Old Wolf

[millerd]

Those Chalkhills are great, Wolf. They are especially fond of Carline thistle as your photos show. That's a splendid Painted Lady too.

Cheers,

Dave

[Katrina]

Totally agree, love the Chalkhill esp the double, but my favourite is the Painted Lady

[David M]

The male in your mating pair of Chalkhills is very unusual and probably an aberrant, Old Wolf.

[Old Wolf]

The male in your mating pair of Chalkhills is very unusual and probably an aberrant, Old Wolf.

I didn't really think of that even though I did notice that his markings were very feint on the upper and lower underwings. Unfortunately I didn't get a look at them open as he was, shall we say busy at the time.

I am even more chuffed now

[Andrew555]

Lovely Small Coppers in the morning sunlight Wolf. I like your Chalkhills and Painted Lady as well.

[Wurzel]

Great stuff Wolfy I'm glad that you finished your business with the Chalkhills As David spotted you've managed to capture an ab. obscura in the mating pair Lovely Lady too

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Janet Turnbull]

That was a very happy time with the Chalkhills, Old Wolf - I do like the double on the carlines. Looking back a couple of posts I think my favourites so far are of the Small Coppers - so evocative!

[Old Wolf]

I love that shot of the two Chalkhills beside one another on the Carline Thistles, neither bothering to chase off the other.

Thanks Ernie. To be honest I think it was my movement that eventually made one decide to take flight.

Those Chalkhills are great, Wolf. They are especially fond of Carline thistle as your photos show.

Thanks millerd and thanks for the plant name. Plants are an area I really need to look into as I had no idea what the plants were. I need to research the plants that different species like to help me in narrowing down where I should be looking. I have ordered a book that should hopefully help me with this.

Thanks for the kind words Katrina, David, Andrew and Wurzel.

That was a very happy time with the Chalkhills

Thanks Janet. Yes it seemed very surreal but really good to be among them.

[Goldie M]

Catching up Old Wolf, Love the side shot of the Painted Lady, what a nice surprise for you she was, Goldie

[Old Wolf]

I feel it is probably worth a recap as to why I am here, so........

Previously in Old Wolf's Diary....................
Old Wolf gets lent a camera. Old Wolf doesn't know how to use it but starts to try to learn by taking photographs of butterflies. Old Wolf gets a few photos he is happy with and vows to continue until he can get the shots he wants whilst seeing butterflies he has never seen before.

Well winter came and went and how much practice did I do? None! Nothing. Not a bean. Not a single photograph taken so when the weather improved and I started heading out into the wild again with the camera it became very apparent that I had forgotten pretty much everything I learnt last year. Back to square one. Cue the Rocky theme tune and the montage of Old Wolf watching loads of Youtube turorials, running backwards and forwards into the garden to take pictures, reading online articles, running backwards and forwards to the garden to take pictures. Reading the manual, running backwards and forwards to the garden to take pictures.

Marston Vale 12-05-19
I remembered that a BC event to Marston Moretaine Forest Centre had taken place last year for Green Hairstreak, Dingy and Grizzled Skippers which I found out about after the fact. I have never seen any of these three even though we regularly take our dogs there so I decided that today might be a good time to rectify the situation.

Rather than following the path which we would normally do, I thought we would try down by the lakeside which is a sandy, muddy affair with sparse patches of grass, so a place that we generally avoided whilst walking the dogs throughout the winter. The weather had been dry for while so the mud was pretty baked and cracked and there were more than a few dead fish littered around. They were exactly like the ones you see in cartoons or comics, head, tail and only a spine inbetween.

I tapped all of the bushes as we walked through the tracks that criss cross all over the lower part of the edge of the boating lake hoping to dislodge a GHS but there was nothing. Nothing flew and nothing to be seen until a brown blur caught my eye. I followed it and it landed but I had to get close to see what it was as it was a dull brown against the brown of the mud. I utilised the strategy of click and creep which is essential for someone with only an 18-55 lense. Click so you at least have a shot then creep a little closer and click again. Repeat until either the butterfly has flown or you are close enough that you just get a picture that is any good. By now I am on my knees and trying to get as close as I dare and through the viewfinder I can see that it is my first ever Dingy. A female.

Well this has got me excited. My first new sighting of 2019

I continued on and kept on seeing more brown blurs chasing each other, zipping around at great speed but it was quite hot and none were settling. The few that did settle only did for a few seconds because they would be off again chasing another brown blur that came too close. I was unprepared for how small and fast they were, a blur of brown against the brown muddy landscape. I kept tracking them until another landed on the track just ahead of us and entered 'click and creep' mode. Success. A Male.

Pretty happy that I had seen one of each we carried on as the dogs were getting quite hot at that point and it was nearly time to head back. We started to head back with me still tapping bushes and hoping until a small light blur zipped past us and landed on the scrubby grass a little way back down the track. I headed back and once again entered C&C Mode and in my viewfinder I saw it! A Green Hairstreak but only one click, one step of the creep and it had gone. So the picture isn't great as it was from quite a distance but I had seen one if only for a few seconds.

Two first time sighting in one trip

I think 2019 will be a good year for first time sightings and it would be even better if I could get to grips with this dang camera.

P.S.
I have decided to update my signature with my 2019 first sightings as I update my diary so if you want to avoid my inane waffling just scroll to the bottom of my post and then you can scan backwards if you see anything that might be worth a look. The funny thing is that if you have got this far then you have already had to read a load of waffle

[bugboy]

Bring on the Waffle Old Wolf!

[Wurzel]

Great stuff Old Wolf - the 'Click-step' is the preferred dance of any good butterflier

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Bring on the Waffle Old Wolf!

Agreed . Although I like to look at peoples photos, it is the descriptions of the days out that I often find most interesting and enjoyable to read.

Cheers,

Neil

[David M]

I have to admire your persistence, Old Wolf. Well done for getting stuck into things again. I'm sure you'll completely get the hang of it before you know it.

[Old Wolf]

25/05/19

Dunstable Downs and Totternhoe Knolls.

Sorry for the lack of updates but computer problems have prevented me from posting. Hopefully I will be back up and running properly soon.
I was lucky enough to receive a zoom lens for my birthday and it arrived the day before the outing which meant I had no time to practice with the unwieldy 70-300 which was a mighty jump from the 18-55 which I had been using. I quickly found out about the minimum focus distance of 1.5m which was a whole different approach to what I had been used to.

I was to attend a Butterfly Conservation walk at Dunstable Downs and Totternhoe Knolls where I was hoping to add the Duke of Burgundy, Small Blue and Grizzled Skipper to my list of first time ever sightings in 2019.

The weather when we set off did not look promising at all as the grey clouds scudded overhead and spits of rain hit the windscreen on the way. I don’t mind admitting that I was seriously considering aborting mission as there was grey clouds as far as I could see and I feared a wasted journey.
We arrived and I set up the family with a basecamp as the wind began to really pick up and more spots of rain began to fall. I really did think that I would have to pack up at any moment and head back before we got really soaked but with basecamp set up, they insisted I head off with the group that had gathered at the visitor centre ‘because you never know’.

The group were still optimistic as we headed down into Bison Hill which they described as a microclimate and the Butterfly Gods were with us because the clouds began to break and blue holes were soon appearing as the clouds thinned.
The track we were taking was a chalky path that cut diagonally down the hill where the odd Brimstone flitted about and soon into the descent the call went up ‘Duke!’ and there it was that I saw my first ever Duke of Burgundy. As I have mentioned many times, I was surprised at how small it was and as the sun decided to start putting in an appearance, Bison Hill came alive. There were Dukes, Dinghy Skippers, Brown Argus and my First Grizzled Skipper soon appeared making it two firsts.

I must mention before you look at the pics (if you are even reading this) that I was really struggling with the new lens and I am far from happy with the results. I even considering making this a text only entry but at the last minute I decided to include them so that hopefully I notice some improvement as the year goes on.

After a while the track levels and then begins a winding climb where the grasses give way to larger bushes and small trees that we were told the be Green Hairstreak were likely to be and as I had only a fleeting glimpse of one before, I was desperate to get a closer look.
It wasn’t long before one was spotted and he landed at the top of one of the taller bushes and as we all waited, it was clear it did not want to come down. This picture shows how the sky had cleared by this point and it was turning into a beautifully sunny day.

As we all searched a few more GHS were seen and this time lower and easier to photograph. I managed to snag the only picture I was happy with in over 500 taken of the GHS on the white flowers.

As we reached the top it was time to turn around and head back the way we had come and we all meandered back stopping for anything of interest along the way, of which there were plenty.

As we neared the entrance someone called out ‘Small Blue’ and there was the third first ever sighting for my trip. I was really chuffed that I had got to see all three new species that were possible and managed to get a proper look at some GHS.
The plan was to take a lunch break at the visitor centre and head off to Totternhoe Knolls for the afternoon to go in search of more Small Blue and Dukes so I headed back to basecamp for lunch with the family.
After lunch most of the group headed to the Knolls and I was greeted in the carpark by a beautiful fresh male that I tried in vain to photograph but all of the pictures turned out really bad. We continued and were greeted by the twisted wreck of a car that was rusting away which I find fascinating for some reason. Although it angers me that it has not been cleared away it also fascinates me to see the way in which these things deteriorate until only engine parts and bare frame frames are left behind as nature slowly grows around them.

Totternhoe Knolls is a disused quarry that has chalk cliffs and as we headed down to the path that runs along the bottom of this cliff there were Small Blue absolutely everywhere. I saw over a hundred as we walked along with the odd Small Heath and a solitary Small Copper thrown in.

We headed through the quarry to a spot where the Dukes were likely to be, taking in a few more GHs on the way but had no luck at this site. There were more Grizzlies and Dinghys but not a single Duke was seen and it was decided to head back.
As we headed back in the bright afternoon sunshine, I was incredibly happy that I had not decided to abort the mission as I thought I might have to, as I had seen everything that it was possible to see and the day that I thought would end in rain ended up with me having sunburned arms, forehead and ears
It wasn't until I got home I found out that I have taken over 500 terrible photos and one which I was happy with. Oh well, there is always next year

[trevor]

Good to hear from you again, Old Wolf, and of your adventures at Totternhoe.
I've only been there once, right at the end of the Duke season. But the place was
alive with Small Blues, and several took a liking to my shoes and landed on them.
As I walked they followed me, and again landed on them when I stopped.

Have a great new season,
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

A great report of what sounds like a cracking day Old Wolf Three lifers in a day is pretty great going and it sounds like a pair of really interesting reserves

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Old Wolf]

Hello Trevor,
Thanks, its good to be back. Have you ever thought about returning to Totterhnoe? You can see if they still like you

Hello Wurzel,
Thanks, three lifers in a day was amazing Now that I know where to go I plan on returning to both sites this year.

[Old Wolf]

23-07-2019

Glapthorn Cow Pastures

My next trip was to attend to the Butterfly Conservation Black Hairstreak hunt at Glapthorne Cow Pastures which was very exciting as I have never seen one and was hoping that going with the experts would improve my chances of adding another first time ever sighting to this year. If we succeeded then this would bring my lifer count this year to six which smashes last year’s record of four first time ever sightings.
We arrived before the sun had broken the thin cloud but the warmth gave me hope that it wouldn’t be long before it did. We met with the group in the lane opposite the Pastures and there were members that I recognised as they were also at the Bison Hill event earlier. We were also accompanied by some of the reserve wardens who would be on hand to assist in finding the BHS.
Once inside we headed to the Dewberry that is a popular spot for the BHS and it did not disappoint! In an area no bigger than a tennis court they were on the flowers all over the bushes which allowed us all to get really close to them. Everyone had plenty of opportunity to get in and photograph them which was great as normally everyone is waiting to get a chance with one or two as had been the case on previous trips.

We were joined by five or six lizards who came out to bask in the sun which had broken the clouds on one of the log piles in one of the rides.

After we had been photographing a while it was decided to head further in to see if the Silver Washed Fritillaries had emerged. On the way there were Speckled Wood, Large Skippers and Meadow Browns in the rides and somehow the group split with some continuing on to hunt the SWF and others, myself included, went with the wardens who were very informative with the management of the Pastures and were hoping to find us a pupa.
They pointed out Common Spotted Orchids and found us the Pupa we had hoped for. It was on a branch that had been cut recently but luckily upon close inspection it was found to be empty with a small dark emergence split pointed out to us.

The paths through the pastures are all connected so it wasn’t long before we came back to the Dewberry hotspot where the BHS were still present but it was much sunnier by now so they were much more active than they had been previously. They were joined by a Painted Lady and Red Admiral and also someone had seen a White Admiral flying over the top. Could this be a seventh for me?
We were all scanning over the Dewberry as it had gone onto the larger bushes behind them when a call came out from down the ride. We all hurried down there but were too late as it had taken flight already and headed over the back again.
We walked back hoping that it would reappear and before long it did, and landed but it was ever so brief as one of the group tripped on a bramble which shook the bush and it was gone again. We continued to wait and it did come back and landed and I had it in my viewfinder for but a second as it took off before I had even managed to get focus. I cannot count this as my seventh as all I ever really saw was a flash of black and white.
We stayed a while longer enjoying the BHS and as lunchtime approached, the group began to head off. I was well chuffed at having such great opportunity to get up close to another first time ever sighting but once again struggled with the new lens as you could probably tell from the pics.
Now I know where to go, I will be back!

Edit to add:
Issue 96 of Butterfly Conservation’s on the wing had an article about the trip and there is a photo of the group which includes me and my chauffeur who are the furthest on the right

[Wurzel]

Another brilliant report Old Wolf And as the kids would say "I'm well Jelly" as I've yet to see a Black Hairstreak and you managed to get some absolutely cracking shots them!

Have a goodun

Wurzel