june 2011

[admiral halsey]

Another beautiful afternood walk in the meadows and woodland of Willow park, Langdon hills. sightings include around 40-50 Large Skipper, 20+ Meadow brown, 3 splendid new Comma, 2 Speckled Wood, and a mother Shipton. I was also rewarded with my first sightings of a Ringlet and Marbled White, beautiful! I was also lucky enough to get a shot of a Meadow Brown resting with its wings open.

Rich

[Michaeljf]

Barry,
lovely Purple Hairstreak pictures there. I'm quite jealous! I bet Willrow is great company too.
Michael

[ChrisC]

Hooray! Just saw my first Ringlet and Meadow Brown in the Cemetery this year! Along with 5+ GVW and a Comma; And the council have left 1/4 of the Cemetery (after much nagging!) for the flowering plants to mature. There are several indicator/strong indicator species that show the Cemetery is indeed a remnant of undisturbed neutral/calcareous grassland for at least the last 200 years - Ox-eye daisy, Common Sorrel, Common Knapweed, Lady's Bedstraw, Hoary Plantain, Salad Burnet, Hairy Sedge, Field Scabious - for example. As well as, Great Mullein, Ribwort Plantain, Yarrow, Creeping and Spear Thistle, various Hawk's bits, Crane's Bill - Dove's Foot, Small Flowered, Round-leaved & Hedgerow, Herb Robert, Common & Prickly Lettuce, 3 Dead Nettles......(110 species of plants - excluding trees and garden escapees - and counting...)
Shame the significance of such a species rich grassland is lost on many of those undertaking the management of the space, and it seems, the general public.....
N

Excellent. keep at them Nick. only 3/4 to go but at least you are getting there. do you think signage as to why areas are left would of any use? that way at least people know it is managed as opposed to neglected.
Chris

[EricY]

Arrived @ 9am with cool breeze blowing, slowly walked the track opposite the gliding club looking in all the trees. Found 5/6 White Admirals & several common woodland species. Had a diverting moment when 8 Fallow Deer stood on the track looking at us. Carried on down round the bend & had a good look by the pile of gravel to no avail. My friend was 50/60yds in front looking up into trees, myself I have to be carefull where I walk & therefor mainly look down! I then spotted in middle of track a crumpled PE that friend must have walked right past. A car had just been up the track & may have blown the PE off from it's emergence place. Took some pics, then the car came back with another car & a white van. I indicated to go round the PE. Driver said the van could not get round & suggested I move it. Never done that before but managed to get him to climb on my finger. Eventually put him on a leaf & he was still trying to get wings pumped up as we left at 11.15am. In the meantime a fully developed individual had come down onto the mud & stayed there over 40mins. How lucky can we be! Series of timed photos below.

9.45am, as I found HIM

10.03am climbing on my finger

10.06am saved from white van man!

10.09am opens crumpled wings on my finger

10.11am place on leaf

10.34am still trying to pump up wings

10.36am fully developed No2 arrives on the mud

11.09am No2 still on the mud

11.15am we leave with No1 still not with wings pumped up, No2 has just flown up into tree

[Gibster]

Well, I should think you've earned yourself an MBE for that

Of course, had you demanded due respect from the van driver you could have earned yourself an OBE!

EDIT - Although OPE would probably be most fitting, gallant Sir EricY

[David M]

Wonderful photos.

Talk about being in the right place at the right time!

[Lawts]

George, they were numerous on Irton Fell on 4 June and there may well be some individuals still around this weekend.

I am having a degree of difficulty walking at the moment with torn knee ligaments. Is Irton Fell the easiest and quickest site in the Lakes for MR - (car to butterfly)?

Did you park to the south and walk up through Milterdale Forest?

Thanks.

George I might try myself at the weekend (Sunday) but I am a bit nervous that it may be too late at Irton Fell, given the date Dave saw them and the length of life/flight time.

Thanks.

[David M]

George, they were numerous on Irton Fell on 4 June and there may well be some individuals still around this weekend.

I am having a degree of difficulty walking at the moment with torn knee ligaments. Is Irton Fell the easiest and quickest site in the Lakes for MR - (car to butterfly)?

Did you park to the south and walk up through Milterdale Forest?

Thanks.

George I might try myself at the weekend (Sunday) but I am a bit nervous that it may be too late at Irton Fell, given the date Dave saw them and the length of life/flight time.

Thanks.

Irton Fell itself is pretty benign. The problem is getting up there from the car park. It's a steep incline up the track for about 500 metres, but if you've got time to stop every 50m or so for 5 minutes you should make it ok.

Once on the fell itself it's comfortable going.

I parked in the old quarry car park and yes, the approach was from the south of the fell (or, to be more exact, from the south west).

[NickB]

Great spot and pics of His Majesty
Saw my first CHB today on the July Course section of the Devils Dyke at Newmarket; a brief glimpse of a male before he blew away on the breeze. Earlier met a local who had seen 3 or 4 male CHB all out sunning on the path at the top of the Dyke towards the Reach end that morning, before the sun went in, just after I got there
Lots of MB & Ringlet, Large & Small Skippers, GV and Small White, a few Small Heath, a single RA and swarms of long-horn moths (Nemophora metallica) on the scabious...

N
Also saw this spider take a cricket/grasshopper...

[NickB]

Excellent. keep at them Nick. only 3/4 to go but at least you are getting there. do you think signage as to why areas are left would of any use? that way at least people know it is managed as opposed to neglected.
Chris

Cheers Chris! I will keep-up being "Mr Pain-in-the-Ass" for as long as it takes.....
...When the Noticeboard turns-up (bout 8 years into the process and I'm sure we were going to get it sometime last year...) it will be easier to explain things...
N

[Susie]

I love your photos, Eric. What an amazing experience

Not sure that first PE is going to be okay though but the second is a beauty.

[NickB]

In the cemetery briefly this evening once the sun came out - a single RA, GVW and MB.
Plan for tomorrow - SWF, WA & WLH (I hope), and Monday for HIM......hope the weather holds...
N
...defrosting another curry.....

[admiral halsey]

Wicken Fen, despite overcast and raining plenty of activity. 20+ ringlets, 15+ Meadow Brown, 6 Large Skipper, and 3 Green veined White. Unfortunately, only the Skipper would oblige me in sitting still for more than a second

Moved on to Anglesey Abbey, again plenty of Ringlets and Meadow Brown, along with a few unidentified whites. A lovely day, despite the lack of photo opportunities.

Rich

[Hugh Middleton]

Excellent. keep at them Nick. only 3/4 to go but at least you are getting there. do you think signage as to why areas are left would of any use? that way at least people know it is managed as opposed to neglected.
Chris

Cheers Chris! I will keep-up being "Mr Pain-in-the-Ass" for as long as it takes.....
...When the Noticeboard turns-up (bout 8 years into the process and I'm sure we were going to get it sometime last year...) it will be easier to explain things...
N

Nick,

I have a lot to do with Churchyards and cemetaries. No, I am not a vampire

My advice would be to put up some temporary information. A poster, protected in a plastic sleeve, saying it is a conservation area should suffice until your proper sign arrives.

Sadly folk today see anything that is not orderly as neglected and mismanaged without realising that the effect is to manage for wildlife.

The problem arises when it is a burial area and people see it as a sign of disrespect for the departed.

My experience is that a simple sign/poster stating what is happening allays most folks fears and leads some to come to appreciate the area.

Best wishes,

Hugh

[Vince Massimo]

I was out yesterday photographing Marbled Whites at one of my local sites, but the highlight for me was an impressive Volucella zonaria (also known as the Hornet Mimic Hoverfly). With a length of up to 20mm is the largest in Britain, being confined to the south and southwest and having an interesting lifecycle. I am only lucky to encounter one or two a year at most, but this was the freshest one I have ever found and I had forgotten just how beautiful they are at close quarters.

Volucella zonaria, Addington, Surrey 24-June-11

Vince

[EricY]

Many thanks for the kind comments on my PE pics, it was an amazing experience & well worth getting into trouble at home for! (it was the wifes birthday)

Suzie, I too wondered if he would make it & perhaps should have stayed longer to see the outcome but we wanted to move on.

Question for the experts - There is some noticeable green substance between the abdomen segments when I first found him, what is this, it seems less prominent on the later pics? might it have been attacked by parasite?

So after the PE excitement we moved on to Bedford Purlieus resisting the temptation to pop into Glapthorn cow pastures as we passed it (used the gated road short cut). We then had an hour before lunch down the southern ride at BP. How wrong I was a few weeks back when I said cutting back the undergrowth might have compromised this years bf's! Lots of vegitation about now. Saw at least a doz Silver washed frits & 7/8 white letter hairstreaks. Also a white crab spider consuming a moth & a male Brown Hawker DF bussing about the parking area. After lunch there did not seem so many about so we made an early start back to beat the traffic.

White Letter Hairstreak

2 males SWF's

[Hoggers]

Great day out at Bookham Common ( today 26th June ) - Three Purple Emperors put on a wonderful display of acrobatics ; Silver- Washed Fritillaries and White Admirals almost everywhere we looked; and some very accommodating Purple Hairstreaks posing for photographs.
Many thanks to Gibster who showed us around- much appreciated.

[Susie]

I think you are right, Eric, there is something definitely strange about the size and shape of that male PE's abdomen.

[NickB]

The better weather certainly spiced things up! Back to Bedford Purlieus at 8:00am today, just before the cloud evaporated away. At one point there were 15+ SWF along the ride - all hyped-up and busy in the heat. In the first-sun, a few came down to feed , with more WLH following - up to 5 or 6 down at any one time. Did find a PH sunning down on the side of the ride and another climbed-up the middle of a thistle and opened its wings, as I was watching the WLH.
Another highlight was seeing 2 Large White at the end of the afternoon, (a few GVW and Small earlier) along with a single ST and 2 Speckled Wood and loads of Large Skippers and the odd Small, plus at least 3 fresh Comma. More Ringlets than MB, but both in good numbers
A long but great day; hi to everyone I met. Nice to talk; have fun and will probably see some of you again in the next month or so...

N
Edit: A rather strange angle of a WLH; they were only still in the most difficult places

....turfed off...

[Perseus]

Hello,

24 June 2011
Parasitic plants were very much in evidence on Mill Hill, with Common Broomrape added to my local flora list, as well as Yellow Rattle, Red Bartsia and Eyebright. On an overcast day, the sun shone briefly and the breeze was still a Force 5. Predictably, butterflies were hiding but were still frequently seen with fresh Marbled Whites and Comma Butterflies with Meadow Browns now seen amongst the eleven butterfly species.

http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Butterfly-lis ... tml#24June

Mill Hill Reports 2011
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/MillHill2011.html

Cheers

Andy Horton
glaucus@hotmail.com
Adur Valley Nature Notes
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Adur2011.html
Adur Valley Nature Notes: June 2011
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/June2011.html
Sussex Downs Facebook Group
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=111843132181316