Saturday 30th July
I got a new camera in the week (Panasonic Lumix FZ45) and took it out to play today, along with the Canon, just in case. I’m quite happy with the results so far; a few questions around image size and reducing this for the interweb but otherwise all good. I need to get used to shooting distance mainly I think as I have quite a few
extreme close up shots...however, it seems I can get
very close to a subject, should I want to!
The landscape shots are with the Canon, the butterflies with the FZ45.
I’m not ruling out a dedicated macro lens one day, I just wanted an update and decided based on the costs involved at this stage!
I went back to Bernwood today, arriving at lunchtime. The meadow looked completely different to a week ago – the entire meadow had been mowed and looked ominously devoid of butterflies.
However, having read the notice board it does say they mow in July or August and there were plenty of butterflies around the edges, just not the clouds of browns and whites there were last week.
Gatekeepers were again numerous in the hedgerow.
I walked along the thin meadow with fresh Common Blues and Small Skippers buzzing around.
I found 2 Brown Hairstreaks in the first Ash on the left and watched them for a while but they were not coming down to play.
I walked up to the end and found the wasp nest mentioned in Neil’s (nfreem) diary in exactly the same fashion – (‘where are all these wasps coming from? Ah, I see….’)
I did find more Common (?) Darters and managed to get face to face with this beauty.
The Purple Hairstreaks were still on the same Hawthorn and after watching them for a short while I had a most unexpected surprise
I walked all the way round to the Black Hairstreak gate but didn’t spot any more Brown Hairstreaks. Love was certainly in the air today though with 2 mating pairs of Meadow Browns, 1 pair of Gatekeepers and 2 pairs of Common Blues.
And I thought the colours on this female Common Blue were stunning!
Sightings for Bernwood Meadows:
2 Brown Hairstreak
8 Purple Hairstreak
20+Common Blue
1 Small Copper
1 Brown Argus
3 Silver Washed Fritillary
1 Comma
50+ Meadow Brown
50+ Gatekeeper
1 Marbled White
4 Speckled Wood
5 Large Skipper
8 Small Skipper
3 Large White
15+ Small White
15+ Green Veined White
I called into Aston Rowant on the way home to see some Silver Spotted Skippers. They were there in good numbers along with Chalk Hill Blues and Brown Argus.
The Silver Spotted Skippers were really looking for a fight, buzzing anything that dared to fly nearby; blues; browns and even a dandelion seed head that had the audacity to stray too close!
I found an oviposturing female too. I think posturing as opposed to positing as I didn’t find any eggs.
I also found one of those Brown Argus trees!
It was lovely see fresh Chalk Hills too.
Fresh Small Coppers were lovely to see.
Sightings for Aston Rowant:
25+ Silver Spotted Skipper
6 Small Skipper
50+ Chalk Hill Blue
3 Common Blue
20+ Brown Argus
5 Small Copper
2 Peacock
1 Small Tortoiseshell
3 Ringlet
30+ Meadow Brown
1 Marbled White
2 Speckled Wood
3 Small Heath
5 Large White
5 Small White
4 Green Veined White
1 Millerd
I bumped into Dave Miller (good to see you again, Dave!) by chance on my way back to the car and we sat on the slope having a chat with Silver Spotted Skippers and Chalkhill Blues at our feet and Red Kites overhead - a lovely end to the day.
To butterfly meadows, chalk downlands and leafy glades; to summers eternal.