andrewhardacre's Journal

The long hot dry and sunny month of May left HK with depleted reservoirs and a need for rain. Happily we are now enjoying a decent spell of wet weather.

May has been an active moth-ing month and the sessions I managed to attend plus more walks have edged my observation tally over the 1,000 mark. It is just a number but mildly satisfying nonetheless. Most of these observations have been made within a few miles of home and using only shank's pony.

My Fuji camera gear is proving to be frustrating. The flash unit is overheating and the battery grip is jammed so both have gone back for repair. Happily carrying the old Canon rig allowed me to do better with butterflies and diurnal moths. The Fuji autofocus is a bit slow for small fast moving creatures.

My best find on June 4th was a scarce hawkmoth Hayesiana triopus. I managed some inflight images of the moth nectaring on Pavetta hongkongensis. This plant is in full flower now and hosting a good range of insects, especially lepidoptera. I had tried to photograph Hebomoia glaucippe, Great Orange Tip, for some time. It flies high, fast and erratically. When it finally settled it was only briefly but long enough to grab a few frames. I spent well over an hour just watching this plant.

The walk around The Peak, Harlech and Lugard Road, is a gentle circuit but very rich in rewards at this time. I have walked it before breakfast and throughout the morning and invariably find a number of interesting species. Part of the reason for using this journal is to remind myself next year where and when I should focus my efforts as the year unfolds. Late May, early June is certainly good for this walk.

On Monday three ladies stopped to watch me photographing a caterpillar. One said she was a school teacher and asked if I would be willing to talk to her class about the wildlife of HK. I am one of the least qualified to educate on the matter but can provide a generous dollop of enthusiasm and some photos if that is all they want!

From next week I will finally have a car to get around more but I will try not to neglect my local patch. Fingers crossed that Fuji fix my camera gear before then.

After a long gap I went to the Lions Nature Education Centre yesterday. Not much has changed - some tidying up, a few trees removed but essentially just as it was when I had to stop going due to poor heath.

I found many of my 'old friends' including, to my immense satisfaction, Polycanthagyna erythromelas. Still at the same pond after 5 years, even on the same tree. If it had not been for the fact that it flew a lot (always returning to the same place to hang out) I would have thought it was plastic.

The mosquitoes were as aggressive as ever as I photographed a beautiful stick insect, just a few feet off a main path. I suspect that is where a larva of Kunugia divaricata found its way into my hat. I kept hearing something near my left ear and it would not go away. Eventually I took off my hat and inside was the caterpillar. I restored it to a more suitable environment.

My saddest moment was meeting a local guy, photographing a butterfly. He showed me a photo folder full of pictures of all sorts of creatures, from bugs to birds. Many were clearly taken in the aviary but most were in the wild. I asked him what he did with all his records - did he put them on iNat? He looked shocked. Absolutely not. He then patted my side pocket and pretended to be taking something out. After a little puzzlement I understood. He is afraid people will steal his photos. So I asked if he did it for a living but not so. It is just a hobby. All these records and they don't get captured anywhere. He also dismissed me photographing a changeable lizard, Calotes versicolor, because they are common. Sad!.

For the record all my images are protected by a creative commons licence. You can download any of my Flickr photos and use them providing it is 1) not for profit 2) attributed to me and 3) not manipulated in any way. I am not even sure images on iNat can be downloaded.

I will pay occasional visits to LNEC but from Central it took me longer to get there than it does to Mai Po. It was reassuring to see that people still signal left and turn right (or visa versa) at the Hang Hau roundabout and maintain a spectacularly poor driving ability. and my special award goes to the idiot Audi driver who cut in causing 4 vehicles behind to brake rather too sharply. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.