Hazards of Butterflying

[Jack Harrison]

Ours is not the trouble-free pastime that many might imagine. Some of my hates.

1. Dogs that leap into butterfly habitat and scare off the butterflies.

2. Dogs that jump up at us. I had one today ("he's only being friendly") stuff its nose into my camera and make a mess on the lens.

3. And then there is of course the "presents" that dogs leave on footpaths.

I am getting fed up with dogs (and in fairness, not all dogs are unruly) and am tempted to get a portable ultrasonic dog-deterrent. Do they work? And does the use result in a greater risk from annoyed dog owners?

4. Other hazards parallel this story:
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/06/24/se ... accus.html

We certainly get funny looks at times. I was birding once in mid-winter looking for Bramblings. "What's he up to wandering around like that? He hasn't got a dog with him" I overheard a woman say to her female companion in a deliberately loud whisper. Mind you, when I was noticed acting "oddly" by three women in Brampton Wood last weekend, one immediately said: "Are you trying to find Black Hairstreaks?" It transpired that she works at Monk's Wood and had been shown the butterflies by local expert, Nick Greatorex-Davies.

5. Gay cruising localities. Broxbourne Wood is notorious and although I have never felt threatened, their presumed activities really act as a deterrent to visiting some parts of the wood. Sussex Kipper tells me that in West Sussex, the appropriately named Fairmile Bottom is too irritating to visit for just this reason. Every one to his own, but in private please. It's not just gays. I recall on Watlington Hill (as I was looking for Silver Spotted Skippers) a heterosexual couple "at it" in the middle of a footpath. I am competent to deal with adders that I might find sunning themselves on a footpath, but how on earth do you deal with that sort of thing? A bucket of water is reputed to work on dogs but I don't normally carry a bucket of water around with me

Jack

[Annie]

Jack, Berrow Dunes have almost the same problem as those detailed in your number 5. - it's a well known spot for unnauthorised nudism, and while I'm no prude and I've visited proper nudist beaches in the past, it certainly puts you off your stride to crest a dune and come face to face with a chap proudly displaying his mahogany-coloured undercarriage.

The other thing that really wound me up there the other day was the remains of a makeshift camp, polystyrene, bottles, rubbish and a great poo-type stink. Utterly repugnant.

I haven't suffered too much with over-enthusiastic dogs, but some (and I stress only some) owners do seem very irresponsible with regard to cleaning up their dog's waste. My morning walk to work along the seafront has been dubbed the "dog-poo dance" as it's almost impossible to walk along for twenty yards without have to dodge a deposit

[Padfield]

Some dogs just won't look where they're going.



Guy

[Jack Harrison]

I can add a true story.

I had a day off in Nairobi during a swan around Africa courtesy the Royal Air Force. So I went out armed with camera to find some butterflies. Waste ground seemed very productive but the Yellows and "Orange Tips" were far too lively to get anywhere near.

A local chap saw me and said: "You don't want to go in there - snakes". I had heard how Africans have a legendary phobia about snakes but this was the first time I had experienced it myself. Anyway, I reckoned a public park with plenty of flowering shrubs would be easier. I soon had a old friend on film, a Painted Lady. Then I found truly huge skipper and as I was stalking it, I became aware of a group of young men hanging around me. One started telling me how poor he was and had to sleep on the floor of the market, etc, etc. I realised that I was about to get mugged. I had a sudden inspiration.

"Do you get snakes in this park? I thought I saw a snake slide under that bush" My "fan club" disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. But I never did get a photo of that skipper. Nor did I ever see that "snake" again

Jack

[Piers]

a heterosexual couple "at it" in the middle of a footpath. I am competent to deal with adders that I might find sunning themselves on a footpath, but how on earth do you deal with that sort of thing?

I had a similar experience in Dorset a couple of years back in the middle of a chalk down and it was really quite annoying! After a while of wandering around the foot of the down to 'make them aware that they were no longer alone' I grew irritated and simply wandered up and just stared at them until they ****ed off!

Dog fouling is a far more serious matter, as are dogs in general on nature reserves either on leads or off them. Studies have demonstrated without doubt that the continued presence of dogs on nature reserves will cause ground nesting birds to move a significant distance from the areas where the dogs are present (usually footpaths), and most nature reserves simply are not big enough to accommodate this. There will come a time in our increasingly fragmented countryside when a stark choice will present itself - the importance of the nature reserve/SSSI or the needs of dog walkers.

Nutrient enrichment through tons of dog waste is of course another problem but I won't ramble on anymore, simply look at the footpaths of the more popular heathland areas in the south - that lush green grass that borders the paths is there for one reason only...

Felix.

[Piers]

I recall on Watlington Hill (as I was looking for Silver Spotted Skippers) a heterosexual couple "at it" in the middle of a footpath. I am competent to deal with adders that I might find sunning themselves on a footpath, but how on earth do you deal with that sort of thing?

...on a lighter note; a different approach would be to wander casually up to the rutting couple, start stripping off, and ask if there's 'room for one more'...

I couldn't recommend this tactic at Fairmile Bottom though...

Felix.

[Piers]

...face to face with a chap proudly displaying his mahogany-coloured undercarriage.

Was it Roger Moore?? David 'The Duke' Dickinson???

Felix.

[Markulous]

Must admit that my old regular stomping ground in South Wales, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, had loads of dogs and the resident/immigrant bird and insect population didn't seem to mind too much - I was even amused (relatively!) when two ENORMOUS Irish Wolfhounds greeted me when I was lying down trying to get a good shot of an orchid!

On another occasion I was out in the Brecon Beacons. It was quite late and I was having a rest, taking the weight off my feet, by simple virtue of lying down beside the path. Unknown to me, another hiker approached down the path and when I stirred I was greeted by the words "Thank f*** for that! I thought I was going to have to report a heart attack victim". LOL!

Tho' I was irritated when I was lining up rather a good close shot of a Dipper and two walkers came stomping passed with an "Alright?". No, it's not alright seeing as the Dipper had rapidly left. Grrrrrrrrr!

[markhows]

I was at Over Railway cutting last year sadly for the last time as it has been concreted over - no pun intended. I had been photographing wall butterflies but put a foot on some loose gravel getting that perfect shot and fell off the platform onto the track, boy did that hurt.

Got some good pics as mitigation as I limped around the site.

Mark

[Annie]

There's a wonderful story in my Grandfather's papers about one summer he was staying at a hotel for the PE season when somebody mentioned, loudly, the similarity of one of his facial features to that of a local "Ripper" style murderer who was still on the loose - so he promptly went out under cover of darkness and buried the jars of PE-tempting offal he'd brought with him just in case - I mean, it'd be pretty hard to explain away, wouldn't it?

"oh yes, Officer - I brought the hearts and kidneys with me to attract butterflies..."

[Neil Hulme]

Hi all,
The best way to get dog-walkers to start cleaning up their fragrant piles, would be to start laying belachan close to the car parks from where they start out with their loose-bowelled friends (couldn't they 'go' before they got in the car?). They would only have to step in it once and think "oops, I've just trodden in dog poo", before they realised that this is an altogether more unpleasant experience. It's no good just trying to prize out the worst of this stuff with a twig!
Neil

[Annie]

and if someone parks inconsiderately behind you (as happened to me at Collard Hill the other day) you could just wedge some belachan behind their radiator grill...

I'm still surprised it's not rated as "weapons grade"

[Markulous]

Well, that's my factoid learned for today http://www.penangnet.com/hocklee/

[Jack Harrison]

Nobody has so far commented on dog deterrents.

This one looks good:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?Tab ... &U=Strat15

The blurb says: ".....Ideal for joggers, postmen and women, cyclists, etc"

I'm not a jogger, nor a postman, nor a woman nor a cyclist. But I suppose I am an etc.

But how much would the use of one of these alienate the dog owner?

I do rather like the idea of belachan sprayed on to tiresome dogs. Chemical warfare taken to a new level

Jack

[Denise]

A few years ago I was visiting Lodmoor Nature Reserve (Weymouth) very early one morning as a Squaco Heron had been seen flying in to roost the previous evening. There was a two storey hide and my friend and I went upstairs to get the best possible view of the reserve. About 15 mins later we heard the door open and heard muffled voices down stairs. Stupid idiots I thought, as they wouldn't see much from there. Dawn broke and just as we 'got onto' the heron the entire hide started shaking!

My friend said, oh my god, a young couple must be bonking and we giggled. Twenty mins later the hide was still shaking so we started coughing and making a general noise upstairs. All went quiet and then the door opened and two rather elderly gentlemen left in a bit of a hurry.

The hide burned down a couple of weeks after that and it has never been replaced as it was known locally as a gay hot spot. No one told us!

Denise

[Annie]

Jack - when you raised this topic yesterday I looked hard on the internet for any comments on forums etc against the use of these sonic devices, but could not find anything.

What surprises me is that one company says they're ideal for deterring other dogs when you're out walking your own dog - I don't understand that, because surely you don't want your own pooch buggering off into the distance...

I know they're only emitting a noise that's harmless but irritating to dogs, but do some dogs find it more irritating than others? If it just makes them veer round you, then fine.

[Jack Harrison]

Denise wrote:

....Twenty mins later the hide was still shaking

I rather wish I hadn't started this thread now. But that story certainly set me off into hysterics.

Jack

[Susie]

...on a lighter note; a different approach would be to wander casually up to the rutting couple, start stripping off, and ask if there's 'room for one more'...

LMAO. I am not so sure that is a good idea

I was a tad irritated last week as the Heath Fritillary landed perfectly in front of me and lined my camera up for a shot as a bloke turned up and boomed "oooh, what are you taking a picture of?". Nothing as it turned out.

[Jack Harrison]

Rosy Rustic, about to take a picture when an inquisitive passer asked:

"oooh, what are you taking a picture of?"

If I remember correctly from an earlier posting you made, you had the ready-made response: "Oh, just a dog turd"

Jack

[Susie]

Lol. No, that was last year, and I did get some funny looks then too. This was last week and I completely fluffed the only decent shot I could have got.