Latest Lepidopteran Garden Sightings

We had a short burst of sunshine yesterday morning, and were delighted to find our first Gatekeeper of the year in the garden.

We also noticed this moth, which I'm guessing is a Silver Y on account of the 'Y' markings, though it seemed an unusual pose for one of these insects. It was resting in dappled shade under the Silver Birch, and was tricky to photograph. 

A new flower, the mauve one below, has opened in the place where we planted the wildflower seeds given to us by Butterfly Conservation (Suffolk branch). I'm assuming this IS Corncockle rather than the yellow one, which I now think is Corn Marigold. Please correct me if I still haven't got these names sorted! I hope the weather will improve so that insects are attracted to these latest blooms.

Day 30, Final Day of #30dayswildcreativity: The Sea and its Islands

Two Noah's Ark panels of stained glass from St Neot's Church, Bodmin Moor

I discovered very early on that I enjoyed drawing. When I was about four or five I was asked to draw Noah's Ark, a challenge I relished as I loved animals. I also loved the sea, being by the sea and paddling: it took me a long time to learn to swim. Sadly I failed to keep that drawing, but the version in the stained glass above always make me smile when I see the dove being sent off to look for dry land in one panel and the dove returning in another with what must be the olive leaf in its bill. 

There is something about setting off from the security of the shore and heading out into the vastness of the ocean. I was a timid swimmer and it was many years until I was finally awarded my bronze Personal Survival Medal. I am also a timid sailor in choppy seas. But I love a short excursion out into the ocean, particularly when there is the lure of an island at the far end of the voyage. 

Back in 2011 we were holidaying in Lochinvar in Assynt in the north-west of Scotland. The weather in that magnificent region is very unpredictable, though it is usually safe to predict rain. We checked the weather forecast at breakfast and decided that all was set as fair as it was likely to be. 

We boarded a vessel to the Summer Isles and set out in fine weather...

... and were soon leaving the brooding silhouettes of Stac Pollaidh and Suilven behind.

A few minutes later the sun came out and we were able to feast our eyes on these intense ocean blues.

By the time we reached the island of Tanera Mòr, it had turned into a beautiful afternoon. 

There was just time to call in at the Post Office, which has been issuing its own stamps since the 1970s, before heading back along the bank to enjoy some local wildlife. Stamps bought on the island can only be used to transport an envelope or postcard as far as the mainland. Thereafter a missive will only reach its destination if it also carries a regular stamp.

We noticed some orchids, and as we drew closer we saw...

... this 6-spot Burnet moth ...

... and this one that landed on David's hand. The bank was full of these colouful insects, and judging by their shiny appearance, I think they had just emerged and were drying off their wings in the bright sunshine.  

Another surprise took the form of this impressive (and ferocious) Green Tiger Beetle. 

Our time on this special island was fast drawing to a close. I looked up at the remains of an old dwelling and paused to wonder what life would have been like in the 1880s when a population of 119 was recorded. Doubtless many, or most, of these would have been linked to the herring industry. 

Everything changes, including Scottish islands. Tanera Mòr has been sold since our visit, and a new vision is taking shape. 

As we waited by the shore for our return voyage, we watched these female Eiders drifting through the tranquil waters.  

 

The photograph above shows me in my element aboard a boat on the water in fabulous weather, and with the mainland not far away. The Tate (Tate Britain, I believe) holds an 'aquatint on paper' of the pier at Tanera Mor, produced by William Daniell, who died in 1837, the year before members of my Scottish family emigrated from the Cairngorm area under the Lang Bounty Scheme, via Oban, to Sydney. What a voyage that must have entailed. Their fortitude is something I find hard to imagine; but, like Noah on Mount Ararat, they reached the safety of dry land. 

* * *  

This post was written in response to Dr Miriam Darlington's final #30dayswildcreativity meme on her Facebook page. We were invited to write about something we had fallen 'in love with as a child', and I have chosen to focus on a number of different threads, many of which weave together in my life as I enjoy the natural world and its oceans. 

Threads represented in my 'sea collage' below include time spent afloat, looking in rockpools, watching wildlife, writing, sketching and taking photographs. 

Thank you, Miriam, so much for your inspiring themes and memes. I have thoroughly enjoyed responding to them in word and image. Thank you, too, for the literary excerpts and poems you have introduced us to along the way.  

Day 22, #30DaysWildCreativity: Post-Solstice, 2020

Of Eyes and Iridescence

Monday, 22 June 2020

On this day when the first poppy opened

I sensed the tug of the long haul

towards winter through the amber light

of harvest, the embers of bonfires

and the muted music of freezing fog.

On this day when the first poppy opened

I buried my eyes in the corn marigold’s gold,

immersed myself in the deep sea-blue

of the cornflower, and delighted in the yellow

and white design of an ox-eye daisy.

On this day when the first poppy opened

I committed these flowers to memory,

afraid that fiery petals would soon flutter 

to the ground, fearful that I would miss

the eyespots of the peacock butterfly.

                                         © CG 2020

* * *

This post was composed this afternoon as my response to Dr Miriam Darlington's 'What do you miss, grieve for, as the year tips?' Facebook meme as part of #30DaysWildCreativity.

Day 21 #30DaysWildCreativity: Paying Close Attention

This is a post in response to #30DaysWildCreativity, organised by Dr Miriam Darlington.

With the exception of my shielded 'exercise path', we are not mowing our garden this year. It has been very interesting to watch the weeds and wildflowers that have grown up in areas that would normally be lawn, albeit of a rather dry sandy-soil variety. 

The first plants to emerge unexpectedly were Ox-eye daisies (you can see my post here), and the second was the Common Knapweed you can see in the collage above. For several days now I have kept the Knapweed under close surveillance to see what insects it might attract. I think you will agree that with everything from Skipper butterflies to Thick-legged Flower Beetles and Red-tailed Bumblebees, I have had plenty to watch. I have found the ideal way of doing this is by placing an outdoor chair by the plant and waiting, trying to use not only my eyes but also my ears. 

In the scheme of things, the tiny ant was just as valuable a find as the showy Skipper, and I know I have benefited from these 'close observation' projects I set myself. The next stage on is not only to recognise the 'usual suspects' but to find out more about each species, and, as ever, I often turn to the kind folk on iSpot for a bit of help. 

Day 19 #30DaysWildCreativity: A Dazzle of Damselflies

This collage was made in response to Dr Miriam Darlington's #30DaysWildCreativity meme on the theme of the reciprocal relationship we have with nature. The idea was not (necessarily) to write about feeding the birds or planting vegetables but to tap into something that represented what we had done to connect with an aspect of the natural world. 

After a difficult spell I found myself drawn back and back, with camera and binoculars, to the WWT centre at Llanelli in South Wales. I became increasingly aware of the variety of 'damsels and dragons' that could be found on the bushes and at the edge of the scrapes on the reserve. I was keen to see how many species I could spot on each visit; and the more I looked for odonata, the more I became intrigued by the damselflies with their slim bodies, beautiful markings and shimmering iridescence. 

I don't recall seeing any Demoiselles on the WWT reserve, but these majestic insects remain a particular favourite to this day. It was not just the physical features of the Llanelli damselflies that made me want to photograph them: it was their eyes. Now, I don't want to enter the realms of anthropomorphism or speculation here, but I think you may agree that to peer into the eyes of a damselfly is like opening a window on a very distant past. 

 * * * 

My photos in the collage were taken in various places, some at WWT Llanelli and other locations in South Wales, some in Suffolk and one in Norfolk.

Day 16 #30DaysWildCreativity: Welcome to the night

Dr Miriam Darlington's #30DaysWildCreativity activity for today is to respond to the phrase 'Welcome to the night'. Since my camera flash is barely adequate for night-time photography and since I feel more at home with image than sound, I decided to make a collage of some of my crepuscular photos. The photographs were taken 

• at home (Swallowtail moth, hedgehog) 
• elsewhere in a Suffolk (Barn owl and 'Mabel' the Tawny owl) 
• on Lindisfarne (Curlew, moon, murmuration, birds on rocks, rabbit), 
• in South Wales (stag) 
• in the Kilmartin area of Scotland (Common toad). 

This, of course, leaves the owls and the mouse on the organ, who were spotted in a church in Cornwall, and have been included to represent a night time soundscape!