This is a female Box-tree Moth. They were inadvertently brought into the UK in 2007 on imported, exotic Box plants. They are spreading rapidly and I see lots in Cottenham. I don’t think they’ve got as far north as Ely yet, but it’s only a matter of time.
Female Box-tree Moths lack the male’s hair pencil at the end of the abdomen
The female lays her eggs on Box plants and her larvae will ravage the plant, you’ll see the damage pretty quickly. In their native environment the moths are kept in check somewhat by the ecosystem itself, but that doesn’t happen here. I have warned people not to plant Box here any more…it will be eaten…even established hedges will succumb. Please don’t spray pesticides around, pesticides are nasty, and I say that as a chemist. If you really want to try and save the hedge pick the caterpillars off by hand and “relocate” them…
You can buy a pheromone trap, a plastic flask, often green and yellow, and you put a little rubber bung in the top. The bung carries a tiny quantity of the female sex pheromone. You hang it near your beloved Box hedge and it attracts the males who are suckered into going into the trap thinking a female awaits…they can be drawn in from up to about ten miles away.
Sounds like a cunning plan, doesn’t it? But, think about it. The females are all over the place, and most likely on your hedge, to which they’re drawn because it’s their larval food plant (hence the name!). There may well not have been males in your street, but you’ve just put out a big chemical communication and invited them to the orgy…even if you catch a handful in the trap before they mate, chances are you won’t catch them all, and it only takes one for your local female to have a clutch of fertilised eggs ready to lay on your hedge. Her very hungry caterpillars will feast on it soon enough…
You can distinguish between the male and female moth, because the males have a tuft at the end of their body known as a hair pencil, it’s basically a diffuser for their own pheromones. There is also a melanic form of this species, which is dark brown-purple where this one is white.
I only occasionally photograph dragonflies and damselflies, the Odonata. My big zoom doesn’t give me the best results with these insects for some reason. However, I was at Brampton Wood yesterday to see the recently emerged Black Hairstreak butterflies. Took a shorter zoom, Canon 75-300mm for that job instead of my Sigma 150-600mm and tried my chances on snapping some dragonflies in between hairstreaks.
First in the frame was this lovely Black-tailed Skimmer, Orthetrum cancellatum. What a great scientific name.
Black-tailed Skimmer – Orthetrum cancellatum
And, here’s a male of the relatively common species Broad-bodied Chaser, Libellula depressa, coming into land on a stick protruding from Wayne’s Pond at Brampton Wood.
Broad-bodied Chaser coming in to land
A Four-spotted Chaser, Libellula quadrimaculata, favoured the perching sticks in the pond too.
Four-spotted chaser with its eight spots!
Another interesting dragon at Brampton Wood is the relatively rare Green-eyed Hawker, Aeshna isoceles. The isoceles is a reference to the yellow triangle on its second abdominal segment. It has an alternative vernacular name, Norfolk Hawker, this common name in the UK refers to its lasting presence in the county of Norfolk, although it was common in the Cambridgeshire Fens until the 1980s. It is now known to exist in Suffolk and Kent, but is localised and scarce.
Green-eyed, or Norfolk, Hawker
However, old Green Eyes is back…in Cambridgeshire. Although it remains fairly elusive; it always was a rarity. Perhaps the species is benefiting partly from the creation of numerous wetlands on the sites of old gravelworks in the county, such as RSPB Fen Drayton. It favours ponds, ditches, and marshes with dense vegetation and seems to rely on the aquatic plant Water-Soldier, Stratiotes aloides. There’s plenty of that in my garden pond, so fingers crossed and there is obviously something about Brampton Wood they like too.
In non-dragonfly news, also spotted a Bumblebee Plumehorn, a type of hoverfly, Volucella bombylans.
Bumblebee Plumehorn hoverfly
There were Brimstone and Garden Grass-veneer moths to be seen and Spindle Ermine and Pale Eggar moth nests, a few scattered Large Skipper butterflies on the site as well as several Speckled Wood butterfly. Also at play numerous Longhorn Beetle, a few European Hornet, and a lot of Green Oak Tortrix moths, Tortrix viridana. They’ve been coming to traps in large numbers during the last few days around Cambridgeshire, so it was no surprise to see them on the oaks in Brampton Wood.
Green Oak Tortrix moth on green oak leaf
However, my target species for the day was the Black Hairstreak butterfly, Satyrium pruni. I estimate I saw 40-50 over the course of the visit. Although the butterfly is nationally very rare, it is present on this site and other ancient woodlands with well-established Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) to the west and southwest in huge numbers. There were several within yards of the site entrance, one or two along the main ride, several on blackthorn near the aforementioned pond, and several on the two sites marked for visitors to observe them. I got photos of perching and puddling butterflies, some ovipositing females, and caught sight of a mating pair, but didn’t get the money shot of that coupling!
The Black Hairstreak was not known as a species until 1828 when a professional entomological dealer, Mr Seaman, charged with gathering up specimens of the rather similar White-letter Hairstreak delivered these to his patron only to discover a novel species among the White-letters. Edward Newman, a Victorian entomologist of note, declared the novel species to be the Black Hairstreak. Monk’s Wood, like Brampton, is an ancient woodland with a lot of old Blackthorn growing on heavy clay soil, just what the Black Hairstreak needs for its life cycle.
Black Hairstreak butterfly
Another Black Hairstreak with a wing problem allows us to see the dark-brown upperside of the forewings with their orange-spotted fringe. Usually, it is very difficult to see the upperside of the wings as the insects invariably close their wings together when they land. It is worth noting that non-native Muntjac deer can be a voracious nuisance in this kind of ancient woodland. If it is allowed to graze freely in such habitat, there is the potential for rare, native species that rely on the habitat to be lost. As I understand it, at least one of our nature conservation organisations is involved in culling Muntjac where it is roaming freely in such habitat for the sake of conservation of the sensitive native species.
Black Hairstreak revealing a little of the upperside of its wings
Not to be confused with a butterfly of the Americas, Ocaria ocrisia, with the same vernacular name, that also goes by the monicker Hewitson’s blackstreak.
One final thing – Common Spotted Orchid, Dactylorhiza fuchsii.
I acquired another moth trap to go alongside my old second-hand, home-made Robinson with the 40W actinic UV fluorescent U-tube, the portable 20W UV fluorescent Heath, the LepiLED, and, of course, the pheromone trap for the Emperor moth and the clearwings.
The day-flying Yellow-legged Clearwing moth has evolved to resemble a wasp in order to avoid predation
I crammed it with the usual stock of roosting options for the moths, a load of empty cardboard egg cartons, and lit up.
Skinner moth trap
It was 11 Celsius last night, a degree cooler than a recent lighting-up session, but the new trap brought a fairly good haul, 28 moths of 18 species, with several new for the year (NFY), although no new for me or new for the garden (NFM or NFG). These are the highest numbers of the year so far, although the good numbers on nights of a similar temperature recently have not been far short.
The Shears moth, so-called because a detail in the pattern on its forewings resembles a pair of sheep shears
The Skinner trap is basically a box with slots in which two Perspex sheets are slid to form a groove with a narrow gap. A UV light is held above. Moths (and a few other nocturnal insects) are attracted by the light and with luck fall through the slot and on to the pile of egg cartons where they settle for the night. In the morning, preferably before dawn when insectivorous birds awaken, the diligent mother-er will check the contents of the trap. Not species and number, perhaps take photos, and then later in the day release the moths safely, off-site into the new dusk. Records are shared with one’s County Moth Recorder (CMR) for scientific purposes.
Toadflax Brocade moth, the name comes from the larval foodplant, toadflax, and the resemblance of the wing patterns to richly decorative woven cloth, brocade
The Heath and the Robinson traps are similar, but have a funnel instead of a slot, which purportedly leads to fewer escapees. The Heath is usually small collapsible, and so more portable than a Robinson.
This is the quite diverse list from last night’s haul, one each of each moth unless otherwise stated: Bee Moth, Brimstone, Celypha striana NFY, Common Pug, Garden Rose Tortrix NFY, Heart & Dart 4, Large Nutmeg, Light Brown Apple Moth, Light Arches NFY, Light Brocade 2, Light Emerald 1, Minor agg 2, Shuttle-shaped Dart 2(M), The Shears NFY, Toadflax Brocade NFY, Vine’s Rustic 3, White Point 3, Willow Beauty 1.
Various moths in an egg carton from the moth trap
There are some who argue that this hobby, albeit a scientific one, is somehow cruel. That we are depriving creatures that live only a short life of one night of their season. And, that we should leave them to themselves. Well, far more cruel is the wanton destruction of the habitats in which these creatures live and the often shameless use of pesticides.
Male Emperor moths can be drawn to a pheromone lure
However, without people monitoring species, keeping records, collating them, and studying the trends, we would not have a clue as to what we need to protect from the destruction, and how we might do that. We know from these mothing records that many species have declined considerably over the last half century or more. But, we also know that some species once thought extinct have thankfully risen from the scorched fields to grace our gardens and other habitats again. We also now know more about how some moths migrate and where from. In addition, we also know, often from the pheromone trapping, that some moths, the clearwings and various micro moths, once thought absent in particular areas are present there after all and perhaps more widespread than we ever imagined.
The surprising sight of a bat flying at midday
Oh, and one more thing. A bat will consume 300 or so flying insects every night, so the impact of even the most efficient and effective moth trap in the garden is negligible in comparison. Indeed, one might say, they are saved from predation if they find those egg cartons before the bats find them!
TL:DR – The first White-point of my mothing year in the garden 4th June 2023.
The White-point (Mythimna albipuncta) is one of the moth species we refer to as the Noctuidae, the owlets. It has perhaps the most obvious of names given its appearance.
The White-point is an immigrant species to the British Isles, primarily found in the southern and southeastern regions of England, although it is seen in Norfolk. I’ve had it numerous times in my Cambridgeshire garden over my five years of serious mothing.
In some years, hundreds are reported and there is some evidence that it might even breed here in good years, although whether that has led to established colonies is not yet known. One might posit that its presence increases overall diversity, but that would only really have a significant long-term impact if it were to establish itself as a breeding species in the UK. That said, it, and its larvae, might already be providing food for other species, such as omnivorous birds, mammals, and amphibians and as such affecting eco-systems in a small way. Its larvae feed on various species of grass.
The species usually flies from August to September, but can be seen on the wing at any time from June into October. It is common across Europe.
TL:DR – Record shots of the three Black Terns at a local RSPB reserve.
They say that one good tern deserves another, if you’re talking comic terns. So, when you go looking for one and three come along all at once it’s quite amusing.
As I mentioned in a previous post about processing low-light photos, we were camping, locally…so local in fact that when three Black Terns were mentioned as being present on Ferry Lagoon at RSPB Fen Drayton it was only a short hop from RSPB Ouse Fen where we were camping to get a view of them.
Black Tern on a pontoon
Of course the birds were fishing in the waters there at a distance from the closest viewpoint of between 250 and 300 metres. Quite a distance to look through even a 600mm zoom lens or binoculars, especially on a dull grey day. But, we saw them. regular readers might recall the American Black Tern we chased around Northumberland to see in 2022. The American is Chlidonias niger surinamensis and as far as I know there have not been any sightings of the sub-species in the UK this year. The Black Terns we were watching on Ferry Lagoon are the parent species Chlidonias niger.
Distant Black Tern in flight
As is the wont of vernacular names, there is often only an element of truth in them. Indeed, the Black Tern has a grey, if not blue appearance about its wings, a white rump and a sooty head and almost black bill, at least in its breeding plumage, it is perhaps blacker out of season.
Black Tern diving, although the books say they don’t dive for fish!
The bird generally fishes on inland water in Europe, Western Asia, and North America. It has a couple of old names, “Blue Darr” (Blue Tern) and “Carr Swallow” (Lake Swallow). The genus name comes from the Ancient Greek, khelidonios, for swallow-like, while the species name, niger means shining black.
I had seen one once before, but briefly, perhaps summer of 2018, flying over the Reedbed Trail area of RSPB Ouse Fen. As I check Birdguides for sightings there are others present in ones twos, and threes all over England. The bird was once common in the Fens, but drainage led to its local extinction by about 1840. It’s wonderful to see it flying here where gravel pits have been morphed into nature reserves as with Ouse Fen and Fen Drayton.
TL:DR – Photos taken in very light with an old camera are never going to come up to snuff unless you use a denoise app like DxO’s PureRaw 3.
We were up early from our camp bed near Ouse Fen on Bank Holiday Monday. The aim was to get on to the RSPB reserve and observe at dawn. The Bitterns had boomed through the night and one or two were still calling when we timorously made our way through the chill (just after) dawn air, it was 5am.
Mrs Sciencebase spotted a solitary Bittern crossing from reedbed to reedbed, the wont of females I believe, homing in on the blown-bottle sound of the males cryptically tucked away among the reeds. So, here she is, the unprocessed shot on the left saved from RAW format from the camera and untouched.
To get the image on the right, I applied the denoising abilities of DxO PureRaw 3, which I think cuts about three “stops” of ISO. I exported it from that app as the portable RAW format known as DNG. This allowed me to open it as if it were a file straight from the camera in PaintShopPro and so start afresh with the denoised file.
PSP has a RAW importer that does what the likes of Lightroom do so you can rescue blownout areas in photos with that issue or correct overall exposure. In the case of the Bittern shot taken with very low light levels, it needed a maximum lift from the dark and dingy DNG file. Once in PSP, I did my usually tweaks, raising brightness a tad, adjusting shadows a little, a spot of highlight boost, a tiny bit of a vibrancy bump, a little application of an unsharp mask, and then a crop.
It’s not too bad a record shot. I have better images of Bitterns in flight taken on sunny day on this and other reserves.
TL:DR – Late May and there are lots of tiny butterflies known as Small Blue at a local nature site, Magog Down, south of Cambridge.
It could have almost been a serenade to lepidopteral melancholy if I’d chosen to seek out butterflies at Trumpington Meadows* this morning, it’s not been a good season for butterflying there so far it seems, but instead it’s a celebration as I ended up counting dozens of Small Blue (Cupido minimus) at the equally serene but far more undulating Magog Down.
Magog Down in almost full bloom
The site is almost opposite Wandlebury where Mrs Sciencebase reckons we may have seen one of the rare blue butterflies many years ago (perhaps a Chalk Hill or a Small).
A Small Blue butterfly, Cupido minimus. Not to be confused with any small, blue butterfly
I must confess, on arriving I was expecting to have to seek out tiny patches of Kidney Vetch among the Oxeye Daisy, Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) and other species across the acres. But, within a couple of yards of the gate, I spotted a couple of Small Blue on the ground and got a couple of record shots.
A couple of Small Blue
Walking on, it soon became obvious there were lots of Small Blue here, far more than I’d seen in 2022 on the Kidney Vetch patches at Trumpington Meadows. There was one cluster of the butterflies flitting about within a square foot patch and were not at all disturbed by my presence nor the endless clicking of the camera. Indeed, several landed on the camera, on the camera bag, on my legs, on my hands, and were happy to take part in a video shoot for my Instagram.
A Small Blue butterfly puddling on my finger, probing with its proboscis to find moisture and nutrients. They usually do this on animal poo!
I spoke to Andrew Knights, one of the Magog Down butterfly recorders, who had just finished a transect count. He’d ticked 94 Small Blues on a small patch of the area over the course of an hour, which suggests that there are probably hundreds if not thousands overall. This was, he told me, well up on last year’s transect numbers (50-ish). It was an entirely happy coincidence that I was there at peak Small Blue! County Butterfly Recorder Ed Pollard, had messaged in to say numbers at Trumpington Meadows were still shockingly low this week.
Squaring up or just trying to puddle together on a grass stem
I also saw lots of Holly Blue, Brimstone, Whites, several Small Heath, Brown Argus, possibly a Common Blue, and a Mother Shipton moth (pointed out by path-mower Nick Beale). Didn’t see any of the reported Green Hairstreak here. The site is well worth the visit and nice to get these kinds of blues when you’re on the down!
*At the height of summer, Trumpington Meadows is also wonderful for moths and butterflies: Marbled White, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Six-spot Burnet, Brassy Longhorn, Burnet Companion, Mother Shipton etc.
TL:DR – I ticked a new-to-me butterfly, Dingy Skipper, at Devil’s Dyke near Newmarket this month.
The weather picked up mid-morning here in South Cambridgeshire, so I pinged my photo buddy Andy to see if he fancied taxiing me to Devil’s Dyke to seek out the cluster of Dingy Skipper butterflies not by others at this chalky embankment adjacent to Newmarket Racecourse. He did and within seconds of stepping on to the Dyke, we’d seen our first Adonis Blue (a presumed introduction dating to some time during the first lockdown). There were several Brimstone and a few Whites within the first few steps too.
Adonis Blue butterfly at Devil’s Dyke
We had to walk a bit further to pick up more Adonis Blue of which we probably saw several dozen over the course of 2-3 hours. Also Common Heath and Yellow Shell moth and one or two micros. Numerous Brown Argus and Small Copper butterflies along the banks. There is no Field Scabious in bloom yet and no sign of Marbled White nor the more common here, Chalk Hill Blue butterflies.
Male Brown Argus, not to be confused with females of various “blue” species, the diagnostic is: if it’s looks a bit like this and has a long thin abdomen, then it’s a male and can only be a Brown Argus
But, we had success with the Dingy Skipper, Erynnis tages, which is new to my butterfly list, the first “NFM” for me in 2023.
Dingy Skipper, Erynnis tages, butterfly on chalk footpathDifferent angle on Dingy Skipper, Erynnis tages
Now, you might be wondering where we draw the line between moths and butterflies, the Dingy Skipper certainly has a moth-like appearance, especially when compared with something like the Adonis Blue. Indeed it looks rather similar to the Common Heath moth. But, there is no line between butterflies and moths. Butterflies, as I’ve said here many times before, are simply one branch on the moths’ family tree, with equal footing to other Lepidoptera groupings such as the Pyralids, Erebids, Geometrids (inchworms), or the Noctuids (owlets). Butterflies are moths. Asking what’s the difference between a butterfly and a moth is like asking what is the difference between a ladybird (ladybug) and a beetle…
TL:DR – Modern-day equivalent of the holiday snap slideshow a record of our most recent trip to Wales, specifically the Isle of Anglesey, Ynys Môn.
May 2023, we finally got around to visiting Anglesey (Ynys Môn, sometimes referred to as Môn Mam Cymru meaning “Môn, Mother of Wales”, for its agricultural productivity) just off north-west Wales (Cymru). We stayed in the seaside town of Rhosneigr right next to RAF Valley and with beach views of Snowdonia, Yr Wyddfa. Thankfully, we only really had airbase activity and noise on the last day of our week there. Although that in itself was fun to watch as trainee pilots did their thing.
Here are a few snaps from the trip in no particular order…
Rhosneigr Beach
First thing we noticed aside from the fact that it was warm and sunny was an abundance of wildflowers in bloom at RSPB Conwy on our trip in, many of the species there had not yet bloomed when we departed Cambridgeshire. Oh, there was also the pleasant realisation that the evenings are long because we were that much further west than where we live.
Mrs Sciencebase running up that hill: Harrison Drive, Rhosneigr
We tried to visit as many places on the island as we could during our short stay including the rocky reserve behind Rhosneigr with its lakes, RSPB South Stack (for Chough, Puffin, Guillemot, Kittiwake, Razorbill, Fulmar, and Raven), Llyn Parc Mawr (for Red Squirrel) and Niwbwrch (Newborough), Cemlyn Bay for Arctic Tern, Sandwich Tern, Mediterranean Gull, a pair of Merganser, and Black-headed Gull. We missed seeing the Roseate Tern that had set up residence there though. We also took in the seaside resort of Beaumaris for a boat trip to Puffin Island (Puffin, Razorbill, Guillemot, Shag, Cormorant, Great Black-backed Gull, seals).
The Menai Suspension Bridge is one way on and off the island.
I know the numbers are irrelevant, really, but we saw at least 83 species of bird on this trip. We were chuffed to finally catch up with Chough and I think it’s the first time we’ve seen Raven in the UK. I think this is probably the most species we’ve “ticked” on a single trip in our six or so years of being a bit serious with the birding.
The Britannia Bridge is another connection between mainland Wales and the Isle of AngleseyLighting Rig, StarVAtion Bar, RhosneigrThe Holiday House View
As you might have presumed I took a portable mothtrap and ran the LepiLED off a USB battery pack for a few hours after dusk for three or four nights of our visit. I had little success, but it’s been a weird year with low moth counts across the country. That coupled with the tiny, secluded courtyard of our holiday house with no nearby trees or other vegetation and chilly nights meant very few moths. There were a couple of Garden Carpet, several Carcina quercana, a few Light Brown Apple Moth, and Red/Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet, or Xanthorhoe sp. Several female Adela reaumurella on plants adjacent to Llyn Parc Mawr.
Red form of Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet to lepiLED in RhosneigrLooking towards Rhosneigr from RAF ValleyWylfa Power Station, Cemlyn Bay
In daylight moth news, on the dunes adjacent to the airbase Mrs Sciencebase noticed Ruby Tiger (adult), I spotted a larva of the Six-spot Burnet, and numerous Grapholita lunulana.
Lots of Grapholita lunulana in the RAF Valley dunes
There were also Common Heath out there and a tiny micro moth which I didn’t ID. The Ruby Tiger moth was spotted ironically while we watched the training exercises of a pair of Beech T-6C Texan T1 – turboprops and a flock of BAe Systems Hawk 128 T.2 jet aircraft with not a Tiger Moth in sight.
Talk about loud – Three BAe Systems Hawk 128 T.2 coming into land at RAF ValleyHawk trainer, coming into land at RAF ValleyBeech trainer landing at RAF ValleyRAF Valley fire trainer
There were also lots of Wall butterflies on the railway cutting that runs through the golf course adjacent to the airbase and Small Copper butterflies, a pair of which I snapped in copulo. There were also Small Heath on the footpath through the golf course and the fly Rhagio scolopaceus, the Downlooker Snipefly, cavorting with the Wall on the railway tunnel wall. Elsewhere in the dunes, Fever-fly, Dilophus febrilis.
Wall butterfly, RhosneigrWall butterfly showing cryptic camouflage of underwingSmall Coppers in copulo on the Anglesey golf courseSix-spot Burnet larva on the dunes near RhosneigrFever-fly, Dilophus febrilis, in the Rhosneigr sand dunesMeadow Pipit and food, Cemlyn BaySandwich Tern and food Cemlyn BayMerganser, Cemlyn Bay lagoonMale Orange Tip on Cuckooflower, NewboroughRed Squirrel on a sunflower feeder at the car park in Llyn Parc MawrRed Squirrel, Llyn Parc MawrRed Squirrel, Llyn Parc MawrRed Squirrel up a tree, Llyn Parc MawrRedhead shot, Red Squirrel, Llyn Parc MawrRaven preying on Guillemot eggs at RSPB South Stack…and the takeRaven with Kittiwake egg, RSPB South StackEgg-stealing Raven, South Stack cliffsPuffins and Razorbills, RSPB South StackPuffin, RSPB South StackChough flying across South Stack cliff faceOne of numerous Chough, RSPB South StackOne of hundreds of Razorbill on the cliffs at RSPB South Stack
In terms of flowers, there were lots of wildflowers in bloom that were not showing at home when we left. Also Sea Thrift (Armeria maritima), Bladder Campion (Silene vulgaris), Cuckoo Flower (Cardamine pratensis), Sheep’s Bit (Jasione montana), and Spathulate Fleawort, unique to South Stack and also known as the South Stack Fleawort, Tephroseris integrifolia subsp. maritima. At NT Plas Newydd, Bistort (Bistorta officinalis).
South Stack FleawortSheep’s Bit, Jasione montanaLots of Bistorta officinalis at NT Plas NewyddForeground Thrift over South Stack LighthouseSouth Stack LighthouseSouth Stack Lighthouse lampNewborough PicnicTable Pebble, No. 16, RSPB South StackMrs Sciencebase, rocksBoats and beach, RhosneigrEn route via SnowdoniaBeaumaris CastleThe pastel-painted, three-storey houses of The West End (1869), Beaumaris, AngleseyMrs Sciencebase “promenading” on Beaumaris PierSnowdonia viewed beyond the rocky beach at Penmon and the Menai Strait. An artisanal gift shop in Beaumaris had the marvellous name Echo BeachBarn Swallow in flight at Plas NewyddFemale Great Spotted Woodpecker takes flight, NT Plas Newydd
On our way off Anglesey, we also visited National Trust Plas Newydd House and Garden and then once back on the mainland, NT Penrhyn Castle.
One additional wildlife point, an Orca was sighted off the Llyn Peninsula in Pwllheli Bay. A bit too far to twitch while we were in Wales. And one final word, a long one…
The station sign at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (The Church of St Mary in the hollow of the white hazel trees near the fierce whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio by the red cave)
TL:DR – The origins of the aphorism about solitary swallows and the summer.
In his writings on ethics, Aristotle had it that:
One swallow does not a summer make, nor one fine day; similarly one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy.
Usually, we abbreviate it to just the first part of the quotation, suggesting that seeing an early swallow in the spring may well not mean that the good weather of summer is about to arrive.
Barn swallow, Hirundo rustica
Indeed, in Aesop’s fable, The Young Man and the Swallow, we learn of a fellow who spends most of his money on gambling and good living, when he arrives peniless and sees an early swallow in the spring he sells the coat from his back to feed his habits and when the weather turns for the worse, tragically dies of the cold.
It is most likely that Aesop was inspired by the proverb written in Aristotle’s work, Nicomachean Ethics, rather than Aristotle providing us with an executive summary of the fable.
Either way, the Swallows have been in these here parts for at least a couple of weeks now and as you’d expect, it’s a bit chilly at the moment and pouring with rain. We always knew they weren’t great weather forecasters, I suppose.
Footnote
Caught one in low flight over a lawn at NT Plas Newydd in May. Denoised with DxO and motion blur sharpening with Topaz Sharpen.
