From Arnside Knott over the Kent Estuary From up on Arnside Knott I spy the Kent Viaduct, then Foulshaw Moss and White Scar. Here's a viewpoint to put in perspective different habitats about the Kent Estuary and Moracambe Bay. Sites of summer visits, from the disused limestone quarry and the terraced cliff at White Scar to the raised mires at Foulshaw and Meathop Moss and the limestone up on Arnside Knott. A cluster of sites to study flora and fauna and of strikingly different character. Arnside Knott is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, nationally important for butterflies.
11th August. White Scar faces south and on a summer's afternoon the sun blazes down onto limestone. It's hot and the light is too strong for photography, reflecting off surfaces. Once again I'm here on a Butterfly Conservation field-trip and we explore the terraces of the cliff-face, bare rock with a thin scrub of hazel, buddleia and birch and with fringes of trees that give some shade. A rare High Brown Fritillary flies off and away and we see several that afternoon, none settles close enough to see well. A pair of Common blue is mating, the best time to study them. Grayling are here but I saw them better last time. A pair of Speckled wood flits about the fringe of trees but a peregrine calls and is visible on the cliff top, so I'm focused on the bird. Back at the cars a pair of Silver Washed Fritillary flies into a sycamore and mates, something I've long hoped to see. The butterflies are somewhat faded and strong sunlight reflects through the leaves so it's exciting to witness it but the images are indifferent.
On Arnside Knott I watched a rather good photographer at work. Once a journalist asked if he may use some of her images. She asked him if he worked for nothing, merely his name being acknowledged. Anyone making such a request is not considering all the years of experience, of field-craft, of failed photographs that goes into the making of one's best images Some days the butterfly experience is memorable and the images are not.
Good light, fresh butterflies, a clear shot not masked by vegetation, a good composition so the whole is aesthetically pleasing. Does the viewer prefer to see context and habitat, or a close-up that shows detail? A field-guide study or a more interesting angle perhaps?
Good light, fresh butterflies, a clear shot not masked by vegetation, a good composition so the whole is aesthetically pleasing. Does the viewer prefer to see context and habitat, or a close-up that shows detail? A field-guide study or a more interesting angle perhaps?
Holly blue is a tiny butterfly, and exquisite. I learn this week-end that if one sees blue butterflies flying low they're likely to be Common blue. Holly blue are more usually seen on a woodland fringe above head-height. My best sighting was on a gravel track where several Holly blue came down to take-up mineral salts. They were unperturbed and close to our feet over a leisurely interlude. So I have in my photographic archive a sequence of Holly blue with delicately marked underwings and legs and antennae neatly ringed in black and white. Pity about the gravel track background. The search for the perfect image is always elusive, it's what inspires photographers.
Today, 16th August, I hear that Brown Hairstreak show best from mid-day when the sun is up. There's so much to learn and I enjoy this gradually accretion of butterfly lore.
Today, 16th August, I hear that Brown Hairstreak show best from mid-day when the sun is up. There's so much to learn and I enjoy this gradually accretion of butterfly lore.
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