As a mark of how poor the mothing has been, the only interesting stuff I've
enjoyed have been avian. A horse paddock not too far from home was home to a
passage Whinchat for a few days, and on the last day of April when I nipped
out to see it there had been a good passage of Wheatears too with at least
seven seen across four sites.
And then in the middle of the week two Black-winged Stilts turned up at
Cossington Meadows, so I nipped over in the early evening after work for good
views albeit not quite a close as I'd have hoped. Just as well I had a look as
they buggered off overnight.
I grabbed a snippet of video whilst there ....
I was sure they were a pair, with one distinctly blacker and the other with brownish tones. Later in the evening there were photos shared of them copulating so no doubt.
Today I headed to Croft Hill for a walk with Nichola, getting great views of a
Wood Warbler (though no attempt to point a camera at it). It was only doing
the 'spinning plate' part of the song though for the whole time.
Whilst out in Croft, I stopped to have a good look over a clump of Green
Alkanet and found a handful of Scarlet Tiger caterpillars.
Surely the garden trap can't continue to be generally quiet and low on numbers
and diversity for much longer!
Well, I'm here and alive enough to post - always a good thing I reckon. My
surgery did go ahead on Weds 15th June, though I knew nothing of it until
being brought out of sedation and off of a ventilator on 16th morning which
probably helped with managing the pain a bit. I spent the first day in
intensive care, just about getting over the anaesthetic whilst developing a
morphine addiction. On Friday I got moved to a general ward, and spent the
next three days gradually becoming more self-dependent and mobile. Much to my
surprise and relief, on Monday 20th they muted that perhaps I could go home
early (fully expected a 10 - 14day stay) as long as I came back in for a
couple of check ups on the Weds and Friday - I didn't hesitate in imploring
them to make it happen. I hate hospitals at the best of times, but being in
there once you are actually mobile and looking after yourself is absolutely
the most soul-destroying and mind-numbing thing imaginable. So on Monday night
I was home and happy.
Tuesday 21st June was a nice warm sunny day so I was pleased to be able to
intersperse sleeping, relaxing and generally lounging about with forays into
the garden for fresh air and to watch a few insects on the border flowers. It
dawned on me that with the sun shining, and with it requiring virtually zero
effort, I could dangle a couple of lures. So I tried both VES and FOR with
success, one Orange-tailed Clearwing to the VES lure and x3 Red-tipped
Clearwings to the FOR lure. I wasn't up to fannying about with a camera though
so only managed a couple of crappy phone shots ....
Orange-tailed Clearwing
Red-tipped Clearwing
I think the adrenaline of seeing clearwing and the euphoria at being home overtook
common sense, and I put the moth trap on for the night. Surgery and being in
hospital screws up your sleep pattern for ages so getting up early to empty it
wasn't a problem, though it was a bit more physical effort than was perhaps
good for me. Nothing exciting in there, but it was looking sunny again so out
went the LUN lure despite it being perhaps a bit early for the target. By
08:30 there were x2 Lunar Hornet Moths in the trap. All the more excellent as
with the pre-surgery records of Currant and Red-belted, all x5 clearwing
species that I recorded here last year have come again - no flash in the pan
luck involved, all clearly present within close enough proximity to come to
the lures reasonably soon after deployment.
Lunar Hornet Moth
Again, the moth trap went out and again with some effort I got it done early
in the morning. This time though there was excitement, a new for garden macro
and a decent migrant that warranted a quick snap with the camera ....
Scarlet Tiger
An expected addition to the garden list with recent expansion in VC55 range,
shame it was a bit tatty.
Bordered Straw - second garden record after one in 2006
The moth trap went out again on Thursday 23rd June, back to standard fare and
by now I was thinking that I'd perhaps overdone it, so the trap got put away
as the weather faded a bit anyway.
A week or so after surgery, things can go two ways. You either feel like
you're getting somewhere and feeling a bit stronger each day, or you start to
slide and feel a bit crapper. Over the weekend I felt a bit lethargic and
lacking energy, and on Monday I was in incredible pain in my left kidney. Back
to the hospital to be checked, and I ended up being re-admitted with bloods
showing infection markers. A subsequent CT scan showed a build up of likely
infected fluid stuck in a pocket somewhere in my pelvis, which would require
draining under a radiologically guided procedure. By then I'd had a couple of
doses of IV antibiotics and was feeling fine again, but the NHS system
conspired against me and despite my protestations and moaning I ended up being
stuck back in there until the Friday evening whilst they tried to work out
if/how/when this would be done. I was absolutely exasperated; every day I was
nil by mouth from midnight to c4pm just in-case they managed to fit me into
someone's schedule, whilst being sedentary and having bugger all to do. On the
Friday I made it clear I'd had enough and I was seriously on the page of
walking out and self-discharging, luckily they'd already come to the
conclusion and seen sense that they were better off bending their own rules
and essentially discharged me without discharging me, so that I could go back
for the procedure at an appointed time as a day case.
Back home for another week, gradually building myself up again after going
backwards in hospital. Yesterday I went in for a CT Guided Drain procedure -
and by christ it was the most painful experience of my life, local anaesthetic
only works so deep, and to avoid any remaining organs or major blood vessels
they went in the most direct route - basically they skewered my backside and
it fucking hurt! Anyway, it's done now and I can get back on with recovering
(although the drain will of course have to some back out, which will also be
uncomfortable but a lot quicker!). I'm actually feeling a lot perkier now and
I'm okay with basic pain relief. I've got a long way to go with recovery but
feel like I'm on the right path now.
Having major surgery, losing body parts and being in pain or uncomfortable etc
is of course worth it if it means I'm still here for the foreseeable, watching
the kids grow up (metaphorically, they've already grown up physically), being
here for and with Nichola and contributing to society. The surgeon told me
last week that the histology on the stuff they removed has clear margins -
that should mean I am cancer-free and there will be no further treatment. I'd
really like to hear that again with Nichola by my side at a formal
post-surgery consultation in due course.
The trap will be back out tonight, I've missed some of the best mothing
weather for ages and feel like I need to get back on track. I'm also able to
sit at the desktop PC for a while now - hence posting.
I realise that a lot of this post is a bit self-centered and unlikely to be of
any interest to anyone, but as I'm sure I've said before I write this blog for
me first and foremost.
In other news, apparently a large number of MPs in the lying bastard party
with no integrity and morals have realised that their leader really is a lying
bastard with the integrity and morals of a pile of bat guano. Who knew!
I really like this new track from Simple Minds ....
I've had a good 24hrs on the moths front, picking up six ticks in the process.
More efforts with clearwing lures brought two new species for me, one frustratingly brief and one ridiculously showy. Wafting around MYO at the former St Mary's Allotment site in Leicester yesterday afternoon (which is now half built over with housing) brought a couple of Red-belted Clearwings - it's just that neither lingered long enough to be netted. I also had Red-tipped and Six-belted Clearwings at Huncote Embankment yesterday. This morning at Tinwell right over in the east of Rutland, the VES lure brought three Orange-tailed Clearwings - these didn't bother flapping around the lure and just sat in the open on leaves near it!
Orange-tailed Clearwing - Tinwell, 30/06/2019
In between clearwing luring I enjoyed a great mothing night at Ketton Quarry with Adrian Russell, I'm sure the combined list in due course will be large, but there were four immediate highlights for me in my traps with two macro and two micro ticks (one of which was Elachista triatomea which has not hit the camera sensor as yet).
Elegia similella - sadly worn, but a VC55 first nontheless
I've been out and about in the sunshine over the last couple of days, and this morning in particular brought a few nice-to-see bits. Unless stated otherwise these are all from Ketton Quarry.
Green Tiger Beetle - loads out today
Woundwort Shieldbug
Grizzled Skipper
Cassida vibex
Platystomos albinus
Common Heath
Forget-me-not Shieldbug - a new one for me
Scarlet Tiger
Bishop's Mitre - Pickworth Great Wood
Micropterix calthella - Pickworth Great Wood
Cyclosa conica - Cossington Meadows, a new spider for me
Back to nice sunny weather today, and I tried to make the most of it around domestics like a good old clipper cut at the barbers for me and the boys, and clearing masses of stuff out of the loft and bedrooms. It's amazing how much stuff you generate over the years when kids are involved. Nichola is car booting in the morning to shift some of it, the rest can go to charity shops or the local play groups - it's not going back in the loft or bedrooms!
Our cherry blossom tree is in full bloom at the moment - it looks great for a few days and then is a complete pain the arse when the blossom falls en masse clogging every orifice in the cars.
Whilst pottering about the garden I noticed these small red beetles - there were at least 8 and all were on the Snake's-head Fritilaries. I think they are Scarlet Lily Beetles(Lilioceris lilii).
Also in the garden were this Hawthorn Shieldbug, some small toadstools (no idea what sort) that I now think are Fairy Inkcap (Coprinellus disseminatus) and I couldn't resist an arty pansy shot ..
Later this afternoon, I headed over to Ketton Quarry to have another attempt at assembling Emperors. Absolutely zero success again, and also no joy at Luffenham Heath. I am sure that Emperors do not exist in VC55! I did manage some proper mothing joy at Ketton though when I checked the White Comfrey that grows around the back of the farm ..
White Comfrey
Scarlet Tiger - excellent
Also noted were a Psyche casta larva feeding from its twiggy case, a few Common Lizards, loads of Common Heaths and the commoner butterlifes, and loads of Bee Flies ..
Psyche casta
Common Lizard
Bee Fly
I'll finish the post with a few flowers from Ketton - though apart from the Primroses I'm not confident about the ID ..
Primrose
(Presumably Field) Forget-me-Not
Is this Herb Robert? Quite small flowers - Shining Cranesbill I now think.
Wild Strawberry - or at least I think one of the above or below is, not sure which or what the other one is ...
