OUSE ESTUARY NATURE RESERVE NEWHAVEN

[Mark Senior]

This is a recently established (2005 ) nature reserve stretching along the Seaford road from Newhaven Denton Corner . If you look at the site on Google Maps all you will see is a desert of white brick/landfill and other bare ground which is how the reserve looked 2 years ago . Nature is doing it's work and there are now meadows some grazed with cattle , areas of long grass . flower rich borders along the eastern edge path , and in the central area rough ground with artificially built hillocks full of thistles .
There can have been few if any butterflies here 2 years ago but they are slowly colonising the reserve . I have been visiting the site regularly since May in my lunch time break as it is less than 5 minutes from my work .
Species seen :-
Speckled Wood in the wooded western fringe .
Small and Large White
Holly Blue just 1 on western edge .
Wall Brown - a surprisingly good number seen across the site in May
Small Copper - a few
Small Heath - widely scattered but in very small numbers
Large Skipper - widely scattered in small numbers
Small Skipper - first seen this week
Common Blue - widely seen in small numbers - there is a very large amount of Birds Foot Trefoil and I would expect to see a big increase in numbers of this species
Small Tortoiseshell several fresh individuals clearly bred here
Comma 1 very fresh individual ealy this week clearly bred here
Peacocks I would expect them to have bred
Painted Lady many many examples some still ariund and I am sure they will have bred on the large thistle beds
Red Admiral a couple of sightings in May and 1 very fresh specimen this week probably bred on site .
Meadow Brown widely spread but numbers pretty low - hopefully will expand
Marbled White - a pleasant surprise to see these albeit in very low numbers alongside the eastern path
Gatekeeper - None yet but I am sure these will be out in the next week or so .
I was too late to ascertain the presence of grizzled and dingy skippers this year though I doubt they are present . I have seen a small amount of kidney vetch but no small blues have colonised it yet .
I have also seen many many 5/6 spot burnets and a few cinnabar moths and a good variety of dragonflies .
17 species seen so far with at least Gatekeeper to come . It shows that provided their are nearby colonies a new site can be colonised in a relatively short timespan .

[Matsukaze]

There are a couple of good butterfly sites that have been created on landfill.

http://www.carymoor.org.uk/research/But ... vation.htm has now been colonised by Small Blue, which thrives on the abundant kidney vetch seeded on the south-facing bank.

I haven't visited this site http://www.conservationevidence.com/Att ... PDF713.pdf, but Grizzled and Dingy Skipper are meant to be doing well here.

[Mark Senior]

I can now add Gatekkeeper , Green Veined White , Brown Argus and Clouded Yellow to species seen here .
Second brood Wall Browns are now flying and a 2nd brood Holly Blue has been seen .
The central barren area seems to particularly attractive to Clouded Yellows which I am sure are locally bred . My transect counts are 6 - 10 in a lunchtime visit and a short stroll off transect this lunchtime gave a count of 18-20 so there may be 40-50 on site .. They show no inclination to migrate north .

[Mark Senior]

This site has been receiving more attention from other butterfly enthusiasts - see the Sussex Branch site of Butterfly Conservation . The Clouded Yellow colony has now been filmed and proof has been obtained both of a female emerging on site and other females egg laying .
Wall Browns are rapidly increasing in numbers and this is clearly an important site for them . I recorded a single male Adonis Blue last week but someone at the weekend found a single Grayling . It would be very exciting if this species could be established on this site .

[Mark Senior]

Single examples of Ringlet and Essex Skipper have been recorded on site by other lepidopterists . There has been a hatch of Small Tortoiseshells this week , 5 fresh specimens seen by me this lunchtime . The Clouded Yellows still going strong on the central plateau section though one example seems to have taken up residence close by the Denton Corner entrance .

[Mark Senior]

Although no longer in a position to visit this site daily , I still make occasional trips to see what is about .
To the 22 species seen by myself and 3 species recorded by others in 2009 , I have since been able to add Dingy Skipper in 2010 and Orange Tip this year .
The site does seem to be around 2 weeks later for emergence of species than other sites in Sussex .