Neil Hulme

[Neil Hulme]

Cissbury Again

Another late afternoon walk around Cissbury Ring yesterday (13 October) produced plenty of butterflies, including Wall Brown, Small Heath, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Red Admiral, Peacock, Common Blue and Small Copper. I didn't perform any accurate counts, but Wall Brown and Small Copper remain present in good numbers (probably 15-20 of each), with one or two examples still in excellent condition. I also found four Clouded Yellows in the eastern coombe, which behaved impeccably whenever the temperature dropped during cloudy periods.

[trevor]

Clouded Yellows are still emerging, judging by the one in your image.

Superb stuff,
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Indeed Trevor - that is a stunning looking Cloudy Neil

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Fabulous, fresh-looking Cloudie, Neil. There seem to be plenty around at the moment and I wonder whether any stages may make it through the winter if we avoid seriously cold weather this year?

[bugboy]

Fabulous, fresh-looking Cloudie, Neil. There seem to be plenty around at the moment and I wonder whether any stages may make it through the winter if we avoid seriously cold weather this year?

I'm not so sure about this David, from what I can gather they all seem to be moving on very quickly (just a few days in some cases) from where they emerge and I doubt very much they are traveling north! The females in particular do seem in rather short supply from my experience, which makes me wonder whether they are nipping over the channel as soon as their wings are dry?

[David M]

Fabulous, fresh-looking Cloudie, Neil. There seem to be plenty around at the moment and I wonder whether any stages may make it through the winter if we avoid seriously cold weather this year?

I'm not so sure about this David, from what I can gather they all seem to be moving on very quickly (just a few days in some cases) from where they emerge and I doubt very much they are traveling north! The females in particular do seem in rather short supply from my experience, which makes me wonder whether they are nipping over the channel as soon as their wings are dry?

I'm assuming some of them will have laid eggs, BB. I saw a very fresh male 2 miles from my home in south Wales in April 2014 (following that very mild winter we had) so clearly larvae CAN make it through, pupate and go on to produce adults.

[Neil Hulme]

Come And Have A Go If You Think You're Hard Enough

I spent yesterday (15 October) on the Knepp Wildland with my brother, who was visiting from Antwerp. In generally overcast conditions we saw just three butterflies (two Red Admiral and a Small Copper), but there were bigger attractions on offer; the Red Deer rut is well underway and the Fallow are now joining the party.

Knepp doesn't do things by halves; the Red Deer have rapidly attained massive proportions here. We watched one stag (none of those pictured below), which must have been 10% larger than the biggest I've ever seen, make mincemeat of three wannabes. Well worth a visit!

[David M]

Lovely, autumnal images, Neil. I can almost hear the bellowing of that stag in your first image!

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks, David. I'll be back, to try and photograph the big boy.
BWs, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

Conservation Work Party Season

Many thanks to the Brighton Conservation Volunteers for their hard work yesterday (17 October), managing Bracken, Bramble and saplings on our Rowland Wood reserve. While they worked their way along one of the key rides, I started to enlarge a glade which the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary showed particular interest in this year, during both its first and second broods.

For me, this is the start of the most important part of the butterfly season, as it's time to repay some of the immense pleasure they've given me over the warmer months. For those in my area, a list of upcoming conservation work parties can be found on the BC Sussex website at https://www.sussex-butterflies.org.uk/sightings/

[David M]

Wow! Is it that time of year already, Neil?

Woodsmoke and golden colours should forewarn us, but the advance of winter is something that most seek to ignore until it's thrust in our faces.

Good luck with your work parties over the coming months. I've seen the timetable and there's a hell of a loton the agenda. I hope the weather is kind not only during this period but into spring and summer 2019 as well.

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks, David. I've just spent three glorious days cutting on the BC reserves in Sussex, but there's plenty more to do before next spring!
BWs, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

BC Rowland Wood Reserve Works

Over the last three days (18 - 20 October) I've been at the BC Rowland Wood reserve, guiding the mowing of rides and glades by our wonderful contractor, Ian Hampshire (who performed the major restructuring works last winter). By working so closely with him, we were able to get every pass with the cutter in precisely the desired place, to optimise the improvement of breeding habitat (for Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary and other species), while avoiding some margins, to reduce the extent of the 'collateral damage' which is inevitable when any invasive woodland management takes place. Different cutting devices (which produce different effects) were used in different areas, which, alongside the works performed in the summer months, will produce the most varied mosaic of microhabitats, to suit as many species as possible.

On behalf of the Sussex Branch, I'd like to thank BC Reserves Officer Jayne Chapman, for her invaluable help with contracts, logistics and plenty of the physical work we conducted well away from Ian's rampant tractor. I'd also like to thank Stuart Sutton (FC) and Tim Squire, who helped with chainsaw work over this period. Together, we have opened up a large new glade to the south of the Rowland Wood lake, in an area which SPBF has shown a clear liking of, during both its broods.

Despite so much being achieved, there is still a great deal of work to be done on the reserves this winter, so every additional hour that our trusty volunteers can give will be most appreciated. I'm already getting excited about we might see at Park Corner Heath and Rowland Wood next summer, building on the excellent year that butterflies had here in 2018.

[Neil Hulme]

More From The Rut

I've spent quite a lot of time on the Knepp Castle Estate Wildland https://knepp.co.uk/ lately, and although there have been a few butterflies around (plenty of Speckled Woods, a steady stream of Red Admirals heading south, and a few Small Coppers), it's the deer rut which provides the main draw at this time of year.

The Fallow bucks are now hard at it, but the Red stags have pretty much blown themselves out, with many just sitting around exhausted. Late afternoon visits provide some stunning light across this unique landscape, with Longhorn cattle, Tamworth pigs and Exmoor ponies mingling with the deer.

[David M]

Promising stuff, Neil. Nothing’s achieved without hard work and there’s plenty of that put into these projects.

It’s always interesting to see how prime butterfly habitat looks out of season and with heavy machinery present – hope to hear more over the next few months, long after those brooding stags have calmed down!

[Neil Hulme]

Hi David. I think it's quite important to show what woodland habitats should look like, after annual maintenance work has been carried out.

Unfortunately, much time must be given, every year, to allaying the fears of well meaning but misguided people, who don't understand the necessity for felling trees, cutting back scrub, or mowing grass or bracken, usually on a rotational basis, in order to keep habitats healthy. It may look destructive (if done on a sufficiently extensive scale, it should!), and some larvae/pupae etc. will always be lost in the process, but in the longer term the benefits always vastly outweigh the price.

As you will know yourself, those actively involved in habitat management and the subsequent monitoring of butterflies and moths achieve a much better understanding of why this sort of work is done. After the recent, major restructuring of the Rowland Wood reserve, it looked like a First World War battlefield, but (assisted by a very good summer) the results already speak for themselves; a huge increase in biodiversity. Species seldom seen here, including Dark Green Fritillary, Dingy Skipper and Wall, have become firmly established, while numbers of species such as Grizzled Skipper and Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary have increased. I suspect things will be looking very good here by next summer.

If a woodland looks the same, or more overgrown than it did last year, it won't be many years before the problems become evident. We are, in effect, trying to reverse more than half a century of under-management.

BWs, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

Fight!

On Thursday (25 October) I visited the Knepp Wildland again, for what will probably be my penultimate outing to watch the 2018 deer rut, before it fizzles out for another year.

A few butterflies were flying in the warm sunshine, including numerous Speckled Wood and half-a-dozen Red Admiral, but the highlight was undoubtedly the close-up views of a fierce battle between two large, equally matched Fallow bucks. The victor (dark coloured) was still panting fifteen minutes after seeing off his rival.

[Wurzel]

Interesting set of rut shots Neil Do the males use antler size to work out if they stand a chance when fighting - as the darker winner appears to have slightly bigger antlers then the lighter loser?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

..Unfortunately, much time must be given, every year, to allaying the fears of well meaning but misguided people, who don't understand the necessity for felling trees, cutting back scrub, or mowing grass or bracken, usually on a rotational basis, in order to keep habitats healthy. It may look destructive (if done on a sufficiently extensive scale, it should!), and some larvae/pupae etc. will always be lost in the process, but in the longer term the benefits always vastly outweigh the price..

Yes, we humans now have to do what large, ruminant animals once did before we wiped them all out!!

Tree felling can be regenerative if done sensibly, whilst scrub can kill a site quicker than almost anything.

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Wurzel

Although the bucks appear to be assessing their chances when 'parallel walking' before a clash, I doubt that slight differences in the size of their antlers are evident to them, as they can't really know what they've got up-top themselves! I suspect that general body size is easier for them to use as a yardstick. It may be that their belching provides clues too - I know that this is how the does are impressed; the dominant bucks are those with the most deeply resonating and persistent belch (I know some men who think the same). One thing's for sure, if you take on a much bigger guy, you're likely to get hurt, so the battles are usually between animals of approximately equal size.

However, this doesn't mean that the dominant and most powerful buck (or Red stag) gets all the girls (usually c.60%), as there are other more underhand ways of getting a piece of the action. By hanging around the periphery of a harem, it's sometimes possible to mate with a doe while the dominant animal is busy fighting with, or chasing off, other rivals.

Fighting is really the last option, as some of the deer get injured (and occasionally killed) every year. At Knepp one of the Red stags lost an eye during the rut, and I've often seen Fallow bucks with broken legs at Petworth Park.

BWs, Neil