Cheers Wurzel...you were not far wrong, coming up next.Wurzel wrote:...Somewhere else to go? I'm wondering if that's for something Big and Blue? Wurzel
Thanks Goldie, most of the ones I saw were like that first one too.Goldie wrote:...Good Painted Lady shots Neil, the only ones I've seen so far have been like your first shot well worn. Goldie
Thanks David, it is indeed a cracking location although it covers a lot of ground hence I like to spend a couple of days there.David M wrote:I'm thoroughly enjoying this report, Neil. Seems like a wonderful location.
June 26th and 27th – Daneway Banks.
Whilst planning this years trips we had already decided on the Heddon Valley and I remembered that a few years ago we had stopped off at Collard Hill to see Large Blues and this still remained the only time that I had seen this species.
I started thinking about doing something similar this year but then started to look at Daneway Banks which is a site I had not yet visited. I then gave this a bit more thought which ended up with booking a couple of nights into a nearby Pub/Hotel just a couple of miles from Daneway Banks which looked to be ideally placed for visiting the reserve. Jane is always up for staying at a nice B&B, especially if it is somewhere where we can have a nice meal on the night as well.
After leaving Exmoor, we arrived just after 3.30pm and after checking in and getting settled into our room, Jane said she would chill out for a bit so I decided to go and have a look at Daneway Banks. I drove around to the reserve and thought I would try my luck with one of the parking spots by the main entrance that I had heard about and was quite surprised to find them empty, probably because it was now gone 4.00pm and it was quite overcast.
Walking through the gate I immediately noticed a cool wind blowing across the grassy slopes but this didn't seem to be deterring the Meadow Browns and Marbled Whites that were there in good numbers. The first 'Blues' that I saw were Common Blues, both males and female in varying condition and with at least one very blue female that seem to becoming more frequent these past few years.
I soon found a few Large Blues with a couple of females that looked to be doing a lot of egg laying, or possibly 'oviposturing' on flowering thyme plants.
With the coolish conditions I managed to get a couple of open wing shots although they were still very flighty and not posing for long.
By around 5.30pm the clouds had become even thicker and everything looked to be settling down for the night so I made a move back to our digs.
With a much better weather forecast for the following day (Thursday 27th) I arrived back on site at 08.30am to find it already quite warm although there was again a fair breeze blowing across the slopes.
As with the previous afternoon, I immediately began to see Marbled Whites, Meadow Browns and Common Blues. These were soon followed by a nice Dark Green Fritillary which flitted from flower to flower for a while before taking off across the upper slopes at high speed.
Large Blues were flying but were already fully warmed up and when they did settle it was with wings closed and often low down in the vegetation to get out of the breeze. With full sun in a clear blue sky, it was rapidly heating up and I figured I had missed my chance for any further open wing shots.
I headed towards the far end of the site, which I had noticed the previous afternoon was more sheltered from the breeze and half way across spotted a small silvery butterfly that proved to be a Small Blue.
As I made my way along one of the paths I bumped into Dave Williams from West Midlands BC who I seem to meet at random sites most years now. Dave said he had been on site since 06.30am and commented on the fact that although he had seen numerous Large Blues they had been settling with closed wings from the start. As we were discussing this, a male Large Blue came past us and promptly landed with wings open, albeit only for a few seconds before he was off again.
He had not gone far when he went down again but this time it was to try and intrude on a mating pair he had spotted. The pair rebuffed him with some wing fluttering and he carried on his way whilst they settled down again.
By about 11.00am we had seen plenty of Large Blues flying and having said to Jane I would meet her back at our digs I began to make a move.
Before I left however, Dave and I came across a chap we had been talking to earlier who was photographing another mating pair. After taking a few shots I left to meet Jane with the intention of coming back for another look later in the afternoon.
As it happened, a little later after having a nice cold drink, I drove back around to show Jane the site. With her limited mobility, she could not cope with the steep lane up to the entrance so I thought I would be cheeky and park by the reserve gate for a brief stop so that she could see the wild flowers on the slopes and as we would juts be standing by the gate I could always move if someone needed access to the gate. Whilst we were there a couple of Marbled Whites flew close by which pleased Jane as she particularly likes the contrast of their back and white markings. Even better, a Large Blue also flew past close enough for Jane to get a good view. Another car did arrive whilst we were there and squeeze in next to us and it transpired that the occupants were a couple of monitors who keep an eye on the site during the Large Blue flight period. We ended up having a nice chat with them and they explained that, ever since the incident a few years back with the infamous collector that Neil Hulme reported, that they are regularly on site to keep an eye on things.
We then left and had a little drive around to explore the area before going back to sit outside our pub with another nice cold drink.
Later in the afternoon, around 4.00pm, I headed back to the reserve hoping to maybe find some basking Large Blues as the sun got lower. I saw a few more but it was still very warm and they were still as active as earlier and only settling with closed wings. I was watching one fairly worn looking male flying about when he found himself a female and with very little 'courtship' mated with her. This was the third mating pair I had seen during the day.
I am not sure how long the Large Blues had been flying here but I believe that Daneway is a later site than Collard Hill which was one of my reasons for choosing to come here. Many of the males were looking quite worn and faded although there were some nice condition females still about although sod's law meant that I only got underside shots of the best looking ones.
The next morning, after breakfast, we checked out and headed home. I did wonder about paying a last visit to the reserve but it was another warm morning and forecast to get hotter so the butterflies were probably already zooming about again. Also, I wanted to get back before the Friday afternoon traffic built up around Solihull.
Although I didn't get many decent Large Blue photos, especially topsides, I was very impressed with Daneway Banks and thought it was a lovely reserve, although I have to say it was one of the busiest sites that I have ever visited. As I was leaving to meet Jane on the Thursday morning there was a steady stream of people walking up the lane from The Daneway pub. Given that it was a week day I can only wonder what it gets like at the weekend.
Bye for now,
Neil.