab or gradually slide back into full scale addiction is uncertain ...........
Sunday, 8 December 2013
Pecker, Tit, Fat Balls
This Great Spotted Woodpecker has been appearing daily over the last week, always going for the fat balls.
Saturday, 30 November 2013
LED Light
This year I've pretty much abandoned my previously much-trusted macro photography tool of choice. Indeed I just about completely stopped using it 2012 other than for a few moth shots. I bought it in 2002 and over the following years I've had sterling service from it. In particular, it was great for indoor use when coupled with the CoolLight SL-1. It looks exactly like this only more beaten up.
I can think of at least two naturalists still using their 4500s in the field with success, and I'm sure many have gone as far as acquiring a second-hand back-up off of e-bay or similar. The only real weakness with this camera is the shutter-lag, though for compliant subjects that doesn't matter. I suppose the relatively small 4.5megapixel sensor is also a handicap for anything but web use, and the old compact flash memory card style is also a pain compared to SD cards (my PC has a built-in SD card reader but I have to use a USB reader for the compact flash). Nothing lasts forever though, and mine is pretty much knackered. There are numerous dead pixels, and I can't use it outdoors as the batteries only last a few shots. I've also found that the viewing screen now seems absolutely tiny.
The Lumix FZ45 + Raynox 250 macro converter has definitely taken over for everything now, and coupled with the general versitility of a bridge then it's hard to beat. I'm not completely happy with the Lumix though, the sensor is noisy versus the CoolPix, though it's okay if restricted to low ISO. But there has been one definite downside to the Lumix, which is that I generally have to use the built-in flash and if working indoors it's not great - especially for moths which end up looking a bit shiny. That's why so many of my moth photos these days are lazy 'in the trap' shots where there flash works a bit better outdoors even in early morning gloom.
I've tried diffusing the flash etc, but not with any great success. I felt I was missing the boost that the CoolLight used to give. So I was very interested when a bit of Facebook banter on the PSL group highlighted a LED ring that is intended to be used with a microscope. Like this ....
I checked it out on e-bay, and was delighted to note that the clamping mechanism and internal aperture would be compatible with the Raynox 250 outer case - so I thought I should be able use it with the Raynox on my Lumix. I bought one immediately. When it arrived a few days later I was pleased to try it for size and it certainly did fit. It also looked pretty bright, but it has a 'volume knob' to dim the LEDs to suit.
The only problem has been a lack of subjects to try it on, but this morning I tried it out on a Winter Moth. This was hand held indoors in very poor light and I took a comparative shot using the flash. Definitely an improvement I think, the moth is more evenly lit with less 'shiny bits' and I'm sure with a bit of refinement and using a tripod and self-timer (like I should for indoor stuff) it will reap benefits. Certainly looking forward to getting back to some proper moth photography in 2014.
mps.jpg)
I can think of at least two naturalists still using their 4500s in the field with success, and I'm sure many have gone as far as acquiring a second-hand back-up off of e-bay or similar. The only real weakness with this camera is the shutter-lag, though for compliant subjects that doesn't matter. I suppose the relatively small 4.5megapixel sensor is also a handicap for anything but web use, and the old compact flash memory card style is also a pain compared to SD cards (my PC has a built-in SD card reader but I have to use a USB reader for the compact flash). Nothing lasts forever though, and mine is pretty much knackered. There are numerous dead pixels, and I can't use it outdoors as the batteries only last a few shots. I've also found that the viewing screen now seems absolutely tiny.
The Lumix FZ45 + Raynox 250 macro converter has definitely taken over for everything now, and coupled with the general versitility of a bridge then it's hard to beat. I'm not completely happy with the Lumix though, the sensor is noisy versus the CoolPix, though it's okay if restricted to low ISO. But there has been one definite downside to the Lumix, which is that I generally have to use the built-in flash and if working indoors it's not great - especially for moths which end up looking a bit shiny. That's why so many of my moth photos these days are lazy 'in the trap' shots where there flash works a bit better outdoors even in early morning gloom.
I've tried diffusing the flash etc, but not with any great success. I felt I was missing the boost that the CoolLight used to give. So I was very interested when a bit of Facebook banter on the PSL group highlighted a LED ring that is intended to be used with a microscope. Like this ....
I checked it out on e-bay, and was delighted to note that the clamping mechanism and internal aperture would be compatible with the Raynox 250 outer case - so I thought I should be able use it with the Raynox on my Lumix. I bought one immediately. When it arrived a few days later I was pleased to try it for size and it certainly did fit. It also looked pretty bright, but it has a 'volume knob' to dim the LEDs to suit.
The only problem has been a lack of subjects to try it on, but this morning I tried it out on a Winter Moth. This was hand held indoors in very poor light and I took a comparative shot using the flash. Definitely an improvement I think, the moth is more evenly lit with less 'shiny bits' and I'm sure with a bit of refinement and using a tripod and self-timer (like I should for indoor stuff) it will reap benefits. Certainly looking forward to getting back to some proper moth photography in 2014.
mps.jpg)
Winter Moth - Click for big
LED light on left, flash on right, minimal post-processing. Interesting to note the tonal differences, and the flash has created a sharper image thanks to a faster shutter speed (which would be negated if not hand held).
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