essex buzzard

[essexbuzzard]

Thanks Wurzel,as always.

Having more problems with my internet provider at the mo,so keeping things brief.

GREETINGS FROM CORNWALL!

Just back from a few days in sunny Cornwall. On Sunday 18th,walked the coast path from Seaton to Looe and back. Soon saw my first Small Coppers, Walls, Speckled Woods and Holly Blues of the year,as well as Peacocks and Orange Tips. Near the Monkey Sanctuary is a colony of Pearl-border Fritillaries. Emerging in April most years,my first this time was a mating pair! Several other male pbf were seen. Spent some time here, enjoying lots of Holly Blues as well. A little further on,a Painted Lady was unexpected,but the next species much more so-a Clouded Yellow male was patroling the hillside.It was now very warm on this south facing coast,and it was lunch time. So,after a pasty and drink,and spending some time in Looe,it was time to head back.

Soon i was seeing more peacocks and even more Holly Blues-i must have seen 20 or 30 during the day, a species normally i see in ones and twos. Slowly i headed back,seeing raven,buzzard, peregrine and whitethroat in the process. Gorse and blackthorn were replendant,the gorse filling the warm air with scent. Back at the PBF site,a few were landing by late afternoon. Back down to Seaton,a tireing but absolutely fantastic first day!

[trevor]

Thats a fabulous tally , especially the Pearls. I've had a look locally but none seen yet.
Well done.

TREVOR.

[David M]

What a day, Buzzard! Those Pearls alone must have made the walk worthwhile.

[essexbuzzard]

This is usurally the first PBF site in the country, Trevor. Yours shouldn't be long now.

Thanks David! This is a lovely walk,in a fabulous part of our country,in fabulous weather-what more can i ask? But you're right, those pearls,and the impressive April support cast of other species,turned a very nice walk into a truely great walk, they were the icing on the cake!

[Pauline]

Another great report Buzzard and great shot of the Pearls

[kevling]

Buzzard, I'll add my compliments too for the great SBF photos. Just the type of sighting that turns a great walk into a memorable one (And it's still only April!)

Regards Kev

[bugboy]

Beautiful set of pics. Love the PBF, thats still a species I have yet to see.

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Mark,

Great report and photos from Cornwall, love the PBFs

I am heading down to that part of the world in a few weeks to spend a week on The Lizard, it has been years since I have been there and it was always later in the year on family holidays. I must admit, your reports over the past couple of years have gone some way to put the idea in my mind.

Cheers,

Neil

[essexbuzzard]

Thanks everyone for your comments. Neil,if you are going to the Lizard late May early June,be sure to visit Kynace Cove and walk the coast path to Lizard Point for Small Pearls by the dozen,plus Walls,Coppers,Blues and many others,and lots of lowely wild flowers to enjoy which,to me,are just as good as the butterflies. And you should see the Cornish Chough's!

CORNWALL DAY TWO

Woke up to stunning blue skies!

Today i was in west Cornwall. An early walk near Marazion produced 20-30 whimberels on the deserted beaches,the most i have seen.Oysercatchers were present too, and a sand martin was among the swallows. Some lovely spring squill was nice to see near the coast path.

Then on to Madron. A walk in my old stomping ground, where a close soaring buzzard was a splendid sight. The gorse here was spectacular,both in sight and scent. Soon hunger was gnawing so what else for lunch than a pasty?

After eating it,walked the coast path to Guernrd's Head,a remote and spectacular area. 6 buzzards together,and ravens, stonechats and gannets were enjoyed. Back to Madron to visit the Carn-my favorite hill-topping site. No surprise that at least 3 Red Admiral and two Painted Lady males were active,chasing each other round. The views from here are outstanding, stretching all the way to Penzance, St. Michael's Mount and Marazion, where i was first thing this morning.
I clocked up a Dartford warbler nearby,then watched the sun go down. A lovely day again.

[Goldie M]

Love all your photos essex, your landscapes bring lots of lovely memories back of the Cornish coast.
I think the PBF at Gaits Barrow may be out later this year as every thing as been a couple of weeks later than last year up to now, your shots are great of them and very encouraging making me want to go up there right a way Goldie

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Mark,

Great report and photos again from Cornwall.

Thanks for the pointer . I remember you mentioning the coast path at Kynance Cove in your posts last year, I shall certainly pay a visit, probably more than once. I have been doing a bit of research as I usually do before going anywhere and have a few other spots in mind as well, will probably all depend on the weather.

Cheers,

Neil

[David M]

May as well be another country!

Great stuff, Buzzard!

[essexbuzzard]

CORNWALL DAY 3

When i woke to more blue skies,i knew it was going to be a good day. Today i walked part of the south-west coast path i've not done before,on the north Cornwall coast. Walked around Park Head,seeing lots of stonechats,linnets and wheatears,and lovely displaying rock pipits. Took return route just inland. Here fauna was different,with yellowhammer, blackcap and willow warbler singing,and Orangetip,Green-veined White and a couple of spinning Speckled Woods noted. Then on to the spectacular Bedruthan Steps. Stopped for some pictures here,for about half an hour,then continued on to Mawgan Porth, and evertually arrived at Watergate Beach,on the outskirts of Newquay,by 1.30.

Had a break for half an hour,seeing my first Common Blue and three peregrines, then started to head back. Throughout the day,lots of swallows were flying through,and Wall buttrflies were by the many stone walls. Got back to Bedruthan cafe by 4PM for a much needed Cornish cream tea,clocking up several Peacocks,Large White and a Painted Lady. Saw a stoat here as well as ravens,then went back down to the Steps. More pictures were taken,and finally arived back at the car at 7PM, worn out but absolutely delighted with another very good day!

[kevling]

Nice photo of the Wall. I did'nt see a single one in 2014, so hoping my luck changes this year.
I also like the Stonechat, very nice composition.

Regards Kev

[essexbuzzard]

CORNWALL DAY 4-LAST DAY

As it was a spur-of-the-moment thing to come to Cornwall,i was free of any commitments,meaning i was able to enjoy the glorious weather! Another blue start to a super day,and another chance to walk some of the coast path near Looe. Soon found myself at the Pearl-border Frit site,seeing plenty of Walls,Speckled Woods and Holly Blues in the process,plus a few Orangetips,Small Coppers and Peacocks. Already by 9.30,the Pearls were very active,and difficult to photograph on this sunny,breezy day. About an hour further up,found another cleared area,and was surprised to find a mint Pearl,well away from the main colony. A bigger surprise awaited me,however,when a Dingy Skipper landed in front of me-for about two seconds. I managed the quick shot below before it was seen off by a male Small Copper. Despite searching for about an hour, i failed to re-find it. While seaching,a worn,faded Painted Lady came through,and laid a few eggs on stingers, choosing single sprigs coming out of bare ground,and avoiding big clumps. A Clouded yellow male was seen.

Above,the first beech leaves were resplendant in pale green, and below the early bluebells added a splash of glorious blue- to match the sky!

[essexbuzzard]

After grabbing a past from Looe for lunch,i headed on to Lansallos,for a walk on the coast path there. The sight and scent of gorse blooms was even better here than elsewhere,and this is Green Hairstreak country. However,is was quite windy by now,and also i havent seen any for a year-it took me quite a long time to get my eye in. But eventually i found some sheltered gorse sprigs and hey presto-there was a Green,and another. Then a Green appeared on the ground,showing different behavior. A female,nectaring on young bluebells. Another sheltered spot produced another Green,probably a female. Several Clouded yellows were here,all appeared to be males. Peacocks were again plentiful,as were Speckled Woods and the odd Small Copper and Orangetip,while ravens,buzzards and a sparrowhawk patrolled the skies above.

It was now evening,so just time to buy a few goodies to take home,shen started the long journey back to East Anglia. But a truely super short break in Cornwall,everything i could have wished for-and more!

[essexbuzzard]

TURTLE DOVES

Throughout Europe,the turtle dove is in sad and tragic decline. Essex, along with Kent and Suffolk,now holds most of the British population but even here,numbers have gone through the floor. This is a long distance migrant,wintering in Africa and each year,fewer and fewer are making it back and,each year,even more farms are loosing their doves,seemingly for ever.

As recently as the 1980's, when i was growing up, turtle doves were too common to notice. Pairs of doves were a familiar sight on the power lines,running over the Essex cornfields. It seems to be having problems on its wintering grounds, then many are shot on migation through south Europe. Once here,a shortage of food may be a problem,for turtle doves feed on weed seeds,which have declined in cornfields as weedkillers become more efficient. With all these factors, doves are taking longer to get into breeding condition,meaning they only have time for one brood of 2 eggs each summer,which can never be enough to maintain a population. Non-migratory collard doves,in contrast, can fit in four or five broods.

One of my aims for 2015,was to catch up with these lovely birds,before it's too late. Yesterday i acheived this, with two purring males and a probable female in east Essex-some good news at least. In the core range,small weedy areas are being prepared,in the hope that doves will feed and breed nearby. But this cannot be the only problem, as the decline continued even when weeds breifly became more common,during the set-aside era.

I can only hope we find some way to stop the decline of these lovely doves. It is inconceiveable that these once common birds could go extinct in my lifetime. It would be a tragedy if they do.

[essexbuzzard]

ORANGE TIPS

Regular readers of my pages may remember that last year i rescues some Orang Tip eggs and caterpillars from a verge that is usurally shredded to the ground in late spring. I reared these and they sucessfuly pupated in early summer.

By late April,the first ones had emerged,but most were still at the chrysalis stage. However,the sex of the adults within is pretty obvious...

[essexbuzzard]

With spring now at its peak, and fine weather forecst, it's time for a trip to Denge wood,near Canterbury. So on Wednesday we went down.

Here flies the lovely little Duke of Burgundy. Conditions were perfect,with a chilly sunny morning building into a warm late-spring day. By time we arrived at the old Bonsai Bank site,several male Dukes were already active. Willow warblers were singing,and a turtle dove was purring. A Painted Lady and several Dingy Skippers were seen. After enjoying these,we headed further into Denge Wood,checking the cleared areas. Here more Dukes and Dingies were seen,as were Orange Tips,Green-veined White,Brimstones and Peacocks. A clump of cuckoo flowers contained Orange Tip eggs. By now,it was lunchtime,and after taking a few pictures of the lady orchids, it was time to leave.

[essexbuzzard]

The afternoon found us in Sussex,where we visited Mill Hill. My main aim here was to see the Grizzled Skipper,as i havn't seen any this year. I found just two,but this is a warm site,and this species here may already be on the wane. Not so Dingies, many of which were present. The first Adonis Blues have emerged,i saw a female,and then two males. We also saw Brimstone, Small Copper, Green Hairstreak, Peacock and,in the evening,a male Wall. By now,the dingies were begining to perch up for the night on dead stems.

A cuckoo was singing in the valley,and a nightingale was in the hedge. A male kestrel was hovering overhead and swifts, swallows,sparrowhawk and buzzard were seen.