May 2009 Sightings

[NickB]

Went to tiny Woodwalton Marsh yesterday; met some other nuts like myself (hi, guys!) who kindly showed me a mating pair of Grizzlies. I enclose a different angle on a most-photographed copulation....

And also the guys were "eagle-eyed" to spot (my first in Cambs) Red Kite circling with a Buzzard...

N

[bugmadmark]

Nick - great shot - Id have been happy just seeing one - let alone 2 and getting them in focus like this. I think I need a chat to find out just how you do it! as for the Buzzard and Kite - never seen them myself but heard the Kites were over Northampton way - never knew they were out here - It must be all the high tech gear you had on you that caught their beady eyes! M.

[Piers]

...to my knowledge i wasn't aware of any relevent great upheavel or management of the hurst castle meadow area and in my own observations the ribwort plantain has never been overly prevelent on the site like it is on the cliff areas,i also hadn't observed a lull and recovery of plantain at hordle cliff its allways been in good stead there. perhaps felix could enlarge on his knowledge of the history of said occurances on the site

gary.

Hi Gary,

In answer to your question; I am unsure to the cause, but at some point in the last decade an event occurred at this site (possibly prolonged incursion of seawater as Jack said) which caused a lot of vegetation to die away leaving areas of sparsely vegetated soil and gravel. Ribwort plantain is one the many species of vegetation which could loosely be termed 'primary colonisers' of such areas, the bare soil being ideal for the speedy development of seeds often lying dormant in the seed bank. Plantain will thrive in an area where (for what ever reason) there is little competition from other vegetation, and along with thistles and many opportunist annual plants, they are among the many types of plant which will quickly appear following disturbance to any area of suitable habitat. As vegetative succession proceeds however, the establishment and development of more vigorous, competitive and taller foliated plants and grasses can lead to a loss of plantain and other such 'primary colonisers'.

The constantly changing landscape of the Barton-on-Sea undercliff ensures that there are constantly bare areas of soil (or sparsely vegetated areas at least) where plantain can quickly become established. The environment itself is also hostile to other vegetative plants which could quickly gain a toe hold on similar habitat further in land. This is why the Glanville Fritillary survives so well on the undercliffs on the Isle of Wight, and why colonies enter a decline when cliff stabilisation work is carried out. Such work enables the vegetation to progress through a natural period of vegetative succession without the hindrance of further land slips; and eventually plantain declines beyond a point that can successfully support a colony of the butterfly.

Either way, the quantity of ribwort plantain at Hurst Castle is now at a low ebb and declining.

A survey last autumn revealed that larval webs were confined to just a tiny area in the 'meadow', and there is no reason to assume that plantain shall persist in this small area indefinitely.

Without food plant in sufficient quantity the butterfly will disappear. This is perfectly natural as the butterfly is an opportunist making full use of these transient habitats as they become available, with colonies dying out as vegetative succession makes the habitat less suitable for the food plant; only for new colonies to appear where disturbance creates a suitable habitat for plantain to temporarily flourish.

Felix.

[sahikmet]

Hi, Sunday at Mill Hill Sussex very few butterflies but found Wall (3) too fast to photo. Also one specimen of Dingy skipper? I believe, could someone confirm please.

Sezar

[Jack Harrison]

Dingy it is.

Jack

[sahikmet]

Thanks Jack

Sezar

[Dave McCormick]

Saw a bunch of GV Whites and a few Large Whites today when I was out cycling on my bycicle. Got this shot as this female GV white was quite easy to photograph, but the males were not:

[bugmadmark]

A questy - is the Dibgy skipper Dingy as in boat or Dingy as in drab. I'm guessing the latter - but how unfair - the ones I saw at Devils Dyke were really quite attractive - in part because of their behaviour. I saw light and dark versions so assume these are male and females? Will upload some images tonight. M

[Padfield]

You're right on both counts. It's dingy as in 'drab', and it's unfair!! Nothing drab about this little chap!



Guy

[sahikmet]

Today at Maple Cross 6 Green-veined whites. At Denham Quarry Orange tip Male 1, Orange tip female 2.

Cheers

Sezar

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Mark and Guy,
I agree, when they're fresh they are really quite attractive. But let's be honest, after a week on the wing they do become a little.....well, dingy. Here's a freshly emerged one we found on my BC field outing to Heyshott Down on Sunday. Despite 100% cloud cover we still found 8 Dukes and about the same number of these little chaps. Yesterday, despite very strong winds, I saw 5 Painted Ladies on the South Downs Way. I saw a Clouded Yellow in Kent last week too - they're on their way!
Neil

[Jack Harrison]

bugmadmark:

A questy - is the Dibgy skipper Dingy as in boat or Dingy as in drab

Dibgy (Digby) was Dan Dare’s sidekick in the 1950’s comic strip – but most of you are too young to know that! Dan Dare was my hero, one of the many influences that resulted in me becoming a professional pilot

Anyway the word Dingy means drab but Dinghy (with the extra “aitch” – or as they say nowadays “haitch” - ugh) is a type of small boat.

Jack

[Gruditch]

Looking trough my signed copy of Discover Butterflies in Britain. In the past, the Dingy Skipper has been known as, Handley's Brown Butterfly, Brown Hog, Small Brown, and Dingey Skipper.

I like the Brown Hog.

Gruditch

[Jack Harrison]

Gruditch:

I like the Brown Hog.

Wern't all skippers called Hogs? Good name I think, eg Little Hog, Essex Hog, Dorset Hog, Large Hog, Donwland Hog, Pied Hog, Scottish Hog. Sounds much better.

Jack

[geniculata]

hi felix,

thanks for your very full reply to my question, even though it does seem you mistakenly thought that i had asked you to explain to me both the life historys and relationships of ribwort and glanvilles to the local enviroment and ecology (i wasn't)
My actual question was only that you originally implied you new of some sort of disturbance to the hurst meadow site in your first statement, could you enlighten me to this?
but it now does seem you were merely speculating.


gary.

[bugmadmark]

OK all - here are my first proper attempts using the 150mm at Devils Dyke on Sunday. I know they arent anywhere near the quality on here but Id appreciate some honest frank constructive criticism - on the quality, cropping, exposure or whatever takes your fancy - either way Ive loved the challenge and most importantly I got to add 2 species to my list Id never seen before!..

Brown Argus

Burnet Companion moth Euclidia glyphica

Dingy Skipper

Green Hairstreak

Not sure if this is an OT larva - it was on Garlic Mustard - but the arching style walk made me question this - perhaps a moth instead?

Mating pair Mother Skipton moths

Small Heath

[FISHiEE]

Hi Mark,

Not bad for a first attempt

A few comments I can make:

1 - try to get a little more parallel to the butterfly more to get more of them in focus. Monopod makes this much easier (I think you said in an earlier post you shoot from a tripod?) and easier to adjust quickly as they move!
2 - apertures are rather mixed ranging from F4 through to F14 in some images I looked at. F4 is way too shallow as can be seen in 4545 - thin line in focus right down the middle of the skipper's back. I see you were shooting in shutter priority which explains the vastly varying apertures. Best switch to Aperture priority and try around F8 for starters adjusting ISO to increase shutter speed where necessary. Not sure if your camera has Auto ISO and if this would be effective. I've grown up with cameras without that feature so got used to manually doing it
3 - cropping isn't bad in most cases however I'd say 4545 is cropped too tight and 4548 would look a lot better with space off to the right for the butterfly to look into rather than off to the left. That would be my favourite shot of the bunch
4 - I would also suggest trying a little higher shutter speed as the shots in some cases aren't 100% sharp so I now wonder if these are handheld in some cases? Try shooting around 1/400 and as you get better get a bit braver and shoot slower where necessary.
5 - where the depth of field is narrow I can see the focus isn't on the head of the butterfly. 4545 for example would look much better of the point of focus was on the head not the middle of the back.
6 - shots of backsides of butterflies are better than nothing I guess but only just... try for the head end in those cases
7 - exposure looks bang on in every shot

Hope these are helpful points and look forward to the results of your second attempts

John

[FISHiEE]

Forgot to add the caterpillar is some kind of moth not an orange tip.

Alas I can't be more specific with my limited moth caterpillar knowledge!

[bugmadmark]

Hi FISHiEE
Thanks for prompt replies! And yes all very useful. Id be interested to know how you can see my Exif data? I do have Opanda Exif viewer embedded in my browsers but if I click on the photos it says that no info is available?

In terms of Aperture / shutter priority - the day was quite windy and cloudy so it was sunny then overcast meaining light changed so quickly. I initially opted for Tv as i knew i needed to keep over 1/400. My camera was already at ISO400so upped it to 800 to give 1 more stop - even though i am aware there is noise in the 400D over ISO400. The combination of wind, cloud and desperation to get first images onto film (the Dingy Skipper), plus standing on steep slope -perhaps 70 degree angle with a tripod too short t0 get good view onto the top of the Skipper contributed to the blur. I also was virtually on top. Im told don't get too close - crop in later.

By the time I got to doing the Brown Argus and Mother Skipton moths Id switched to Av. I tried F8 where poss but often shutter speed fell too low even on tripod. Windy day didnt help! I did try monopod - but most of these butterflies where close to ground in the grass and so I couldnt get the monopod low enough - hence tripod with macro arm was used. Unfortunately my tripod is old and not really suited to the weight of the 150 so im going to have to find something more suitable.

I'll try sticking to aperture priority next time and see where this gets me. I am also using electronic cable release incase shutter button causing blur. What I need is a sunny, wind free day! Thanks once again!

[bugmadmark]

Oh and here is 4548 reframed!