Standing up for Nature
Tim writes: the Swinhoe’s Striped Squirrel (Tamiops swinhoei) is only found in high altitude forests (usually 2500-3000m) in China, northern Myanmar and northern Vietnam. I photographed this individual at about 2800m at Labahe in Sichuan, China. It is a tree-dwelling squirrel, though I managed to capture this individual freezing, when it was half way across…
Paul writes: This is a butterfly I wouldn’t mind seeing in the UK, it just scrapes onto the British list as a very rare vagrant. It’s a mountain species that occurs in most of the larger mountain regions in Europe. Isolated populations in several of these areas have led to a lot of different races…
Tim writes: Unlike released pheasants in the British countryside, wild pheasants are typically elusive and catching a glimpse of one in the open is difficult enough. This was my first truly wild Lady Amherst’s Pheasant (or White-bellied Golden Pheasant as they call it in China), although I did see several in England during the period…
Paul writes: this is a dramatic-looking creature, unfortunately not seen in the UK. It is an Owlfly (Ascalaphidae), Latin name Libelloides coccajus. The body has an overall length of 25mm and a wingspan of up to 55mm. The size together with the black and yellow colouring make it difficult to miss. At first it may…
Tim writes: I came across two female Takins in the forest, and each female had a calf, one from this year and one from last year. The two-year old calf kept trying to show dominance over the younger calf, and this is the moment when the older calf with horns charged at the younger calf…
Paul writes: This was my favourite hoverfly sighting of last year, it was a first for me, it’s also one of the charismatic species that you hope to see in the right location. Eriozona syrphoides is a wonderfully furry bumblebee mimic with a black and white body and a yellow face. It is quite a…
Tim writes: This attractive bird lives in forests in the Himalayas and Southern China. It was once a common cagebird and I saw my first ever one in Britain several decades ago, when it went by the name of Pekin Robin. But it isn’t related to Robins. It is in the Laughingthrush family, but it…
Paul writes: This bright metallic coloured beetle is hard to miss when it’s out in the open. The Swollen-thighed Beetle is one of the many English names it goes by, its Latin name is Oedemera nobilis. Only the males have the swollen thighs but the female shares all the other characteristics, metallic green colour, wing…
Tim writes: the Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) is a very large falcon of plains and steppes across Eurasia, that feeds largely on small mammals. This is subspecies milvipes (which means kite-footed) which breeds across the steppes of Asia but winters further south, including China. I photographed this one above 3500m on the Tibetan Plateau where…
Paul writes: the Great Pied Hoverfly (Volucella pellucens) is pretty easy to identify. It is one of the largest flies in the UK with a body length of 13-17mm and wing length of up to 15mm. The size, combined with the black and white body, a protruding yellow face and a beautiful dark wing patch…