30th September, looking for the LTB.
Thanks for the tip
Maximus, which I only read this morning on the train. I suspect east Kent is just a little too far for a day trip for me though.
Our rather pleasant Indian summer continues providing me the excuse to go looking for the illusive Long-tailed Blue that is currently lurking in various sites along the south coast. Newhaven was the chosen site, being probably the closest to me and conveniently close to a train station. Within minutes of getting on the site I discovered a huge swathe of Everlasting Pea (
Maximus you must have been wandering around with your eye’s closed
!)
It was still relatively early so after a good scan I moved on to see how much more Pea I could find. It was also decidedly breezy and blustery. A few Small Whites were flying, which after last nights discussion on here I checked carefully when settled, based on wing shape and markings they were all 100%
rapae.
I also disturbed a few Small Heaths, very difficult to approach at this time of year with the long shadows cast by the low sun.
Apart from the occasional Red Admiral flyby not much else was seen butterflywise for an hour or two. Birdlife on the other hand was very rich. Large flocks of Meadow Pipit were feeding in the short turf and flocks of Swallows and House martins swooped low over my head. Good numbers of Stonechat, Goldfinch, a kestrel, some Redshank as well as the usual collection of Gulls and Corvids.
- Redshank
- Stonechat
I did get a very fleeting glance of a largish raptor as it dipped down behind one of the sea defences being mobbed by Swallows. It had vanished by the time I’d clambered to the top of the ridge. It was a very fleeting glance but it did seem to have rather large broad wings and a pale rump and my gut feeling was Harrier. A quick check in my guide suggests female Hen Harrier if my obs. were accurate?
Dragonflies were very numerous, mainly Darters and on closer inspection they were both Ruddy and Common Darters.
- Ruddy Darter
- Common Darter
After having wandered halfway to Seaford I turned and wandered back. Despite the stiff breeze it had warmed up nicely and a female Small Copper fluttered down in front of me.
She was the first of at least 4 I was to see, all females.
I watched another one flutter around obviously looking to lay. She finally found some Sorrel, pirouetted a few times and then layed a single egg, well I thought she did but upon looking I couldn’t see it on the leaf. It was only when I looked at my picture on my computer that I realised she had laid it on the stone next to the leaf, crafty lady!
Nearby I found a Comma feeding on blackberries, making it much less flighty than yesterdays one and also gave me the chance to take some pictures that scream autumn to me
I also had better luck with the Small Heaths since the sun was a little higher in the sky
Back near the huge mass (
Maximus! 
) of Everlasting Pea I was taking a picture of a Common Darter when fellow photographer stopped to chat, turned out to be our very own
B’saurus Rex. He hadn’t seen anymore LTB today either but he did take me over to another reasonable sized patch of Everlasting Pea (
Maximus! 
), where the LTB photographed by various members a week ago was seen. Still no sign though.
We ended the day chatting to another enthusiast who had also drawn a blank. It would seem Mr Hulme is correct in it being a bit early for the emergence here, damn him and his uber knowledgeable brain! Still if this good weather continues and coincides with another day off I may well give it another shot, it’s not every day you get a chance to see a LTB in Britain.
Great to meet and chat with you Rex, hopefully we'll bump into each other again with better LTB luck!
it was the first time I've ever had a Clouded Yellow that wasn't ridiculously flighty!
and is exactly what we saw 
tempting though it is.