www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

It was lovely to see some sunshine yesterday and we enjoyed an afternoon walk, although it was crisp and a little chilly.

I was scouting for places to explore around the village and found some likely looking lanes which I will explore further later in the spring.

No sightings as such but we did see a cherry blossom tree in flower

Hi Lee,

There is a winter flowering Cherry tree called, Prunus x Subhirtella Autumalis Rosea. It flowers from November through to March.

Nick.

P.S. hope you have settled in ok.

Hi Nick,

Ah, that's the one. It has quite narrow petals and looks exactly like the one I saw. Thanks for that, I didn't know you could get winter flowering varities!

Settled in, yes, unpacked everything, no

Best wishes,

Lee

Small White seen in London!

Remarkably, a white butterfly was reported to me, seen in Westbourne Grove, London W2 today.

From the phone photo I think it is a Small White.
I have no way of knowing but given the recent dip in temperatures I can only assume it had pupated inside somewhere and the warmth has sped up emergence.

I suppose it could have emerged in the recent double digit warm spell and have survived until today, with London being a few degrees warmer and maybe the chrysalis was in full sun. Or as a long shot, seeing as it was found near an organic food supermarket chain, maybe the chrysalis was brought in from the field and hatched indoors. Who knows!

Pilgrims Way

Spurred on by the Small White sighting earlier today and seeing as I was at home waiting for the gas man, with boiler duly serviced I went for my first longer walk around my new home.

I walked 2 miles west and back along the Pilgrims Way towards Kemsing. By the time I had set off it had clouded over a bit although it did brighten up a little.
There was buddliea, brambles, nettles, mature hedges, trees and shrubs, woodland, farmland, rough pasture and excitingly what appears from a distance to be chalk grassland with and without scrub, all within walking distance. Most of those habitats will have to wait for another walk though as today I stayed on the track apart from venturing into a field every now and then. At the edge of one field there was 50m of young 1m blackthorn trees in a set aside area, so I tried my luck for eggs but with no success.

I did add several bird species to those seen in and around Wrotham since I've been here though with a flock of 50+ Lapwing, Common Gull, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush and Long Tailed Tit.

I disturbed the Woodpecker from a fallen tree and it seems he had been busy taking full advantage - all of these holes must have been made by him.

Sunday 5th February

The snow came thick and fast on Saturday evening and driving home was, ahem, eventful.

But we did see the ghostly white of a Barn Owl on Seal Chart near Sevenoaks

This was the end of my road on Sunday morning.

Kitchen Entomology - Monday 13th February

I learnt something yesterday.

I was somewhat surprised when a small Noctuid flew in the open kitchen window on Monday evening while I was cooking, (Thai green curry - it was hot!). Wondering why it would be flying at this time of year I consulted Waring and Townsend and in searching through the possibilities, I opted for The Chestnut, Conistra vaccinii as the most likely given size and pattern and crucially, flight times.

While searching though the species notes, it seems The Chestnut, and several of its' relatives overwinter as adults! I had no idea some moths did this as well, but given that certain butterflies have evolved to do so, it is perhaps not that surprising. Anyway, a welcome early sighting

Nice encounter, Lee.

I've often wondered how moths seem to cope with cold better than butterflies. I know many of them are night fliers but when it's down to -5 I'd expect both to be equally vulnerable.

So would I, David, particularly with November, December, Winter and Early moths, they must have to endure some extreme temperatures at times!

The book did say that these species will come to light on mild winter nights and we haven't had a frost since the weekend now and it's probably a good 15+ degrees warmer than the overnight lows last week so that may well be why it was active.

In response to a previous thread about the TV programme "FrozenPlanet" (viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5848&start=20#p53368), I did a little reading and learned the following:

MikeOxon wrote:
My wife showed me a textbook on insect entomology (Gullan & Cranston), which describes the amazing array of mechanisms that enable insects to survive Arctic conditions. Apparently, there is a Himalayan glacier midge which remains active at an air temperature of -16°C !

There are ice-nucleating agents, which allow 'safe' freezing of the blood, gut, and some other areas. Other agents gradually dehydrate cell contents, so that these cannot freeze. Antifreeze proteins may also be produced, to provide protection throughout the freezing and thawing processes.

Mike

Moths seem to have more adaptations to cold climates than do butterflies.

Mike

Thanks Mike.

If I had to guess I would have said it had something to do with built in anti-freeze, as you say.

Cheers

Lee

25th February

Pilgrim's Way, Wrotham
St George's churchyard, Wrotham

Thursday 8th March

I had to wait while my car had an MOT today in Strood so I took a camera. I had a lovely walk along the river Medway and took loads of photos of insects and birds, none of which were usable as I had the camera stuck on the wrong setting

This was about the only good one.
I did add Mute Swan, Mallard, Coot, Cormorant, Linnet (I think) and surprisingly, Oystercatcher and (again, I think) Bar Tailed Godwit to the list of birds seen in Kent since I've been back.

MOT duly passed I had the afternoon free and so set off near home. I wanted to explore some downland above the Pilgrim's Way I'd seen on the map. I found it ok but boy was it steep! It reminded me of Heyshott but was sadly being very encroached by scrub. Where it was clear the habitat looked ideal and I will be back to see what may be found here.

No butterflies seen today but no matter, there was plenty of other wildlife on offer.

I got the closest I've been to a wild fox (the ones I saw regularly in Greenford were urban foxes, really). I must have been downwind as soon as she saw me she was off. The male had already scarpered.
I hadn't come across coltsfoot before.
Or this amazing fungus.
In this photo, Wrotham is in the distance and Pilgrim's Way is the hedge on the right. I also explored the area above the scrub above top left and as well as being much more accessible it also looked ideal for later in the year - there was loads of wild strawberry for instance....

Saturday 10th March - Spring Awakens

With sunshine and mild temperatures forecast I had a feeling this weekend would bring my first butterfly of the year.

Each week the plants are moving on with nettles and others coming back and the ground becoming more green. Things are looking a little more spring like although it does generally still look like end of winter with last year's dead growth still hanging there. It won't be long though.

In the end I'd only been gone about 10 minutes when this Peacock flew from my path
I watched it for a while and then let it be.

First sightings:
2010 - Red Admiral (15th March)
2011 - Red Admiral (12th March)
2012 - Peacock (10th March)

Sunday 11th March

The sun and warmth was still evident today and I had an exploratory walk on the downs directly above Wrotham, primarily in and around Butts Hill Wood. It was a bit disappointing, in that all the footpaths were either fenced off, completely enclosed, very steep, or all 3.

However, the views reaching to the Weald would be stunning on a clear day, and it would be worth coming back to see the bluebells when they are in full bloom. The first few were just showing.
Above the wood it opened up into farmland although there were a few promising looking areas.
Lesser Celandine.
I also saw no butterflies today, which was a surprise, but they are all still to come

Amazing that there should be flowering bluebells on March 18th.

This was last Sunday - March 11th!

I've had computer problems all week at home with crash after crash and haven't been able to post

Lee

Hi Lee,

I`ve just caught up with your diary [i`m busy decorating, but i`m still not going fast enough for the wife`s liking, even though i`m working every weekend ]

I see you have been busy checking out the area around your new home for future summer days butterflying, sounds very promising.

Thats a lovely picture of the Peacock, and that Fox is even better.

All the best,

Nick.

Thanks, Nick, for your kind comments. Much appreciated

I have indeed been exploring and have a lot more to do. I am very excited about the upcoming season.

Good luck with your decorating - best to get it out of the way now before the season really kicks off I reckon.

Best wishes

Lee

I had a lovely 3 hour walk along Pilgrims Way and back along the downs this afternoon. Crazy weather again, shorts and T-shirts. Are we in for another early spring season again I wonder?

Things have moved on quite a bit since my first butterfly of the year, a Peacock 2 weeks ago, perhaps not so surprising with the recent warm spell.

In total, I saw 14 Peacocks, 3 Commas, 1 male Brimstone and surprisingly, 11 Small Whites.

There were violets everywhere we went - I have never seen so many. There were different colours too, ranging from deep violet to lilac, right through to white. This looks good for Dark Green Fritillaries later in the year. I know they are found in profusion nearby and there is another site a couple of miles away where they can be seen by the hundred.
4 buzzards wheeling in the thermals above the hills and several chiff chaffs calling rounded off a lovely walk.
Later I did a bit of exploring in the car locally and after lunch in the George and Dragon in Ightham, where Guy Fawkes is rumoured to have hatched his gun powder plot and was also arrested after it failed, I found the charming village of Basted and some good looking footpaths to explore another day.

In driving along the lanes around Ightham, I inadvertantly found the site my uncle took me to some 20 odd years ago where I saw my first ever Green Hairstreak. I didn't see another one until 3 years ago.

I really wanted to find this place again, if only for my memories. It's only a thin strip of meadow surrounded by trees and I have no idea if they are still there. But I will be checking