Uncategorized – Spirit of Nature

In August, as in a few previous years, we had the privilege of staying in Brixham, Devon. An opportunity for physical, emotional and spiritual refreshment. To connect with ourselves, each other, the Divine, and Nature – the latter, of course, being the focus here.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Berry Head Country Park

Hummingbird hawkmoths, those miraculous migrants from mainland Europe, have become an increasingly frequent sight in England – possibly as a result of global warming. Whatever the reason, they are such welcome visitors. Last year (2022) was a bumper year for them in Southern England. One day we had FOUR(!) on the buddleia in our back garden (in Hastings) at the same time.

And yet, every time I see one, they still mesmerise me and I reach for the camera. This photo, taken in Berry Head Country Park, which borders Brixham, is one of my favourites – and quite an unusual one for me: I normally see them feeding on flowers like buddleia or verbena, but this moth was scouring the undergrowth – possibly looking for a suitable larval foodplant to lay eggs on.

Viper’s Bugloss and other wildflowers at Berry Head Country Park

Another privilege we enjoyed was seeing dolphins on a couple of occasions, including these from quite a distance – hence, not a brilliant photo – from the top of Berry Head.

Sticking with the Berry Head theme, these next few images were taken on a boat trip we took as a family with the expectation of seeing dolphins and other sea life. We didn’t actually see any dolphins on that occasion but, on the gorgeous day we had, with the picturesque views, the excursion was still utterly worthwhile.

Back on dry land.. the light trap turned up a few interesting and handsome moth species, including this rather dashing Lackey:

…this Ruby Tiger:

…and this Four-dotted Footman:

Other local invertebrates that drew my attention during the week included this Garden Spider:

…and this Hornet Mimic Hoverfly:

Hornet Mimic Hoverfly – the UK’s largest hoverfly and often (understandably) mistaken for an actual hornet. These have been quite prolific this year.

There was also some more urban wildlife…

such as this gull that had its eye on my daughter’s scampi and chips through the restaurant window:

…and this seal in Brixham Harbour:

Ironically, what might be my best picture of the week was taken with my basic phone camera one evening when (sod’s law) I’d decided not to bring my ‘proper’ camera out with me.

A low, rolling sea-mist had turned Fishcombe Cove into a quite ethereal seascape – so breathtakingly unusual, I guess it would have been hard to take a bad photo!

Hope you’ve enjoyed this tiny taste of Devon’s riches.

As a childhood lepidopterist I had a recurring dream of seeing a Purple Emperor. (OK, confession time: I’ve had this dream as an adult as well.)

Three years ago, I chased the dream and saw my first Purple Emperors, in Ashdown Forest, high up in the trees; then, last July, took the 1.5-hour trip to the incredible ecological project that is Knepp Wildland, to photograph these rare butterflies.

Knepp’s website explains that it is:

“a 3,500 acre estate just south of Horsham, West Sussex. Since 2001, the land – once intensively farmed – has been devoted to a pioneering rewilding project. Using grazing animals as the drivers of habitat creation, and with the restoration of dynamic, natural water courses, the project has seen extraordinary increases in wildlife. Extremely rare species like turtle doves, nightingales, peregrine falcons and purple emperor butterflies are now breeding here; and populations of more common species are rocketing.”

My visit to Knepp might be becoming an annual fixture. In any case, I returned today, at the peak of Purple Emperor season, this time with my wife, Janine, again in the hope of some decent pics.

As soon as we stepped out of the car on to the Knepp estate, we were treated to the sight of several Emperors flitting between the oak trees and the roofs of nearby houses. Purple Emperors tend to stay in the trees, often high up, feeding on sap, making decent pics a challenge. Elusive beggars that they are!

We enjoyed watching them in several sites, but as for photos, these were the best I could do.

In fact, everything seemed to be on the move today, making it difficult to get a good snap of any bird or butterfly.

However, I love just being in that kind of environment, absorbing the richness of the habitat, the hum of nature all around. And we enjoyed plenty of other natural wonders, apart from the Purple Emperors.

…such as the deer that shot out from bushes at the beginning of our walk and ran across our path, causing us shock and delight in equal measure.

…such as these White Admirals: the first I’ve seen for a few years – almost as much of a treat as the Emperors:

…the Purple Hairstreaks that fluttered around many of the same oaks as the Purple Emperors.

…the ubiquitous Cinnabar moth caterpillars:

…the many Marbled Whites that adorned nearly every field and hedgerow.

Marbled White taking off as I pressed the shutter!
Nothing stood still for long today.

…and these storks (yes, storks!), which are part of a fascinating project to reintroduce the species to the UK, which you can read about here.

My new dream now will of course be to achieve some better Purple Emperor pictures. But if that never happens, I’ll still be content with having fulfilled the original dream of simply enjoying watching this majestic butterfly.

Category: Uncategorized

A Taste of Devon

Admirals and Emperors