25 March Muston moths

Muston Moths











A new species for the garden - a shoulder stripe (Anticlea badiata).




22 March Muston moths

Muston Moths




A march moth (Alsophila aescularia) was on the trunk of a sycamore tree near the moth trap






adjacent to the first engrailed (Ectropis bistortata) of the year.


Garden spider

A female Tegenaria gigantea was very confiding allowing some photos upto 5x life size.




The detail of a daffodil:

19 March Muston moths

Muston Moths




Although it was misty with a light frost there were still 2 new species for the year: one early grey (Xylocampa areola)





and one male dotted border (Agriopis marginaria). This latter is new for the garden.









There were also 11 hebrew characters (Orthosia gothica), 3 common quakers (Orthosia cerasi), a single clouded drab (Orthosia incerta) and a pale brindled beauty (Phigalia pilosaria).

17 March Muston moths

Muston Moths









A dry and still night was the best so far with 6 species. New to the garden was a red chestnut (Cerastis rubricosa).


There was also a chestnut (Conistra vaccini),


one pale brindled beauty (Phigalia pilosaria), 14 hebrew characters (Orthosia gothica), 6 common quakers (Orthosia cerasi) and 3 clouded drabs (Orthosia incerta).

14 March Dalby Forest


A trip with the kids to Dalby Forest allowed me to do some creative shots exploring light and trees. More and larger images are available on the main website in the North Yorkshire Moors gallery. These images are made by panning the camera vertically whilst taking a shot with a relatively slow shutter speed.



Dalby beck had some weed on a branch on the opposite bank. I moved the camera whilst taking this shot.





These catkins were blowing in the breeze and so in order to convey the sense of movement I shook the camera whilst taking the shot. I experimented with different shutter speeds and speeds of movement to get the look I was after.

14 March Muston Moths

Muston Moths



A new garden species - a satellite (Eupsilia transversa),










as well as 6 common quaker (Orthosia cerasi), 3 hebrew characters (Orthosia gothica) and a pale brindled beauty (Phigalia pilosaria).

13 March Muston moths

Muston Moths

3 common quaker (Orthosia cerasi), 5 hebrew characters (Orthosia gothica) and a single clouded drab (Orthosia incerta).



12 March Muston moths

Muston Moths

Single common quaker (Orthosia cerasi) and a first for the year a pale brindled beauty (Phigalia pilosaria).


More shots are on the website in the insects gallery.

08 March Insects at Kirk Ella

Ran the moth trap in Kirk Ella west of Hull. Caught 3 common quaker (Orthosia cerasi)


and found a hawthorn shield bug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale).


Then a trip to The Deep yielded a few aquarium shots which I adjusted with Nik software:

07 March Robin Hood's Bay at sunrise

Went to Robin Hood's Bay for sunrise with Ian Meek (clearview photos). The sunrise was OK and yielded some reflections from the sea wall, which was a photo I wanted. It is rare to see a pic of this famous village from the beach at sunrise.




I also took several intimate landscapes of the rocks and pools and will add one or two of the abstracts in the next couple of days to the North Yorkshire Coast gallery.

06 March Scarborough North Bay at sunrise


Sunrise at North Bay, Scarborough. There were only a few clouds on the horizon, rather than the hoped for patchy across the sky. The sunrise was good though and I managed a couple of seascapes, including some minimalist ones.

See them in the North Yorkshire coast gallery.

05 March Filey Bay

Driving home from work early and there was a sunset. I knew that the sea was calm and hoped to take advantage of the subtle afterglow one usually gets on the east coast at this time of year. Luckily the clouds were right and the sky gave me what I had anticipated. I took several shots to make sure that the Flamborough lighthouse was lit in the shot.



See the North Yorkshire coast gallery

01 March Hornsea landscapes

Dawn at Hornsea seafront. I went to take some minimalist photos of the groynes and the markers in the sea.

Unfortunately there was no sunrise, just an amorphous mass of cloud. I set up anyway and hoped that the light would improve. Luckily a few streaks of orange broke through to allow me my anticipated shot.


More photos are on the main website in the East Yorkshire gallery.

01 March Muston moths

Muston moths

So far I have run the moth trap on 6 still nights in 2009 and have captured no moths.