Xitter...

 I used to enjoy Twitter. Now that a billionaire Bond Villain has taken over, Twitter has gone the way of so many free birds and died the death. the blue bird is no more,and the site is now called 'X'. It has basically gone down the Xitter so to speak.

I've taken a few days out over this weekend and I'll see how it goes from there. It'll be a shame to drop it all together as I have enjoyed engaging with like minded people I've never met. Time will tell.

After the seawatching of a week ago abated my attention was drawn again to the garden moth trap.  Looking back I see Ive not mentioned it for a few weeks so here are some pics of what has been occurring...

Gold Spangle, always nice to catch. I get single figures each year. Not a rare moth in the county.

Large Twin Spot Carpet. Zero to Hero. No records prior to 2018 here, now I have 49 records of over 70 individuals.

Ash Pug.

Crambus perlella barely annual.

This moth, Dingy Footman has a more meteoric rise than the Large Twin spot Carpet. Still very scarce in the county as a whole but not here. No records before 2018 now its common with 33 individuals this month alone!

Still catching a few Garden Tigers.

Sand Dart is a scarce species in the county, this is my second this year.

Cream bordered Green Pea. An unbelievable first for Northumberland in my trap the other day, found nowhere near the north East of England.

Dark Spinach, just about annual here, scarce generally.

Yellow Tail. Used to be rare in the county but also on the move. 5 individuals in the garden since the first in 2019.

An upside down Brown China Mark. Not a rare moth but always adds some interest, especially when the prefer to hang upside down like this.

Brown Line Bright Eye. Used to be much commoner but only singles in 22 and so far in 23.

Burnished Brass a common bread and butter species but it was nice to get one feeding for a change.

Dingy Footman of the pale form. Only about 1 in 10 here look like this.

Least Yellow Underwing, used to be quite scarce but now a late summer regular.

The Old Lady rarely enters my trap so few records but as soon as the old fruit and sugar mix is out she loves it.

I believe this is Brown Plume, only caught the other day, a garden first.

The Notebook Challenge.

 Happy New Year all. I have been watching with interest that a lot of birders are entering the Patchwork Challenge for 2023 after its revival. Back in November I was going to give it a go too but after more thought I decided against it. I'm not really a competitive person so it seemed a bit too much hassle to keep adding up various points for particular species, self finds, scarce, rare etc, so once again I will be keeping my own 3km local patch list going in a casual manner, just like last year. 

This is my 15th year on this patch, so I have a good idea of what, where and when to expect things now. Lets hope there are some surprises yet to meet me on my travels.

Instead of being wholly list focussed, the good people on Twitter have given me an idea on something I can try to improve on over the year. My Notebooks.

As a keen Notebook user, this is no biggie, but we can all have some self improvement.

Between Christmas and New Year I was tagged in to a tweet from Amy Schwartz that set me thinking. She was going to begin using a Notebook in 2023 after a couple of false starts. In echo to this I tweeted- 

The response to this was excellent. There were over 71k 'impressions', what ever that means and over 700 people 'liked' the post. That in itself isn't important, but I'd like to assume its not the post they like but the sentiment behind it, ie, keeping a Notebook. This started off a thread of comments and posts from others about the topic of Note taking. Some top birders took the time to reply, posting pictures of shelves full of their own written word. 

It is from these I am taking some ideas on how to improve.

Here are a few - 

Look at those fab shelves! I must get mine into some order like this.

Phil is a well known brilliant bird artist. What a resource here.

Paul says his books arent really sketchbooks. Could have fooled me! These are fantastic too.

Great point made by Andy here. No one has a memory so good that they can remember details from a life of Notetaking.

Another very valid point, you cant always get a photo of every bird ( though some do very well). Its worth getting it into the notebook straight away.

James is another author and artist . His Tweet says it in a nutshell.

Well known artist Richard gives great tips here.

Craig is a great birder who is now back on track with his Notes

I'd love to get stuck into these and the others books! Mick has a great method here. 

 

Amy's tweet that started it off...

But I think it is Jonnie who has given a different outlook on Amy's tweet.

Jonnie's books are full of not just lists of birds but humour, interest, tales and the stuff that makes our birding and wildlife trips so enjoyable. These are done now, in the present, for himself in the future. Is there anything better than that!

Some birders have either given up notetaking or have never started. The alternative seems to be Birdtrack, eBird, Spreadsheets, Databases, Phone notes and Photography. 

My take on it is that we Naturalists are entering a world of different species to ourselves. There is so much beauty and bizarre interest here that one lifetime can't take it all in. In writing and sketching we are reinforcing what we have just seen or done. It is a great learning tool as well as memory storage.

To end, I want to thank all of the inspiring people above whose tweets I've stolen without permission ( I will edit and remove any if I've over stepped the mark!). 

Hopefully you might be as inspired as I am to either improve or to get started in 2023. 

Good Luck! There might be a future post on here with some thoughts and tips for beginners to note taking.

Cheers Stewart  

Anti-social Media.

Once again I have found myself neglecting the blog. Usually I have some reason or another, been busy, other stuff to do etc but lately there is a more sinister reason for this lack of entries. Social Media. Or should I say, Anti-social Media. I spend probably hours gazing at digital imagery on the phone.

In 2006 when I began this blog, I did it as a diary rather than some form of written social statement. I was never going to push the boundaries of anything. Then, some years later,  came Twitter. I like Twitter, you can link with loads of like minded people who you don't know, but they become 'pen pals' if you like. News comes through as it happens, info is passed around and it is like reading a bespoke magazine just for you that never ends.

Remember that bit. It never ends.

When it came to Facebook, I always resisted the connection saying it was just frippery, boring stuff with endless pics of people's meals and cats, but my friend John was on it and not on Twitter so I joined to see what he was posting. So I could see his photos and stuff.

Then smart phones became ever more seductive. Info on the go, at anytime, at a press of a screen. No longer would you be out of touch with mates you'd not seen for ages or people who have moved abroad, no, its like they live next door, or even in the same house! You can join groups and get advice on things you know little about, you can troll those you disagree with too.

This is where all the time goes. I know it and most of you know it too. We hate it. We all think that this social media mullarkey is a right old pain in the arse so why is it so prevalent in our lives? I cant answer that one, but lately I have considered jacking them all in, but cant do it. What if I miss something? Not someones breakfast or cream tea but something important to me, like my nephew's school play or nice pics of the rare bird I have just been to see ( or dipped).

As I have mentioned earlier, this stuff never ends, that's what irritates. There is no escape or down time, because that too will drive you mad. Its like an addiction.

What is there to do about it?

I don't know. I'd like to trim it back and keep my blog updated more, at least that's more writing rather than throw away commenting. I think. I'd like to read books more rather than the inane sometimes aggravating comments on the small screen too.

If you read this, and are not too busy on your phone, leave me a comment, telling me what you do, or try to do with this bloody awful demon in our lives...

Normal service WILL be resumed!