Cheers Nick for your kind comments
Martin Down
On Saturday I need to have some Daddy and daughter time with my younger daughter and as my older daughter had been out previously for Pearls she wanted to go somewhere so she could tick off butterflies. So after swimming, with tick pictures drawn and lunch barely finished we set out to Martin Down.
From the main car park we headed down the main track and turned off slightly into a sheltered area that was productive last year. There was an assortment of moths around, most of which escaped the lens of my camera as well as a few Beetles. As it’ Tuesday and I’m still posting about Saturday I’ll have to leave the moths for another day, particularly as I need to have a go at identifying them first.
Something caught my eye at one point and a careful creep up saw me finding my first Grizzlie of the year. Luckily as I approached the sun nipped behind a cloud so he was quite content to pose for a few close-ups.
However it took off all of a sudden and somehow ended up flying straight towards me before landing on my chest near my shoulder strap. I was a bit worried about moving and the strap catching its legs so I cupped my hand over it and then backtracked to show my daughter. She was entranced by this funny looking thing and giggling still she peered in while I set it down on a likely looking stone. It then showed us its wings proper almost as if to say “thank you”. We stood back and watched it for a few more minutes and then it set off about its business and my daughter ticked her first sighting box of the day.
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We then headed across to the Dyke and started to follow it downhill noting a few more Grizzlies on the way. There were a few more moths about – Common Carpets mostly by the look of them and then a female Orange-tip stopped in. My daughter was pretty annoyed as I hadn’t drawn one of those for the tick list but some Quavers cheered her up and allowed me to try and get a shot. It was tricky as she held her wings at a strange angle and kept moving with the breeze.
Down near out stopping point (a small stand of Juniper and Hawthorns past the butts) we found more moths and some Orchids but there were no more butterflies, not even a Small Heath. So apples eaten we started to head back to the car park and when we got to the butts we stopped to watch 2 male Brimstones fly-by and they were joined by a Green hairstreak! Unfortunately it didn’t stop and I couldn’t relocate it.
We then tried Sillens Lane and set off along the path hugging the hedge aiming for where it eventually crossed the Dyke. Straight away we saw another Grizzlie but as my little spotter child pointed out “we’ve already ticked that one!” However the next sighting was of Dingy and after allowing a few shots of the open wing variety it moved very graciously to a seed head and closed its wings moth style. I was dead chuffed as this was a shot that I was longing to get all last season.
We the carried on along to the dip where I’ve found so many of my butterflies and we were accompanied some of the way by a Green Veined White. At the dip a Peacock briefly appeared and a few Brimstone hung around including one female ovi-positing but it was pretty quiet so we wound our way back adding a pair of male Orange-tips and a Holly Blue to the days tally.
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I drove home with my spotter child very quiet in the back worn out from her mammoth hike and reflected on the day. Not a bad haul compared to recent trips out – 9 species in all, but that is well down on this time last year when there were Small Coppers, Small Heaths, Common Blue and Brown Argus. And it felt like such hard work whereas previously I’ve been tripping over butterflies. Even though there were Grizzlies and Dingies today they aren’t up to the numbers seen here last year. It seems like we’re finally starting to get going even though it’s been a long time coming and just as things get up to speed I fear that the brakes are going to be out back on while another low sweeps in from the north.
On the other hand my “spotter child” had a great day chatting and ticking butterflies, marvelling at wildlife and sneaking the odd piggy back. I don’t think it could have been any better really.
Have a goodun
Wurzel