Wurzel

[trevor]

You have a fabulous shot of that pristine female Dark Green Frit, Wurzel.
And an extra as I completely missed them this year.

Keep well,
Trevor.

[Katrina]

There is a lovely golden shine on the Small Tortoiseshell and the DGF is a beauty!

[Wurzel]

Cheers Trevor She was a very dusky maid that one - though to be honest the females that I did encounter were all rather dusky and looked like they'd gone a bit overboard with the mascara
Cheers Katrina I think she wasn't long out of the chrysalis as they do seem to fray at the edges quite quickly

Bentley Wood 24-06-2020

As it looked set to be a scorcher I decided to try and get to Bentley early so that I was there ready for when the butterflies started to fly and also because the early morning seems to be the best time for Purple Hairstreaks to come down to the deck. I managed to pull into the car park a few moments before 8am and set off directly down the main track. Already it was warm enough to be in short sleeves but only when in the sun, in the shade it was noticeably cooler, enough to raise a few goose bumps. So over the next 20 minutes of pretty solid walking I experienced many temperature changes – a good job I’m into Rock and not actually a Rock else I’d have been experiencing ‘Onion Skin Weathering! As I strolled along the main track to the Switchback and then onto to Donkey Copse and beyond even further I saw very few butterflies and even though I was straining my eyes looking on Bracken fronds for small, grey/brown butterflies that would hopefully be Purple Hairstreak all I could come up with were two a piece of Ringlet and Meadow Brown. By now I’d ended up at the track which opens up onto one of the fields and so I pressed on to see what was flying down here. It was still really quiet but just as I was thinking this the butterflies suddenly started appearing and the grass stems that previously had been devoid of life were now teeming with Smessex Skippers and Meadow Browns. There were a few Large Skippers about, mainly on Brambles on the periphery of the field and a few Marbled Whites added a touch of the class a la Pierrot, one of which clambered onto my offered hand, probably as its fore wing was slightly damaged. It could still fly and once it had absorbed enough heat from my digit it set off again leaving me to retrace my steps up the track and back to walk the woodland rides.

As the path crossed the tree line I paused slightly past the border and scanned about me finding myself to be surrounded by Large Skippers, Ringlets and Meadow Browns. A Red Admiral did its level best to avoid my capturing it on film by hanging right at the back of the large Bramble bush that covered the verge from the edge of the path right back to the treeline. As I couldn’t ‘get’ to anything I decided to work my way back into the Wood to see what else had woken up but as I turned to leave I had a sense that I should have one last look over the Oaks that form the gateway to this section of the wood. I’m glad I did as a small silver butterfly jinked its way across the airspace from one canopy to another. My first Purple Hairstreak of 2020. I stayed for another 5 minutes of so but it didn’t come down from its perch just occasionally flew backwards and forwards between the Oaks so I moved on. Slightly further along the track among the usual shower a Red Admiral behaved in a slightly more friendly fashion, coming in a bit closer to the track so it was within reach of my lens and a couple of male Silver-washed acted like Hoons tearing about the place.

On the twisty walk back through the wood to the corner of Donkey Copse I kept scanning as I walked trying to check the canopy and the deck and everything else in between at the same time. All the usual butterflies flew but like everything they were very flighty in the sun. I decided to have a proper look on the corner as this was where I’d encountered His Nibbs several years on the trot so I poured a coffee and deposited my bag and started slowly wandering round neck articulated through 90 degrees. There was no Emperor but a White Admiral flashed past and did a couple of searing runs which made the neck ache worthwhile. When I resumed searching at a lower altitude a male Silver-washed was an easy spot, standing out like a sore thumb but the H.Comma was surprisingly cryptic as it fed on whatever was impregnated in a piece of old rope, in fact it was only the movement that made me aware of its presence at all.

I thought that as I was here I should have a look along the grassed track that runs the opposite way from the corner. The advantage of this little area is the closer growing trees and the aspect means that this rea stays shaded for much longer and so the butterflies should be more easily approachable. Indeed so it turned out. I’d only walked 20 metres or so along the track when the Bracken became alive with Silver-washed with at least 5in one view, possibly more as they kept swopping in, landing and then being disturbed or becoming embroiled in various brawls. A Peacock tried its best to stay out of it but didn’t have much luck and an H.Comma found that it’s usually effective camo was rendered redundant by the sharp eyes of the feisty Silver-washed. It was a wonderful sight to behold but not exactly conducive to great photos as I found that my subject was quickly becoming the victim of an attack. Luckily in the end I found one sitting calmly on a frond of Bracken slightly further along the path and so away from all the action. I have a suspicion that this one was fresh out of the box as not only was it immaculate but it seemed to glisten slightly as if the paint hadn’t yet dried.

On the return there were about three Silver-washed happily carousing about on the first part of the track. As I watched them one landed quite close so I leant in for the shot and a small, silver butterfly took off and slowly flew up and at me – it was a Purple Hairstreak that had been down on the deck, and I’d missed it ahhhh! Cursing myself I headed back to the corner but my dark mood was brightened considerably as a large bat like shape flew across the track - darker, more obviously striped and more stocky than a White Admiral it was my first Purple Emperor of 2020. My frustrations with purple butterfly were squashed by the exultation of seeing a different Purple one. I headed back to the Switchback, buzzling slightly not even minding that the triangle down on the deck was only a Red Admiral pretender but also managing to get a few shots of a Bentley DGF.

Once at the Switchback it was decision time, carry on up to the memorial to see if I could catch up with any Whitters or walk back to the car and home. The call of the Whitters won and so I made my way across the crossroads and set out North up towards the Memorial and the stand of Wytch Elms. On the way I had cause to stop when I was half way to my destination as ahead of me on the deck was a dark triangle on the track but alas it was only a Red Admiral taking salts from something icky. Again my disappointment was almost immediately dispelled. The Red Admiral that wasn’t a Purple Emperor took off and as I watched it fly across the verge and into the trees it spooked another Purple Hairstreak which, just like last one, flew up into the trees but unlike the other it stayed as a reasonable height whereby if I stood on tiptoes and held my camera out at arms’ length I was able to get a few shots. Chuffed with this I pressed onwards.

Last year the few Wytch Elms on the side of the track as it curved round to the right held only a single White-letter Hairstreak and they were starting to show signs of succumbing to DED but this year they had succumbed with only an H.Comma taking advantage of the bare and decaying branches. So it seemed that my reliable White-letter site was over…then I remembered when I first read about the Bentley White-letters mentioned that they used to come down round the actual bench itself and so I set off along another track overshadowed by to find said bench. When I did I could see that I wasn’t going to have much luck there as it was shaded out so completely by the tress that had grown around it that is was almost pitch black. But slightly further along the path there were a few breaks and I could look up with my binoculars and check out the tops of the various trees. When I did I quickly spotted what I was hoping for – a dark grey, square cut looking butterfly that would fly out form its perch, attack something and then fly back and perch again. One of the times it did this the thing that it attacked was another grey, square cut butterfly – a second Whitter. I found a third on another tree slightly further back and then went back to watching the antics of the first- eventually it came down and perched so I was able to see the side-on profile through my binoculars. It was brilliant watching them and as I retraced my tracks back I realised that I was on for a ‘Hairstreak Fullhouse’!

The walk back was much quicker – buoyed at finding three firsts for the year and the good news about the Whitters and my happy wandering was only briefly interrupted as I was buzzed by a His Nibbs. He flew down the track towards me at speed, the sun catching his wings and flashing purple/electric blue, almost took my head off as he passed, circled me once, twice and then carried on at speed up and away. So two brief audiences with His Nibbs…hopefully I’ll get a grounded one soon. When I reached the Switchback I carried on down to Donkey Copse again mainly in the vain hope that I might find an Emperor down. I didn’t but there were a few Silver-washed about and also a fellow enthusiast down in a ditch. As we exchanged pleasantries a Purple Hairstreak landed down on the wood pile, but try as I might I couldn’t get close enough to it for anything sensible. It seemed that today though that when things weren’t going my way with one species another popped up to set things right again. This time it was the turn of a White Admiral. I didn’t want to try and get too close to it in case it did one but it was really nicely posed, feeding on Bramble it was face on so I had great views of those gorgeous under wings – such beautiful colours and pattern it gives the best Fritillaries a run for their money when it comes to the most attractive under wing.

After this I finally made for home. It had been a cracking morning despite His Nibbs not playing fair. Though I wasn’t thinking that when I got home a read about 2 Purple Emperors at Groveley Woods and even one down on the deck at Garston Wood! Oh well this is still year 2 of 3 so next year…for definite!

His Nibbs plays hardball
White Admiral consoles me
Hairstreaks help as well

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Garston Wood 25-06-2020

Another chance for a Socially Distanced meet up with my folks at Garston Wood and with the heat almost driving me to distraction I held little hope of getting anything on ‘film’ let alone catching up with the Purple Emperor that had been reported a few days back. We took the usual route, the bottom track which runs parallel to the road and then does a right angle turn to the right climbing up and into the wood and then on to the fallen log for a snack. It’s very quiet on the way – the heat keeping everything in the shade or possibly active elsewhere? Occasionally there is the orange fuzz that is a Silver-washed or a grey/red blur of a Red Admiral one of which decided to do a fly-by as I’m sitting down mid slurp of coffee!
We carry on walking and chatting and generally enjoying each other’s company until we reach the Enclosure where a White Admiral mixes it up a little with a pair of Whites among the Silver-washed which in this part of the wood seem to be all over the place and in great numbers. The White Admiral stays back from the track, gliding over the tops of the impenetrable wall of Bracken and Bramble. It seems in a Piratical mood, hassling and chivvying the Whites to an unknown end, never stopping and just patrolling, Lord of all it surveys. Whilst it’s a glorious sight it’s also really frustrating as it’s always that little bit too far away. Luckily as we continue along the path leaving the partial confines of the Enclosure another White Admiral hove into view and this one plops down momentarily. Unfortunately it chose to land in one of the shadiest parts of the wood so the light was terrible – probably to find some relief form broiling sun that was beating down and melting me on the path. I stepped into the blessed shade and got a few shots before leaving it in peace still sitting there infra-red radiating from it.

As we start back along the top path the Silver-washed are going off their nuts in the sun, zipping all over the place and only sitting still for a fraction of a second when they very occasionally land. Only a Large Skipper sits nicely for long enough to grab a couple of shots. At one point I spook an H.Comma which zips off putting up a smoke screen of Ringlets as it escapes my lens whereas a Large White remains aloof and aloft. It’s a good thing that we’re having an enjoyable conversation as the butterflies really aren’t playing nicely! We eventually reach the Plantation where finally one of the four or five Silver washed actually sits still for a few shots but another White Admiral just keeps on going...just as we do until, tired and slightly baked we reach the cars and then say our Socially Distanced goodbyes which is still strange but it had been a lovely walk even if the butterflies had passed by like strangers in the night on Amphetamine.

The White Admiral
Glides and scythes the air in two
Master of the sky

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

That looks like a very typical White Admiral pose to me, Wurzel! Edge on... In hot weather they seem to spend a lot of time gliding about in the shade under the trees, wonderfully elegant and graceful to watch but impossible to capture except as memories. A great butterfly.

Cheers,

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cheers Dave Yep the fact that they're so gittery and at times hard work makes them even more beguiling

Bentley Wood 26-06-2020

I should have gone to Chiddingfold today but I didn’t want to take the mickey and ‘skive’ and besides I was hoping that I would pick up a Bentley Emperor. As it was set to be another blisteringly hot day and so I was at Bentley at just before 8 am. I scanned around in the car park and there was nothing to see although the various birds where still singing the Dawn Chorus so I set off down the Main track doing my best to scan the tree tops and the deck at the same time. I had to stop this after a while as I was starting to feel slightly nauseous from all the head movements though it did pay off as a White Admiral was sitting in a small tree just off the track. Slightly further on there’s a Silver-washed on the left and an H.Comma on the right but unfortunately I wasn’t stuck in the middle with His Nibbs...All the way I was accompanied by Ringlets and Large Skippers with the odd Purple Hairstreak overhead and momentarily my heart skipped a beat but alas it was another great pretender, a Red Admiral, the angle of the sun making its shadow overlarge and suggestive of His Nibbs.

When I reached the crossroads I stopped to Socially Distance chat with a couple of other observers, one of whom was hoping for a Purple Emperor as it was the last of the British species that he needed to photograph. There were a few Purple Hairstreaks flitting about at the top of the Oak tree and as we continued talking and an Emperor flies up the track towards us. With a trio of bated breaths we watched it circle around the crossroads and then it lands on the deck. I can feel all the muscles in my legs twitching as I strain to stay perfectly still and overcome the urge to stalk it. Unfortunately it doesn’t like what it’s tasting and so flies up landing on a ridiculously tiny twig on the weediest of saplings in the entire Wood before taking to the air and disappearing over the tops of the trees. No photos but it was the best view I’d had in two years and image or no image I didn’t really care as, if I close my eyes even now, I can still see the flash of purple as it flew to the pathetic little tree-let. Cracking!

Wishing the ‘Last Tick’ good luck I set off down the left hand track towards Donkey Copse accompanied by the other enthusiast that had made our near triumphant triumvirate. As we strolled down the track we pause by the log pile and little dip. I don’t know what the current thinking is about butterflies being territorial but in my experience certain spots always seem to hold either the same species or possibly even the same individuals? Whatever the thinking the little dip again holds a Silver-washed and a White Admiral, though today it sits slightly further back. A Purple Hairstreak also comes down like last time but just like usual is too far for the reach of my lens so we press on down the track. There’s plenty of variety in the verges as we wander – a Peacock, Large White, Red Admiral, Meadow Browns, Large Skippers, Ringlets and Marbled Whites – all of which are pretty active in the sun and when they fly into the shade all be a hasty retreat. I mention to the other gent that I saw a DGF around here and then he spots another that’s just started vibrating its wings. It doesn’t seem to want to move on and then the sun goes behind a cloud, the temperatures drop and we can settle down as the butterfly isn’t going anywhere. It’s immaculate, in tip-top condition and so I wondered if the white fluid below it on the leaf was merconium and it was fresh out of the chrysalis? The sun comes back out and a manage a few shots in slightly better lighting but as its either trying to finish pumping it wings, revving up its wing muscles for the first time or trying to warm up from the recent temperature drop, once it opens up getting sharp shots proves difficult as it continues to vibrate it wings rapidly. It flies weakly a short distance to a slightly to another bush and after a few more shots we leave it in peace and carry on our way.

We press on now in a series of strolls and pauses. The first official stop is on the corner near Donkey Copse where a Red and then White Admiral fly around trying to (unsuccessfully) convince us that they’re something a bit more imperial. Just prior to this another enthusiast is heading home having gotten what we were all hoping for, shots of a grounded Emperor, the first time she’d ever seen one – His Nibbs really does like favouring the beginners! The next stop is just after Donkey Copse in the little section which looks like a layby and this time we’ve missed an Emperor by only a few minutes – though it was only down for 30 seconds before it disappeared off into the distance not to return. The final stop comes on the track way leading down to the meadows and as we wander down to end we’re accompanied by all the usual butterflies, the full range of species seen so far barring His Nibbs. I wish the others well and then turn round and make my way back. As I turn to go the White Admiral that’s been cutting through the air around me leads me on a merry dance up the path before settling on a Bramble where it thinks that it’s out of reach. However a couple very careful footsteps, snaking my feet through the Brambles, I’m within reach and a few shots are my reward for putting up with all the taunting the butterfly has been dishing out.

With time pressing and the temperature rising I started back double time. When I reached the corner a brief catch up with the group that’d gathered there revealed that I hadn’t missed anything and so I carried on to the crossroads. With no more sightings there either I kept on going down the main track to the car park. Something fluttered down in front of me and at first I thought that it was a leaf but a quick flash of purple persuaded me otherwise and so I approached it more cautiously. As I peered ahead the dull grey ‘leaf’ opened up and caught the little light that was able to penetrate through the shade. There on the deck was a resplendent female Purple Hairstreak, the purple showing like little pin pricks of iridescence in the gloom. It didn’t stay opened up for long so I was able to get round and lie down to get a few closed wing shots While I was laying there I watched its yellow proboscis flick out so on a whim I gingerly extended my finger and she crawled on. Now I was able to manoeuvre into the light and the purple really perked up and after a few in the hand shots and a bit of iPod video I placed her safely on a leaf at chest height so she didn’t get crushed on the path by less observant walkers. What a cracking way to finish the trip!

My euphoria lasted all the way home and on into the evening until I saw some cracking Purple Emperors from Chiddingfold! Oh well there’s always next year which will be the third year in the three year cycle!

Mint condish Dark Green
Purple Hairstreak on the deck
Purple flashes out

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Truly beautiful Purple Hairstreak, top and bottom, Wurzel. Many of these deserved !

Dare I say it, more striking than the big purple beastie for the rarity value alone!

Dave

[trevor]

Some wonderful images from High Summer, Wurzel.
But first prize, and many mrgreens must be reserved for that mint fresh
Purple Hairstreak. She is certainly well endowed with very bold purple.
When I find something like that it takes a second or two for the brain to
comprehend what the eyes are seeing!.

Smashing stuff!, stay well.
Trevor.

[Neil Freeman]

Ah yes! I saw you post that female Purple Hairstreak on the FB group and wondered when it would appear on here .

Those Dark Green Fritillary undersides are also worthy of a

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Dave To be honest I was thinking that on the day and have many times since...this has nothing to do with missing out on shots of a grounded Emperor of course
Cheers Trevor She was down in the shade to start with so I almost walked on by Luckily the cloud shifted and then the purple shone out
Cheers Neil I'm not quite as behind on Facebook...but only by a day or so I was chuffed with the DGF and that was the star butterfly right up until the last 10 minutes of the trip

Five Rivers 28-06-2020

I’d been stuck indoors (well not out butterflying) for what felt like an age after the sudden turn in the weather. We went from sweltering in 30 degrees with wall to wall sunshine to unpredictable, changeable weather which was on the whole cooler, cloudier and windier with intermittent showers ranging from mizzle to coming down like stair rods. To make matters worse today I should have been at Chiddingfold enjoying congenial company of both UKB members and His Nibbs alike but no I was stuck at home, the unfavourable weather and road closures postponing my dreams of quadruple purple until 2021. By the afternoon I’d had enough and so muttering ‘BBC weather App be damned’ I set off for Five Rivers hoping to catch up with the Browns as they at least put in an appearance during ‘changeable weather’.

Exiting the car I looked up and spied a cloud edging its way towards the sun and so I set off at a pace to try and cram in and see as much as possible before the cloud covered the sun and the butterflies hunkered down. The first Bramble clump I came to had been graced by the presence of a Red Admiral and a Meadow Brown skittered across the stones in the parking bays landing Grayling fashion – tilting towards the sun.

I then strode purposefully down through the glades which are now almost unrecognisable. The various low growing flowers and grasses covered by a sea of grass stems at thigh height and slightly taller flowers. As I waked along the small paths that had been mown through the vegetation Meadow Browns took off from unseen launch pads as did the smaller, darker Ringlets. Even in this cooler weather they were quite unapproachable and so I carried on to the edge of the glades where the large Bramble patch grows up one of the trees. Once here a Comma caught my eye as it flew to a perch on a small clump of Rhododendron. After spending a little time with it I moved across to the huge Bramble. A Red Admiral fed up high, too high and too far in for my lens to reach but luckily there was another, really beautifully marked Comma down low. Whilst following its various exploits it landed in the Bramble and just behind it was a second Red Admiral looking very regal especially as it was so fresh and vivid compared to the surrounding serfs (Ringlets and Meadow Browns).

The cloud had thickened considerably whilst I was in the relative shelter of the Glades and as I made for Comma Corner I felt a few whispers of rain. It quickly became a whispered discussion and by the time I was at Comma Corner it was having a bit of a rant so I hid in the Copse and waited for it to run out of things to say. After a minute or so the cloud had passed and the sky was getting brighter with each passing second – one of the good things about windy days is that the rain clouds can be carried swiftly away – so I set about checking out the Top Banks. The small patch on the opposite side to Bank 1 held a Smessex amid the Meadow Browns and a few Pyramidal Orchids shone out despite the best efforts of the surrounding grasses and on Bank 1 proper I spied another Smessex and a Marbled White. I had high hopes for Bank 2 but these were dashed as I scanned across the slopes – the Buddleia had only 4 florets in bloom and what was once a tall and slim shrub was now squat and sprawling so no Painted Lady in the offing here. Instead the most it could muster aside from the main two Brown was a Marbled White and a Red Admiral which fed on the Bramble looking longingly at the less than lack lustre Butterfly Bush. Things did perk up here as I started to leave as I spied a definite Essex, a couple of Smessex and a Large White did a fly-by.

On the final Bank I walked down the slope form the top path and started checking out the Brambles – again there was a Red Admiral – they seem to have suddenly invaded. However after this I forgot to count anything else as a rufous coloured butterfly flew up from in the undergrowth to have a pop at a Meadow Brown. Eagerly I watched it waiting for it to settle and knowing that that it was one of my favourites. Eventually it went down but not in a great position – still I was able to at least get a record shot of my first Hedge Brown of 2020.

Chuffed I left it sitting in the cover of a large Bramble leaf – whether it was seeking cover in case of more rain or simply wanted to get out of the shade I’ll never know – so I pressed on squeezing my way past the bushes that are crowding out the path to the Lower Banks. I’ just recalling that Silver-washed Frits had been recorded here previously when an orange blur bombs by. Luckily having visited The Devenish, Grovely, Vernditch and Bentley Wood recently I’ve got my eye in when it comes to BGBs (Big Ginger Buggers) and this wasn’t a Silver Washed but a Dark Green – a first for me from this site! What with my FFY and now a First For Site I was becoming increasingly pleased that I’d bitten the bullet and braved the poor weather reports. Unfortunately despite letting me see the more rounded wings and the profusion of black spotting it didn’t sit for any shots though it did brand a facsimile of itself on my retina. From here I wandered round the corner and started along the topmost Back Path, keenly eyeing any thistles and other purple headed flowers as I went lest they were furnished with a DGF. No luck but there was a fresh Small Tort basking on the path. I was lucky in that a small cloud went over so I could get almost directly above it and when the cloud moved there was a glowing Small Tort in frame.

At the next available opportunity I took a right and made my way across the centre of the site checking out the profusion of Rock Rose and the various patches of flowers nestled in amid the grasses as I did so. I spent some time around one clump of thistles as well as at the bramble patch on the other side of the Copse to Comma Corner. Whilst I was here another Small Tort flew by, there were many Smessex, a couple of Large Skippers and Marbled Whites, Ringlets and Meadow Browns made up the bulk of the rest. I found myself drawn back to Bank 3 and so I found myself back by a familiar patch of the Bramble where the Hedge Brown was still sitting. I stake him out and await a hapless Meadow Brown or Smessex to pass and rile him up. When one does he takes off after it and then lands somewhere else once he’s sent the intruder packing. I’d expected him to fly back to his original perch but he keeps shifting his way gradually along the Bramble until eventually he settled properly near the top path between Banks 2 and 3. Whilst here he opens up and get a view of a gloriously orange male.

I make my way back but find myself tarrying once more in the Glades. By now there is only one Red Admiral – still feeding up high but I can see that both the Bramble and Rhododendron Commas are still hanging around. I also see a golden Skipper sitting atop one of the closed flower heads. As the wind rocks it back and forth it occasionally catches the sunlight and so it looks like it’s sparking and twinkling. Getting shots however isn’t nearly as restful as watching it swaying delicately in the breeze as focusing is near impossible. The only hope to line up ready and hope that when the breeze drops momentarily you can focus in quickly enough before the wind starts rocking it again. As well as looking resplendent and clearly showing itself to be an Essex it also pulls an unusual pose. I’ve seen Skippers with wings closed and in standard X-wing arrangement but I can’t recall seeing them with their wings back and in the same plane as their body – it looked more like a miscoloured Forester Moth than a butterfly as it held its wings in this way. As I make to leave I note that the 2 Commas have become 3 and a female Meadow Brown coquettishly opens up but soon there are stones beneath my feet instead of grass and then metal as I’m driving home.

Despite the Beeb App
Either side of the shower
The butterflies fly

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Hi! Wurzel, catching up on your post' s at last Some lovely shots there I love the Essex skipper shot, I didn't see any whilst in Kent, I never saw a Painted Lady either which surprised me, not a one here either , looks like it'll be next year now before we see them again, hope fully I'll be in Kent then.
Goldie

[trevor]

I don't think I've seen many Comma images that deserve a .
But that one of yours basking on a twig certainly does!.
As others have stated, Commas seem to be thin on the ground this Autumn.

Stay safe and well,
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Goldie Fingers crossed for your move Goldie and then you'll be able to confuse everyone with a Kentish Esssex
Cheers Trevor Commas seem to have had a quiet year this year Trevor, hopefully they'll do a bounce back next season

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Garston Wood 02-07-2020

I thought that an early morning visit with the temperatures below 15 degrees would have meant that the butterflies were relatively calm. I thought this…however as is often the way the data didn’t support the hypothesis and so if this had been a proper scientific hypothesis I’d be heading back to the drawing board. As I was in fact in Garston Wood I had to just press on and see what would happen!

It had started well enough as upon exiting the car the cloud was covering the sun but it was still bright enough for the butterflies to fly. As I walked the site in reverse, starting from the car park and walking uphill through the Plantation and I reached the first of the small clearings Meadow Browns and Ringlets erupted form the grass like Death Eaters apparating in a flurry of hexes (guess what I’ve been reading recently…). There was the odd smaller golden blur of ailing Large Skippers now getting on into their dotage some of them. This was to be expected and pretty much par for the course but what I hadn’t expected was that the first Silver Washed I saw was a turbo charged as on the hottest of days. True the cloud had wandered off somewhere and the sun was shining nicely now. I carried on and over the course of the next two clearings on my left and the one after that on the right I spotted more of the same; huge numbers of Meadow Browns and Ringlets, some acting like Purple Hairstreaks and fluttering around at the top of the smaller trees before floating feather like downwards and landing on a thistle top or patch of Bramble whilst the Silver Washed tore through the clearings like boy racers tearing through a city centre. At this last clearing the cloud had regrouped and rallied momentarily and all the Silver Washed suddenly calmed down, some even stopped for refuelling.

As I was about to turn the corner and take the path out of the Plantation I paused to watch a very small yet bright Meadow Brown. As it crept out of hiding out onto an exposed leaf in an attempt to soak up the sun I could see that it was actually my second Hedgie frustratingly too high for a shot but still as a reasonable height to enjoy. After a few moments savouring one of my favourites I pulled myself away and carried on through the gate and out of the Plantation. I carried on walking our usual route in reverse and so instead of the walk up the straight track it was a walk down the straight. One of the large Brambles which climbed up one of the non-coppiced trees formed a wall of thorns and flowers and I counted three Commas and two Red Admirals here and on the other side of the track another Comma was disturbed by a passing Green-veined White as if fed on the low growing carpet of Bramble.

I dove on down trying to get to the spot where I’d encountered White Admirals twice before now whilst the sun still held the cloud at bay. A quick glance up suggested it was fighting a losing battle so I quickened the pace trying to ignore the Silver Washed that tore across the path as I knew for a fact that they had no intention of stopping despite their apparent interest in this flower or the other. As I reached the large mound of Bramble which looks like an old fashioned haystack, not a round toilet roll looking thing but like a little house with a pitched roof, I slowed down. I’d made it! A quick scan around and I noted several Commas, a Peacock and a few Silver Washed as well as a myriad of Ringlets and Meadow Browns all causing a fuss and a kerfuffle. As looked the Bramble over again and a silvery fighter jet fast butterfly launched itself from a leaf and tore off through the air. It was a White Admiral and as I watched it, trying to see if it would come back or land somewhere else it rose and made into the wood behind the Bramble stack. I was hoping that it would come back but the sun finally capitulated to the cloud and surrendered. As the surroundings lost their definition and as the gloom engulfed those butterflies that had previously been manic they calmed down and sat still. The White Admiral was nowhere to be seen so I consoled myself with the Aristocrat display. I counted four Comma, a Peacock was the closest but also the most twitchy of the butterflies and trying to remain unobtrusive a Red Admiral slightly further into the stack.

Once I’d gotten shots of these I checked the heavens again and it looked like the cloud was going to have an extended reign so I retraced my steps up the gentle slope and at the top made my way down the main track stopping on the way to hear that I’d missed out on a Valesina and a few Purple Hairstreaks – typical. The final push down the hill saw me adding Marbled White to the trip tally but not the aforementioned species - oh well you can’t have everything and some days you have to put up with only a little though that might be a bit harsh on the Peacocks, Commas and Red Admirals.

So new hypothesis – above a certain temperature it doesn’t really matter and butterflies will still fly as long as the sun shines! Need to start collecting data now…

So starting early
Didn’t go quite as hoped
Frantic butterflies!

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

October 2020

Got in early for once

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Five Rivers 03-07-2020

Today was a very strange day in that I had to do the school run – something I’ve not done for a fair few years now but K’s school have opened up on a ‘Bubble’ timetable for year 10’s and on this morning she was sitting doing tonal drawings for her GCSE Art. As I needed to pick her up at 12:15 which coincided with lunch I decided to put the laptop down and pick my camera up instead as K’s school backs onto Five Rivers.

I didn’t have as long as usual so instead of my leisurely proceeding I shifted up a gear and strode across the car park and down through the glades. On the way a Green-veined White sat on the path and singletons of Meadow Brown and Speckled Wood flew in the dullness as the cloud had swallowed the sun. As I reached the towering Bramble at the end of the Glades the sun came out and with it the butterflies and also a huge beetle which seemed a little bit perturbed that it was at the top of a tall flower and didn’t really know where it was going next- I reckon it’s a Lesser Stag Beetle, a first for me if it is but I’m ready to be corrected. Where before there had been nothing but a sea of grass and the tall white flowers now the odd golden Smessex, Meadow Brown or Ringlet sat atop the flowers and the huge Bramble had come alive with Meadow Browns and Ringlets. Amid their duller distant cousins sat a pair of Red Admirals and a (H) Comma, feeding up and occasionally hassling each other or the Large White which dropped in unannounced.

Lesser Stag?

My striding took me on to Comma Corner but rather than following the path up and walking along the top banks I turned right and followed the hedge that runs parallel to the football pitch. This turned out to be a good idea as almost immediately I spot a small, ruddy looking butterfly. As I get in closer I can see that it’s a Hedgie and an excessa at that; with two small dark dots on each of his forewings. Unfortunately another flies in and I lose sight of him before he has a chance to open up again. Whilst these two are scrapping a third sits nonchalantly nearby looking slightly embarrassed by the actions of his peers. At the end of the hedge I follow the track up and check out the compost heap on the corner of the copse where there is another Hedge Brown and a cracking looking Comma. On the way out a Peacock takes off from the path.

Slightly excessa...

Time was marching onwards and so I cut up one side of the bank and walked along central path scanning down into the banks as I go. A the middle Bank the large Buddleia had gotten so large that it collapsed in on itself and so instead of the tall bush now sprawls over almost a third of the bank at waist height. This makes it much trickier for getting shots as now the butterflies can sit right at the back and so are out of range of your lens. Luckily there are only a few flower heads in bloom and most of those are on the outer fringes so even though I miss out on the Red Admiral on the far right and a Comma on the far left I manage at least a record shot of the Small Tort in the middle front. Sadly these vanessids aren’t joined by the hoped for Painted Lady. Also here a few Marbled White and the odd Smessex make themselves known whilst the other browns are staying out of sight. At the end Bank a Smessex sits still long enough for me to have a closer look and positively identify it as an Essex – lucky for me it was a male so it was a straight forward ID but it won’t be long now until things get much trickier due to there being more females about with the additional problem of wear and tear masking some of the salient feature of identification.

The cloud had recovered the sun so the chances of relocating the DGF from the other day had dwindled so I turn about and start making my way back to meet K from school. At least this was my intention but I got a bit waylaid at the middle bank as I couldn’t resist following a golden Skipper. It was a female so no useful sex brand to help out but I had a hunch that it was a Small and after a bit it finally landed and in such a pose that I could examine the underside of the antennae. Indicators blinking and my hunch proved correct - a Small indeed. Then there was a lovely looking Marbled White on Bank 1 - another female. I love the creamy ground colour of the female Marbled White – cracking. Of course another stop had to be made at the Towering Bramble where now a single Red Admiral had the whole bush to itself. I still manged to make it back in time to successfully complete the School Run. I could get used to this – is it too late to become a Stay At Home Dad?

A stay at home dad
Picks up a lovely Essex
And a Marbled White

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[trevor]

Amazing Stag Beetle, Wurzel. I've not seen one since I was a boy.
We used to see them in the garden, the males with their large ' stag horn '
pincers, and the females with the smaller ones could give a nasty nip.
From memory both sexes were huge. At school you really were someone
if you could produce a Stag Beetle concealed in a matchbox!,( a good way
to scare the Girls! ).

A great report from High Summer1.

Stay well,
Trevor..

[millerd]

Good to see you catching up with the Hedgies, Wurzel. Also, that beetle is splendid as Trevor says - if you see one in flight it looks like a miniature helicopter and you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a modern contrivance rather than part of the natural world.

A very nice female Marbled White, too. Most evocative of early Summer.

Cheers,

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cheers Trevor I think that although I was out butterflying that Beetle was probably the sighting of the day for me
Cheers Dave We need a little evocation of summer at the moment Dave I was chuffed with the Beetle in flight it must look like a Chinook

Vernditch 04-07-2020

As we were heading out for some fresh air and exercise to Vernditch I debated about whether to take my camera. The skies were leaden, there was moisture in the air and the BBC weather App looked to be pretty accurate (funny how they manage to forecast crap weather so accurately?) so there was little prospect of any sunny intervals as it was black clouds for the whole day. On the flip side though the cloudy conditions should make getting shots of Ringlets easier. In the end I took my camera and instead of it loosely swung over my shoulder I hung it round my next and stuffed it down inside the dry of my jacket.

The walk up through the wood was very quiet and I saw only a single Meadow Brown on the walk between the Car Park and the first of the fields at Kitt’s Grave. All the way my camera hung uselessly round my neck, a deadweight and feeling like an unlucky mascot like the Albatross a al Coleridge. But then I had one of those moments of serendipity when the whole feel of a day turns on its head and your mood flips 180 degrees. As we walked through the gate at Kitt’s Grave a ‘Blue’ sized butterfly took off from the path. As it weakly fluttered up and about I caught flashes of purple at the front of the butterfly. Neurones fired and I realised that it was a female Purple Hairstreak. It flew towards a small Oak that I’d not recognised as such before and settled a bit too high up for photos. My luck held though as it didn’t seem to feel comfortable here and so flew back across the path to the trees that line the field. I followed it and again it moved, and again. It just didn’t seem to find somewhere that it liked until the fourth trip after which is settled down and stayed put. Ironically each time it moved it managed to put itself in a better position for photos. At first it was too high, then it was at about shoulder height but in the gloom under the canopy and in the penultimate perch it was reasonably well lit and at a reasonable height but there were leaves partially obscuring it. The final ‘resting’ place was much better, low down on a small branch sticking out from the main body of the tree. After a few shots I re-joined the family grouping and we carried on the walk.

As we dove along the woodland path in the tunnel of trees I only saw butterflies in the small breaks from the gloom where clumps of trees had been cleared or fallen. There seemed to be a particular formulation of butterflies; Meadow Browns, Ringlets and Marbled Whites in a 4:3:1 mix. This pattern seemed to be constant as we followed the path onwards and eventually as it turned right and then right again forming the homeward stretch. As we approached the small Bramble bush that had produced a White Admiral we came across another one of the monstrous snails, this one was called Sally!

As we carried on we saw more and more of the same species of snail although these were numbered rather than named so I’m guessing that they are part of a release/capture research study? I took a break from Mollusc monitoring and investigated the field opposite what will now be known as WA Bush. The Brown ratio held fast but a larger orange butterfly, a DGF, provided some nice colour to the grey. They’re already looking a bit tatty and worn so I can’t see them lasting into August as in some years which just brought it home to me how odd this year has been – it’s like we’ve had summer and we’re now ‘enjoying’ a damp autumn…

Along the path we continued with more Browns and another couple of DGFs which were feasting on Thistles further down at the bottom of the shallow ‘valley’. There were also more snails including numbers 18 and 645 (so possibly quite an extensive study) and a Scarlet Tiger blazed by brightening the dullness no end. As we picnicked the odd DGF flew in to investigate but apart little else probably put off by the mizzle.

On the return journey there were only two highlights of the walk. The first was a little patch of longer grass on the side of the path surrounded by large beech trees. Droplets of rain still clung to the seed heads making it look like the brace of Meadow Browns and the brace of Ringlets were sitting on diamond encrusted thrones. In the cool drear they sat tight allowing close photos for once, a nice change from the usual behaviour of erupting from the grass as you focus the lens on them. The second came from a male Silver-washed which was feeding on a small patch of Bramble when we had almost finished the walk. I didn’t try for any shots of this because I didn’t fancy getting my legs ripped to shreds and also I felt like I’d used up my quota of luck for the day on the Purple Hairstreak.

Mizzle and damp drear
Flash of purple brightens day
Slither slow Sally

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Martin Down 05-07-2020 The Blues are back in town…

I only had about an hour and so once the car was abandoned at Sillen’s Lane I strode quickly down the main track towards the Hotspot directly. On the way a Small White and a Marbled White flew on one side of the track. When I say ‘flew’ they actually flapped for a bit not making any headway and then were swept away by the gusty breeze. Bearing this in mind I made a mental note to pay particular attention to the sheltered spots in the lee of the wind. The first of these was the triangular patch near to old gateway where they access track to neighbouring fields adjoined the main track in a ‘T’. A Red Admiral caught my attention at first when it landed and momentarily hung form the hedge. After this I shifted my gaze downwards and swept it across the grasses. As I did I picked up good numbers of Skippers glistening amid a straw coloured backdrop. Something darker flitted about at the furthest point of the triangle but I couldn’t relocate it again and I was left with the impression that it was a Small Blue. However I dropped this idea when a few seconds later a Brown Argus popped up and started to hassle first one and then both of the male Common Blues. There were also a few representatives of the Browns about with a single Meadow Brown and three Ringlets, a Marbled White dropped in but the Lycaenids had the bigger contingent when they were joined by three separate Small Coppers. It was interesting to note some of the different nectaring behaviours. The Small Coppers liked to sit atop the larger more sturdy flowers (Queens Lace?) whilst the Common Blue flew lower favouring the Clover. The Bad Attitude was all over the place and was much more catholic in its tastes. A lovely little representation of resource Partitioning.

I could have stayed here for the whole of my time on site but I was eager to see if the Chalkhills had made an appearance and as none were forthcoming at the triangle I set off again towards the Hotspot stopping now and again at where the little clumps of Knapweed acted as oases in the sea of dried grasses. There were plenty more Smessex zipping about all over the place and between the aforementioned Knapweed oases and a Large White stopped, slowed by the fall in temperature that accompanied a brief increase in cloud cover. Most of the Browns were Meadow but the Ringlets were more eye catching as their darker colour contrasted more pleasingly with the beige of the grass. One in particular stood out less as it was an ab.arete with tiny little pinpricks of white instead of the beautiful eyed rings.

When I reached the Hotspot is was disappointingly quiet as the cloud that had grounded the Large White earlier had hung around. As I scanned around the sides and then the bottom of the Dyke all I found was a single Peacock feeding up, the gloom making it appear even more garish than usual. I checked out the hollow and as I took the tiny path a DGF appeared, then another and another. All told I saw 6 in an area the size of a small kitchen and 4 of these were sitting on the deck in a line along the path practically sucking up warmth from the dust beneath them. I carried on round past the Hollow, crossing the main track and working my way round into the little Meadow where the Greenstreaks had been up until a month ago which now feels more like 6. A Small Heath was added to the Tally, a couple of Whites and the ubiquitous Meadow Browns and Ringlets and in the small meadow the sole occupant was a Small Copper.

I’d completed a rough circle and was now almost back where I’d seen the Peacock. I’d love to have walked all the way up to the top of the Down as I had an inkling that was where the Chalkhills would be found but time was against me so I only ascended about 100metres up scanning all about me as I went. Again there was a Peacock though it was probably the initial one I’d seen but there was also a Small Tortoiseshell hiding among the leaves down in the bottom of the Dyke. I tried to move in for a shot but because I had to watch my footing so as not to go ‘A over T’ and also as I didn’t want to trample anything it was there one minute and then the next time I looked up it had gone. As if to cheer me up though three more DGFs flew about me and one plopped down practically right in front of me.

As is so often the way I realised I needed to head back, put me head down, ranked up the pace and then when I was almost back at the car realised I still had a bit of excess time. This was fortuitous as I checked my watch, discovered my chronological advantage and spotted a Small Copper basking on the chalky path at the tip of the triangular patch that I’d started at. So I now spent my remaining minutes here catching up with probably the same butterflies that I had seen earlier. Again there were two Small Coppers, making the three with the one still basking on the path. I relocated one Common Blue and then the second, the Browns has burgeoned although there was still only a single Marbled White, the Brown Argus was hassling anything that entered into its flight path and the Smessex were all over the place. Things were slightly different now though as I found a/the Small Blue – proving that I hadn’t imagined it earlier, a DGF did a fly by and a pair of Smessex were busy copulating. As I made to leave the Red Admiral was back, sitting wings flat to the ground on the track but taking off and flying a short way every time I got within range. I tore myself away and said my goodbyes to the erstwhile martial siren most chuffed that the Blues are back in town!

A quick stomp around
Plenty of variety
Blues are back in town

Have a goodun

Wurzel