WLH and other stuff
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 10:00 pm
Another butterfly weekend beckoned and I'd made arrangements to meet up with Wurzel in Salisbury with a view to going on to Collard Hill for Large Blue. However I was doubtful about this trip as the most recent reports suggested that the butterfly numbers were still low 
. Then there was the sunshine building up for a hot day. I've found out from previous visits that the Large Blue are constantly on the move and difficult to approach under these conditions (the weather is never right 
). Add to this that Collard Hill is also one of the toughest place for staying on your feet when chasing butterflies. With all these factors it was a foregone conclusion to think of an alternative venue 
. Wurzel had similar thoughts himself and had more or less made up his mind to go to Cosham for White Letter Hairstreak. I was pleased with this alternative as I had visited a site there last year and had been fortunate to have these little beauts in close proximity nectaring on thistle 
.
With Wurzel's 'new fangled gizmo' (Sat Nav) we soon got there without my needing to rely on Tuts' navigation assistance by telephone that he provided me with last year to get me over the last couple of miles 
.
Almost immediately on arrival we were into the hairstreaks, flitting at some considerable speed when chasing each other around the tops of the 12ft elms. Activity would stop for a few minutes as the insects would land on a leaf and then go walkabout .. but always alert and ready to take off and intercept another passing insect. Although we could get pictures standing on a bank and craning our necks and arms, any good shots were tantalizingly out of reach and none of them were using the thistle heads for nectar.
Still there was plenty of check out. My second, new for the season species, the Marbled White was there in good numbers (as you'd expect as the line of elms is bordered by an uncut grassy bank with lots of wild flowers). I took this female on a Pyramidial Orchid which was a flower largely ignored by the butterflies it seemed.
Other species seen were Common Blue; Meadow Brown; Ringlet; Speckled Wood and Comma.
After a couple of hours in the baking sun we started to make our way off for a coffee break when Wurzel spotted a mated pair. By slowly taking it in turns to bring the branch down to a better level we were able to get some close up shots.
Buoyed up on the morning's sightings we made our way back to Salisbury and Bentley Wood in the hope of adding Silver-washed Fritillary, perhaps White Admiral and Purple Emperor as an extreme outside chance . Parking up in the Eastern clearing Wurzel checked the visitor sightings book and there under 6th of July was 1 Clouded Yellow; Eastern Clearing 
. So our plan to go along the switchback went on the backburner as we made our way over to the clearing.
The nearest insect to a Clouded Yellow we came across was a female Brimstone checking for somewhere to lay. However my first photo was this HUGE Horsefly which landed on Wurzel's leg . Wurzel kindly kept still while I got of my photos, With only a thin chino cloth seperating his leg from a dagger-like bite Wurzel showed nerves of steel. Had it been the other way around I would probably been a BGB and shooed it away (leapt 10 ft in the air more like it) 
.
In the end we gave up searching the Eastern Clearing. It seems there's been lots of scattered sightings this year but no Clouded Yellow for us. I'm still waiting for another one from 2009.
Leaving the clearing we made our way along the switchback. Lots of Speckled Wood Ringlet and Large Skipper
In addition there were a few 'imaginary sightings' with Wurzel thinking he caught the sight of a Silver-washed and me the same with Purple Hairstreak. What was definite was a White Admiral which fluttered into view, its wings beating ninety to the dozen yet combined with seemingly effortless gliding. The WA made it my third for the day new species sighting for the season.
After Bentley me and Wurzel parted company and I made my way to Stockbridge Down more or less on the way home to Woking. My aim was to see Dark Green Fritillary, one of my favourite butterflies, and I wasn't disappointed. However upon entering the down I was greeted with my 4th new species for the season, a Small Tortoiseshell would you believe
. ST's just don't turn up in Woking neither do they when I'm out and about on other forays . Today we'd had a glimpse of one at Bentley but this one was close by, unmistakable, and almost within reach of the camera .. but it eluded me.
Next came the fantastic orange Dark Green Fritillaries: fresh; fast flying but partial to frequent fuel stops on knapweed. The late afternoon sunshine enhanced the orange and the slightly cooler conditions took the edge off their flightiness. Best time to see them is late afternoon I find.
Lots of Meadow Browns; Marbled Whites and Small Heath at Stockbridge too. No blues seen however.
Finally I was rewarded with my first Small Skippers, taking my species count for the season to 35
Phil
. Then there was the sunshine building up for a hot day. I've found out from previous visits that the Large Blue are constantly on the move and difficult to approach under these conditions (the weather is never right ). Add to this that Collard Hill is also one of the toughest place for staying on your feet when chasing butterflies. With all these factors it was a foregone conclusion to think of an alternative venue . Wurzel had similar thoughts himself and had more or less made up his mind to go to Cosham for White Letter Hairstreak. I was pleased with this alternative as I had visited a site there last year and had been fortunate to have these little beauts in close proximity nectaring on thistle .With Wurzel's 'new fangled gizmo' (Sat Nav)
we soon got there without my needing to rely on Tuts' navigation assistance by telephone that he provided me with last year to get me over the last couple of miles .Almost immediately on arrival we were into the hairstreaks, flitting at some considerable speed when chasing each other around the tops of the 12ft elms. Activity would stop for a few minutes as the insects would land on a leaf and then go walkabout .. but always alert and ready to take off and intercept another passing insect. Although we could get pictures standing on a bank and craning our necks and arms, any good shots were tantalizingly out of reach and none of them were using the thistle heads for nectar.
- WLH typical shot
. Parking up in the Eastern clearing Wurzel checked the visitor sightings book and there under 6th of July was 1 Clouded Yellow; Eastern Clearing . So our plan to go along the switchback went on the backburner as we made our way over to the clearing.The nearest insect to a Clouded Yellow we came across was a female Brimstone checking for somewhere to lay. However my first photo was this HUGE Horsefly which landed on Wurzel's leg
. Wurzel kindly kept still while I got of my photos, With only a thin chino cloth seperating his leg from a dagger-like bite Wurzel showed nerves of steel. Had it been the other way around I would probably been a BGB and shooed it away (leapt 10 ft in the air more like it) .Leaving the clearing we made our way along the switchback. Lots of Speckled Wood Ringlet and Large Skipper
After Bentley me and Wurzel parted company and I made my way to Stockbridge Down more or less on the way home to Woking. My aim was to see Dark Green Fritillary, one of my favourite butterflies, and I wasn't disappointed. However upon entering the down I was greeted with my 4th new species for the season, a Small Tortoiseshell would you believe
. ST's just don't turn up in Woking neither do they when I'm out and about on other forays . Today we'd had a glimpse of one at Bentley but this one was close by, unmistakable, and almost within reach of the camera .. but it eluded me.Next came the fantastic orange Dark Green Fritillaries: fresh; fast flying but partial to frequent fuel stops on knapweed. The late afternoon sunshine enhanced the orange and the slightly cooler conditions took the edge off their flightiness. Best time to see them is late afternoon I find.
- Broomrape. Lots of this parasitic plant at Stockbridge