Seconds please...

I suppose that there will be more photos of this morning's solar eclipse than there are of wheatears on the blogosphere today. Not to be out done, here is another. We got up to clear blue skies this morning though a few clouds soon began to show, making us a bit anxious that we would never see the partial eclipse. We need not have worried and the morning remained very pleasant with 75% clear skies with some thin, steadily moving clouds.

This is my second eclipse after the one in 1999 and I cant wait for my next in 2026. I heard on the BBC today that there have only been 8 solar eclipses visible in the UK in the last 500 years, so to have been fortunate enough to be around for two of them is a privilege indeed.

How it started seen through reversed binoculars on the back door. 

And later when there was cloud cover I managed a proper direct photo.

 While waiting for the 09.35 Armageddon, a check of last nights moth trap catch was a nice surprise - 24 moths of 9 species including the second garden ( and 12th Northumberland ) record of Acleris cristana, though this one was of the form cristalana.