ernie f

[David M]

Fabulous account, ernie. It really is a wonderful place with some hugely desirable butterfly species as well as a plethora of orchids.

Cowslips are indeed profuse. I think your estimate of one million might actually be conservative!!

[Mark Tutton]

Hi Ernie
Try Selsley Common for DoB - reportedly very good numbers there at the moment.
Kind Regards
Mark

[ernie f]

Wurzel - Its such a big place. I haven't even covered a fraction of the commons around my place. There must be a Duke somewhere in it all.

David - I agree regarding the conservative estimate of Cowslips here. We even have wild ones growing in our front garden that I have to mow around!

Mark - Thanks for the heads-up about Selsley Common. If I can get out this week I shall give it a try.

[David M]

I always find this part of Rodborough very productive for Dukes:

https://goo.gl/maps/oqbzF1i5SnKrNMC58

[ernie f]

It’s two months now since we moved into our new home and much of the important works have been completed. Still got loads to do, like changing the back door and repairing the back fence but as time wears on in the year I am able to spend more time exploring the area for butterflies.

Thanks to Mark for suggesting Selsley Common for Dukes. It’s only two miles away, basically just the other side of the valley so was easy to get to. I scoured the sunny slopes and dips to the south and west and found….

ONE!!!

But it was a very fine, fairly fresh one and seemed to want to pose for me. I don’t know why but I was actually relieved to see this one, single, individual DoB. I know at my old haunt at Noar Hill I could have counted upwards of 50 or more of them by now but I think that since I knew they were in my new area too, to have seen none this year would have been quite a disappointment. I must have walked a couple of miles in my search and of course I found it on my return, flitting about in a pit next to where I had parked my car!

In the other pits at Selsley Common I found Adonis Blue, Small Blue, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Small Heath, Mother Shipton and so many Dingies I lost count. In fact his species seems the most prevalent of all in this district at the moment. Not exactly ‘teeming’ with them but not far off it either.

Thank you also to David for pinpointing a Rodborough Common location for Dukes. I went to that place you showed me but unfortunately no Dukes. Plenty of Dingy Skippers, Brown Argus, Small Heath and two Mother Shiptons though.

Got a picture of a Dingy from underneath with the glorious late springtime sun backlighting it. What word might describe the look of a Dingy underneath in such circumstances? Well…

… ‘Dingy’ I suppose.

I have to say I am thinking of starting a petition to re-name this butterfly. I don’t really think it is fair to call it ‘Dingy’. Maybe ‘Mottled Skipper’ would be better, or maybe ‘Dusky Skipper’? A bit of research online indicates that there is already a Dusky Skipper that flies in other parts of the world so probably not that. Anyone have any other ideas?

Other stuff

One morning I looked out of my back window to see three foxes running around going potty in the woods behind my house. What was that all about I wondered. Then I saw it. A chicken or some such creature was also running about, I guess trying desperately to evade the foxes. But it looked a bit small and I was not aware any of our neighbours kept chickens. In fact it had the look of a Red-legged Partridge but I had never before seen one in a woodland. I suppose I shall never find out what it actually was but I hope it escaped the clutches of our feisty foxes.

We had the sensors to our outdoor security lights fixed and now almost every evening they go on by themselves when a fox walks under them!

I had cause to go outside to the garage in the evening after dark recently and saw a big moth flying around one of the security lamps. It flew off quickly afterwards so I don’t know what it was. I keep telling myself one day I shall buy a moth trap but never have. Perhaps, finally now is the time.

One of the things highlighted in our house survey before we bought it was the clematis growing up the back wall of the house. It’s lovely at this time of year of course, bursting with flowers but it is too close to the wall AND a drain so it has to go. We had planned for someone to come and remove it when, almost at the last minute, a pair of Blackbirds started to build a nest in it so of course we abandoned our plan. We have now had the joy of seeing them fly to and fro feeding their young. When our Blackbird family has finally gone then so will the Clematis. It’s a bit sad but it has to be done as it’s even pushing the downpipe away from the wall.

Recently I mentioned they let the cows out to roam freely on the Commons and because the roads across it have no walls or hedges, the cows can loiter where they please, including on the roads themselves if they want – and quite often they DO want. There is a 40 MPH blanket speed limit as a result. The local constabulary have helpfully erected a huge sign by the side of the road to remind drivers of what a cow looks like.

[Wurzel]

"of course I found it on my return, flitting about in a pit next to where I had parked my car" it's almost as if they're plotting against us Ernie Now you've got one watch the others come out of the woodwork
Love the shots and also love the sign - not quite up to Milton Keynes standards but getting there

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

...I have to say I am thinking of starting a petition to re-name this butterfly. I don’t really think it is fair to call it ‘Dingy’. Maybe ‘Mottled Skipper’ would be better, or maybe ‘Dusky Skipper’? A bit of research online indicates that there is already a Dusky Skipper that flies in other parts of the world so probably not that. Anyone have any other ideas?

'Silver Washed Skipper' would be apt (especially for when they're freshly emerged). I agree that 'Dingy' is a misnomer as they are anything but early in their flight season.

Glad you found your Duke.

[millerd]

That is a great sign. I wonder how many folk have been so startled by the sign that they've nearly driven into the real thing!

The more you describe it, the more I am of the location your now live in. The temptation to go out every single day must make getting all those new house chores very hard to concentrate on.

Looking forward to more...

Cheers,

Dave

[ernie f]

Dave - You are right. I am a bit bamboozled by it all really. There are so many places to go it will take me years to get to them all I know.
David - I am glad too as I don't think I will see another Duke this year unless I am exceptionally lucky.
Wurzel - I have seen the ones at Milton Keynes - great fun.

[ernie f]

Last week I found 8 Marsh Frits at Strawberry Bank. This week they have crept up to 13. Unlucky for some but not for me because this was the first time I witnessed some courting behaviour between a male and female and battles between males. For one exciting moment I thought I was going to witness mating but it turned out to be just unrequited love!

Also the flower season is in change-over from Spring to Summer. The Early Purple Orchids are fading fast now to be replaced by the front-running Common Orchids and also Butterfly Orchids. There were three Butterfly Orchids in bloom at Strawberry Bank today and I was reliably informed by the owner of the fields who just so happened to be walking through that they were Lesser Butterfly Orchids which was fantastic because I had been used to Greater Butterfly Orchids in Hampshire so this was new for me.

[Chris L]

I read back over the last 2 pages and you really have chosen a fantastic place to live Ernie - with so many places to visit on your doorstep and locally. I liked the cow sign

[Wurzel]

Cracking stuff Ernie, those Marshies look great There is a way of IDing the two Butterfly orchids - something to do with a 'V' or a 'U' so to get a confirmation must have been great

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Last week I found 8 Marsh Frits at Strawberry Bank. This week they have crept up to 13....

Settling in to your new home seems to be going nicely, ernie.

[ernie f]

Otep. It is a fantastic place and the cows just add another dimension.
Wurzel. Yes - I know what you mean but I always have difficulty with Butterfly Orchids so it was great to get expert confirmation.
David. The wildlife is wonderful. I know there are Dipper and Kingfisher nests along the river at the bottom of our hill and Otters thrive there too. I will have to tear myself away from butterflies at some point to go see.

[ernie f]

Another Nature Reserve just a few miles away from my new house. This one is called Swifts Hill.

I chose to walk along the lower path on the south slope and was rewarded with one Holly Blue, one BArg, some Small Heath, some Common Blue, a Small White, a clutch of Dingies and my first Large Skipper of the year. The Common Spotted Orchids were coming up and even a Fragrant Orchid or two was in bloom but the main feature of the walk was the 93 Small Blues seen along just that one, single path.

Now my previous best count for this species was only last year at Noar Hill. I had to scour the entire reserve there to achieve 72 but at Swifts Hill I smashed my record for day and location along just one path!

There were so many of them that the males were fighting over females. One in-cop pair was being persistently buzzed by another hopeful male. I am used to seeing Chalkhills do this and even Silver-studded Blues in a good year but this was the first time I had witnessed Small Blues do it. As I walked along I realised that while the whole path gave up Small Blues, there were spots of increased activity where there were groups and this is where all the argy-bargy originated. I decided to call this path ‘Small Blue Alley’ as they dominated it.

At one point, one obliging pair allowed me to pick them up for photos.

I reached the end of ‘Small Blue Alley’, turned round and pretty much for the first time looked up from the ground to see I had been missing some quite spectacular scenery. I spent some time happy-snapping the views.

Small Blue Alley

Slad Valley from Swifts Hill

Swifts Hill from the other side of the valley

[Wurzel]

Brilliant to see and hear of so many Small Blues Ernie You're in a great spot for Large Blues - any chance of a heads up when they emerge at Daneways

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

It's great exploring a new area for the first time isn't it, ernie?

Those Small Blues clearly love that pathway.

[ernie f]

Wurzel - When the Large Blues start to appear - you'll be the first to know!
David - Is it this area or am I just being lucky at the moment?

[ernie f]

Siccaridge Wood Nature Reserve is a 15 minute drive away from me. It harbours a butterfly that in the past, to see would have taken me a two hour round trip from my old house in Alton to their haunt in Bentely Wood on the border of Wiltshire - but it's now a local butterfly for me. Hooray!

The Pearl-bordered Fritillary.

I saw six of them today and suspect there are others lurking in the sunny glades of the woods. I believe the woodland is being managed well because a lot of coppicing is going on near the sites where I saw the PBF's, expanding the habitat they like.

[Katrina]

Just catching up on your diary.
Love the cow sign.
for so many great butterflies so close.