ernie f

[Wurzel]

Cracking Grizzlies Ernie 'Stairway to Heaven - like it (that's as close as I could get emoji wise to 'Rock' )

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[ernie f]

Goldie, David, Wurzel

Thanks all for your comments - it is appreciated.

Site Visit: Sleaford - 6th May 2018

Across the road from Broxhead Heath is Sleaford. It has grassland, a stream and woods, mature high ancient hedgerows alongside the path and an active sand and gravel extraction works! There is a separate small parcel of heathland which is more or less an annexe to the Broxhead Heath.

Today there was Speckled Wood, Orange Tip, Green-veined White and Brimstone, but on the heath itself was a moth that I think is the Latticed Heath. It is heavily backlit in my photo below which disguises it a bit. Can anyone confirm or otherwise?

Latticed Heath?

Site Visit: Noar Hill - 6th May 2018

There were 14 Dukes today and I only covered about 1/3 of the reserve. Two in pit 2 were sparring. They spiralled up very, VERY high into the sky. So high I lost sight of them. The next thing I knew the one I had been looking at on the ground had returned to his perch. He was the victor!

The Victor!

Plus my first Dingy Skipper of the year. Here it is…

Dingy Skipper

And of course as usual this gives me the excuse to add some past pics.

Female

Male

Mating

I state the sexes as though I am confident of it - but I'm not. I won't be offended if someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

Non-butterfly snapshots of the day come from Sleaford

The ancient hedgerows harbour Tree Sparrow. The stream has Kingfisher and Mandarin Duck. The woods have Chicken-of-the-woods bracket fungus and a natural beehive in a hollow tree.

Chicken of the Woods - Laetiporus sulphureus

The gravel works has a large nesting colony of Sand Martin not to mention Bewick Swan, Tufted Duck and Little Grebe, Reed Bunting and Lapwing on the lakes. Today there was a pair of courting nuthatch in the woodland. One, presumably the male, danced back and forth along a branch next to the female and flicked his tail feathers up right in front of her face. They then both flew off together. Unfortunately my pics of this were very blurred.

The Sand Martin colony was active. I went today because on Sunday the gravel works are silent. Please click on pic to enlarge - then you can see the Sand Martins better.

Sand Martin Colony

[David M]

Fantastic image of the sand martin nests, ernie. Well done too for 'bagging' your Dingy along with the Dukes. I'm not a moth expert, but I've seen Latticed Heath many times and I'd be reluctant to identify it as anything else!

[Wurzel]

More great shots and reportage Ernie, good to see some more Dingies appearing on the PD board Does the Chicken of the Woods actually taste of chicken - most things do?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Hi Ernie, your moth is a Common Heath . Great shots as always

[ernie f]

David & Bugboy: Thanks for the moth ID. Some of these moths vary so much within their species it is often difficult to say what it is.
Wurzel: Chicken-of-the-woods apparently tastes like chicken and has the texture of cooked chicken although some people get nausea from eating it. I would always urge people not to eat any wild mushroom unless they know precisely what it is.

[ernie f]

Site Visit: Noar Hill - 7th May 2018

View from top of Noar Hill

I was only here yesterday and I did the same transect over 1/3 of the reserve as yesterday and the number of Dukes has suddenly blossomed from 14 to 25 in just those few hours! I spoke with Tony who is the official recorder for the butterflies at Noar Hill who tells me that his predecessor one day scored a count of 100 Dukes on his round. Of course that was some years ago. But if I am getting 25 across 1/3 of the reserve today, that could mean anything up to 75 across the entire reserve right now and I do not think we are at peak yet.

I saw 4 Green Hairstreaks and after talking to other people while there, worked out there must be at least 10 at Noar Hill at the moment.

Also the usual line-up of Brimstone, O Tip, S White, H Blue and a single Red Admiral. The Dingy I saw yesterday was nowhere to be seen and I saw no others either. I didn't bother taking a butterfly pic today. The heat was getting to me a bit (26 degrees!). So here is one from the past at this site.

The Early Purple Orchids are right at their peak now and look wonderful.

Non-butterfly snapshot of the day

I saw a bank vole scuttle past me while at Noar Hill today. I have seen them here before. Here is one I photographed on a previous encounter.

Bank Vole

[Wurzel]

Cheers for the info Ernie I've often wondered whether it was named because of taste or because in poor light with drastic myopia it looks like a chicken Philzoid and I were at Noar Hill yesterday afternoon must have missed you but we say about 12 or so Dukes - it's a great site but also one that's very easy to get lost in!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

That Noar Hill view on such a fine day looks positively intoxicating, ernie. The bank vole was a nice bonus for you - you'd have thought it'd have preferred to stay in the water with those stifling temperatures!

[ernie f]

Wurzel: Great you could get to Noar Hill, my local reserve. Sorry I missed you.
David: I think the vole was staying in the shade. He crossed the wooded entrance path to the reserve.

Cheers,

[ernie f]

Site Visit: Butser Hill/Rake Bottom – 8th May 2018

Opposite the Queen Elizabeth County Park near Petersfield is the open downland of Butser Hill. From the top there is a 360-degree view of the neighbouring countryside for many miles around.

View from top of Butser Hill

Around the car park at the top of the hill in the right season you will find Vipers Bugloss, Montbretia, Toadflax, White Bryony and the largest mass of Rosebay Willowherb you will ever see. There are the usual chalk grassland orchids, especially large numbers of Early Purple Orchid and wild herbs such as marjoram out on the open hillside with masses of Cowslips in spring. Birds up here include Meadow Pipit, Bullfinch, Spotted Flycatcher, Whitethroat, Yellowhammer, Linnet, Goldfinch, Chiffchaff, Red Kite, Raven, Kestrel and Cuckoo. On the hill itself butterflies include Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Common Blue, Small & Essex Skipper, Peacock, Red Admiral, Small Heath, Gatekeeper, Clouded Yellow, Brimstone, Small White, Orange Tip and Painted Lady. However as I am sure you are aware what most butterfly enthusiasts come here for is a visit to Rake Bottom, a dry river valley “round the back” of the hill.

In Rake Bottom

Its a rather steep descent but its worth the effort because here is a good location for Green Hairstreak, Dingy Skipper, Grizzled Skipper and Duke of Burgundy all in fair numbers at the same time. In May 2017 on a sunny day there was a Duke of Burgundy, Dingy Skipper and Grizzled Skipper at my feet all at one time within a couple of metres of each other while in the air just above my head two male Green Hairstreaks circled round and around in a sparring battle and in the distance at exactly the same moment, two male Cuckoos called to each other to establish territories. It can certainly be an enchanting place to visit on a warm spring morning if you have the stamina to negotiate the slopes.

This year I counted 10 Dukes, 12 Grizzled Skips (one was on the hill near the top), 1 Dingy Skip and 1 Green Hairstreak. Compared with last year on May 6th when there were 17 Dukes, 14 Grizzled Skips, 20 Dingy Skips and 3 Green Hairstreak. Of course there were the usual Brimstone, Orange Tip, GV and Small White, Speckled Wood, Comma (which on this occasion was walking on the ground taking salts from a dried up muddy puddle), Mint Moth and Cinnabar but even these were in lower numbers than the same time last year. Also last year at this time I saw 11 Small Heath and 2 Common Blue here but so far this year I have not seen these anywhere. It seems everything in Hampshire no matter where I go is still running a week or so later than last year despite the wonderful weather we are having now. The Dingies in particular are in noticeably low numbers.

Dingy Skip

Grizzled Skip

Duke

Green Hairstreak

Comma taking salts

Mint Moth

Non-butterfly snapshots of the day

The Cuckoo is regular here. It is one of the few places I actually expect to see cuckoos rather than just hear them.

In 2016 for example two males were chasing each other, then they came to rest on the ground for a face-off! I had never seen a cuckoo on the ground before. They didn't actually come to blows but for a moment I wondered if they might! And as I said above, two males where here in 2017 too (perhaps even the same two?) but merely cuckoo-ed at each other across the valley on that occasion. At least one male was here this year too. He cuckoo-ed and then I saw him fly low between trees in the distance.

Cuckoo

You may have to click to enlarge to see the Cuckoo face-off pic below better.

The Cuckoo "face-off"

[Wurzel]

Great set of shots Ernie I know what you mean about the butterflies being behind - I just hope that the weather stays reasonable until they've had a chance to catch up with it - fingers crossed

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

I'm really enjoying your landscape images, ernie. The butterflies aren't bad either, particularly that Green Hairstreak with the full row of streaks on the hindwing.

[ernie f]

Cheers Guys - its good of you to say you like my pics. I have seen other people's efforts on this site and they simply blow me away at times - some look very professional.

[ernie f]

Site Visit: Noar Hill - 9th May 2018

Juniper at Noar Hill

I am well chuffed. Why? I have just broken my record for the number of Dukes I’ve seen in any year at Noar Hill. On my visit on 7th May 2018 (2 days ago) I found 25. Today I made a point of going to other parts of the reserve I did not visit on the 7th and I found a further 27. A total of 52 so far and my previous annual record here was 41. Not only that but I found none at all in “The Scrape” and at peak you expect to find two or three there so it seems they are still not at their peak. I took a picture of the last one I spotted today (because I guessed it would be given the route I had chosen). Here is number 52!

Number 52

I added two more Dingies and an extra Green Hairstreak to the counts here today too.

Duke and Dingy

Plus more Orange Tips and Brimstones that I long ago lost count of. One of the Orange Tips landed on an Early Purple Orchid and drank some nectar but he flew off just as I was about to take his pic. Blast!

Non-butterfly snapshot of the day

While at Noar Hill today there was still the remains of a muddy puddle near “The Triangle” that the recent spate of exceptionally hot days had failed to evaporate entirely. As I approached it a Hornet came down and decided to have a drink and a bathe. Here he is.

Hornet bathing

[Goldie M]

Really enjoying your posts ernie, lovely views and Butterflies, that sounds a great spot for Butterflies, just wish I lived a bit nearer to these places Goldie

[David M]

Keep the eclectic mix of images coming, ernie. It's a welcome diversion from what most of us post on here (myself included).

Great that you got a Dingy in shot along with a Duke (although they DO seem to be bedfellows at most sites).

[Andrew555]

Some really lovely shots and sights Ernie.

[ernie f]

Goldie, David, Andrew: Thanks for your comments. I hope to keep going with my non-butterfly snapshot, but I wonder how long before I run out of opportunities?

Cheers

[ernie f]

Site Visit: Kingsley Common - 10th May 2018

Kingsley Pond

I was here checking for Small Coppers but none were around yet. Instead I spent quite a while with a couple of Speckled Woods. One liked to perch on a patch of bramble but another came down and sat less than a foot away. This was just too much of a provocation for the incumbent of the bush, so he gave chase. They did their sparring spiral right up into the tree canopy and a moment later my friend came back down to his perch unhindered by his foe. I took a few pics of him, trying to get him backlit if I could. Then down came the other one again and battle ensued once more. Again the one I was taking pics of found his perch and we continued with the photo-shoot. Then a few moments later the whole thing kicked-off again with this nuisance getting in the way – repeating the sparring spiral. I left them to it at this point guessing that this was going to happen all day long neither one yielding to the other.

Back-lit Specklie

Then I came across a female Orange Tip. Nothing could have been more different from the Speckled Woods. She perched on the stem of a Bluebell quite serenely, minding her own business and just stayed there in a roosting pose for ages - completely still because a cloud had come over at that moment.

Orange Tip resting

Non-butterfly snapshot of the day

There is a river valley with a small stream the other side of the heathland at Kingsley Common. It surprised me to find Mandarin Duck there some years ago. They still pop up from time to time so they must be thriving. My guess is that a few years ago there must have been en escape from Birdworld – a bird zoo only a couple of miles away from Kingsley, and they found a new home here in this secluded, overgrown watercourse.

Male Mandarin up a tree