Nick Morgan

[NickMorgan]

Continuing on from my previous post ...

Green Hairstreak, Callophrys rubi
We only discovered Green Hairstreaks for the first time in East Lothian in 2014, although I am sure they were probably hiding away in their remote locations for several years before that. This year the first record was on 20th May and they were recorded until 7th June. They were mostly recorded in the Lammermuir Hills, but also in an area of lowland woodland.

Wall Brown, Lasiommata megera
There were two distinct generations of Wall Browns between 30th May - 2nd July and 16th August - 19th September. They seemed to be quite abundant this year and I have been told that they were particularly abundant on the coast in the Scottish Borders. This is good news as they are struggling in southern England, possibly as a result of climate change.

Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui
I had thought that 2015 was a poor year for Painted Ladies, as I only saw one all year! However, I received quite a few records from other enthusiasts. Considering the number of Red Admirals that arrived here in July, I was surprised there weren't more Painted Ladies, though. The first record I received was on 11th June and the last one seen was on 26th October.

Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus
The first Common Blue recorded in 2015 was on 11th June and they were recorded through to 29th September in good numbers. There was no clear division between the two generations. For some reason there was a much higher proportion than normal of females reported than in previous years.

Northern Brown Argus, Aricia artaxeres
I am only aware of four sites in East Lothian where Northern Brown Argus occur. Three of these sites are smaller than the average sitting room. This year I only received records from two sites with the earliest being 20th June and the latest was on 7th August.

Ringlet, Aphantpopus hyperantus
Ringlets were seen in their usual good numbers between 24th June and 16th August. They seemed to have a longer season than in previous years, possibly because the weather was so poor.

Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina
As usual Meadow Browns were very numerous in 2015. The first record was on 27th June and they were seen through to 3rd September, with a peak in numbers in early August.

Dark Green Fritillary, Argynnis laodice
The Dark Green Fritillary is mostly found on the coast of East Lothian, but there are a few inland sites where they are also found. The first record in 2015 was on 27th June and they were seen until the 15th August.

Small Skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris
The Small Skipper was first recorded in East Lothian in 2011 at Aberlady Local Nature Reserve. It has since done incredibly well and spread along the coast and is also found at a couple of inland sites. In 2015 it was recorded between 28th June and 29 August.

Grayling, Hypparchia semele
I am only aware of three sites where Grayling occur in East Lothian. One of those sites is in an area that is due to have houses built on it and we are currently unable to access it. All of the records I received in 2015 were from a nearby site, which is an old mining spoil heap. The first Grayling was recorded on 3rd July and they were seen till 6th August.

Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, Clossiana selene
The only record of a Small Pearl Border Fritillary this year was on 3rd July when I briefly saw one at a site in the Lammermuir Hills. This is the only place I am aware of them occurring in East Lothian, so I hope they are able to hang on there.

The only butterfly that I was hoping to see in East Lothian that we didn't record in 2015 was the Large Skipper. They had been seen just inside the East Lothian boundary in 2014 and we had high hopes that they would increase in number or progress along the coast as so many other species have done. They may have been there, but due to the lousy weather no one was there to spot them! With a bit of luck we will find them again in 2016.

It is fantastic having so many people contributing to the butterfly records in East Lothian. We are building up a really good picture of what is going on during a very interesting period in the distribution of butterflies here. I wonder if we will have any new butterflies in 2016?

[Pauline]

Some smashing photos in your last few posts Nick. I love that Northern Brown Argus but my favourite has to be the pair of Green Hairstreaks - a photo I've been trying to get for 4 years now

[Jack Harrison]

Very useful info Nick especially the dates. I haven' been here long enough to experience a full butterfly season here on the Moray Coast so your data is invaluable as to what to expect and when.

No mention as far as I can see of Scotch Argus. Certainly plenty here late July and August. Perhaps it's more of a Highland and Island speciality although I have seen them in the past in upper Strathdon well to the east of the main mountains.

Jack

[NickMorgan]

Thanks Pauline. The person I was with the day I photographed the Green Hairstreaks had observed that they flew up into the spruce and pine trees to mate. We observed it three times that day. These two kindly landed at about head-height. It would be interesting to know if this behaviour is common, as I have noticed that all of the Green Hairstreak colonies I have found here are within about 20 metres of a conifer plantation.

Jack,
I guess the butterflies may be a week or two later up with you than they are here in East Lothian. I have noticed that the plants at my father's house in the Scottish Borders are a couple of weeks behind those here, so I think East Lothian benefits from its proximity to the coast and obviously being a little further south than Nairn.
So far we haven't found any Scotch Argus here. There may be one or two remote valleys in the Lammermuir Hills that are suitable for them, but they are probably too far from any other colony. There are quite a number of places where they are found in the Scottish Borders, though just south of here. I am hoping to check out a few more likely sites this summer.
I will be interested to see how the butterflies compare up there with those here this year.

[Jack Harrison]

I guess the butterflies may be a week or two later up with you than they are here in East Lothian.

This is where I am not sure. The Moray Firth area has a quite incredible micro-climate for which it is famed. But my ten months here suggest that while it is certainly it is dry and sunny (and long term data confirm) it is not all that warm. So what it amounts to is: are emergences primarily influenced by temperature or sunshine (or both)? I suspect temperature is the main factor and we are not as warm as your part of Scotland although possibly sunnier and drier.

Maybe a clue from the timing of oil-seed rape flowering. The first flowers have appeared here in the past two days. Any idea when your crop first flowered this year? (I presume it is grown in East Lothian).

Jack

[Wurzel]

Interesting report and that NBA is a cracking little butterfly

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

A lovely recap of your local species in 2015, Nick. Let's hope weather conditions in 2016 allow for better opportunities to do further studies.

[NickMorgan]

Dave. Let's just hope for some decent weather so that we can see some butterflies this year!! We had a couple of good days last month when I managed to see a Small Tortoiseshell, a Peacock and a Red Admiral. Since then we have hardly seen any sun here!

Thanks Wurzel. Yes, the NBA is the butterfly I really look forward to seeing here each year. It is amazing that it is clinging on in such small colonies.

Jack. It sounds as though your Oil Seed Rape is at about the same stage as ours, so possibly the butterflies will occur at around the same time. East Lothian is blessed with drier, sunnier weather than the neighbouring regions, but we also have cooler breezes off the sea as a payback. If you want to PM me your e-mail address I can send you my last few years' butterfly records. It will be interesting to see how they compare with what you see up there.

[NickMorgan]

It is about time I resurrected my diary. 2016 wasn't the best year with us losing my father in February. I spent much of the year after that at his house in the Scottish Borders sorting his belongings and keeping the "garden" under control. It is never a pleasant time, sorting through people's treasured belongings and trying to find new homes for much of it.
My father was a biologist and had many specialist books. The family will be keeping many of these, but we have donated his large collection of limnology books to a field station on Loch Lomond and the Scottish Ornithology Society were pleased to receive most of his books on birds and specialist wildlife books. It was sad to see how little was left after a fascinating life working around the world, but it is comforting that we will be keeping his house and hope to move there in two years once my daughter has finished school and my son is settled in his apprenticeship.
Dad built his house in the middle of 16 acres of woodland, next to a pond with a stream running past it. There are various nooks and crannies built into the house specifically for particular species of birds to nest in. When he did this I thought to myself that sparrows or blackbirds would occupy the various ledges and holes, but no. A redstart regularly nests on the ledge one side of the chimney and this year there was a wren nesting on the other side. A spotted flycatcher nests every year in a hole above the kitchen window and a few feet away is another hole where Dad once counted 15 wrens coming out of their winter roost. This year I also spotted grey wagtails fledging from their nest by the bridge and nuthatches using a hole in an old oak tree.
There is also a badger sett (which does cause some problems) and roe deer regularly walk past the house. The ponds are a haven for frogs and toads, newts and various species of damsel and dragon flies. In the evening you can sit in the sitting room and watch the bats pour out of the apex of the roof to catch insects over the pond. It is a nature-lover's paradise and we intend to keep it that way and maybe enhance it a wee bit more for butterflies.
Already I have planted cuttings of buddleia on a bank opposite the kitchen. This was a project that Dad and I had planned together. I have plans to clear some sycamore saplings from a bank and plant rockrose to see if the nearby colony of Northern Brown Argus will expand into it. And I am intending to work on an area of rough grassland below it to enhance it for wild flowers.
I used to do down to visit Dad every couple of weeks and he would usually put me to work cutting down trees or clearing the guttering, or some such thing. I was always pleased to help out and I enjoy that sort of work and I have managed to heat my house from the resulting logs for the last 15 years!
This year I have been staying down at the house a lot, while I have been working there and it has allowed me a little more time to search out the local butterflies. In June I went down for a week and took an afternoon off on a lovely sunny day to explore the lovely little valley above the house. I have mentioned this before as it is a great spot for Northern Brown Argus. It was so nice spending time there and I couldn't believe the number of butterflies that there are in that little valley. In one section about 50 metres long I saw over 40 Northern Brown Argus.

I even managed to get a picture of three of them on a thistle head.

There were even more Small Heaths flying there and a number of Green-veined Whites.
I also saw a fleeting glimpse of a Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary and I was delighted on my way back down the valley to see it again and take a few pictures of it.

I had briefly seen one before there in 2011, but hadn't managed to photograph it. Now I had proof that I hadn't been mistaken.
After a while the butterflies all settled down for the evening and I took the opportunity to wander up the track to the top of the nearby hill with my dog. It was a great vantage point, giving views up and down the valley and it was lovely to take time out from clearing the house.

They're in front of you Midge!

[Pete Eeles]

Very sorry to hear about your loss, Nick.

It's lovely to hear about your dad's love of wildlife passing down the generations. And I'm sure that many here will be green with envy hearing about your future home (including me).

Cheers,

- Pete

[David M]

Nick, from the sound of it, I'd say your father's passing is a loss to all wildlife lovers. What a dedicated fellow he was and what a wonderful place that he has left for you to enjoy.

I'm sure you'll do great justice to it, and as Pete says, I really envy you with such magnificent wildlife on your doorstep....and within the walls!!

[NickMorgan]

Thank you Pete and David,
It is great to think that there are various nature reserves and game parks around the world as a result of Dad's work. That is quite a legacy to leave behind for future generations.
We can't believe how lucky we are to have somewhere like that to go and live. Naturally my thoughts are tinged with sadness, but I know my father would be so pleased to think of us living there, looking after it as he would have liked. I look at some of the big trees there and realise that we don't own the place. We are just lucky enough to be passing through and enjoying it. Many of trees are a lot older than I am and hopefully they will be there for many years after I am gone. I feel privileged to be there and to help look after the place. Of course that opens up a whole debate about whether the trees and vegetation should be just left to do their own thing or whether we should manage the area. The amount of rhododendron growing there almost answers that question for me, though!

[NickMorgan]

On 22 June I went down to Burnmouth, with my friend Abbie, to look for Small Blues. Abbie had already been in touch with Iain Cowe, so we met up with him while we were down there. It was so nice to meet Iain after corresponding with him by e-mail for so many years!

This is the third year that we have gone down to look for Small Blues there and we were quite alarmed to see how dried out the Kidney Vetch appeared to be. 2016 was quite a dry year, but it was noticeable how many eastern winds we had and I think these coastal slopes had simply been dried out by the prevailing wind. We noticed that in a railway cutting on the other side of the coastal path the Kidney Vetch looked much more lush.

I think we only saw twenty or so Small Blues that day, which is considerably fewer than in previous years.
Iain kindly pointed out some Large Skippers in an area where he had seen them before. This was to be the only time I saw them in 2016.

We had seen a few other species such as single Red Admiral, Small White, Peacock, Common Blue and four Small Coppers. However, despite the path on the way there looking like an ideal habitat for such species they are never very numerous. I was delighted just as we were leaving to see a Wall Brown. This was the first I had seen that year.

It is always a thrill to go down to Burnmouth to see the Small Blues. Each year I am surprised by just how small they are!!

[Wurzel]

Condolences Nick - he sounded like a great bloke to have known and worked with, and building nesting spaces into the house - that's just brilliant Those Northern Brown Argus are pretty spectacular - are they as boisterous as their southern cousins?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[NickMorgan]

Thank you Wurzel.
Would you believe that I have never seen a Brown Argus. Northern, Southern, Mountain and Spanish, but never a straight forward Brown Argus. I hope to put this right this summer when we go on holiday to Corfu. If not I will have to venture south of the border to add one to my list, along with the various other UK butterflies we don't find up here.
The Northern Brown Argus is quite a bold little creature. They seem to be quite approachable. I am not sure if it is also true of the Brown Argus, but the NBAs are found in quite small colonies here and don't tend to fly any distance. I am only aware of four colonies in East Lothian. One is on a very steep bank at the side of someone's garden and is in an area about 10 feet by 20 feet. Another is on the rough of a golf course on the coast and is even smaller. Both are very vulnerable to being lost.

[Padfield]

May I add my sympathies, Nick. These must have been very difficult times. I'm sure you will do your father proud - and you must be proud of him too. He sounds a wonderful man.

Guy

[bugboy]

My condolences too. It sounds like he's left a legacy to be proud of though.

[NickMorgan]

Thank you Guy and Bugboy!

Another trip out in the Scottish Borders last year to look for butterflies was to the colony of Scotch Argus near Melrose. It was great going there on a sunny day for a change. My two previous visits had been on an over-cast evening and even a day when it was raining, but both times the Scotch Argus were still flying!
Last year I wasn't disappointed as there were plenty of Scotch Argus flying in the sun. The real problem was that they were very flighty. It was very difficult to approach them and usually they saw me before I saw them. When they landed they tended to go deep down in the grass, meaning that it was very difficult to photograph them. However, two of them were much more obliging, being engrossed in feeding.

It was quite difficult to judge how many Scotch Argus were there, but I recon that there were about 60 in that area.
There were also quite a few Small Skippers on the small flowers along the track.

There were also a few Ringlets, Meadow Browns, Green-veined Whites, Dark Green Fritillaries and a Common Blue there.

On my walk back to the car I met Iain Cowe. This was the first time I have ever bumped into another butterfly enthusiast when I have been out looking for butterflies!

[Wurzel]

Lush shots of the Scotch Argus Nick It certainly sounds like the Northern Brown Argus and Brown Argus have similar temperaments - little balls of rage or like their 'initial-sake' B.A. from the A Team

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[SimonC69]

Love these. Especially the Scotch Argus. Is it just me though, or does the patterning on the DGFs right wing say '1396' ?