essex buzzard

[essexbuzzard]

The silver-spotted Skipper is my favourite of the late summer butterflies, and I spend most of my spare time this month visiting colonies. On the face of it,they are very similar to Large Skippers,but their habits,and their habitats,are completely different. I like to not only photograph the adults,but also watch their behaviour, for these gorgeous little skippers, whether at rest or in flight,are full of character. On warm days, everything is done at 100 mph,yet in dull weather,they hardly move at all,unless disturbed. At rest they are equally apealing,with their teddy bear faces. They are a wonderful way to end the summer.

One of the best sites I know of is Aston Rowant. A visit here is normally one of the highlights of my season. But my visit last Sunday was a bit different. For there was much talk about a summer gale in Scotland that day. But their was much less talk about gale force gusts in many parts of southern England. Consequently, Aston Rowant,and ourselves, got a blasting,and most of the butterflies were being swept away,of were holding on for dear life.

However,we managed to find the most sheltered areas,where at least some butterflies were seen,even if we did not observe much of their normal behaviour. Silve-spotted Skipper numbers were very low, though this may have been because of the wind,and were lying low. Still some nice Chalkhill Blues,and a few Common Blue and Brown Argus were highlights. A tough,but in the end,successful day.

[essexbuzzard]

Other stuff from Aston Rowant.

[David M]

Some good variety there, Mark. Aston Rowant is a favourite site of mine, though it'll be missing from my 2016 list, sadly. If I remember correctly, there are always loads of Brimstones fattening up for winter on the betony at the bottom of the hill?

[Wurzel]

Great series of shots Essex - interesting Chalkhill with the thicker margins - is that within the normal range of variation or an ab?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[essexbuzzard]

It's true David,this is a favourite area for Brimstones-normally . But on this day,the wind was blowing the plants prostate, and the only Brimstones were in the shelter of the trees further on.

Hi Wurzel,this Chalkhill certainly stood out in the field,which is why I went to extra effort to photograph it. Probably just a well-marked specimen .

[essexbuzzard]

10 August. Silver-spotted Skippers in Sussex.

Today found me at Malling Down,near Lewes. This was a much more enjoyable day than Aston Rowant,with much better Weather. Plenty of Fresh SSS were about,both males and females, and they gave a cracking display of speed and manoeuvreability. Chalkhill and Common Blues were plentiful ,and the first Adonis Blue was photographed. Lots of flowers were on the down,including the sought after round-headed rampion. Near the allotments,a late Hutchinsoni Comma was chasing anything that went near,but a large patch of hemp-agrimony only turned up one Red Admiral. A couple of Small Copper were seen as were Small Heaths,and quite a few Meadow Browns. It was so good here,I was late leaving,but I eventually headed over to Windover Hill,home to the only Grayling colony in Sussex. Eventually the cloud broke, and a few evening Grayling were seen,together with several Wall, lots of SSS and Chalkhill Blues.

From Malling;

[essexbuzzard]

And from Windover we have;

[Wurzel]

Fantastic sequence of shots - those Silver-spots are to die for Essex

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[essexbuzzard]

Thanks Wurzel-aren't they gorgeous ? It was a pleasure to spend time with them.

[essexbuzzard]

Lydden Temple Ewell on 17 August.

Today was a glorious day in east Kent,at one of my favourite sites. Having blue skies all day meant we could relax a little,take it easy,and watch the goings on at this excellent KWT reserve at leisure. This made it even more enjoyable. We walked through the Temple Ewell end and up through the trees at the top of the site. Even here,Common Blues and Brown Argus and a Wall were seen. As we emerged back into the open,a bright sulphur butterfly was seen- my first British Cloude Yellow of the year.

Then down the Lydden end,soon seeing SSS in numbers,sometimes 4-5 together ,chasing each other around the down,a lovely sight! Chalkhill Blues were mostly worn,but a few good ones too. At the bottom of the slope,Common Blues and Brown Argus were plentiful ,and Meadow Browns were feeding on marjoram and scabious. There was even a Marbled White. Small Whites were around,but Large Whites seem to have finished. After enjoying all these butterflies,it was time for a relaxing lunch in the park at Temple Ewell,knowing the sun would still be out when we finished. Then did it all again,seeing lots of SSS at their peak,and some really nice Brown Argus,the best ones I've seen this summer. We left at 6PM,having had a really great day.

[essexbuzzard]

Just back from our annual end of summer trip to Dorset. More on that soon,but before we went,I couldn't resist a second trip to Aston Rowant,to admire some Silver-spotted Skippers for probably the last time this year. It was nice to see several Small Torts,and Common Blue numbers were much higher,too.

[essexbuzzard]

DORSET

We have just returned from 6 days in Dorset,based at Lulworth Cove on the isle of Purbeck. Weather was a typical British mix,which was a pity,as the proceeding week had brought tome wonderfully warm and sunny weather. Three out of the 6 days were dull and damp, and three were bright. But it was by no means a washout. One of the bright days was taken up with the Great Dorset Steam Fair. Coming from a farming background, this is somewhere I've wanted to go for many years, so it was great to do it at last! Only butterflies there were Small White and Small Tort. To follow are the sites we visited,together with a few notes and pictures where possible.

Fontmell Down. This was one of the damp,misty days,but it was mild,and Meadow Browns were easily put up,and several Adonis Blues were disturbed from the wet grass. At the far end of the site in particular, lots of Autumn ladies tresses were in flower. Our intention was to come back to Fontmell on a better day,as this normally excellent site had great potential. But the weather,sadly,prevented this.

[essexbuzzard]

Ballard Down.

This was a great disappointment . I remember up to a few years ago marjoram bushes smothered in Adonis Blues and other butterflies -I have a photo of 8 males on one plant,and it was my best site for Adonis. Now it is so heavily grazed no flowers are left, and areas where flowers used to be are broken and brown and Adonis resting on dead vegetation doesn't do it for me. With this,and far fewer butterflies nowadays, Balard is probably no longer worth visiting.

[Wurzel]

It's a pity to hear of a great site going to the dogs Hopefully the butterflies can move onto suitable habitat nearby You still manged some great shots though

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Sad to hear this, Mark. I visited Ballard Down 5 years ago and it was highly productive. Seems that it doesn't take long for things to go downhill if the sites aren't managed correctly.

[essexbuzzard]

Thanks to you both. The Adonis Blues were still there,though in lower numbers,but there is nothing for the adults to eat. I often see blues feeding on flowers,but I wonder if they actually need nectar plants? I couldn't tell if the flowers had been grazed out,or if they had had a machine go through there. I would like to see all the grazing animals taken off during the summer,and put back on in late September. Although I'm no expert,this would allow the nectar plants to quickly recover. The difficulty for me was avoiding photographing butterflies on dead vegetation.

[essexbuzzard]

Bindon Hill.

Our B&B was at the bottom of Bindon Hill,so a pre-breakfast walk was possible on fine fine days. We also had a day visit. We saw far fewer butterflies than previous years,but this may have been because our visit to Dorset was a couple of weeks later this year. We only saw one Wall,for example,and this was a worn specimen,as were all the Brown Argus and Chalkhill Blues we saw. A few Common Blues were in better condition ,and it was lovely to see fresh Adonis Blues,wings spread wide in the early sun,warming up in the mornings. A late Marbled White was a surprise. Others here were Small White, Small Copper, Meadow Brown and Small Heath. Waking up to Adonis Blues,before breakfast, well, it doesn't get much better than that!

[trevor]

Superb Adonis images. I haven't found any that co-operative yet this year !.

Trevor.

[essexbuzzard]

Thanks,Trev! If you have any colonies near you,get there early if it is sunny-this Thursday should be good. I took these images between 7.30 and 8.30AM.

[essexbuzzard]

Durdle Door.

We also visited Durdle Door a couple of times. A barberry bush up the hill between Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door had a Grayling feeding. Although not a great picture,it kept flashing its wings open. Another Grayling was at the Door,along with a Clouded Yellow,Common Blues,Meadow Browns and Small,but not Large, Whites. Many people here too,enjoying the splendid scenery and weather. A kestrel was having a dust bath,and 3 Ravens,two adults and a juv, came close,feeding on scraps left by the tourists.