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Cornwall - May 30th to June 3rd part 2

Marsh Fritillaries

A couple of years ago I was on The Lizard at the beginning of June for a family holiday and UKB member Essexbuzzard had very kindly tipped me off about a good Marsh Fritillary site not far from where we were staying. This site was obviously on my agenda for a return visit this time and after breakfast on the Wednesday (31st May) morning I drove around for a look. I arrived around 10.30 under cloudy skies but with the temperature on my car display showing 16c I was feeling fairly confident that I would see something.
As I walked down the site I spotted a few Speckled Wood along the hedges and almost immediately on reaching the area where I had previously seen the Marsh Fritillaries I saw one flying low above the long grass. I soon saw a number of others and as the cloud thinned a bit and the air temperature rose I saw more and more taking to the air around me or basking with their wings open amongst the vegetation to the point where I could stand still in one place and easily count a dozen or more around me.

The males were most obvious with their flying about searching for females but they were also settling regularly and basking to soak up the warmth from the weak sun which was still mostly hidden behind thin cloud. As with my previous sessions with this species I couldn't help but notice the variation with it seeming that no two individuals looked exactly alike.
Once I had my eye in, I also began to see plenty of females who were usually sitting lower down in the tussocks of grass or clumps of heather and who often looked quite fresh with chunky abdomens swollen with eggs.

Compared to my previous visit to this site in June 2015 I reckon there were more Marsh Fritillaries than I saw then, I didn't actually count them but a conservative estimate of 100+ seems reasonable and they were spread over a larger area than last time.

After spending an hour and a half or so there I went back to meet Jane at the B&B and then went off to find a cream tea which I had promised her...not that I am averse to one myself of course.

On the afternoon of the Friday (June 2nd) we were driving back up from Lizard village and as we were passing this site again stopped for another quick look around.
This time I also found a few mating pairs hunkered down in the vegetation, only one of which was in a position where I could get a photo.
Apart from the Marsh Fritillaries seen at the above site, I also saw a couple later on the afternoon of the Thursday (June 1st) when I had walked a section of the coast path from Mullion Cove to Predannack Cliffs. Two years ago I had walked to Predannack Cliffs from the other direction, starting from the NT car park at Predannack Wollas and had found good numbers of Marsh Fritillaries along there. This time I only saw two, maybe three, and only managed to photograph the one individual but he was a nice fresh looking male.
Calender wise, my visit this year was only a couple of days earlier than two years ago but I wondered if this time the Marsh Fritillaries were only just getting started at this spot. This is possibly supported by the fact that last time I only saw one worn Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary along here but this time there were a dozen or more still flying along the same stretch, some of them still in good condition...more on these to come in another report.

To be continued...

Neil.

Lovely, sharp images, Neil, and those Marshies all look as fresh as a daisy!

We have but a week or so to enjoy them, as they will then disappear for yet another year.

Lovely photos of beautifully fresh butterflies, Neil. That looks like a terrific place to visit.

Dave

Great Marshie images, and in particular, great report.
I wonder if the Cornish population is a little later than those in Wiltshire.
By the date of your images the Wilts Marshies would be past their best.

Trevor.

Glad to see that site is still producing the goods this year, Neil. No wonder you went back later in the week. That site is impossible to drive past in season!

Thanks David, this species soon looses its freshness and takes on the 'greasy' look that gave rise to its old name. I was lucky to see so many in good condition.

Yes Dave, it is a great spot. I would never have known about it without Marks (essexbuzzard) tip off.

Cheers Trevor, I have never seen Marshies in Wiltshire so I cannot comment on how the flight periods compare. It probably varies season to season.

Hi Mark, if anything there were more Marshies there this year than on my previous visit two years ago. Many thanks again for putting me on to the site.

Cornwall - May 30th to June 3rd part 3.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries.

As I began to write this report it brought back memories of the last time I had seen Small Pearl –bordered Fritillaries, in early June last year. This was when we went to Scotland, primarily to see my first Chequered Skippers but when I also saw good numbers of SPBFs both up there and during our stays in the Arnside/Silverdale area on the way there and back. It thus dawned on me that I had last seen this species in their northern strongholds and here I was this year seeing them at the other end of their range where they also seem to be doing well.

My first Small Pearls this year were seen later on the afternoon of the Wednesday (May 31st) when I went for a walk from Lizard Point to a spot approximately half way to Kynance Cove. On my last visit here two years ago I had found SPBFs fairly well spread out along the coast path here, but this time they were concentrated mostly in two particular spots alongside the shelter of the stone walls that are a feature of this stretch of coast.
As usual, I noticed that I was repeatedly seeing the same butterflies as they flitted back and forth but I reckon I counted at least 15 individuals between the two spots that were separated by a stretch that was more exposed to the wind and where nothing was seen. I believe that Small Pearls are usually on the wing from early May in Cornwall so it was well into their flight period here and I was unsure what condition I would find them in, so I was pleased to find a number in quite good condition although other examples were looking well past their best.

The following afternoon was when I walked from Mullion Cove to Predannack Cliffs as described in the previous report and saw a number of Small Pearls along the coast path there. Like those by Lizard Point, these were in a mixture of conditions from well tired and faded looking to quite good.
I had also seen a number of Small Pearls earlier on the Thursday morning when we had taken a drive over to the north coast and visited the dunes at Upton Towans but those seen there were very flighty in the warm morning sun and the ones that I managed to get a close look at were all worn and faded. I am not sure, but quite possibly these emerge earlier in the shelter of the dunes here than those on The Lizard and had been on the wing for longer.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries regularly have a second brood in Cornwall which apparently in some years can outnumber the first at some locations, particularly the north coast dunes. I will be down there again in August for a family holiday and hopefully will have a chance to spend some more time with this species then.

Bye for now,

Neil

Yet again, Neil, it has paid dividends for you to concentrate on a single species. SPBFs are quite precious creatures...very west-centric, but rarely common.

It's good to know there are parts of both the far north and the far south where they are seemingly thriving.

Fantastic posts from your holiday Neil The variation in those Marshies is a joy to behold Cracking Small Pearls as well - though my favourite has to be the last one - the markings on the hind wing margins look more like like rectangles than spots, I swear one of them looks like the outline of a house with pointed roof and a little chimney(right hand, hind wing, marking closest to the body)

Have a goodun

Wurzel

A jealous congratulations from me, Neil ! Unfortunately I'm not down there in June this year, so I will just have to admire your pictures and postings!

Brilliant reports and images from Cornwall, Neil.
Looking at your Small Pearl images, I can't see any worn or faded specimens among them.
Images 5, 8 & 9 are paler, beautifully marked females.
I have had some close encounters with some fresh SPBF this year, and noted colour variation.

Great stuff,
Trevor.

More beautiful images, Neil. It would be great to see the SPBF in the second brood too.

Dave

Lovely photos of the Marsh and SPB Fritillaries, Neil, and great reports from your Cornwall trip looking forward to more.

Mike

Thank you all for the great comments which are very much appreciated

Cornwall - May30th to June 3rd part 4.

Silver-studded Blues.

In a couple of my previous reports from Cornwall I have mentioned that on the Thursday (June 1st) morning we drove over to the north coast to visit the dunes at Upton Towans near Hayle. My main reason for going there was to look for early Silver-studded Blues which regularly fly earlier on the dunes here than on the Cornish healthland sites.
Since returning home I have also seen that SSBs were already flying on the heaths in the south east which does seem a touch early for those sites whereas it is perfectly normal for them be flying in early June or even late May at Upton Towns.

On arrival at around 10.00am it was already feeling quite warm and with plenty of blue sky it was shaping up to be the warmest day so far down there. Within moments of walking onto the dunes I saw a couple of blue butterflies which turned out to be male Common Blues and it soon became apparent that there were good numbers of these flying all over the dune system. I had seen plenty of these in Cornwall so far but they were not what I had come here to look for.

There are plenty of sheltered spots tuck away amongst these dunes, many of which are the fallen down remains of buildings that were used to manufacture explosives back in the early 20th century, and in which now can be found lots of Birds-foot Trefoil which is the larval foodplant of the Silver-studded Blues here. Checking out one of these areas I spotted a couple of blues having a bit of a territorial squabble, one of which was obviously a male Common Blue, but the other was smaller and a different shade of bright blue. As they separated and went their separate ways I tracked the smaller one to where it settled and confirmed my suspicion that it was indeed a nice fresh male Silver-studded Blue.

Over the rest of the morning, as I got my ‘eye in’ to separate the SSBs from their Common cousins in flight, I saw a dozen or more, all nice fresh looking males. To begin with they were settling regularly and basking but as it got warmer they became more and more active and when they did settle they were quick to close their wings.
I was aware that I had not seen any females so far and with the males all looking like they had only been out a day or two I figured that the females were still to emerge. I had just started to head back to the car when I spotted a small silvery looking blur that at first I thought was a Brown Argus. I watched as it settled and was pleased to see that it was in fact a fresh out of the box female SSB and a very attractive one at that with bright orange lunules and a smattering of blue scales.
With her darker colour she would have warmed up quicker than the males and I only had time for a couple of photos before she closed her wings, which at least gave me the chance to get some underside shots as well.
I then went back to meet Jane at the car and we headed off for a coffee and ice-cream…just to make a change from a cream tea

This is the last single species report from Cornwall, various other butterflies were seen along with some other ‘stuff’ which I will probably wrap up in a more general report next.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Interesting, Neil - I have never been anywhere where there have been numbers of Common Blues mixed with the SSBs, so that you have to separate them. That female is an absolute corker of a butterfly! The extra blue scales and the blue tinge to the sheen of the freshly-emerged butterfly are just amazing.

Dave

Did you see any brown argus at the Towans, Neil?

I've noticed something different about your SSB's from Cornwall, compared to those in the South East.
On your specimens the grey wing border on the hind wing is divided into separate spots, whereas those
from Iping, Thursley and Fairmile have a continuous grey border.
This may or may not be significant, but it did occur to me that populations hundreds of miles apart
may have evolved differently.

Another great report, Neil,
Trevor.

Stunning shots Neil - the contrast between the electric blue, dark margin and the silver/white of the wing margins of he males is just sublime and that female...nice!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Just catching up Neil, those are a lovely selection of Fritillaries and those Blues, especially that 'glowing' female

I've never been to that part of the world but it's definitely on my list of places to visit !

Hi Dave, In the past I have also seen Common Blues flying with SSBs at Prees Heath in Shropshire but there were many more SSBs than CBs there. It is early in their season at Upton Towns and whilst the Common Blues were more numerous when I visited, that will change in a few weeks as the SSBs reach peak numbers as the Common Blues first brood finishes.

I didn't see any Brown Argus at the Towans this time Mark but I have seen them there before.

Hi Trevor, I have never seen SSBs in the South East so cannot comment on them but everywhere else I have seen them the males have had some degree of spots on the hindwing borders.

Cheers Wurzel, I think that the tone of blue of the male SSBs makes them my favourite blue butterfly...more subtle than the electric blue of Adonis males. It is a close thing though.

Hi Bugboy, definitely a part of the world worth visiting. I would highly recommend the walk between Kynance Cove and Lizard Point, great scenery and a a great selection of butterflies, a different cast depending on the time of year.

Now then, I really must get my act together and finish off my last report rounding up everything else I saw down in Cornwall.

Cheers,

Neil.

Just spotted that female SSB. She is certainly most unusual.