Nature review of 2018. Part1 January to June.

My wife Sue Leeks and I were in Sri Lanka for nearly all of January 2018. Most birders go there to try to see as many endemics as possible. For me, as I had never been to Asia before, it was all new and all very exciting. I found it hard to prioritise the endemics (ie bird species unique to Sri Lanka). For those of us interested in wildlife, most would also be keen to see two Sri Lankan specialities - Leopard and Blue Whale. We didn't try for either of these because of rumoured surpluses of jeeps and big waves respectively.  We got off to a great start in the  Villa Talangama near Colombo - thanks to David Cromack for the tip off. It is highly recommended as an introduction to wetland wildlife in Sri Lanka - and the balcony shown above has great views over the Talangama wetland.  The ubiquitous and easy to photograph white throated kingfisher helped me to get to grips with my new Sony bridge camera.



Not long off the plane, from the hotel balcony, I thought that disaster had struck. My binoculars refused to focus on anything. I became convinced they had been damaged in transit. But fortunately it was just down to the glue on the focus wheel cover melting in the 30 degree heat. With the cover removed my Swarovskis were perfectly useable. Panic over.

This race of the purple faced leaf monkey has a restricted distribution. Possibly because they look a bit ridiculous with their furry goggles. 

It wasn't all about the birds in Sri Lanka. We were lucky enough to see a green turtle laying eggs on a beach near Bentota. I am not sure that "The Turtle Code" was fully followed by the local guides but the lady turtle didnt seem to be overly distressed and it was not disturbed for long. They are very strange creatures when they make their appearance on the land. The fruit bats, aka Flying Foxes were also amazing, especially those that had died and shrivelled hanging on electricity cables. Later in our trip we witnessed thousands flying over our hotel one evening heading off from their daytime roost. 

Nature review of 2018 part 2 July to December

At last I am no longer a Merveille Du Jour Virgin. In October my twitter feed is full of MdJ references and I have previously felt like I am missing out. 

I started moth trapping in 2102. This year, 2018, was my best ever for two reasons. Firstly - the warm weather in June and July resulted in many moths turning up in unusual places and in unusual numbers. Secondly - I invested in a bright mercury vapour Robinson trap from Anglia Lepidoptera Supplies. I ended the year with 285 species (macro and micro). The above photo shows the always welcome buff arches with its optical illusion.

how can something that seeks to imitate bird poo be so attractive. This was my favourite moth of the year. I may never see one again in my garden. 

hawkmoths, poplar and privet. Could be the name of a pair of tv detectives. 

Nice to see a hedgehog back in my garden. The other critter is perhaps less welcome. Possibly the second only oak processionary moth in my home vice county (Northants). The first was in helpston in 1995. When they breed, the nests can be dangerous. I think the London outbreak came from imported oak saplings, and not from the moths flying over from the continent.

what a cute moth. The canary shouldered thorn.

In September, we spent two excellent weeks on Anglesey. This was my first ever visit. Choughs were the ornithological highlight, and it was great to see red squirrels. 

In addition to my Art Journalling project in the spring I also kept a daily picture diary. This involved completing one business card sized picture a day for the whole of 2018. I did the same in 1988 - ie exactly 30 years ago. The above two panels were inspired by imagined landscapes - upland and forest.

Blakeney in October was great. I found a yellow browed warbler and twitched a jack snipe and a barred warbler at Cley.

We are so lucky having the Nene Washes right next to Peterborough. Its a great place to see cranes. Fortunately Sue leeks also likes this place.

Eye Green is one of my local patches. It was a low key year for me at this site but I was pleased to see a goldeneye in November.

I put all of my UK birding records into bird track. This year I had 127 complete lists and a pathetic 163 species. Far fewer than 2017. The above map shows where I went birding in the UK. I am determined to see more UK species in 2019.

This shows the number of UK bird species I saw in 2018. I virtually gave up birding in the warm summer moths of June and July. Most of January was spent in Sri Lanka. 

I had a target to read five nature books in 2018. I ended up reading the above six books all within the latter half of the year. I wanted to get a broader perspective on Nature writing, beyond the pleasures of "bird watching", and to delve into botany, history and invective.  All of these books are very good. If there is a single word that sums them all up I would have to say "quest". 

Rob Cowens book, published a few years ago, is one of the best nature books I have ever read. I am perhaps biased towards it's subject matter because I spend so much time watching wildlife on the urban fringe aka "Edgelands".  Rob's work is an extraordinary interweaving of gritty personal narrative and flights of fanciful imagination. The Chapter "Union of Opposites" is remarkable in that it sums up 500 years of  UK ecological vandalism in just over 50 pages. Sounds grim, but it's written with such a novel and  interesting style - it blew me away. 

Mark Cocker's latest book is perhaps in many ways his best. I devoured it avidly over only a few days, with my fascination greatly enhanced by my personal experiences of more than 30 years working in nature conservation.  

Peter Marren's highly enjoyable botanical odyssey had just the right blend of whimsy and insights to why certain plants are now so very rare.

Leif Bersweden's tales of searching for orchids is similarly excellent, and astonishing considering how young he was when he wrote it. 

Charlie Elder is a very accessible and likeable writer. I loved Few and Far Between.

 Tim Birkhead's book is both scholarly and readable. You can tell that he enjoyed writing it.