Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Cheers Trevor I shall head to my local Boots staright away to order a bottle!
Cheers Bugboy I don't know how much longer my knees will let me complete manourvres like this
Cheers Willrow Lucky that was
Cheers Goldie I'm trying to gte cuaght up - but work and migraines keep getting in the way
Cheers Neil Only 8 posts to go til my Heaths
Cheers Dave I am quite jammy when it comes to Walls
Cheers Rex I know what you mean, things you have to work for are always mean more.

Tutor Time Part 1 and 2 – 28-05-2015

As it was K’s birthday today she was delighted to spend two separate hours at her tutors enjoying Holiday Revision sessions!
As usual I checked the Slow Worms first and one mat held 4, another had 3 so not a bad haul and then I hopped over the fence and set off up the path. The weather report had said that there should be sunny intervals but there wasn’t – it was blowy and almost chilly and so most butterflies were hunkering down amongst the lower blades of grass. I didn’t make it too far u the side of the Down instead I concentrated my efforts in the little scallops of grass surrounded by the scrub as here the wind couldn’t get in and it was warmer even thought the sun was still hiding behind the clouds. I soon started seeing the odd butterfly with a Small Heath, Dingy Skipper and archaic Grizzlie. I spotted a slate grey butterfly feebly flying against the breeze and after a short distance it dropped down knackered onto the path. I approached it ever so slowly as I really didn’t want to disturb it and tire it any more but it was exhausted and gratefully clambered onto my hand.

After I’d placed it on a grass stem further away from the path I decided to cut my loses and head back to the tutors house stopping on the way only for an Adonis Blue and another aged Dingy.

By the time I’d arrived for the later session the sun had actually come out and the temperatures had risen so now I powered up the hill noting plenty of Small Heaths and Skippers on the way and also many more blues – mainly Common but with the occasional obvious Brown Argus and Adonis. Up near the top of the Down the path snakes it way through the scrub and bushes and on the other side of the Down top it opened u again, traversing the slopes. Here I found first a Specklie and then a Green-veined White which seemed to be taking quite an interest in a leaf – possibly still coated in Honeydew? There was a nice collection of butterflies here with both skippers, more Brown Argus and Common Blues but time was against me and so I had to retrace my steps stopping only for the occasional shot on the way including a late showing from a Peacock and a lovely fresh Common Blue with some of the most pristine margins I’ve ever seen – they practically glowed!

It wasn’t all work and no play for K as she did have a laugh with her tutor and the other tutees and her tutor was sharing out Marshmallows as if there was no tomorrow! Plus when we got back to my folks there was a Birthday tea in the sunny garden, cake and more Marshmallows to roast over the fire-pit!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Willrow]

Lovely report and images - but Wurz you need to revise too cos' your now 3 weeks behind with your reports (it only used to be 2 )...and I thought I was behind with mine...you give me great hope...and I now realise why your so passionate about Slow Worm's

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[Wurzel]

Cheers Willrow I am glad that I give you hope , the problem I have is that it's so much easier to go out and get shots than to sort through them and write up reports especially when the dreaded "W" word gets in the way, if only I could afford to take really, really, really early retirement

Wicked Day 30-05-2015

Part 1- Bentley Wood

Sometimes fate smiles on me. Today was one of those days. True I had a massive clean-up job ahead of me at the house but the girls (wife included) were off to London to see Wicked in the west End and even better the weather men had got it wrong in a good way for once. Instead of the predicted cloud cover all day there were long periods of glorious sunshine!
Having got the cat food I then headed off towards Bentley. There were already a few people in the Eastern Clearing and there were two Small Pearls already present and being photographed. After a wander I added Drab Looper, some Lizards and unusually for Bentley, a Common blue to the day list.

From there I carried on wandering round the middle of the Eastern clearing in amongst the narrow weaving track ways. After a second Small Pearl I notched up 2 Pearls, one was faded, really pale and it got away. The other was remarkably fresh but even then the ginger colour was still much less intense than that of a fresh Small Pearl.
Back in the middle I eschewed the small group that had arrived and wove my way through the small track ways again. I found my own Small Pearl and after following its jaunty flight for a bit it landed a few times and I was able to get a few shots including a few stained glass and the briefest closed wing showing the Pearls. I also saw the most perfect image ever. It’s still emblazoned on my retina when I shut my eyes but my camera chose that moment to ‘go slow’ on the Autofocus. There was the Small Pearl perfectly poised, wings wide open balancing delicately on a Bluebell!

After following it for a bit a second one intervened and somehow I managed to follow it after its brief bit of argy bargey. This one had some nice markings with the outermost spots and chevrons near the tips fused together.

Another quick circuit before I moved on meant I finally caught up with a Pearl and got a few more Lizard shots a long with a larvae/cat on the main track on the way back to the car park.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Wicked Day 30-05-2015

Part 2 - Duke Site

I then headed over to my Duke Site to see if I could get some Small Blues as well as to see if the ‘hotspot’ track was going to live up to its reputation. Once on site I checked out the thinly vegetated bank and it was alive seemingly with Adonis Blues – mainly males but with a few slate coloured females amongst them as well as the less azure blue Common blues plus the odd Dingy. I cut my over to the main track and again there were Dingies, Grizzlies, as well as Bimstone, various blues and lots of Brown Argus in the grasses at the edge of the field. There was also plenty of Small Heath erupting in a flap at almost every other footfall on the path and at the top a pair of sparring Small Coppers.

Once in the Glade I encountered the first cloudy interval so I sent my time walking and waiting at different spots in the Glade for the sun to reappear. As I watched the mossy ground tucked away in the trees it started to change hue as the sun crept out from behind the cloud. Once clear of the cloud the temperature rose and within a minute where there had been no butterflies suddenly there were several. A Small Copper stood out most obviously a close second was a Brown Argus. A Dingy put in an appearance, briefly bothering the Small Copper. A Greenstreak did a fly-by and several Forester moths vied for my attention. Then there it was, a little brown job, less bright and obvious and less feisty than a Brown Argus but only slightly a lovely little Duke and probably the same one I saw previously. It was joined by a second and so I spent some time here just enjoying the shenanigans of the butterflies.

I then started to make my way, slowly, ever so slowly back towards the car but it was hard going. Every time I’d set off something, it would fly close by and then land, tempting me to take photos of it. Somehow I made it back to the track and sent a while in the grasses. There were blues everywhere, mainly Brown Argus and Common Blues but with the odd Small Copper and occasional Adonis thrown in for good measure. I stumbled dazed by the plethora of butterflies onto the track. A really dark little butterfly, almost black settled on the path. Finally; a Duke at my ‘hotspot’! It was a lovely little fella.

I then carried on back to the car until a Wall distracted me and once again I left the path to capture a record shot of my first confirmed sighting at this site.

Almost back at the car, within touching distance, I check the time and thought I could squeeze in another 10 minutes or so and headed to the little thinly grassed patch near the car. Again Small Heath, Adonis and Common Blues predominated so I made my way towards the longer grasses at the edge of the spinney – reasoning that this might be good for Small Blues. I was proved right almost immediately when one did a fly-by and then settled!
Happy with the haul; first proper shots of Small Blue, first shots of Wall from this site and cracking little Dukes I headed homewards to face, what turned out to be, 6 hours of non-stop cleaning and bed building.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[trevor]

HI Wurzel,
I'm curious to know how your expedition to East Blean went. As for Boots they'd be closed down and
have an exclusion zone placed around their stores if they sold it.

Heaths please!.
TREVOR.

[Willrow]

Well worth waiting for those 'wicked' reports Wurz...I really loved em'

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[Wurzel]

Cheers Trevor My trip to East Blean went exceedingly well only saw three species of butterfly all day but what seemed like bucket loads of Heaths. Managed to find fresh, old, mating, open and close winged and also two being ripped to pieces by Wood Ants Mind you I am a victim of my success as I've only just finished sorting through the 800 photos Hence it will be a little while longer yet til I manage to post, sorry about that.
Cheers Willrow Only another 7 or 8 posts to do and then I'll have caught up, tell me what does that feel like

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Your "Duke site" has everything, Wurzel. Quite a place. And I'm envious of your Small Pearls from a few weeks back, as I didn't get to see them this year (car trouble - now thankfully resolved).

I'm looking forward to your diary keeping us going right up till Christmas at least...

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cheers Dave I was at Bristol Zoo today getting a few posts worth in the bag ready for just after Christmas

WB 02-06 Larkhill


02-06-2015

This was a quick afternoon pop-in during which I mainly focused on the area at the entrance to the Northbound path. After recently seeing my first Common Blues I was hoping to get some good numbers at Larkhill and so it seemed with the longer grass holding at least 14. I say ‘at least’ because it proved impossible to make an accurate count because one would decide to take off and then fly through the occupied by another which would set him off, and then a female that didn’t want any hassle would also move off and set off a chain reaction of blues flying.

As I made my way further in towards the path proper I also managed to pick out a couple of Brown Argus. The first indication that they were something different was their much smaller stature, then as I was able to get closer they were much more world weary and finally as I made to pass by they closed their wings so I was able to see the arrangement of their spots. There was also a Grizzlie present and a second one. At least that was my first fleeting thought but something was wrong with it and so I twigged that it was a Small Blue which was cracking news after not seeing any here last year.

03-06-2015

AM
Again I tried to count the Common Blues that were hanging around the entrance to the Northbound path this morning, and again I got to roughly 14 so perhaps my count from yesterday afternoon was more accurate than I thought?

Again I found a Small Blue, a Grizzlie but this time I could only see one Brown Argus...perhaps the second one prefers to sleep in? I spent some time looking for it and also marvelling at the variety shown by the Common Blues from those with the slightest tinge of blue through to those that had less brown than blue.

PM
Things had cheered up by the afternoon and I was able to have a scan around and just enjoy the sight of Common Blues living u to their name, they were packed into a small little area looking like a meadow of blue petaled flowers. The eventual count came in at 24 (after adding a couple on the Westbound path) although I’m sure a few slipped by in the general melee that ensued just as I was reaching the end of each count!

I was also able t get in a bit closer to the suspect Brown Arguses which seemed odd as normally things are so solar charged by the afternoon that they don’t sit still for more than a second or two. Perhaps they felt that they had been misrepresented recently? It was also good to see 9 Small Heath and three Brimstones putting in an appearance. Evne better than that they stopped long enough for a photo or three!

04-06-2015

After a manic afternoon yesterday things were much quieter this morning and it seemed to be back to business as usual with only 2 Brown Argus and again a count of 14 Common Blues. That number has been my total on three occasions now so I’m assuming that it’s an accurate observation.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[trevor]

HI Wurzel,
Your Grizzled Skipper shot is perfection !,iv'e seen very few this year,and so i have avoided a shot
like that . Also your Brimstone with wings partly open gets a mrgreen .

Best wishes,
TREVOR.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Trevor for your very kind comments

Weekend Doings

06-06-2015 Five Rivers

The weekend started with a very quick check of Five Rivers whilst K was at her swimming lesson. After the large number of Blues that were emerging at Larkhill it actually turned out to be slightly disappointing as the Banks, both top and bottom, were bereft of butterflies although they did hold plenty of Banded Demoseilles, a Yellow Shell and some Slow Worms. It wasn’t until the return journey that I saw my butterflies the first of which was a worn looking female Common Blue. Perhaps I’ve missed this brood at this site? I also saw a Specklie near the Spinney but the most impressive sighting was of a glorious Small Tortoiseshell which looked so resplendent that he had to be a second brood.

During the afternoon whilst enjoying a Cream tea at the vicarage in Sixpenny Handley I watched a Small White, a Painted Lady and Hummingbird Hawk Moth all enjoying their own repast on the vergers borders.

07-06-2015 The Devenish

The next day I had some time just with K and so we headed to The Devenish to try and break the ‘bad form’ it’s been having because of the June gap. Once there the sun was blazing so K had to stay in the shade where possible as I’d been caught out and not brought the sun cream. We were greeted in the car park by a Specklie and there was a second among the trees on the way to the Meadow.

Once over the fence the first butterfly I saw was the one I was hoping for – my first Large Skipper of 2015. We settled down to watch it for a bit before moving further into the Meadow. It looked gorgeous and practically glowed when the sun hit it. After this I took to wandering around while K sat in the shade on the stile calling me back when the occasional Jewell Wasp stopped on the wooden beams. In the Meadow there were butterflies about but they were very flighty and hard work, seldom stopping for longer than a quick drink would allow.

Up on the Down itself I settled K down and then strolled around for a bit, traversing back and forth. On the way I picked up a more mature Common Blue, a Small Copper nestled on some Rabbit Droppings (and so another entrant into my “Butterflies on $*@£” book) as well as a few Skipper towards the lower slopes of the Down were the grass is more tussock like. As we started to make our way back down a flash of electric blue blazed across the grass tops in front of us. A cracking male Adonis Blue. After watching it flutter about it eventually settled once or twice and so I was able to move in.

Once back in the Meadow I put in a lot more effort with trying to get shots of the butterflies but in fact rather than pacing back and forth the easiest thing to do was stand still and watch. Then when the butterflies landed, or rather if they landed, I could take a couple of steps, crouch and click. This worked out well as I was able to find a further two Large Skippers, Small Heath, Common Blues, Brown Argus, Green-veined White and a Grizzlie.

With time seeping away we had to pack up and head homewards but only after stopping to check out an old tree stump which was literally crawling with bees of several species. There was a Jewell Wasp, and even smaller all green one, Potter wasps as well as a couple of species of bee. This on stump was so enthralling I was almost late back to pick up my wife and younger daughter.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

What a beautiful Adonis Blue, Wurzel. An absolute stunner.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cheers Dave it was a little cracker

Tutor Time 08-06-2015

The day itself was an unusual day for June as the sun was shining, yet there was a breezy wind. Mind you it only lasted as long as it took me to get up to Laverstock Down having dropped K at her tutors and then it was business as usual as the cloud rolled in and covered the sun for pretty much the whole time I was on site. After a few grumbles I carried on regardless.

Once on site I got waylaid almost immediately by a couple of Mother Shipton moths (are the males called Fathers?). I watched them for a good while and tried my hardest to get shots but they were very flighty and when they finally did land it was either for the briefest possible time or deep down in the grass where their wonderful markings were obscured by the blades and leaves.

Having worked my way up to the main side of the Down the sun was still in and so not much was about. Still I wandered back and forth checking among the more sheltered spots for tiny white flags fluttering in the breeze. Even then nowt presented itself to me so I made to head home. It was then that I saw a ‘flag’ flying from some long grass in one of the most exposed arts of the Down! As I approached it flew and spooked another previously unseen ‘flag’. I managed to follow one and it landed in a scrape. Due to the lack of sun it seemed loathe to move and so I was able to get in really close.

After this I carried on looking for ‘flags’ having now got my eyes in and I managed to discover a number of butterflies bringing me a total of two Small Heath, a Grizzlie, 6 Common and 7 Adonis Blues.

Time was racing away from me and so I started the return journey. Guess what happened next? Yep the cloud shifted and the sun beat down. With a wry smile a carried on back and a lovely Small Tort was on the path.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[kevling]

Wurzel,

The close up of the blue is a belter, such great detail.

Regards
Kev

[Goldie M]

Hi! Wurzel, Love the Blues, especially the Adonis photos, hope your headaches are better, you seem to have a lot of work on your shoulders at present, I've been a bit fed up with the Butterflies around us lately,( Late) is a good word for them they've been very few and far between up to now, I've got no fritillaries yet. Hope I see some soon Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Goldie The migraines come and go but it'll soon be the holidays so the stress will pass. I reckon you'll be into bucket loads of butterflies anyday now - to make up for the dearth

WB 08-06-2015 Larkhill

08-06 AM

I don’t know what happened over the weekend but I think that there has been another emergence of Common blues as they’ve gone from 14 back up to 24 and some are looking resplendent in their fresh livery. It was also nice to see a little Grizzlie still clinging on in there, mooching around and complaining about all the ‘flashy Johnny-come-latelys that are, quite frankly, just showing off!’
1GS, 2SH, 3BA, 24 CB

09-06 PM

There must have been a couple of Blues hiding yesterday as the maximum count reached 26 Common blues today. There could possibly be more as I didn’t venture very far down either of the paths instead I just concentrated on the little patch near the car park and with numbers like these I didn’t really need to either! Some of the female Blues were looking particularly fine with their brown dusted in blue whilst others were almost entirely blue.
26CB, 3BA, 1GS, 1SH

10-06 AM

More of the same this morning and what I lost – 2 Common Blues I gained with an extra Brown Argus. I must confess to getting slightly lazy when identifying Brown Argus because it been so long since I’ve seen a female Brown Common Blue that is sufficiently ‘brown’ as to prove tricky to identify. Most over the last couple of year have been well shaded in blue, if not entirely covered.
24CB, 4BA, 2SH, 1GS

11-06 AM

I did stop for slightly longer than the usual allotted 5 minutes this morning as I wanted to try for some Large Skipper shots before they start looking more shabby. Also the Common Blues are either on the wane or starting to disperse as they were back down to 19 this morning.
3LS, 4BA, 3SH, 19CB

12-06 PM

I didn’t even count on this stop as it felt cooler and murky and so I just stole a few shots and then skidaddled homewards as quick as I could.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

ps Almost forgot...

July 2015

[millerd]

A great collection of female blues, Wurzel! I agree - they seem to have a second wind mid-June on my patch too. Fading out now for a short while though...

Dave

[Goldie M]

Lovely Blues Wurzel, I agree, you don't see many brown females these days but I must admit I like the blue ones best Goldie

[trevor]

HI Wurzel,
What would you have done in my circumstances, ASDA or White Letter Hairstreak!.
Funny there was nothing in the fridge for tea tonight.

TREVOR.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Dave They've just seemed to fill the June gap nicely the past couple of years
Cheers Goldie Me too, the really blue female Blues are more spectacular than the males
Cheers Trevor Definitely WLH, just don't tell the wife

East Blean 14-06-2015

What a totally fantastic day! This trip has been three years in the making...It didn’t start too well with an early start, rain on the drive down and SatNav trying to send my down a one way street once I was almost at my destination. However after a brief catch up and car change Philzoid were on our way and the sun started to break through the cloud, there were even patches of blue sky! Having easily found it and parked we headed onto the first clearing where a visitor dampened or spirits slightly by informing us that he’d visited the day before and spent several hours seeing nothing! He followed us on into the first clearing which is where they were to be found a couple of years ago and continued with his tale of woe, really bringing us both down after the elation of the trip and seeing blue skies peeping out amidst the cloud despite all weather reports to the contrary. “Oh” we both thought...

However after a Red Admiral did a fly-by something smaller and more brown took off – my first ever Heath Fritillary. It was followed by a second and Philzoid found a third all in the space of two minutes. Heartened by our immediate success we set off deeper into the Wood searching for more coppiced clearings and Cow Wheat.

Just along from the first clearing we headed onto our left and stumbled onto another couple of Heaths basking open winged in a clearing with slightly taller/older coppiced stools. Having previously discussed how it might be difficult to get the classic closed wing shot an unusual looking leaf proved that actually getting the closed wing wasn’t that hard! While we were getting shots Philzoid pointed out a movement on the floor and we thought we’d found a couple more Heaths. We had but they were in a sorry state. The first was already dead, flat on its back the movement not from it but the Wood Ants in the process of removing its abdomen. The second was still putting up a fight but there were three or four ants all stinging and ripping at it, it seemed to succumb as we watched. Nature can be harsh to watch sometimes.

We carried on into and around as the sun came out just enough for the Heaths to suddenly emerge and then they were everywhere. In fact the weather was pretty perfect – no wind, just enough warmth for the butterflies to bask and fly but yet not be solar charged to frenetic flights. As we walked in amongst the coppice stools we seemed to encounter more and more Heaths – we got to 19 and then lost count! We also checked out another couple of Clearings but these were much newer and the Cow Wheat had only just started coming up and we didn’t see any Heaths there at all. Also it was strange but apart from the single Red Admiral the only butterflies that we were seeing were Heaths – not even a Large Skipper or Specklie. Back at the first clearing we settled into finding four or more at each spot we stopped in including a couple of mating pairs.

Sorry for going a bit Heath mad but these were my first and I tried to get shots of almost every single one I saw...so the shots here and in part 2 are just a small selection ...

Have a goodun