Wurzel wrote: Have a goodun

Well, you keep telling us to...so I'm glad you had one too!

We had dozens and dozens of Malachites roosting in the mango trees outside our shack in Nicaragua a couple of years ago. The first time I'd witnessed mud-puddling too, although that was of different species. Absolutely stunning, what with Morphos flying along the dry riverbeds and beautiful, big ski...

No David, it was actually a pretty good show. Looks like things are moving forward, what with the RHS and garden centre labelling. Certainly much more pro-active than last week's episode (which, to be fair, wasn't too bad anyway). See if you can catch it on i-player.

Cheers,

Gibster.

The use of a moth-trap to show the Poplar Hawkmoth, Elephant Hawkmoth and Buff-tip was an unexpected bonus And so was seeing a Malaise trap in action, plus seeing how to make your own sweepnet and saucer traps! After last week's "middling" reviews I'm immensely pleased to see that things ...

They talked a lot about bees being pollinators and hence how important they are for our own food production, and similarly how ladybirds, wasps and hoverflies can control crop pests. But I'm not sure such a strong case can be made for the importance of butterflies, can it? I think the bulk of the p...

Paul Wetton wrote:It is good to meet up with the odd enthusiast as you said, odd being numeric rather than weird.

Hi Paul,

In think you are clearly forgetting this beauty of a thread that YOU started... viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4859

Enjoy! (and update)

Gibster.

Hi Goldie M, Pennington Flash is well-known for it's bird table visiting Willow Tits. Thankfully for visiting birders, Marsh Tits don't occur anywhere near Manchester so that species can be merrily ruled out! :D If you want to read up on differences between Marsh and Willow Tit, and visit a helpful ...

Good point. We were on a work party once, many years ago, for water vole habitat creation. Some handsome chap pointed out some holes which had been made by a relatively rare moth ... in the trunks of trees which were being cut down! :lol: I'm guessing these were of the Lunar Hornet Clearwing? Penci...

Zoos do not work towards conservation. OK, so this thread has grabbed my attention. Sylvie_h, with the greatest respect, are you on very strong drugs or something??? If this is your firm belief, so be it. But I suspect that with a little digging you will soon regret your words. Please do not take t...

Makes the female Adonis vs Chalkhill Blue ID problem all seem a bit...pathetic?

WOW!!!!! Thank you ALL!! What a perfectly lovely bunch you are. :D :D :D I think Susie hit the nail on the head. Yup, I'm gonna stay an eternal kid (well - in my mind, at least...) A suitable amount of alcohol was indeed duly consumed, Mark. And I never ever get hangovers, Pete. So yup, I'm enjoying...

Looks like a male Mottled Umber?

Belated Happy New Year All It's taken 11 days but finally I have a butterfly sighting - two in fact! Yesterday, 11th Jan, I was wandering Epsom Common when a flash of movement caught my eye...a Red Admiral, flushed from a sunlit head of dead bracken. Amazing, an active Red Admiral in early January! ...

Hiya Wurzel, cracking start to the year!!!! Wish I could say the same for mine....highlight was a pair of Buzzards over Epsom Common. Pity both the Fudge Duck and BW Teal are escapees though. HAHA! Just kidding :D I'll be doing the same/similar circuit as you did in 2 days time, so I'm glad to have ...

Not a Brimstone, but I did disturb a fine Ypsolopha ustella from it's hiding place on an oak trunk. Also active larvae of Narycia duplicella and Infurctinea argentimaculella (the latter somewhat rudely extracted from it's tube!) on the same patch of trunk. Still no hairstreak eggs yet... Gibster.

hideandseek wrote:Back in the summer i had a Nightingale bathing in my garden pond, now that was a sight worth seeing.

What a cracking come-back, lol

So far this month I've only seen 1 winter moth (aptly named) but it may be that the strange (mild) weather is having an effect on the flight times of the moths, as it has done with the butterflies this year? Hiya Phil, this is from today's Birdguides: ...and the unseasonably warm winter has prompte...

I used to run a light years ago, and used to accompany Jim Porter on trips further afield. For sheer numbers you cannot better Salisbury Plain in June. We had tanks on manoeuvres once, so close we could feel the ground juddering, and a UFO on another occasion (not quite as frightening as the tanks!)...

Hi Mark, I think you are spot on regards parasatoids, fungal attacks etc. Of course a mild winter will provide a more accessible food supply to woodland birds, meaning the local Long-tailed Tits hopefully won't decimate the overwintering Purple Hairstreak eggs again. We had a poor PH year at my patc...

I agree wholeheartedly with Paul. Birds and butterflies...just my cup of tea! I think your Fuerteventura Chat pics are probably the best I've seen of the species. I saw a pair in Corralejo rubbish tip (we birders only target the very best areas, lol) way back in the mid 90s, so your pics bring back ...