Goldie M

[David M]

Nice find, Goldie. They're only just emerging in Greece at the moment!

[Goldie M]

Some strange goings on in the Garden today I found this Holly Blue with strange markings, looks like it's rubbed against some thing

Then I found one I thought was asleep in a flower Then I watched this little Bird feeding from the lower stems of my Red Hot poker never seen that before , I wonder if they're so hungry with the weather being dry. Goldie

[Wurzel]

Fantastic to see the Heaths are out in East Blean Goldie, I love their underside markings Did you happen to run into the Bison that are roaming the reserve now?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Hi! Wurzel. I'm not sure which part of Blean Woods the cattle are in, there's no signs at East Blean to say they're there, there's also an entry at Blean village which is more up to date than East Blean ,for some reason it's kept in much better condition for a start with lots of good walks, I found some there last year as well as East Blean, also I've not seen any signs there warning to be careful.

I asked my Daughter and she said there's also another entrance but I'm not sure where that is, I really prefer Blean village it's just that the Heath are a bit harder to find there but at least you don't have to pay to park like you have to at East Blean and it's not as lonely, the cattle are I believe in a fenced off area as well where ever they are, I don't fancy meeting up with them

I go to East Blean because it's much nearer and you don't have to go very far into it to find the Heath, it's has well really because East Blean is where people take big dogs to because it's lonely and much wilder than Blean Village and they can let them off the lead more, I go with my Daughter now, one Dog bite is enough for me, I also see the Silver Washed fritillary there in July , they don't seem to be in the Blean Village woods at all.

Also the Purple Hair Streaks are in the oak tree's in the car park at East Blean, there used to be two area's in the car park now one of them is full of bit's of broken branches and can't be used, it's because of the logging they've been doing there, truth is it's a real mess in there at present I park on the road
Usually.

Hope this info is helpful Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Goldie I'm currently in negotiations about making a trip there so hopefully I'll be able to make use of your tips Fingers crossed

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

I went to Blean village today Wurzel and went into Blean Wood not a sign of any Butterflies there yet, I didn't see one, I did see people with cameras leaving I don't know if any one saw a Heath or not they were getting into their cars, I'm usually Cheeky and ask but they seemed in a hurry.

The only Butterflies that seem to be well around here are the Holly Blue , they're in my garden every second it seems

I took another shot at a Red Admiral in the garden as well , I'm off to Temple Ewell tomorrow, fingers crossed I see some thing , Goldie

[Goldie M]

Well today I did get to Temple Ewell Nothing much was flying , it felt really strange, this time last year the Large Skipper was there, however the Meadow Brown were out in small numbers but to get a shot of one was impossible, when they did fly it was always into the long grass, useless for taking pictures. Plenty of time to get shots of them

I wasn't disappointed though because I did find a Small Blue and a favourite of mine I thought I'd missed, a Small Tortoiseshell , I saw two , but one flew off , I'm not sure if it was the same one that came back, I had attempted to take a shot of the first one and think I missed it, the second one had lovely Markings which I'd never noticed before on a Small Tort so it must have been really fresh, I'd to put my Camera on the quick mode to catch the Butterfly opening and shutting it's wings

I also saw some Common Blue's, it was so hot even in the shade there and even with the nice Breeze the Butterflies never opened their wings only to fly off. I did see a Speckie on the way out and took a shot of that.

My daughter and I ended the day with a Cornish Pastie sat on the cliffs watching the boats coming and going to France , same story there though no Butterflies to speak of, I was so glad I'd managed to get my Small Tort Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cracking to see that you got the Small Blues Goldie Thanks for the update on the Heaths, unfortunately it's a little too far this year and I could only wangle a trip to Epsom Common...next year though

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Nice summer brood Torties, Goldie. Not yet seen any of those round my way.

The Small Blue was a welcome bonus.

[Goldie M]

Hi! Wurzel, I've missed a few Butterflies this year, I looked every where for the Green Hair Streak but I didn't find one, some of the ones I'm going to look for now will be in East Blean Woods, the White Admiral hope fully, I'd like to get better shots of the Heath's as well, hope fully ,with their wings open

Thanks David, The Small Blue was a good find and quite unexpected because I thought I'd missed them and the Small Tort was always the first Butterfly in my other garden to appear in Spring, so I was so pleased to see it , I'd really missed it . Goldie

[Goldie M]

I went into the Garden just now to put my Brolly up, to my surprise I saw this moth, can any one name it for me, I've never seen one like it before Goldie

[Allan.W.]

Dark Arches , Goldie . Allan.W.

[Goldie M]

Thanks for that Allan, I've not seen a lot of Moths yet, if I do, I like to take a shot and Name them I'm busy washing today hope fully rain on Sunday, my Garden is suffering, now we've got an hose pipe ban Goldie

[Goldie M]

I went to East Blean Woods again yesterday, I was surprised when I saw so few Heath Fritillaries , they were there but nothing in the car park at all, they were flying mostly up to the trees which I'd never seen them do before and so , needless to say, I never got a shot of them , may be it was because of the heat, I think next time I'll have to go further into the Woods

I decided then to try Blean Woods which is nearer to Canterbury, about a twenty minute drive from East Blean woods, the Woods spread out quite a lot and in-between both Woods they've placed the animals , Pigs, Ponies , etc , I think that wood is called Brooks Wood but I'm not too sure , it's all part of Blean Forest really.

I saw quite a few Fritillary at Blean but again they were in the tall Ferns and never seemed to stop flying, again no shots , I did see the Meadow Brown there but no Ringlets yet , they were moving fast also but I did manage to get a shot of one which finally landed in front of me

So things still seem to be slow here , I've even visited the Park again and nothing to report there either , I've yet to see a Comma, which seems really strange. worse thing is some thing bit me in EBW and boy was is bad , I've ended up on pills and been stuck in today , any way hope fully I'll get to grips with some thing shortly Goldie

[Allan.W.]

Goldie ,Try Clowes Wood (part of the Blean complex ) the right hand pathway ,from the car park is apparently pretty good for Heath Frits at the moment ,or you could try Thornden wood and possibly West Blean ...........you need to study the Ordnance survey map .
Good hunting ! Allan.W.

[Wurzel]

Sorry to hear that the Heaths are playing hard to get Goldie but at least you've seen some That's the thing with species like that - they're in a different spot every year as they're so reliant on a particular plant which is itself reliant on coppicing. Sorry to here about the insect bite I too got one last weekend and it took 4 days of antihistamines before the swelling went down - I wonuldn't have minded so much but it meant that I couldn't have an ice cold beer during the crazy hot evenings

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Thanks Allan, I'll take a look there with a long sleeved Blouse I'm no good on Maps Allan but I was at West Blean and I saw the Heath but again they were very busy hiding from the heat, it's been too hot for me , I'm more use to cooler weather so I've been hiding myself.

Hi! Wurzel, I have got some shots of the Heath even if it was just one Heath but I thought some better shots would be in order, trust me to go when it was hot and sticky . I found a place I've not been to before, it was closed because of Bird Flu last year, I was planning on going today, it's cloudy now though ,hope fully the clouds will lift later. I passed it when it was closed last week it only opens Tuesdays and Thursdays so it should be interesting, I'll pad myself up in case of bites
I also have ben on the antihistamines Don't want any more bites Goldie

[Goldie M]

Today we went to Monkton Nature Reserve , I was in for a big surprise, I thought I'd be disappointed once again but boy was I wrong, it's a lovely reserve and if Orchids are your thing it's full of them plus loads there of wild flowers.

It's got a huge Quarry with very steep sides which look just like the cliffs in Dover, we were told to keep to the path because of this, we walked passed a huge Lily pond with loads of Dragon flies whizzing passed us I did wonder if the Wall Butterfly could be found there!!!

That's when I saw my first Gate Keeper of the year, also there were lots of Red Admirals and the flowers took your breath away large Daises with Orchids every where of different colours, we went up some steps to where we found the Butterfly meadow which was full of Marbled Whites, Meadow Browns , and what I'd missed the other day Ringlets not forgetting Bee's every where, it was like being in fairy land

We went for a cup of tea and then went out again , we both made ourselves members for the year, yes, even my Daughter Goldie

I've just thought my Ringlet may be a Meadow Brown, I've just seen Trevor's and it's got more spots , ah!! well

[Wurzel]

"Like being in fairy land"...that is a brilliant description of what it's like once the Browns come onto the scene proper Goldie Love your Hedge Brown/Gatekeeper - it could almost be "unipupillata" as the second 'pupil' is almost non-existent

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

I'd forgotten Wurzel that the Gate Keeper had two spots I also got a Meadow Brown mixed up for a Ringlet, I must go see about some Spec's I think

If on your next visit to see the Heaths at East Blean Woods and you fancy a trip to Monkton Nature reserve it's not too far a way and well worth a visit, I'm sure I'll see lots more Butterflies there in Spring as well, I did get Gate Keepers in the Garden here last year but I've not seen any yet.Goldie