Re: Neil Freeman
Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2024 8:02 am
Wednesday 10th July.
After a couple of lousy days here, today (Wednesday) was forecast to be the best day of the week with a period of thinner cloud and even some sun from late morning into early afternoon so to make the most of this I decided to have a run down to Oversley Wood by Alcester.
I left home just after 09.15am but what should have been a 45 minute drive turned into an hour and a half due to three sets of temporary traffic lights on the A34 on the way towards Stratford and then another set causing a long tailback of traffic on the A46 between Stratford and Oversley. Then, when I arrived I found the access to the car park closed off with a locked gate (apparently it was closed for forestry work over the winter but no idea why it is still closed). There were a couple of cars parked up on the grass verge so I joined them and went through the open pedestrian gate and down the lane into the wood
For the first hour or so there was a thick overcast but with the air temperature up around 17-18 degrees Ringlets and Meadow Browns were soon seen bobbing along above the long grass at the side of the track.
In one clearing I spotted a large White sitting on a bramble leaf and a little further along a pair in cop amongst the brambles.
I had been lurking around this spot for a while and as the cloud started to become thinner around 11.30 I watched for the Large White to open up but only caught her with wings part open before she took to the air.
As the clouds finally began to break up a bit to allow some sun through, I saw more and more whites taking to the air, most of which appeared to be Large Whites with a smattering of Green-veined Whites amongst them. In fact I saw more whites in the next hour or so than I have seen so far this year.
I had still not yet seen a Gatekeeper this year and with this site often producing my first ones I was on the lookout. Sure enough I was not let down with at least half a dozen seen, all fresh looking males.
A few Marbled Whites were also spotted which the plentiful cloud slowed down a bit, although creeping up on them was still difficult as they often settled on the wrong side of thick vegetation.
Half a dozen Small Skippers and a couple of faded Large Skippers were also seen scattered about the more open areas around the track.
I was also on the lookout for my first Silver-washed Fritillary this year and I eventually found a new looking male flying back and forth over some lush bracken growth during one of the sunny spells. It settled briefly just once when I managed to get a record shot from a distance before another thick cloud covered the sun and it took off up into the trees.
This remained the only SWF seen today.
At one point I also put up a faded looking White Admiral off the track in front of me as I was scanning the brambles to the side. I watched as it glided off into the trees and disappeared.
I took a couple of hours to slowly wander around the full circle of the main track before the next band of thick cloud rolled in and I made my way back to the car and took an alternative route back home to avoid the hold-ups I had encountered on the way.
Not one of of my best visits to Oversely Wood but given the weather this year we have to take what we can get and it was good to just be out in a very nice woodland.
Bye for now,
Neil.
After a couple of lousy days here, today (Wednesday) was forecast to be the best day of the week with a period of thinner cloud and even some sun from late morning into early afternoon so to make the most of this I decided to have a run down to Oversley Wood by Alcester.
I left home just after 09.15am but what should have been a 45 minute drive turned into an hour and a half due to three sets of temporary traffic lights on the A34 on the way towards Stratford and then another set causing a long tailback of traffic on the A46 between Stratford and Oversley. Then, when I arrived I found the access to the car park closed off with a locked gate (apparently it was closed for forestry work over the winter but no idea why it is still closed). There were a couple of cars parked up on the grass verge so I joined them and went through the open pedestrian gate and down the lane into the wood
For the first hour or so there was a thick overcast but with the air temperature up around 17-18 degrees Ringlets and Meadow Browns were soon seen bobbing along above the long grass at the side of the track.
In one clearing I spotted a large White sitting on a bramble leaf and a little further along a pair in cop amongst the brambles.
I had been lurking around this spot for a while and as the cloud started to become thinner around 11.30 I watched for the Large White to open up but only caught her with wings part open before she took to the air.
As the clouds finally began to break up a bit to allow some sun through, I saw more and more whites taking to the air, most of which appeared to be Large Whites with a smattering of Green-veined Whites amongst them. In fact I saw more whites in the next hour or so than I have seen so far this year.
I had still not yet seen a Gatekeeper this year and with this site often producing my first ones I was on the lookout. Sure enough I was not let down with at least half a dozen seen, all fresh looking males.
A few Marbled Whites were also spotted which the plentiful cloud slowed down a bit, although creeping up on them was still difficult as they often settled on the wrong side of thick vegetation.
Half a dozen Small Skippers and a couple of faded Large Skippers were also seen scattered about the more open areas around the track.
I was also on the lookout for my first Silver-washed Fritillary this year and I eventually found a new looking male flying back and forth over some lush bracken growth during one of the sunny spells. It settled briefly just once when I managed to get a record shot from a distance before another thick cloud covered the sun and it took off up into the trees.
This remained the only SWF seen today.
At one point I also put up a faded looking White Admiral off the track in front of me as I was scanning the brambles to the side. I watched as it glided off into the trees and disappeared.
I took a couple of hours to slowly wander around the full circle of the main track before the next band of thick cloud rolled in and I made my way back to the car and took an alternative route back home to avoid the hold-ups I had encountered on the way.
Not one of of my best visits to Oversely Wood but given the weather this year we have to take what we can get and it was good to just be out in a very nice woodland.
Bye for now,
Neil.