Cheers Wurzel. The weather certainly bucked up a bit today and it looks like it will be lasting over the weekend and into next week too
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
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Wednesday 14th July.
Tuesday was yet another mostly overcast day but with today (Wednesday) being forecast to be much better with plenty of sun (yes, I know) we decided to have a run down to Snitterfield Bushes just north of Stratford-upon-Avon. We were going to call in here the other week on the way back from Oversley Wood but ended up spending longer at Oversley than we had planned and so went straight back home from there.
As usual, we hung on a bit to let the school traffic ease off around Solihull and then set out, arriving at Snitterfield just before 09.45am.
I had heard through the grapevine that there had been a lot of clearance work carried out here by the Forestry Commission during recent months and was curious to see what it was like. We had just parked up when a chap came out of the woods and we had a chat. It turned out that he was doing some pre-baiting in readiness for Badger vaccinations and he also told me that the clearance work was due to Ash dieback disease having taken hold in the wood.
Anyway, we set off through the gate into the north side of the wood and immediately saw Ringlets, Meadow Browns and a couple of male Silver washed Fritillaries chasing each other along the track. I was watching the SWFs when Jane said, ‘is that a White Admiral’ and pointed a bit further along the track. I looked to where she indicated and said ‘No, that’s a Purple Emperor’…or words to that effect. I have never thought of here as a site for Purple Emperors but Mike Slater of Warwickshire BC tells me that there have been a few sightings here over the past few years, although not many and usually only high up. Oversley Wood is only about 10 miles away as the Emperor flies and it is thought that they spread from there a few years back.
We ended up watching this individual for about 15 minutes as he flew up and down the track and kept landing to take up minerals. He was very fidgety and every time I tried to shuffle around to get a better angle on him, he would be off again, only to settle a few yards further on.
![Snitterfield 14.07.2021 006 resize.JPG (921.95 KiB) Viewed 1747 times Purple Emperor - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021](./files/thumb_10101_fc780b1a9dfbfac6fa35f54f2e61271e)
- Purple Emperor - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021
![Snitterfield 14.07.2021 034 resize.JPG (757.08 KiB) Viewed 1747 times Purple Emperor - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021](./files/thumb_10101_b52223a487a537eb9c21ba1b2f21cfa3)
- Purple Emperor - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021
I eventually managed to get a three parts purple shot but he wouldn't lay his wings flat enough for the full purple.
![Snitterfield 14.07.2021 015 resize.JPG (1012.78 KiB) Viewed 1747 times Purple Emperor - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021](./files/thumb_10101_fae101619052b0002bb026d9ac126dc7)
- Purple Emperor - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021
He was a bit worn with some tears in his wings but I really can’t complain when I was not expecting to see a Purple Emperor here today. One of those occasions when I was as chuffed with this single sighting as I would have been with a dozen or more at somewhere like Fermyn where they are pretty much guaranteed.
Eventually he decided he had put up with us for long enough and disappeared up into the trees.
We carried on around the main circular path around the wood and saw something like 30-35 Silver-washed Fritillaries, mostly males but also a few females. These were all very active in the warm sun, the males especially as they bombed about at high speed through the trees. We saw a few of the graceful courtship flights with the male chasing after the female and spiralling around her as she kept on straight and level.
Eventually a few summer clouds covered the sun occasionally which slowed them down enough for me to get a few shots.
![Snitterfield 14.07.2021 085 resize.JPG (656.93 KiB) Viewed 1747 times Silver-washed Fritillary male - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021](./files/thumb_10101_91dfb09685396d1992757268a6337e87)
- Silver-washed Fritillary male - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021
![Snitterfield 14.07.2021 078 resize.JPG (524.44 KiB) Viewed 1747 times Silver-washed Fritillary male - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021](./files/thumb_10101_ded47d4b2a1fcc02f9c299c367d155f5)
- Silver-washed Fritillary male - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021
![Snitterfield 14.07.2021 120 resize.JPG (663.87 KiB) Viewed 1747 times Silver-washed Fritillary male - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021](./files/thumb_10101_98228d374766aae382c9e8b956a8f1e2)
- Silver-washed Fritillary male - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021
We also saw a pair in cop fly up into a tree where we could just see them hiding amongst the leaves.
![Snitterfield 14.07.2021 050 resize.JPG (551.7 KiB) Viewed 1747 times Silver-washed Fritillary pair - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021](./files/thumb_10101_68973ad761ef6e9c1ec7b8d805e22884)
- Silver-washed Fritillary pair - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021
Other butterflies seen were loads of Meadow Browns and Ringlets, a few large Skippers and half a dozen or so Marbled Whites in the more open areas of the wood.
![Snitterfield 14.07.2021 131 resize.JPG (584.57 KiB) Viewed 1747 times Ringlet female - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021](./files/thumb_10101_ddd2654a19068470549ae1d93daf8f83)
- Ringlet female - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021
![Snitterfield 14.07.2021 072 resize.JPG (523.07 KiB) Viewed 1747 times Marbled White - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021](./files/thumb_10101_5159ee8875947ebdf1a1075a57018801)
- Marbled White - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021
![Snitterfield 14.07.2021 101 resize.JPG (575.67 KiB) Viewed 1747 times Marbled White - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021](./files/thumb_10101_ebb72cae6e09bce5ff23b8de562b7892)
- Marbled White - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021
There were also a fair number of unidentified whites flying around with a couple of Small Whites and a single Large White confirmed.
![Snitterfield 14.07.2021 106 resize.JPG (485.53 KiB) Viewed 1747 times Small White - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021](./files/thumb_10101_7a43fc4e5f1abecd7d346a0b37dbb649)
- Small White - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021
![Snitterfield 14.07.2021 063 resize.JPG (587.37 KiB) Viewed 1747 times Large White - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021](./files/thumb_10101_34e3b68d69502e990d6955008f3c1cd8)
- Large White - Snitterfield Bushes 14.07.2021
A single Gatekeeper was also spotted but wouldn’t settle and fluttered off into the trees.
After doing the full circle, we headed back to the car and Jane had a rest while I had a quick look in the south side of the wood. I saw pretty much the same selection of butterflies as on the north side but with the addition of a couple of high up Purple Hairstreaks…and no further Purple Emperors.
What did I think of the tree clearance work? Well, some of it looked a bit drastic and some spots were churned up by heavy plant machinery, but overall, it wasn’t as bad as I had feared and some of the clearance should be beneficial in a year or two allowing for regeneration of the ground flora.
By midday, the clouds were building up but all this was doing was making it feel more humid and after spending a cracking couple of hours here we made a move back home.
Bye for now and stay safe,
Neil.