July 10th > Onwards

[Jack Harrison]

It's Birds Foot Trefoil but only in patches. This photo exaggerates just how much there is but it looks pretty doesn't it?

Jack

[Jack Harrison]

Ten days ago I wrote:

I anticipate seeing plenty on the buddleias in two or three weeks time when the best of the flowering would seem to be over

This morning (20th) two Small Torts on a small buddleia in the garden where the blossoms have begun to fade and turned brown. The picture (Canon S3 with +2 achromatic) shows this fading blossom.

I have mentioned before how I disbud some of my buddleias round about the end of May to spread the flowering periods of bushes in the garden.

Jack

[Perseus]

Hello,

20 July 2008
Butterflies are recorded as common (135+) for the first time this year of 14
species (equal most in a day this year) of which the most notable was the
first second brood Common Blue Butterfly on the upper meadow of Mill Hill,
three Wall Browns on Mill Hill and a Chalkhill Blue count of 17 (including
one female) on an acre of the lower slopes. Gatekeepers had the highest
count of 47.

Adur Butterfly & Large Moth List
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Butterfly-list2008.html

20 July 2008
The yellow of the Ragwort on the downs pastures above Shoreham (north of Slonk Hill Drive, the photograph shows the bridge over the A27) contrasted with the cloudy and azure sky.



Cheers


Andy Horton
glaucus@hotmail.com
Adur Valley Nature Notes
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Adur2007.html
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Adur2008.html
Adur Valley Nature Notes: July 2008
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/July2008.html
Adur Valley & Downs Gallery
http://www.flickr.com/groups/adur/pool/

[eccles]

What a wonderful thing to do, Shirley, to have your own meadow and set it aside for butterflies. You should get common blue arriving soon if the bird's foot trefoil continues to do well.
As for me, I visited Clanger Wood in Wiltshire, today.
Species found:
Small white
Large white
GV white
Small skipper
Gatekeeper
Meadow brown
Ringlet
Comma (Dark variant)
Common blue
Purple hairstreak
White admiral
Silver washed fritillary (M + F + Val.)

A dozen butterfly species, supplemented with brown hawker, southern hawker, broad bodied chaser and common darter. Sadly, I saw no marbled white, although they were there last year. Still, a good day, I thought, despite a lot of cloud around before 2pm.

[Shirley Roulston]

I am waiting for a Common Blue, but I will have to cut it soon and unfortunatly it'll turn into big bale hay. I have told the farmer who cuts to stay well away from the edges and to raise the cutter in the places where I will be standing, I have an idea that it'll be me in one of the bale with the grass, some farmer don't have much time for flowers. On the subject of Ragwort around here its illegal to grow it and you are instructed by Defra to pull it up wearing gloves and to depose of it not in the brown wellie bin but you have to burn it. I've not been in the field to-day it's so long its difficult to walk in it, but there are quite a few Small Copper and Gatekeeper's about.

[Annie]

I had a fantastic trip to Blackmoor Nature Reserve near Cheddar yesterday with Butterfly Conservation.

Despite the iffy weather (blowy and cloudy) we saw
Dark Green Fritillary
Marbled White
Large White
Small White
Green Hairstreak
Ringlet
Meadow Brown
Small Heath
Small Skipper
Chimneysweeper Moth
Five Spot Burnet
Six Spot Burnet

After lunch we moved on to an area of woodland behind Axbridge (next to the quarry) where we hoped to see Valesina SW Frits - alas, the wood has become to overgrown for bramble flowers (or any flowers at all, really) - we saw two males and two females (neither Valesina), plus Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Large White and Small White

[Simon C]

The wood is called Cheddar Wood.

I was there on saturday, walking from Crook Peak across Wavering Down, Cross Plain and then via Shute Shelf Hill across to Cheddar Wood where I did a circuit. I'm surprised you didn't see any Gatekeepers Annie - they outnumbered everything else I say. This was my first visit to the wood, which I had heard was quite good for Valezina. There didn't seem to be any open spaces in the wood so I stuck to the edges. There is an open space near the southern edge, but it is fenced in and the gates secured shut. I saw a couple of dozen SWF in total, incl. 3 Val. the best spots being the steep meadow just above the camp site (watch your footing - lots of anthills) and a small clearing on the west side, where the passing SWFs were doing a good job of annoying two Commas that has staked out territories.

Great views across Somerset, and The Lamb in the pretty market square in Axbridge is excellently placed for refreshments whilst waiting for the bus back to Weston-super-Mare for train connections.

Simon

[Annie]

Hi Simon - I saw no Gatekeepers at all - in fact, there was precious little butterfly life in the wooded area right next to the quarry. Saplings have been planted (and wrapped with plastic to stop nibbling) in some of the more open areas - our guide said the dynamic of the wood had changed entirely from his last visit in 2006. Despite living only about 10 miles away it's not a wood that I know at all - I would very much like to see the Valezina SWF's so I am going to try to get out there next Sunday, weather permitting! Thanks very much for the site info.

I agree about the Lamb - probably one of the prettiest pubs and settings in Somerset, especially with all the flowers outside at this time of year. I couldn't believe there wasn't anyone sat outside when I went past yesterday, and if I hadn't been driving I would've stopped in for a welcome pint!

[sahikmet]

Three Small Torts this afternoon at Aston Rowant Bald Hill.

Cheers

Sezar

[Shirley Roulston]

This hay field is the perfect place for the Meadow Brown, they came last summer and they came again this summer. I allowed people to walk in it to see the butterflies and its amazing how many children and adults just don't know very much about butterflies. Its lovely to walk in but its a bit long now, as you walk along the butterflies jumb out and just land further away. My aim with one of the fields is to produce a wildflower field somehow, but I believe its quite an undertaking.

my pictures 643.jpg (214.64 KiB) Viewed 1022 times

[Perseus]

Hello,

21 July 2008

A trip across the downs north of Shoreham yielded over 200 butterflies of 14
species, with special note of six Wall Browns at six different locations and
the first two male Chalkhill Blues on the upper meadow of Mill Hill which
was dominated by Peacock Butterflies. My journey took me from Slonk Hill
Farm to Mossy Bottom where I saw my first Painted Lady of the year.
Gatekeepers were the most numerous butterfly.

Adur Butterfly & Large Moth List
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Butterfly-list2008.html

Plus a bird:


Another full bird portrait on
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/July2008.html


Cheers

Andy Horton
glaucus@hotmail.com
Adur Valley Nature Notes
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Adur2007.html
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Adur2008.html
Adur Valley Nature Notes: July 2008
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/July2008.html
Adur Valley & Downs Gallery
http://www.flickr.com/groups/adur/pool/
View and upload your Sussex Wildlife Images to:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/sussexwildlife/

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[Susie]

Denbies Hillside, Surrey, today; stacks of butterflies!!

Dozens and dozens of Chalkhill Blues and other blues, Marbled Whites, Small Skippers, Ringlets, Meadow Browns.

[fbarclay]

Martin Down today: first Silver-spotted Skipper of the season for me, and plenty of Silver-washed Frits including a val.

Fiona

[Susie]

Yum yum!!!

[Perseus]

Hello,

Great picture of the Chalkhills together. I have not seen them like this since 2003. I hope I have not missed the main emergence which would be a bit early. I went looking for Wall Browns yesterday and I was busy today.

Mill Hill 2008
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/MillHill2008.html
Shoreham Bank 2008
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/VetchTrail2008.htm

Cheers

Andy Horton
glaucus@hotmail.com
Adur Valley Nature Notes (including Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex)
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Adur2008.html
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Adur2007.html

[Pete Eeles]

Yum yum!!!

Great shot Rosie/Rosy/Susie ... where was this taken? I'm dead jealous

Cheers,

- Pete

[Susie]

My favourite butterfly place

Loads of the butterflies I saw today were pristine and freshly emerged.

I saw something I didn't recogise today though, it was one of those "OMG!! What's that!" type moments. It was small, the size of a female blue, but the colouring was similar to a small copper. Could it have been a tiny small copper? I think it had too much orange on to be a brown argus. By the time I got the camera ready it was gone so I am not sure what it was and am still trawling pictures of butterflies to find something similar.

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Susie/Pete,
Erm Susie.... I think you forgot to put that shot in the compo section Pete, I'm a tell-tale- She was at Denbies today
Neil

[Susie]

You could have been there too, Neil. That would have saved me from being stalked by nutters!

[Pete Eeles]

And there was me thinking that Neil was that man He's certainly a nutter, for sure.

And, yes, I know I should have read a few posts earlier for the location

Cheers,

- Pete