On the 7th I paid a visit to Hertford Heath and Balls Wood. It was a bit overcast and breezy but despite this it turned out pretty well. Unfortunately the ponds were dry and there were no Emerald Damselflies, though a few Brown and Southern Hawkers and Emperors were flying. Butterflies were abundant on the bramble flowers with large numbers of Meadow Browns, Skippers, Ringlets and Tortoiseshells. One Brown came a cropper right in front of my face when and Emperor zipped past and caught it.
I was lucky in that some Silver Washed Fritillaries and White Admirals were flying, but I wasn't fortunate enough to locate a Purple Emperor.
A stroll around Tyttenhanger on the 16th wasn't as productive as hoped. Again the weather wasn't ideal and few insects were flying. I managed also to miss all the good birds that seem to be reported daily by the regulars, but it made a nice break from my usual walks.
My last view of Comet Neowise was on the 17th. I would have been out after that but a family get together last weekend involved a glass or three, and since then the cloud has been problematic. The comet has been moving higher into darker skies but apparently has been fading.
Anyway I went up again to Coombe Road near Therfield which has an excellent northern horizon. I was there from 11pm to around half past midnight (local time). Clouds were a serious problem for a long time with bands drifting slowly eastwards. At times I could see the comet through cloud, but luckily as midnight approached, the temperature and dew point fell and the clouds dissipated. The best images came with the Zeiss 135mm lens again at f2, with 400 iso and exposures of 20-30 seconds. Processing to enhance the details has been difficult, as this has despite my best efforts the illumination is uneven with gradients spoiling things. I might have to invest in some decent astro imaging software.
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