www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

padfield wrote:In England things are not helped by the fact there are too many people and not enough space. All groups - bikers, dog-walkers, hikers, hunters, photographers and, of course, the wildlife - are competing for the same limited resources.

Quite true, however nature reserves and SSSI's should be just that, and the 'nature' should come first and foremost, even if that means limited public access. At the risk of incurring the wrath of responsible dog owners everywhere I too believe that the time has come to consider banning dogs from certain (if not all) nature reserves. Not only is nutrient enrichment through dog fouling a real problem in certain habitats (why do you think so many footpaths on heathland sites are flanked by lush green grass?) but to certain ground nesting birds the mere presence of dogs, on leads or otherwise, can be enough to deter them from the very habitat that is apparently being protected for their use.

I know that there are plenty of thoroughly responsible dog owners out there who do (do) clear up after their pooch and would not take their animal of choice to a 'sensitive' site, but there are also plenty of irresponsible mutt owners and I am afraid guys that it's this latter group that could have ruined it for all of you.

We are all competing for the same limited resources, but none more so than habitat-specialist wildlife. It's time that organisations that allege to exist for the benefit of wildlife really began putting the wildlife first.

Felix.

What got me in that recent jumping up incident – I am a grumpy old man of course – was when I complained to the owner about his dog’s behaviour, the reaction was that I had no right to do so. He certainly gave the impression that he thought that I was the one in the wrong, not him – hence his colourful description of me. That is the attitude that we have to stop. But I have no better idea now how to deal with these couldn’t-care-less owners than I had when I tried to make my point the other day. I have in effect accepted defeat and it will be a long time before I visit that locality again, notwithstanding it having the best colony of Dingy Skippers in Cambridgeshire.

As others point out, Nature Reserves attract dog walkers simply because they are wild natural places where they can let their dogs run free. The solution could be special “dog parks”, or certainly dog toilets. Way back in the early 1970s when visiting Hong Kong, I came across a “dog-bog” and very popular it was with the local dogs. Disgusting, but at least all the crap was in one place.

Jack

I do get annoyed with dog owners who have "jumpy" dogs and let them run off lead too. I adore dogs but my youngest has a phobia regarding dogs that jump up at her (a neighbours' dog used to jump at her when she was tiny and scared the living daylights out of her and the fear doesn't seem to be going away).

For some reason dogs seem to be able to sense that she is scared when we are out and always make a bee-line for her. I try and fend them off but it doesn't stop her from being terrified. The owners seem put out that she doesn't enjoy a big slobbery dog jumping all over her but I wonder how they would enjoy it if I let my kids run up to them, give them a bit of a slapping, rub mud over their clothes and then I call out, "don't worry, they're only being playful".

I have just read the article that Guy mentionned and I think what a great idea!! Every dog owner and their dog must be assessed and trained thoroughly before being given a permit!!I am totally in favour of it!

One trick that I have been practising and which works when you see a very uncontrolled dog, is to tell the owner that you are very scared of dogs (in my case this is true as I have been bitten many times) and they will immediately put their dogs on a lead and control it!! A walking stick is also a very good deterent but you are likely to have comments like 'my dog does not like sticks you see!!' in which case I turn my head the opposite way and carry on walking!!

As for hazards of butterflying, well I had a very nasty experience once where a dog urinated on my photo bag (fortunately, the bag was zipped up)!! I was crossed with the owner who did not offer to clean or say ‘sorry’ and simply made a comment such as: ‘how do you want me to stop my dog urinating?’ I can’t imagine what it would have been like if the dog had decided to defecate! If this woman had a permit she would have probably trained her dog NOT to piss on other’s people bag or maybe she would not have been able to own a dog because of her stupid and irresponsible behaviour!!

I do agree with you Jack, nature reserves are now dog walkers paradise!! I like Kenfig nature reserve but unfortunately it is always full of people with uncontrollable dogs and dog dirt as well. Although there are signs everywhere where people are told to put their dog on a lead, these are being completely ignored. I used to tell people to put their dogs on a lead as this is a nature reserve and dogs tend to disturb birds at the time of nesting. All I had were very aggressive looks and comments such as ‘thank you for spoiling my day!!’ just because I dared asking them to control their dog!! I felt like I'd lost already and have stopped explaining! Even the bird hide is being used by dog owners as a shelter when it rains! I remember once when I was doing some birdwatching and this woman came in banging the door and the dog starting to bark when he saw other people in the hide, no need to tell you that the day was over for me!!

But on the positive side, I went yesterday to Whiteford Burrows on Gower which belongs to the National Trust and there were signs everywhere for dog owners. In this notice, it was explained that the number of Lapwings nesting in Wales had reduced dramatically over the last decades because of disturbance and loss of habitat and that all dog owners had to put their dogs on a lead. I did notice that it worked and that all the dogs were on a lead. I even saw a man putting his dog on a lead after having read the notice. We should maybe remain optimistic!!

I sometimes feel like renaming "Willsbridge Wildlife Reserve" to "Willsbridge Dog Latrine and Exercise Yard"

Totternhoe at the weekend.

(Perhaps somebody had seen my April Fool's spoof on this thread and acted on it)

Jack

Not for the squeemish!!!
Right - beat this..................
3 days on Exmoor - 8 Tics, each one lovingly removed by the ever patient Rose. Most on upper legs or tummy, but a few only accessible to my Doctor or wife!!
7 Horsefly bites, all on my hands - one so bad that even though it was on that fleshy bit where thumb and forefinger meet, it paralised my ring finger, and is still swollen 2 days later!
It is odd that they seem to sting/bite the hand you are holding the camera/tripod with so you don't sem to notice it untill it is too late......
The "bad" one had been (I reckon) on my hand for ages whilst I fiddled about photographing a Heath Frit.
I became aware of a pain, and then spotted this bu**er. - I swear I could see it's body "pumping" as it sucked my blood.
I tried to blow it off first - nothing.
Then I put the camera down and flicked it. It just spun tenaciously around it's proboscis a couple of times.
By now I was starting to panic as this slaty grey bas**rd kept on sucking.
I flicked again and he still just spun.
Then I squeezed him (and he burst - eeeuch) with my fingers and had to pull hard to get the mouthparts out of my skin.
I flicked the bloated and bloody body away.
The wound kept beleeding for 15 minutes - and I normally clot really well!!!
The back of my hand swelled up and my ring finger did too, and I lost all feeling in it as well.
It is now 2 days later, and the feeling is coming back and the horrific itching has stopped.
Still - off again next weekend - more butties to snap and all that - must soldier on - no pain - no gain.
Regards
Roger

I used to suffer very bad reactions to bites/stings sometimes getting enormously swollen hands. I now take Piriton anti-histamine (with doctor’s approval) before going out in a likely infested area (eg woodland) and then take another afterwards. I still get bitten just as badly as before but no longer have any adverse reaction. Horseflies are the real nuisance and only seem to attack my hands but do cause intense itching. I am going to investigate the use of cotton gloves. Sure I’ll look a right idiot but so what if it overcomes the discomfort!

Jack

Hey Roger,

Good story had me in stITCHES and my sympathies with the Horsefly bites.

I'm currently also experiencing the wonderfully itchy sensation with HF, 5 bites on the back which are extremely difficult to reach and I'd scratch raw if I could. But the worst one is on the camera hand, which now has none of the knuckles visible due to the swelling and still getting larger.

Oh and did I mention the itching Arrrrgghhh.

Latley for me its been horseflies. I was photographing some common blues a few days ago and let my guard down and felt a nip on my hand then felt something crawl up my neck, next thing I was being swarmed by 6 of these things, I had to run to get them off me . Anyone know what to do about these things? I think these horseflies are one of these:

Dave - A common nasty here in Oxfordshire - latin name can be supplied if you're really interested.

A good tip for avoiding horse fly bites: always go butterfly hunting with someone else, preferable hot & sweaty and wearing a dark t-shirt (same advice in principle as when you photograph polar bears - go with someone who looks tastier). Horse flies have a rather clever eye structure which (it is said) has layers of thin cuticle so that for part of their visual field, they see a red/near infrared image, meaning that they can home in on the hot spots of their victims like the throat and wrist where blood is nearer to the surface.

Chris

Being bitten is not the only hazard from horseflies. I punched myself in the ear the other day whilst trying to "persuade" one to go somewhere else.

I am still suffering the effects of a sting/bite that I got a month ago! My elbow swelled up and I have a fluid-filled lump the size of a small egg still there! I went to the local GP practice and the nurse said "Housemaid's elbow. It'll go down eventually".....
I tried to pull the sympathy vote with my fiancée - too much housework, etc - but she wasn't having any of it! ....Self-inflicted
N

Yesterday I had another bad experience. Not looking where I was going, I forgot the large patch of giant hogweed in the area I was in (I'll post a photo soon of the hogweed area) and fell into one, hit it with my bare arm and its now a bit red and sore. My hands kinda tingled for a while too. I had cream that I put on the rash and its still a little bad, but better than it was. The hogweed is still not in flower and is already over 6ft tall. After coming out of that area, a pheasant flew out of the barley field I was at and made me jump. (actually that happens on a regualr basis with me and pheasants)

A new disgusting habit seems to be creeping in among dog walkers. They are obliged to remove the mess from the path – presumably something that many dog owners object to. So what do they do? They bag it (sometimes in a transparent bag) and hang from a convenient branch or barbed wire for all to see. This is even more revolting than a pile of sh*t on the path.

I don’t really know how this can be countered. But I see anyone doing this, I will photograph (using a long lens from a safe distance) and send the picture to the park mangers, the local newspaper, pin photo on the reserve board, etc. These people presumably can’t be shamed but at least the responsible members of the public will know who to look out for.

Interesting thought. If someone posted the bag of sh*t through the perpetrator’s letter box, that would probably be illegal (breach of the peace)

Jack

I've seen this also Jack, and yes it it disgusting.
However, if you are near a wood with PE's, it might just come in handy.
Just joking.

Denise

Denise wrote:.
..... if you are near a wood with PE's, it might just come in handy.
Denise

I know where you can get plenty of PE attractors...
Every morning in the cemetery I pass a group of dog walking shit-collectors, swinging their little bags iddly on their fingers as they chat away...
I often speculate on the conversations that could take place...
"...oh, yes; mine was really runny this morning..." ...
and other similar disgusting and innappropriate things...
N

jackharr wrote:Interesting thought. If someone posted the bag of sh*t through the perpetrator’s letter box, that would probably be illegal (breach of the peace)

Jack

As I understand things it is customary to post the offering in a brown paper bag, which is ignited just prior to popping it through the letter box; followed by a quick ring on the door bell.

The theory goes that the surprised recipient upon seeing a burning paper bag on the hallway floor hastily stamps all over it... you can imagine the rest.

Felix.

I have also noted the ever-increasing appearance of small knotted blue or black plastic bags with "contents" hanging from bushes particularly near car parks on public footpaths. It really annoys me and I have had the same instinct as others on this thread about posting bags back to owners if I knew who they were. Why do some "owners" tar the respectability of others by doing such a disgusting thing I wonder? I firmly believe any person found guilty of this crime should be banned from owning dogs... No animal deserves to be looked after by someone so neanderthal.

On a similar subject... a few weeks ago whilst at home one evening, there was a thud on the front window. By the time I got to the door, the culprit had gone, but I could not see what had caused it - certainly not a raw egg as I had suspected. A couple of days later I was reversing into the driveway, when I noticed something moving on the flat roof above the front window. It was the loose end of a small blue plastic bag blowing in the wind... the main part of the bag held down by a generous portion of "canine guano" which somebody had kindly donated to me. I'm sure this must have been the thud I had heard. I was obviously delighted with this magnanimous gesture and tried desperately who work out who to thank (and more importantly why they felt obliged to reward me in particular). After some thought , and being the generous man I am, I will give the previous owner the benefit of doubt as it is just possible that they were swinging the bag around (as dog-walkers are prone to do) and accidently let go of it at an inopportune moment, before making a sharp exit in obvious embarrasement. Picturing that scenario is the only way I could calm myself down enough to prevent me hurling abuse at every dog owner who walked past my house anyway

Trev

This just doesn't happen in Switzerland. It's not allowed.



Guy