Bugboys mission

[Wurzel]

Love the second second Green-veined White shot Bugboy - the lemon and stripes look lush

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, I feel like GVW sometimes get missed under the shadow of the its gaudy relative in the spring .

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May 2022

Monday 9th. Another few days off began with a day on the south coast. The downs to the west of Eastbourne looking for more Walls was the destination. I’ve not been here for a few years and normally head for the coastal paths that lead to beachy Head which are reliable Wall hotspots. However after perusing google maps looking for new places to explore I decided to head slightly inland and go for a wander around the paths directly to the west from the youth hostel leading up to Butts Brow. Before reaching the main paths I came across my first Common Blue of the year.

The search was quickly successful as far as locating the target was concerned. The path I was aiming for gently dipped and rose and males were found in clusters along the well-trodden path at each high point. It was already rather warm though, and add to the mix a rather brisk breeze I had to settle for distant shots from my long lens. Even from a distance though I often only had enough time for single shots before the sound of my shutter sent them bouncing off again.

An added bonus was a lovely fresh Green Hairstreak who was much more accommodating.

In the heat of the day I decided against descending into the hollows at Butts Brow, better to leave them for a cooler day. Walking down would be fine but the inevitable climb out again I didn’t fancy today so I checked to see if I had time to head to my more usual haunts near Beachy Head. During the hour and twenty minute walk down I found a rather lovely Female Wall, some more Common Blues and Small Coppers.

Little surprise several Small Coppers were seen in this field!

Along ‘Wall Brown Alley’ there were plenty of males soaking up the evening sun

and I caught the moment a Green Hairstreak came face to face with a small wasp

A very pleasant start to my break

[trevor]

Beautiful fresh female Wall there. Only hours old I should think.

[jenks]

As well as being an excellent photo that must be a rare one. When did you ever see a Wall sitting on a piece of vegetation ? They`re usually sitting on... a wall (or bare ground).

Jenks.

[Wurzel]

Great to see all the Wall action Bugboy - they're still going strong over this way - I found one during my lunchtime walk at the edge of the football field today

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Nice work with the Wall Browns, Paul. These last few years they seem to be getting more reliable. I wonder whether they are starting to 'crack' this development trap.

[bugboy]

Thanks Trevor, she wasn’t mint fresh and had certainly had time to be mated since she was sniffing around grass and doing a bit of oviposturing.
Thanks Jenks. All the males were choosing foliage over bare ground in that spot. It may have been to do with the breeze since there was more shelter from it on the bramble than the path. I’ve had another encounter with them where they were doing the same thing. It might also be a temperature regulation thing as well, being a bit cooler there than on the sun baked path.
Thanks Wurzel, it does look like they are starting to expand their range in recent years.
Thanks David, fingers crossed it continues although it is a double edged sword since it’s most likely due to our warming climate, which isn’t suitable for other species .



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May 2022

Tuesday 10th (part 1), back to the land of the Duke. It was a late start under cloudy skies but there was the promise of some sun to make the day worth while. The birds did keep me entertained whilst waiting for the clouds to clear, amongst them a Marsh Tit singing away and there were lots of Red Kites out today.

The cloud finally began to thin coming up to 1pm and the first few butterflies appeared

And when blue sky broke through the Dukes appeared en masse along with everything else to the point it was difficult to know what to point my camera at.

My original plan had been to go to Pitstone Quarry as well to find some Small Blues, but it’s very easy for time to vanish in such a butterfly rich area. Instead a Small Blue came to me. I have seen the occasional one or two here before (not in recent years though) so that was a pleasant surprise.

A short lived truce

The occasional fresh Duke (Duchess) would still turn up. I followed this one around, hoping she’d wander into a males territory and I’d witness a mating but she somehow managed to negotiate a few territories whilst the owners were either looking the other way or chasing shadows.

Another less fresh female was still worthy of my attention being a fine example of the gracilens form.

[bugboy]

May 2022

Tuesday 10th (part2), dragging myself away from Ivinghoe was rather difficult, especially as the afternoon began to calm the butterflies down a bit and make them slightly more approachable.

There was also the sight of a pair of Red Kites quartering Incombe Hole, playing with the updrafts caused by the steep sides.

It was around this time when I received a message from an almost incredulous Millerd informing me he’d just found a Large Tortoiseshell on his local patch, saying he’d thought it was a Comma from a distance (I’ve lost count of the number of distant Comma’s I’ve willed to become a LT!). With this still fresh in my mind (and the knowledge one had been seen here last year) I had a minor coronary when I spied an orange, butterfly shaped splodge some distance ahead, sadly this one didn’t transform into a LT.

I did finally manage to tear myself away, my journey back to the Tring station being further delayed by more bird of prey action, this time a Kestrel hunting what I presume were insects

[bugboy]

May 2022

Wednesday 11th. Bookham seems to have become the place for me to go on a cloudy day at the moment. After yesterdays butterfly filled day it was back to scratching around in low singles again and like my last visit to Bookham, I found more immature stages than adult butterflies. Just the one White Admiral larvae was located, now a lovely emerald green.

The Small Tortoiseshell larvae I’d found last time had grown up to impressive final instar cats and separated off into singles/pairs as they do in their latter stages of development.

Adult butterflies included few Speckled Wood.

And a tiny female Orange-tip, barely larger than your average Wood White.

Some eggs were also readily found

[Wurzel]

"it was difficult to know what to point my camera at." One of the best and worst feelings that is
Great set of reports and accompanying images - that Gracilens was mighty fine and I love the in-flight shot of the Brimstone I too now check every Comma...and Small Tort and Wall,in fact anything just to be sure it isn't a Large Tort

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Some impressive images lately, Paul, along with a nice variety of wildlife which you seem to pick up almost every time you venture out.

The dainty Orange Tip is lovely. Every now and again an abnormally small one turns up and given she is perched on forget-me-not flowers, it's easy to see just how tiny she is.

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, I had such a good time there I went back for a repeat experience two days later (see below)
Thanks David, the downside of taking pictures of everything that moves is that I invariably amass a huge amount of images to sift through and then my diary drifts back in time, still a small price to pay as far as I’m concerned.
I must admit the small OT in my last post didn’t naturally find her way to the forget-me-not, it was intended to illustrate her small size


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May 2022

Thursday 12th. I once again returned to the Ivinghoe Beacon Dukedom. This time however I intended to detour straight to Pitstone quarry first to find some Small Blues before getting too distracted at the beacon. There were however still plenty of distractions along the way though. Rather than the ubiquitous Red Kites it was a low flying Raven that first caught my eye as I walked along the ridgeway. On previous visits this year I’ve heard their nest as I’ve walked through Aldbury Nowers nature reserve, and judging by the mouthful of what I would guess to be bits of rabbit they still had some hungry mouths to feed back there.

Dingy Skippers would fly up regularly along the path, and the occasional Grizzled would put in an appearance.

and along the wooded path that leads to the quarry I found a female Brimstone giving a masterclass in how to hide in plain sight. (to be fair, I did witness her land, had I not I would have walked straight past her)

It was another breezy day and at the quarry the Blues were found clustered in one of the sheltered corners. There weren’t masses of them and they were all very fresh males so it would seem it was the start of their flight here. They all seemed to have a generous sprinkling of fairy dust .

Other notable sightings here included a fresh female Large White

An irresistible Green Hairstreak posing on an Oxe-eye Daisy

And an indecisive female Holly Blue trying to work out the best place to lay an egg.

Ironically it was now difficult to tear myself away to here to go and find the second target species of the day over at the beacon, and for once it wasn’t the Duke… tbc

[bugboy]

May 2022

Thursday 12th (cont). Eventually I did manage to tear myself away from the Small Blues and head over to Ivinghoe Beacon. Although the Dukes remain the main target species for my trips to the Chiltons, this year I was also keen to see if another species was still present. Last year I stumbled across a few Marsh Fritillaries flying on one of the slopes (one of several ‘new sites’ for them that miraculously appeared in recent years in the south-east) and I was somewhat curious to see if they were still around and in what kind of numbers. Whilst walking along the path at the bottom of the slope I bumped into one of the DoB recorders (there’s several who all monitor different slopes apparently) and was told the Fritillaries showed up four or five years ago which I think ties in with the massive population explosion at Chambers Farm Wood in Lincolnshire (I think it was Pete Smith who mentioned in his PD at the time that he stopped counting mating pairs when he got to 100 on one visit!). Anyway, a little bit of searching did indeed turn up a few fresh males, I’m fairly confident there were four in total, three were photographed, so still not the masses I’m used to seeing in Wiltshire.

Exhibit 1

Exhibit 2a

Exhibit 2b

exhibit 3

I overheard a snippet of conversation at Hutchinsons Bank the other day concerning these. The gist of which was they were part of an official re-introduction at some unspecified site but Covid hit and funds were withdrawn so the Fritillaries were released at a selection of sites. How much, if any truth is in this I have no idea...the plot thickens

There were still fresh Dukes to be found and if they’re going to pose for me all shiny and fresh then it would be rude not to take their picture!

Females were also lurking, mostly mated and avoiding male attention by keeping a low profile and it was one of these that I saw dip down behind a small Hawthorn and vanish into the grass at the base. Figuring she was laying eggs I nipped round to try and get a better look and some pics to find her firmly attached to an Agrimony leaf and in the process of laying on it. There were no Cowslips close by so I have no idea why she was laying on a plant completely unrelated to Primulas (Agrimony is in the rose family). There were too many grass blades in the way to get a shot and in trying to move them I disturbed her, but not before she had deposited a single egg.

It had started to cloud over quite a bit now and activity started to drop off so I decided to go for one last wander through Incombe Hole before heading home. It was a fortuitous decision, after taking a few snaps of a roosting Brown Argus I came across a mating pair of Dukes, the first time I’ve come across this species in cop.

Another fresh one was disturbed as it looked for a roosting spot.

Another very satisfying day in a lovely part of the country

[Wurzel]

I can see why you went back Bugboy - looks like a site you'd want to get a season ticket for However they got there those are nice looking Marshies

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Those Marsh Fritillaries are superb, Paul, irrespective of their provenance.

Looks like the Dukes gave value for money as well.

[bugboy]

Thanks guys, I really should go there more often, it's not just the spring species that do well there


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May 2022

Saturday 14th. Today was intended to be full of Fritillaries. Whilst looking for new places to visit over the winter I realised that as the crow flies, Rewell Wood is quite close to North Stoke. A bit of further google mapping suggested I could get there without walking along the main road from Amberley, which I really didn’t fancy.
Well, as it turns out, ‘as the crow flies’ is a bit different to ‘as the bugboy walks’! On the plus side it was a gorgeous day and the walk to Arundal Park was very pleasant, however there were precious little butterflies to be found, save for the occasional Speckled Wood and once in Arundal Park, all paths lead to Arundal.

I spent quite a while in the Park, knowing that Rewell Wood was tantalisingly close but it seemed the only way would be to head into Arundal and find a way from there but I was already running out of time so I called it a day and headed back, eventually finding a Fresh Grizzled Skipper and a few Common Blues to point the camera at. White flybies were the only other things I saw here which was a little disappointing.

Reed Warblers could be heard at various points along the river Arun.

I spent the last hour or so doing a circuit of Burpham Meadows where Peacock were still commonplace, but very flighty and several raggedy Brimstone were enjoying their twilight days. A few Small Heath were the final species found, a handful active in the meadow leading up to the lane at North Stoke.

Next time I’ll do a bit more research

[Wurzel]

"‘as the crow flies’ is a bit different to ‘as the bugboy walks’! " I hear that Bugboy and have experienced something similar myself as we use the Wiltshire Walks App - their 4 miles is more like 6 and a 2 hour stroll often turns into an all dayer At least you managed to find some bits and bobs to make it worthwhile

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, I've also found some new places to explore when I visit that part of the world at various points during the season

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May 2022

19th-22nd. Some decent weather whilst I was at work meant I was able to do some lunchtime walks and fit in some transects. Not a huge amount was seen, Speckled Woods had dipped in between broods but a few Painted Lady were found. This is always a sign of a decent immigration, I only see these in central London when there’s a significant number around. A couple of Holly Blues were also found.

[Wurzel]

I mirror your finds with the Painted Lady Bugboy - I've seen a couple at work as well which is a sure sign of good numbers arriving - hopefully the Cloudies will follow suit

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

It’ll be nice to see a Cloudie before a Brown Hairstreak for once Wurzel

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May 2022

Tuesday 24th. After discovering I could get to Rowland wood/Park Corner Heath unaided a few weeks ago I set off for a return visit to catch up with a species I’d not seen for a few years, the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. It would seem they’ve gone extinct at Abbots Wood (again) and comparing the two sites, Rowland wood does seem to be a lot damper and more boggy with plenty of patches of sphagnum moss. Since my last visit it had rained a bit and the moss had really soaked it up making some paths nearly impassable without appropriate footware.

Anyway I arrived around 11 and coming up to Park Corner Heath I found I had the site nearly to myself. Just the one fellow enthusiast was already there and had pulled up a chair to relax whilst awaiting something to appear. We exchanged pleasantries and was informed one SPBF had fluttered past in the past hour. Almost as those words left his mouth a small ginger butterfly fluttered towards me and landed practically at my feet, “there’s one” I said to the other chap, pointing at the floor where I stood. We had her for about half an hour as the sun attempted and failed several times to break free from the persistent cloud cover but eventually she disappeared.

A short while later the other enthusiast located a second, this one a male who also stuck around long enough for a selection of snaps.

After more wandering and nothing else showing up we took a stroll through Rowland Wood finding very little. A Dingy Skipper and a Green Hairstreak was pretty much the sum total.

Off in the distance and making a bee line for us was a particularly large, dark and foreboding cloud. It arrived with a bang and dumped a shed load of hail on us (I’ve always found Beech Trees make the best natural umbrellas), sending my fellow enthusiast off to his car. I hung around long enough for things to brighten up significantly but despite this not a single fritillary showed itself, just the occasional Small Heath.

On the way back to East Hoathly to catch the bus to Uckfield I finally found a route that completely avoids walking along the pavementless main road and in doing so came across my first Meadow Brown of the year. It’s not often I see these before the first Large Skipper