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31st May part 2

After watching England rather painfully beat Bangladesh in the Test match, I decided on a walk in the local meadows. The Cow Parsley was at its very best.

I checked the time and got quite a surprise. Here it was on my sleeve.

Taking the picture was tricky (I was on my own). I presume I had brushed it onto my arm while walking though the Cow Parsley.

I didn’t see any more butterflies for a while, but was attracted to a familiar but nostalgic sound. The camera was sill in macro mode but I managed this record shot of a vintage Vampire aircraft

I had flown Vampires during my advanced flying training some 50 years ago.

A Silver Ground Carpet Moth presented itself.

The sun came out briefly and I managed my first picture of the year of a Large White, little more than a record shot.

Jack

2nd June

Hockley Wood near Southend for Heath Fritillaries where I was joined by Dave Miller and Kevin Taylor


Clearly it’s very early in the flight season as numbers increased during the visit as presumably there were new emergences. Even so, no more than about 8 individuals seen.



This last one looks as if flash was used. It wasn't according to the Exif - it just posed beautifully.

Jack

Thursday 3rd to Monday 7th June

Thursday, according to the records, was the sunniest day so far this year. With the summer solstice less than a couple of weeks ago, it is likely to be THE sunniest day of the entire year.

The amount of sun was not ideal at Park Corner Heath (as mentioned in Sussex Kipper’s blog). He’s quite right; it is almost pointless trying to photograph the Small PB Fritillaries in those conditions. I must say that I saw nobody entering the roped off areas even though that was where the Frits often chose to land.

Saturday we went to the Kings Lynn area for a barbecue with friends. One Holly Blue in the garden was the butterfly highlight.

Monday 7th June was cloudy but bright – ideal. My local meadows in South Cambridgeshire were teeming with Common Blues with at times as many as five within a couple of metres of where I was standing. Small Heaths were almost as numerous. (This is a very reliable site) with on one occasion three sparring together. They chased off the Common Blues with enthusiasm, the colour contrast between the Orange/Yellow of the Small Heaths and the blue being impressive.



Jack

10th June

Miserable day here in South Cambridgeshire. However, during a brief bright interval, a blue seen outside. Dashed into the garden and found this very tatty Holly Blue (notice that streamer of damaged wing). It chose to nectar on Meadow Cranesbill.

Flash needed due to poor natural light

Holly Blue is an infrequent visitor to my garden being seen no more than three of four times per year. The Meadow Cranesbill, although a native wild plant, makes a delightful garden flower. This was however, the first time I have ever seen any butterfly using it for nectar.

Jack

12th June

I went to two sites near Huntingdon, firstly Brampton Wood. There were significant numbers of photographers

chasing some boring little brown jobs that inconveniently hung around the tree tops. I didn’t bother with such insignificant little insects. Instead I concentrated on the abundant Speckled Woods.

There were more of these little brown jobs in Monks Wood where Phil Bromley had used super-glue to stick one on a convenient leaf at head height. I thought I had better take a photo just for the record.

Jack

Love the photograph Jack, I'm very jealous. Oh and the shot of that LBJ is ok too

Sunday 13th June

Some hesitation about the weather prospects, but the excellent satellite image website Sat 24:
http://www.sat24.com/frame.php?html=vie ... gb&sat=vis
suggested a possible clearance coming in from the west so Mike Rubin and I gambled on a visit to Strumpshaw. It was a long wait, but at around 1300 hours, the sun showed feeble, it warmed up quickly and the Swallowtails appeared in the popular garden of Dr.Martin George. Thank you Martin, we really do appreciate your enthusiasm and allowing us access.

One particularly flower bed was especially popular with the Swallowtails. At one point, it had three butterflies. I commented to the crowd of photographers: “Three in a bed. Every man’s dream!”. This even brought a smile on the faces a couple of rather earnest ladies. But I was upstaged by video-photographer Paul Wetton (website: http://www.youtube.com/user/paulwetton) who commented: “Only dreaming then Jack?”


We were back in time to watch our boys Lewis and Jenson achieve first & second in the Canadian Grand Prix. It had been a good weekend all round.

Jack

15th June

Collard Hill for me tomorrow and Thursday, but today I visited my local meadows this morning. (foreground in photo).

There was plenty of heavy cloud as can be seen but the countryside sparkled during the brief sunny breaks. The pale blue sheen on the hill on the right is a Linseed crop.

The observant might notice the hovering Kestrel on the right just above the sky-line. But that of course wasn’t a birding highlight. A Quail was doing its ventriloquist’s “Wet my Lips” somewhere in the meadow but as many will know, locating a Quail is almost impossible; needless to say, I failed.

This locality is some 140 metres above sea level so butterfly emergences are a little later than on lower ground. Nevertheless, I saw my first Meadow Brown and Large Skipper on the site this year.

No butterflying next weekend as we have visitors.

Jack

Wednesday 16th to Friday 18th June

27 miles in the first two hours. Not a good start. But things improved once I got on to the M25 which was running surprisingly well. Indeed from then on I had a good run to Collard arriving at 1300 hours.

Over the next four hours I saw about 15 Large Blues. They did not really pose for the camera.

I went to the hotel where I enjoyed some excellent beer and a very decent meal.

Next morning I was at Collard Hill by 0730. Again the Large Blues were very difficult to photograph when they first appeared at around 0930. You really need to be a mountain goat to charge up and down that hill; I am certainly not fit enough nowadays. My legs ached, so late morning I left Collard and more in hope than expectation, went to Sand Point just in case there were any late Glanville Fritillaries still about. Sand Point is delightful but I saw no Frits.

On Friday I had to collect my daughter from near Leatherhead but had sufficient time to check out Fairmile Common (aka Fairmile Heath) near Cobham. As soon as the cloud broke Silver Studded Blues were in abundance just opposite the car park (TQ117617) with up to four being seen at any one time.


An enjoyable three days but the Large Blue photos disappointed.

Jack

21st June

Easy trip up the A1 and I was at Crowle Moors by 1020 hours. The access road to the car park is rough, rough, rough!

Apparently Bog Browns are common all over that bog but I saw them almost immediately along the track running northwest from the car park at SE759148




Also seen at Crowle: Large Skipper, Meadow Brown (surprisingly few) and single female Brimstone. But without doubt, the most numerous butterflies were the Bog Browns.

I only managed to stay on site for two hours as the Horse flies were a real menace and they won!

Jack

Was there a day earlier Jack and also got bitten by the Horse Flies!

Was quite surprised at how many Large Heath there were. I must have seen at least 20 in a very short 200m stretch and I wasn't even properly counting

28th June

At 1800 hours met up with Nick Ballard at Cambridge Madingley Park&Ride in search of elusive hairstreaks. No White Letters but Nick found the Purples on the oaks just by the entrance. They stayed high and I then saw perhaps as many as six.

A lovely fresh hutchinsoni Comma kept landing on my shirt but ignored Nick entirely. Here it is at a more conventional refuelling station

albeit in a somewhat unconventional location.


Jack

Jack Harrison wrote:28th June
A lovely fresh hutchinsoni Comma kept landing on my shirt but ignored Nick entirely.
Jack

No comment...

I found this from “Lone Sentry” which might explain:

.... attack under the cover of smoke, with a constantly changing visibility, demands initiative and resolution ....

Jack

...and I thought it was your sheer "animal magnetism" Jack

Mass Hysteria East Anglia 30th June

Small woodland clearing in a remote corner of Norfolk. The crowd was excited; the atmosphere electric. This seemed to be a clandestine Training Camp; they were perfecting The Salute. Then someone would shout : “Ther Tizz!” Others would chorus “Ther Tizz!” It was difficult not to get caught up in the euphoria.

But I knew better. Exciting yes, but not likely to change World History. Click on this link to reveal:
http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac85 ... 1277909327

Jack

The now notorious Twitchwell Rally was that...?
..nice one - yet to see one myself...

2nd July

I arrived at Fermyn Woods at 0830 but the (weather) front was a little more active than had been hoped – at one point while waiting, the drizzle became quite heavy. Charles played his Didgeridoo(?!). And then, being a maths teacher, Charles subjected me to some mock GCSE papers – and I thought I had gone to Fermyn to watch butterflies not to do simultaneous equations!

Several other people were equally disappointed. But patience was needed and at about 1140, the sun shone briefly. Then half an hour later, there was a longer burst of sun and Phil Bromley soon spotted an Emperor which obliged in the usual fashion by landing on the path.
Photos were easy.


When seen in close-up, the length of the antennae always impresses.

White Admirals however never posed for the camera even though about a dozen were seen in flight

Phil, James French (who was having his firsts taste of butterflies for some while) and I then moved on the Bedford Purlieus west of Peterborough. Phil again was “the eyes” and he soon found the target, White-letter Hairstreak high in elms with one eventually descending to feed on (rather distant) bramble. We had about half a dozen sightings of Silver Washed Fritillary but surprisingly, no sign of White Admirals here.

My year tick list now stands at 45.

Jack

Hi Jack,
Glad to see that you were able to get some lovely shots after all the pessimism about the weather!
Later in the aftertoon, we - Charles included - were with a Purple Emporer which had been attracted to the paste. It sat there beautifully on the log and eventually opened its wings, what a stunning creature.
Nice to meet you and happy Butterflying,
Em

4th July – Fermyn again

Arrived at 0830. Not much activity for the first hour then my goodness didn’t things get going!

I had definite goals today. No more photos Purple Emperors on the ground – I already have plenty. But I wanted pictures of them on vegetation. I also targeted White Admirals.

Both species were in very good numbers, but until late morning, White Admirals insisted on pretending that they were Purple Emperors and flittered around just above the ground. One Emperor was very small and could be compared to a normal White Admiral when the two landed near each other; sizes were remarkably similar. Both species tended to fly higher as the morning progressed although one PE was still coming down late as 1310 hours (so much for the received wisdom that they land on the ground during the first part of the morning).

Richard Mitchell and I wandered to Souther Wood (incorrectly called Lady Wood in earlier version of this diary) and were rewarded with plenty of PEs, some obligingly landing on bushes at head height. One took a great liking to a pair of trousers; the wearer was able to take pictures.


I got my “foliage” shots.



We then set off to return to the car park at the northern end of the wood (opposite the gliding club). Stupidly, neither of us had adequate maps – I knew the wood so didn’t need one! We somehow took a wrong turning and it was a while before we realised our error. But as the general direction required was north, with the sun a useful compass, it was an easy matter to regain our route by following one of the generally northerly tracks through the wood. Wrong strategy! Every “short cut” turned out to be a dead end. Finally, we gave up and back-tracked completely. I was now getting pretty tired and at one point, I got a twinge of cramp in a calf muscle. We met some ramblers who had a map. We were pretty well where we thought we were and within 20 minutes were back in Fermyn Wood.

We then heard the news of a PE form iole and two WA obliteratae had been seen. I was too tired by now to go back to Souther Wood for the iole.

One nice sighting was a Marbled White, a species I had not before seen in Fermyn although with the recent expansion of range, it was only a matter of time.

On arrival back home, found that my Internet Service Provider was having an “outage” that lasted almost 0900 on Monday.

Jack