Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Cheers Mike for your kind comments
Cheers Neil I had the same thing happen today - a Peacock and Comma kept setting each other off and then returning which as fine until a Brimstone appeared and they took off once and it was gone!

02-04 Lunch

I thought that I would push my luck again as the weather continues to deteriorate. Everyday it’s feeling a little cooler, looking a little cloudier and today the wind had picked up so I wasn’t surprised when the usual route held only 9 Small Tortoiseshells. As the wind was ripping across the fields and over the most of the butterflies that I saw were either hunkered down amongst the vegetation or were whizzing by whipped along by the wind. Feeling that this was a bit pointless I cut back to the start of my route across the housing estate and back to the garages and the bank.
Once here things felt better as the houses and gardens sheltered the back from the wind so as I rounded the corner I trod stealthily. It seems that some of the local kids had recently burst their football as it was now laid disconsolately draped over the bank. Unusually I didn’t mind this littering as their basking on it was a resplendent Peacock.

A further mooch around didn’t produce anything else apart from a (presumably) male Oil Beetle so I left the Peacock in peace and headed back into work.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Those are beautifully clear images of that Peacock, Wurzel.

This species is enjoying a bonanza spring in my part of the world....augurs well for later in the year.

[Wurzel]

Cheers David The Peacock like the Small Tort is making a great come back - hopefully other species will follow suit

03-04-2014 Lunch

It was slightly cooler, cloudier and windier still today. So I started my walk around by the allotments instead hoping for a Small White amongst the shoots but alas even this sheltered little spot didn’t hold any butterflies. It did have a Song Thrush though and it was making ever such hard work out of collecting snails. Who would have thought that slow moving Molluscs would have been so tricksy?

I cut across the housing estate reasoning that if there would be butterflies anywhere then the bank round by the garages would be the place. As I rounded the corner stealthily I espied the burst football and as I gingerly stalked across the car park towards it a Small Tortoiseshell landed on it disturbing the Peacock that had been in residence which promptly flew off and with it my first opportunity of a multispecies shot!

Leaving the Small Tortoiseshell in peace I set my sights on the Bees that were still flying, aiming for Tawny Mining Bee but settling for anything that allowed an approach – it was one of those days when anything would do. In the end I found my target after a few runs ins with a range of Andrena species.

So the weather people were spot on for this week and so once again as the holiday approaches the weather takes a turn for the worst. I wonder if this will hold up the emergence of the Pearls and Orange-tips?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Forecast for Easter is decent right now.

We 'working people' have 4 days to indulge ourselves.

Hopefully we'll be able to do justice to mid-April from a butterflying perspective.

[Neil Freeman]

Cracking Peacock photos on the football Wurzel

I also like the Tawny Mining Bee these have shown up in my garden over the past couple of days, slightly later than usual. I guess the past couple of weeks of cool cloudy weather held them up a bit.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Cheers David Here's hoping we can get out to make the most of the weather - there's nothing worse than being trapped at work during the great weather, reading others reports and then when you're able to get out the weather going downhill
Cheers Neil Things have been a bit quiet down our way and I've had to watch on with growing envy as the rest of the country seemed to suddenly wake up - still the OT's and Greenstreaks are emerging now so we're starting to catch up - hence my frustration when i find myself in Wales for the next four days I'll try and make the most of it though, I might even be able to catch up...

08-04 Middle Street

It felt like an age since I was last out and with the cooler, dull and grey weather behind us and also the final upstairs ceiling down, cleaned, boarded and insulation laid I grabbed my camera and older daughter and made a break for it!
On a previous outing to pick up Rubble sacks I’d driven past a field with a lot of tall spindly white flowers that was on the other side of the woodland path from Middle Street and so that’s where we headed. However it would be rude not to stop in at Middle Street itself as we were there and so we made our way in through the second entrance behind the football pitch. The small field within a field of rough grass was sporting various wild flowers as well as a solitary patch of Cuckoo flower so we checked that out first. There were good numbers of the ubiquitous Small Tortoiseshell flitting around along with a pair of Peacocks and then hopefully the first white of the day – a male Brimstone. It was obviously trying to be subtle as it was nectaring on a brilliant yellow Dandelion behind a curtain of large green leaves.

From this end we walked off site and along Harnham Meadows Walk through the wooded glades and spooked a Peacock at the entrance. However as we walked the burgeoning leaves shaded out the path and there wasn’t an obvious break into the fields that I’d seen from the other side along the road. This was slightly ‘off site’ and there was no chance of and OT as the sun went in but we walked and chatted to the bridge and back and it was a pleasure just being with my little girl who is growing up so fast. Apart from Butterflies the other topic of conversation was how she wanted to develop a Hover car so we could get to places more quickly and without roads and so I could stop wherever I wanted too to see butterflies. We did stop a couple of times for a Comma which looked like it was ovipositing and to watch ‘Ratty’ for a short while and then we were back at Middle Street.

As we were back by the same entrance we were at previously we walked back through Small Tortoiseshells and this time along the bank towards the pond at the other side of the reserve. About half way along something landed briefly on the path and then started to bask. My daughter and I stood and waited and then it flew up and down the path towards us, circled us a few times and landed on some nettles where I got a few snatched shots before adding some more on its’ second sitting. It was a Red Admiral – something of a rarity this year but I was pretty sure that a couple have been knocking around the Salisbury area as I’d recorded them a few times. Unfortunately I hadn’t been able to get them on film so I was more than made up with this little beauty.

Round by the pond there were more Small Torts all basking or flitting up from the long grass like Meadow Browns will in a few months time. And then we were back at the car; all in all not a bad visit – with five species seen and photographed (1 Brimstone, 1 Red Admiral, 1 Comma, 3 Peacocks and 12 Small Tortoiseshells) and then onto Five Rivers – well as I’d finally escaped I had to make the most of it.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Cracking Brimble shots Wurzel. I've not managed a single decent photo of one yet this year.

B'saurus

[robpartridge]

Good to hear of a Red Admiral - it seems to be entirely absent from Cambridgeshire at the moment after good spring sightings in recent years. I wonder whether the mild, wet winter did them no favours at all,

Rob

[NickMorgan]

Interesting to see a Comma ovipositing. That is something I would like to see and then follow the development of the caterpillar. Great that you saw a Water Vole as well. They have become very scarce here, but I remember them being very tame when I was a ranger at a site near here. Sadly I think that too much disturbance caused their disappearance. I think they are only known to be in two areas in East Lothian now.
Today looks like it could be the first decent day of the year, so hopefully I may add to my species tally later, when it could be warm enough for me to do my transect.

[Pete Eeles]

Good work Wurzel - it would be tempting to suggest that your Red Admiral is also ovipositing! Like many others, I'm also amazed at the number of Small Tortoiseshell about. I wonder if there will be as much effort into understanding their recovery as their demise!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Wurzel]

Cheers Rex I'll swap you a Brimstone for an OT
Cheers Rob I reckon it was that and the fact that there weren't that many that made their way here last autumn Still they're here now so lets hope for a recovery like the Small Torts are showing
Cheers Nick Good luck on the transect, my daughter loved seeing Ratty
Cheers Pete Probably not, once something is deemed 'common' it generally seems to be left to its own devices

09-04-2014 Five Rivers

Having left Middle Street we headed over to Five Rivers for a quick wander around. As we rounded the copse and headed to the banks a couple of Small Torts flew by together starting to court, alighting briefly and then taking off in a heartbeat. Still there would be plenty more around and the little area on the other side of the copse a Peacock went up under our feet and spooked a Comma. It was great seeing all these butterflies but if they were going to keep fighting and frightening each other then I wasn’t going to have much to photograph! Luckily by now we were at the banks and so there were butterflies amongst the longer dead grasses wherever we looked. A few Brimstones fluttered by traversing the banks and not stopping and there were several Small Torts buzzing each other continuously.

As well as the usual presence of Small Tort I also noticed that there were definitely more Peacocks around with a couple on the banks which would have the occasional scrap with each other before settling down and clamping their wings firmly shut. I didn’t really mind as it gave me a chance to study the fine markings on the under wings – a bit like a charred newspaper.

There were a further couple down on the path at the end of the Banks; one of which was obviously having a crisis of confidence and was concerned about its battered appearance. So much so that it decided to land at my daughters’ feet and wanted me to take its photo.

However whilst all this was very nice I was really hoping for something different, and having seen my first Small White a week or two previously I was hoping to catch up with one here and get some photos. So we left the ever productive Banks and headed to the far corner of the reserve near the housing estate entrance. My daughter slumped down on a bench and said “we aren’t going to see one are we?” when something small and white caught my eye, gently fluttering a long by the Dandelions. Over the last few months I’d forgotten how small they were and compared to the Brimstones and Peacocks I’ve been seeing recently this one was tiny. All too soon it set off, bumbling along the hedge and then over it and into the allotments but that didn’t matter as I’d got my first Small White photo of the year and this time there wasn’t anything to spook it.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Brimstone 3
Small White 1
Small Tort 9
Peacock 6

[Neil Freeman]

Great reports and photos again Wurzel...and more cracking Brimstone shots

Thinking about it I have not seen a Red Admiral since early last September, and that was a couple in Dorset.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Neil - the Red Admirals didn't have a good year last year and so there don't seem to be many about this spring. I was glad with the shot as the county recorder made a comment that "you seem to be the only person still seeing Red Admirals" so it was good to get some photographic evidence to back up my reports

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

10-04 The Woodfords

I was up a ladder stripping a strip of wallpaper around the top of bedroom walls when I looked outside and caught a glimpse of a gorgeous blue sky. Job done and cleared away I sat downstairs and my wife told me that I should head out so not needing telling twice I grabbed my camera and drove over to the Woodfords to a little spot that I know where the Cuckoo Flower is blooming.
As I strolled/waded through the damp grass I scanned the fields for anything white fluttering by but alas there was nothing to see. Still I’m getting closer to catching up with an OT as I’d missed a male by five minutes one of the local fishermen informed me. As it was I settled for the usual Small Torts and Peacocks – six of the former and 3 of the latter who seem to be catching up their smaller cousins. There were also a few Brimstones quartering the hedgerows and I managed to catch up with one of those.

I then headed over to the Devenish and made the most of the lack of traffic tootling along at Sunday Driver pace (about 22mph) and scanning the verges and hedgerows as I passed. One of the two Peacocks I saw almost got flattened as it chose to land on one of the few Dandelions growing in a pothole in the road. By the time I’d reached the Devenish the tally was at 2 Peacocks, 11 Brimstone and a Small White.
So in to the Devenish and I was hoping for a Speckled Wood or Holly Blue so eagerly I checked all the likely looking areas in the woodland. In the end I cut up across the Down stopping briefly to witness the local butterfly bush. I held 5 Peacocks and a Small Tortoiseshell with the occasional Brimstone landing briefly before carrying on its way. Unfortunately I could only get one of two butterflies in shot.

The wood at the top of the hill held a few Brimstones but that was it so after introducing myself to the Warden (nice to meet you Richard) I drove home without any of my three target species. I’m not sure what’s happening as there seems to be a very sporadic and patchy emergence so far this spring – with some areas recording Green Hairstreaks, Dukes, Skippers and Specklies whereas others seem much further behind. Still hopefully the weather will be kind and soon the spring butterflies will have sprung in this neck of the woods too...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

11-04-2014 Garston Wood

This was a hell of a day which started the night before. My wife had had a cold all day and then as I was heading up to bed she came downstairs unable to breathe properly as her throat was so inflamed. So instead of collapsing into bed I spent the next hour getting her to steam her head. The morning came and with it more looking after my wife, making the beds, getting the girls breakfast and lunch doing some washing, the washing up and drying, stripping some wallpaper and clearing that away before dismantling beds and moving furniture. I then took the girls out to give my wife some peace once she was bedded down.
On the way we made a brief stop at Broadchalk to watch my first Orange-tip as it flew up and down the hedges, crossed the road and disappeared into a garden. Slightly further along the road I pulled over again as a pair of Brimstones flitted along on patrol and another Orange-tip joined the rank and file. It stopped briefly and so I got the briefest of shots – it’s pretty terrible but I don’t care – now I’ve gotten at least one there should be some more hopefully.

Once at the wood proper we took the back route and then to the main path across the back towards the Pearl Pen. We didn’t see anything for the first part of the walk but just enjoyed the sun, the different shades of green and the various wildflowers. Then as we set off down the main path the sun came on strong and suddenly there were butterflies. They seemed to like the little scallops cut and coppiced along the side of the path. In one a couple of Peacocks kept settling and then hassling a Comma which was just trying to have a little peace. A few Brimstones flew by and also a male Orange-tip.

Later round the other side of the reserve we met a Dutch couple who were very keen to show us the “Orchis” which I think are early Purples?

After the female Brimstone the girls took another rest stop and I tried to follow a male Orange-tip. It was nigh on impossible as after doing so well for 15 metres or so it flew behind a bush and didn’t reappear. So I crept around the back of the bush ready to see it nectaring and it just wasn’t there. It had vanished. However while I was there I did find a gorgeous little micro. Later on we found some more Orchids and then we were back at the car park.

We then headed back to the invalid and we needed tea so I took the girls into town to pick up some food – a Peacock was in one of the gardens on the way and very briefly a resplendent male Large White – my second first of the day. I couldn’t get a shot though as I spooked it when telling my younger daughter that it was okay to lean over into someone else’s garden. The street also had two more Brimstones. Once back at the house I made the girls their tea and we had a picnic over in the park before finishing up the day by putting the girls to bed. All in all a really busy day but amongst all the madness two firsts for the year whilst earning enough Brownie points for another day visit!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Great report as usual Wurzel, I hope your wife doesn't have the same lurgi we've all had down this way. It's really nasty and lasts for ages. Hopefully it's only a common cold. I hope to see a terrific Greenstreak photo in your diary soon. Have a great Easter

All the best

B'saurus

[Wurzel]

Cheers Rex My wife is now on Unclebiotics so she should be better soon. I'm working on the Greenstreak shots

13-04-2014 Ffos-y-ffin

The journey to Wales started well, no real traffic and the occasional Brimstone and male Orange-tip accompanying us. I even had a time for a brief mooch near Bathampton when my girls used the facilities at ‘The George’ which threw up a Small Tortoiseshell and a male Brimstone. However when we crossed the bridge a massive queue at the tolls put a dampener on my spirits. They didn’t get any better as once off the motorway we drove past fields with scatterings of Cuckoo Flower and left them behind. In fact I didn’t see a single butterfly once we’d crossed into Wales...

Once we had unpacked and settled into my in-laws the girls went to play in the garden and I went up the Lane for a stroll – to stretch the cramp out my legs after the long drive . I’d barely started the walk when a Small Tort bombed by me and headed up the Lane. “I’ll catch up with it later” I thought but I didn’t and I’d walked for a good 20 minutes up the Lane before the ancient banks and hedges yielded the sight of another. It was a Peacock that was sunning itself on one of the roads of the main Lane but it evaded me too.

I’d almost given up when something made me continue down the farm drive, I was sure I’d seen a white motion? As I walked down there on the bank of the drainage ditch there was something white fluttering about. It was my first Green Veined White of the year and a right little cracker, pristine and fresh out of the box.

Happy with my greeny I thought I better get back and be sociable though I did make a few stops on the way back for a few bees of the multitude of bees. The Small Tort bombed by again just to wind me up but it didn’t work – another species on the yearly tally!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

My wife is now on Unclebiotics so she should be better soon.

Nice turn of phrase, Wurzel. I like it.

[Neil Freeman]

Cracking Green-veined White undersides Wurzel

I have started sniffling and sneezing myself, look like I've copped a cold for over Easter, in my case I am giving the germ killing qualities of Whisky a go

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Cheers David That's a favourite of my Father's
Cheers Neil I hope the cold didn't set in - I hear that Whiskey is indeed a preventative of colds and flu - so drink a dram or two for your health

Llanachaeron 15-04-2014

On our first day at Foss-y-ffin we toddled around doing a lot of the things that we normally do. First up there was the trip to Aberearon and the parks but it was too chilly for butterflies. This was followed by another quick walk up the Lane after lunch but there was only a single Peacock to greet me. Then a brief look around the Cei Bach locale produced 3 Peacocks, a Red Kite over the beach but no Orange-tips despite the presence of lots of Cuckoo flowers.

Tuesday was looking to be the best day weather wise of our stay...so to Llanachaeron we went. This is a great little National Trust site with Walled gardens, Woodland walks, a nice picnic area by the car park alongside the river as well as the gardens around the house. So with the temperatures rising and this range of habitats I was hoping for something good. In fact it started well enough with a Peacock in the car park, a Comma in the Walled Gardens, a pupa in the barn and then a Small Tortoiseshell near the sheep pens – but everything was very flighty and most shots were ‘grab shots’.

Once the girls had fed some Lambs we thought it was about time that we got fed so we headed back to the benches for lunch. I had only just sat down with my sandwich and bemoaned the dearth of Orange-tips when what should I spy, resting on a Bramble leaf? It didn’t stay there for a slow approach unfortunately as it was quickly mobbed by another male and then they both joined forces on a Small White. This somehow evaded them and then it spent the next 5 minutes ceaselessly following another Small White which I took to be a female. So I thought I ought to let the National Trust know that Llanachaeron also offers ‘dinner and a shot (dinner not provided)’. It was so great to watch I didn’t mind that I’d only gotten one decent shot from the whole episode.

After lunch we took the Woodland walk which saw us accompanied by the odd Orange-tip or white and was splendid due to the carpet of wild flowers. The walk ended in a field with a spread of dead Bracken and nestled in amongst these were two 2 Peacocks and a Small Tort. On the way back down I stopped to try and follow a white with my eyes. It would flutter around, dip down behind a stump and not reappear – just like I’d witnessed in Garston Wood.

Then while waiting for the girls to try all the dressing up clothes as we visited the House itself I waited by the bushes. Over the next 10 minutes or so I saw several different species of Bees (Bumbles, Andrena sp, Osmia and my first Nomadas of the year), Bee Flies and a rosy Shield Bug. There was also a Green Veined White which I got within a Gnats breathe of getting a shot of before someone else kids spooked it. Honestly after all the efforts I’ve gone through to train my kids for butterflying . I had more luck with a proper Welsh Comma before it got mugged by my first Holly Blue of the year. It appeared from nowhere, buzzed the Comma and then flew up high staying out of range of my camera.

The girls were pretty spent by now so we headed home and while putting the boots in garage something small caught my eye – a 20 Plumed Moth.

So an excellent day –lots going on, lovely spring weather, family around me, a better Orange-tip shot and my first Holly Blue of the year!

Have a goodun

Wurzel