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Up And Running

This week things started to return to normal, following two months of medical misery! Although I made a very cautious and tentative start, it was great to get back out onto the slopes of Heyshott Escarpment for yesterday's work party (26th November). As always, a dedicated band of Murray Downland Trust and BC Sussex volunteers were bashing the scrub with great enthusiasm. Unfortunately I wasn't able to reacquaint myself with the stunning views across Sussex, due to a thick fog - there's always next week! For anyone wishing to join us, next week's work party has been shifted from the usual Wednesday to Tuesday.

Today I spent several happy hours stalking the stunning male Black Redstart which UKBer Leigh Prevost found at Worthing Splash Point yesterday. I was later joined by Colin Knight, Leigh and a couple of others, all of whom got close-up views of this fabulous bird.

Super bird and image

Thanks Peter. As I'm sure you know, most that hang around on the way south seem to be female/juvenile, so it's a real treat to see a male in all his finery.
BWs, Neil

Good to see you back to normal, Neil.

As always Neil, a superb photo [of the Black Redstart] that does the bird justice.

"Black" suggests a dull bird. Far from it. Black Redstart is a real stunner. I once happened across half-a-dozen or so on grass below Sizewell Power Station. My only other self-find was a very brief view on a headland in NE Scotland. These sightings were many years ago before digital cameras so no records, just fine memories.

A challenge Neil. Picture of a Goldcrest showing the crest. Hard enough to see let alone photograph. Goldcrests suddenly turned up in numbers here on Mull a month ago. But maybe that has something to do with my new hearing aid

Jack

Thanks Jack. I couldn't resist another couple of hours with the Black Redstart this morning (28th November). It looked even more spectacular in the sunshine.
BWs, Neil

Excellent work Neil, despite the sun today I struggled to do it justice. A fine bird.

HI Neil,
Glad to read that you're up and about again.
There seems to be some frustration, from some UKBers,myself included,about the difficulty of photographing
the Purple Hairstreak.i even have a population in an oak at the bottom of my garden,but never within reach
of my camera. Could you add to our misery,and maybe provide some inspiration for 2015 by posting some of your
shots of this species.
Many thanks for sharing your stunning 2014 selection with us.
All the best,
TREVOR.

Thanks Trevor. It feels great to be able to get outside and breath fresh air again!

I haven't got anything additional to the stuff which has appeared in my diary or resides on the species page. Like most folk, I've struggled to get more than handful of decent shots. Purple Hairstreaks are almost impossible to track down and photograph intentionally - much luck is involved. It never ceases to amaze me how rapidly their numbers build in good years (and they can be really numerous), and yet it remains so difficult to ambush them on low foliage early in the morning. Even when timely and thorough searches are made, when thousands must be hatching, it is frustratingly hard to connect. We know that a proportion pupate underground, below the skirt of oak trees, but perhaps there is something we don't fully understand as yet. It is entirely possible that many pupate above ground, on branches and in crevices on trunks. There certainly appears to be a mismatch between the number of newly emerged individuals found at low level and the abundance of the species, particularly in good years.

BWs, Neil

Still Flying!

In mild and sunny conditions I walked for several miles over the Downs between Burpham and Rackham today, primarily to watch the numerous raptors which congregate here each winter, largely due to the favourable farming policies adopted by the Norfolk Estate. I saw at least 6 different Short-eared Owls and a dozen Red Kites.

Perhaps more surprising was the number of butterflies still flying up here. I personally saw 2 Red Admiral, 2 Peacock and a Comma. I bumped into a couple of friends as I left the site, who reported seeing several Red Admiral, a Small Tortoiseshell and a Large White. Five species in a day at the end of November is rather unusual!

H Neil,
Many thanks for the info.on the Purple Hairstreak,it seems they have given you some stick as well!.
Last winter I was woken up late at night and just before dawn by an Owl like call consisting of [usually] five
rapid hoots. Having never heard this particular call before my curiosity was aroused. But I found a web site
giving the calls of various Owls and there it was,a male Short Eared Owl. It's a pretty spooky sound to wake
up to.
All the best ,
TREVOR.

Graffham Down On The Up

An impressive 30 volunteers representing the Graffham Down Trust (GDT) and BC Sussex Branch turned out on Sunday (30th November), to open up some woodland glades within one of the GDT reserves high above the village. It was great to see a few youngsters taking part, and one family made the journey from Kent. As is so often the case, a relatively small group of people is going to make a huge difference to the fortunes of butterflies and moths. Inspirational stuff!
After the work was done I walked to the western end of the linear reserves area, to see how a major clearance project undertaken last winter is shaping up. A generous donation made to BC Sussex was match-funded by the South Downs National Park Authority, to create some very large scallops along the sunny side of a habitat corridor, connecting these reserves with the now famous Heyshott Escarpment (Murray Downland Trust). Following stump removal, cut & collect mowing and grazing these areas are looking superb, with violet, cowslip and wild strawberry all becoming rapidly established. I am optimistic that Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Duke of Burgundy and Grizzled Skipper will all show their appreciation in years to come, along with other rarities such as the Drab Looper moth.

Hi Neil, great stuff, I like this and would want to encourage those volunteers.
(I am always looking for a "like" button to press like on facebook, then one wouldn't necessarily need to comment. )
regards,
Philip

Thanks Philip. Yes, it's great to see the next generation taking an interest. They might disappear for a few years to party hard, but hopefully a few will come back and get serious about conservation later in life.

For some time I've been meaning to suggest that you might like to pay the Knepp Castle Estate Purple Emperors a visit next July. I love looking at your aerial sequences filmed at Bookham, but you would get many more opportunities at Knepp and at a much lower level. The Knepp Emperors are crying out to be filmed!

BWs, Neil

HI Neil,
As you have mentioned HIM. at Knepp, did you find any grounded males there this year?.
It is such a vast area that may be they do come down sometimes,but one would need to be in the right place
at the right moment.
Glad you're now alfresco!.
TREVOR

Hi Trevor,
As yet I've only seen one down at Knepp, very briefly. Given the numbers there (second only to Fermyn), it is difficult to fathom why they refuse to descend on a sufficiently regular basis to spot them - even Oates can't work it out! However, it's early days yet and we are still only just beginning to learn about their behaviour there - the habitat (which will influence behaviour) is very different to most Emperor sites.
BWs, Neil

Sitting Pretty

Many thanks to all who have either emailed me or made comments via UKB to say how much they like my image of the Duke of Burgundy pair sitting on a cowslip. I've been asked several times how I managed to get the shot. As has been said many times before, we all need a bit of luck, and that luck often comes as the result of putting the time in; "the more I practice, the luckier I get" is arguably attributed to the golfer Gary Player.

On this occasion (29th April 2014) I had spent most of the day monitoring Duke of Burgundy numbers on Heyshott Escarpment, with the hope of finding and photographing a mating pair. I had almost given up hope when I stumbled across this happy couple on the plateau area. I spent nearly half an hour photographing them in their usual closed wing posture, and had time to very carefully snip away a few blades of offending grass, in order to get a completely clear background. At that point it was a case of 'mission accomplished' and I couldn't really have hoped for more.

After a period of fidgeting, which often precedes uncoupling, they finished their business. In every case I have previously witnessed with Dukes, and with the vast majority of mating pairs of other species, the male butterfly makes a very sharp exit. Such ungallant behaviour is always to be expected of the male Duke of Burgundy. Male butterflies are programmed to rapidly move on in the search for another virgin female. However, female butterflies often pause for a while, before heading off for a feed, or retiring to the cover of scrub while their eggs ripen.

I was very surprised when both insects remained side-by-side, and even more so when they simultaneously opened their wings. For a moment I was convinced that the male would depart, as they both turned to face the late afternoon sun, ending up in the same plane of focus. I would imagine that getting the 8 wings and 4 antennae of a pair of mint condition Dukes in sharp focus, while sitting pretty on a cowslip, is an opportunity which is only likely to present itself once in about five lifetimes. After sitting on the plateau for another hour to enjoy the magnificent views, I floated back down the hill on Cloud Nine. I certainly felt very lucky.

Dukes Of Steyning Project

Last night (8th December) I was one of several speakers at the launch of the 'Dukes of Steyning' project. Financed by the Heritage Lorry Fund and with further support from the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA), this project aims to restore, extend and reconnect areas of fragmented chalk grassland, to benefit the Duke of Burgundy and other wildlife across the Steyning Downland Scheme (Wiston Estate).

Things are now looking much better for this species in Sussex, following nearly ten years of co-operation between BC Sussex (and latterly the BC national 'Dukes on the Edge' project), the SDNPA (and their forerunner, the SD Joint Committee), other local conservation bodies such as the Murray Downland Trust, and numerous landowners and farmers.

Although, realistically, it will be a few years yet before we can expect to see the Duke flying here, there are likely to be many more beneficiaries of the extensive works planned. The project isn't restricted to improving the habitat and there will be many opportunities for the local community to get involved. Butterfly identification and monitoring workshops will be delivered this spring and we hope that others will get involved in collecting and nurturing cowslip and primrose seeds from a local source.

This particular project will only run for two years, but the wider Steyning Downland Scheme initiative will continue to deliver benefits for the wildlife and people of Steyning for many years to come. Some will be aware of what has already been achieved here for the Brown Hairstreak. Hopefully this is just the start of things.

It was great to see such enthusiasm from the audience, and great to see both new and familiar faces, including UKBer Mark Tutton from across the border!

Butterfly Badges

My rucksack now hosts almost the entire collection of Paul Fosterjohn's lovely butterfly pin badges, the profits from which have all been generously donated to BC Branches or other worthy projects. To get the last badge it will be necessary to photograph an extreme aberrant Purple Emperor (2015 onwards), awarded at the discretion of Matthew Oates, who holds the entire stock.

Most designs have long sold out, but there are still a few of the Purple Emperor caterpillar badges available. The latest release is the Duke of Burgundy badge, which has been produced in support of the 'Dukes of Steyning' project (see last post). These can be purchased by emailing Paul at britannicuspinbadges@gmail.com, for £5.70 to include p&p. It would be nice to see these snapped up in the near future, providing funds for habitat management work on the Steyning Downland Scheme area.

Winter Warbler

On the afternoon of 8th December, before preparing for the launch of the 'Dukes of Steyning' project (see previous diary page), I spent a few hours searching (unsuccessfully) for the Great Grey Shrike which has been resident on Iping Common (Midhurst) for a few weeks now. By way of compensation I managed to photograph a Dartford Warbler, one of my favourite species since childhood. A quick stop at The Burgh (Burpham/Amberley) failed to produce the expected Short-eared Owls. I was later to discover that badgerbob had seen a dozen, at an unusually early time of day. You can't win 'em all!