Kev Ling

[kevling]

Sussex Holiday - 25th May to 1st June (part 2)

Thanks Wurzel for the tip on Adonis and well spotted with the aberrant Wall Brown. I hadn't considered that.

Mill Hill - What a lovely place this is overlooking Lancing College and Shoreham. Unfortunately we passed by at a time of grey skies and howling wind. But as Millie the dog need a walk, we carried on regardless and were rewarded by two Common Blues and what i think may be an Adonis which took a liking to my daughter.

Rowland Wood - By teatime the sun finally put in an appearance. I hot footed it to Rowland Wood for roosting Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries, following Neil Hulme's advice that this is the best time to observe and photograph them. And so it proved.

I also got close to a roosting Small Heath, a species that I have very few close up shots of due to the flighty nature.

It is fair to say that I returned home for supper that evening, a very contented man.

Regards Kev

[Wurzel]

No worries Kev - looks like you did get your Adonis and a 'butterfly in the hand' as well Lovely golden Small Pearls too - especially the stained glass shot

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Great that you got some close-up shots of the Small Pearls, Kev.....and your Blue is definitely Adonis!

[millerd]

Very nice Small Pearls, Kev, especially that underside - though it's shame you got to see Mill Hill under lousy conditions earlier, as it is glorious in warm sunshine.

Dave

[kevling]

Thanks Dave: Yes I loved that Pearl in the evening sun. Gave me a warm glow. As for Mill Hill, I was gutted as even in poor weather you could see the potential. I'll be back!


Sussex Holiday - 25th May to 1st June (part 3)

Last stop of on my Sussex Tour was one of my favourite spots - Devils Dyke. Such a beautiful place with views to die for.
Despite a moderate breeze the sun was out and once at the sheltered bottom of the dyke, I was greeted with a haze of blue as Common Blue had burst into season.

The highlight was a small colony of Small Blue, a species I had only seen once or twice before

Final highlight for me was my first female Adonis Blue

Regards
Kev

[bugboy]

Great shots Kev, Sussex has so many great sites doesn't it, I feel like I spend half my life down there

[Wurzel]

Cracking Common and Small Blues Kev As for the female Adonis - I would rate her as the creme de la creme of female Blues, a luscious mix of chequers,slaty blue against chocolate - brill

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

That's quite a Blue-fest, Kev....even the brown one is a Blue, if you know what I mean.

[Neil Freeman]

Great reports and photos from Sussex Kev, particularly like the shot of the SPBF underside in the evening light

Cheers,

Neil.

[kevling]

Thanks Bugboy - Yes, I was like a child in a sweet shop when I was there. So many sites to choose from.
Thanks Wurzel- I agree about the female Adonis. It rates very highly for me too.

STRUMPSHAW FEN (3rd June 2019)

Back from Sussex and I had a few extra days leave. A trip to Norfolk was called for in search of the rare and beautiful Swallowtail.
I ventured past the doctors house and up on to the meadow where two or three were very obliging, including this very fresh example.

I saw a total of five during the morning including a couple inside the reserve too. There were also a good number of Dragonfly species on the wing and although I missed out on a Norfolk Hawker, I did bag my first Scarce Chasers.

Finally as I was heading to the car, this rather fine Female Common Blue obliged for the camera.

A very memorable morning with such great wildlife.

Regards
Kev

[trevor]

Very nice images from Strumpshaw, Kev.
I imagine we must have seen each other that day, but there were
many other people around too. It's a good job we chose last week!.

All the best,
Trevor.

[Allan.W.]

Reading your excellent report ,makes me want to get myself back up to Norfolk Kev ! , Shame you missed the Norfolk Hawkers , I saw 3 in Kent (East Blean wood ) , last weekend ,but still haven,t managed to sort out any Scarce Chasers yet ,and those you,ve posted are beauties ! Years ago I saw my first (of several ) Norfolk Hawkers and Swallowtails at How Hill , a lovely little reserve ,I also saw both (like yourself ) at
Strumpshaw. Regards Allan.W.

[Wurzel]

Cracking Swallowtail shots Kev Is it just me or is that first one really dark?I've not seen the British race so perhaps they're all like that?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[kevling]

Thanks for the comments folks:

Wurzel: yes that first Swallowtail was freshly emerged, probably less than 24 hrs, so the colours were bold.

Allan: Thank you. I visited How Hill a few years back and it was very nice, with less visitors too making it very personal.

Trevor: We certainly did make hay while the sun shined

Neil: Thanks, early evening is such a nice time to get up and personal with those SPBF

David: Thanks, haven’t seen so many blues in along time

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Kev
It looks like you cleaned up during your trip to Sussex. Some lovely pics and hopefully plenty of memories to take home.
BWs, Neil

[millerd]

Great Swallowtail shots, Kev, and of some I think I didn't see on the 3rd. Shame not to have bumped into you - there were quite a few there from UKB that day it seems.

Cheers,

Dave

[David M]

Beautiful, Kev. They are so much darker than the continental gorganus race.

[kevling]

Neil - Happy memories indeed. Thanks for the advice on the SPBF
David - I agree that britannicus do seem darker in colour. The first photo was of a freshly emerged adult.
Dave - From what I've read half the UKB members seemed to be there. Next time perhaps

IPSWICH (15th June 2019)

A morning walk with Millie the dog and Mrs L through the wildflower Meadow on a local park in Ipswich started fairly non-eventful. It transpired that we were still a few days away from the first Marbled White emergence, so we enjoyed our first Meadow Browns of the year, alongside Common Blue and Red Admiral.
Suddenly something caught our eyes and on closer inspection it was a Small Blue. A very rare sighting indeed and the first recorded in Suffolk for many years. Although rather worn it was an unexpected start to the day.

Just as we were heading off to our next location, this splendid Small Tortoiseshell obliged for my camera too

Still beaming from our Small Blue sighting, we headed to our local heathland at Purdis, Ipswich for Silver Studded Blues. This site had been managed by Suffolk BC for many years but uncertainty as to the sale of the land has meant that we have been unable to do any habitat management for over a year. Nevertheless there were still a dozen recorded this morning with the peak emergence still a few days away.

Regards
Kev

[trevor]

Beautiful, fresh, Silver Studs, Kev.
Hope that site where they were found is safe for the future.

Al the best,
Trevor.

[bugboy]

You're diary looks almost as well traveled as mine at the moment. An excellent range of species and well done with those Small Blues