www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

20.08.13 continued ...

Returning 15 minutes later and the butterfly was back ... and wow, what a sight it was . I snapped away as the majestic butterfly energetically and systematically worked its way around the flowers seemingly oblivious to mine and other photographer's presence. Other butterflies continually mobbed it as if put-out by it's splendour. The only problem was getting a good picture as it remained on the sunny side of the bush overhanging the water and we had to shoot directly into the light. After 5 or so minutes feeding this majestic insect left the others to it, and spiraled upwards and over a tall willow. Thankful for our experience we were all about to depart when another appeared (reckoned there had been two there all along) and we were treated to a further 2 or so minutes before this one too, vanished in the same fashion. Mindful of the fact I needed to get back to Southwold I set off with haste. My gouty feet in my trainers were sore from all the walking (compounded by the miles covered in the Maize Maze earlier). In addition my head ached and my throat was parched as I had failed to bring some drinks and a sun hat . Nevertheless the joy of a lifer would carry me through and before I'd got back it was augmented by my first Clouded Yellow sighting of the season (and first since 2009) . The Journey back to Southwold (from the Fen car-park to our pre-arranged meeting place of the Solebay Inn) took just under 1 hour. Alas there was no fanfare for my arrival in record time ... I had to wait for 15 minutes before they turned up from shopping on the pier .

This year like last year I'm running my moth trap in my garden and also taking part in a Garden moth challenge which is a fun competition to find out who can record the greatest number of species in 2013. http://gardenmothchallenge.blogspot.co. ... -page.html So far I'm on 357 which is nearly double my number taken for the whole of 2012. This is because I'm trapping more often, throughout the night and also because I'm getting better at identifying the micros. I take the trap (or at least part of it (the MV light and a net) as there's not enough room in the car boot) to see what different species I can find in Suffolk as compared to Surrey (Woking). The following are a few of ones I haven't had (yet) in Surrey:- In addition other creatures apart from moths can turn up .... The following day was a fine weather one so we all went to the beach. As I was still buzzing from the Swallowtails I took out a few minutes for some more Buddleia shots Other events that day were trip for me and the kids to the top of Southwold Lighthouse and an evening spent at the summer theatre to see Dick Barton and the Curse of the Pharaoh's Tomb. Great entertainment if perhaps a little risque for the kids Thursday was a bit cloudy and so I suggested we should go crabbing at Walberswick. As we parked the car and waited a while I stared out the window pondering on the gloomiest day weather-wise and suddenly a Clouded Yellow flew by . I raced out of the car grabbing my camera and waited patiently for the butterfl;y to land. It seemed to be looking for somewhere to settle, but in that infuriating way that Orange-tips do, it just would not land . First it went one way along a mown bank then over and out of sight before returning and going the other way. I watched and prayed for a landing ..... but as is often in these situation it never happened and in the end it was gone . I had to make do with this Small Tort NOT on Buddleia. Never mind I consoled myself, there's plenty of crabs in the Blyth. Crabbing at Walberswick is very popular, and virtually every available vantage point was taken. The local immature Herring Gulls loiter close by waiting for the crabbers to discard their bacon bait. The adults stand closer . A group of Black-headed Gulls also hung around but at a further distance. Fantastic aerial combat ensues when a lump of streaky is tossed into the air. In addition to the gulls and crabs a playful seal entertained us swimming against the outgoing tide. There is only so much crabbing you can take mind, so I had a mosy around a little grassy area where I found this little fellow (part 3 to follow sorry wurzel ).

Phil

Great shots Philzoid I'd love to see a Swallowtail but it's just to far...unless one turns up on migration

I guess your Smessex became an Essex then? Oh well replay next year?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Blimey Wurzel, that was a quick reply . I only sent it a couple of minutes ago and I'm still editing as a couple of pictures which haven't gone where they should've and (I've managed to duplicate some too )

I think its an Essex but my sword is sharpened should I need to commit Hari Kari if I'm wrong ... honestly they are tricky.

Next year your Welsh connections should put you in good stead for a HBF

Nice report, and congratulations on the lifer swallowtail - they are amazing creatures.

It looks like something went wrong with the last two attachments, which are duplicates of earlier ones.
Also I notice your camera sensor has quite a few dust spots on it and needs a good clean -particularly noticeable in the sky on the swallowtail shots, and the shot from the top of the lighthouse.

dilettante wrote:Nice report, and congratulations on the lifer swallowtail - they are amazing creatures.

Thanks for your comments dilettante As you say they are amazing creatures. I've seen tropical ones in butterfly houses but finding our own 'home grown' ones beats everything.

dilettante wrote:It looks like something went wrong with the last two attachments, which are duplicates of earlier ones.

Yes, I was aware of the 'error' immediately after scanning the post as soon as it appeared after submission . I went straight into "edit" to rectify and was able to put misplaced pics in their proper places by re-uploading the file (Lime-speck Pug). The reason for doing it this way is because the file [attachment] was not showing up in the write/edit view so I couldn't simply cut and past. What was strange was although the file was now in its proper place it was still showing up at the end of the report Also I do remember putting it in it's correct place when i did the report (taking care to avoid slip ups so i'm baffled as to what went wrong. A second edit was carried out to correct a gull picture which was my fault. again this was then duplicated at the end of the report.

BTW I rarely use the preview as I've lost posts that way (isp problems probably) Generally it's 'safer' to submit then edit if necessary

I was also surprised at receiving a reply from wurzel straight after doing the (1st) edit which only took around a minute.

dilettante wrote:Also I notice your camera sensor has quite a few dust spots on it and needs a good clean -particularly noticeable in the sky on the swallowtail shots, and the shot from the top of the lighthouse.

You are probably right on this, the camera gets used a lot (leads a hard life), and I've always thought that these marks are due to a dirty lens
Being relatively new to DSLR photography I assume you take it into a camera shop to get it cleaned?

Phil

Philzoid wrote:Being relatively new to DSLR photography I assume you take it into a camera shop to get it cleaned?

You can do it yourself - it takes 2 mins and is not as scary as you might think. You'll need some sort of air blower - usually a simple rubber bulb. The camera will have a cleaning mode that swings the mirror out of the way to expose the sensor, then a blast with the blower will dislodge all but the most stubborn spots, with no need to touch the sensor. Holding the camera upside down while you do this will increase the chances of the dust falling out of the camera rather than just being displaced to reappear later.

If you've got something sticky like pollen grains on the sensor, they can be trickier to remove, requiring either some sort of wet swab, or taking it to a camera shop.

The best way to check whether you have got the sensor clean is to take a picture of a plain brightsubject such as a cloudy, out-of-focus sky, with a small aperture (f22, say). Spots will be very apparent if there are any.

Incidentally, dirt on the front of the lens will almost never cause spots on the images, but will cause loss of contrast and increased flare in bright lights.

Thanks Dilletante
I mentioned this to a work colleague and he is of the same view (costs quite a bit if you get it done 'professionally'). He says I need a fully charged battery to keep the shutter open and he has a "Hurricaine bulb" that he'll bring in to work to do the job. Also something about an "Arctic butterfly" ... and there's me thinking it was a fritillary in Lapland ...where do they get these names from

The check you mentioned using small aperture will be very useful

Hi Philzoid,
Awesome reports and great shots of the Swallowtail! What a great lifer.
I have managed to get to 45 on my ridiculous quest and felt fairly happy until I read about Millerd's 51 species this year
From what started off as a season of doom and gloom, it seems to have been an amazing year.
Flutter on!
CJB

CJB wrote:Awesome reports and great shots of the Swallowtail! What a great lifer.

Thanks for those comments CJB

CJB wrote:I have managed to get to 45 on my ridiculous quest and felt fairly happy until I read about Millerd's 51 species this year
From what started off as a season of doom and gloom, it seems to have been an amazing year.

45 is a good total. I haven't added mine up yet but it is about that. 51 that's something else

CJB wrote:From what started off as a season of doom and gloom, it seems to have been an amazing year.

I tend ot agree with you . The previous wet summer and this year's cold spring perhaps led to premature conclusions . However the butterfly count should shed more light on how butterflies are doing.

Philzoid wrote:Blimey Wurzel, that was a quick reply . I only sent it a couple of minutes ago and I'm still editing as a couple of pictures which haven't gone where they should've and (I've managed to duplicate some too )

If an uploaded image isn't placed inline, then it's shown at the end of the post. Since you've added the photos again, you've now got 2 copies of a couple of the images, with one inline, and the other not. Those which aren't inline can be safely deleted.

Cheers,

- Pete

Sorry Pete but not wishing to sound stupid but how do i go about deleting them? Do I need to go into the edit field because i tried that and couldn't see the files (they should show up as two entries right?), or is there some way of doing from the read field (unlikely)
Phil

Hi Phil,

I think Pete may be away at the moment and may not be in a position to reply immediately.
You need to go to the edit field and scroll down through the attachments. Once you have found the duplicate just select "delete file".

I have been in and marked the two duplicate files in question (X1 and X2), because sometimes it can be difficult to tell the duplicate from the original.

Cheers,
Vince

Thanks Vince. I was looking for the duplicates showing up among the text rather than the list of attachments that followed it That's tidied it up a bit now

Phil

Thanks Vince!

Cheers,

- Pete