Holiday prep and practice

Our Corfu holiday booking was only confirmed on Monday, thus we've got quite a few bits to sort out before we head off for this, much needed, break. We've been to our local medical practice to ensure that Bev's got enough medication to last for the period we're away. The only other, major, item which now needs to be addressed is that of airport parking, which should get sorted out on Friday? After that it's get the luggage packed and sunshine here we come! 

A holiday for Bev is nothing more complex than sunshine, a sun-bed with towels, a nice pool, a decent book or crossword and being in close proximity to a source of snacks, coffee and/or flavoured "G & T" - whichever takes her fancy. For my part, I just require some open spaces to wander around, looking at whatever nature decides to show me. Having been to this same location on several previous holidays, I am pretty confident that there will be plenty to enjoy. Honey Buzzard migration should be in full flow plus assorted hirundine and passerines will also be moving south through the area at this time of year. My hope is that my newly acquired camera kit will produce far superior images to anything previously obtained but, I am also looking to push the boundaries of my photography by deliberately attempting some macro stuff whilst we're away. Grasshoppers, mantis, dragonflies and lizards  are fairly standard fare on Corfu, yet there are a myriad  of smaller "blue" species and equally diverse numbers of skipper butterflies to explore. On top of this, surely I'll encounter many other invertebrates which have been previously overlooked, or simply ignored?

An Ichneumon sp. - only identifiable by dissection apparently?  

With this desire to explore new photographic opportunities I have been playing around in the garden with an old Sigma 55 - 200 mm lens, in combination with a 30 mm extension tube. Obviously, the lens doesn't have image stabilisation, nor can it be used in autofocus mode because of the lack of technology. All that said, I am well pleased with how it performed today and am now committed to including it in the kit being taken.

Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae)

I am hopeful that I'll be able to update the blog on a regular basis, whilst we're away, but am aware of the pitiful internet provision at the resort, so fingers crossed.  If I am able to take my laptop, then any posts I make should be accompanied by images, however, if I am restricted to using Bev's I-pad, then it will be written content only until we return. 

I'm not too sure how I overlooked this image obtained yesterday night. Inspecting the egg trays this morning was a complete wasted effort. Overnight temperatures had plummeted and with them went the moth activity. Probably no more than forty moths to peruse, the vast majority being Large Yellow Underwings, Setaceous Hebrew Characters and Angle-shades. Thanet is currently being pummelled by blasting westerly winds with impending rainfall cum darkness. I'm not sure that I'll even bother to run the trap tonight given these adverse conditions. The only positive being that I get an extended kip due to not having to get up to switch the trap off in the early morning.