Page 2 of 219
Re: nfreem
Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 8:55 pm
by Neil Freeman
Sunday 24th July.
A beautiful sunny afternoon, and as my daughter was at ours to keep my wife company, I dodged out of the female talk and went off to spend an hour or so at another of my local spots.
http://www.warwickshire-wildlife-trust. ... -sssi.aspx
All the usual suspects were flying around including Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers and Large, Small and GV Whites. There were at least half a dozen Small Coppers that, between bouts of intercepting anything that came close, posed nicely for me.
![Shadowbrook 24.07.2011 009 resize.jpg (361 KiB) Viewed 104044 times Small Copper](./files/thumb_10101_c69708849ed9a786d32d932dad307eb9)
- Small Copper
![Shadowbrook 24.07.2011 034 resize.jpg (359.58 KiB) Viewed 104044 times Another Small Copper](./files/thumb_10101_b4f8b170d35c00fdfa754afb0b37dcfb)
- Another Small Copper
![Shadowbrook 24.07.2011 079 resize.jpg (344.76 KiB) Viewed 104044 times And another Small Copper](./files/thumb_10101_70f4206fbc591079f74b8a6528e11026)
- And another Small Copper
I was also pleased to see Common Blues
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
, the first of the Summer brood that I have seen around here.
![Shadowbrook 24.07.2011 031 resize.jpg (348.79 KiB) Viewed 104044 times Common Blue - male](./files/thumb_10101_7bba5f270e58b972c50fc5bc6d2143ea)
- Common Blue - male
Also found this courting couple cavorting in full view on top of a seed head
![Shadowbrook 24.07.2011 063 resize.jpg (362.69 KiB) Viewed 104044 times Love is in the air.](./files/thumb_10101_0560d87a353e1a293bc69dd669d554c2)
- Love is in the air.
There were also a number of Dragonflies, the chap below is the only one I managed to get a shot of, I have no idea what it is.
![Shadowbrook 24.07.2011 059 resize.jpg (347.15 KiB) Viewed 104044 times Dragonfly of some sort ?](./files/thumb_10101_489876ff4cfeecb30bd0374eaf61b2d0)
- Dragonfly of some sort ?
The weather is looking promising for the next few days and I have some time off work so hopefully I will be able to get out some more.
Bye for now,
Neil.
Re: nfreem
Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:08 pm
by Neil Freeman
Monday 25th July
As mentioned in the sightings thread I was in two minds as to whether to go to
Prestbury Hill or
Rodborough Common today.
In the end I went I to
Prestbury Hill this morning. I spent a about 3 hours wandering around both sides of the reserve looking for Chalkhill Blues without success. It was a pleasant morning nonetherlesss with the following species seen in good numbers,
Meadow Browns
Gatekeepers
Speckled Wood
Marbled White
Small Heaths
Dark Green Fritillary...it took ages to get a shot of one of these, they are hyperactive
Peacocks
Small Skipper
Large, Small and GV Whites.
![Prestbury Hill 25.07.2011 045 resize .jpg (418.96 KiB) Viewed 104026 times Dark Green Fritillary - after much patient waiting](./files/thumb_10101_fe889b62ab9524152c8748588d090463)
- Dark Green Fritillary - after much patient waiting
![Prestbury Hill 25.07.2011 043 resize .jpg (344.66 KiB) Viewed 104026 times Small Heath - finally got a pic of one not surrounded by grass stems](./files/thumb_10101_db9a591672c2812e5f6c297b4d12ed97)
- Small Heath - finally got a pic of one not surrounded by grass stems
I also saw the following in smaller numbers,
3 Brown Argus
2 Common Blue
3 Small Copper
3 Large Skipper
2 Red Admiral
1 Small Tortoiseshell
1 Silver Washed Fritillary in the valley at the southern end of the reserve busy chasing Peacocks around the brambles.
![Prestbury Hill 25.07.2011 008 resize.jpg (358.22 KiB) Viewed 104026 times Brown Argus - male](./files/thumb_10101_a2eeea5a813affb18065d86cea3701f2)
- Brown Argus - male
![Prestbury Hill 25.07.2011 060 resize .jpg (365.65 KiB) Viewed 104026 times Brown Argus - female](./files/thumb_10101_fc881736d360bf9f93e41bfa9036b135)
- Brown Argus - female
The Small Copper below had slight blue spotting on the hind wings. Not sure if these are large enough to qualify as an ab.
![Prestbury Hill 25.07.2011 010 resize.jpg (371.77 KiB) Viewed 104026 times Small Copper - slight blue spots on hind wing](./files/thumb_10101_855fd83dd0fcc00c62601b359d823e7e)
- Small Copper - slight blue spots on hind wing
Being unsuccessful at Prestbury with Chalkhill Blues I decided to carry on to
Rodborough Common.
Following directions given by Bill Willrow I headed for
Swellshill Bank. I parked the car and wandered down the bank and within minutes had seen a couple of dozen Chalkhill Blues
I spent about an hour here and must have seen 50+ CBs although I did not keep an exact count.
Also seen here were the usual Meadow Browns, a few worn Marbled Whites and a solitary Dark Green Fritillary.
![Rodborough 25.07.2011 076 resize .jpg (389.96 KiB) Viewed 104026 times Chalkhill Blue - male](./files/thumb_10101_88afbf85e17c190a8598714f41d8cc9c)
- Chalkhill Blue - male
![Rodborough 25.07.2011 091 resize .jpg (338 KiB) Viewed 104026 times Chalkhill Blue - male](./files/thumb_10101_0770456769de6ee8b6c0aa3c0b015920)
- Chalkhill Blue - male
All in all, another good day
Bye for now
Neil.
Re: nfreem
Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:45 pm
by Mark Colvin
Hi Neil.
Glad to see you're are getting to grips with the close-up lens. Great 1st Brown Argus shot.
nfreem wrote:Dark Green Fritillary - after much patient waiting
I gave up waiting!
Keep up the good work.
Kind regards. Mark
Re: nfreem
Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2011 10:33 pm
by Lee Hurrell
Mark Colvin wrote:Glad to see you're are getting to grips with the close-up lens. Great 1st Brown Argus shot.
I agree, that one's a stunner!
Cheers
Lee
Re: nfreem
Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 6:27 am
by Michaeljf
Hi Neil,
seeing as by your own admission this is your first year - you have got a really nice collection of species (and photos) already. Very nice shots at Prestbury Hill and Rodborough Common, two of my favourite places that I don't have enough time to visit at the moment!
Michael
Re: nfreem
Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 8:11 am
by Neil Freeman
Thanks for the comments guys,
Glad you like the shots
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
,I had some really useful tips on using the close up lens from posters on here including Mark Colvin and Sussex Kipper.
I was interested in Butterfies as a lad, like a lot of others, but then life sort of takes over and you lose touch with a lot of things.
It was whilst I was on holiday in Cornwall last year that I saw some Dark Green Fritillarys amongst some dunes and they re-ignited my interest. During the back end of last year I attempted to take a few photos of anything that I saw using an old point and shoot compact camera.
This soon made me realise that I would need something better and after looking through the various threads on UKB I picked up a second hand Lumix FZ38 last winter.
So, yes, this is my first full season of my re-born interest.
I am pretty fortunate in that living in the midlands, I have some very good sites within easy reach. In fact Rodborough Common yesterday was the furthest I have travelled so far, about 70 miles or so from my house.
Bye for now,
Neil.
Re: nfreem
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 1:36 pm
by Neil Freeman
Thursday 28th July - part 1
After checking the weather forcast the night before and after reading some of the posts in other threads, I decided to head off down the M40 to
Aston Rowant.
I figured that I could be there for about 09.30am which would give me a good 2-3 hours there and then allow me time to call in at
Bernwood on my way back up the motorway and still have time to get back home by 6pm-ish when I had to pick up my wife from my daughters.
I left home at 0.800am and following a steady drive down the M40 duly arrived at Aston Rowant just before half past nine
Parking at the car park on the north side, I walked through the wooded area and out onto the hillside.
![Aston Rowant 25.07.2011 011 resize.jpg (466.79 KiB) Viewed 103953 times Aston Rowant - looking West.](./files/thumb_10101_1be65804326b64658065b3874ef6253f)
- Aston Rowant - looking West.
Straight away, I saw Meadow Browns and Chalkhill Blues. the Meadow Browns varied from extremely faded and tatty to fairly fresh looking. The Chalkhill Blues were mostly male but there were some females about as well.
![Aston Rowant 25.07.2011 063 resize.jpg (339.71 KiB) Viewed 103953 times Meadow Brown - male](./files/thumb_10101_83344ac97685133f767b3ec2e10b57d1)
- Meadow Brown - male
![Aston Rowant 25.07.2011 014 resize.jpg (418.59 KiB) Viewed 103953 times Chalkhill Blue - male](./files/thumb_10101_6f618c338a9fcbed54da79339d07bd82)
- Chalkhill Blue - male
![Aston Rowant 25.07.2011 059 resize.jpg (359.4 KiB) Viewed 103953 times Chalkhill Blue - male](./files/thumb_10101_4751b9e855d8e8b2ba3be8d8d376c786)
- Chalkhill Blue - male
![Aston Rowant 25.07.2011 145 resize.jpg (343.39 KiB) Viewed 103953 times Chalkhill Blue - female](./files/thumb_10101_539acd0b9aa42e064345e65f93218be0)
- Chalkhill Blue - female
There were also a few Small Coppers about including this pair, the one on the left is form
Caeruleo-punctata I believe. The one on the right also has some slight blue spotting.
![Aston Rowant 25.07.2011 024 resize.jpg (510.18 KiB) Viewed 103953 times Small Copper var. and friend.](./files/thumb_10101_2330cb76646cdf9dc37b6b76a4a5e62c)
- Small Copper var. and friend.
Anyway, the main reason that I had come to Aston Rowant was for Silver Spotted Skippers and, moving a little further along the hillside, It wasn't long before I saw the first one
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
. During the next couple of hours I must have seen a couple of dozen all along the hillside along with loads of Chalkhill Blues.
![Aston Rowant 25.07.2011 017 resize.jpg (367.92 KiB) Viewed 103953 times Silver Spotted Skipper - male](./files/thumb_10101_76079f99084940aaa8b9119700b7ca0e)
- Silver Spotted Skipper - male
![Aston Rowant 25.07.2011 061 resize.jpg (365.58 KiB) Viewed 103953 times Silver Spotted Skipper - male](./files/thumb_10101_c490a8be8666fa64da2ecf24fe1ab116)
- Silver Spotted Skipper - male
![Aston Rowant 25.07.2011 073 resize.jpg (385.33 KiB) Viewed 103953 times Silver Spotted Skipper - female](./files/thumb_10101_b3813703731f59369849ba5682359cb8)
- Silver Spotted Skipper - female
![Aston Rowant 25.07.2011 074 resize.jpg (398.77 KiB) Viewed 103953 times Silver Spotted Skipper about to chase off a hoverfly](./files/thumb_10101_f7b4794c9196016e264e1459f8f1f61a)
- Silver Spotted Skipper about to chase off a hoverfly
![Aston Rowant 25.07.2011 095 resize.jpg (356.65 KiB) Viewed 103953 times Silver Spotted Skipper - female](./files/thumb_10101_b669bc5c838748b7a8ac70768ea5fde2)
- Silver Spotted Skipper - female
![Aston Rowant 25.07.2011 104 resize.jpg (355.98 KiB) Viewed 103953 times Silver Spotted Skipper - female](./files/thumb_10101_45febda3928ffcc7a4995876bec2a26a)
- Silver Spotted Skipper - female
![Aston Rowant 25.07.2011 111 resize.jpg (376.29 KiB) Viewed 103953 times Silver Spotted Skipper - male](./files/thumb_10101_7c7bc2522ffd1d318134a5081148e0e9)
- Silver Spotted Skipper - male
![Aston Rowant 25.07.2011 127 resize.jpg (428.27 KiB) Viewed 103953 times Silver Spotted Skipper - female](./files/thumb_10101_5a609bf2fbb44c7caa30f07e4f294fca)
- Silver Spotted Skipper - female
Also seen were a few worn Marbled Whites, some Brimstones, Small Skippers near the base of the hill and a Hummingbird Hawk Moth
After a very enjoyable few hours, I decided to make a move and head back up the M40 stopping off at Bernwood on the way.
To be continued.......
Bye for now,
Neil.
Re: nfreem
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 5:00 pm
by EricY
Lovely pics from Aston Rowant Neil, hope we can do as well on sunday. Eric
Re: nfreem
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 5:38 pm
by ChrisC
aston looking west pic. hmmm i wonder what the chances are of the dark shape, top right hand corner , being a red kite. (i actually initially thought it was dirt on my screen) I used to go 2 or 3 times a year (before i found butterflies) never knew about the skippers up there. so the pictures are nice to see.
Chris
Re: nfreem
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 6:07 pm
by Mark Colvin
Hi Neil,
Nice report.
Aston Rowant looks like a nice piece of ground. Its not a site I know. Is that the M40 to the left of the picture?
I always struggle getting a good shot with Skippers so well done.
Looking forward to Part 2.
Kind regards. Mark
Re: nfreem
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 6:09 pm
by MikeOxon
ChrisC wrote:i wonder what the chances are of the dark shape, top right hand corner , being a red kite.
Very high, I should think! There are often about 15 of them hanging around over the M40 cutting! The local press recently latched on to a story about Red Kites stealing lunch boxes from kids in a school playground!
Mike
Re: nfreem
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 6:24 pm
by Neil Freeman
Many thanks for the comments Guys,
Mark, that is the M40 you can see. You can hear it from the site as a constant drone but after a short while I had shut it out and didn't notice.
Yes, it is a Red Kite in the distance, I remember it being there. In fact during the morning they were a constant presence at some point in the sky.
Cheers,
Neil.
Re: nfreem
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 6:36 pm
by Neil Freeman
Mark Colvin wrote:Hi Neil,
I always struggle getting a good shot with Skippers so well done.
They are not easy...sneaking up on them like a ninja, sitting down, lying down, leaning over at odd angles.....one wrong move and they are off like little manic rockets
Once they take off they are very hard to keep track of. Luckily there were plenty there so it didn't take long before I spotted another one (or the same one again
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
)
Cheers,
Neil.
Re: nfreem
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 7:39 pm
by Neil Freeman
Thursday July 28th - part 2
After spending the morning at
Aston Rowant as descibed in part 1, I decided to head back up the M40 to
Bernwood.
I had read Michaeljf and Lee Hurrells reports on their visit to Bernwood so I had a good idea of where I was heading for and sure enough 30 minutes or so later I had parked in the small car park at Bernwood Meadows and was looking down the long field alongside the road.
First Butterflies seen were Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers and Common Blues plus a couple of Small Coppers and Brown Argus (Argus's?? Argi ??
![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_confused.gif)
).
![Bernwood 25.07.2011 157 resize.jpg (340.77 KiB) Viewed 103896 times Brown Argus - male](./files/thumb_10101_781064756ae6cba4e835a8cc77640ff7)
- Brown Argus - male
It had come over a bit cloudy by this time but was still warm so I decided to have a walk through the wood and come back to the meadow later. Butterflies seen in the wood were Silver Washed Fritillaries, Red Admirals, Peacocks, Meadow Browns, Ringlets, Brimstones and Large Skippers.
![Bernwood 25.07.2011 175 resize.jpg (363.28 KiB) Viewed 103896 times Brimstone - male](./files/thumb_10101_eed1949e7cb2a50e93662806385848b3)
- Brimstone - male
After about an hour or so the sun started peeking out again and I headed back to the meadows.
One of my reasons for coming to Bernwood was to try and finally get a shot of a Purple Hairstreak. I have seen loads at various sites but always up high in the trees. I figured I would look for the 'straggly' Hawthorn descibed by Michael. I soon found the area in question and sure enough there were numerous Purple Hairstreaks flitting about both the straggly tree and its more healthy looking neighbour. Some of these even landed close enough for me to take some photos, not brilliant pics but at least I now had some.
![Bernwood 25.07.2011 201 resize.jpg (372.14 KiB) Viewed 103896 times Purple Hairstreak](./files/thumb_10101_d0730ca8b3bab33f57a565883e5794b1)
- Purple Hairstreak
![Bernwood 25.07.2011 203 resize.jpg (364.6 KiB) Viewed 103896 times Purple Hairstreaks 'eyeballing' each other](./files/thumb_10101_47e899c4086896553f17fbf2f575a23f)
- Purple Hairstreaks 'eyeballing' each other
![Bernwood 25.07.2011 206 resize.jpg (390.95 KiB) Viewed 103896 times Purple Hairstreak](./files/thumb_10101_b7cde5526ed90e024eeec64565deb9e4)
- Purple Hairstreak
![Bernwood 25.07.2011 217 resize.jpg (424.17 KiB) Viewed 103896 times Purple Hairstreak](./files/thumb_10101_638751ee733f03b14f14898e64b63335)
- Purple Hairstreak
Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself a little here as I had earlier had my highlight of my visit to Bernwood.
I had gone back into the long field and was about half way along watching a couple of Gatekeepers when another one fluttered in front of me.
I thought 'thats a bit dark for a Gatekeeper...hang on a min, that could be a Brown Hairstreak' . Indeed it was
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
. It promptly settled in front of me and spent a couple of minutes nectaring allowing me to get some photos. I did not manage to get a shot of the upperside but it flicked its wings open a couple of times long enough for me to see the orange patches identifying her as a female.
![Bernwood 25.07.2011 180 resize.jpg (419.92 KiB) Viewed 103896 times Brown Hairstreak - female](./files/thumb_10101_1f0f42f52021452ef49757fbc3fcac32)
- Brown Hairstreak - female
![Bernwood 25.07.2011 189 resize.jpg (413.61 KiB) Viewed 103896 times Brown Hairstreak - female](./files/thumb_10101_3843ce362219b08ee4fa25aaba04f626)
- Brown Hairstreak - female
As I was taking these photos, I became aware of a growing 'buzzing' around me and noticed I was getting some rather unwelcome attention from a group of wasps. Looking down, I saw that my foot was about six inches or so away from a hole in the ground from which a rather large number of wasps were coming.
I had nearly put my foot in a wasps nest
I backed away slowly until the wasps were no longer buzzing me but in doing so I had lost sight of the Brown Hairstreak
All in all, an excellent morning at Aston Rowant was added to by an equally enjoyable afternoon at Bernwood
The cherry on the cake was the Brown Hairstreak and I even got away without being stung.
Bye for now,
Neil
Re: nfreem
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 7:46 pm
by Mark Colvin
Two species of Hairstreak photographed in one day!
Now that's going some.
Well done.
Kind regards. Mark
Re: nfreem
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 9:00 pm
by Lee Hurrell
Lovely report and photos, Neil!
Cheers
Lee
Re: nfreem
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:35 pm
by Michaeljf
Neil,
you continue to get great shots and see some lovely species - I really enjoyed the report, which I had been there!! Apart from for the Wasps nest..
The Purple Hairstreak tree is a little wonder in it's own right, I think!
Must get some sleep now
Michael
Re: nfreem
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 8:53 pm
by Neil Freeman
Wednesday 3rd August.
My oldest son has a pushbike that has been sitting in our garage unused for some months now. I have eyed it up occasionally thinking that I could use it to get around some of my local spots.
Well, this morning I went for it. I wiped the dust off it, put some air in the tyres and set off for Sheldon Country Park which is only a 10 minute bike ride away from my house.
The first part of this area consists of playing fields but once past these there is a nice meadow area and then a wooded bit.
![Sheldon 03.08.2011 020 resize .jpg (433.44 KiB) Viewed 103832 times Sheldon Country Park - first meadow](./files/thumb_10101_ad747e115a1697996b18e4e1c2514e84)
- Sheldon Country Park - first meadow
There are some paths through the trees, one of which is tarmac, the others are mown grass. Once out the other side there is an open area right at the end of the runway at Birmingham Airport. There are some benches here and there is often a small crowd of people watching the aircraft taking off. Just past here are some more meadow areas plus more small wooded areas.
I spent an hour or so looking around here as it steadily got warmer and warmer and was pleased to see that Common Blue numbers are starting to build. Also seen were a few Small Coppers, plenty of Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns and also plenty of whites that didn't settle long enough to ID, though I think they were mostly Large Whites.
I also spotted a Brown Argus which is the first of these that I have seen at this location
![Sheldon 03.08.2011 011 resize.jpg (349.78 KiB) Viewed 103832 times Common Blue - male](./files/thumb_10101_d258c1f6a91f87713684a9f5c5138207)
- Common Blue - male
![Sheldon 03.08.2011 009.jpg (345.3 KiB) Viewed 103832 times Brown Argus - male](./files/thumb_10101_86be4f4df73c3f9595d38b2fc406aeb6)
- Brown Argus - male
![Sheldon 03.08.2011 017 resize .jpg (377.51 KiB) Viewed 103832 times Small Copper](./files/thumb_10101_a81ab81f81f86d7268392b0756a4656b)
- Small Copper
I also spotted this little fella out for a morning Stroll. I am thinking maybe a Buff Ermine but could easily be wrong.
![Sheldon 03.08.2011 001 resize.jpg (456.85 KiB) Viewed 103832 times Buff Ermine cat. or not ?](./files/thumb_10101_d6ada32006948ef30567bf852acdeba6)
- Buff Ermine cat. or not ?
Most of the time I was there I had a buzzard circling overhead. Birmingham city centre is only a few miles from here, how long before they can be seen circling over the Bull Ring?
![Sheldon 03.08.2011 003 resize.jpg (401.85 KiB) Viewed 103832 times Buzzard over outskirts of Brum.](./files/thumb_10101_22ce6d9de83d09e490a4f2b8191227c9)
- Buzzard over outskirts of Brum.
The forcast is for heavy rain tomorrow
![Sad :(](./images/smilies/icon_sad.gif)
looks like the paint brush will be out again, oh well.
Bye for now,
Neil.
Re: nfreem
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 9:23 pm
by Mark Colvin
Hi Neil,
Glad to see you're getting out with the camera. I've been stuck in the house all day today and the weather is forecast for heavy rain tomorrow (when I could get out)! I particularly like the Brown Argus shot. I think they're fabulous creatures and quite often overlooked.
Keep up the good work.
Good hunting.
Kind regards. Mark
Re: nfreem
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 9:31 pm
by Neil Freeman
Thanks Mark,
It was the first time I have managed to get out myself this week. Rain was forcast here for today but we didn't get any, it turned out to be a nice day
Weather not looking good anywhere tomorrow, lets hope the weekend is not too bad.
Cheers,
Neil.