millerd wrote:I wonder if the population is based in the meadow rather than the pit itself. Worth a look in the spring... A healthy number of Common Blues too by the looks of things.
Thanks Dave. That would seem to fit with my observations on Sunday - they would pop down over the lip of the pit to bask on bare chalk on the slope but often returned to fly over the meadow itself. The CB colony is looking very healthy this year!
Thanks Wurzel, every Small Copper is a lovely Small Copper though
Thanks David. I guess most UKBers, if they have seen NBA at all, will have seen the Cumbrian unspotted (or should that be spotless!) population. All the Scottish ones I've seen have been right at the end of the flight period - I must try to get up there for some freshly-emerged ones some time!
07/08/2018 - sampling the Scotch
Argus, that is! We were up in Oban this week on our Speckled Wood quest. Monday afternoon took us to
Shian Wood, a wonderfully remote SWT reserve 20 minutes north of Oban, featuring ancient mixed birch woodland and damp meadows perched above a sea loch. Despite the muggy weather and occasional showers, the butterflies were on the wing in decent numbers - these Scottish types are tough, tough, tough! Scotch Argus, Green-veined White, Peacock, and obviously Speckled Wood seen, but the light far too poor for photography.
Tuesday morning, and we went slightly further north to
Glasdrum Wood of Chequered Skipper fame! As before, lots of butterflies but not much sunshine. Speckled Woods were around in good numbers where the wood opened up into small clearings and meadows - the habits of this population are so different to what we're familiar with down south.
Scotch Argus were mostly found in the same places, and occasionally we even saw the two species scrapping for perches!
We found this nice micro-moth in one of the meadows -
Catoptria margaritella, a locally-common specialist on cotton-grass.
With our surveys finished and the weather closing in, we headed into Oban to try and connect with one of its strangest residents. Black Guillemot is a very rare bird in the UK - but here it nests in pipes set into the harbour wall, mere inches below the feet of the thousands of tourists passing through on their way to and from the Hebrides! We thought we might be a bit late in the year, but happily one pair was still hanging around with a very large chick that must be only days from fledging.
By now the sun had re-appeared, so we decided to return to Shian to see what it looked like in nice weather! In a couple of hours wandering around the reserve we didn't add to our species list from the previous day, but the sheer numbers of both Speckled Woods and Scotch Arguses were jaw-dropping.
I've seen a few comments in the last few days on this forum expressing concern about the plight of Scotch Argus in England. Whilst it would be sad to lose the two Cumbrian populations, you can rest easy in the knowledge that there is no pressing risk to this species in Scotland!
A couple of final treats from Tuesday evening and this morning, seen on the shore outside the Oban youth hostel - Hooded Crows are always a treat, and (record shot only) I was extremely excited to see an Otter!