www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Thank you David, Wurzel and Bugboy for kind words and helping me to feel more at home. I shall follow these sensible rules and mostly post butterflies especially those where I have a story to tell.

I uploaded the commas to Flickr yesterday just to be able to post here, but one has today been selected as a sort of pic of the day. It means that some mysterious and secret order of Elders within the Castle Flickr selects you as one of the 'chosen' pictures for that day to explore. Which is a strange thing as suddenly hundreds of complete strangers go and view your picture and make it one of their favourites too. Some make comments and I guess - some may actually like butterflies (???) but what has become apparent is that all they actually want is for you to become their Flickr friend. Collecting friends is one of the real purposes of Flickr. Some Flickerites have many tens of thousands. One I spotted has thousands of friends but doesn't post any photos! Strange place.

Which reminds me of another strange Flickr fascination. As I take pictures of wildlife generally I tend to post ornithology in the Winter. I am a dabbler more than a real birder so a lot of those are small common birds. I was really pleased that people started to look at my pictures but noticed they liked some birds much, much, much more than others. Shots of robins would be seen 20-30 times shots of bluetits 200/300+, indeed all tits seemed popular. It took me a while to work out that shots tagged with 'tit' were being actively searched out. There is apparently a very dark side to Flickr which being quite naive I had completely missed.

So whilst I felt both Commas were quite nice in fact one is a 'winner' the other a 'dud'

Hi! Art, your post was the funniest I've read for a long time It 's been cloudy here all day but your post certainly cheered me up Welcome to UKB, I love your sense of Humour. Goldie

Goldie M wrote:Hi! Art, your post was the funniest I've read for a long time It 's been cloudy here all day but your post certainly cheered me up Welcome to UKB, I love your sense of Humour. Goldie

That is extremely generous of you. You have instantly become a UKB friend (I shall give you special privileges to see all of my special 'tit' shots).
Well it has been sunny here and I have one Brimstone to show for it...I shall tag it as a tit to get more people to view it. Peter

My first Brimstone of 2017. Poor shot, but it paused for a second at a primrose and then carried on.

Brimstone - Gonepteryx rhamni by Peter Willmott, on Flickr

Wrongly tagged as previously mentioned deliberately to frustrate the pervs on Flickr...

A belated welcome Peter. I, too, am loving your sense of humour and your photos even more

Pauline wrote:A belated welcome Peter. I, too, am loving your sense of humour and your photos even more

Thank you kindly Pauline. I looked at your diary earlier and loved the small coppers. Never seen anything like that many. I would have left a comment but we had not been introduced at that stage. I shall now feel less inhibited.

Not quite sure if you get notified about this reply...?

Great little story about your Flickr experiences...the internet can be a web waiting to trap the unwary

Looking forward to more of your posts and photosthrough the coming season.

Cheers,

Neil.

Love the story regarding the 'tits', Peter. Probably best not to link them on 'UK Butts'.

Good to see you encountered a grounded Brimstone. Grass blades for once can be forgiven!

Yes, nice Brimstone, Peter. The UKB site is my only dabbling with internet postings so I've avoided the minefield of Flickr and tweeting and YouTube. The worst you'll find here is the odd amusing typo!

Dave

millerd wrote:The worst you'll find here is the odd amusing typo! Dave

I agree - definitely nothing Blue - not even Tits

MikeOxon wrote:

millerd wrote:The worst you'll find here is the odd amusing typo! Dave

I agree - definitely nothing Blue - not even Tits

Last year I witnessed a Tit fight! viewtopic.php?f=29&t=8077&start=560

bugboy wrote:

MikeOxon wrote:

millerd wrote:The worst you'll find here is the odd amusing typo! Dave

I agree - definitely nothing Blue - not even Tits

Last year I witnessed a Tit fight! viewtopic.php?f=29&t=8077&start=560

I watched a similar fight between two long tailed tits. For such delicate birds they scrap hard.

Second visit to Whitecross Green Woods with my good friend Dennis. It was dull, cold and windy Still it gets us out!

We spent most of our time there watching and recording a hare. We shot at about 100 yards through my friend's Swarovski scope and my Olympus camera. The video was OK but David Attenborough is safe in his job for the moment.

When we were suitably numb and ready to go home we went into the field and crept closer...and closer. The hare was watchful, but remained 'hidden'....

Hare at Whitecross Green Wood by Peter Willmott, on Flickr

And then at about 30 yards it exploded into life....

Hare at Whitecross Green Wood by Peter Willmott, on Flickr

Hare at Whitecross Green Wood by Peter Willmott, on Flickr

Exhilarating but a lot of work to edit and get anything useful out of the pictures. I want to know how they get these glossy magazine shots. I think they use stuffed animals

I laughed so hard when I read your previous post that I have been in the doghouse ever since as I woke the entire house
I know what you mean about the mag shots - I'm sure that you're right and they're stuffed animals for the stills and trained for the action shots

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Love the Hare shots.
A few years back I had one run out in front of my car. Instead of diving into the nearest point of escape
the Hare ran in front of car for some yards. When I looked at my speedo we were doing just short of 30mph !.

Great action shot,
Trevor.

Great shots of a Hare at full pelt! I had a very unusual Hare encounter last year near Ivinghoe Beacon (I was after Dukes). It came lolloping along the path towards me, stopped for a wash and brush up then casually sauntered off into the longer grass, most unusual for such a normally shy animal.

Wurzel wrote:I laughed so hard when I read your previous post that I have been in the doghouse ever since as I woke the entire house

I shall be careful in future. I may need a Government warning notice.

In my mind I am building a picture of life in Wurzel Towers. Your family tucked up in bed sleeping the sleep of the pure and just. With yourself in the East Tower surfing the Interweb till dawn looking at Butterfly pictures (according to the web history) but secretly doing complicated searches at Flickr and occasionally shouting NO..!!! NOT AGAIN...!! as you find another one of my tedious bird photographs. Drifting in and out of fitful sleep saying 'tits like coconuts' not 'in the damned coconuts' But I have a lurid imagination. Or so i'm told.

Thanks Trevor and Bugboy for your hare stories. I think the saddest thing is that they are virtually extinct in many places. They are beautiful, gentle and the sight of them is uplifting and magical.

Your imagination certainly seems very active Art Frames, I'm not quite sure how you painted such a picture from that one sentence - is it based on personal experience?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wurzel wrote:Your imagination certainly seems very active Art Frames, I'm not quite sure how you painted such a picture from that one sentence - is it based on personal experience?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Yes but I am undertaking avoidance therapy. After that it is the electrodes