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Dear Sussex Kipper

So pleased you saw my LTs. Several people have visited the Transect since my first sighting on 7.3.2011 and have not seen any. As I have sightings at this location in March or April in 2006, 2008, 2009 and this year, I am confident that there is a small colony close by. Andy Butler remembers his elder brother telling him 50 years ago that if you wanted to see an LT then go to Kings Quay. As Kings Quay is the esturary to the brook that runs through Woodhouse Copse, I am beginning to think that the LT never became extinct at this site and has been here all the time.

Regards

John Rowell
BC Membership No 116966
Tel 01983 281342

Hi John,
They don't give themselves up easily - in view for a couple of minutes every four or five hours appears to be the norm here, making them much trickier than Purple Emperors. The story here is yet to be unravelled. Keep your eyes peeled in July for fresh specimens, which might be some distance from Woodhouse Copse. I would like to see some summer records of fresh specimens on the IOW, at a time when migrant LTs are not appearing, strung out along the South Coast.
Neil

First Tips And Grizzle

The season really got underway for me today, with my first sightings of two spring species. With the sun periodically grinning through the thin grey cloud cover, conditions were just good enough to get things airborne. I started off by driving slowly along a quiet stretch of country lanes near Five Oaks, where the ditches either side of the road are absolutely stuffed with lady's smock. At such an early stage of the flight season the presence of 11 freshly emerged male Orange Tips suggests that this will prove to be a premier site for the species. Also seen were 5 Brimstone, 3 Small Tortoiseshell, 2 Peacock and a Red Admiral.
I then moved on to Mill Hill at Shoreham and found my first Grizzled Skipper of the year at the base of the slope. Despite a thorough search I could only find the one, although it was probably close to their bedtime as I arrived. The only other butterflies seen here were a couple of Peacocks.

Excellent news and a lovely photograph

Yeayyy!
Grizzlies out? That is great news Neil.
I noticed that the salad burnet and bramble was appearing on a site near me today, so another week or so and "Little Griz" will be appearing here too. Can't wait.

Trev

Mother's Day Orange Tip Trip

Today I met up with my parents for a picnic, followed by a walk around the lanes near Five Oaks to look for Orange Tips. The first image shows my father as he stakes out a flower-rich bank for patrolling males. The weather was perfect for photography and the following sequence is a record of our very productive and enjoyable day. I don't think any other species gives the same feeling of 'happiness' as the Orange Tip always seems to.

Great photos Neil. I saw my first OT at the National Botanic Garden of Wales yesterday afternoon. Also, I saw my first small tortoiseshell and speckled wood in Pembrokeshire last week. I am at Kew Gardens next Saturday which could be interesting!
Regards
Ian

Sussex Kipper wrote: I don't think any other species gives the same feeling of 'happiness' as the Orange Tip always seems to.

Lovely sequence Neil. Orange Tips gladden the heart, as does their habitat. A very good start to hopefully what will be a very good year .

Vince.

Great pics Neil. I suppose i'll have to take the bird lens off now, and get down to my local Lady's Smock field.

Colours Of Spring

The beautiful country lanes and copses around Five Oaks were awash with Spring butterflies this afternoon. The hedgerows, banks and ditches were covered in lady's smock, primrose, wood anemone, bluebell and dandelion, and the air was filled with orange and yellow butterflies. Days like today more than make up for the long, dark winter.

I counted 32 Orange Tips, 27 of which were male. 5 formed a tight bundle as they jousted with each other, although the happy Orange Tip can't really 'do' aggression - they've got a 'smiley' on each wing tip. By mid afternoon the females were starting to put eggs down everywhere; there's no shortage of food-plants here.
I also counted 20 Brimstone (1 female), 6 Peacock, 5 Small Tortoiseshell, 3 Comma and my first 3 Small White of the year. But the best of the rest was a couple of freshly-emerged male Holly Blue.

Looks like the last Holly Blue thinks it is an Orange-tip, settling in among the lady's smock blossoms as though about to start ovipositing.

Spring Skippers

Yet another gorgeous spring day (8th April) and plenty of lovely butterflies at every site I visited. The first three stops produced lots of Orange Tips, but neither the Speckled Wood nor Green-veined White I was hoping for. By way of a bonus I did find a couple of nightingales in a wood near Steyning, which were breaking all the rules. At one point both birds were in clear view, flicking their rufous tails as they indulged in the most spectacular vocal battle I've ever heard..... at 2pm! It was while I was lying in the grass listening to them trying to out-do each other, with butterflies momentarily forgotten, that I got a message from Colin Knight at Mill Hill. Colin has recently taken on a Transect here and had just seen an early Dingy Skipper.

It took a while to relocate the Dingy, but in the meantime there were at least half a dozen Grizzled Skippers to enjoy. As the early evening temperature slowly began to drop I decided to 'tail' a Grizzled until it went to roost. A lot of patience was required and a full hour and a half passed before it finally closed its wings for the night. But it was well worth the wait, particularly when a second Skipper appeared from nowhere to join it for a last spell of sunbathing.

Denbies Hillside

After seeing Susie's lovely Green Hairstreak shots I thought it was time to pay my first visit to Denbies Hillside. It's unusual for me to travel outside Sussex for species that occur 'at home', but I'm on a mission this season and need to photograph everything as early in the flight season as possible; most Sussex sites for Green Hairstreak are on north-facing slopes, so are a little way behind. Denbies is a favourite haunt of several UKBers and I can see why........ I'll be back.
It didn't take long to locate my quarry and I saw 6 or 7 in a couple of hours. Every season I enjoy the re-discovery of just how beautiful a fresh Green Hairstreak really is.
While walking through the woodland at the top of the ridge I came across about a dozen Adela reaumurella, a completely bonkers moth with outrageous antennae. Their characteristic 'dance' around the top of a shrub always reminds me of a pagan fertility ritual.
Returning to Sussex I dropped in to Mill Hill where quite a crowd had assembled to enjoy the increasing number of Grizzled and Dingy Skippers. At least three adders were out sunbathing, and on two occasions we were lucky enough to see this nice black specimen. Thanks to Colin Knight for sending me the image I failed to get myself!

Beautiful shots, Neil. The more I get to know Denbies the more I love it. You wait til the chalkhills are out, then Denbies is amazing!

I have to agree about Denbies. A good six or even seven months of interest from the first emergers of March through till the last Small Coppers of October. Glorious views, some stupendous Deadly Nightshade bushes, and there are even regular steam trains too!

Dave

'Thirded' about Denbies. I went 4 or 5 times last year, all good.

We really must all meet up there at some point...

Cheers

Lee

Now you will be able to put your scientific background to this Neil.

I first visited Denbies about 40 years ago and then it was just a gentle a slope on a small hill. Today, the hill is significantly higher and much steeper than in was in the early 1970s. Plate tectonics is presumably very active along the North Downs – or might it be that this particular observer is less active today?

Jack

I know what you mean, Jack, it is a tad on the steep side.

Hi Jack,
There's nothing like a good orogeny to push things up
Neil

Speckled Woods

The few Speckled Woods that I'd seen so far this year had all evaded the camera, but a visit to a wood near Steyning this afternoon (11th April) proved more successful. Fresh males were contesting the best perches in several sunny clearings, so it wasn't too difficult to get into just the right spot for a pleasing shot.
Later I returned to Mill Hill where the adder action is currently fantastic. Horny snakes are regularly chasing each other up and down the scrub line at the base of the slope. Two black adders, one with brown base colour and two in pale grey were showing themselves almost constantly. It's the best snake-watching I've ever experienced.