Wurzel

[Debbie]

I often pop in to your diary and as always super - Debbie

[False Apollo]

Hi Wurzel,
Particularly liked the Clouded Yellow and Speckled Wood pictures. I saw a pair of Speckled Woods in the process of pairing up by my feet in the garden at lunch time, they were lovely and fresh like yours. Fresh Speckled Woods are really eye catching with their deep brown velvety appearance, it's an overused phrase I know, but they are stunning. Thanks for your comments on my Sweden trip.

Regards
Mike

[Wurzel]

Cheers Dave and Mike. I did manage to get a few shots of the other side but only one was any good. I did think at the time that it was quite heavily marked, but then another butterfly appeared and distracted me...

Viewed from the other side...

Cheers Debbie for your very kind comment
Cheers Mike I know what you mean about fresh, just out of the box Specklies. I really enjoyed your report - I visited Poland many years ago and always remember the sowing machine call of the River Warbler

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

I agree about the large spots Wurzal, your photo's are so distinctive though that I put it down to that On a second look how ever they are larger than normal I'm sure Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Goldie The thing with variation is you can never really tell if it's outside of the normal range, so I hedge my bets

Shipton Bellinger 24-08-2014

Despite the weather not being brill and the Husky trials still waging war on the peace and tranquillity on one of the best Brostreak sites in the country I packed my camera and headed to Shipton Bellinger for the second time this year. As I strolled up the path and it was quiet until a Red Admiral put in a piratical appearance. From the initial path I opted for the right hand path at the fork and as I wandered slowly up it there were loads of Specklies doing their best to trick me into thinking I’d found a Brostreak.

At the cross path I thought about checking the other side of the hedge and bumped into Paul. He’d not had much luck either and while we were chatting something smaller than the Specklies and much more orange jinked by. I was pretty sure it was a female Brostreak but it shot by and jinked so much I couldn’t be 100% convinced. We followed it to an Ash tree and set to damaging the musculature in our necks. There were again a few Specklies around that would catch your eye and trick you into following them just in case they metamorphosed Tansformer style into a Brostreak when they landed. Alas none did but every now and again a smaller butterfly with more square-cut wings would enter the fray and intercept the larger Specklies. After it had harried the large butterfly away it would gain height and settle at the top of the Ash tree but only until the next Specklie dared to enter its air space. This territorial behaviour suggested a male Brostreak and a few heavily cropped shots would also seem to back this up with the paler patch showing on the fore wing and square wings.

I hung around for a bit but they didn’t come down any closer. Paul needed to make the most of his remaining time and I wanted to risk running with the wolves over at the hotspot so we bade each other farewell and slowly went our separate ways. I took to checking the Blackthorn and other bushes all the way to the end of the path and the cacophony of yowls and howls grew ever louder. I encountered plenty of Meadow Browns and a few Blues/Brown Argus as well a Small Heath on the way towards the back hedge. These were probably displaced from their main play ground on the field. Most were pretty tired looking but despite their aged looks were full of vigour.

I tried to edge my way along the main hedge but the tents and awnings were right up against it plus it appears that Huskies would make very good guard dogs! I could get to some bushes but was fearful of losing my hearing . Instead I made my way round to the back to a few smaller stands of Blackthorn where there was more of the same and no Brostreaks. The walk back to the main path threw up plenty of Specklies, the odd Blue and Meadow Brown and a couple of Small Heath but that was it.

So apart from the catch-up with Paul pretty disappointing – I’ve just got to hope for some good weather at the end of next week so I can try one last time here...and then it’s back to the grindstone!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Still keep forgetting you're using your time machine, Wurzel! Hoping your next trip worked out better...

Dave

[Goldie M]

Nothing much to be seen around here Wurzal at present, just the Red Admirals that are still looking good, and of course the Speckies : your shots are always good I like the Common Blues Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Dave I'd like to say that getting behind on my PD is a ploy to keep posting until the next season but it's actually just far, far too much work
Cheers Goldie It's gone pretty quiet round this way too - I didn't see any butterflies on my stop-off at Larkhill this morning - but I did see two Great Bustards

‘Mottisfont 28-08-2014

“So where the hell has the summer gone?” This is what I wondered as I drove the family towards Mottisfont for a picnic to celebrate my nieces birthday. Gone was the sunny weather and the warmth and today felt more like April than August, with very patchy sun and a cool breeze rustling the tree tops. This time last year when I made the same journey there were Whites practically lining the route yet today there was not a single one. It didn’t get much better once we’d arrived and we had to wait for my sister in-law and brother in-law to arrive with their girls in tow. I had a mooch around the car park area but I counted only 4 butterflies in the 25 minutes I was waiting – 2 Small Whites, a Specklie and a Small Tortoiseshell. The final species was some consolation as it maintained my near perfect record and it was hassled briefly by a large blue Dragonfly and also my younger daughter.

Once the rest of the gang arrived we entered and headed straight to the picnic area, I didn’t even get wards in a battle to the death but the route did take me along the Lavender hedge where a battered old Blue was ecking out it’s final days/hours. Nearby to the bench was a large group of shrubs featuring a large Buddleia and I managed to catch sight of a Peacock, 2 Red Admirals, 2 Brimstones and a Comma all while I was making polite conversation and munching lunch. Once the cakes had been eaten and Happy Birthday sung I grabbed the chance to ‘stretch’ my legs and so wandered back to work my way up and down the Lavender hedge. Again it was disappointing compared to last year with a single solitary Large White braving the dull and cool weather. Not a patch on last years plethora of Whites (Small, Large, Brimstones all in good numbers and even a Cloudy). Back near the island of shrubbery yielded a Green-veined White to add to the days tally.

As we’d eaten we though it only fair that the Brown Trout should have a bite or three plsu it wouldn’t be a visit to Mottisfont without trying to get some shots of the Trout. I set my camera to Sports mode, pointed it at the surface and tried to anticipate when the fish would strike. Most of my shots came out as splashes but there was the occasional one which was okay as the largest of the Trout would drift lazily towards the piece of bread like a surfacing submarine; safe in the knowledge that no little upstart fry was going to have its snack!

We all made our way over to the Walled garden with the cloud thickening and a fine drizzle fell. Despite this the garden came up trumps for the day with another Peacock, Meadow Brown on Buddleia, 4 Red Admirals and three Small Torts. All of these made counting easy but the whites were constantly on the go, never stopping so it seemed and so counting was difficult, especially when they would disappear over the walls before you cold positively identify them. I reckon that most were Small with the occasional noticeable Large amongst them.

There were other delights for the girls to witness and so we let them have a run around on the lawn, mess around in the stables as well as letting them visit the exhibition in the main house. In a very short space of time there were a lot of tired little legs and so we thought it best to make a quick visit to the Wild play area (lots of mud and climbing branches) before heading for home. As usual the sun now came out but we were around long enough for me to catch a glimpse of another Red Admiral, a few Specklies and Whites and a nicely marked Meadow Brown before we left

Hopefully the weather will buck up a bit soon, probably just in time for my return to work

Have a goodun
Wurzel

[CJB]

Good morning Wurzel and fellow Reef Fan!

At the risk of being pedantic your trout is a stunning Rainbow Trout! The bright pink is the give-away, Brownies tend to be more golden with red and black spots.

V impressed by the Meadow Brown, which has vanished from my garden patch and having read reports it seems that I have a 3rd brood Brown Argus! My wife photographed a tatty Brimstone (sounds like a sub-species!) this week. Fingers crossed for the weekend and that the October 'heatwave' delivers.

Flutter on!

CJB

[Maximus]

Lovely Red Admirals on the Verbena and Buddleia Wurzel I agree with CJB, a great big bread munching Rainbow Trout too

Mike

[Goldie M]

I love Rainbow Trout Wurzal, to eat that is Great shot Goldie

[CJB]

Hi Wurzel,

I am relieved to have my trout identification backed up!

This evening I am going to be eating this beauty who I caught last night and shows you the main differences between Brown and Rainbow.

Brown Trout

Apologies Wurzel for replying and not mentioning butterflies but I will put that under September!

Flutter on!

CJB

[Wurzel]

Cheers CJB and Mike Thanks for the ID and photos - I've caught both before when I was a nipper but that was a long time ago and I'm not used to seeing them from above (only flat on a plate ) and so hence the mis-ID
Cheers Golide I agree totally - that one would have been great for at least three sittings - it was huge

Shipton Bellinger 31-08-2014

This was probably the last joint visit that Philzoid and I would make this year (apart from the social of course) and so with the weather looking favourable and everyone loaded into my car we set off. After visiting Shipton twice before already this season I made a subconscious decision that I would try and focus just on the Hairstreaks and so after a few Small Tortoiseshells on the Buddleia at the bottom of the path we eagerly set off. Almost as soon as the hedge had started thickening something orange hove into view – the first Brostreak of the day and the first for the year for Philzoid. This is the closest that I’ve encountered them to the car park and I couldn’t believe how easy our search had been. The only slight disappointment was that it wasn’t the first species seen on the day as that would have made the narrative slightly better

Further up the path is divided by a tall hedge so we took the left hand side reasoning that this had more young growth and so would be better for egg laying. Within 10 or so metres we had more Brostreak action with a couple of fly over females but it wasn’t until we were almost at the end when the paths converge again that we found a stationary one. It was a male quite high up and almost out of range and without the wonders of cropping I wouldn’t have had any images. We’d been watching a Specklie that was in great condition when a little shark fin caught my eye. It was so worn that it looked almost grey at times.

Unfortunately it seemed to like it high up and our hopes of it coming down lower were dashed when the dog incident occurred. A few years back an overzealous dog, off the lead bounced up to my daughter on the beach slobbering all over her and nearly knocking her off her feet. When she started crying in fear and pain (from the scratching claws) the dog started growling. Needless to say she now has a fear of dogs which wasn’t helped by what happened next at Shipton. Someone said “there is no such thing as a bad dog...” well it seems that no-one had informed this canine . It was aggressive and threatening, growling and barring it’s teeth and most importantly off the lead with the owner trailing behind saying all the old platitudes “he won’t hurt you, he’s just saying hello, nothing to be scared off etc” . Once the dog and eventually the owner had passed (the later giving us dirty looks like we’d done something wrong because we didn’t love her “pooch/hound from hell” ) everything calmed down although my girls were still a little twitchy. We carried on joining the main path and continued the search for more Brostreaks. Straight away we found an ovi-posturing female, creeping around in the shady part of the hedge and dragging her abdomen along the Blackthorn twigs but not laying. She flew across the path and landed briefly with the sun shining through her wings.

Cheered we all carried on up the path, the sun shine and ease with which Brostreaks were appearing buying us up. As we cut across to the Hotspot Hedge there were a few worn blues and Brown Argus with the odd Small Heath and Meadow Brown thrown in for good measure. There seemed to be a few other butterfliers around but they soon turned into Blackberry hunters and so we had all the butterflies to ourselves. It wouldn’t have mattered if there were ravening hordes here as there was such a lot to see. There were the Brimstones flitting among the taller grasses and flowers at the edge of the path which would set off the occasional Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown or Common Blue. Then the Aristocrats made sure that they were the centre of attention for a while with Red Admirals and the odd Comma frequenting the Brambles whilst Holly Blues stayed out of the way right at the back of the tree line amongst the stands of Ivy.
It felt like I was wearing my “Brosteak-vision Goggles™” as over the next hour we found another five Brostreaks. We’d walk along the hedge, look over the brambles and “there’s one” a few steps in either direction and: “there’s another!” It has to have been the easiest ever Brostreak finding session. The first one we came across just sort of popped up amongst the Bramble and started feeding on the over-ripe Blackberries.

Better leave it there as I need some sleep...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Paul Harfield]

Hi Wurzel

Just catching up on your reports from Shipton Bellinger which seems like ages ago now. Looks like you had a much more productive visit with Philzoid the following week. I never did manage another visit, but there is always next year I suppose. I am hoping for a few weeks more butterfly watching yet. I have been told there is a heatwave coming for the next few weeks of October

See you at the Winter social

[Goldie M]

Hi! Wurzal, I bet your girls were very nervous of the dog, I go to Hall-Lee-Brook near where we live and when on my own I get frightened of the Dog's , the owner's don't seem to care. I've had a dog but I was always careful and held her collar when people went by and when butterflying my Husband held her and she wasn't allowed to roam.

I'm envious once again of your Brown Hair Streaks but keep the photo's coming it will make the Autumn go quicker Goldie

[millerd]

Really pleased you got to see a good hairstreak selection second time round, Wurzel - and on the same day as I saw mine at Bookham. I always bump into Philzoid down there and wondered why I didn't see him this time - Now I know where he was!

[Philzoid]

I saw mine at Bookham. I always bump into Philzoid down there and wondered why I didn't see him this time - Now I know where he was!

True Dave. I'd put in three visits but drew blanks. In retrospect I think I went a bit too early this year . Glad you got to see them and to know for sure that the 'local' ones are still there . Will time it better next year.

Shipton was brilliant Wurzel so will make it a must next year . Hopefully I'll contribute a few more than the 2 out of the 11 spotted

[David M]

Interesting images, Wurzel.

I've never seen Brown Hairstreaks taking fluids from blackberries before.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Jack Luckily the law of diminishing returns didn't aplly to my final visit to Shipton
Cheers Goldie It would be alright if the owners just kept them on the lead or restrained them, or failing that could actually control their animals
Cheers Dave Luckily it all panned out well in the end, a definite case of third time lucky
Cheers Philzoid Shipton is a "must visit" for me now, I was lucky this year in that I had my Brostreak goggles firmly fitted
Cheers David I'd not seen it before either so I was glad to get those shots, there are a few more but work has kept me away from the computer tonight

October 2014

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Shipton Bellinger Part 2 - 31-08-2014

...Back to the start of the Hedge for the next one which was low down. I’m not used to kneeling to get shots of Brostreaks – usually I have to stand on tips toes or hold the camera up at arms length.

Another was higher up overlooking the path and therefore in a much more usual setting. I was quite chuffed to find this one as at the same time as I was taking the shot I was also successfully calming the girls down after another dog incident. The girls were still spooked from their earlier trauma and the blackberry hunters had a pair of dogs. But this time things were much better; the dogs were quite away a way and off their leads but when they started to wander over to investigate us their owners merely called their name and they both returned to his side instantly. Possibly the best behaved/trained dogs I’ve ever seen.

With the girls in the shade Philzoid and I set back and worked the hedge again and found a one tailed lady who started ovipositing. This was the first time that I’d witnessed this and so felt privileged that she’d chosen to lay before our eyes. From a Bramble leaf she flew about a metre to a small Blackthorn sucker and then hung upside down from one of the leaves. She then righted herself and slowly crawled down the twig and started to drag her abdomen along the twig. As she progressed in this fashion she started to curl her abdomen and then upon reaching a fork in the twig she seemed to shake and then flew off back to her original perch on the Bramble where she remained for about the next 10 minutes. It seems like they lay one egg and then fly off somewhere for a bit of a breather before coming back down.

Again we were slightly distracted by the odd Holly Blue, Peacock, Red Admiral, the Brimstones but I tried to hold firm to my original plane of focusing solely on the Brostreaks until a Comma came around looking stunning in its autumn livery.

Even further along the hedge I found the fifth Brostreak. I’d found a likely looking spot (ie trampled path into the Brambles) and spent a few minutes starring into the vegetation and over the top and round and along the hedge and back into and over the top etc etc. For some reason I looked down and to my right and there next to me about 20 cm away was a female. She seemed to unfold herself from the leaves...

After this find I was distracted a few more times, by a few Red Admirals a Comma and a worn Flounced Rustic but by now we were nearing the end of the Witching hour as the afternoon crawled round to almost 3pm. The same walk along the hedge and techniques we’d employed with such success earlier in the day yielded nothing now. It was as if the Brostreaks were Cinderella and all had to rush home from the ball so we called it a day and headed back to Salisbury. Once there I realised I was back early and so we went to the park over the road – which cheered the girls so everyone had a great day! Sure there will be butterflies lingering on through September and into October but for me this felt like the fitting finale to the season. Going out with a BANG!

Have a goodun

Wurzel