CallumMac

[Janet Turnbull]

That's a very impressive Eyed Hawk Moth, Callum - I have never seen one of those. Good luck with the 30dayswild challenge - it can indeed be a challenge sometimes!

[Pete Eeles]

I've always wanted to get a photo of Irton Fell from Whin Rigg!

...something like this one?

Yeah - something like that. Although I decided that you can get a better indication of the habitat closer up. But I did enjoy the exercise

Cheers,

- Pete

[David M]

You're sure doing your bit at the moment, Callum. Thanks for posting those beautiful hawk moth images, They are, to me anyway, the most desirable of all families of moth.

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Callum,

Great report and photos from Finglandrigg Wood, I have heard of it but never been there, sounds like a great place.

I am jealous of the Eyed Hawk Moth, that one is still on my wish list for my garden trap although there is no reason for it not to show up sooner or later.

Cheers,

Neil.

[CallumMac]

Thank you all. That was actually my first ever Eyed Hawkmoth. We caught another (definitely a second and not the same again!) the following night - I'm having a hard time convincing my student that moth-trapping isn't always this exciting!

17/06/2018 - RSPB St Aidan's

This is quite a new reserve and has some smashing birds, including breeding Bitterns and Black-necked Grebes (plus, today, a totally unexpected fly-past from an Osprey!). However, as BC Yorkshire's species writer for Ringlet, I've noticed that it also pops up fairly regularly among both the earliest and the largest counts for this most under-rated of Browns! Having heard a couple of reports of Ringlet in the last couple of days, I was optimistic that we might run into one today.

Our first insect was a nicely-posed 7-spot Ladybird. In theory a common enough species, but nowadays it's a pleasant surprise to see anything that's not a Harlequin.

And then, sure enough, we started to see Ringlets! Surprisingly, there were a fair few around and some even looked a bit worn.

Most were trying their hardest to extract whatever they could from the weak and watery sunshine, but after a little while I managed to find one showing off the fantastic underwings!

Besides the Ringlets were plenty of Meadow Browns and Large Skippers.

And good numbers of these Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnets.

[Janet Turnbull]

That looks an interesting reserve Callum, and within striking distance being not too far off the M62.

[David M]

If Ringlets are about further north then I must try and catch up with them here in south Wales in the next few days. Although they're ridiculously common by me, they are stunning little creatures when fresh.

[CallumMac]

Janet - yes, interesting, but also a bit frustrating. As I understand it, it used to be a country park before the RSPB took over management a few years ago. Somewhere along the line a decision must have been taken to continue running it as if it were still a country park - allowing access to dog walkers, cyclists, horses etc. I don't have a problem with that per se, but it's astonishing how many dog owners completely ignore the many signs and, out of the entire (huge) site, take their dogs to swim in the one bit of reedbed where all the rare birds are nesting!

David - stunning indeed. I've a real soft spot for them!

[ernie f]

CallumMac - Nice underwing shot of the Ringlet. I can't understand why I have not seen any yet. It must be the first year I have ever seen White Admirals BEFORE Ringlets!

Also - I like the side shot of the 5-spot Burnet. Not to mention those moth pictures you got a few days ago.

Cheers

[CallumMac]

Thanks Ernie. I think that St Aidan's is a very early site for Ringlet - I checked Walmgate Stray extensively this lunchtime in ok-ish conditions, and found plenty of Meadow Browns & Large Skippers but no Ringlets.

[Wurzel]

Great stuff Callum What features can you use to separate 5-Spot and Narrow Bordered 5-spot Burnets - I have both round this way but don't know the key features to use?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[CallumMac]

What features can you use to separate 5-Spot and Narrow Bordered 5-spot Burnets - I have both round this way but don't know the key features to use?

Ha! Well, up here the key feature is "if it exists, it's a Narrow-bordered"

Seriously though, they are really tricky to separate where the ranges overlap. I tend to think that if there are five clearly separated spots, it's most likely to be a Narrow-bordered, whereas if any two or more of the spots are fused, it's a Five-spotted. That's reliable in most cases but not 100% accurate - Five-spotted with five separate dots do occur fairly frequently. Then there's the wing-tips, which are supposed to be more pointed on Narrow-bordered and more rounded on Five-spotted, but that can be hard to see unless you've got both next to each other.

[CallumMac]

20/06/2018 - Walmgate Stray after work

Yesterday lunchtime I popped out onto the Stray for half an hour, and amongst hordes of Meadow Browns, I thought I saw a Small Skipper. Having lost track of it before it settled, and with the next three Skippers I saw all being Large, I dismissed it as optimistic - but later saw on Twitter that two separate people had seen their first Yorkshire Small Skippers of the year, including one on Walmgate Stray! Should have trusted myself...

It was sunny, though quite breezy, when I left work this evening, so I elected to pop out onto the Stray and have another search for yesterday's Small Skipper. The first thing I found was a Ringlet - my first away from the very early St Aidan's population. I only got one, slightly unfocussed, shot before a dog chased it off ("oh, sorry, he just really likes people with cameras" ), but my impression was that I have rarely seen Ringlets with such a well-formed sixth ringlet on the hindwing underside.

There were lots of Meadow Browns and Chimney-sweeper moths in the ungrazed areas where I saw the mystery butterfly yesterday, but no Skippers of any species.

I started to walk back through the grazed area towards the university car-park, but just before leaving the Stray, there was a little bouncing blob of gold... it settled... and yes! My first (definite) Small Skipper of the year.

I followed this male for a while and took lots of pictures, and saw at least two others.

It clouded over after a while, and with the strong wind, quickly became quite chilly. The Skipper I'd been following then did something that I've only ever seen in moths before - settled on a leaf, it started to beat its wings rapidly to keep its flight muscles warm. Has anybody else seen a butterfly do this?

[Wurzel]

Cheers for the ID features - obviously it a bit easier for you You can see the rings clearly enough on that Ringlet Callum, if I had a quid for every time a dog has put up a butterfly I'd be a rich man Mind you Guy Padfield has the right idea, he has a trained butterfly hound

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

That's a beautifully marked Ringlet, Callum. Interesting too that Small Skippers are out and about round your way. Hopefully I'll get to see them down here before I go to France next week.

[CallumMac]

22/06/2018 - Kiplingcotes Chalk Pit

I've been keeping a sharp eye out for Yorkshire sightings of Marbled Whites, and looking forward to their arrival on my 'patch' at Kiplingcotes. Yesterday they started to appear at a couple of sites in South Yorks, and as I'm travelling south for a week first thing tomorrow morning, I decided to detour to Kiplingcotes on my way home from work to see if they had arrived yet.

They had! I counted good numbers - maybe as many as 30 - without covering the whole site. There was a strong north-easterly blowing, and the Marbled Whites were mostly flying in the more sheltered parts of the site - I'm not sure whether they were congregating there, or just not flying as enthusiastically in the windier sections. Anyway, it was nice to see them back

Besides the Marblies, there were quite a few Large Skippers about - no Small here yet though.

And also literally hundreds of Common Blues. With the temperature dropping into the evening, there was a good mix of Blues basking photogenically and roosting, giving opportunities for all styles of photograph!

There was an amazing, almost metallic, green sheen on the underside of this one.

Hoping for some good weather and good butterflies on my trip south - the first is forecast, and with luck it will bring the second!

[Wurzel]

Lovely Marbled Whites Callum I hope your trip south is bringing you all and more than you hoped for

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Good to see the Marbled Whites up in Yorkshire, Callum. I think your trip south coincides with one I have planned up there, so I'll keep an eye on them for you!

Dave

[CallumMac]

Thanks, Wurzel & Dave!

I'll write up full reports later in the week when the current madness subsides. But I couldn't wait to share a trailer of what's to come with you all! The best result of a flying visit to the lovely Daneway Banks - I'll definitely be back again in the future, with hopefully more time on my hands.

[CallumMac]

Another day of madness in Devon, but again managed to squeeze in some butterflies. As with yesterday, an early trailer for the burst of PD updates that will come when things calm down!