Shersby’s back, tell a friend
Well, that break turned out to be slightly longer than planned, but a lot has happened including a life-changing decision, a couple of holidays and more!
To start with, the BIG SCARY life-changing decision. As of the beginning of August, I was no longer a trainee with Dorset Wildlife Trust but on a Jobs Growth Wales position with Radnorshire Wildlife Trust (in mid-Wales). I am now the Assistant Environmental Engagement Officer at RWT!
To cut it short, I do the day-to-day running of the visitor centre at Gilfach Reserve (follow #GilfachReserve on Twitter for wildlife sightings and events!), have started doing some of the social media for the Trust (see my most recent Facebook post!) and will be assisting with events, activities and school groups. There is also the opportunity to do more surveying, which I am thrilled about – I’m already running a moth trap at the reserve and hope to assist others in the Trust with their survey work.
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- Small Copper Butterfly
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- Hummingbird Hawk-Moth
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- Green-Veined White Butterfly
So backtracking to the end of my traineeship in Dorset – despite having a new job to prepare for (and all the preparation of moving house / finding somewhere to live / etc), I still had plenty to get on with. The biggest thing that was taking over my life was planning for the Big Wild Chesil Event, a celebration of Chesil’s wildlife and the work of Dorset Wildlife Trust. It was a fabulous day in the end (albeit slightly stressful since I was the organiser!), and I think my favourite bit was probably trying some Morris Dancing – I do believe there is a photo somewhere, but I won’t look too hard for it!
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- Chloe with a brilliant family activity
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- Emily at the rockpool
I also managed to fit in some adventuring before I left Dorset, with the result of seeing a wide variety of species – some of which I hadn’t seen before. Thanks to Sean Foote for doing most of the identification!
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- Underside of a Common Blue Butterfly
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- A Six-belted Clearwing Moth at King Barrow Quarries Reserve.
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- Lulworth Skipper Butterfly
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- Oak Eggar Moth (male)
Holiday-wise, I went a minibreak to Anglesey with family. We went off to the Anglesey Show which was fantastic! I think the most thrilling bit was the Shetland Pony Grand National, there was so much drama! And it is possibly one of the cutest things I have ever seen! We also went to Newborough Beach where I may have annoyed my parents slightly by stopping to take photos of lots of invertebrates. However, by doing so, I also saw a red squirrel which they didn’t see! No photo though as it was very quick and off in the distance. NB: why was there a red squirrel at the beach? There’s also lots of woodland there!
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- Bumblebee
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- The dog on a rock
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- Bumblebee
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- Newborough Beach, Anglesey
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- Gatekeeper Butterflies
So yes, quite a lot has occurred and it’s all been a bit mad! But then, that’s life and I’ve been enjoying it, and I’ve seen lots of beautiful wildlife.
Congratulations on the job!
Congratulations as well. But you made a mistake labelling that butterfly as Marbled White. Looks like a rather worn Large White to me. I’m not an expert lepidopterist, so perhaps there’s another possibility that I’m not familiar with. But not MW.
Aye so I did! Silly me, I shall correct. I think it’s a Green-veined White. Thanks for pointing out!
Agree – female GVW, summer brood. I should have looked more closely but was rushing.
Ooh, how do you know it’s a female?