Pauline

[Pauline]

Hi Jenks

Good to hear from you and thank you for the ID and compliment. I was delighted when I was told these were Flycatchers as I have never seen them before. I have had both male and female Blackcap in the garden over the years but I have never seen a juvenile so I guess I can still count that as a first

My last major outing of the season came in the form of an invite from Alan to accompany him to Lancing Ring to see Wall Brown. I almost bit his arm off. These butterflies have nearly disappeared from Hants and as a result it is some years since I have seen one. The luxury of being driven was an added incentive. Those who have accompanied me in the past will know that despite my sat nav we invariably take the scenic route I had never been to this site before so I was looking forward immensely to the day, quite justifiably as it turned out. In total I reckon we must have seen about a dozen Wall Browns along with quite a few other species including the possible sighting of a Brown Hairstreak. Alan has a detailed account on his blog so I shall just cut to the chase - or should I say the photos:

Thanks for a great day Alan.

[Andrew555]

Very nice Wall Browns Pauline, one of my favourites. I like your Brown Argus sequence as well.

Cheers

[Wurzel]

Great Wall shots Pauline especially the second one I saw at least one on two occasions at Shipton Bellinger last year so perhaps they're moving back inland? Fingers crossed

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

I had a momentary shock when I saw those Wall Brown images, Pauline. I thought they were from this year (which would have eclipsed even your 1st April Duke).

I guess we've still 10 days or so before 2019's population takes to the air.

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Pauline,

Just doing some catching up and saw your moth from a couple of pages back, not sure if you have the ID yet but looks like a Mullein to me. Not had one of these yet but my son Chris gets them in his garden in Stratford-upon-Avon.
A great photo of that Chinese Character too .

I couldn't help but smile at that woodpecker and wonder if his elongated beak had been straight before he hit your conservatory

And if it isn't bad enough with Wurzel confusing me with his delayed posts I see that your at it now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqy_czC8Fns

Cheers,

Neil.

[Pauline]

Cheers Andrew - much appreciated

Gosh, I remember that now Wurzel. Let's hope you're right!

No such luck David .I'm told that not long ago they were plentiful around the Fort Widley area but not any more it seems.

Neil, you never fail to impress me. At first I thought that was some sort of Prominent (probably wrong time of year) but of course it is a Mullein. I planted the plant a couple of years ago and have had larva on it both years. Honestly, I never meant to confuse you and I am trying hard to catch up as fast as I can, but what are you lot doing to me?????? If I'm not reading about seminal fluid over coffee it's Rocky Horror show!!!!! What next!!!!!!???

Now on to the serious stuff. For the last 3 years - yes, 3 years, a neighbour has been cutting down vegetation on her frontage which tends to be covered with OT larva. The first year they got burnt - d'you remember me telling you? I certainly told her, and despite reassurances that it wouldn't happen again and she loves wildlife it invariably does. Last year I heard the strimmer and was able to save a couple of dozen larva from being cremated. Over the winter they suffered flooding and being frozen. I commented to friends that I thought they had probably died. But no, the pupa emerged, a bit early but off they flew. I've reared these before and so wasn't too fussed about watching them emerge but got a few shots below:

[MrSp0ck]

i like the order the colours appear in Orange Tip Pupa

male pupae the Orange appears about 3 days before hatching, then the White without the black spot the day its due to hatch and the black spot appears just before it emerges.

female pupae is just the latter 2 colours of course.

hope your livestock rearing goes well this season,

ive been unlucky with BIOFs the last few years [Brought In On Foodplant = BIOF] they have all been male moths of species i wanted to breed, the last few years its been Poplar & Sallow Kittens [egg and larva], Eyed Hawk [larva], Lime Hawk [larva] this is yet to emerge but is a male pupa.

hope to bump into you again this spring.

[Allan.W.]

Excellent as ever Pauline ! Nice one !
Regards Allan.W.

[Wurzel]

Just goes to show that people don't change and b butterflies are much tougher than w give them credit for Interesting set of shots, strange to think that those little wings stubs will almost triple in size, also interesting to see the under wing markings all 'smudged' together before they get 'pulled' out into their proper fashion

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Lovely sequence of the emerging Orange Tip, Pauline, and well done for rescuing them.

[Pauline]

I'm sure we'll meet up again this season Martin - looking forward to it

That's really kind of you Allan. Thank you so much

Cheers Wurzel. I think you are absolutely right on all accounts

You know me well enough now David - what else could I have done?! Tell you what tho' - I did learn something from rearing this batch of OT's. When they emerged (mostly males and just a couple of females) the weather was pretty rotten and I had to hold on to them for a couple of days. Now I had always been of the opinion that when a female butterfly emerges it is pounced on by the male and mated sometimes almost before the wings were dry! Obviously I know that a raised abdomen in Whites is a sign of rejection but I had always taken this to mean that they had already mated. I knew 'my' females hadn't mated so I was surprised when they gave this gesture on being approached by the males. I concluded that they were still too immature and not yet ready (for whatever reason) and that when I saw this in the wild it could mean either that they had already been mated or had just emerged. Now, where am I going with all this. Well, it's just to say thank you again for sending me that interesting article which confirms my thinking. As you will know non-receptivity in virgin females can either be because of reproductive immaturity or because the males are not of sufficiently high quality (doesn't just apply to butterflies! ). I know a few others have read that article but I hope many more have too as it is very informative.

I did try to improve on my bird photography over the Winter but I don't seem to have made much progress, hence just a few shots below. Obviously I know the Crow, Kestrel and Red Kite but haven't a clue what the other is:

A number of strange and lovely fungi also caught my eye as I wondered around in the Autumn. I have no idea what any of them are although I suspect they are common. If next door's cat keeps me captive it will give me a chance to look them up

[Padfield]

Hi Pauline. Wonderful shots of the phoenix orange tip! And welcome back from me too.

Your mystery bird is a female/juvenile wheatear. Your first fungus is fly agaric and the white one some species of inkcap - I wouldn't like to say which without examining it. The other fungi I'll leave to real fungi experts.

Guy

[David M]

Those are very interesting observations regarding the 'rejection' posturing of female Orange Tips, Pauline. Clearly, there's nore to it than most of us thought.

Wonderful array of fungi, though I wouldn't chance eating any of them!

[Pauline]

Thank you Guy - and thanks for the ID's.

phoenix orange tip

Love it! I'll be ready this season to pre-empt a replay and shall move any larva to a safer place.

Isn't there always David? Part of the appeal I reckon. Just a few more fungi taken in the garden over the years:

I really am trying to catch up but obviously I got out and about more than I had expected to. I shall try and cover a whole lot of adventures in this post starting with the Clouded Yellow at Denbies which really gave me the runaround on 7 Oct. This is probably the best shot though I can assure you it didn't stay in this position for long:

At least it wasn't raining which is usually the case when I go there. In no particular order:

Common Blue egg-laying on 27/9

Mating Common Blue at Lancing Ring and the view:

and a few more from local venues:

Starting to bore myself now so I guess I'll leave it there. Perhaps the lesson for this season is to try to hang on in there for a bit longer but it is just so difficult.

[Wurzel]

The Clouded Yellow looked pretty pristine Pauline not wonder it gave you the run around Great set of Blues Is the second Fungus/Fungi down Turkey Tail?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

...the Clouded Yellow at Denbies which really gave me the runaround on 7 Oct.

I know exactly what you mean, Pauline. Even on the continent, it's hard to find a happily settled one!

Love those fungi, especially the second one, which looks like a collection of oyster shells.

[Pauline]

Cheers Wurzel - re the fungi I've no idea. I'm going to have to buy a(nother) book!

Do you like oysters David? Personally, I've never tried them but I do like a plate of Moules. Still comes second to fresh crab tho'

So what else did I get up to over the Winter???? Well, A few of my budgies decided to breed:

as did my Finches. Sadly, they persisted in throwing both eggs and young out of the nestbox. One of the eggs was in the process of hatching. I've reared lots of very young birds but never any as small as these. Every night for a week I was up every 30 mins feeding until I was like a walking zombie. Despite my best efforts they failed to thrive. Either the parents were inexperienced or there was something wrong with these babies as the parents have now raised 2 lovely healthy chicks:

In the garden some Blue Tits have taken up residence by the back door:

But what about the butterflies?????? Well, today between the heating engineer (my boiler is leaking oil) and the vet, I somehow managed to squeeze in an hour at Noar Hill. It is almost 3 weeks since I was last there and I was expecting great things. Well, I saw my first Holly Blue of the year but only 3 Duke of Burgundy, all males and all in the bottom part of the reserve (because I didn't have time to go any further):

As I was leaving a lady with a camera was entering. She asked me if I had seen any Bee Fly. I couldn't resist asking her what her interest was in the Bee Fly (given the Dukes were out). Turns out she was Heather Angel, marine biologist and photographer, who has written many books on wildlife, the last being for Kew Gardens on pollinators. I mentioned that a couple of years ago I had taken photos of various butterflies with pollen sacs from various plants on their proboscis. We chatted a while longer - she was a very interesting individual - before going our separate ways. I have met some interesting folk through butterflies

[Wurzel]

Is that Duke a Duchess Pauline or is it a gracilens as the orange markings really extend over the wing Pauline cracking I'm hoping they last for a while there as this is now the closest reliable site for me - my 'Duke Site' is now just a 'Site'

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

...Do you like oysters David? Personally, I've never tried them but I do like a plate of Moules. Still comes second to fresh crab tho'...

I like the look of them, Pauline, but not the taste (that goes for all seafood, sadly).

Love the baby budgies. I do miss breeding them after moving from Abergavenny to Swansea.

I'm sure the warm weather will bring the Dukes (and Duchesses) out in force over the next few days. Hopefully you'll find a window in your hectic schedule to catch up with them again.

[Pauline]

Blimey Wurzel, I know you're a teacher an' all that but d'you have to keep asking me questions I don't know I should know better! My ignorance at this stage is shameful! I'd assumed this one was male tho' I didn't count the legs. The best I can offer is this shot I took years ago. I believe Pete told me it was an Ab - are they similar? Is it a female? Help!!!! PS. If you are coming all this way please let me know when and drop in for a cuppa.

Why did you breed them David - show? pleasure? profit? (Sorry, I'm being direct again ). I do have a problem with what many breeders who show their birds are doing to them - shorter lives, poor vision, reluctance to fly far, feather problems etc etc. I have now heard and seen this from breeders in 3 counties so I do tend to steer clear of the 'show' type. I've seen similar in the gundog world, mostly a result of poor knowledge of genetics.

I haven't been out a great deal this season but very early in the year I came across a site that looked perfect for Brown Hairstreak although they have never been recorded here as far as I know- I resolved to check it out but it wasn't until I read Ashley's posts about discovering the eggs in previously unrecorded locations that I realised time was running out for this year. In 30 mins I found 6 eggs on Blackthorn. I think it is Blackthorn. I think they are BH eggs. I hope I am right. The warden of the site has been informed and I shall return to check: