Totternhoe/Ivinghoe

[Trev Sawyer]

Hi Guys,
Last season, I took the family to both these sites (at the correct time), to try to spot some Duke of Burgundy. Not a sniff, but we may well have been in the wrong area . I know the sites are 'good' for them, but any clues as to the best part(s) of the sites to look. Grid reference or even general area info would be much appreciated. We will return this year, hopefully with a bit more of a chance of photographing one.
Thanks,
Trev

[Roger Gibbons]

Try Bison Hill at Whipsnade Downs. It has been specifically managed for Dukes with the scrub cut back and cowslips everywhere. Park in the car park (you can’t miss it) over the road to Whipsnade zoo but about 200m north (i.e. not the zoo car park) and take the main track north toward Dunstable Downs (where the gliders are) and follow this track for a few hundred metres, crossing another track but keep straight on for the best Duke sites. In mid-May you should see quite a few in a number of small discrete colonies along this track. I have seen them there very year and counted over 20 in 2004 the last time I went there.

There are also good colonies around Ivinghoe beacon but I don’t know the exact location.

Here’s the link on the UK Butterflies site
http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/sites_ng ... #Whipsnade

Info on Beds BC site
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/keith.balm ... ml/DOB.htm

Bison Hill is also good for Grizzled Skipper and Green Hairstreak at about the same time.

[Trev Sawyer]

Excellent Roger,
Thank you very much. It's nice to know roughly where to concentrate... If I'd been left to my own devices, I'd probably never have stumbled upon them. can't wait until may now!

[alex mclennan]

Trev
When you visit Totternhoe, make sure you visit the 'quarry' part and you should have little difficulty finding Dukes, grizzled and dingy skippers.
Alex

[Trev Sawyer]

Cheers Alex,
That's a couple of areas to investigate for Dukes. Good to know I can see Grizzled Skippers in both areas too... my only local site for them is currently being cleared and turned into a guided bus route So, "Over Railway Cutting" may unfortunately have to be removed from the website soon
Trev

[markhows]

Cheers Alex,
That's a couple of areas to investigate for Dukes. Good to know I can see Grizzled Skippers in both areas too... my only local site for them is currently being cleared and turned into a guided bus route So, "Over Railway Cutting" may unfortunately have to be removed from the website soon
Trev

Trev, this was posted on UK leps

2. Ivinghoe Beacon was quiet initially, although several Green Hairstreaks around. I went to the place I saw the Duke of Burgundy butterflies last year. Nothing. Went to the next valley to the south to find my first Grizzled Skipper of the year having a scrap with a nearby Dingy Skipper. Then returned to the Duke of Burgundy spot for a second pass. Good decision! Spotted another butterflier looking closely at something. Went to join him and ended up surrounded by 6 Dukes, of which 2 were mating. Plenty of Dingy's dotted around too. Went up to the Beacon summit to have lunch. It was blowing a hoolie up there. Went back to the car via the Duke site again. Didn't see the Dukes again but found a mating pair of Dingy Skippers. (They happily crawled up onto my finger to pose for pictures and hitch a ride for 10-15 minutes before flying off.)

3. Bison Hill also had Green Hairstreaks and Brimstones aplenty. Saw female Brimstones nesting, and 2 pairs of Brimstones in courtship flight. Briefly saw one female land wings open but failed to get a pic. Saw a single Duke there too. Up on the hill I saw 2 small dark butterflies nip past in the wind. Too dark for Small Coppers so my guess is Brown Argus. Wish I'd got a good look. Another butterflier there reported seeing lots of Brown Argus at Barton Hills.

4. A quick and fruitless trip to nearby Totternhoe before I ran out of water and headed home.

Species definitely seen today: Dingy Skipper, Grizzled Skipper, Green Hairstreak, Holly Blue, Peacock, Brimstone, Green-veined- white, Orange Tip, Duke of Burgundy, Speckled Wood.

I thought I saw Small Tortoiseshell and a possible Red Admiral but not sure. Brown Argus was unsure too. And the usual unid'd whites.

Streetmap link pointing out Ivinghoe Duke of Burgundy colony: http://tinyurl. com/2qgmzo - Down the side of Ivinghoe Beacon there is a path that runs down from the main path at 45 degrees and as it reaches the road becomes a chalk track parallel to the road. The Dukes are not far from the bottom where there are Hawthorns on both sides.

Approx location of Bison Hill Dukes (Streetmap): http://tinyurl. com/289yqu - Map not so clear here. Again down a diagonal offshoot from the main path. Near the bottom not too far from the overhead wires.

I will be trying those areas for my Dukes this weekend

mark

[Trev Sawyer]

And again Mark - Thanks. This year maybe I'll be lucky.

[alex mclennan]

Hi Trev
I've just got back from a morning spent at Totternhoe - in the quarry area. I had several dukes, several dingy skippers, a few green hairstreaks, loads of whites and brimstones, a couple of peacock and a silver Y moth. If anyone visits Totternhoe for Dukes, can you pay particular attention to the underwing to see if they are colour marked. English Nature are surveying the Duke population. The marked butterflies will have series of colour dots on them - can the sequence of colours be noted, please.
Spent last Saturday morning at Twywell, Northants where there were plenty of dingy and grizzled skippers and green hairstreaks and a small heath.
Alex.

[Trev Sawyer]

Thanks Alex. I just hope I get the chance to visit over the next week or so. Too much going on at the moment and by the time I get there they will probably look similar to the Black Hairstreak I saw last season.... Like it had just been through a mangle!

[markhows]

Hi Trev
I've just got back from a morning spent at Totternhoe - in the quarry area. I had several dukes, several dingy skippers, a few green hairstreaks, loads of whites and brimstones, a couple of peacock and a silver Y moth. If anyone visits Totternhoe for Dukes, can you pay particular attention to the underwing to see if they are colour marked. English Nature are surveying the Duke population. The marked butterflies will have series of colour dots on them - can the sequence of colours be noted, please.
Spent last Saturday morning at Twywell, Northants where there were plenty of dingy and grizzled skippers and green hairstreaks and a small heath.
Alex.

Alex

can you provide a little more detail as to where the Dukes are at Totterhoe and where to park etc.

Thanks

mark

[alex mclennan]

Hi Mark
Check your personal messages - I've sent you some directions which I hope will be useful. Cheers. Alex

[Trev Sawyer]

Thanks largely to this thread, I got my first ever photograph of some "Dobbies" today (apologies to Harry Potter fans, but I think I've just invented a new butterfly term )...
We searched around Bison Hill as instructed and after a couple of hours of walking (mostly down the wrong paths ), we finally found 4 individual Duke of Burgundy butterflies. I will stick one in the photo competition - when I can work out which is the best shot from about 200 we took

[markhows]

Managed to find some at Totternhoe quarry, and met up with some people colour marking them. Plenty of Small Blue around as well.

Thanks for all the info

Mark