ernie f

[Goldie M]

Nice shot ernie, of the Copper, no chance here of seeing Butterflies much to wet and cold. Hope you see it again Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cracking shot Ernie Hopefully it'll find somewhere out of the inclement weather so it'll last a few more days I can't remember my latest sighting of a Small Copper but one year I saw a butterfly in every month

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[ernie f]

Thanks, folks. I guess I am stretching my luck now. The end of season for Butterflies must have nearly ended by now.

[ernie f]

2nd Nov 2020, 11.30 am Broxhead, Mostly sunny but quite breezy.

Since my last post about a late Small Copper (26th Oct) it has rained every day and been quite windy. Last night there was one hell of a storm so coming out to Broxhead today was the height of optimism. Would I see my little copper friend again or not.

In a word.

Not.

But there was a consolation prize for my efforts - in fact two prizes.

First a Brimstone - but it did not stop. A distant shot while it was in flight was not easy as it was being chucked about in the breeze.

And a Peacock which landed momentarily before zooming off out of sight.

[Wurzel]

A November butterfly is not to be sniffed at Ernie, good job - and to have two well that's being a little bit greedy

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[trevor]

I totally agree with Wurzel, Ernie,
I think I have had my lot around here, but you never know.

Stay safe and well,
Trevor.

[millerd]

Interesting that you saw a Brimstone, Ernie, as that was one of the three things I saw on the 2nd as well. Must have been a quirk of the weather... I'm not sure how many more there will be now, mind!

Cheers,

Dave

[David M]

2nd Nov 2020...First a Brimstone....and a Peacock which landed momentarily before zooming off out of sight.

This month is already full of surprises and we're only on Day 5!!

Of all the adult hibernators, the two I would least likely expect to see are Peacock and Brimstone! I wonder whether, having had such a dismal spell for over a week, one bright, mild, sunny day triggered their instinct to wake up and fly?

[ernie f]

Wurzel, Trevor, Dave, David

Thanks, Guys.

Those were to be my last butterflies of the year. I went back to Broxhead once more after that but saw nothing there and have not seen any butterflies since anywhere else either.

[ernie f]

29th Nov 2020, early evening on outside of kitchen door

I had to do a double-take. It was a moth, but when I first saw it, it had its wings pressed together like some butterflies often do.

I am no moth expert so it being November I looked in my books and went straight to November Moth. It certainly bears a resemblance but I found others such as Autumnal and Small Autumnal, Winter and Pale November moth – all of which could be candidates. My book says the November moth flies Sep to Nov and this being right at the end of November does make me wonder.

Perhaps it is a new species – the “almost December moth”?

Seriously though, can anyone tell me what is most likely?

Also...

Every year there seems to be some weird Xmas decoration going up in or around the town where I live, Alton in Hampshire.

Last year someone completely covered up a real old red telephone box on a street corner with Christmas wrapping paper and ribbon. There was also a giant Santa’s hat set up in the middle of a field.

This year I discovered our Marmot. Yes – that’s right. Other towns might sport Robins or Reindeer decorations for Christmas. We’ve got ourselves a giant neon Marmot (16ft high). In fact it’s supposed to be an Alpine Marmot (hence the skis). There really is a species of Marmot called an Alpine Marmot but to my knowledge not many of them go about on skis. It got into the national press where I learnt that some townsfolk love it while others hate it, so it was given the name Marmite the Marmot.

I did not see it when it was first erected last year but it went up again this year and now appears to have got a companion. This new character is another, smaller Marmot (called Meribel for some reason). Marmite’s younger sister perhaps?

Looks like we shall end up with a whole family of them in coming years.

[Goldie M]

Love your decoration's ernie , I've just put my tree up, I needed some thing to cheer me up your Marmot's certainly did Goldie

[Wurzel]

I don't envy you having to look at those Mormots Ernie but I do envy the November moth - I've only seen one before and that was in December

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

I am no moth expert so it being November I looked in my books and went straight to November Moth. It certainly bears a resemblance but I found others such as Autumnal and Small Autumnal, Winter and Pale November moth – all of which could be candidates. My book says the November moth flies Sep to Nov and this being right at the end of November does make me wonder.

Hi Ernie,

The November Moth group are all variable and cannot be reliably separated without detailed genital examination - something for the experts . I get a few in my trap and record them as aggs (aggregates). In my garden they fly from October though to December.

The Winter Moth/Northern Winter Moth are very similar but tend to be significantly smaller than the November Moths. In my garden these don't usually start turning up until well into December and continue through January.

Then there is the December Moth, a totally different species. These usually start from late October and have a peak during the second half of November.

Simple really

Must say, I love your Marmots

Cheers,

Neil.

[David M]

Every year there seems to be some weird Xmas decoration going up in or around the town where I live, Alton in Hampshire.

Last year someone completely covered up a real old red telephone box on a street corner with Christmas wrapping paper and ribbon. There was also a giant Santa’s hat set up in the middle of a field.

This year I discovered our Marmot. Yes – that’s right. Other towns might sport Robins or Reindeer decorations for Christmas. We’ve got ourselves a giant neon Marmot (16ft high). In fact it’s supposed to be an Alpine Marmot (hence the skis). There really is a species of Marmot called an Alpine Marmot but to my knowledge not many of them go about on skis. It got into the national press where I learnt that some townsfolk love it while others hate it, so it was given the name Marmite the Marmot.

Thanks for keeping us entertained, ernie.

Yes, I remember the festively-wrapped red phone box and you've now got a bloody marmot!! Can't see any obvious link so heaven knows what may turn up in 2021?

[ernie f]

Thanks Folks

Those marmots are a bit of a giggle.

Thanks also Neil for the info on the November Moth group.

[ernie f]

Well it's the Winter Solstice tomorrow and not only that - by pure chance it is also the Great Conjunction. That's when Earth, Jupiter and Saturn all line up, according to the internet an event that happened last over 400 years ago. Tomorrow it will appear like Jupiter and Saturn are combined but of course it's just Saturn passing behind Jupiter from our perspective here on Earth.

Tomorrow in my neck of the woods rain is forecast all day and night so seeing the actually meeting-up is not on the cards, but this evening was pretty clear so Gloria and I tried our luck by going up a neighbouring hill. Success. They were in plain view and were pretty close to each other already.

On full zoom and a bit of cropping I got this below - not too bad for a bridge camera (without a tripod!). Saturn is above Jupiter and although the rings are not well defined, you can at least see its shine is wider than it is tall because the rings stretch out all around.

With a bit of post-processing, by lightening the image you can even just make out four of Jupiter's moons. One is very close to the planet at the bottom right and looks like a bulge in the following shot.

If you don't have cloud tomorrow (21st) between 4.30pm and 6pm, look in the direction just south of the sunset. You may just be able to see the full conjunction. Good luck!

[ernie f]

Note

Guy has posted some even better photos under the General Forum. Go take a look - he even shows the names of Jupiter's moons alongside them.

[David M]

...On full zoom and a bit of cropping I got this below - not too bad for a bridge camera (without a tripod!).

Far better than I could manage with a bridge camera and no tripod, ernie.

I tried several tricks but none returned images worthy of posting so fair play to you, you managed to get decent shots in spite of your lack of expensive equipment.

[ernie f]

Happy belated New Year to one and all.

Hope you are all keeping well, and as far as possible avoiding the virus, the storms, the snow, the floods & etc….

As a follow-on from the bizarre Alton Town Xmas decorations noted in my previous posts, I have finally come to the conclusion that they must be putting something in the water around here.

In the village of Chawton – just a stone’s throw from Alton I have just noticed something equally unusual up on the thatched roofs of some of the houses - actually on the top of four separate houses in all.

This is the first one that grabbed my attention. I thought first of all I should call out the fire brigade until I looked a little closer.

Across the road and a bit further down another one.

And then, what the hell?

Now I’ve seen thatched pheasants before, but a horse?

And then three ducks lined up like at a fairground shooting gallery.

I am of course waiting for someone to put a butterfly up on their roof.

I’ll keep you posted if this ever happens.

[David M]

Thanks for keeping us entertained, ernie.

Must say, at first glance I thought that cat crawling up the thatched roof was real!

Those folk in that area sure have an off-beat sense of humour.