www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Sunday 11th April 2010

We were busy all day on Sunday and didn't get home until 5pm. The sun was just about hanging on so I nipped over to the cemetery for 10 mins to see what if anything was about.

No butterflies but on the way out I walked into this juvenile Blackbird trying to take its first flight. It wasn't doing particularly well and seemed to have trouble landing. It tried the wall and then a bush but was quite clumsy. Here is a rather skinny looking and worried dad looking on with concern. He looks worn out. I fired off a few shots as they were right in my path but then left them to it as I didn't want to impose any longer.

Sunday 11th April 2010

Also on Sunday I saw my first ever House Sparrow in the back garden. They do live locally and I've seen them up the road and in the cemetery but never in the garden until now.

And the Greenfinches returned, albeit briefly. A pair landed in the apple tree and then flew off

Monday 12th April 2010

Whilst on my travels at work I saw either a Small or Green Veined White at Northolt tube station.

Tuesday 13th April 2010

The Goldcrest was back but this time at 7pm! So that blows my early morning theory out the window. I guess I'm just not there when it turns up...

Wednesday 14th April 2010

I have to do a lot of travelling with my job which means a lot of trains, tubes and buses. When I'm waiting for a train I always like to walk along the platform just in case there are any wild areas of ground to look at and invariably there will be a buddleia bush somewhere. (Beaconsfield station in Buckinghamshire is great for buddleia, last summer there was about 30 metres of solid buddleia action on the platform and in the 20 minutes I was waiting I saw lots of Painted Ladies, Red Admirals and Commas).

So I was out and about yesterday and it was pretty cold. I was at Whitton train station, near Twickenham and there was a very noticable cacophony of bird song. I saw a Jay gathering nest building material, a Blackbird, serveral Blue Tits, Great Tits, a family of Sparrows, 3 Parakeets and a Wren. All in 5 minutes.

The London bound platform that I was on had a grassy bank running the length of it full of spring growth; grasses, plantains, dead nettles, white nettles, bluebells, white bluebells (which seem even more magical than blue bluebells) and dandelions (which were all closed as it was cold and grey). Lovely.

We received some sad news from Yorkshire tonight.

2 of the baby rabbits didn't make it through last night and passed away.

Sympathy!

Feed your rabbits only by dry fodder and from soiling crop only by fresh stinging nettle. Other soiling crop causes usually diarroea but not so stinning netles - they are admirable fodder and dieteticly helthy! Stinging can be reduced by crease them in a piece of linen or let them wilt:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtQkooFJDUU[/video]

P.S.: It is possible to make a food from stinning netles a la spinach (but more dainty and tasty than spinach).

Thanks Traplican.

What a lovely video. I reckon at 1 minute in you can see the rabbit on the right getting a nettle sting in its mouth...

I will pass on your comments about feeding them nettles though as they certainly do seem to love them!

Thanks again,

Lee

I've just seen my first Swallow of the year!

At Hounslow Central tube station, of all places

Bit of a difference to Somerset but there you go.

But bee careful, Lee, and give them only dry (hay or granules, dry bread, oats) an water for several day and then carefuly add stinging nettles.

Thanks again for the advice Traplican.

Saw my second Swallow of the year on the way home at Greenford Broadway.

What a glorious weekend. I feel a bit sun scorched!

Saturday 17th April 2010

My Dad's over from Spain this week and I wanted to show him Horsenden Hill and he loved it. Noticed a few violets in the woods which I hadn't seen before. We also saw 3 Jays flying together over the summit which was unusual as I've only ever seen single birds before. Maybe a family with a youngster but if so it was in adult plumage.

Between 12 noon and 1.15pm we saw:
Peacock x 17
Comma x 2
Orange Tip (male) x 1
Brimstone (male) x 2
Small or Green Veined White x 3

It seemed nothing was feeling photogenic and I only managed one record shot of a Peacock for the whole trip. Got some nice views though.

On return home there was I expected there would be, a Peacock in residency in the front garden. A different individual from last weekend, and I saw 4 in total here today. Another quite worn individual was in residency a bit later on - I wonder if the territories they defend change or they move on. They were quite flighty today, especially at Horsenden Hill. One of the Peacocks in the garden kept buzzing us as we moved about and even, somewhat bravely I thought, chased after a Robin!

Highlight in the garden today though was my first Speckled Wood of the year, a male: Also saw one male Small White (on Butch) and 2 other Small or Green Veined Whites.

I was off to see friends in Tunbridge Wells overnight and I always like to stop off on the North Downs on the way if I have time. I was above Kemsing, near Sevenoaks between 5 and 5.45pm and was looking for Grizzled Skippers as I've only ever seen them once, here, about 20 years ago. I walked from Green Hill though to Whiteleaf Down but didn't see any. However Green Hill was carpeted with Cowslips and Violets, quite something to see. Butterfly wise, I saw:
Orange Tip (male) x 1
Large White (male) x 1 - my first of the year
Peacock x 7
Comma x 2

It's nice to visit somewhere on consecutive days and at different times. I stopped at Kemsing again on the way back today and did the same walk and a little further.

Still no Grizzled Skippers though. However, I watched a female Brimstone laying eggs so it can't be all bad. I also saw both male and female Brimstones nectaring on Primrose and Violet. I've never seen this so I'm not sure if this is normal or not! I also found this, a red Cowslip? Susie.... The Brimstones were out in force today, sightings between 12 noon and 1.30pm:
Brimstone (male) x 14
Brimstone (female) x 6
Peacock x 11
Small Tortoiseshell x 1
The field on the way back to the car were full of these little flowers which I think are forget me nots... Saw a buzzard on the M25 somewhere in Surrey, first one I've seen in the South East.

On arrival back in Greenford, Dad and my girfriend were at the allotment so I stopped by and put in a hours digging and helped Dad with his rows of seed potatoes. One confirmed male Small White and 2 other Small or Green Veined at the allotment and one further Small or Green Veined seen from the car on the way home.

Sorry Lee but I think your forgetmenots are speedwell again.

Thanks Susie. How about the other one, is the red Cowslip actually a red Cowslip?

TBH I've never seen anything like it, Lee. I've seen pink wild primroses but never a red cowslip. I guess it must be as there are variations in nature, which is where we get out cultivars from.

Thanks Susie. There were quite a few red ones. But the carpet of yellow ones, a sight to behold!

Hi Lee,

While out walking at one of my sites yesterday I also came across a "Red Cowslip", but the flowers were arranged differently and it was much larger than the one in your photo. There was also a yellow one which was paler and much larger than the surrounding Cowslips. This prompted me to do some research.

There is a natural hybrid between the Cowslip and Primrose which is an Oxlip. This is a bit larger than the Cowslip but has paler flowers, which are arranged on one side of the stem. There are a number of other natural hybrids which are classed as False Oxlips and these are the basis of the many Polyanthus variants that we have in the garden. These are much more vigorous and also have the flowers arranged around the top of the stem. The ones I found were of this variant, but yours seems to have flowers hanging on one side of the stem, rather like an Oxlip (but not a true one). I will stop now before I confuse myself and anyone else any further.

Hope this helps.

Edit: Jack has a photo of an Oxlip on page 4 of the April 2010 Sightings forum.

Vince

Thanks Vince.

Jack's photo has a hint of Primrose from the hybridisation. Studying my shots of the yellow and red flowers they do look more similar in design although the red flower seems to be taller than the yellow flowers but they weren't in the field. Weird! Maybe there was another red flower nearby they were cross breeding with...!

Thanks again,

Lee

2 Small or Green Veined Whites at Boston Manor tube station today around 11.30am. I was a little surprised as though sunny it was quite chilly with a breeze and was probably only around 12 degrees.

When I got home romance was in the air as there was a pair of Dunnocks in the garden. They were here yesterday too. I reckon one must the one that's here all year round with his/her mate. It's nice to see as you normally only see one! There were a pair of Robins too at the weekend.

Both my Dunnocks and Robins have learnt to fly up to the fat balls and seed dispenser, maybe by watching the Tits, which is nice to see for ground feeding species.

I love my garden birds, it really makes me feel happy to see them.