Cheers Dave - they say cats have 9 lives; I didn't think they meant that type of cat!!!
14th September was the day that the Small White (the one I mentioned earlier that I found on the back of the clematis) chose to emerge. It wasn’t the best of days weather-wise. There were weather warnings issued and the morning was punctuated with thunder and heavy showers. As a result the newly emerged butterfly stayed in the cage overnight with a better forecast for the following day predicted – another home grown specimen.
Great shots of the Small White emerging Pauline, it always amazes me how when emerging they look so crinkled up and then emerge into such lovely Butterflies.
I'd a gift once off my Grandson of Painted Lady caterpillars and I was fascinated watching them and when they had to fly I brought them to Kent because it was warmer for them, I must admit I was reluctant to let them go Goldie
Cheers M - it is something I shall never tire of seeing.
Thank you David. I had forgotten just how much activity there was in the garden last Autumn. 15th September was another pretty hectic day with several large deliveries, including a new bathroom wash basin to replace the one I cracked by dropping a perfume bottle in it . I thought my brief lunchtime break in the warm sunshine in the garden was well deserved but just as I crossed the patio I narrowly avoided standing on this:
It is not the first I have had these in the garden. I have a large Scots Pine so I am assuming that is where it came from.
Good to hear from you Sarah and thank you. You are absolutely right. Below is a shot of the pupa along with an Elephant Hawk moth pupa on the right, to demonstrate the difference:
Another interruption to my Autumn update just to note my first sightings of Grizzled Skippers today and a single Dingy Skipper. Just as I saw the Dingy Skipper my camera stopped working
Brilliant emergence sequence Pauline - I love the way the wings look whilst inside the chrysalis Cracking Grizzlie I hope your camera returns to a working order
Thanks Wurzel - think I've got it sorted; we'll see!
She's back!!!!! and if last time is anything to go by she'll be back again ..... and again .....and again.... and again................ this time it was my cat who scared her and she flew off with the carcass clearly having learned something from her last encounter with the Red Kite.
I actually knew this poor bird. Came to me for food every day and was almost hand tame Trouble is, there is 3 more just like this. Needless to say the birds in the aviaries are totally traumatised as it was only inches away from them.
Last edited by Pauline on Fri Apr 15, 2022 6:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Between the Sparrowhawks and next door's cats I am starting to worry about leaving the garden unattended!! However, today I was pleased to see my first Green Hairstreaks - 4-5 for sure but probably more than that. Surprisingly a couple of them looked quite worn. Naturally I took loads of shots but shall just post the one to record my first sighting alongwith Slow worm, Brimstone egg-laying, Brimstone egg and a bird which may (or may not) be a Chiff Chaff? (sounded like one). Really should have been able to get a better shot of that Brimstone but had run out of time.
Lovely looking Greenstreak Pauline I tried for them today but no luck at Vernditch hopefully have better luck tomorrow at Martin Down Your bird looks good for Chiff Chaff - the Willow Warbler song is a lovely descending lilting tune where as the Chiff Chaff if much more jarring (Chiff, Chaff, Chiff, Chiff, Chaff etc etc)
Hi! Pauline, sorry you've lost a friend, I liked feeding the Blackbirds grapes, they came to me every time I sat out , I'd have been really upset to see one go like that.
Your Green Hair Streak is lovely, I do think they're cute looking, I've not found any yet but I'll be out looking after Easter Break, the traffic's horrendous round here at present.Goldie
I have accidentally deleted a PM before even realising who sent it. Is there a way to get it back??? I am hoping whoever sent it will read this and resend - Apologies!!!!
Cheers Wurzel for the comment and ID. Good luck with the GH.
I really could David. At night it is even more so. A couple of shots from one of the many recordings taken a few years back:
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It is so stressful Goldie - this is from this morning; the 3rd victim. I expect the male Sparrowhawk will be down soon to make a start on the Blackbirds as a female is making a nest in some honeysuckle by the back door:
...... but onto happier things. 3, maybe 4 Dukes seen between about 3-00pm and 4.00pm today:
There is so much going on in your garden Pauline, it is absolutely incredible. Watching nature in the garden is so much better than watching TV. I really like the badgers with the hedgehog nearby. The Slow Worm too. And the Dukes.
Thank you Otep. I do have a lot of wildlife in the garden but I should have made it clear that the Dukes were seen at Noar Hill. Apologies for any confusion. A couple of shots of a very special garden visitor from a while back:
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Cheers Wurzel - sadly not. I wait with dread and anticipation for the next one . The following shots are my last 'composite' return to 2021 - combining a couple of visits to Old Winchester Hill at the end of September plus various odds and sods including an unidentified caterpillar. I am boring myself continually jumping into the past and back into the present and now that the season has well and truly kicked off it is high time to catch up:
There wasn't that much to report from Noar Hill today between mid-day and 2.00pm-ish. The odd Holly Blue, Orange Tip and White but tbh probably more people than butterflies. Good to see you again Dave - you probably had more success than me but I forgot to ask you if you managed to find the Dingy. My second sighting but first photograph of 2022:
Numbers of Dukes are SLOWLY increasing. Today I saw at least 6 - 3 at one time, one damaged and 2 in totally different areas so quite sure about this count. A few shots:
Wow ! I have seen it all now. You even get polar bears in your garden Pauline.
Through the narratives and photos on here, I often find myself disappearing down learning rabbit warrens. I have just fallen down one. I typed 'Albino badger' in to the search engine and was reliably informed that there are albino badgers and erythristic badgers, the latter being strawberry blonde. Is that one an erythristic example?
That'a a really good question Otep. I have always assumed albino as it looked totally white which I accept is not the case in some of the shots due to the security lighting. This badger came every night for about 5 weeks and was so 'tame' that it was almost possible to get close enough to stroke it. I often wondered if the reason for that was because it was deaf? However, badgers have a good sense of smell. It definitely didn't show the same caution as the other badgers and sadly at the end of that period I found it dead on the side of the A3 which is not far from me. That was a great shame as local vets and others wanted to come to see it and never got the chance. This is a description from the badger group along with another shot of it and perhaps you could let me know what you think?
Albino badger
The albino badger is a light coloured animal and has mostly creamy white hair, though it’s unlikely to be completely white. The eyes will probably be red or pink in colour.
Leucistic badger
The leucistic badger is a condition where there is a partial loss of pigmentation which gives the animal an appearance of patches of light colour on the hair. There is no loss of pigmentation in the eyes, so the eyes will be black. This helps distinguish the difference between an albino badger or leucistic badger.
Erythristic badger
The erythristic badger has mainly sandy or gingery colour hair on the back and sides and the hair on the underbelly can be a shade of red. The eyes will normally be light brown in colour but in some cases they may have a reddish appearance.
Melanistic badger
A badger which is extremely rare is the melanistic badger and sightings of this animal are uncommon. The pigmentation of a melanistic badger is mainly black. The eyes will be black.
It is not the first albino badger I have come across. Years before this, on my way to work I found one dead, also on the A3. Without thinking, I leapt out of the car and put it in the boot. It stayed in the fridge (at work) all day whilst various badger groups fought over it because they are so rare. A group from the Midlands came down to collect it and had it nicely stuffed and mounted (they sent me a lovely framed photo of the end result). The intention was to use it for educational purposes so at least some good came of it. Apologies to all for the diversion from the main topic.
. I thought my brief lunchtime break in the warm sunshine in the garden was well deserved but just as I crossed the patio I narrowly avoided standing on this:
I hope your camera returns to a working order 
Your bird looks good for Chiff Chaff - the Willow Warbler song is a lovely descending lilting tune where as the Chiff Chaff if much more jarring (Chiff, Chaff, Chiff, Chiff, Chaff etc etc) 
