The family all went down to Sussex Wildlife Trust’s Woods Mill Nature Reserve last Sunday.
The weather was great. Arwyn loves being out amongst nature and had a lot of fun looking at all the birds, the flowers, and all the carp you can see from the bridge across the pond. A little bit like Daddy, he loves checking out insects, too!
There were plenty of butterflies out, particularly Orange Tip & Brimstone.
I also spotted a jay on our walk and took a few photos. They’re amazing-looking birds and this is the closest I have been to one so far.
Woods Mill Nature Reserve is great. Apart from all the fabulous wildlife to see, there’s also some ponds to go pond dipping, and some fantastic little den areas for kids to play in and around. If you have a chance, you should go!
It has been far too long without blogging. What’s been going on? What’s been stopping me?
Twitter. Twitter has a lot to answer for! I’ve never really had that much to say and it has become so much easier to do it in 140 characters or less than on this blog. Twitter has also opened up my world to things I have loved since I was a kid, but have never pursued. I have learned so much about wildlife and conservation and photography from people on Twitter, it has been quite wonderful. And as a digital marketer, if you’re not doing it or using it, then you don’t really know what you’re talking about!
Butterfly Conservation. Throughout last year I spent most weekends and quite a few summer evenings doing butterfly counts and sending in my data to my local Butterfly Conservation chapter. I also helped out with the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey as part of the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) and put in and covered a transect near Denham in Buckinghamshire. I’ve always loved nature and animals and it’s great fun. But butterfly numbers are declining rapidly. Butterflies are a fantastic indicator of climate change, as they have short lifespans, are quite particular in terms of habitat, and therefore react quickly to changes in environment. It would be a pity if they died out, so hopefully my little bit helps.
Part-time Ranger. I have been helping out the rangers on Harmondsworth Moor, near where I used to work – all in the grand hope of learning as much as possible for a change of career in the future! So far, I have done a Reed Warbler survey, a Harvest Mouse nest survey, and some general manual work – removing a picnic bench damaged by vandals. I have also conducted a survey to check for the possible presence of the White-letter Hairstreak butterfly.
New Job. I started a new job early this year. I needed a change. I am very happy now! Great job in a bigger company and such lovely people! I travel to Italy rather than Asia, but that’s ok. Hopefully I can make a move back to Asia with this company – it’s a part of the world I love and I know extremely well, especially in terms of digital marketing – fingers crossed.
New House. We had to move away from Windsor for the new job. We’re now in Sutton. However, we really don’t like Sutton, and with a baby on the way, we are going to move further out away from London. We will be moving to Horsham this summer!
Baby. Number One Son is on the way. We found out this week that it is a little boy. Yayoi and I will be meeting our son on 25th September this year – all being well. He should be on time – his father always is!
So, a lot has happened…
But with lots on the horizon this year, I will get back to blogging. It acts as a great diary to see what we did when, and that’s all I ever intended.
Another walk around Windsor Great Park, another butterfly.
People must be bored by now by my interest in butterflies. Without doubt, I am definitely in the wrong job and should be working with wildlife and nature!
Yayoi and I spotted an Orange-tip in early May. We’ve seen a few around recently.
Unfortunately the Orange-tip butterfly was closed most of the time and we couldn’t see it in its full glory. You can just see the orange poking out though – and it certainly was a hairy little fellow!
Yayoi and I went for one of our walks in Windsor Great Park last Friday afternoon after work.
There were a lot of butterflies about, including the usual Cabbage White and a few Commas, but there was also an Orange Tip, which unfortunately didn’t stay still long enough for me to get a photo.
We did manage to capture these shots of a Peacock butterfly though.
If the weather is nice, Yayoi and I sometimes drive over to the other side of Windsor Great Park and walk through the Valley Gardens that are part of the Royal Landscape.
We did just that a few weeks ago and here’s a few random photos of shrubs, trees, and butterflies. It’s a really nice day out.
Yes, the butterflies were out and I managed to capture a Red Admiral – one which I didn’t manage to get last year.
Yayoi and I went for a walk in Burnham Beeches, a short drive from Windsor, on Sunday.
It was a lovely day to walk through the woods, breathe in the fresh air, and enjoy the wildlife. There were still a few butterflies around, and we managed to get a photo of a Comma eating a blackberry.
Burnham Beeches includes some ponds and quite a bit of marshland, so there were also a number of dragonflies flitting around. There were a few Ruddy Darter dragonflies - one actually landed on Yayoi’s shoe, which was quite amusing!
I also got a photo of another dragonfly which I have been unable to identify – if anyone can help, please shout!
We’re planning to go back to Burnham Beeches in the depth of Autumn to see the different colours of the trees, and also in Winter if it snows!
