Wurzel wrote: ↑Tue May 18, 2021 9:25 pm
Lovely set of shots Neil - the first one is lush
![Cool 8)](./images/smilies/icon_cool.gif)
I hope you have a great time down in Cornwall - I seem to recall seeing that the Small Pearls are flying down there so I hope that you can catch up with a few
Have a goodun and stay safe
Wurzel
Cheers Wurzel. Yep, managed to catch up with a few Small Pearls
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
Returned late yesterday and as usual have loads of photos to sort through.
David M wrote: ↑Wed May 19, 2021 1:40 pm
You're doing really well with Green Veined Whites this spring, Neil. I wish I could get them to pose as nicely for me!
That first male is well-marked for a first brooder. Lovely specimen.
Hope you have a great break down in the South West.
Thanks David. I haven't actually seen that many GVWs so far but those I have, have been slowed down by the cool conditions.
Goldie M wrote: ↑Sat May 22, 2021 4:15 pm
Fantastic shots Neil, the PBF's look lovely and I've still only seen one Speckie up to now
![Mr. Green :mrgreen:](./images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif)
Goldie
Thanks Goldie. I'm sure you will see a few more Specklies soon. It looks like the weather may be bucking up a bit towards the end of next week.
The Lizard - May 17th to May 22nd Part 1.
As mentioned previously, this trip was originally planned for last year but due to the covid related restrictions was shifted forward 12 months to the same dates this year, or I should say nearly the same dates as we had been due to travel down on Sunday 16th but with B&Bs not being allowed to re-open until Monday 17th our hosts contacted us to shuffle the dates forward that extra day.
I had originally chosen the dates based on average flight times in Cornwall over the past few years of my two main target species for the trip, these being Small Pearl-bordered and Marsh Fritillaries. With this year’s cold and dry April, followed by the cold and wet May, I was a bit concerned that these dates would turn out to be too early this year, particularly for Marsh Fritillary, and this did indeed to turn out to be the case although I am pleased to say that I did manage to see both of my targets, even if it was just one individual in the case of the Marsh Fritillary.
The weather during our stay was extremely mixed, right from when we drove down on the Monday (17th) when we saw everything from a lovely and sunny 15c around Bristol where we stopped off to visit our youngest son Danny and his partner Charlotte, to lashing down with heavy rain and a drop in temperature down to 10 degrees, especially on the sections of the A30 that pass through Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor. On arrival at our B&B right down on the tip of the Lizard, our hosts said that it had been quite a nice day and although they had been forecast some rain showers, these had not materialised, so we crossed our fingers for the next few days.
![The Lizard 2021 001 resize.JPG (923.55 KiB) Viewed 854 times Looking towards the old lifeboat station at Lizard Point 17.05.2021](./files/thumb_10101_2f8239068584e40de2bc0e8e9344c63a)
- Looking towards the old lifeboat station at Lizard Point 17.05.2021
For our first full day (Tuesday 18th) it was indeed quite reasonable with a mix of cloud and sunny spells and just a couple of light showers, although it was quite windy with a stiff breeze blowing in from the west. Wednesday (19th) was similar but better in that we saw a bit more sun and no showers until around 4.00pm on the afternoon. Things changed on Thursday (20th) with the stiff breeze turning into gale force winds, although we missed the heavy rain that tracked further north of us and again didn’t see any showers until later in the afternoon. Friday was another extremely windy day with gusts apparently up to 50mph, but again we missed the worst of the rain that apparently drenched much of the country at some point during that day.
Given these conditions, still cool for the time of year and with a stiff breeze blowing, even on the better days, finding butterflies was challenging and involved searching out known sheltered spots such as in the dips and valleys along the coast path between Lizard Point and Kynance Cove, or round by Kennack Sands and Poltesco which were a bit more sheltered on the east side of the Lizard.
Overall, butterfly numbers were low, I believe partly due to the conditions but also due to the late season which for many species seems to be resulting in lower numbers emerging over a longer period.
My tally for the trip was 11 species,
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary
Marsh Fritillary
Wall Brown
Speckled Wood
Peacock
Small Copper
Common Blue
Orange-tip
Large White
Small White
Green-veined White.
Cornwall has more to offer than butterflies however, particularly at this time of year when the cliff tops are covered in a beautiful display of wildflowers which can be enjoyed irrespective of how windy it is (within reason, Thursday and Friday was pushing it at times). In particular, I am always amazed to see swathes of Bluebells along the cliff tops, as for me they are such an iconic spring woodland flower. Here they blend in beautifully with Thrift, Spring Squill, Sea Campion and many others, all growing right out in the open with hardly a tree in sight.
![The Lizard 2021 008 resize.JPG (1.15 MiB) Viewed 854 times Bluebells on the cliff top just west of Lizard Point 18.05.2021](./files/thumb_10101_8e935fbd44e23624c9d6f53e17855cc0)
- Bluebells on the cliff top just west of Lizard Point 18.05.2021
![The Lizard 2021 109 resize.JPG (990.43 KiB) Viewed 854 times Bluebells framed by Thrift along the coast path west of Lizard Point 18.05.2021](./files/thumb_10101_9ff86109fbf479a7f7350b656ee1ad2c)
- Bluebells framed by Thrift along the coast path west of Lizard Point 18.05.2021
![The Lizard 2021 107 resize.JPG (951.54 KiB) Viewed 854 times Bluebells Thrift and Sea Campion along the coast path west of Lizard Point 18.05.2021](./files/thumb_10101_59eb6d634e5245f289c52f1dfa280733)
- Bluebells Thrift and Sea Campion along the coast path west of Lizard Point 18.05.2021
![The Lizard 2021 012 resize.JPG (1021.9 KiB) Viewed 854 times Looking towards Kynance Cove 18.05.2021](./files/thumb_10101_86436a0bd27269eec16ce0ace07f8da7)
- Looking towards Kynance Cove 18.05.2021
![The Lizard 2021 094 resize.JPG (1.15 MiB) Viewed 854 times Thift growing along stone walls along the path between Lizard Point and Kynance Cove 18.05.2021.](./files/thumb_10101_d8fec9fb6873fc56384022721860f3d1)
- Thift growing along stone walls along the path between Lizard Point and Kynance Cove 18.05.2021.
![The Lizard 2021 387 resize.JPG (690.28 KiB) Viewed 854 times Spring Squill 19.05.2021.](./files/thumb_10101_a56155ae89e9811dce4bd499818f45db)
- Spring Squill 19.05.2021.
Bluebells also grow profusely, along with Wild Garlic and Red Valerian, in the hedgerows along the narrow lanes, the Wild Garlic filling the air with its pungent aroma after each shower of rain.
Even in the cloudy and very windy conditions that we saw on Thursday & Friday, the rocky coastline here has a dramatic beauty of its own and after doing some ‘touristy stuff’ to keep Jane happy during the mornings, I walked down to Pistil Meadow later in the afternoon to watch the waves crashing off the rocks. There is something quite elementally soothing about watching wild seas like this, as long as it is from a vantage point with some shelter from the worst of the gales.
![The Lizard 2021 400 resize.JPG (638.9 KiB) Viewed 854 times Wild seas off Pistil Meadow 20.05.2021](./files/thumb_10101_a5d78f8eed70a8dc7cabaa46dd79a016)
- Wild seas off Pistil Meadow 20.05.2021
Even though I said that butterfly numbers were low, I still have a load of photos to sort through so will be posting some of these and more details over the next few days as I get time to go through them.
To be continued…
Neil.