The Bees Knees

As today is the last day of winter, here is a a Bee resting on a flower to remind us of the summer to come.

Dancing Crane Fly

At the end of July I spotted a crane fly on the kitchen celling vibrating as if she were dancing. It brought to mind a song from the eighties called “Dancing on the Celling”. I did want to film that but there was no way I could get up there to film her.

It is one of those aspects of behaviour that can be misinterpreted. As if it were outside, most people would assume it was just the wind or air movements that was causing the vibrations. When in fact she does this to waft her pheromones out to attract a male and mate.

Well about a week later I had just come back from the supermarket when I noticed a crane fly out side doing the same. It may be the same one, but I just don't know. Anyway, I got the camera out and filmed her. Once I had got some footage I went back and unpacked my shopping and put it away. As she was still there I was able to get some really good close up shots of her.
As I always lean something new from watching wildlife, this time I got to see just how beautiful she was. I also leant that I needed to clean my kitchen windows.

Well here's the film of this female crane fly Anisopus fenestralis

Loving the Unlovely

While it can be relatively easy to get people excited about all the cute, cuddly and obviously beautiful wildlife, it is more difficult when we are talking about creatures that are seen as ugly or that generate loathing.

I well remember as child visiting the Sun trap Centre in Epping Forest, on a school trip and seeing a Kestrel for the first time. I pointed it out to the teacher and that thrilled everyone. I then, to the obvious horror of the teacher and most of the other pupils, took a large Beetle to the teacher to show her. But the tutor, probably an education officer, at the Sun Trap centre was thrilled as it was a male lesser Stag Beetle. It was a quickly learned lesson that the majority of people don't like many of the creatures we share the planet with. Also as several of the boys and a couple of girls, tried to grab the beetle as they wanted to stamp on it. This incident lead to me having a fight at school a few days latter, well not a fight but where I was beaten up by a girl as I refused to fight. I had always been told never to hit girls.

So while I had been praised for spotting the Kestrel, I became a figure of ridicule for like and protecting a beetle. Add to that I had been beaten up by a girl. It has never been easy being Green. Kermit and I are soul mates.

As I have grown up and older, I have discovered just how selective people are about what creatures they love. I have know people who love their pets, yet in their gardens they wage war on every insect that walks and flies. When it comes to slugs its genocide. Even with a beast as magnificent as an Eagle or a Harrier they suffer because of what they are perceived to do, at the hands of some.

So while I value each and every aspect of the Flora and Fauna we share our globe with, I don't particularly want to share my home with beasts like flies, midges or beetles. Just as I do not want a fox coming into my house. They are better in their habitat and me in mine. Nor do I use insecticides to kill flies in the house, not least because I don't want to breath in these chemicals myself. That's partly why I tolerate a spider or two in my home. Another creature that seems to generate loathing and hatred in some. My Ex who never wanted to harm anything would run screaming from the Bathroom if one that had fallen into the bath. I earned my hero status many times with women by rescuing many spiders from a watery grave. On a similar note recently on a bus I rescued a wasp that get trapped on the bus. While it didn't cause any screaming, everyone moved from one side of the bus to the other as the wasp flew around trying to get out of the windows. As I had one of my test tubes in my pocket that I use for collecting insects or other environmental samples, I was able to catch the wasp and release it at the next stop. The Bus driver told me that I should have just killed it.

Even my window cleaner thinks that I should clean up my yard, although he never told that to me, it a village and these things get back to me sooner or later. But if I had a neat and tidy yard it would also be sterile and I doubt that I would have a newt and a frog in my yard. Nor would my resident Robin find the insect food that keeps him there and feed.

Well here is a film clip of a House fly Musca domestica feeding on the nectar of Hawk weed. I think it is a beautiful critter, in its place.

However, to placate the folks that don't share my definition of beauty, here is something I am pleased to share too. From a podcast that I listen to Birds and Nature from a Pittsburgh radio station, I heard of this Blog by a woman called Monarch Chaser who is currently down in Mexico with the monarchs where they overwinter.

Bibionidae Fly

One of the joys of watching wildlife it that I can lose myself in the moment. Sometimes my mind is working overtime, trying to work out the details that will help me latter identify a species, or by observing the subtleties of behaviour discover what this particular animal or bird is doing. But most of all, I can find myself my inner humanity.

There are many times when I do worry about the state of the planet, and there is a lot to worry about, but getting out and seeing the wonders of our world both excites and calms me. It reinforces my reason for fighting for the environment, in a small way, I have no delusions that I can or will do more than apply a sticking plaster to the wounds we inflict upon our planet. However, getting out and seeing what we share the planet with makes life worth living.

While I have covered some serious topics in my posts of late, for a while I want to just concentrate upon what is so special about wildlife. Not least because I am researching some much more serious topics for latter postings. Thus I need to have something positive to balance the negative of the acts of environmental vandalism that is going on.

So as a start, here is a film of a Bibiondae Fly, I think the species is Dilophus febrilis feeding on the nectar of a cow parsley.

Hover Fly

For me one of the benefits of the poor weather is that I am able to get on with the cataloguing and editing of my video footage. While I am now very careful to create back ups and back ups of the back ups, I still have thirty five gigabytes of film on the computer. This I can clear only after I have made sure I know what's in each clip and what I am doing with the film. While some of it is for personal use and no matter how much you try and bribe me, it would just bore the socks off you. But as part of my rational for keeping this Web Log is about sharing and education folks about why the Environment matters, I do film with the aim of helping myself and others understand the environment.

Also, I am well aware that often I do film creatures that most people seem to dislike. As in this film of a Hover Fly Sisyphus ribesii. So I do apologise to my reader who has a phobia of anything with more than four legs, or my reader that walks bare foot on snails. However, every aspect of the flora and fauna of the planet has an important part to play in the ecosystem that we rely on. In many cases we don't even know or understand where or why a creature has evolved to fill that niche. Therefore, I will continue to film and show things that fascinate me and if for some they provide the yuck factor, well I am sorry but all these mini beasts are welcome here. Where I don't want them is in my kitchen or on the extinction list.

Osprey and Beetles

While I have been down to the river since the flooding, today was the first time that I was able to pass through Blackhall Mill since Saturday. I had to go to Consett to get some shopping, and the effects of the flood are still very visible. I wanted to return to film the scene as it is now but I did not have the time. However, what is worthy of comment was during the bus journey along the Derwent valley was that at East Law, the fields were still shedding significant volumes of water. So much that the drains at that point are struggling to cope and there is still a few inches of water pooling on the road at East Law.

While the remnant of Hurricane Hanna is coming here on Thursday, the forecast is at least that it is not likely to dumping the volume of rain that happened on Saturday, but I will keep a watch out on that, as forecasts have been wrong before.

Now I do have a plea to all my American friends, while we in Britain are grateful for all the gifts you keep on sending us, we don't really want your old hurricanes when you have finished with them.

To go off at a tangent, one of the things that I love about where I live and Britain generally, is the names of the villages and hamlets around here. While I often have to obscure the exact location when I am posting observations of wildlife to protect the wildlife, where I can it delights me to mention some of these wonderful places when I can. I am trying to discover the origins of some of these names as they are rather fascinating.

As my regular reader may remember, last year I spoke about helping carry out a survey of the bat roosting sites in the local woods. When I did that, along with other work of a similar nature, my binoculars suffered from the heavy rain that day and has occurred rather regularly. So I decided to buy a new pair. I decided to get a pre loved instrument as I can not afford a new pair that is of the quality I need. So I bought a pair from a well known auction site. However, I was out when they when the parcel was first delivered. Therefore I had to get a redelivery booked. Well they arrived and this morning I took them out to test them out in the field. I love them, and while testing them out I spotted something hidden in the trees. I moved in closer and to a better position, and saw an Osprey that had been roosting over night in the trees. My guess is that it is on its migration south. What a thrill, as while they are seen from time to time, to see one roosting is rare.

Another thing that I have recent obtained is some specimen tubes for collecting insects. Part of the reason why I needed to get these is as it can be difficult to identify insects I needed to retain individuals for identification when carrying out a survey. Often when trying to work on improving a habitat it is vital to know what is there in the first place. Anyway, I also realised that I could use these to collect individual insects with the aim of photographing them. So I have been carrying a few of the collecting tubes in my pocket. This morning I spotted two beetles and collected them safely. I was then able to film them at home. One I got some film off but it did a rapid escape. The second was far more cooperative and I got some great film of it. The one that got away was just a common ground beetle, Amara aulica, but the other a weevil, Crytorhynchidius lapathi, I was able to return to the location of its collection so I am not harming the ecology in any way.

While I was doing the filming, the water engineer who is also an amateur archaeologist turned up. He was fascinated to see the beetles especially in close up, and he said that all this could be useful as he wants me to help with some environmental survey work. So it looks like my building up contacts is paying off. However, while we were talking, he did stop and ask “What did I want to do when I grow up” I told him that I don't want to grow up if it means loosing my childlike wonder at the world.

Bats and Beetles

As anyone who has tried to photograph or film anything in flight can tell you the hardest part is getting and holding focus. Tonight. I discovered that for myself again. I was sitting having a cup of tea following my dinner this evening, while I had the television on, the programme was drivel. So I looked out of the window, it was past dusk and I saw something fly past the street light. While it had been to fast to tell what it was, I guessed that either a bird or a bat was feeding on the insects and moths that buzz around the lights. So tea forgotten I was straight out with the camera. This was going to be a good test of the IR video. Indeed it was a nocturnes bat, and I could see it taking moths, or at least the moth that I could see disappeared as the bat flew past. So I set the camera rolling and tried to film the bat. I got two chances but both times I missed it.

As bats are corpuscular, feeding at dawn and dusk, I will try again but I will expect to have many long waits though.

Although today I was pleased as I went out with the aim of filming butterflies and or insects and I got some great footage of Cardinal Beetles mating. I also got some other nice bits of film too. Watch this space. Interestingly, while I was out I met a chap who gave me some useful information regarding the Deer in the woods. As there has been some thinning work going on this has changed the movements of the Deer, and what I was told matched with my own observations of Deer tacks along one of the tracks. But more importantly he also told me that Badgers have started to be sighted at a particular spot near the village. While not surprising, I had often wondered why they were not seen there before. As we were talking a buzzard flew over. I just wasn't fast enough, as the camera takes a minute to switch on and from our vantage point the trees quickly obscured the bird.

Part of the reason I had gone out was to look at a specific location were I am hoping to film the Deer. So the additional information was quite timely, and I did see fresh tracks. However, where the trees have been thinned it now leaves me with less cover to film them. I am sure that I will find the right spot though, and if I do get them on film you will get to see it here.

While the impact of the thinning has been noticeable, the overall effect will be beneficial to the larger mammals. And while the ruts left my the heavy machinery has damaged some of the places where the rare orchids flower, this year there are less of them, as the ruts have filled with water they are providing some interesting micro habitats. I suspect that next year we will have more frogs, toads and newts breading here.

It was very hot and even in the shade of the wood I was dripping with sweat, and I was sure that I must have been releasing lots of odour to alert the wildlife. Therefore as I was busy filming a rather interesting fungi I was surprised to see a vixen and two cubs. I was quickly trying to get the camera set up but before I could a shout from a child made them run off. That unfortunately is one of the problems with the long summer school holidays.

The Bank Holiday

Yesterday, Monday, was a bank holiday. But unlike a normal bank holiday we had brilliant sunshine. Well we did in the north (Self satisfied Grin), in the south it was torrential rain. So it looks as though the south got the weather we were supposed to get. As nature often does though we are paying the price today. (Drip, drip)

After having a nice long lay in today, over the last two weeks I have been surviving on just four to six hours of sleep, I indulged myself. I only really had some shopping to do, and this enabled me to follow my diet and indulge in a Coffee and Cake. I say follow my diet as I have lost three inches off my waistline so I need to put on some weight so that my clothes fit me.

Yesterday, I went out and stood watch over an area that the Kites regularly visit. However I did not see the Kites at all. It may well be because of the number of people about enjoying the sunshine. I did however, get this short clip of film of a Wall Brown Butterfly.

Early in the morning I was trying to check my mail and such like, and I saw a procession of birds visiting my yard. The prettiest of them was the Collard Dove.

Later I was able to put up my do not disturb sign and watch the start of Springwatch on the TV. I can report for my overseas reader, that the Ospreys have two chicks!

Angle Shades Moth

The other morning returning, doing my impression of an icicle, from a night of watching the badgers, I noticed this Angle Shades moth that had settled on the doorframe of my shed. It’s actually what used to be the out house and colloquially known as a “Netty”. What is unusual is that this moth should be in hibernation but while the weather is cold, it is still warm enough for this insect to still be active.

Speckled Wood Butterfly

I was nearing home on my way back from walking in the woods when I saw a butterfly on the wing fluttering from flower to flower in a bramble thicket. The fact that in October we still have wild blackberries trying to flower is a sure sign of climate change, but I was more interested in the butterfly. While I was in need of getting home, I stopped and watched until I could get a good clear observance of the butterfly. As you can see from the photograph it was a Female Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria. tircis

Small Copper Butterfly

While walking home yesterday, I noticed the flash of colour of a small orange butterfly dancing upon the breeze. As anyone who has tried to watch or photograph butterflies can tell you it is not always easy to get a clear view, and I had to spend about half an hour patiently moving slowly to get close but after spending that half an hour dancing along the ride, skipping from Dock to Dock, I got this picture of this Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas

Good Bug or Bad Bug?

It is strange that our culture provides us with different reactions to different insects. Here for example is a Seven Spot Ladybird Adalia 7-puncatata as a beneficial insect, even as children we educated to respect it, even nurture them. Yet the other picture is of a Burying Beetle Necrophorus vespilloides another colourfully marked insect yet while an equally beneficial one, is treated as though it were a plague carrier. Yet often our pets, cats and dogs, carry more germs then do these beetles. I just wonder why this should be?