Thanks guys, here's some more common species to brighten up a mediocre day weather wise including some nice Meadow Browns just for you Wurzel
18th September, local patches
The forecast wasn’t particularly wonderful today but there seemed to be enough of a chance of sun to venture out so I spent the day exploring a couple of East London patches, Walthamstow and Tottenham Marshes, dodging showers and trying to be in the right place at the right time when the sun did shine.
It was predictably quiet, with just a handful of Whites flitting around when the sun warmed the air.
The first surprise happened when I was closing in on a female Small White when I spotted a female Small Copper right under my nose. She was quite docile since it was the start of an extended cloudy spell and sat well, fluttering of only a short distance when my attention got too much only to alight on some nearby Michealmas Daisy.
It took a while for the next sunny spell to appear but an hour later I returned to this sheltered corner, hoping to catch her in the sun. Instead I found a male, tripling my yearly total for this site!
Small and Green-veined Whites were active here, enjoying the daisies but the end of the sunny period prompted me to move on.
My next calling point was the set aside corner of Hackney Marshes just over the river Lea that has a small but reliable population of Common Blues and Brown Argus amongst other things. I timed my arrival to perfection, a large patch of blue sky arriving at the same time. It took a while for the warmth to awaken anything up and in the end no Blues or Argus seemed to be present, must be in-between broods or perhaps settling down for hibernation. There were a few Meadow Browns active though, some surprisingly fresh
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I followed one around for a bit and managed to capture some egg laying. The behaviour was almost identical to that I witnessed of the Grayling last month. Some jerky shuffling until she finds a suitable stem, then the abdomen is curled forward and the egg is laid underneath the chosen stem. Like the Grayling she a dead stem was chosen. I suspect the chosen location, in this case a small exposed hollow at the base of a clump of grass, was to give the developing egg a bit of warmth. At this time of year I’m guessing they need to be laid in slightly more exposed areas with warmer micro climates to aid development than in high summer.
The egg itself is a pale yellow when freshly laid.
I was quite surprised not to have seen any Specklies yet, having been through all their usual haunts, but on the return, I spied one perched on the undergrowth by the side of the path.
At the other end of the path is a big clump of Ivy growing over a now dead tree which I’d seen several Holly Blue flying around a month or so ago, so I stopped to investigate the now fully developed flower buds. I didn’t find any caterpillars but I did find a couple of holes which could have been made by some.
Nearby flying around a Buddleja was a single Large White.
The sky was darkening quite significantly now so I decided to use the time to wander along the canal to Tottenham Marshes. As I made my way to the canal a Cetti’s Warbler announced his presence nearby and I managed some relatively decent views of him as well as a grainy, soft focus head shot!
An hour later it had stopped raining and I was exploring a quiet, sheltered corner of Tottenham Marshes that usually comes up with the goods and today was no different. A fresh Comma plonked itself down next to me, looking resplendent in the hazy afternoon sun.
Elsewhere a Small white was busy making the most of the sunny spell but my attention was fully taken by a gorgeous little female Common blue. I had to wait a good 15 minutes for the sun to become warm enough to awaken her but it was definitely worth the wait.
A good finish to a pleasant and interesting day