For this month’s Ten Things we have something more summery …
Ten Butterflies which Visit My Garden
- Large White
- Small White
- Orange Tip
- Meadow Brown
- Speckled Wood
- Holly Blue
- Painted Lady (right)
- Red Admiral
- Peacock
- Small Tortoiseshell
Category Archives: natural history
Waltham Abbey – 2
So this was the exciting part of our day out on Monday of this week …
For Christmas I bought Noreen and half-day falconry experience with Coda Falconry, who are a couple of miles north of Waltham Abbey. I also made sure we had a couple of guest passes to go with it, especially as I wanted the chance to do some photography (which was not just allowed but actually encouraged).
Noreen has always been interested in falconry, mainly because of its use in medieval times. So this was a superb chance to have four hours hands-on experience. And did we have a great time!
We were a small group: 4 taking part and 3 guest observers. Paul, the falconer, was patient, interesting and knowledgeable about a whole range of natural history and not just falcons.
Starting at midday, and after some brief introduction, Paul brought out a variety of birds, one at a time. And as the day wore on the birds got bigger and bigger!
The first three birds were in turn a tiny Scops Owl (from SE Asia), a European Kestrel, and a Barn Owl. Otis, the Scops Owl was really sweet; he was no more than six inches tall; and he loved being stroked, siting happily on a gloved hand, eyes shut, head tucked in, apparently dozing off!
Otis, Scops Owl
Bramble, the male Kestrel, was really beautiful with grey head and chestnut back …
Bramble, Kestrel
Next up was Dizzy, a female Barn Owl …
Dizzy, Barn Owl
Paul let us all (participants and observers) feel the Barn Owl’s plumage as it is just so soft – unbelievably softer than anything previously encountered, and softer even than eider down – the feathers were almost ethereal! No wonder Barn Owls are so silent in flight.
All these birds were flown. They would all sit on a post, waiting for a gloved hand, with a piece of food, to be proffered. Then they’d fly over and enjoy the morsel. All the participants experienced this with every bird.
By this time it was pushing 1.30 and, after a short break, time for an hour-long woodland walk to show off Griffin, a 15-year-old Harris Hawk. I opted out of this part as I wasn’t sure how my knees and back would stand up; and besides it was very hot and sunny and a cool drink and some shade was needed. Just as well I did opt out as the walk lasted more like an hour and a half!
Griffin, Harris Hawk. © Coda Falconry
I used the gap to have a quick look at the “zoo” on the rest of the farm site (it is very family and school group orientated), see a few of the other birds of prey and have that cool bottle of pop.
When everyone returned about 3pm, Paul showed the final two birds of the day: a Eurasian Eagle Owl and a Golden Eagle.
Logan, the Eagle Owl, is a mean-looking, brute of a bird, although according to Paul he’s actually a softie! But he is certainly fearsome in flight.
Logan, the fearsome Eagle Owl
Apparently there are now thought to be two pairs of Eagle Owls living in Thetford Forest, and there is a lone female on the loose in Epping Forest (not very far away from Coda’s site). Apparently the females (which as with all birds of prey are larger than the males) are quite capable of taking a fox. (One of Coda’s Harris Hawks has also been known to take a Greylag Goose – no mean feat!)
Last up was the largest bird of the day, Nelson, the Golden Eagle, who weighs in at around 6lbs (almost 3kg). We were all of us allowed to have Nelson sit on our hand: as Paul said “It’s not every day you get to hold a Golden Eagle!”.
Nelson: Ere mate, that one’s a bit tasty, innit!
The photo above is of Nelson sitting on my (thankfully gloved) hand. He was certainly a magnificent beast: around 75-80cm from beak to tail and with the wonderful bronze/gold head and nape which gives them their name. You wouldn’t want to meet either the Golden Eagle or the Eagle Owl on a dark night!
By this time it was pushing 4pm and the afternoon wrapped up with with the group seeing a number of Coda’s other falcons.
We went off very tired, rather stunned and slightly sunburnt for a much needed couple of pints!
Coda Falconry are a small, award-winning, friendly outfit, with a wide range of birds of prey most of which have been hand-reared and/or are rescues; their team even includes Loki the Raven, who is apparently incredibly mischievous and cunning. Coda do several different experience sessions as well as frequent filming, regular re-enactment displays (many at Headingham Castle), routine pest control work, and more.
What a brilliant day, and thoroughly recommended!
PS. More photos on my Flickr photostream at https://www.flickr.com/photos/kcm76/albums/72157692159960390.
Your Monthly Links
Here’s the usual selection of links to articles which interested me and which you may have missed. We’ve a packed house, so on with the show …
Science, Technology & Natural World
Some interesting speculation on whether a pre-human industrial civilisation could have existed on Earth, and whether we would be able to tell.
Apparently European women are twice as likely to be naturally blond as men.
Ravens. The Tower of London has them. So who better to ask about the intelligence of Ravens.
Wasps. There are countless species of them, they’re mostly tiny, and most are parasitic – indeed there’s thought to be at least one parasitic wasp species for every other insect species.
Ants perform triage and launch rescue missions on the battlefield, but only if it’s worth the effort.
Scientists are suggesting that trees may have a form of “heartbeat”, but it is so slow we wouldn’t normally notice.
Why does soil, especially newly wet soil, Springtime soil and forest soil, smell so identifiably?
It seems many trillions of viruses fall to Earth each day – millions per square metre – and it’s not all bad.
A meteorite found in Sudan contains some tiny diamonds, which means it is thought to be the remnants of a lost planet.
Health & Medicine
Do you suffer from chronic pain? Medics are suggesting that a change of mindset could help reduce the pain as much as analgesics.
Who, apart from me, had flu this last winter? If you did you shouldn’t be surprised as apparently we don’t take flu seriously enough. It really is worth getting the flu jab (especially if you’re in an “at risk” category). Although I was vaccinated and still got flu which floored me it wasn’t anything like as bad as if I’d not been vaccinated.
The NHS is being urged to include boys & young men in the HPV vaccination scheme (currently only adolescent girls are eligible). Not only would it help contain the general spread of the virus, but more and more men are getting head/neck cancers from the human papilloma virus, thought to be due to the young having more oral sex.
A test is being developed that will allow a foetus’s sex to be determined from just a finger-prick drop of blood during the first trimester of pregnancy.
There needs to be much greater awareness of the state of our post-birth vaginas. As usual the UK lags behind our old enemy, France, in post-partum rehabilitation.
And while we’re at it, we still have an appallingly poor knowledge of the anatomy for the clitoris. Yes, that’s all of us, it seems!
Environment
Unlike my neighbour, most of us understand that plants are important. Here’s why.
Bees are important too. And you can help the bees by doing less. Just mow your lawn only every two to three weeks.
Scientists are developing an enzyme to eat plastic bottles.
Art & Literature
It’s reported that Neil Gaiman is to make a film of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy.
Stockholm residents are up in arms over a five storey high blue penis mural.
London
IanVisits has created a useful map of all London’s miniature steam train rides.
Meanwhile another London blogger, Diamond Geezer, has produced a London Random Tourist Inspiration Generator for when you want to go somewhere but don’t know where.
Lifestyle & Personal Development
We’re moving towards a cashless society, or so we’re told. But being cashless puts us at risk, so the Swedes are turning against the idea.
Why are some societies strict and others lax? New Scientist investigates.
Do you want to be more assertive in life? If so there’s a dominatrix in New York who will teach you.
Chiltern Railways, whose trains run north-west out of London’s Marylebone Station, are suggesting eight seated yoga poses you can do on your commute. I struggling to decide how serous they are.
Crazy cat lady is a frequent image in pop culture. But why?
Food & Drink
A recent column in the Guardian is suggesting that eating goat is as tasty as lamb and a sustainable, ethical choice of meat.
Shock, Horror, Humour
And finally, one for the engineers and kids out there. John Collins, aka. “The Paper Airplane Guy“, holds the distance record for flight by a paper airplane. And he shares a few of his secrets with us.
You Never Know What You've Got …
Yes, indeed, you never know what you’ve got until you look.
We have the decorator man in to give the hall/stairs/landing a lick of paint before we have new carpet put down.
On day 1 (yesterday) most of the time was taken removing the old carpet. And on the turn of the stairs we were awestruck at finding treasure …
Nestled in the angle of the tread and riser, between two strips of carpet gripper, underneath the carpet were found two tiny and entire mummified mice.
The poor little things had obviously, years ago, crawled in round the edge of the carpet to escape a feline kidnapper, and been unable to get their way out (or died from injuries).
Treasure trove indeed.
Your Interesting Links
This month’s large collection of articles encountered which you maybe didn’t want to have missed.
Science & Natural World
First off we must pay our respects to this year’s IgNobel award winners amongst whose investigations were solid and liquid cats, didgeridoos and cheese disgust.
Budburst on many trees is temperature dependent and March temperatures seem to be the key for many. And they’re getting slowly warmer, so budburst is getting earlier.
[Disclosure: I’ve been submitting records to UK phenology research for many years; many more years that the 17 covered by this research. It takes little time and is valuable “citizen science”.]
Another curiosity of British wildlife is that some birds (notably Great Tits, above) are evolving longer beaks as this gives them an advantage at garden bird feeders. Here are two complementary reports, one from the Guardian, the other from the BBC.
Now to chemistry … A look at how poisoners could use clothing as a murder weapon.
The aliens are coming! Well maybe not quite, but there is a mysterious object speeding past the sun which could be visitor from another star system.
Health & Medicine
For those who want a little more of a challenge than normal (it contains some relatively simple maths), here’s a very good article on why vaccination is important in preventing epidemics.
Sepsis is a hidden killer, and one which most people know nothing about because it has so successfully continued flying under our radar.
There’s a small study which suggests that the psychoactive drugs in magic mushrooms “reset” the brains of depressed people. [Do NOT try this at home! The study used very controlled doses in a medical environment.]
And now to some curiosities … First off, and not for the squeamish, an historical report of a man with two penises and two bladders.
Synaesthesia is mind-boggling. The first of our two mentions this month is of a woman who lost her sight due to illness and in regaining it had some terrifying sounding synaesthetic effects.
And to boggle the mind even further, this young lady has a range of different types of synaesthesia (compared with the normal one). I just cannot imagine what this is like!
Sexuality
Two different aspects of a relationship without sex. First there are people who are genuinely asexual: they may have romantic partnerships but have no interest or desire to have sex.
At almost the other extreme there are couples who, while still happy together, just stop having sex.
Social Sciences, Business, Law
Forensic science is coming under increasing scrutiny. Not only has fingerprinting never been scientifically evaluated for its reliability, but DNA is accused of frequent flawed techniques, which can have devastating effects.
Language
Philip Pullman is under fire because his children’s book La Belle Sauvage is littered with swearwords. Emma Byrne in the Guardian suggests this is actually a good thing: most children already know the words and isn’t it better that they learn in a controlled way when they are and are not acceptable?
History, Archaeology & Anthropology
Uncovering the menus for Neolithic man’s feasts: pork and cheese.
The Incas were far better astronomers than previously thought.
The shipwreck which produced the Antikythera mechanism is still turning up interesting artefacts like the bronze arm which suggests there may be a haul of statues waiting to be found – and what may be another piece of the Antikythera mechanism itself.
Why do a number of Scandinavian Viking graves contain burial clothing embroidered with the work “Allah”
But worse is yet to come, for the Vikings may have brought leprosy to this country via their trade in red squirrels.
Coming much more up to date, both sides are now telling the story of the capture and boarding of the German U-boat U-559, which changed WWII by giving the Allies the Germans’ Enigma codes.
So how about a list of the ten best railway stations in Britain, at least according to Simon Jenkins in the Guardian.
London
IanVisits is writing an occasional series on “Unbuilt London”. In an old post he looks at the 1960s plan to replace buses with monorail network. I have a vague memory of this hare-brained scheme.
And here is a really fascinating and detailed map of the London Underground, Overground, DLR, Tramlink & National Rail (small section below). But why does this have to be published by a French company?
Lifestyle & Personal Development
Our favourite Soto Zen master, Brad Warner, reflects on “The Center of All That” the implications of being you, here.
We’re losing our skills. The skills to do everyday chores our parents took for granted, like washing up by hand, changing a mains fuse or sewing on a button.
A brief look at some of what happens behind the doors of a London crematorium.
I wasn’t sure whether to put this next item here or under medicine. According to sleep scientists we are chronically underslept and sleepwalking our way through life. That is a real threat to our health, and it isn’t fixed by a couple of good lie-ins. So what to do about it?
Apparently our culture says that emotional friendships are a female thing and that boys cannot have emotional friendships with their own sex and are discouraged from doing so by the time they hit puberty. And this is forcing a large number of men into loneliness despite the outward appearances. [OK, it’s American, but is UK culture so different?]
People
Back in August Geoff Marshall (no relation)and Vicki Pipe completed their challenge to visit all 2,563 National Rail stations in Great Britain. Here they talk about the experience for the National Railway Museum’s blog.
That’s all folks! Another instalment next month.
Wasps
It is that time of year when we start seeing black and yellow flying insects about. Yes, summer is wasp season.
There are essentially three wasp species in the UK. The two we see most often are the ones most people despise: the small ones the Common Wasp, Vespula vulgaris, and German Wasp, Vespula germanica. Both are definitely yellow and black. To all intents and purposes they look identical (if you really want to see the difference you’ll need to get up close and personal with them – most of you won’t want to).
(L) Common Wasp and (R) German Wasp
The queens (which are quite large) are out at the moment, starting their nests. In a few weeks time there will be the smaller workers around; these are the ones which are the pest of picnics and alfresco fun. Come September their job is done: they’ve raised new queens, who will mate and hibernate to repeat the cycle next year. So now the workers are at a loose end, and go hunting anything sugary. They’ll die off with the first very cold nights and frosts.
I understand just how annoying wasps can be, especially if you have a nest nearby. But please leave them alone! They are wonderful predators of other insects, which they need to feed their grubs. Without them we would be knee deep in creepy-crawlies – an average nest can consume several tons of insects in a single summer! They also have a minor role in pollinating plants.
By August/September a mature nest can have anything between 5000 and 25000 wasps in residence. This not something you want to go poking at even with a barge pole! Having said that the nests are amazing structures, built essentially from paper.
Wasp nest
Destroying a wasp nest is rarely worth the effort. The nests, once dormant, have low humidity and are essentially just paper. Removal of the wasp nest will not prevent future queens nesting in the same area. If pesticides are used on the nest then you may contaminate other areas to no purpose, and dust based pesticides tend to remain active for years, so might knock down future queen wasps, or indeed other insects that you’d want to keep.
The main thing that worries people about wasps is their sting. A wasp uses its sting for killing prey, but it can also use it very effectively for defending itself. An ordinary uncomplicated sting contains an absolutely tiny quantity of venom (a pinhead less than the size of the full stops on this page!) which is injected deep into the skin. So treating the skin surface with almost anything is going to have very little effect (except maybe psychologically). Probably the best course is to use an antihistamine ointment and/or an oral antihistamine tablet. But … if the victim becomes pale and feels unwell with giddiness and nausea, get medical advice immediately as a very few people can suffer anaphylactic shock which can be fatal.
The third wasp species you might encounter is the European Hornet, Vespa crabro, although these are very much less common that the two wasps mentioned above (despite years of nature watching, I have never knowingly seen one in the wild). And they are roughly twice the size of a a “normal” wasp and very definitely yellow and brown.
European Hornets
(If it is yellow and black, it’s a wasp. If it’s yellow and brown and large it is a hornet – and you’re very lucky to see it! If it is furry, it’s a bee of some kind.)
Hornets follow the same life cycle as wasps, but are generally more docile and less likely to sting (though you’ll know about it if they do get you). They are relatively uncommon, especially in cities, preferring wooded environments. The only thing against hornets is that they can predate honey bee colonies.
There are many other species of wasps around the UK. Most are solitary rather than social, often parasitic predators and they don’t sting. The other social wasps are generally uncommon, although the Norwegian wasp, Dolichovespula norvegica, is more prevalent in the north of the UK. There are also a couple of very uncommon non-native hornet species in the UK and there are scare stories about “killer wasps” in the media from time to time – generally these can be ignored (although this could change over time).
So unless you are one of the very few, unlucky, people who are allergic to their stings (when you do need to worry) the moral is: please leave wasps alone! If you have a wasps’ nest, treasure it! Wasps are wonderful predators, superb engineers and they’re mostly harmless unless you start threatening them.
Word: Caterpillar
Oh, go on then, let’s have another word. In writing about frass, I was minded to wonder about the origin of caterpillar, so …
Caterpillar
1. The larva of a butterfly or moth; sometimes extended to those of other insects, especially those of saw-flies, which are also hairy.
2. A type of tractor which travels upon two endless steel bands, one on each side of the machine, to facilitate travel over very rough ground. (And by extension to other such vehicles.)
3. To move like a caterpillar or on caterpillar tracks.
The first uses, in sense 1, recorded by the OED is from c.1440 in Promptorium Parvulorum 63: Catyrpel, wyrm among frute, erugo.
I’m going to reproduce the etymology from the OED essentially in full:
(Some think the word a direct compound of piller. The giving to hairy caterpillars a name derived from the cat, is seen not only in the French word cited, but also in Lombard gatta, gattola (cat, kitten), Swiss teufelskatz (devil’s cat); compare also French chenille (from canicula, little dog), Milanese can, cagnon (dog, pup). Compare also catkin, French chaton, applied to things resembling hairy caterpillars.)
In other words, we don’t know!
Word: Frass
Frass
The fine powdery refuse or fragile perforated wood produced by the activity of boring insects.
The excrement of insect larvae.
(Or to put it in the vernacular: caterpillar shit.)
First used in an academic paper in 1854, the word is derived from the German frasz, fressen, to devour.
Book Review: Field Guide to Moths
Paul Waring & Martin Townsend
Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland
2nd edition; Bloomsbury; 2009
This is a magnificent tome, but not what I would define as a “field guide”: for an octavo paperback of almost 450 pages, on glossy paper and weighing almost 900 gm you would need a poacher’s pocket or a JCB to carry it around. It is a reference book — and a brilliant one at that — but as such it is not something to be read from cover to cover but explored when needed. It is an essential on the shelves of anyone with an interest in the huge diversity of the insect world, especially, obviously, moths.
Having said that, it doesn’t cover all moths but just the “macro-moths” (essentially anything with a forewing length over about 1 cm); micro-moths are covered elsewhere.
I’ve long wanted such a book (why didn’t I get this before?) as there was for many, many years a huge hole in the field guide coverage of British moths; I remember my mother complaining at least 40 years ago that there was no good, available, guide to moths — how she would have loved this book!
The book does what it sets out to do: describe for the naturalist (both professional and amateur) every known species of moth in the British Isles. The descriptions are organised by genus, with each species getting an entry of a third to half a page in quite small type. The descriptions cover mostly the adult moth, its habitat, lifecycle and distribution.
Strangely all the illustrations of adult moths occupy the central 20% of the book. This is not obvious from the colour-coding of the pages and I’ve found the only way to know quickly where the illustrations start is with a bookmark. Having said that, the illustrations (by Richard Lewington) are magnificent — much the best I’ve encountered — and they show the wonderful diversity and beauty of these important but much disliked insects. Moreover the illustrations show the adult moths in their normal sitting pose, unlike many guides which show the wings displayed as they would be in a museum case (something that’s not helpful to the non-specialist).
There is, however, one significant thing I don’t like about this book. In general it does not illustrate the larvae (caterpillars) of each species. Some (maybe 15%) of species have a photograph of the caterpillar along with the description (not with the illustrations). This I find curious. I know that many caterpillars look very similar (even more than adult moths) but why not illustrate them and have a complete section of the illustrations — separate from the adult moths would be OK — as an aid to identification. For me, this stops the book getting a top 5-star rating.
My only other gripe is the cost; at around £30 for the paperback this is beyond the reach of many.
Nevertheless this is a reference book which will live on the shelf over my desk and quite likely become well used.
Overall Rating: ★★★★☆
Moths
Let’s catch up on a couple of recent (like this week) photographs. Specifically we’ve had two common, but quite interesting, moths in the house in the last few days. First of all we had this …
Angle Shades, Phlogophora meticulosa
I struggled to identify it as the illustration in my book looks nothing like this, but then they are very variable. Angle Shades are actually very common, and one often sees thier grey (or green; again they are quite variable) caterpillars around.
[By the way the gradations in the photos are 5mm squares.]
Then last evening I had this one flutter in the window and sit on my desk …
Straw Underwing, Thalpophila matura
This is (at least to me) much more interesting as I’ve not knowingly seen one before — but then with its wings folded it is just another dark coloured moth, so I probably have seen them and just not realised. Again it is quite common on rough grassland, of which we have plenty near here.
I know most people don’t like moths fluttering about, an they can be irritating, but many are actually rather spectacular when looked at closely. Oh and I think both of these were females.