I received the BC Autumn newsletter the other day, and chuckled as I read Bernard Watts' anecdote on page 17 about how he nearly lost his life butterflying when he was attacked by Rottweilers (I know, I know, it's not really a laughing matter...but it was his quote "This is silly, to die looking for butterflies - and I've only seen one Lattice Brown", that got me going).
There would appear to be few pastimes less life threatening than studying butterflies, but even this year I've had two accidents that could have proved injurious; the first when I slid down a salt flat into a crab-infested estuary in Pembrokeshire and the second when I snagged and tore my shirt pursuing this year's only Clouded Yellow seen at West Yatton Down. Further back in time I also recall nearly falling 40m or so when the ground gave way above an isolated beach in the Isle of Man whilst I was hunting Red Admirals. To this day that probably remains the closest to death I've ever been.
So, it got me wondering - how many of you have suffered mishap (or even catastrophe) whilst out in the field? Let me be the first to declare that Jack Harrison will probably win this hands down!
Lightening the gloom...
Re: Lightening the gloom...
In 1966 I can remember our battalion Intelligence Officer, who was and I believe still is a butterfly fanatic, taking his whole section, all four of us, to act as an armed escort because he wanted to capture a Rajah Brooke. This was during the confrontation in Borneo. We spent a day leaping around around the jungle chasing butterflies, I dread to think what might have happened had some communist infiltrators been in the area at the time, but there are some sacrifices that have to be made to see such butterflies.