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Ewyas Harold Common, Herefordshire. My third visit yesterday to enjoy the Pearl-bordered Fritillary my count on this occasion was approximately 70, I took particular notice of the underwing patterns when I was given the chance, interesting to note that the occasional individual had distinctly 'irregular' markings on both the pearls and the shape of the 'ducks-head', you can perhaps see the difference between what could be considered normal and the 'irregular' in the images below. The other species I had come to hopefully find was Grizzled Skipper and I decided to explore much further away from my usual areas, it took some time but I was finally rewarded with three individuals, all were rather the worst for wear and were easy lost to view in what was a brisk and frustrating wind...heck they can get lost on a perfectly good day I did manage a few poor quality record shots though.

During my afternoon search of the best P-b F spots I heard some unusual noise coming from the rather shaded understorey a little distance from where I was searching, something told me to check it out and I stood silently crouched as a natural drama was played out, a dark grey feral cat was prancing around a pretty big female Adder, flicking a paw out to knock the snake off balance, the tail being the chosen target, I could hear the snake hissing in anger as it tried to avoid the cats very quick paw-work and dancing footwork, I remained motionless fascinated to see what the outcome would be, the Adder however was slowly but surely moving towards some bramble and it used the thick ground shoots to try to climb up out of the tormenters way, by doing so the cat saw me and was away in a heartbeat. I was unable to get a photo of the drama owing to both the obstructing understorey branches and would have disturbed my view by any movement. The Adder remained motionless for several minutes before almost falling back to earth and slinking away, it climbed a thorn covered briar to about 3 feet or more, and I managed some difficult shots, I was amazed that the thick thorns didn't prevent the climb, t'was a fascinating thing to witness

Another very interesting discovery was Corizus hyoscyami a very locally distributed squash bug, it's only usually found on coastal sandy type sites in southern Britain, I'm trying to find out it's status in this part of the country, and feel it might just prove a significant record. Also watched a female spider Misumena vatia on bluebell waiting for a nectaring insect for it's afternoon meal, this species can change colour and mimic the colour of it's chosen plant, I've seen them yellow, white, green and shades in between, an incredible evolutionary ability that helps them to dine

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out" (Glad I did yesterday!!!),

Nice report, Bill. Seems like PBF numbers are on the rise.

Where on earth did you see the pig?

Thanks David, this fine specimen of porker can usually be found (grazing ) in the first meadow, along the left hand lane once you enter the common via the cattle grid.

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

Aah, I know where you mean now, Bill.

These days, I tend to park beyond the cattle grid and then head into the Common without venturing back across said grid.

A very nice report Bill Just one thing tbe adder in the pic looks like a male. I always thought females were browner and less boldly marked

Exceptional numbers of Small Coppers on the wing today at Sham Castle Fields (Bath) - 16 on a lunchtime walk today. This is a site where seeing 2 on a walk is doing well.

Philzoid wrote:A very nice report Bill Just one thing tbe adder in the pic looks like a male. I always thought females were browner and less boldly marked

Thanks Phil, that is possible, but if it was a male it is undoubtedly and considerably the longest/largest male I've yet seen, not a good photo really, awkward to get, so please don't go too much on the colour from the image, the light in the understorey was poor. I know that there are considerable shade variations within the species from different habitats/areas, and finally this specimen showed distinct 'gravid shape tendency' but that's not visible in this image because the reptile is stretching to climb, I'm only sorry I couldn't get a better shot which would have helped.

When I say 'gravid shape tendency' I'm making reference to a mature female that has had several pregnancies...or then again in this case it could just be a rather long fat, record breaking male

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

Thanks for your reply Bill. I've not seen many adders myself hence the confused smiley Those that I have come across have mainly been females, larger and fatter as you say .. and the ones I saw were browner. The only male I've seen was small (it may have been a juvenile) light grey making the zig-zag pattern stand out. The females as you say are considerably larger and this doesn't come across on the picture as there is nothing to give it scale. Looking on google shows images of female adders which do look like typical males in colouration so I've learned something there

11/05/14
Over the weekend I planned to meet up with Mark Tutton to explore some Duke of Burgundy sites in and around Butser Hill. On the morning of Sunday, after a sunshine and shower deluge on Saturday, the weather looked decidedly iffy but we decided to give it a go anyway . The approach to the site had to be done very cautiously through single-track country lanes as suicidal cyclists (the grey bearded ones were the worst) hurtled along though bends with no chance of stopping in an emergency . I was glad to arrive at the top of the Hill car park and meet Mark immediately after arriving (Immaculate timing by Mark who’d come up from Portsmouth) with his energetic but very well behaved springer spaniel “Flossie” (a nick name once bestowed on me Phil Osso )

We set off for a place Mark knew about (little Butser) but the weather was cool with a thick blanket of grey clouds obscuring the sun and there was a fairly stiff breeze to boot . Then the sun poked through and almost immediately we spotted some Dukes, but they soon disappeared as the sun went in again after its all too brief appearance. We managed to trace one which turned out to be a Duchess and nearby was also a dingy skipper . Under these conditions the butterfly clamps its wings together offering good views of the underside . Shortly afterwards I found my own “Duke” and Mark’s eagle eyes continued to find several more roosters as we made our way through hill and dale eventually on to Butser Hill itself (Phew ). On reaching the top of Butser Hill the grey blanket disappeared and the sun and butterflies appeared . It took me a long time to get down to Rake bottom as the walk was revealing Dingies; Green Hairstreak and Grizzled Skipper as well as more Dukes. By the end of the day I had encountered 10 species in total the path through Rake bottom in particular revealing loads of butterflies. In order
Duke of Burgundy; Dingy Skipper; Small White; Green Hairstreak; Grizzled skipper (first this year); Brimstone; Small Heath (first this year); Common Blue (first this year); Small Copper (first this year) and Brown Argus (also a first).
In addition there were numerous moths:- Red-twin-spot Carpet; Shears or Tawny Shears; Cinnabar; Pyrausta aurata and Wood Tiger (lifer) Fantastic day (what had happened to the rain forecasted ) on a fantastic site . Just take care along those country roads .

Phil

That Green Hairstreak on Forget-me-not is fantastic Phil as is the wood tiger.

Hi Phil
Had a great time thanks and I hope you have recovered from the climb back up - it is seriously steep.
Glad you found the wood tiger and it looks like your 'escaping' small copper is ab.cearuleopunctata - pretty.
Flossie went to sleep when I got home and didn't wake until tea time - she was shattered.
Kind regards
Mark

William wrote:That Green Hairstreak on Forget-me-not is fantastic Phil as is the wood tiger

Thanks for your kind comment William. The Green Hairstreaks shots i got are my best to date for this species ... and the Wood Tigermoth was a first

Mark Tutton wrote:Flossie went to sleep when I got home and didn't wake until tea time - she was shattered.

Makes me feel a lot better knowing that Mark mind you she probably put in over four times the distance

BTW all the Small Coppers I saw (4 in total) had the cearuleopunctata little blue spots .. .and wing tears also

Phil

I went to Alex Farm Pastures, Shadoxhurst, Kent this morning and amongst the Grizzled Skippers I found this little Cracker I think it's a taras


If it is, and I've put more photos of it in my diary to aid identification, then it's the first I've ever seen.

Best Wishes,

Hoggers

That's a beauty, Hoggers. Great find!

Cracking find Hoggers

Great stuff too Philzoid The Wood Tiger is a beaut as is be Greenstreak number 2 The third one looks like it should be a named aberrant as those white marks are practically chevrons

Quick stop off today at The Devenish - still no blues of any sort but a Dingy skipper about 10ft up a tree - not seen that before

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Aberbargoed Grasslands NNR, Monmouthshire (Gwent). Spent the day checking out the current situation regards emergence of the Marsh Fritillary but as expected no sign of any early butterflies or chrysalis, but I did see 14 rather 'plumpish' larvae still chomping happily on Devils-bit Scabious, I don't think we'll be seeing any imagos until the end of May or more probably early June.

Highlight of the day was to find a nice fresh Green Hairstreak nectaring on a Bluebell, luckily I had managed a few record shots before a barking, bounding Rough Haired Pointer decided to ruin any further close-up shots once I had barked back at him he soon scarpered off back to his oblivious owner...who had named him Ron I just love inconsiderate dog owners...Grrrrrrr Rant over, please don't think that this particular individual was just another Green Hairstreak oh no! this is the first of the species I've seen at the reserve, and is also the nearest to home I've ever recorded the species...I'm far more thrilled with that than I was meeting Ron

Photographed a white Lousewort, something I've not seen before and have no idea of their actual status, anyone else ever seen one?

Other species were a bit thin today, saw a few of each; Dingy Skipper, Orange-tip & Peacock plus the whites.

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

Hoggers wrote:I think it's a taras

It certainly is! A really nice series of pictures in your diary too.

Guy

A Green Hairstreak at Aberbargoed is notable, Bill. I've certainly never seen this species there in all my prior visits.

An afternoon spent first at Mumbles Head on the Gower Peninsula and followed by an hour in Kittle Quarry near my home returned my first Common Blues and Brown Argus of 2014.

Also seen were Dingy Skipper, Speckled Wood, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Large, Small & Green Veined White, Small Copper, Orange Tip & Brimstone.

I came across an online blog "Greenie in the Wild" today which has photos of Glanville Fritillaries now on the wing at Hutchinson's Bank Nature Reserve, Croyden. 8 or so seen a couple of days ago.

A brief visit to Rodborough Common this morning, resulted in my first Adonis Blue of the year. Unfortunately too lively for photos. Also 5 duke of burgundy, green hairstreak and plenty of dingy skippers.

Unfortunately an all too brief visit before work as I would have loved to have spent the day there in the beautiful weather.