MikeOxon

[Art Frames]

Hi Mike lovely to see so many nice pictures in your recent reports. I am hoping to get to Otmoor next week (and possibly Whitecross Green Wood on the same day). So glad you had a good trip and hope I find your thistle! I was told there is another area where they are more readily found on brambles. Not the Roman road but a quiet track. If I find it I'll let you know.
kind regards
Peter

Hi Mike, Thanks for the tip about Asham Meads, I went there and also to Whitecross Green Wood and by then was all too aware of the state of vegetation and absence of any flowers (and the heat). So I didn't carry on to Otmoor. I found one very poor condition Brown Hairstreak which was fluttering around a green plant at floor level (something I have seen Purple H's doing this year as well) it enabled me to say I have seen all of the hairstreaks this year, but was very sad. My presumption is that the area is so desiccated that anywhere damp is a small relief. On the rest of the reserve there were very good numbers of Common Blues, but around half were small and one or two were tiny. But lots of dragonflies at both sites so a lot to interest and photograph.
So, I think finding a good specimen at Otmoor was a good day. And that one thistle is probably like an oasis.

[Andrew555]

Great shots of the BH Mike, glad you got to see one. A useful feature that image stacking.

[MikeOxon]

I agree with you about the heat and consequent desiccation, Peter. I, for one, am relieved to see the change in the weather and I expect the plants and wildlife will appreciate it, too. Hot sun might be fine for a holiday on the beach but it makes everyday life rather difficult.

It seems odd to be talking about the end of the season, David, when we're only just into August. Perhaps the change in the weather will bring a late revival.

'Stacking' is especially useful for static subjects, like flowers, Andrew. It can always be done manually, if you take several photos with the focus set at different distances. You do have to pay careful attention to the overlap areas, to make sure you don't corrupt any of the markings. When doing this type of editing, it is important to work with the image at 'actual size' on the computer screen.

[David M]

..It seems odd to be talking about the end of the season, David, when we're only just into August...

I believe August in the UK is increasingly becoming an autumn month.

For me, spring starts in late February now, and what we gain at the beginning of the season naturally has to be lost towards the end.

Things are looking 'tired', and although butterflies will continue to be around for 3 months or so yet, the vegetation tells you all you need to know. Yet again we have plants dying back and a very 'end of season' look has descended on the countryside.

A bit of rain might refresh things, and we will no doubt have a few migrants to look forward to, but essentially the best of 2018 is behind us, and but for a handful of late season emergees (Silver Spotted Skipper, Adonis Blue, Brown Hairstreak, etc) we seem to already be in that 'zone' which bears the hallmarks of the more austere times ahead.

[MikeOxon]

I thought I'd drop in to Aston Rowant NNR, yesterday, to catch the 'tail-enders' of the season. On arrival, I found that the car-park has been re-furbished and parking charges introduced, to be paid by mobile phone through the 'Ring Go' system.

Sadly, my first attempt to use this system, at another car-park, led to a very distressing outcome, when I ended up not only paying the parking charge but also a £100 penalty for not following the letter of the rules.

Registering with 'Ring Go' proved to be a lengthy process, through voice recognition software, and then I had to enter my credit card number, but I didn't have my reading glasses and failed to get this right, after several attempts! Since I was due at a meeting, I phoned my wife and asked her to complete the transaction from home but, sadly, in the meantime, an attendant put a parking charge notice on my car!

The time on the notice was just two minutes before the time on my wife's receipt for the payment but 'UK Parking Control' were unmoved by my appeal and, much to my surprise, the ombudsman 'POPLA' upheld their position, so I had to pay up. It seems to me that, ever since Mrs Thatcher declared there is no such thing as society, there has been a collapse of any concern for social justice in business!

It still upsets me today and, until these 'on-line' schemes have some form of closed-loop, where the receipt actually confirms a contract, I shall continue to avoid such systems.

As it happened, the sky clouded over shortly afterwards and a little rain fell, so I doubt there would have been much butterfly activity to report.

Mike

[millerd]

Hi Mike - I have had a similar experience with this system of parking charges elsewhere, so I have every sympathy. Paying by mobile is ludicrously complicated and fraught with opportunities to mis-key and be forced back to square one. However, as I read it, the charge at Aston Rowant is currently still "voluntary", and it is possible to get an annual permit to park via Natural England. That said, this process is once again complicated and permits have to be picked up in person within a narrow set of hours from an office in Lewknor. This sort of thing certainly doesn't encourage an interest in the countryside, and is hardly going to generate a huge amount of revenue! People will just start parking along the road outside the car park anyway.

All the best,

Dave

[Art Frames]

Mike I totally sympathise. I don't have a smartphone, and don't want one and find more and more car parks and similar expect you to have access to the internet to get receipts or pay. The benefits to me are nil, and as you eloquently say, the penalties are all unreasonable, thinly disguised money-making schemes. Prove yourself innocent indeed - I also choose to avoid.

[David M]

Sorry to hear about your car parking travails, Mike. Technology can be a good thing but it can also be exasperating. I don’t much like the way the world is going these days and little things like this merely add to my despair.

What about those people (probably elderly) who don’t do things this way? Are they now effectively excluded from spending time at this beautiful location? After all, they’re the ones most likely to need to park as close as possible to the site.

[Janet Turnbull]

Hi Mike - I didn't manage to get to Aston Rowant this year, but reading about your car parking disaster would make me think twice about going! I've looked it up on the internet and can't find anything about charges so it looks as though a lot of people could get caught out. Not everyone goes about with credit/debit cards. Was it not possible to pay by cash either? - Janet

[Art Frames]

We are not alone in disliking these companies.

Have a look at trust pilot....https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.myringgo.com (worth seeing the range of users that they are enraging)

In contrast the company smugly point out the number of awards they win...http://www.ctt.co.uk/awards/

And they say one Council's parking income rose £56,000 on the back of moving to RingGo, and the average transaction value is now six per cent higher than it was six months ago.

However one user (complaining) said they were charged £1.40 for 2 hours when cash would have been £1! so it is easy to see how the council is getting more revenue and more angry users.

[dilettante]

Those parking apps are very annoying, particularly because there are many different ones and often the one you need is not the one you have already installed and registered with. So you have to download the app there and then and go through the registration process, which may be difficult/expensive/impossible depending on the network coverage at that spot.

A much better option, which I hope will become the norm, is parking meters which accept contactless payment by debit/credit card.

[MikeOxon]

Many thanks for the comments on my recent post concerning Aston Rowant NNR.

Dave, you are correct that the notice, which has a prominently displayed list of charges, also has a footnote that payment is 'voluntary' Since this is a Natural England reserve, I assume that the facility is supported by tax-payers money. I find it very odd for a Govt body to act as if part of the 'voluntary' sector.

Peter, I'm not against technology, when it is used sensibly. Here 'Ring Go' are middle-men, who presumably charge for their services but carefully disclaim any responsibility - a growing trend in internet 'services'. 'RingGo' state: "we simply bank the monies directly to the parking operator, and as such your payment is with them. It is therefore at their discretion as to whether they authorise a partial or full refund of any sort." The 'Ring Go' receipt is, therefore, worthless!

Janet, as Dave said, the charge is currently described as 'voluntary' but there is, nevertheless, a list of charges by time! The 'Ring Go' system collects registration details of users, so the site owner could easily check which cars have not paid and put embarrassing notices on them, for example. No cash payment is possible, presumably to avoid the problem of theft.

Again, Peter, I see a woeful lack of regulation of businesses that find easy ways to take money off innocent 'punters'. Apparently, a Court once decided that a charge of £75 was 'reasonable' for not obeying signs setting out the conditions for parking on private land. The result is that all the operators now ask for £100 and put the user to the trouble and expense of mounting a Court case if they wish to make a challenge.

Dilettante, I agree that contactless payment would be better (for those who have the relevant cards) and would provide effective proof of payment, which the current schemes do not.

I see all this as symptomatic of the 'every man for himself' non-society into which we are heading. Thank goodness the butterflies remain beautiful and willing to be photographed!

[David M]

...I see all this as symptomatic of the 'every man for himself' non-society into which we are heading. Thank goodness the butterflies remain beautiful and willing to be photographed!

Very well put, Mike. The simplicity is being progressively taken out of everyday life.

In another generation, if you don't have an i-phone, internet banking and a car that drives itself, you'll probably be confined to your house.

With any luck I won't be here to suffer it.

[Old Wolf]

Hello Mike, sorry to hear about your last trip.

It is shocking what some companies get up to nowadays. I imagine you are not the only one to fall foul of their tactics and it will probably be quite lucrative for them.

[MikeOxon]

Although it was a warm bright and sunny afternoon when I visited Radley Gravel Pits, near my home, with plenty of clumps of Michaelmas Daisies in flower, I found no butterflies whatsoever In fact, there was very little wildlife activity of any type to be seen. A lone Heron was fishing on the far side of the Orchard Lake and flapped slowly away as I approached the water's edge. There were also a few rather worn-looking Common Darter dragonflies, mostly resting on the warm gravel.

When I visited this same site in the first year of writing my diary, I was delighted to watch and photograph several Clouded Yellows nectaring there, on 28th October 2014.

A lot has changed in the intervening years. The open grassland, which had formed over the ash tips from the Didcot power station, is now a minor forest of Birch trees, while the very cold Spring, this year, followed by a long hot and dry summer, appears to have had a considerable impact on butterfly populations. Somehow, I doubt whether we shall see any more butterfly activity at this site over the remaining part of this year.

I hope that our butterfly species will prove to have the resilience to survive the unusual weather conditions, throughout this year, and that they will return to greet us again in the new year.

When I started this diary, I wrote that I had decided to try the diary format in order to see how a new 'butterfly year' pans out. Well, I have now recorded five butterfly years, which have included many very enjoyable visits to a wide range of sites, throughout the country, and during which I have also tried out various photographic techniques.

I have noticed that there are many similarities between my reports in successive years so, not wishing to repeat old ground too often, I have decided not to continue using the diary format. Instead, I shall report any unusual or interesting events in the regular 'sightings' sections of the forums. I shall also continue to enjoy reading the contributions by the many other members of these forums.

Mike,

[Wurzel]

I shall miss reading you Diary Mike but I'll look out for your posts in the sightings page Cheers for the years

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

Hi Mike

the news of your 'retirement' has caused me to briefly interrupt my 'hibernation' - another first for me! I just wanted to say that I have enjoyed reading your diary over the years but I totally understand your reasons. I know that we shall continue to stay in touch but I wanted to record here my thanks and appreciation for all the encouragement and advice you have so readily given over the years, not just to myself but to others too. Your help on the photography front has been invaluable and much appreciated. It may not be long before I follow in your footsteps - who knows?

[Goldie M]

Hi! Mike, I'm sorry, when I read your Dairy to see you leave, I know what you mean about the disapearance of the butterflies, this year I've not had the same amount visit my garden, not one Peacock has arrived .
I want to thank you also for all your help, like Pauline your advice as helped me with my photography, when I look at some of the shots I took at first and compare them with some I take now, Well!!!
I'm getting older too and my Husband and I can't travel like we used to so we may be joining you shortly in the sighting's column, I'll look forward to reading what you've seen next year, all the best Mike and thank you once again Goldie

[Art Frames]

Mike

My email has gone wild today. I have a notification set to ensure I see updates to your diary as I like them . So I have seen your 'last post' and the responses quite few times today. And I would like to add my thanks and gratitude to the growing list. With mixed feelings

I totally understand your reasoning as I have tried all sorts of ways to be a member here myself and don't think I have got it right yet. So I will watch and learn from you. I find 'just rinse and repeat' is never the way for me but especially in forums and social media. So if you crack it I may have a go at that way too, for a while...

The main thing for me is I will need to have a notification set up so I don't miss your input. Which I have no idea how to do...but I bet you'll know

[David M]

I have noticed that there are many similarities between my reports in successive years so, not wishing to repeat old ground too often, I have decided not to continue using the diary format. Instead, I shall report any unusual or interesting events in the regular 'sightings' sections of the forums.

I became aware of precisely the same thing in my own PD two or three years ago, Mike, so I simply resolved to cut back a little on what I was posting because, as you say, reading it from the start was like perusing a repetitive continuation of the same butterflies at the same sites at the same time of year…

Of course, my now regular forays into continental Europe have made me realise that butterflies in the UK are of limited interest, although there are a few that are still worthy of attention – Large Blue, Brown Hairstreak, Purple Emperor, Large Heath, Chequered Skipper, etc..

I tend to update it these days more as a reminder to myself of where I’ve been and what I’ve done. Even the best diaries risk becoming repetitive, which is why my favourites are the more ‘eclectic’ ones, like Neil Hulme’s (conservation updates), Pauline’s (random anecdotes regarding rescued animals, etc) and Pete Eeles’ (rarely seen early stage images).

Even newcomers can buck the trend – I quite like ernie f’s approach – insert a random non-butterfly image as well as a couple of habitat shots in every post!