Neil Hulme

[Neil Hulme]

First Duchess

Yesterday (11th May) I met up with Charlie Elder, author of 'While Flocks Last' (2009), an account of his quest to see all of Britain's endangered (Red List) birds. Charlie had travelled up from Devon, specifically to see the Duke of Burgundy, despite a highly dodgy weather forecast. When I set off from Worthing it was still raining, but by the time I approached Heyshott Escarpment via the familiar country lanes, the sun had appeared and it seemed a little less windy than of late. We spend a very enjoyable few hours on the slopes chatting about butterflies, and specifically the problems facing the Duke. It will come as no surprise to learn that this species will make an appearance in Charlie's next book. It sounds like a very interesting project, but I shall say no more than that. His first effort got excellent reviews.

We had only seen an Orange Tip and Green-veined White on the way up to the reserve, but soon after 11.30 am the first Duke appeared. Closer examination showed this to be my first Duchess of the year, with a fat abdomen bulging with as-yet-unfertilised eggs. We soon started to find more, including a second female. One pair of males provided my first clash of the season, but they didn't ascend to any great height given the gusty conditions. It was over all too quickly as the clouds rolled in, but I think Charlie returned to Devon with a smile on his face.

[Goldie M]

Great Pictures , I'm hoping the Duke 's up at Gaits Barrow will soon come , nothing yet thoughGoldie

[Neil Hulme]

Pearls Part 3

Yesterday (12th May) I spent more than 6 hours in Rewell Wood, and only left as it started to rain. I spent the morning with a dozen South Downs National Park volunteers, showing them the end result of their winter labours. These folk make a vital contribution to the habitat management work done for our butterflies and moths in Sussex and Hampshire, so it was nice to put some of this into context. The sun shone and the Pearl-bordered Fritillaries (PBF) performed well. The efforts of the SDNPA volunteers are most appreciated, both by Butterfly Conservation and the butterflies themselves.

In the afternoon I met up with 24 faithful butterfly-watchers who had not given up hope of seeing PBF in Rewell Wood this year! After two premature visits I was getting a little worried about the weather forecast (torrential rain), having hastily added a third walk to the calendar. In the end the weather was just good enough for us to see a couple, both in flight and at roost, both open and closed.

The tally for the entire day was Pearl-bordered Fritillary (12), Grizzled Skipper (1), Orange Tip (4) including a mating pair, Green-veined White (1), Speckled Wood (1), Brimstone (1) and Peacock (1). Colin Knight also managed to tame a Green Tiger Beetle for us to observe up close.

[Nick Broomer]

Lovely photos of the P.B.F. Neil.

All the best, Nick.

[Neil Hulme]

Many thanks Nick. Certainly a very beautiful species and quite obliging when the weather is mixed.
Best Wishes, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

200 Years Of Butterflying

Today (16th May) was one of those days I won't forget, spent in great company, under clear blue skies and with butterflies aplenty. I started quite early at Rewell Wood and counted 45 Pearl-bordered Fritillary (all male) over three areas. Other species seen included Grizzled Skipper, Speckled Wood and Green-veined White. Then it was off to meet my father, Major Reg Trench and his lovely wife Sophie. Reg's youthful enthusiasm for butterflies has never diminished and he is nothing short of amazing for a man approaching 93! I'm not sure when Sophie first started looking at butterflies, but I calculated that Reg, my father and I have collectively been doing so for 200 years! We searched the northern part of the wood but only found a few commoner species, so headed south to enjoy the Pearls.

Later in the day I visited Springhead Hill, where the Duke of Burgundy has now emerged. 4 fresh males were on show, along with the odd Dingy Skipper, Red Admiral, Brimstone and Orange Tip. I then met up with BC Sussex Chair Nigel Symington at Chantry Hill, where we traversed several steep slopes in pursuit of the numerous Grizzled and Dingy Skippers.

Sophie & Major Reg Trench with my father (foreground)

Springhead Duke

Grizzled prepares to roost

[Neil Hulme]

Way Out West

Today (17th May) I planned to take a look at a Duke of Burgundy colony in the far west of West Sussex, near the village of North Marden. Just before setting off I was having a late breakfast in the dining room, when I noticed a flash of blue on the Fatsia japonica in our back garden. A female Holly Blue was sitting on one of the lower leaves with her wings wide open. How often do they do that? I rushed outside just in time to miss her as she flew onto the garage roof. She taunted me by opening her wings again, while perched on a clematis bud. In a flash I was onto the dustbin, along the wall and onto the roof, risking life and limb, just as she dropped back into the garden. By the time I was down she had returned to her original perch, and had opened her wings yet again, allowing me the best opportunity I've ever had to observe and photograph the upper side of a first brood female ... a great start to the day!

By the time I reached the Duke site the weather had become very patchy and long periods of cool, cloudy conditions made for slow going. I counted 6 Dukes; they have clearly only just started here. Other species included Grizzled and Dingy Skipper, Orange Tip, Brimstone, Peacock and an obliging Green-veined White which settled on a dandelion clock when the sun disappeared. Moth sightings included Drab Looper and the elegant Plume Adaina microdactyla. During the quieter periods I enjoyed the abundance of spring flowers and heady aroma of ramsons which carpeted areas of recently coppiced woodland. I wish we could hang on to May for at least six months.

[Neil Hulme]

Save Our Butterflies Week

The local launch of Save Our Butterflies Week (18th May) was a great success in Sussex. The event at Heyshott Escarpment, which I co-led with Mike Edwards of the Murray Downland Trust, was blessed with sunshine, which was certainly preferable to the complete cloud cover forecast up until that morning. It seems we are always lucky here! I would like to think that the 37 people who attended went away with some happy memories of the day; Heyshott certainly performed well and there were a few surprises in store for us, including hotdogs (thanks MDT).

During the walk itself we saw between 20 and 30 Duke of Burgundy without trying too hard. I later returned to scour the entire reserve and came up with a total of 42 (including 3 females) after a couple of hours. With the season still running late the supporting cast was quite limited, but included Dingy Skipper (21), Grizzled Skipper (2), Brimstone (3), Green-veined White (2) and Orange Tip (1).

However, the biggest surprise of the day left me speechless - some would say a rare condition for me. As we entered one of the lower pits a pristine Pearl-bordered Fritillary flopped down in front of me. I could barely believe my eyes, later confirming it as a male. After the walk I was in the same pit with Susie Milbank, when we saw a female PBF emerge from the scrub on damp wings. This was her first, rather wobbly flight. This species was undoubtedly emerging on site. And to think I had experienced all those problems finding PBF on the Rewell walks!

Colin Pratt, the County Recorder, informs me that they were last recorded in this area back in the 1990s, and that they used to occur along the Downs here. So where did they come from? It is 11.5 Km to Rewell Wood, so if they did originate from here I would expect to find other satellite colonies somewhere between. I think it is more likely that an as yet undiscovered population exists just over the brow in Charlton Forest - there is certainly some good habitat there.

[Jack Harrison]

PBF - what a lovely find. As I have mentioned to you before Neil, (but maybe not everyone on ukb is aware), PBF used to be quite widespread in West Sussex in the early 1970s. I have happy memories of Ambersham Common and the white PBF I found there. Your find at Heyshott boosts my hopes the it still might be lingering in very low numbers in remote localities in West Sussex.

Jack

[Neil Hulme]

Visit From Kent

While I was desperately trying to conjure up some Pearl-bordered Fritillaries for my Rewell Wood walks, I corresponded with Matthew Pugh who lives in Whitstable. Matthew relies on public transport to visit butterfly sites, which can make things difficult when it comes to being in the right place at the right time. He had not been able to make it over for my third walk, so I offered to collect him from Arundel station and show him some Pearls today (19th May). It's a long journey from the far side of Kent by train, so I was getting rather anxious about the leaden skies and steady rain. We trudged around a coppice block for quite some time before I came across a very sleepy Grizzled Skipper. Bearing in mind how rare they are in Rewell Wood, I couldn't believe I'd found one of these before a PBF! Eventually the cloud thinned sufficiently to permit a little warmth through and it wasn't long before Matthew was gazing at a 'lifer'. With excellent views of both topside and underside it was 'job done'. I was delighted that his journey had not been wasted.

Later in the afternoon I visited a private woodland in East Sussex, to help with a survey. One of the more important aspects of this work is to monitor a recent PBF re-introduction. I'm pleased to say that I spotted a couple of newly emerged females, in addition to a few males. This woodland supports a very strong population of Grizzled Skipper and they were around in good numbers, along with a few Dingy Skipper. I also saw the rare and very pretty moth Anania funebris. Despite the relatively poor weather throughout most of the day, I went home very pleased with what I'd seen.

[millerd]

Visit From Kent

Bearing in mind how rare they are in Rewell Wood, I couldn't believe I'd found one of these before a PBF!

Lovely pictures, Neil, as always. I have visited Rewell Wood both in 2011 and 2012 (not yet this year) and seen and photographed (after a fashion!) Grizzled Skippers on both occasions. I didn't know they were scarce in this location.

Dave

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks Dave.

When I add the figures up at the end of the season, I will always have seen >100 PBF for every Grizzled Skipper spotted. It's on that basis that I was surprised to find this little chap first. They do occur with some regularity, but only in ones and twos. The wood I visited later that afternoon can produce >50 Grizzled Skipper on a good day.

BWs, Neil

[Pauline]

Lovely photos as usual Neil and great find with PBF.

[Neil Freeman]

Some beautiful images Neil and great to hear about the PBFs at Heyshott

Neil F.

[David M]

Boys' own stuff, Neil, but no more than you deserve given the patient hours you put in.

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks Pauline, Neil and David. Let's hope the PBF get a foot in the door here.
BWs, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

Lovely Green Carpet

This afternoon (21st May) conditions in my part of Sussex were rather cool and gloomy, but that didn't stop me from heading to Springhead Hill in hope. This is a late site in a normal year, so it has barely started to produce this season. In terms of its condition, it's never looked better. The sunny spells forecast never materialised and nor did the butterflies, but I did disturb a few moths while chasing my daughter around the meadow. These included Burnet Companion, the longhorn Nematopogon swammerdamella and 3 beautiful, fresh Green Carpet.

[Neil Hulme]

Botany Bay And Lord's Piece

Yesterday morning (22nd May) the weather wasn't good enough for monitoring Duke of Burgundy, so I headed to Botany Bay where I knew that Wood White would be easier to find, despite the cool and cloudy conditions. After crossing the concrete bridge over the stream it only took a couple of minutes to find one at roost. After a while I was joined by Mark Colvin, just as the sun started to break through the clouds. The improved conditions rapidly brought 6 or 7 more Wood White out of hiding and we watched the spectacular courtship ritual played out in a ride-side ditch. As is so often the case, the female was already mated; her suitor's best efforts were rejected.

In the evening I attended a walk on Lord's Piece near Bignor (West Sussex), to look at Field Cricket. Led by two of the county's finest naturalists, Mike Edwards and Bruce Middleton, on a beautiful evening, this free-of-charge event was attended by just ten people ... how odd!

[Colin Knight]

Fascinating, I'd have attended had I known about it.

[Lee Hurrell]

Neil, lovely reports and photos, as usual.

The report of your find of PBFs at Heyshott had my heart racing. Great news.

Best wishes,

Lee