Peacocks aplenty

 

Peacocks aplenty

Feast in the beauty of Peacock butterflies in my daily nature post on earthstar.blog: Peacocks aplenty

England: some common butterflies

Did you know that the word butterfly comes from the ancient idea that insects (or witches disguised as butterflies!) consume butter and milk that has been left uncovered? Well, that’s one possibility I found anyway.

There seemed to be a lot more butterflies in the UK than in my native New Zealand. In fact, there are 59 common species and a lot more uncommon. I didn't see that many while out on my strolls but here are a few that fluttered my way.

Comma (Polygoniac-album)

Once common throughout England, Wales and southern Scotland, the Comma suffered a severe decline in the mid 1800s, possibly due to the reduction in Hop farming, which was then the butterfly’s key larval foodplant. Luckily, it has made an amazing comeback since the 1960s, with its caterpillars now preferring to eat common nettle. Good on them – somebody / something needs to rid the world of nettle!

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)

As you might guess from the name, this is the most common blue butterfly found in the British Isles. This little guy is probably a male as the female is a much less showy mixture of brown and blue (as so many females are in the animal / insect world).

Green-veined White (Pieris napi)

All gardeners hate the white butterfly – this is not that butterfly! The poor little Green-veined White suffers from that comparison, so when you see a little white fluttering through parks and gardens, meadows and woodlands, please don’t assume it’s the bad guy.

Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris)

Skippers are cute. All butterflies have 4 wings, two on each side, but the skipper’s forewings are as long as its underwings and seem to sit in a more upright position than other butterflies, and they flit through the countryside, in short buzzing movements, from one stalk of tall grass to another.

Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)

They live in meadows, they’re brown – that much is probably obvious! They are one of the most common and most widespread of all British butterflies. They may look like Plain Janes but they have eyes on their wings and they are very pretty.

Peacock (Aglais io)

With those big spectacular eyes on its wings, I think it’s obvious why this butterfly has the name ‘Peacock’. But those eyes are there to warn potential predators to stay away – it’s one of the most beautiful ‘don’t eat me’ messages you’ll ever see.

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

The Red Admiral is dressed to kill, in black velvet with striking red bands across her wings, but she prefers the garden to the catwalk. She’s an immigrant, an exotic beauty from central Europe, but she’s now made herself at home throughout Britain.

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)

Excuse me for stating the obvious: this little beauty is speckled and it lives in woodland but there’s a twist to this story. According to what I read online, the ones that live in northern parts of Britain have white spots, the ones in the south have orange spots. This butterfly must’ve been on its holidays – it’s got white spots but I found it in Devon. Go figure!

Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

It’s small and pretty and it’s in trouble. Its numbers are fluctuating, which may be due to a small parasitic fly that feeds on its caterpillars, though that’s just one of the theories. Let's hope it fights back!

Kuala Lumpur: the KL Bird Park

Kuala Lumpurians love their superlatives so it came as no surprise to me that the KL Bird Park is famous for having the largest free-flight walk-in aviary in the world!

Set in the city’s 227-acre green lung that is the Lake Gardens park, the aviary itself occupies just over 20 acres. It’s only 10 minutes’ drive from the central city and close to several other attractions: the Orchid Park is across the road, the Butterfly Park and National Monument are close by.

The aviary is circled in this picture taken from atop the KL Tower

A Spotted Wood Owl

The advertising blurb says the Bird Park houses over 3000 birds, and I can certainly believe it. They were everywhere, and I’m really surprised I came away without being pooped on!

I don’t like the idea of birds in cages, so was a little dismayed to see raptors like eagles and Brahminy Kites, enclosed in relatively small cages with no flying space. Several species of owls are similarly enclosed and looked miserable.

I also wasn’t impressed with the section where all types of birds are used as props in photos for tourists. When I walked past, a group of 4 young Koreans were sitting on the bench, with owls, macaws, a kite, and various other colourful birds – that would probably have hunted each other in the wild – sitting on their arms, shoulders and heads. I was actually hoping for some pooping then but the birds had obviously been well trained. The only advantage for a photographer like me was that the birds all sat relatively still so I got some good shots, especially of the owls, which I adore.

A Superb Starling

Great White Pelican

The best thing about the park is that its two largest enclosures are huge, free-flight areas where the birds live relatively normal lives in a semi-natural habitat filled with trees, a stream and ponds. I saw the cutest baby peacocks scurrying along after their mum, and there was such a proliferation of doves and cattle egrets that I assume they must also be breeding successfully. The park’s brochure boasts that the birds have adapted so well to the environment that many are breeding naturally.

I enjoyed over 2 hours strolling, sitting, watching, marvelling and laughing at the antics of the some of the birds, particularly two intimidatingly large but obviously harmless pelicans that seemed almost to be competing for my attention. I shot over 200 hundred photos … I hope you enjoy this selection of my new feathered friends.

Thanks to my Facebook friends at the Oriental Bird Club for help identifying these birds.

Black-crowned Night Heron

A Yellow-billed Stork and a Cattle Egret

A Red-and-Yellow Barbet

An Asian Glossy Starling and an Oriole

A Mandarin Duck

A juvenile Sacred Ibis (I think) and a Peacock

Buffy Fish Owl

A Barred-Eagle Owl and an Oriental Bay Owl

Nazca day two: the city and Antonini's Museum

I awoke this morning, after a very long sleep, feeling like crap: head spinning, queasy and diarrhoea. Maybe it was something I ate? I postponed the day’s tour and went back to bed and, luckily, felt much better when I woke again at noon.

At about 2pm, I headed out, and walked up and down the streets of the inner city, taking photos of buildings and doorways and the plaza, and checking out restaurants. There were plenty of local places but none looked too clean and I was a little wary so I returned to the place I ate at yesterday, where I had a simple meal of chicken and chips.

Back at the hotel after lunch, I asked the owner for directions to the museum she had mentioned the previous day. “Turn left at the other side of the plaza and walk 5 blocks.” Off I went, slowly in the heat. After a couple of blocks, the buildings got more dilapidated, then the pavement disappeared into dust and I was a little worried I had gone the wrong way. Was I heading into a bad neighbourhood? I asked some schoolgirls where the museum was and, luckily, they confirmed I was on the right road so I continued … and there, one block further on the right was the sign, Museo Antonini.

The exhibits were really interesting – the explanations were all in Spanish, of course, but I could make out most of them. They told the story of the excavations at the nearby pyramids at Cahuachi and other sites in the Nazca area. Maps and pictures showed the geological zones and ecosystems; diagrams explained the cross-sections of the excavations; there were displays of agricultural tools and crops grown; replicas provided visual explanations of the building methods for houses and the pyramids themselves; and the beautiful ceramics illustrated the rich culture of the ancient Nazca peoples. Slightly macabre but extremely interesting was a display of decapitated skulls, which may have been offerings to the gods or perhaps trophies of war. There was also one huge cabinet with an incredibly well-preserved and large piece of cloth – the colours were still rich, the patterns vibrant, even after some 1500 years.

I could hear the calls of peacocks and, when I ventured out the back of the museum, found a delightful garden, complete with a displaying peacock and his hen. His tail was fully extended and he was shaking vigorously in an effort to impress his mate. She was ignoring him, picking at the seed tray. Another tourist, a young German from his accent, was also taking photos of them. We chatted briefly. He was identifying with the male peacock: “Story of my life”, he said. I thought that a very candid remark to make to a stranger! I said I thought the hen was deliberately ignoring her mate to provoke more displays. The German laughed at that. I wondered at the story behind his comment and reaction.

The garden also contained replica tombs, an aqueduct and cave paintings, as well as a miniaturised map of the Nazca lines. With the shady trees, it was a cool and refreshing oasis in the heat and bustle of the city.

I grabbed a few more street photos on the way back to the hotel, some interesting signs and one very bizarre building. I had a quiet evening and was asleep early, as the next day was to be long and busy.