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Yet another visit to Knepp

I'm lucky enough to live only 45 minutes from Knepp, but at this rate, I need to move nearer! Having said that, with family commitments coming up, this morning may possibly be my last visit this year.

I parked at the north end of Green Lane and almost immediately scored my first Emperor in one of the tall oaks beside the bridleway. Several others were seen as I made my way down to the pond, but they seemed rather lethargic and I never saw more than singletons. Making my way eastwards towards Bentons Gorse, I met up with Neil Hulme who was working with a couple of guys who had some serious professional video equipment. Neil showed them (and me) an oak with a sap run, and right on cue, an Emperor flew in towards it. I got some shots of him on the foliage and others where he was on the trunk getting plastered on the sap. They are long range and heavily cropped, but I hope they are worth posting. The professionals will have got much better shots.
I wasn't doing a scientific count, but I must have seen over 20 Emperors in about 3 hours this morning. I also saw a nice female White Admiral in a little glade on the south side of Bentons Gorse.

Andy Wilson wrote:...I must have seen over 20 Emperors in about 3 hours this morning....

That's good going, Andy. I think if I lived near such a site I'd find it irresistible on an almost daily basis!

Long-tailed Blues in Kent

I've read reports of Long-tailed Blues from Cornwall to Sussex recently, but I had a fruitless search for them last week at Newhaven Tide Mills. However, today I was given a strong recommendation to leave my home county of East Sussex and "Go East, old man!". So I did...

Kingsdown Leas is a lovely place. It's on the coast between Dover and Deal. On the cliffs going south from the golf club there is plenty of Broad-leaved Everlasting Pea (BLEP) plus a lot of Hemp Agrimony (despite it's going over now) and Buddleia. I saw several species of Blues: Chalk Hill, Adonis and Common, but also several Long-tailed Blues: at least 6 individuals, probably more. Clearly, they favour the short sea crossing here, rather than flying across to the West Country! This is probably the best place to see LTB in the UK, and with climate change, they will probably turn up more frequently.

If the weather holds, there will be another generation here in early October.

That's where I saw mine on Sunday, Andy. It is indeed a great spot when the sun shines. There were certainly LTB eggs as well, so as you say, here's hoping for local-grown ones in six weeks or so.
Good shots - that tailless male looks a lot like one I saw.

Cheers,

Dave

That's great news Andy, I'll be in Kent for a while in a few weeks, hope fully I may just be lucky and see some, I know my way to Kingsland having been there before, love your Shots, Goldie

millerd wrote:Good shots - that tailless male looks a lot like one I saw.

Just found the pic you posted and I think you're right. The pattern of damage on the forewings is very similar, so it could be the same individual. It was around a patch of Hemp Agrimony that has some BLEP mixed in, only about 50 yards up from the golf club car park.

I've already made a diary note to revisit in early October, if the weather holds!

Great stuff Andy - any chance you can send a few further West...say to Salisbury?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wurzel said " Great stuff Andy - any chance you can send a few further West...say to Salisbury? "


How about making that Cardiff ?

Jenks (wishin` and a hopin`).

Hehe, I wish But I understand they have been seen in Devon and Cornwall.

A late Silver-washed Fritillary

During a walk today in the Friston Forest area of the South Downs, it was a surprise to encounter this poor old male Silver-washed Fritillary, who looked well past his sell-by date. Other species seen were Painted Lady (dozens of them), Common Blue, Brown Argus, Meadow Brown, Small Heath and lots of Whites.

He's holding up quite well for this time of year...the ones I've seen at the tail end of August usually only have about a third of their wing area remaining

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Good stuff, Andy. Many of us got our first sightings of Long-Tailed Blues at Kingsdown, back in 2013, and it’s great to know they are there again. My Essex and Kent searches have so far drawn a blank but, as you say, Kingsdown is a great place with plenty of foodplant, so a trip there could well be on the cards in a few weeks...

Great that you got to see the Long Tailed Blues, Andy, and yes, they're becoming ever more commonplace. It's only a few years ago when people were turning up with nets due to the rarity value but that no longer seems to be happening now, thankfully.

Your Silver Washed Fritillary is a real warrior! I often see them in Pembrokeshire in both late August and even early September, but of course they emerge that bit later here so it's not too unusual.

I live about 15 minutes drive from Park Corner Heath and the neighbouring Rowland Wood BC reserves, so I hope I was keeping to Government guidelines when visiting there. With the weather forecast to collapse for the next few days at least, I was keen to get there this afternoon.

I saw about 6 Pearl-bordered Fritillaries in Rowland Wood, along the main SE-NW path that leads away from the A22. There were many more at Park Corner Heath, mainly close to the (now defunct) information hut, but I saw several elsewhere. In all I must have seen over 30 individuals.
It was good to go on a butterfly expedition, and even better to see that the PBF are doing well after their reintroduction last year.

So long as you spent at least 30 minutes on site walking without stopping I think you've have been well within the guidelines Andy Great set of shots - and good to hear of those numbers

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Andy Wilson wrote: ↑Mon Apr 27, 2020 3:54 pm..I live about 15 minutes drive from Park Corner Heath and the neighbouring Rowland Wood BC reserves..

That's colossally good fortune at this time of year, Andy.

Nice to see a few more Pearls on the forum, but tinged with a bit of personal sadness in the sense that unlike its close relative, Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, which is on my doorstep, I'd have to drive for over an hour to see these beauties, which at the moment is simply not feasible.

Rowland Wood and Park Corner Heath - Take 2

I visited Rowland Wood and Park Corner Heath for a second time yesterday afternoon. The temperature was about 20C, with the sun shining out of a cloudless sky. Pearl-bordered Fritillaries were seen in reasonable numbers and it was good to see that they have dispersed widely over most of the larger Rowland Wood site. At Park Corner Heath, they seem to favour the higher, drier area near the former information hut.
Many of them are looking a bit faded now, but I followed a fresher-looking individual that I thought might be a Small Pearl. It led me a merry dance, but I eventually got some long-distance record shots that showed it was not. I don't think they have started here yet. Just before I left, I got a nice shot of a male PBF that most considerately settled on a spike of Bugle right at my feet.

Other species seen were Brimstone, Peacock, Green-veined White, Large White, Dingy Skipper, Grizzled Skipper and Small Heath (lots of them).

Lovely shot Andy Are you likely to get a second wave of Pearls? At Bentley Wood they seem to emerge in waves so there is the odd fresh one about when the Small Pearls emerge

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Thanks for the update, Andy. Seems many of these PBF colonies in the south are thriving thanks to targeted management. The supporting cast is pretty impressive too!

Having a Butchers at Butchershole (aka Friston Gallops)

I went to my favourite South Downs site today and wasn't disappointed. Common Blues and Adonis Blues were everywhere, together with myriads of Small Heaths and a few Dingy and Grizzled Skippers. The Adonis Blues are doing particularly well this year, and I don't remember seeing so many first-brood individuals here before. There are also carpets of Horseshoe Vetch all over the site, including some areas where it is not usually present. I suspect this is because this year's Spring drought has suppressed some of the bullying grasses. Hopefully this bodes well for Chalk Hill Blues and the second-brood Adonis Blues later in the summer.

It was quite hot and the butterflies weren't staying still for long, but I did get a picture of a mating pair of Common Blues and one Grizzled Skipper that rather unusually posed nicely for me.