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An individual, of no great importance, who is unable to see the natural world as a place for competition. I catch fish, watch birds, derive immense pleasure from simply looking at butterflies, moths, bumble-bees, etc - without the need for rules! I am Dylan and this is my blog - if my opinions offend? Don't bother logging on again - simple!

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Friday 17 July 2020

Walk in the park

This furlough lark is proving to be a  very nice warm up for the real deal that redundancy will represent. I've had seven weeks away from the factory, on full pay, and have only used one day of my holiday allowance thus far. Won't take too much adjustment for me to accept the situation on a permanent basis, that's for sure. Now that the lockdown restrictions are little more than token gestures, away from the political arena, I've been able to spend some quality time with Emily and Harry, two of my, five, grand-children. They have recently moved home and everything is still, very much, up in the air. Being able to take them away from the new house allows Debbie and Adam opportunity to get things done without having to concern themselves about what the kids are up to. 


The park over at Staple is one of our favourite places and, by following the Covid-19 instructions which are posted on the entrance gateway, a nice place to expend some pent up energy. The kids love it over there, all I require is a pack of anti-bacterial wipes and job's a good'n! The park equipment is hardly likely to be an epicentre for a virus spike, but it doesn't do any harm by sticking to the guidelines? 


Just across the entrance track is an enclosure which houses a group of six Emu, plus ducks, geese and chickens - game on! The kids run riot along the public footpath that crosses the field, adjacent to these birds and the fun commences. The Emu's are incredibly inquisitive and Emily, in particular, loves the interaction although might not be quite so brave if a fence wasn't involved?


I've been clicking away at odds and sods around the garden, with varying levels of success. Butterflies are the most obvious, and colourful, of visitors but I was rather pleased to be able to grab an image of a "Queen" Common Wasp that was inspecting our drive.





To finish up, I've just taken delivery of a Magenta 5 "Bat Detector". There were six individuals hunting over the garden, yesterday, and I'm sure that they are very common Pipistrelle's. Without the use of this technology I'll never know unless I can be bothered to catch one in a net or, even more extreme but very much in line with 2020 Pan Listing ethics, shoot one and do a DNA / gen det analysis, with accompanying HD macro images. Luckily for the local bats, moths, flies and umpteen other genera present, I live in the 21st Century and have no requirement to stick pins in specimens in order to add data to some pathetic list, however laudable others might see this behaviour and thus able to defend their "Victorian"  collectors mentality.



I'm gonna have some fun with this device, that's for sure

2 comments:

  1. I've a Bat Detector Dyl. Yes, they are fun. I imagine what I hear the most are Pipistrelles, but I'll admit, mainly I'm guessing the species. The one's I do know are Noctules. Within the frequency range, they are audible from about 300 yards away. To me they give off what sounds like large metal sheets being beaten in some random fashion. No guessing there.

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    1. They're a group with which I spend a considerable amount of time, especially whilst fishing, yet have to admit that I know very little. The internet hosts a massive resource which I can access to assist with the steep learning curve ahead. I've a small digital recorder which I can use to capture the sounds and thus replay them later. Just as learning bird calls is a daunting prospect when you start out, it becomes easier with experience. I think being able to pick up on the structure, opposed to the sound - if that makes any sense? - will be key to the id challenges.
      Used it last night, for the first time, out in the garden with two Common Pipistrelle very obliging as the darkness intensified - even Bev joined in with the fun.

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