The Devenish 31-07-2021
I was eager to get back out there and once all the usual business that follows on from a holiday was attended too I headed out to The Devenish to see what was still flying and also to try and catch up with a species that I was still missing out on – Chalkhill Blues. It seemed odd to have caught up with pretty much everything else but still be waiting for this species? Once on site I set out immediately to the Orchid Meadow hoping to find an easy Chalkhill and also wondering if they’d actually started flying at this site? With limited time I started scanning across the grass tops before I was even fully though the gate and there was the ghostly blue I was hoping for. I watched intently while my hands secured the gate by themselves and with my eyes locked on it I strode along the path, swung my camera round and clicked away – my first Chalkhill of 2021 sorted.
Chuffed to have ticked off my target I then turned my attentions to the rest of the butterflies that were flying around all over the place but that I’d missedas I was so blinkered by my fixation on finding a Chalkhill. I soon racked up two a piece of Common Blue, Brown Argus, Hedgie, Small White as well as loads of Meadow Browns, 3 Large Whites and singletons of Marbled White and Smessex and all seen whilst wandering a short way across the Meadow to the gate of the steep trackway. I pressed on feeling the pull of gravity more strongly as I started up the steep and narrow trackway. The patch of Bramble held more than its fair share of Hedgies and Meadow Browns as well as couple of Peacocks and surprisingly a Brown Argus and then as I browk out from the confines of the hedges onto the foot of the Down a luscious Small Copper was there to greet me whilst a late Ringlet sat in the shade and a Holly Blue conversely played in the sunshine along the top of the hedge. A Brown Argus patrolled lower down occasionally pausing in the middle of its duty and enabling me to grab a few shots.
With the Down rising ahead of me I now had a choice; leg it up the near vertical Down and once at the summit work along the top or stick to the bottom of the Down, using the sides of my boots to grip onto the slope. I chose the latter as despite the risk to life and limb from slipping there were several ‘clumps’ of Hemp Agrimony that grew at the edge of the trees along the bottom of the Down. I managed to safely reach the first and stood slightly lopsidedly scanning across the first clump. My first glance revealed 3 Peacocks, 8 Hedgies and 3 Meadow Browns. As I continued scrutinising the clump working my way (with my eyes) from left to right I added another Peacock, Red Admiral and a Brown Argus. A Holly Blue and 2 Small Whites did a fly –by but I hadn’t quite finished checking the clump out as a large Briar intersected it about three quarters of the way along. When I rounded the spiky corner the final quarter of the clump added a few more species to the tally and nice bit of variety with singles of Large White, a Specklie and a Small Copper.
The second clump was smaller and ran further down the Down and into the shade of the Beech trees so had slightly fewer butterflies. However what it lacked in quantity it made up for in quality as there were two Chalkhills alternately feeding and flying around the flower tops. There was also another Red Admiral, a Brown Argus and a Smessex looking very dishevelled. The Chalkhills by contrast were in cracking nick and so I turned my attentions to them. I noticed that one was a distinctly lacking in the spot department on the underside of the forewing. I managed to get a record shot before it clocked that I was taking an interest in it, opened up and then took off. I didn’t mind too much because it was the second took off also but landed nicely in the grass for a cracking open wing shot. From here I moved onto the third and final discernible ‘clump’. This again held a Red Admiral and a Peacock but a passing Common Blue and a DGF added a little variety. I wasn’t certain that the DGF would hang around and so grabbed a record shot which also turned out to be a ‘threefer’ as it also included both a Meadow and a Hedge Brown. As it turned out the DGF did hang around, in fact it didn’t want to leave and after getting some really close shots I left it still feeding away merrily in the same place.
After this the distinct clumps peter out into a more general carpet of low laying flowers which covers most of the bottom of the Down. I stumbled and tripped my way across the uneven and diagonal ground towards the Gully. On the way there’s a 3rd nd then 4th DGF and I’m treated at the end to a pair of Large Whites in cop. The Gully itself is even more treacherous under foot than the overgrown Down and slipping and sliding I make slow progress up to the top jarring my knees and back more often than not. A Holly Blue evaded my lens and jeered at me as it stayed up high but the Meadow Browns and Hedgies are more accommodating. A couple of Green-veined Whites were fussing about low down in the vegetation at the top of the Gully but despite plenty of courting the female wasn’t interested.
I broke free of the confines of the Gully and sauntered around in the first of the two fields at the top of the Down but it was really quiet as the wind ripped through the gap in the trees and tore across the flat top of the field before jumping out horizontally and rustling the tops of the Beech trees from the foot of the Down. On the way to the second top meadow I spotted a Marbled White and a Brown Argus but the second clearing was as quiet (apart for the rushing of the wind) as the first so I set off down the Down. Two seemed to be the number of the day as when I descended I noted two each of DGF, Brown Argus and Common Blue but the trend petered out with only singletons of Brimstone and Smessex and the more singletons of Peacock and Small White on the Brambles bush at the side of the steep narrow bit of trackway. I tried to count the number of Meadow and Hedge Browns that were crawling all over this particular bush but it was exceedingly hard work as they were all so active due to a heady mixture of sun and glucose. At the bottom I made my way through the gate and once in the Orchid Meadow turned right and made for the far end. As I strolled along, the vegetation rubbed and clawed at my jeans but the scritching and swishing I found rather soothing, to me it’s one of the sounds of high summer and it lulled me into an almost meditative state. I counted and clicked at butterflies, noted numbers down and clicked in between letting my hands pass through the grass tops as I walked. It was all a bit blissful. Looking back now at the numbers it is a roll call of summer butterflies; Brown Argus, aged Smessex, female Brimstone, a second female Brimstone, 2 Marbled Whites, Large White, Common Blue, a stunningly fresh Small Copper, 2 Brown Argus, 2 DGFs, a Marbled White and finally when almost right up against the wire fence at the end of the Meadow a Ringlet. I’d bimbled along to the end of the Meadow without really being aware of anything but the butterflies and not looking up once.
I turned around, shook myself aware again and actually lifting my head set off back across the Meadow, my feet once again snaking their way along the narrowest of trackways. Ahead of me 9 Whites were all on the wing at once, fluttering this way and that like falling magnolia petals caught on the breeze. A Ringlet caught my eye but of course as it had a slight touch of ab.lancelotta it played hard to get and chose to perch in the tallest spot on the middle of the meadow. Luckily this was a smallish tree and by standing on tip-toes and holding my camera out in outstretched arms I was able to get a passable record shot. I carried on picking up a few more shots of many of the species that I’d previously seen – a Green-veined White, a Meadow Brown and a couple more DGFs and then I was diving down through the shade of the woodland path back to the car park.
The Chalkhills are out
Butterfly numbers building
A blissed out visit
Chuffed to have ticked off my target I then turned my attentions to the rest of the butterflies that were flying around all over the place but that I’d missedas I was so blinkered by my fixation on finding a Chalkhill. I soon racked up two a piece of Common Blue, Brown Argus, Hedgie, Small White as well as loads of Meadow Browns, 3 Large Whites and singletons of Marbled White and Smessex and all seen whilst wandering a short way across the Meadow to the gate of the steep trackway. I pressed on feeling the pull of gravity more strongly as I started up the steep and narrow trackway. The patch of Bramble held more than its fair share of Hedgies and Meadow Browns as well as couple of Peacocks and surprisingly a Brown Argus and then as I browk out from the confines of the hedges onto the foot of the Down a luscious Small Copper was there to greet me whilst a late Ringlet sat in the shade and a Holly Blue conversely played in the sunshine along the top of the hedge. A Brown Argus patrolled lower down occasionally pausing in the middle of its duty and enabling me to grab a few shots.
With the Down rising ahead of me I now had a choice; leg it up the near vertical Down and once at the summit work along the top or stick to the bottom of the Down, using the sides of my boots to grip onto the slope. I chose the latter as despite the risk to life and limb from slipping there were several ‘clumps’ of Hemp Agrimony that grew at the edge of the trees along the bottom of the Down. I managed to safely reach the first and stood slightly lopsidedly scanning across the first clump. My first glance revealed 3 Peacocks, 8 Hedgies and 3 Meadow Browns. As I continued scrutinising the clump working my way (with my eyes) from left to right I added another Peacock, Red Admiral and a Brown Argus. A Holly Blue and 2 Small Whites did a fly –by but I hadn’t quite finished checking the clump out as a large Briar intersected it about three quarters of the way along. When I rounded the spiky corner the final quarter of the clump added a few more species to the tally and nice bit of variety with singles of Large White, a Specklie and a Small Copper.
The second clump was smaller and ran further down the Down and into the shade of the Beech trees so had slightly fewer butterflies. However what it lacked in quantity it made up for in quality as there were two Chalkhills alternately feeding and flying around the flower tops. There was also another Red Admiral, a Brown Argus and a Smessex looking very dishevelled. The Chalkhills by contrast were in cracking nick and so I turned my attentions to them. I noticed that one was a distinctly lacking in the spot department on the underside of the forewing. I managed to get a record shot before it clocked that I was taking an interest in it, opened up and then took off. I didn’t mind too much because it was the second took off also but landed nicely in the grass for a cracking open wing shot. From here I moved onto the third and final discernible ‘clump’. This again held a Red Admiral and a Peacock but a passing Common Blue and a DGF added a little variety. I wasn’t certain that the DGF would hang around and so grabbed a record shot which also turned out to be a ‘threefer’ as it also included both a Meadow and a Hedge Brown. As it turned out the DGF did hang around, in fact it didn’t want to leave and after getting some really close shots I left it still feeding away merrily in the same place.
After this the distinct clumps peter out into a more general carpet of low laying flowers which covers most of the bottom of the Down. I stumbled and tripped my way across the uneven and diagonal ground towards the Gully. On the way there’s a 3rd nd then 4th DGF and I’m treated at the end to a pair of Large Whites in cop. The Gully itself is even more treacherous under foot than the overgrown Down and slipping and sliding I make slow progress up to the top jarring my knees and back more often than not. A Holly Blue evaded my lens and jeered at me as it stayed up high but the Meadow Browns and Hedgies are more accommodating. A couple of Green-veined Whites were fussing about low down in the vegetation at the top of the Gully but despite plenty of courting the female wasn’t interested.
I broke free of the confines of the Gully and sauntered around in the first of the two fields at the top of the Down but it was really quiet as the wind ripped through the gap in the trees and tore across the flat top of the field before jumping out horizontally and rustling the tops of the Beech trees from the foot of the Down. On the way to the second top meadow I spotted a Marbled White and a Brown Argus but the second clearing was as quiet (apart for the rushing of the wind) as the first so I set off down the Down. Two seemed to be the number of the day as when I descended I noted two each of DGF, Brown Argus and Common Blue but the trend petered out with only singletons of Brimstone and Smessex and the more singletons of Peacock and Small White on the Brambles bush at the side of the steep narrow bit of trackway. I tried to count the number of Meadow and Hedge Browns that were crawling all over this particular bush but it was exceedingly hard work as they were all so active due to a heady mixture of sun and glucose. At the bottom I made my way through the gate and once in the Orchid Meadow turned right and made for the far end. As I strolled along, the vegetation rubbed and clawed at my jeans but the scritching and swishing I found rather soothing, to me it’s one of the sounds of high summer and it lulled me into an almost meditative state. I counted and clicked at butterflies, noted numbers down and clicked in between letting my hands pass through the grass tops as I walked. It was all a bit blissful. Looking back now at the numbers it is a roll call of summer butterflies; Brown Argus, aged Smessex, female Brimstone, a second female Brimstone, 2 Marbled Whites, Large White, Common Blue, a stunningly fresh Small Copper, 2 Brown Argus, 2 DGFs, a Marbled White and finally when almost right up against the wire fence at the end of the Meadow a Ringlet. I’d bimbled along to the end of the Meadow without really being aware of anything but the butterflies and not looking up once.
I turned around, shook myself aware again and actually lifting my head set off back across the Meadow, my feet once again snaking their way along the narrowest of trackways. Ahead of me 9 Whites were all on the wing at once, fluttering this way and that like falling magnolia petals caught on the breeze. A Ringlet caught my eye but of course as it had a slight touch of ab.lancelotta it played hard to get and chose to perch in the tallest spot on the middle of the meadow. Luckily this was a smallish tree and by standing on tip-toes and holding my camera out in outstretched arms I was able to get a passable record shot. I carried on picking up a few more shots of many of the species that I’d previously seen – a Green-veined White, a Meadow Brown and a couple more DGFs and then I was diving down through the shade of the woodland path back to the car park.
The Chalkhills are out
Butterfly numbers building
A blissed out visit
Wales 2021
Aberystwyth Day 5 29-07-2021
As it was the ultimate day we took a trip to Aberystwyth. The weather was a cool with sunny intervals but there was a blustery breeze. After picking up the first of the shopping in Morrisons we wandered along the pathway into town. Along the hedges and the outgrowths from the riverside nature reserve all was quiet and the only butterfly that I saw was a distant Green-veined White. After visiting what felt like most of the shops that Aber has to offer we walked up Constitution Hill and had lunch at the top looking out over Cardigan Bay. We took the slightly more sheltered paths on the way down which zig and zag down the hill via a more inland route and so I saw a few butterflies – Hedgies, Meadow Browns, a fly-by Small Tort and a couple of Specklies which were holding territories wherever a slightly taller tree was present in the hedge.
I pressed on ahead on the route back and so had time to investigate the small field with the large Buddleia in the corner. A things are a littlelater this year and also as we visited earlier in the holiday it didn’t hold the usual plethora of species; in fact there were only two. The first was only on the Buddleia for a moment before flying off and it was a Meadow Brown that was possibly the most neurotic member of its species that I’ve ever encountered. I couldn’t get within 8ft of it before it took off and weakly flapped to a new resting spot. The second was a lone Red Admiral, probably and hopefully the vanguard of the Vanessids that will be taking advantage of this particular bush in the coming weeks.
So ended the trip to Wales – the next day was the big drive home and I didn’t have eyes for anything but the tarmac and the cars in front but I did muse about butterflies on the way – chiefly where are the Grayling as I was in what I think of a good habitat for them and it’s still in their flight time?
As it was the ultimate day we took a trip to Aberystwyth. The weather was a cool with sunny intervals but there was a blustery breeze. After picking up the first of the shopping in Morrisons we wandered along the pathway into town. Along the hedges and the outgrowths from the riverside nature reserve all was quiet and the only butterfly that I saw was a distant Green-veined White. After visiting what felt like most of the shops that Aber has to offer we walked up Constitution Hill and had lunch at the top looking out over Cardigan Bay. We took the slightly more sheltered paths on the way down which zig and zag down the hill via a more inland route and so I saw a few butterflies – Hedgies, Meadow Browns, a fly-by Small Tort and a couple of Specklies which were holding territories wherever a slightly taller tree was present in the hedge.
I pressed on ahead on the route back and so had time to investigate the small field with the large Buddleia in the corner. A things are a littlelater this year and also as we visited earlier in the holiday it didn’t hold the usual plethora of species; in fact there were only two. The first was only on the Buddleia for a moment before flying off and it was a Meadow Brown that was possibly the most neurotic member of its species that I’ve ever encountered. I couldn’t get within 8ft of it before it took off and weakly flapped to a new resting spot. The second was a lone Red Admiral, probably and hopefully the vanguard of the Vanessids that will be taking advantage of this particular bush in the coming weeks.
So ended the trip to Wales – the next day was the big drive home and I didn’t have eyes for anything but the tarmac and the cars in front but I did muse about butterflies on the way – chiefly where are the Grayling as I was in what I think of a good habitat for them and it’s still in their flight time?
Aberaeron Day 4 28-07-2021
The weather seriously bucked up its ideas through the course of the morning and so after lunch we decided to make take the Outlaws down to Aberaeron for a walk through the town and down to the seafront. Once I’d made the two trips and everyone was assembled along with the walkers we set off first along the river and then down through the back streets emerging onto the main street. There were a few Whites flying across the grass in the distance and also on the opposite bank when we followed the riverside path. A Red Admiral detached itself from one of the Oaks and also swiftly buggered off across the Aeron so I turned my attention to the birds. One bird in particular didn’t just catch my eye as much as grip me by the cranium and pull my head towards it whilst screaming “LOOK AT ME!”. I stared at it noting that the wing tips protruding from its back weren’t the usual black with little ‘mirrors’ but were pure white. At first I was hoping that it was an Iceland or Glaucous Gull but the back and feather were also white and not a light grey which meant that it was a leucistic Herring Gull. In the bright sun it was almost blinding to look at and getting anything decent photograph wise was tricky both because of this and also because of the distance but I tried for a few record shots anyway.
As we journeyed on there were the occasional Whites and on the return trip a Small Tort disappeared over a garden fence but all was quiet after that. As we walked back along the river the hush continued right up to the ramp down from the path. As I looked to my left there seated on the bramble was a gorgeous looking Red Admiral. Sometimes it only takes on butterfly to brighten the day and here she was.
The weather seriously bucked up its ideas through the course of the morning and so after lunch we decided to make take the Outlaws down to Aberaeron for a walk through the town and down to the seafront. Once I’d made the two trips and everyone was assembled along with the walkers we set off first along the river and then down through the back streets emerging onto the main street. There were a few Whites flying across the grass in the distance and also on the opposite bank when we followed the riverside path. A Red Admiral detached itself from one of the Oaks and also swiftly buggered off across the Aeron so I turned my attention to the birds. One bird in particular didn’t just catch my eye as much as grip me by the cranium and pull my head towards it whilst screaming “LOOK AT ME!”. I stared at it noting that the wing tips protruding from its back weren’t the usual black with little ‘mirrors’ but were pure white. At first I was hoping that it was an Iceland or Glaucous Gull but the back and feather were also white and not a light grey which meant that it was a leucistic Herring Gull. In the bright sun it was almost blinding to look at and getting anything decent photograph wise was tricky both because of this and also because of the distance but I tried for a few record shots anyway.
As we journeyed on there were the occasional Whites and on the return trip a Small Tort disappeared over a garden fence but all was quiet after that. As we walked back along the river the hush continued right up to the ramp down from the path. As I looked to my left there seated on the bramble was a gorgeous looking Red Admiral. Sometimes it only takes on butterfly to brighten the day and here she was.
The Lane (Again) 27-07-2021
What with the weather coming in fits and starts the morning was spent in the house doing jobs and getting the evening meal ready. After lunch we all needed some fresh air and luckily the clouds had moved on inland so we were bathed in sunlight for a short time. That’s the beauty of the Lane – you can look back over your shoulder and see the weather that you’ll be getting in about half an hour. We all set off but I lagged behind slightly. As the rest of the family progressed they’d put up some of the butterflies and by the time they’d settled back down again I was there ready with my camera. Once again most of the butterflies were Hedgies so I started counting spots and looking for unusual ones rather than counting individuals. The first section where there were many squabbles they all looked ‘typical’, almost identification guide perfect in terms of livery, if not in wear so after a few shots were in the bag and I had a grab shot of a Ringlet I didn’t bother filling the memory card.
We’d reached the usual half way point past the corner cottages and that’s when things started to pick up a Red Admiral did a flash past and then a female Hedgie with very prominent ‘eyes’ on her hind wings. Next came a male that had a few very faint extra spots on the hind wings – nothing special really but it whetted my appetite for the gorgeous female that fell under my lens next. A definite ab.excessa with two large brown blobs on each fore wing. She was a bit shy at first, hiding away under a leaf but then out she popped and sat beautifully for me.
I had a far bit of ground to cover to catch the others up after the excessa but luckily my wife and mother in-law took the opportunity to turn round and head back so I managed to catch up with the others as they made for the brow of the hill. Once I reached them again I got left behind. A Red Admiral sat still long enough for a single shot and as I turned to go a Hedgie flew up from my right. I don’t know why but something made me watch it intently, hoping that it would go down and when it did I was there ready. It was a male Hedgie with extra spots on the fore wings and some on the hind wings too – an ab.excessa-postexcessa. Chuffed I again had a fair bit of ground to make up so I ran up the last bit of the hill and caught up with the others near the ‘Dog Cottage’. As I was catching my breath and catching up with the conversation I spotted a large moth at the edge of the verge. Getting closer I could see that it was a pair of Oak Eggers in cop. Thankfully everyone stopped to admire this very attractive pairing so I could click away almost at my leisure.
After this we wandered on to the end of the road and then turned round and started back. As we’d walked the cloud had thickened and so the butterflies were much quieter on the return leg. A double pupiled Meadow Brown must have been caught out by the onset of the grey as it sat out on the edge of the hedge and I was only on the final straight run of hedge when the sun started to peek momentarily through the cloud that the Hedgies reappeared.
What with the weather coming in fits and starts the morning was spent in the house doing jobs and getting the evening meal ready. After lunch we all needed some fresh air and luckily the clouds had moved on inland so we were bathed in sunlight for a short time. That’s the beauty of the Lane – you can look back over your shoulder and see the weather that you’ll be getting in about half an hour. We all set off but I lagged behind slightly. As the rest of the family progressed they’d put up some of the butterflies and by the time they’d settled back down again I was there ready with my camera. Once again most of the butterflies were Hedgies so I started counting spots and looking for unusual ones rather than counting individuals. The first section where there were many squabbles they all looked ‘typical’, almost identification guide perfect in terms of livery, if not in wear so after a few shots were in the bag and I had a grab shot of a Ringlet I didn’t bother filling the memory card.
We’d reached the usual half way point past the corner cottages and that’s when things started to pick up a Red Admiral did a flash past and then a female Hedgie with very prominent ‘eyes’ on her hind wings. Next came a male that had a few very faint extra spots on the hind wings – nothing special really but it whetted my appetite for the gorgeous female that fell under my lens next. A definite ab.excessa with two large brown blobs on each fore wing. She was a bit shy at first, hiding away under a leaf but then out she popped and sat beautifully for me.
I had a far bit of ground to cover to catch the others up after the excessa but luckily my wife and mother in-law took the opportunity to turn round and head back so I managed to catch up with the others as they made for the brow of the hill. Once I reached them again I got left behind. A Red Admiral sat still long enough for a single shot and as I turned to go a Hedgie flew up from my right. I don’t know why but something made me watch it intently, hoping that it would go down and when it did I was there ready. It was a male Hedgie with extra spots on the fore wings and some on the hind wings too – an ab.excessa-postexcessa. Chuffed I again had a fair bit of ground to make up so I ran up the last bit of the hill and caught up with the others near the ‘Dog Cottage’. As I was catching my breath and catching up with the conversation I spotted a large moth at the edge of the verge. Getting closer I could see that it was a pair of Oak Eggers in cop. Thankfully everyone stopped to admire this very attractive pairing so I could click away almost at my leisure.
After this we wandered on to the end of the road and then turned round and started back. As we’d walked the cloud had thickened and so the butterflies were much quieter on the return leg. A double pupiled Meadow Brown must have been caught out by the onset of the grey as it sat out on the edge of the hedge and I was only on the final straight run of hedge when the sun started to peek momentarily through the cloud that the Hedgies reappeared.
Day 2 The Cove 26-07-2021
After watching a few whites from afar, a Mandarin Duck hybrid and a Red Admiral passing down the Aeron whilst taking everyone down to town and to the seafront I was anxious to get out for some butterflies. This was made all the more pressing when I checked the weather forecast and instead of the sunny weather and balmy temperatures I’d gotten used to seeing the little icons had instead been replaced by black clouds with rain drops.
Hence after lunch K and I set out for the Cove. On the way we stopped momentarily to watch a Red Admiral as she weakly fluttered around the nettles at the side of the road. There was something familiar about the manner of her flight and then she stopped, curved her abdomen around and when she’d fluttered off to the next stand of nettle there was a tiny egg left behind. I would have gotten a photo of it but a car was coming up The Lane and so I settled for a few shots of her once she’d settled back down post the car passing.
Onwards we went, across the road and down the tiny track with Meadow Browns and Hedgies flitting about in great numbers and joined momentarily by a second Red Admiral. The track dove down through a ribbon of woodland and we crossed the little wooden bridge to be greeted by a Comma as we broke from the shade once more into the sun. It made several passes of us, swooping low over our heads and then sweeping up and over the wall of trees and at one point it landed on Ks hat. It eventually settled down on a leaf near to the ground and so I was able to sneak around it to get a few shots.
We were joined briefly by third Red Admiral as the track skirted the wall of a local farm and then we ran into a bit of a problem…cows…thousands of ‘em. Now I don’t normally mind cows but when there are a large number of them it does pay to be a bit wary as they’re quite inquisitive and they’ve quite a bit of mass. So we tried to find a way round that didn’t involve crossing the cows. This was quite fortuitous as on the way we found a large Bramble bush which as well as the expected Meadow and Hedge Browns also threw up a mighty fine looking Painted Lady. But alas it hung around at the back of the hedge so we cut across a field and managed to locate the Coast Path. Along it we found the first Specklie of the trip as well as an interesting looking Hedgie. It had an extra spot on the fore wing and the patches on the hind wings were almost non-existent.
On along the Coast Path we trod with steep grazing land to out right, a wall of Bracken and Bramble to our left and the sea and the sky blending into one. At one point the path headed down and the vegetation grew over us like a tunnel which we broke through and then we were at the Cove. The small stream had carved its way down to the sea and then dropped off the top of the cliff in a small shower. The turf and flowers were stunning to behold and the butterflies flew all around. Most were Meadow Browns and Hedgies but there was also the occasional white or Skipper and I saw at least three Common Blues. However the main targets didn’t show themselves, perhaps it was too early for the latest brood of Wall and maybe Grayling aren’t to be found here. By way of consolation a DGF appeared out of the woodwork and after much too-ing and fro-ing it plonked itself down on a plant just close enough to get a few record shots.
The return leg was slightly rougher on us as not only was I uphill all the way but also the humidity had risen along with the temperature. However a Small Tort plopping itself down on the track lifted our spirits just enough to lift ourselves a few more hundred steps up the hill and towards home. Just as we were flagging again a Fox nonchalantly wandered across the field and once more we picked up our feet and put some work in against gravity. So it was again but this time it was the gloriously fresh Painted Lady that leant wings to our feet. I would have taken a few more shots of it but K was eager to press on and take advantage of the fleetness of foot. On the final stretch we didn’t stop, not for the 2 Commas, nor for the Red Admirals or Hedgies and neither for the first Peacock of the trip. To be fair they didn’t stop either so it wasn’t just us being rude. Eventually we arrived back at Ffyrllingau sweaty and footsore but happy only to find that as we’d been gone so long K and I were now ‘banned’ from taking anymore adventures…
After watching a few whites from afar, a Mandarin Duck hybrid and a Red Admiral passing down the Aeron whilst taking everyone down to town and to the seafront I was anxious to get out for some butterflies. This was made all the more pressing when I checked the weather forecast and instead of the sunny weather and balmy temperatures I’d gotten used to seeing the little icons had instead been replaced by black clouds with rain drops.
Hence after lunch K and I set out for the Cove. On the way we stopped momentarily to watch a Red Admiral as she weakly fluttered around the nettles at the side of the road. There was something familiar about the manner of her flight and then she stopped, curved her abdomen around and when she’d fluttered off to the next stand of nettle there was a tiny egg left behind. I would have gotten a photo of it but a car was coming up The Lane and so I settled for a few shots of her once she’d settled back down post the car passing.
Onwards we went, across the road and down the tiny track with Meadow Browns and Hedgies flitting about in great numbers and joined momentarily by a second Red Admiral. The track dove down through a ribbon of woodland and we crossed the little wooden bridge to be greeted by a Comma as we broke from the shade once more into the sun. It made several passes of us, swooping low over our heads and then sweeping up and over the wall of trees and at one point it landed on Ks hat. It eventually settled down on a leaf near to the ground and so I was able to sneak around it to get a few shots.
We were joined briefly by third Red Admiral as the track skirted the wall of a local farm and then we ran into a bit of a problem…cows…thousands of ‘em. Now I don’t normally mind cows but when there are a large number of them it does pay to be a bit wary as they’re quite inquisitive and they’ve quite a bit of mass. So we tried to find a way round that didn’t involve crossing the cows. This was quite fortuitous as on the way we found a large Bramble bush which as well as the expected Meadow and Hedge Browns also threw up a mighty fine looking Painted Lady. But alas it hung around at the back of the hedge so we cut across a field and managed to locate the Coast Path. Along it we found the first Specklie of the trip as well as an interesting looking Hedgie. It had an extra spot on the fore wing and the patches on the hind wings were almost non-existent.
On along the Coast Path we trod with steep grazing land to out right, a wall of Bracken and Bramble to our left and the sea and the sky blending into one. At one point the path headed down and the vegetation grew over us like a tunnel which we broke through and then we were at the Cove. The small stream had carved its way down to the sea and then dropped off the top of the cliff in a small shower. The turf and flowers were stunning to behold and the butterflies flew all around. Most were Meadow Browns and Hedgies but there was also the occasional white or Skipper and I saw at least three Common Blues. However the main targets didn’t show themselves, perhaps it was too early for the latest brood of Wall and maybe Grayling aren’t to be found here. By way of consolation a DGF appeared out of the woodwork and after much too-ing and fro-ing it plonked itself down on a plant just close enough to get a few record shots.
The return leg was slightly rougher on us as not only was I uphill all the way but also the humidity had risen along with the temperature. However a Small Tort plopping itself down on the track lifted our spirits just enough to lift ourselves a few more hundred steps up the hill and towards home. Just as we were flagging again a Fox nonchalantly wandered across the field and once more we picked up our feet and put some work in against gravity. So it was again but this time it was the gloriously fresh Painted Lady that leant wings to our feet. I would have taken a few more shots of it but K was eager to press on and take advantage of the fleetness of foot. On the final stretch we didn’t stop, not for the 2 Commas, nor for the Red Admirals or Hedgies and neither for the first Peacock of the trip. To be fair they didn’t stop either so it wasn’t just us being rude. Eventually we arrived back at Ffyrllingau sweaty and footsore but happy only to find that as we’d been gone so long K and I were now ‘banned’ from taking anymore adventures…
Day 1 25-07-2021
The plan of setting off early on a Sunday worked a treat as, barring a brief diversion near Warminster, it was the easiest time that I’ve made this journey. Unusually the weather actually improved once we entered Wales and the further into the country that we drove the longer the sunny spells became until we reached the Ffos-y-ffin in glorious wall to wall sunshine. After unpacking and a quick cuppa we went for a walk up the Lane so I started making a mental note of what was about. A few Whites flew by in Pen-y-Bryn while we waited for the Outlaws to get their walkers sorted and oddly the large Buddleia on the corner was bereft of butterflies? Also the small field which in the past has held Small Coppers, Common Blue, Green-veined Whites and Smessex Skippers is gone, in its place is a sea of concrete, hard core and footings. The hedges though remain and look to have escaped the flaying and butchering of other less fortunate verges. As we carried on up the gentle slope I started counting Hedgies. In the strong sun they were playing quite hard to get as they would flutter along always looking like they were about to but never actually landing. On the rare occasions that they did land they mostly kept their wings closed but on the even rarer occasions when they landed and did open up I looked for anything unusual. The best I could come up with was a male that had the smallest extra spot on the forewings and three ‘eyes’ along the hind wing.
We reached the farm track and the party split; whilst the others headed back K, my father in-law and myself carried on to the hilltop and to the telecom tower. My tally had now reached 29 Hedgies, 3 Green-veined Whites, 5 Meadow Browns, 3 Ringlets, a glorious fresh ginger H.Comma and at the top what I’m convinced was a fast flying Painted Lady.
On the return leg I stopped counting the Hedgies and alternately kept an eye out for cars bombing towards us and anything that I hadn’t seen before. I saw a few more Meadow Browns and Ringlets on the way back and one Ringlet stood out as it had the Mickey Mouse look with an extra spot on the hind wing. There was also a Holly Blue which bimbled around at the top of the hedge and a Red Admiral which sat aloof with its bum facing in general direction. At the end of the walk the Buddleia was still devoid of butterflies but I couldn’t figure out why – too early possibly?
After dinner I took another stroll up the Lane to call my folks and with that done I strolled slowly back with my camera. The Meadow Browns were already tucked up in bed and I saw only a couple nestled deep in the hedge sitting on leaves shut up for the night. The Hedgies however were still out and about but now their behaviour had changed. The fluttering about, zig-zagging up and down the hedge still continued but now is culminated in them seeking out a nice flat leaf to land on and then from which to bask in the fading sun. This meant that I was able to check out many more individuals. There wasn’t an awful lot of variation in the fore wing markings so I looked more closely at the hind wings. A couple stood out with large eyes peering out from the edge of the hind wing margins and another had four ‘eyes’ on each hind wing. However I’ll need to check again and hopefully I’ll be able to find some examples of ab.excessa next time.
The plan of setting off early on a Sunday worked a treat as, barring a brief diversion near Warminster, it was the easiest time that I’ve made this journey. Unusually the weather actually improved once we entered Wales and the further into the country that we drove the longer the sunny spells became until we reached the Ffos-y-ffin in glorious wall to wall sunshine. After unpacking and a quick cuppa we went for a walk up the Lane so I started making a mental note of what was about. A few Whites flew by in Pen-y-Bryn while we waited for the Outlaws to get their walkers sorted and oddly the large Buddleia on the corner was bereft of butterflies? Also the small field which in the past has held Small Coppers, Common Blue, Green-veined Whites and Smessex Skippers is gone, in its place is a sea of concrete, hard core and footings. The hedges though remain and look to have escaped the flaying and butchering of other less fortunate verges. As we carried on up the gentle slope I started counting Hedgies. In the strong sun they were playing quite hard to get as they would flutter along always looking like they were about to but never actually landing. On the rare occasions that they did land they mostly kept their wings closed but on the even rarer occasions when they landed and did open up I looked for anything unusual. The best I could come up with was a male that had the smallest extra spot on the forewings and three ‘eyes’ along the hind wing.
We reached the farm track and the party split; whilst the others headed back K, my father in-law and myself carried on to the hilltop and to the telecom tower. My tally had now reached 29 Hedgies, 3 Green-veined Whites, 5 Meadow Browns, 3 Ringlets, a glorious fresh ginger H.Comma and at the top what I’m convinced was a fast flying Painted Lady.
On the return leg I stopped counting the Hedgies and alternately kept an eye out for cars bombing towards us and anything that I hadn’t seen before. I saw a few more Meadow Browns and Ringlets on the way back and one Ringlet stood out as it had the Mickey Mouse look with an extra spot on the hind wing. There was also a Holly Blue which bimbled around at the top of the hedge and a Red Admiral which sat aloof with its bum facing in general direction. At the end of the walk the Buddleia was still devoid of butterflies but I couldn’t figure out why – too early possibly?
After dinner I took another stroll up the Lane to call my folks and with that done I strolled slowly back with my camera. The Meadow Browns were already tucked up in bed and I saw only a couple nestled deep in the hedge sitting on leaves shut up for the night. The Hedgies however were still out and about but now their behaviour had changed. The fluttering about, zig-zagging up and down the hedge still continued but now is culminated in them seeking out a nice flat leaf to land on and then from which to bask in the fading sun. This meant that I was able to check out many more individuals. There wasn’t an awful lot of variation in the fore wing markings so I looked more closely at the hind wings. A couple stood out with large eyes peering out from the edge of the hind wing margins and another had four ‘eyes’ on each hind wing. However I’ll need to check again and hopefully I’ll be able to find some examples of ab.excessa next time.
The Devenish 24-07-2021
I had been on a bit of a ‘streak’ recently with visits to Perham, Alners and Godshill in succession and to maintain the great run of from and to try to cram in as much as possible prior to the first visit to the Outlaws in 18 months I hoped to make it out again. Due to aforesaid visit on this particular morning I was in the Winterbournes having dropped Teddy off at his Cat Hotel and so on the way home I stopped in at The Devenish. I almost wished that I hadn’t at the weather was pretty miserable but as I gunned the engine around the tight turns and narrow lanes the rain ceased and the sky whilst not blue was at least not leaden. As I strode through the Orchid Meadow huge drops of rain clung to the grass heads and then soaked into my cords as I passed. By the time I’d reached the top of the Down my cords were sodden and stuck to my legs and I’d not had even a sniff of a butterfly. That soon changed as I scanned across the grass tops and spotted a Marbled White grimly adhering to it roosting perch almost as closely as the drops of left over rain cohered to its wings. Relieved that I’d not had a wasted trip and realising that my trousers couldn’t possibly get any wetter I knelt down and set about racking up some shots.
As I’d done the hard work and climbed to the top of the Down, defying gravity and safely negotiating steps cut into the chalk and slick with a lubricating layer of wet silt I pressed on and searched the top of the Down for more roosters. As I did so the sky continued to lighten and a slight haze of evaporation could just be made out hanging over the tops of the grasses. I scanned left and right as I walked looking for little and medium sized flags flying from the grass stems that could be a Marbled White or a Blue of some description. Unfortunately I drew a blank in the first scallop but the second was much more productive. Here I stumbled onto several Marbled Whites drowned to varying degrees and as the sky continued to brighten the butterflies became easier to spot as they climbed upwards from the relative shelter nearer to the ground. Over the next 10minutes or so I managed to find around 5 Marbled Whites, a Hedgie and a tiny Brown Argus.
I thought about calling it a day there and then and quitting whilst I was ahead but as I wouldn’t be here for a week or so I wanted to make the most of it and so set off diagonally across the Down back towards the tunnel track. As I reached there without any more butterflies to show for my drenched apparel I climbed over the stile and hoped that the Middle Down might have something. There was a Burnet Moth but the turf was a fair bit lower here and so wouldn’t offer much protection when it came to roosting time so I retraced my steps, climbed back over the stile and completed the descent to Orchid Meadow. Just in time as it happened as the sky went from bright and hazy to almost black as night as if someone had used a dimmer switch and with the darkness came some heavy rain. I too shelter under the large Beech tree and standing close up against the trunk managed to avoid all but the most determined raindrops.
Eventually after about 20 minutes the rain patter started to quiet down and grass was visible from under the canopy rather than just a blurry wall of water and so I pulled my camera from our of my jacket and ducked back under the branches and out into the Orchid Meadow. The sky started to brighten again and there was even the threat of some sun so I made my way to the far end with the plan of getting there and walking back stopping for the butterflies on the way. However the butterflies had other ideas and almost as soon as the final drops passed and their evaporation had begun the butterflies were out, climbing back to the tops of the grass they’d been sitting under or emerging from under the leaf where they’d been sitting out the fleeting but strong shower. The Marbled Whites were again the first ones out and about but there were swiftly joined by the Ringlets and then the Meadow Browns. Whites were the first onto the wing and I followed a lovely looking Green-veined White until it came down and sat for me. With this species I love the way that from a distance the veins look reasonably dark yet when you get in close they disperse into a much more ethereal dusting of scales.
Once I’d reached the end I started back and my journey was slowed slightly by a Brown Argus. It had chosen a bit of an exposed spot and underneath its feet was a huge droplet of water. I chuckled as it had the look of a bather at the beach not daring to dip their toe into the water for fear of the bracing coldness. As the sun did its best to come out the butterfly opened up basking for all it was worth.
As I continued on my route I found more and more to direct my lens towards and instead of the expected quick march back to the car my progress became a soggy dawdle. There were all the usual species to see including some nice Marbled Whites that were trying to warm up in the weak sun, there was a lovely fresh Brown Argus, plenty of Meadow Browns and Ringlets and the odd White out in an appearance including another gorgeous Green-veined White which had kicked things off when I started the soggy dawdle. As I was nearing the gate I happened to glance down at a spiky seed head one of the spikes seemed overly large compared to the others so I looked a little closer – it was an Essex Skipper. I thought that I’d be able to get plenty of shots as the cool weather would render it torpid. It however seemed not to notice the chill (I suppose they’re that hairy for a reason) and it set off in a golden blur. I managed to follow it somehow, still not sure how, and when it landed I nipped in for a few shots before it was off again. Following one once was hard but then I managed the almost impossible and managed to follow it again. After a few shots I left it in peace and pausing for a final Marbled White I felt a nice sense of completion, finishing with what I’d started with. I then headed home to change into some warm dry duds and see if I could unpruned my toes!
Very drear morning
Find some sodden butterfies
Home to de-prune toes
As I’d done the hard work and climbed to the top of the Down, defying gravity and safely negotiating steps cut into the chalk and slick with a lubricating layer of wet silt I pressed on and searched the top of the Down for more roosters. As I did so the sky continued to lighten and a slight haze of evaporation could just be made out hanging over the tops of the grasses. I scanned left and right as I walked looking for little and medium sized flags flying from the grass stems that could be a Marbled White or a Blue of some description. Unfortunately I drew a blank in the first scallop but the second was much more productive. Here I stumbled onto several Marbled Whites drowned to varying degrees and as the sky continued to brighten the butterflies became easier to spot as they climbed upwards from the relative shelter nearer to the ground. Over the next 10minutes or so I managed to find around 5 Marbled Whites, a Hedgie and a tiny Brown Argus.
I thought about calling it a day there and then and quitting whilst I was ahead but as I wouldn’t be here for a week or so I wanted to make the most of it and so set off diagonally across the Down back towards the tunnel track. As I reached there without any more butterflies to show for my drenched apparel I climbed over the stile and hoped that the Middle Down might have something. There was a Burnet Moth but the turf was a fair bit lower here and so wouldn’t offer much protection when it came to roosting time so I retraced my steps, climbed back over the stile and completed the descent to Orchid Meadow. Just in time as it happened as the sky went from bright and hazy to almost black as night as if someone had used a dimmer switch and with the darkness came some heavy rain. I too shelter under the large Beech tree and standing close up against the trunk managed to avoid all but the most determined raindrops.
Eventually after about 20 minutes the rain patter started to quiet down and grass was visible from under the canopy rather than just a blurry wall of water and so I pulled my camera from our of my jacket and ducked back under the branches and out into the Orchid Meadow. The sky started to brighten again and there was even the threat of some sun so I made my way to the far end with the plan of getting there and walking back stopping for the butterflies on the way. However the butterflies had other ideas and almost as soon as the final drops passed and their evaporation had begun the butterflies were out, climbing back to the tops of the grass they’d been sitting under or emerging from under the leaf where they’d been sitting out the fleeting but strong shower. The Marbled Whites were again the first ones out and about but there were swiftly joined by the Ringlets and then the Meadow Browns. Whites were the first onto the wing and I followed a lovely looking Green-veined White until it came down and sat for me. With this species I love the way that from a distance the veins look reasonably dark yet when you get in close they disperse into a much more ethereal dusting of scales.
Once I’d reached the end I started back and my journey was slowed slightly by a Brown Argus. It had chosen a bit of an exposed spot and underneath its feet was a huge droplet of water. I chuckled as it had the look of a bather at the beach not daring to dip their toe into the water for fear of the bracing coldness. As the sun did its best to come out the butterfly opened up basking for all it was worth.
As I continued on my route I found more and more to direct my lens towards and instead of the expected quick march back to the car my progress became a soggy dawdle. There were all the usual species to see including some nice Marbled Whites that were trying to warm up in the weak sun, there was a lovely fresh Brown Argus, plenty of Meadow Browns and Ringlets and the odd White out in an appearance including another gorgeous Green-veined White which had kicked things off when I started the soggy dawdle. As I was nearing the gate I happened to glance down at a spiky seed head one of the spikes seemed overly large compared to the others so I looked a little closer – it was an Essex Skipper. I thought that I’d be able to get plenty of shots as the cool weather would render it torpid. It however seemed not to notice the chill (I suppose they’re that hairy for a reason) and it set off in a golden blur. I managed to follow it somehow, still not sure how, and when it landed I nipped in for a few shots before it was off again. Following one once was hard but then I managed the almost impossible and managed to follow it again. After a few shots I left it in peace and pausing for a final Marbled White I felt a nice sense of completion, finishing with what I’d started with. I then headed home to change into some warm dry duds and see if I could unpruned my toes!
Very drear morning
Find some sodden butterfies
Home to de-prune toes
Godshill 23-07-2021
As the holiday had started so well I was loathe to sit on my laurels and so after successful trips for Silver-spots and landing my first Brostreak of the year I scanned through my list to work out what to go for next. I was surprised to see a glaring gap in the Browns – I hadn’t seen a Grayling in 2021. So that was that decided then my next outing would have to be to Godshill…When the morning came the weather report indicated that if I wanted to see anything I’d better get a wriggle on as a cloud covering was forecast for the afternoon. Having previously given up listening to the utter codswollop that had recently passed for forecasting I took this with a barrel of salt but decided to head off first thing anyway as normally I arrive just before lunch and the Grayling are quite frantic by then. Over the past few years I’ve coveted others open wing shots so I was hoping that perhaps there might be some love in air by mid-morning?
With the final chords of Purgatory ringing out through my open windows I drew to a halt with a crunch and as the dust settled I geared up, hat on, sunnies in my pocket, trousers tucked into socks and then looking a little like a heavy metal Tin-Tin I set off across the cricket pitch and then down the hill. I’d only gone a few step on the dusty descending track when I spotted something that wasn’t a Meadow or Hedge Brown but it was also too small to be Grayling. I scanned around more and waited for it to make another move and when it did I could see that it was a Small Copper. As it fed the vivid orange on the fore wings contrasted nicely with the violet bells of the heather. After this little interlude I carried on my quest revelling in how widespread the Small Copper is and how catholic it is in its choice of habitats. Further along the track it became less stony and dusty and more consistent in texture and I started seeing miniature piles of sand and neighbouring holes. One of bees that were buzzing around stopped and I was able to get a few shots of it, a Bee-Wolf I think?
All very nice but not the target species so I carried on down the hill feeling the temperature rising as I descended. As I crossed the stream which this season is barely a trickle I surveyed the heath ahead of me. Over the last couple of seasons the Grayling have been migrating away from the old Hotspot track which was at the point of the triangle and towards the sloping heather just on the other side of the stream so that’s where I headed first. I reckon that this is because of the life cycle of the heather as it seems to be coming towards the end of the ‘building’ phase and there aren’t any gaps or sun bathing spots in the heather yet. I’ll have to remember to see if this is over the next couple of seasons. I’d only taken a few scrunchy, scratchy steps through the heather before a butterfly took to the wing. I watched it as it flew, not all flappy like a Meadow Brown but with powerful wing beats interspersed by periods of gliding – my first Grayling of 2021. I managed to follow it for a bit and then they do what they always do; plonk down in a spot which seems obvious but which when you look you can’t see the butterfly and it’s actually in a different spot entirely. This initial one took on an almost two-tone set of hues and had a dodgy proboscis so I’d easily be able to identify it. After the initial shots I spent a bit of time criss-crossing the heather here enjoying the crunch and scratch of the heather and the surprise as a Grayling that wasn’t there suddenly appears in a flurry of browns and oranges before gliding away enraptured in a game of hide-and-seek. All told I managed to find and photograph another 4 Grayling in this little patch but there were plenty of others I’m sure, they just had better evasive manoeuvres.
Sadly there was then an enforced intermission in my Grayling Fest as a totally un-forecast block of cloud covered the valley. With its coming the temperature dropped, the breeze stiffened and the butterflies hid away. While I waited for it to pass over I took to wandering the heather clad slopes and rises and ended up at the old Hotspot track. All the little scallops and bare patches on the side of the track were gone replaced either with shin high heather or a waist height wall of bracken. I carried on round completing the full triangle of tracks and then looking up I saw that there was a slither of bright light at the edge of the cloud on the other side of the valley. As I watched it grew and then became blue sky, the shadow slid down the hill and across the floor of the valley as the cloud, stubborn until now, yielded and retreated chased by the sun. Serendipitously I’d just reached the area that the Grayling had frequented earlier and so I left the path and strode into the middle of heath in readiness for the sun to strike, found a likely looking clump of Heather and stood and waited. Almost immediately that the sun struck the butterflies appeared. First there were the flappy Meadow Browns, a Small Heath put in an appearance possibly just to get its name on the tally for the day and a few aged Silver-studs, well past their best fluttered weakly around the heather tops. The best thing about all of this was that I hadn’t moved from the spot but standing and watching doesn’t get images on the memory card. The easiest to go for were the Silver-studs as they were nicely placed on the very clump that had seemed a likely spot. The males had lost all of their fringes and it was left to the females to put on a bit of a show – moving their wings to catch the sun and glisten with that glorious oily sheen that they have.
As the sun strengthened again the Grayling started to appear from wherever it is they go and I settled into a routine. Spot a Grayling, start stalking it, put up a different Grayling so try and stalk that one, put up a different Grayling…After walking round in circles across the whole ‘field’ I stopped playing their game and when the next Grayling took off I followed it unerringly until it finally gave up landed and gave me a look of “well if you want to take my photo get on with it then”. This new habit proved much more successful and I was soon enjoying the Grayling accompanied to the clicks of shots stacking up on my memory card. As I shot away I noticed that the butterflies seemed to favour the same spots but I couldn’t tell if it was the same butterfly holding a territory or whether certain spots just had the equivalent of the Grayling X factor? One particular favoured spot was some dead twigs one of which looked like the head of a serpent and another still the dead heather looked like some pieces of discarded Leylandi. I don’t know how many different individuals I saw and the only one I could really be sure of not double counting was ole ‘Slackjaw’, the first one I’d encountered but to be honest I was having too much fun to worry about the numbers. This species has to be one of, if not, my favourite speices – it has the entire package; gorgeous and different habitat, a brilliant flight period through the warmest part of the year, cryptic colouration, great range of variation (black and white through to golden browns) a great way of flying and plenty of character to boot – what’s not to love?
The sun beat down, the clock ticked by almost as quickly as my camera clicked and I started to feel the little prickle of a thirst headache forming and so reluctantly I shuffled back along the dusty track homewards. However as it oft the way the wildlife had other ideas. As I was climbing back up the now sun drenched and desiccated track I stopped momentarily to have a look back at where I’d come, pleased with the view and the amount of progress I’d made I turned to carry on and then a tiny jewel caught my eye. It was the stunning little Jewel wasp that I’d encountered on the same stretch of path last year but unlike last year it was much more amenable to my advances. A fittingly brillian end to a brilliant trip out.
I never did get back to Godshill during the rest of the season despite wanting to revisit so next year helpfully I’ll be able to make a couple of trips to make up for it…
A glorious day
Coconut scent and heather
Graylings at Godshill
With the final chords of Purgatory ringing out through my open windows I drew to a halt with a crunch and as the dust settled I geared up, hat on, sunnies in my pocket, trousers tucked into socks and then looking a little like a heavy metal Tin-Tin I set off across the cricket pitch and then down the hill. I’d only gone a few step on the dusty descending track when I spotted something that wasn’t a Meadow or Hedge Brown but it was also too small to be Grayling. I scanned around more and waited for it to make another move and when it did I could see that it was a Small Copper. As it fed the vivid orange on the fore wings contrasted nicely with the violet bells of the heather. After this little interlude I carried on my quest revelling in how widespread the Small Copper is and how catholic it is in its choice of habitats. Further along the track it became less stony and dusty and more consistent in texture and I started seeing miniature piles of sand and neighbouring holes. One of bees that were buzzing around stopped and I was able to get a few shots of it, a Bee-Wolf I think?
All very nice but not the target species so I carried on down the hill feeling the temperature rising as I descended. As I crossed the stream which this season is barely a trickle I surveyed the heath ahead of me. Over the last couple of seasons the Grayling have been migrating away from the old Hotspot track which was at the point of the triangle and towards the sloping heather just on the other side of the stream so that’s where I headed first. I reckon that this is because of the life cycle of the heather as it seems to be coming towards the end of the ‘building’ phase and there aren’t any gaps or sun bathing spots in the heather yet. I’ll have to remember to see if this is over the next couple of seasons. I’d only taken a few scrunchy, scratchy steps through the heather before a butterfly took to the wing. I watched it as it flew, not all flappy like a Meadow Brown but with powerful wing beats interspersed by periods of gliding – my first Grayling of 2021. I managed to follow it for a bit and then they do what they always do; plonk down in a spot which seems obvious but which when you look you can’t see the butterfly and it’s actually in a different spot entirely. This initial one took on an almost two-tone set of hues and had a dodgy proboscis so I’d easily be able to identify it. After the initial shots I spent a bit of time criss-crossing the heather here enjoying the crunch and scratch of the heather and the surprise as a Grayling that wasn’t there suddenly appears in a flurry of browns and oranges before gliding away enraptured in a game of hide-and-seek. All told I managed to find and photograph another 4 Grayling in this little patch but there were plenty of others I’m sure, they just had better evasive manoeuvres.
Sadly there was then an enforced intermission in my Grayling Fest as a totally un-forecast block of cloud covered the valley. With its coming the temperature dropped, the breeze stiffened and the butterflies hid away. While I waited for it to pass over I took to wandering the heather clad slopes and rises and ended up at the old Hotspot track. All the little scallops and bare patches on the side of the track were gone replaced either with shin high heather or a waist height wall of bracken. I carried on round completing the full triangle of tracks and then looking up I saw that there was a slither of bright light at the edge of the cloud on the other side of the valley. As I watched it grew and then became blue sky, the shadow slid down the hill and across the floor of the valley as the cloud, stubborn until now, yielded and retreated chased by the sun. Serendipitously I’d just reached the area that the Grayling had frequented earlier and so I left the path and strode into the middle of heath in readiness for the sun to strike, found a likely looking clump of Heather and stood and waited. Almost immediately that the sun struck the butterflies appeared. First there were the flappy Meadow Browns, a Small Heath put in an appearance possibly just to get its name on the tally for the day and a few aged Silver-studs, well past their best fluttered weakly around the heather tops. The best thing about all of this was that I hadn’t moved from the spot but standing and watching doesn’t get images on the memory card. The easiest to go for were the Silver-studs as they were nicely placed on the very clump that had seemed a likely spot. The males had lost all of their fringes and it was left to the females to put on a bit of a show – moving their wings to catch the sun and glisten with that glorious oily sheen that they have.
As the sun strengthened again the Grayling started to appear from wherever it is they go and I settled into a routine. Spot a Grayling, start stalking it, put up a different Grayling so try and stalk that one, put up a different Grayling…After walking round in circles across the whole ‘field’ I stopped playing their game and when the next Grayling took off I followed it unerringly until it finally gave up landed and gave me a look of “well if you want to take my photo get on with it then”. This new habit proved much more successful and I was soon enjoying the Grayling accompanied to the clicks of shots stacking up on my memory card. As I shot away I noticed that the butterflies seemed to favour the same spots but I couldn’t tell if it was the same butterfly holding a territory or whether certain spots just had the equivalent of the Grayling X factor? One particular favoured spot was some dead twigs one of which looked like the head of a serpent and another still the dead heather looked like some pieces of discarded Leylandi. I don’t know how many different individuals I saw and the only one I could really be sure of not double counting was ole ‘Slackjaw’, the first one I’d encountered but to be honest I was having too much fun to worry about the numbers. This species has to be one of, if not, my favourite speices – it has the entire package; gorgeous and different habitat, a brilliant flight period through the warmest part of the year, cryptic colouration, great range of variation (black and white through to golden browns) a great way of flying and plenty of character to boot – what’s not to love?
The sun beat down, the clock ticked by almost as quickly as my camera clicked and I started to feel the little prickle of a thirst headache forming and so reluctantly I shuffled back along the dusty track homewards. However as it oft the way the wildlife had other ideas. As I was climbing back up the now sun drenched and desiccated track I stopped momentarily to have a look back at where I’d come, pleased with the view and the amount of progress I’d made I turned to carry on and then a tiny jewel caught my eye. It was the stunning little Jewel wasp that I’d encountered on the same stretch of path last year but unlike last year it was much more amenable to my advances. A fittingly brillian end to a brilliant trip out.
I never did get back to Godshill during the rest of the season despite wanting to revisit so next year helpfully I’ll be able to make a couple of trips to make up for it…
A glorious day
Coconut scent and heather
Graylings at Godshill
Alners Gorse 22-07-2021
In the past I’ve visited Alners Gorse later in the season but last year I made an ‘early’ trip and was rewarded with Valesinas a plenty (well a couple at least) and as Philzoid had yet to get any shots of this form it was time to make another early trip. We were hoping to pick up some Hairstreaks as well, Purps and maybe a Whitter but you never know with this site as the first Brostreaks are often found here. Ordinarily I would have driven us both down but with the first visit in 18 months to my Outlaws just a few days away we went in separate cars and so met in the Central. It was good going on the whole and we were there quickly…soon we were strolling downhill down the avenue scanning the bushes on the way and looking for little bays in the long grass that had been trampled down – a sure sign that there had been and so still might be something good in them there bushes. There was the usual fare with Peacocks, Red Admirals, a Comma which was quite far back and the ubiquitous Meadow and Hedge Browns.
At the bottom we turned left and started checking out the hedge and the smaller Oaks on the opposite side of the path. Again there were the Browns and a few Whites and then when we were almost at the end by the gate I spotted something about 8 feet up on a tall bramble. I had to do a double take as at first I didn’t believe my eyes. There was a glorious orange shark fin, a male Brostreak! My earliest ever record and so I gleefully called out ‘Brostreak’. Getting shots though proved to be tricky as it was so high up. I could either be in line from it but standing well back from the bush or up close but lower down as there was a depression closer into the tree which the brambles were using as a support. Luckily it moved and landed slightly lower and most importantly much closer to the edge of the Bramble bush. It still meant a near fatal impaling on some particularly vicious briar thorns but a little light bleeding was soon forgotten when I got a lens full of the Brostreak, it seemed immaculate with tails intact, a complete fringe of white hairs along the base of the wings and when it shifted slightly into the sun I sure that I saw the hairs close to the body glint golden.
Once Phlizoid and I had gotten a fair few shots and taken up a decent amount of our memory cards we put several others onto it and then made our way on checking out the area that in the past has been good for Whitters. Unfortunately we drew a blank so we then continued our way across the reserve to the Purp hotspot; a particular tree that was pointed out to me last year. On the way Small Copper stopped and perched nicely and there were Hedgies aplenty and a nice mix of other butterflies. After the initial find of the morning though I found myself somewhat bedazzled still and so whilst I saw plenty not an awful lot was added to the memory card.
8 449 web
9 456
I don’t know whether we’d used up all our luck with the Brostreak but we didn’t have any joy with the Purps either despite being promised that this tree is always crawling with them so instead we cut through the wood and then left the confines of the reserve to get to the Banks. It was quite quiet on the walk there almost as if someone had turned the butterfly taps off but as we approached the gate a few Silver-washed sliced their way through the trees and led us onwards and into the sun drenched field. As like last year the corner of the hedge just round the gate proved to be the most productive spot. The butterflies flew along two sides of the boundary hedge on a mission but when they arrived at this spot they lingered as they arrived. After a couple of minutes of hedge staring we racked up a cracking species count with Ringlets, Meadow and Hedge Browns, Marbled Whites the most numerous. There was the occasional Smessex and a Large Skipper, a few Peacocks, various Whites and several more Silver-washed. At one point we followed a Silver-washed along the hedge but the treeline became much more shaded and bare of nectar sources so we retraced out steps and on our way back intercepted mating pair of SWFs.
We waited around on the corner to see if anything else would turn up and a few Purps flew across from side to the other but everything else was what we’d encountered before. Then out of the shadows another one of our targets emerged. It kept far back, sometimes only just visible through the slightest of gaps in the hedge. It was a Valesina and as it flew and flirted with us the colours danced across its wings almost as well as it danced from one bramble top to another. In the shade it appeared almost black and white, for a second it looked like a large spearmint chew with the white and green of the closed wing and then it would move into the sun where it would take on a deep blue purple colour. It was glorious to behold if a tad too active. At one point it soared across the field to another patch on the other side of the hedge and from there is made short runs to one flower after another. Somehow I managed to keep up with it, my gaze firmly locked on and head level whilst my legs jarred into my spine as I crossed the tussocky ground in pursuit. Eventually it ended back at the corner and settled down ever so slightly so that we could get a proper look at it and appreciate it in all its glory.
After this we thought it best to head back into the reserve and try for some of the other target species and so we wandered back along the pleasantly cool shady path with some cracking Hedgies along the way before we broached the woodland and came back onto the grassland where the sun was now beating down and broiling all that lay beneath it. The Whitter Hotspot once again drew a blank so is now more of a tepid spot as far as I’m concerned and we ended up staring up into the tree which was supposedly crawling in Purps. The leaves around the outside didn’t seem to hold anything and all was still above the crown of the tree but I had a hunch that in the heat the butterflies might be sitting it out in the shade. So I started peering further into the leaf cover and there, quite near the top of the tree staring back was a Purp. If earlier the tap had been turned off now it was back on and in full flow for there was a second sitting up high a little way away from the first and as we investigated further looking at the surrounding trees each one seemed to hold a couple more Purps at least. None of them came down that low but hopefully a bit of careful cropping was going to solve the problem. Hey were great to watch as some would fly across the gap in the canopy from one tree to another whilst some were happy just sitting in the shade and others still ambled along some of the higher twigs.
By now the heat had ramped up and things were getting a little uncomfortable so we packed up shop and headed for home up the hill which in the searing temperatures was much, much harder than it had been earlier in the morning. A brilliant trip out with 2 out of three targets in the bag and a brilliant Brucie Bonus to boot!
Bonus first Brostreak
Flirtatious Valesina
Smattering of Purps
At the bottom we turned left and started checking out the hedge and the smaller Oaks on the opposite side of the path. Again there were the Browns and a few Whites and then when we were almost at the end by the gate I spotted something about 8 feet up on a tall bramble. I had to do a double take as at first I didn’t believe my eyes. There was a glorious orange shark fin, a male Brostreak! My earliest ever record and so I gleefully called out ‘Brostreak’. Getting shots though proved to be tricky as it was so high up. I could either be in line from it but standing well back from the bush or up close but lower down as there was a depression closer into the tree which the brambles were using as a support. Luckily it moved and landed slightly lower and most importantly much closer to the edge of the Bramble bush. It still meant a near fatal impaling on some particularly vicious briar thorns but a little light bleeding was soon forgotten when I got a lens full of the Brostreak, it seemed immaculate with tails intact, a complete fringe of white hairs along the base of the wings and when it shifted slightly into the sun I sure that I saw the hairs close to the body glint golden.
Once Phlizoid and I had gotten a fair few shots and taken up a decent amount of our memory cards we put several others onto it and then made our way on checking out the area that in the past has been good for Whitters. Unfortunately we drew a blank so we then continued our way across the reserve to the Purp hotspot; a particular tree that was pointed out to me last year. On the way Small Copper stopped and perched nicely and there were Hedgies aplenty and a nice mix of other butterflies. After the initial find of the morning though I found myself somewhat bedazzled still and so whilst I saw plenty not an awful lot was added to the memory card.
8 449 web
9 456
I don’t know whether we’d used up all our luck with the Brostreak but we didn’t have any joy with the Purps either despite being promised that this tree is always crawling with them so instead we cut through the wood and then left the confines of the reserve to get to the Banks. It was quite quiet on the walk there almost as if someone had turned the butterfly taps off but as we approached the gate a few Silver-washed sliced their way through the trees and led us onwards and into the sun drenched field. As like last year the corner of the hedge just round the gate proved to be the most productive spot. The butterflies flew along two sides of the boundary hedge on a mission but when they arrived at this spot they lingered as they arrived. After a couple of minutes of hedge staring we racked up a cracking species count with Ringlets, Meadow and Hedge Browns, Marbled Whites the most numerous. There was the occasional Smessex and a Large Skipper, a few Peacocks, various Whites and several more Silver-washed. At one point we followed a Silver-washed along the hedge but the treeline became much more shaded and bare of nectar sources so we retraced out steps and on our way back intercepted mating pair of SWFs.
We waited around on the corner to see if anything else would turn up and a few Purps flew across from side to the other but everything else was what we’d encountered before. Then out of the shadows another one of our targets emerged. It kept far back, sometimes only just visible through the slightest of gaps in the hedge. It was a Valesina and as it flew and flirted with us the colours danced across its wings almost as well as it danced from one bramble top to another. In the shade it appeared almost black and white, for a second it looked like a large spearmint chew with the white and green of the closed wing and then it would move into the sun where it would take on a deep blue purple colour. It was glorious to behold if a tad too active. At one point it soared across the field to another patch on the other side of the hedge and from there is made short runs to one flower after another. Somehow I managed to keep up with it, my gaze firmly locked on and head level whilst my legs jarred into my spine as I crossed the tussocky ground in pursuit. Eventually it ended back at the corner and settled down ever so slightly so that we could get a proper look at it and appreciate it in all its glory.
After this we thought it best to head back into the reserve and try for some of the other target species and so we wandered back along the pleasantly cool shady path with some cracking Hedgies along the way before we broached the woodland and came back onto the grassland where the sun was now beating down and broiling all that lay beneath it. The Whitter Hotspot once again drew a blank so is now more of a tepid spot as far as I’m concerned and we ended up staring up into the tree which was supposedly crawling in Purps. The leaves around the outside didn’t seem to hold anything and all was still above the crown of the tree but I had a hunch that in the heat the butterflies might be sitting it out in the shade. So I started peering further into the leaf cover and there, quite near the top of the tree staring back was a Purp. If earlier the tap had been turned off now it was back on and in full flow for there was a second sitting up high a little way away from the first and as we investigated further looking at the surrounding trees each one seemed to hold a couple more Purps at least. None of them came down that low but hopefully a bit of careful cropping was going to solve the problem. Hey were great to watch as some would fly across the gap in the canopy from one tree to another whilst some were happy just sitting in the shade and others still ambled along some of the higher twigs.
By now the heat had ramped up and things were getting a little uncomfortable so we packed up shop and headed for home up the hill which in the searing temperatures was much, much harder than it had been earlier in the morning. A brilliant trip out with 2 out of three targets in the bag and a brilliant Brucie Bonus to boot!
Bonus first Brostreak
Flirtatious Valesina
Smattering of Purps
Perham Down 21-07-2021
I’d only gone and done it! I’d only managed to make it through to the end of the school year without losing my sanity (I have so little of it this is more of an achievement than it sounds) or having a single day sick despite working at almost twice the usual capacity for about 30 of the 39 weeks! It was therefore with great relief that I drove in on the final day and instead of the usual routine of drink coffee, load up and carry stuff through for the start of the day I meticulously prepared everything for a quick getaway; camera hung round the headrest of the passenger seat, lucky hat ready on the seat, iPod plugged in with the volume on full and set up ready for Iron Maiden- Killers, notebook on top of hat ready to grab as soon as I got to my destination. Then it was time to sit back and wait – true I had a lesson to ‘teach’ but the others had been taken away for tutor time and a virtual full school assembly so I topped up on caffeine. Once the pupils had left the building and the speeches had been variously listened to and given I was away faster than James Hunt…
Usually I’d be heading to Shipton Bellinger to try for an early Brostreak – this has worked a couple of times in the past but this season everything is late and there’s only been one or two reports so this year I still headed towards Tidworth but instead of turning right I turned left and made for Perham Down in the hope of adding Silver-spotted Skipper to the Year list. I pulled up with only about an hour to make my visit so instead of climbing the steep hill and walking along the top and stopping for photos at every available opportunity I put my head down and went for it and I made mental notes of the various butterflies. Across the top field there were plenty of Meadow Browns which seemed to be all over the place and in the heat they were insanely active. There was also the odd Smessex catching my eye as it pretended to be my target species and the occasional Marbled White passed by whilst Hedgies stuck to the hedges and plots of scrub. Whites flew by in ones and twos and the DGFs kept flying, endlessly it seemed, gliding when they needed a bit of a breather. As I approached the far side of the Meadow and started to feel the slope slightly strengthening I peeled l my eyes even more. There in same area as last year, down in a little cranny between two hedges I spotted my first Silver Spot. I didn’t see if for long though as it does the Craw Step and it’s gone.
I mooched around in this general area walking forward and back zig-zagging my way back up the slope and then there’s the/another Silver Spot. I managed to fire off two of the worst ever record shots before it’s gone again, the dreaded Craw Step catches me out once again! I spotted a possible third but that too is gone in the blink of an eye. They’re next to impossible to follow as you watch them for a certain distance and then they suddenly hit the gas, veer right or left and then they just disappear. After these several abortive attempts some of the knowledge from previous years started to seep back into my frontal cortex from its holding pen in my long term memory; I remembered that actually they don’t fly that far away they almost veer off to one side and then quickly drop down. So the next time I spotted one I watched it, it disappeared and then I scanned a little way ahead to the left and then the right and managed to find it. Using this technique I eventually got some shots; the first coming from back down in the corner where I’d seen my first after scrutinizing most of the hill. Then my wanderings bring me to the thinner turf of the path where I found a second which proved to be much better value for money than the first.
As I was considering leaving a third Silver Spot appeared and this one didn’t seem as bright so I made to follow it, again using the now trusted technique of waiting for it to disappear and scanning left and right from the last known position. This one didn’t seem to want to fly as far in between each sitting but I don’t know whether this is a behaviour trait of females for such was this individual? After getting a few shots of her I said to myself that I really needed to make my way back which was when another fine looking male dropped in.
I felt a little like Michael Corleone but eventually I tore myself away and set off but this time I allowed Gravity to help me out and followed the track down the slight slope and picked up some speed as I cut across the meadow at the bottom of the hill. The walk back produced the same species as the walk in and I was just about to take the path back to the car park when something big and peach coloured flew past and landed on the deck a short way away – a fresh Painted Lady. It was very twitchy and it flew off a few times before it eventually perched on the steep, sandy side of the Down. To approach it I used a slightly adapted method of the Click Step which ran something like; step, wait for wings to twitch, Click, repeat; and doing this I managed some shots which I was happy with especially seeing as how I was clinging onto the side of the down with the side of one foot whilst clicking away (although on the big screen they weren’t great); I really had to get my Zen on! Luckily it then took to some of the flowers and while it had a refuel I was able to get in close enough for some proper photos.
After this brief interlude I continued head down striving for the car and then home and really looking forward to the first cold beer of the holiday – it always tastes extra special!
Stop on the way home
Get some unusual fare
Nice change, Silver Spots!
Usually I’d be heading to Shipton Bellinger to try for an early Brostreak – this has worked a couple of times in the past but this season everything is late and there’s only been one or two reports so this year I still headed towards Tidworth but instead of turning right I turned left and made for Perham Down in the hope of adding Silver-spotted Skipper to the Year list. I pulled up with only about an hour to make my visit so instead of climbing the steep hill and walking along the top and stopping for photos at every available opportunity I put my head down and went for it and I made mental notes of the various butterflies. Across the top field there were plenty of Meadow Browns which seemed to be all over the place and in the heat they were insanely active. There was also the odd Smessex catching my eye as it pretended to be my target species and the occasional Marbled White passed by whilst Hedgies stuck to the hedges and plots of scrub. Whites flew by in ones and twos and the DGFs kept flying, endlessly it seemed, gliding when they needed a bit of a breather. As I approached the far side of the Meadow and started to feel the slope slightly strengthening I peeled l my eyes even more. There in same area as last year, down in a little cranny between two hedges I spotted my first Silver Spot. I didn’t see if for long though as it does the Craw Step and it’s gone.
I mooched around in this general area walking forward and back zig-zagging my way back up the slope and then there’s the/another Silver Spot. I managed to fire off two of the worst ever record shots before it’s gone again, the dreaded Craw Step catches me out once again! I spotted a possible third but that too is gone in the blink of an eye. They’re next to impossible to follow as you watch them for a certain distance and then they suddenly hit the gas, veer right or left and then they just disappear. After these several abortive attempts some of the knowledge from previous years started to seep back into my frontal cortex from its holding pen in my long term memory; I remembered that actually they don’t fly that far away they almost veer off to one side and then quickly drop down. So the next time I spotted one I watched it, it disappeared and then I scanned a little way ahead to the left and then the right and managed to find it. Using this technique I eventually got some shots; the first coming from back down in the corner where I’d seen my first after scrutinizing most of the hill. Then my wanderings bring me to the thinner turf of the path where I found a second which proved to be much better value for money than the first.
As I was considering leaving a third Silver Spot appeared and this one didn’t seem as bright so I made to follow it, again using the now trusted technique of waiting for it to disappear and scanning left and right from the last known position. This one didn’t seem to want to fly as far in between each sitting but I don’t know whether this is a behaviour trait of females for such was this individual? After getting a few shots of her I said to myself that I really needed to make my way back which was when another fine looking male dropped in.
I felt a little like Michael Corleone but eventually I tore myself away and set off but this time I allowed Gravity to help me out and followed the track down the slight slope and picked up some speed as I cut across the meadow at the bottom of the hill. The walk back produced the same species as the walk in and I was just about to take the path back to the car park when something big and peach coloured flew past and landed on the deck a short way away – a fresh Painted Lady. It was very twitchy and it flew off a few times before it eventually perched on the steep, sandy side of the Down. To approach it I used a slightly adapted method of the Click Step which ran something like; step, wait for wings to twitch, Click, repeat; and doing this I managed some shots which I was happy with especially seeing as how I was clinging onto the side of the down with the side of one foot whilst clicking away (although on the big screen they weren’t great); I really had to get my Zen on! Luckily it then took to some of the flowers and while it had a refuel I was able to get in close enough for some proper photos.
After this brief interlude I continued head down striving for the car and then home and really looking forward to the first cold beer of the holiday – it always tastes extra special!
Stop on the way home
Get some unusual fare
Nice change, Silver Spots!
Work 20-07-2021
The penultimate day at work finally arrived and what with finishing at lunch time and the planned farewell speeches the Ultimate trip out at lunch time had also arrived. A few moments prior to the bell ringing I was all ready to go; year 10’s work all neatly filed away in correct subject folders, stools under the benches, desks sprayed down and the floor swept with errant hand wipes safely stowed in the bin and my own hands sanitized and washed eagerly clutching my camera. I was like a well-oiled machine but then I have had several months to practice this routine. “Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrring!” and I was off under starters orders!
With the warmth finally returned I was hoping for a good rate of return and as I made my way through the Pits there were good numbers of butterflies each way that I turned. Meadow Browns had been joined by the occasional smaller Hedgie, Smessex were zipping around and scrapping like the Gangs of New York and the odd White and Small Tort happened by. I stopped by a Thistle head on the other side of the large Bramble bush and there was a Smessex looking back at me, the indicators on its antennae indicating that it was yet another Small. So was the next one, and the one after that etc etc. In the end I gave up checking for an Essex and just enjoyed watching their antics. A Small White stopped by and took advantage of the Creeping Thistles. As I leant in for some shots I couldn’t help but wonder if the Brostreaks would start emerging soon as here was one of their favourite nectar sources?
A lot of the butterflies were very active in the mid-day sun and so I hung around in the Pits as experience has taught me that on days like this the Hedge is really hard work, everything is zipping here and there, most things stop just long enough for me to line up a shot by which time they’ve had their few sips of nectar and they’re off to the next flower. As it turned out this was a sensible decision as a sandier looking butterfly plopped itself down a short way away. I’d been caught out by a similar sandy coloured Small Skipper a week or so previously so I was a little sceptical that this was actually an Essex. But as I got nearer the identification of it as such became obvious – the ‘ink dabs’ could have been seen from a mile off!
It felt like the Essex had been waiting for me to get my eye in as now when I started scanning through the Smessex/Smalls I quickly discovered a few more that must have been hiding in plain sight! Further weight was added to this supposition as the second that I managed to photograph looked to be a female. The third that fell under my lens was a lovely looking male that had the look of a cheeky school boy about him.
All too soon it was time to head back in and I did so with a heavy heart knowing that my little visits, my 25 minutes of sanctuary will be postponed until September by which time there might not be any butterflies left here…
Sadly last visit
All good things come to an end
Essex finale
With the warmth finally returned I was hoping for a good rate of return and as I made my way through the Pits there were good numbers of butterflies each way that I turned. Meadow Browns had been joined by the occasional smaller Hedgie, Smessex were zipping around and scrapping like the Gangs of New York and the odd White and Small Tort happened by. I stopped by a Thistle head on the other side of the large Bramble bush and there was a Smessex looking back at me, the indicators on its antennae indicating that it was yet another Small. So was the next one, and the one after that etc etc. In the end I gave up checking for an Essex and just enjoyed watching their antics. A Small White stopped by and took advantage of the Creeping Thistles. As I leant in for some shots I couldn’t help but wonder if the Brostreaks would start emerging soon as here was one of their favourite nectar sources?
A lot of the butterflies were very active in the mid-day sun and so I hung around in the Pits as experience has taught me that on days like this the Hedge is really hard work, everything is zipping here and there, most things stop just long enough for me to line up a shot by which time they’ve had their few sips of nectar and they’re off to the next flower. As it turned out this was a sensible decision as a sandier looking butterfly plopped itself down a short way away. I’d been caught out by a similar sandy coloured Small Skipper a week or so previously so I was a little sceptical that this was actually an Essex. But as I got nearer the identification of it as such became obvious – the ‘ink dabs’ could have been seen from a mile off!
It felt like the Essex had been waiting for me to get my eye in as now when I started scanning through the Smessex/Smalls I quickly discovered a few more that must have been hiding in plain sight! Further weight was added to this supposition as the second that I managed to photograph looked to be a female. The third that fell under my lens was a lovely looking male that had the look of a cheeky school boy about him.
All too soon it was time to head back in and I did so with a heavy heart knowing that my little visits, my 25 minutes of sanctuary will be postponed until September by which time there might not be any butterflies left here…
Sadly last visit
All good things come to an end
Essex finale
Work 19-07-2021
So began the final week of term, the end was in sight, I’d almost made it and hopefully the light at the end of the tunnel wasn’t an express train coming in my direction! To celebrate the start of the final week I left behind Department Handbooks and Learning Journeys and made my way out of the block. Instead of completing the usual ‘back and forth’ route today I made my way diagonally across the football pitches to the far corner of hedge. A couple of Whites flew past in the distance, the occasional Meadow Brown did their slow motion eruption from the turf and I found a couple of Smessex along the way. Once I’d reached the unmown sections that have now become Wildflower Meadows I swung my camera off of my shoulder in readiness. There were Meadow Browns and Ringlets and I counted three Marbled Whites right at the edge of the path whilst along the Hedge the odd Hedge Brown and numerous Smessex vied for my attention.
In all the excitement I‘d reached the Pits and having made one change to my routine already I followed it up with another. Usually I’d wander up and down the couple of little tracks that run across the Pits but today, what with the arrival of the Hedgies I paid more attention to the shrubs at the margin of the Pits. The Primary School had corralled their pupils to a section of the playground well away from the boundary hedge and so I was free to look carefully for Hedgies without the interruptions of “What you looking for?” As I strode through the swathes of tall grass yet more Meadow Browns, Ringlets and Smessex flew. Then a brighter orange butterfly zipped out from a crown of florets, intercepted a Meadow Brown, bullied it away and then landed back to near where it had started. A cracking looking Hedgie. There were another couple around and so I spent a couple of minutes here trying to get some shots of this feisty twosome. With the clock ticking ever onwards I made my way back towards the school building but stopped on the way as a Small Tort was clinging to the side of the Nursery School – I couldn’t work out if it was touting for business as a Steeplejack or an Electrical Engineer?
The end is in sight
Butterfly days stretch ahead
Hopefully no ‘Ping’…
In all the excitement I‘d reached the Pits and having made one change to my routine already I followed it up with another. Usually I’d wander up and down the couple of little tracks that run across the Pits but today, what with the arrival of the Hedgies I paid more attention to the shrubs at the margin of the Pits. The Primary School had corralled their pupils to a section of the playground well away from the boundary hedge and so I was free to look carefully for Hedgies without the interruptions of “What you looking for?” As I strode through the swathes of tall grass yet more Meadow Browns, Ringlets and Smessex flew. Then a brighter orange butterfly zipped out from a crown of florets, intercepted a Meadow Brown, bullied it away and then landed back to near where it had started. A cracking looking Hedgie. There were another couple around and so I spent a couple of minutes here trying to get some shots of this feisty twosome. With the clock ticking ever onwards I made my way back towards the school building but stopped on the way as a Small Tort was clinging to the side of the Nursery School – I couldn’t work out if it was touting for business as a Steeplejack or an Electrical Engineer?
The end is in sight
Butterfly days stretch ahead
Hopefully no ‘Ping’…
Bentley Wood 17-07-2021
With the onset of some reasonable weather I made my way over to Bentley Wood. I reckoned that it would be best to arrive early but what I hadn’t reckoned on was how full the car park was going to be. Luckily there were a couple of spaces still begging and as I pulled into one I consoled myself that at least there would be plenty of people craning their necks skywards and seeking out His Nibbs. Once I’d loaded up on caffeine I stood in the middle of the car park and looked about and chatted with a few others including a chap called Nick. A few Silver-washed glode among the upper storeys of the canopy and then a Purple Hairstreak did the same. Nick was just saying that this was the first that he’d seen when I noticed that the Purp was flying lower and lower, spiralling down in an erratic softly lilting manner before its descent culminated in a last ‘plop’ onto a few fronds of Bracken. I pointed it out to Nick and he was able to get at least a record shot of it before a couple more Purps followed suit and offered a slightly less obstructed view.
Pleased with this we all set off along the main track trying to scan the tree tops for duelling Emperors whilst at the same time staring into the distance hoping for a shark fin or flash of purple on the deck. The foliage on either side of the track was alive with Ringlets and Large Skippers and the occasional Red Admiral did a plausible impression of His Nibbs. A few more Purps dropped from the trees falling down like errant leaves abscising very early to beat the autumnal rush. One sat annoyingly tilted towards us and in the shade so the usual silvery grey looked almost chocolate brown but another further on fluttered about sitting nicely now and again in the grass at the edge of the path. An Emperor did a fly past high up, soaring around and looking so stocky it could have been mistaken for a day flying bat but it headed off further into the woods which to us tied by gravity are impenetrable. I pressed on to the crossroads whilst Nick headed back to the car park.
At the crossroads I turned left and made for the corner of the path that leads onto Donley Copse. Along the way I was joined by Silver-washed, Ringlets, Meadow Browns and the odd Hedgie. More Purps crossed the track high up from one Oak to another but all were too far in off the track to reach. Once I got to the corner I stood back and waited. A Red Admiral hung about occasionally coming down to the deck and an Emperor passed overhead. I waited with baited breath for it to descend but it stayed up high and disappeared into the trees to become lost from sight. After this I broke up the waiting and staring at the sun by checking out the woodpile. Again there were some very flighty Silver-washed and a White Admiral cut effortlessly though the air turning on a sixpence now and then but annoyingly it only came down when it was too far away from my lens. In desperation and working on the premise that once I’d gotten something more and better photos should follow I took a few distant record shots. I took the grand total of four of which luckily two were passable but these turned out to be the only shots I got all season so this species is now high on the hit-list for next year.
I carried on past Donkey Copse scanning the trees tops whenever there was a break in the trees and I soon reached my next stopping point the small cutting which looked like a layby. As I stared upwards an Emperor flew across the canopy but as seemed the way today it too was on a mission heading off into the woods so I consoled myself with checking out the little patches of grass among the coppiced trees in what is now a large cleared area but last year was a twisted tangle of bramble and bracken. I found a pair of Ringlets which was a bit of a surprise as most species this year have been very shy when in cop. There were also five Silver-washed all using this little area zooming back and forth. Well four were zooming about the fifth was a bit more surreptitious and when I manged to get nearer I could see that the fifth was a she. One of the males spotted her just as I leaned in for a shot and they both set off across the clearing before she managed to lose him in the shade. Luckily I was able to get a bit closer and the coolness of the shade had made her even more approachable. As I got back onto the firmer footing on the path I met another couple whose names I forget (sorry about that) but I do remember that he appreciated Badge Beer! So after another brief chat I carried on back to the corner where Nick had arrived with another chap who’d struck purple on the main track; typical wrong place at the right time! As I was grinning and bearing looking at his shots another Emperor (or more likely the same one from earlier) did another couple of passes high up as if to ensure that Nick at least got to see an Emperor.
On my way back a fourth Emperor passed over and at the end the track by the crossroads I bump into Adrian which was nice and so we have a good catch up. I’ll say this for Emperor Season I mightn’t see many butterflies but it’s a highly sociable affair. As we’re talking a Purp floated down from the tress and landed in the bushes sitting under a Bracken frond which it used as a parasol, or so it seemed.
Wishing each other well and good luck Adrian and I went our separate ways, he was after His Nibbs but me well I’d had enough of the Purple Git (as I shall hence forth name all Emperors that don’t come down to the deck) and so I set off on the long trek to the memorial. Along the way I caught up with the Badger Beer couple and when we reached the memorial there was the first couple from the car park. All of us craned our necks and stared up at the trees that had held Whitters last year but alas to no avail. We all drifted apart at this point and I ended up on my own watching a H.Comma and some Spotted Flycatchers. As I was strolling back I thought that I’d give it one last try and so for about 5 minutes I looked upwards watching the small gap between the trees growing on other side of the track. After about five minutes my neck felt like it was permanently set but a small grey and square cut butterfly jinked its way across the gap between the leaves. I hastily grappled my bins to my eyes and managed to get onto it as it completed its jinky flight and it was a Whitter. And then almost as quickly as it had appeared it was gone, and so was I back towards the car park and home...
So with this species ticked off but no photos I made my way back seeing more of the same including another Peacock and a Purp down on the ground for just long enough to focus on it before it was gone. Towards the end of the track I caught up with Adrian and we chatted until we got back to the car park where a male Silver washed was flying around skimming the deck but everything was very skittish in the heat. I said my various goodbyes and set off for home aching at both ends of my body; footsore from all the walking and an aching neck from all the craning upwards. They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result and I’ve always considered myself to be on just the right side of sanity so I think next year Chiddingfold it is!
Elusive His Nibbs
Difficult White Admirals
Bentley is hard work
Pleased with this we all set off along the main track trying to scan the tree tops for duelling Emperors whilst at the same time staring into the distance hoping for a shark fin or flash of purple on the deck. The foliage on either side of the track was alive with Ringlets and Large Skippers and the occasional Red Admiral did a plausible impression of His Nibbs. A few more Purps dropped from the trees falling down like errant leaves abscising very early to beat the autumnal rush. One sat annoyingly tilted towards us and in the shade so the usual silvery grey looked almost chocolate brown but another further on fluttered about sitting nicely now and again in the grass at the edge of the path. An Emperor did a fly past high up, soaring around and looking so stocky it could have been mistaken for a day flying bat but it headed off further into the woods which to us tied by gravity are impenetrable. I pressed on to the crossroads whilst Nick headed back to the car park.
At the crossroads I turned left and made for the corner of the path that leads onto Donley Copse. Along the way I was joined by Silver-washed, Ringlets, Meadow Browns and the odd Hedgie. More Purps crossed the track high up from one Oak to another but all were too far in off the track to reach. Once I got to the corner I stood back and waited. A Red Admiral hung about occasionally coming down to the deck and an Emperor passed overhead. I waited with baited breath for it to descend but it stayed up high and disappeared into the trees to become lost from sight. After this I broke up the waiting and staring at the sun by checking out the woodpile. Again there were some very flighty Silver-washed and a White Admiral cut effortlessly though the air turning on a sixpence now and then but annoyingly it only came down when it was too far away from my lens. In desperation and working on the premise that once I’d gotten something more and better photos should follow I took a few distant record shots. I took the grand total of four of which luckily two were passable but these turned out to be the only shots I got all season so this species is now high on the hit-list for next year.
I carried on past Donkey Copse scanning the trees tops whenever there was a break in the trees and I soon reached my next stopping point the small cutting which looked like a layby. As I stared upwards an Emperor flew across the canopy but as seemed the way today it too was on a mission heading off into the woods so I consoled myself with checking out the little patches of grass among the coppiced trees in what is now a large cleared area but last year was a twisted tangle of bramble and bracken. I found a pair of Ringlets which was a bit of a surprise as most species this year have been very shy when in cop. There were also five Silver-washed all using this little area zooming back and forth. Well four were zooming about the fifth was a bit more surreptitious and when I manged to get nearer I could see that the fifth was a she. One of the males spotted her just as I leaned in for a shot and they both set off across the clearing before she managed to lose him in the shade. Luckily I was able to get a bit closer and the coolness of the shade had made her even more approachable. As I got back onto the firmer footing on the path I met another couple whose names I forget (sorry about that) but I do remember that he appreciated Badge Beer! So after another brief chat I carried on back to the corner where Nick had arrived with another chap who’d struck purple on the main track; typical wrong place at the right time! As I was grinning and bearing looking at his shots another Emperor (or more likely the same one from earlier) did another couple of passes high up as if to ensure that Nick at least got to see an Emperor.
On my way back a fourth Emperor passed over and at the end the track by the crossroads I bump into Adrian which was nice and so we have a good catch up. I’ll say this for Emperor Season I mightn’t see many butterflies but it’s a highly sociable affair. As we’re talking a Purp floated down from the tress and landed in the bushes sitting under a Bracken frond which it used as a parasol, or so it seemed.
Wishing each other well and good luck Adrian and I went our separate ways, he was after His Nibbs but me well I’d had enough of the Purple Git (as I shall hence forth name all Emperors that don’t come down to the deck) and so I set off on the long trek to the memorial. Along the way I caught up with the Badger Beer couple and when we reached the memorial there was the first couple from the car park. All of us craned our necks and stared up at the trees that had held Whitters last year but alas to no avail. We all drifted apart at this point and I ended up on my own watching a H.Comma and some Spotted Flycatchers. As I was strolling back I thought that I’d give it one last try and so for about 5 minutes I looked upwards watching the small gap between the trees growing on other side of the track. After about five minutes my neck felt like it was permanently set but a small grey and square cut butterfly jinked its way across the gap between the leaves. I hastily grappled my bins to my eyes and managed to get onto it as it completed its jinky flight and it was a Whitter. And then almost as quickly as it had appeared it was gone, and so was I back towards the car park and home...
So with this species ticked off but no photos I made my way back seeing more of the same including another Peacock and a Purp down on the ground for just long enough to focus on it before it was gone. Towards the end of the track I caught up with Adrian and we chatted until we got back to the car park where a male Silver washed was flying around skimming the deck but everything was very skittish in the heat. I said my various goodbyes and set off for home aching at both ends of my body; footsore from all the walking and an aching neck from all the craning upwards. They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result and I’ve always considered myself to be on just the right side of sanity so I think next year Chiddingfold it is!
Elusive His Nibbs
Difficult White Admirals
Bentley is hard work
Work 15-07-2021
“Another day another Dollar” meant that I was once again at work when instead I would rather be out and about either walking the woodland rides or dawdling the Downs. Reasoning that come the weekend I would be I took solace in the usual Work time walk. As I cut through the Pits the highlights among the usual fare were a bright and fresh looking Small Copper that didn’t stop and a Small White that did.
Doing my best to ignore the butterflies that would have seen me spend all of my remaining time in the Pits I continued on and broke through the line of trees to investigate the Bramble patch in the corner. There now butterflies there today just an interesting looking Wasp which was blacker with yellow stripes than the usual converse. After this I continued on down the Hedge stopping again almost as soon as I’d started for a Meadow Brown with faded orange patches on the hind wings. One of the fore wing ‘eye’s had a second pupil as well.
As I dove on down the hedge a Red Admiral and a few remaining Small Torts that hadn’t dispersed yet hung around about the half way mark. As I watched the Red Admiral a smaller butterfly flew into the hedge. It was noticeably smaller and brighter than the surrounding Meadow Browns. It was the first Hedge Brown for the site this season and oddly it was in the Hedge and looked Brown. Pleased with this I made my way back stopping briefly for a Small Skipper which looked a little out of sorts. For a start he wasn’t surrounded by a multitude of other Skippers and secondly he was down on the deck on the short turf of the path rather than in longer grass of the Pits or the unmown sections.
Quickly working back through the Pits, time ticking on as ever my progress was arrested by a Small Tort (it would have fitted the narrative better if it had been a Small Copper but there we go…) looking glorious as the sun shone through its wings and the markings contrasted nicely with its choice of nectar source. There was a second sitting, head down, on the wall of the Tech Block. After getting a few shots I checked back some of the images and so spooked it swiftly and purposefully…it hadn’t chosen the safest places to sit!
Hedge and Meadow Browns
Summer is in full sway now
Hope the weather holds
Doing my best to ignore the butterflies that would have seen me spend all of my remaining time in the Pits I continued on and broke through the line of trees to investigate the Bramble patch in the corner. There now butterflies there today just an interesting looking Wasp which was blacker with yellow stripes than the usual converse. After this I continued on down the Hedge stopping again almost as soon as I’d started for a Meadow Brown with faded orange patches on the hind wings. One of the fore wing ‘eye’s had a second pupil as well.
As I dove on down the hedge a Red Admiral and a few remaining Small Torts that hadn’t dispersed yet hung around about the half way mark. As I watched the Red Admiral a smaller butterfly flew into the hedge. It was noticeably smaller and brighter than the surrounding Meadow Browns. It was the first Hedge Brown for the site this season and oddly it was in the Hedge and looked Brown. Pleased with this I made my way back stopping briefly for a Small Skipper which looked a little out of sorts. For a start he wasn’t surrounded by a multitude of other Skippers and secondly he was down on the deck on the short turf of the path rather than in longer grass of the Pits or the unmown sections.
Quickly working back through the Pits, time ticking on as ever my progress was arrested by a Small Tort (it would have fitted the narrative better if it had been a Small Copper but there we go…) looking glorious as the sun shone through its wings and the markings contrasted nicely with its choice of nectar source. There was a second sitting, head down, on the wall of the Tech Block. After getting a few shots I checked back some of the images and so spooked it swiftly and purposefully…it hadn’t chosen the safest places to sit!
Hedge and Meadow Browns
Summer is in full sway now
Hope the weather holds
Packway Call-in 13 and 14-07-2021
13-08-2021
Mate told me that he’d heard on the grapevine that there were Whitters on the Packway so on the way home I called in and did a quick recce. The instructions were “little car park opposite the church – walk to the Elms and they like to come down to the Brambles”. I knew roughly where this was but the first problem was that there were two car parks. The first was smaller and cordoned off, the section was in a poor state of repair but was open to the public so I chose to pull into this one. Next problem was that behind the first car park there was a small overgrown field with what looked like Elms at the far end and a large clump of Bramble but it was massively overgrown. The car park I’d pulled into was hemmed in by trees and the footpath ran diagonally across a massive field with a line of trees. Which to check out first? While I deliberated I watched 12 or more Small Skippers crawling about in the mud of a drying puddle feeding off the salts.
In the end I opted for the field as it looked fantastic and either way this wouldn’t be a bad choice. There were Creeping Thistles on either side of the path which were alive with butterflies; Marbled Whites, Smeesex Skippers, Ringlets and Meadow Browns surrounded me as I wandered a short distance along the path. There was also a delicate Small White among the ocean of grass that really caught my eye.
After this bewildering mass of butterflies I waded back out from the path and tried my luck with the small field behind the smaller car park. It was much harder going and once I’d fought my way through the tangle of vegetation; grasses up to my waist with Bramble sneaking across the ground, blister inducing Wild Parsnip and Hogweed; I reached what I though was the spot. I couldn’t find any Whitters, in fact there didn’t seem to be any butterflies and that’s when I ran into the final problem – I don’t really know what an Elm looks like. At Bentley Wood it’s easy as there’s a little stand of trees that I have been told are Wytch Elms and I’ve seen Whitters there but I grew up during the reign of DED and remember watching a report one Saturday morning on Number 73 (I think Sandi Toksvig introduced it) explaining about how huge numbers of trees had already been lost. So I fought my way back to the car and made for home vowing to return.
In the end I opted for the field as it looked fantastic and either way this wouldn’t be a bad choice. There were Creeping Thistles on either side of the path which were alive with butterflies; Marbled Whites, Smeesex Skippers, Ringlets and Meadow Browns surrounded me as I wandered a short distance along the path. There was also a delicate Small White among the ocean of grass that really caught my eye.
After this bewildering mass of butterflies I waded back out from the path and tried my luck with the small field behind the smaller car park. It was much harder going and once I’d fought my way through the tangle of vegetation; grasses up to my waist with Bramble sneaking across the ground, blister inducing Wild Parsnip and Hogweed; I reached what I though was the spot. I couldn’t find any Whitters, in fact there didn’t seem to be any butterflies and that’s when I ran into the final problem – I don’t really know what an Elm looks like. At Bentley Wood it’s easy as there’s a little stand of trees that I have been told are Wytch Elms and I’ve seen Whitters there but I grew up during the reign of DED and remember watching a report one Saturday morning on Number 73 (I think Sandi Toksvig introduced it) explaining about how huge numbers of trees had already been lost. So I fought my way back to the car and made for home vowing to return.
14-08-2021
When lunchtime arrived I headed out and set off through the Pits. On the way the Browns were well represented by numerous Meadow Browns and a few Ringlets and Marbled Whites; Smessex Skippers (all the ones that I was able to identify easily were Smalls) were abundant but the one that really stood out was a surprisingly kempt Large Skipper. The Bramble flowers in the middle of the large Bramble proved particularly popular this lunchtime and for once a Ringlet sat still long enough for a photo.
As I broke through the trees a H.Comma went up from the Bramble and then there’s (much) more of the same with the addition of Small Heath taking off from the path underfoot. The Small Skippers seems to be crawling all over the Hedge and on the return leg there was also a Red Admiral on the Bramble in the corner which towered over the Smessex. At the very end a Small Tort stood out nicely as it sat on the Ragwort, this often makes a nice background for this species and it also looks good for Small Coppers which alas I couldn’t locate.
On the drive home I called in at the Packway again for another try at finding some Whitters or at least having a better look at the site. The muddy patch in the car park was noticeably smaller and drier but was still attracting the butterflies but I was anxious to press on and so made my straight to the path. I started out following the track that followed the line of the trees rather than wading into the jungle along the diagonal trackway. Walking the length of the track there were Smessex all around and I was able to distinguish an Essex among the multitude as well as get a grab shot of an ab.arete Ringlet.
Once I’d found my way back to the car park I started looking along the diagonal trackway. A Hedgie flew into the scrub as the path left the trees behind and a Large White flew on ahead of me leading me siren fashion deeper and deeper into the field with the grass closing in behind me. Once again I was surrounded by butterflies. They were so close and there were so many of them I could hear their wings scratching against stems, leaves or other wings and I was bedazzled to the extent that I just didn’t know where to point the camera first. I gave myself a mental slap across the cheek and got stuck in. There were masses of Smessex and Meadow Browns, slightly fewer but still numerous Marbled Whites and every now and again some little gem would pop up. One such butterfly was a tired and worn Common Blue, so tired in fact it looked almost like a different species. Another was a luscious Small Tort but my favourite sighting was of ‘Little and Large’.
After what felt like an age as there were so many butterflies but was actually only a matter of minutes I clawed my way back out of the self-sealing trackway and made for the car. I stopped for a bit to watch the Skippers at the puddle and there were noticeably fewer…I wonder if this chap could be the reason why?
Look out for Whitters
Around about the Packway
No joy but still good
As I broke through the trees a H.Comma went up from the Bramble and then there’s (much) more of the same with the addition of Small Heath taking off from the path underfoot. The Small Skippers seems to be crawling all over the Hedge and on the return leg there was also a Red Admiral on the Bramble in the corner which towered over the Smessex. At the very end a Small Tort stood out nicely as it sat on the Ragwort, this often makes a nice background for this species and it also looks good for Small Coppers which alas I couldn’t locate.
On the drive home I called in at the Packway again for another try at finding some Whitters or at least having a better look at the site. The muddy patch in the car park was noticeably smaller and drier but was still attracting the butterflies but I was anxious to press on and so made my straight to the path. I started out following the track that followed the line of the trees rather than wading into the jungle along the diagonal trackway. Walking the length of the track there were Smessex all around and I was able to distinguish an Essex among the multitude as well as get a grab shot of an ab.arete Ringlet.
Once I’d found my way back to the car park I started looking along the diagonal trackway. A Hedgie flew into the scrub as the path left the trees behind and a Large White flew on ahead of me leading me siren fashion deeper and deeper into the field with the grass closing in behind me. Once again I was surrounded by butterflies. They were so close and there were so many of them I could hear their wings scratching against stems, leaves or other wings and I was bedazzled to the extent that I just didn’t know where to point the camera first. I gave myself a mental slap across the cheek and got stuck in. There were masses of Smessex and Meadow Browns, slightly fewer but still numerous Marbled Whites and every now and again some little gem would pop up. One such butterfly was a tired and worn Common Blue, so tired in fact it looked almost like a different species. Another was a luscious Small Tort but my favourite sighting was of ‘Little and Large’.
After what felt like an age as there were so many butterflies but was actually only a matter of minutes I clawed my way back out of the self-sealing trackway and made for the car. I stopped for a bit to watch the Skippers at the puddle and there were noticeably fewer…I wonder if this chap could be the reason why?
Look out for Whitters
Around about the Packway
No joy but still good
Garston Wood 11-07-2021
It had been a hell of week previously…having just breathed a sigh of relief that the GCSEs were completed we’d received the call that all schools dread…then an hour later the same inspector called to say that they weren’t coming in as they’d been told to isolate by Track and Trace! So we’d then been in the position that we knew for definite that OfSTED were visiting for 10 days. The stress was unbelievable and then they finally came and left on Thursday. On Friday we found out all the things that we’d have to do ready for September from when they could be visiting again. Then I had a mad dash across to Sussex to get to my cousins wedding near Trotton and then drive us back the following day. Hence this morning I just needed to get out and stand in a wood and just breathe…so off to Garston Wood I went. I didn’t care that it was grey and cool, I didn’t care that I’d probably pick up a Tick or a horsefly bite I just wanted to stare down the viewfinder and lose myself for an hour.
When I arrived I made my way straight up the main ride as this is generally the one bit of the wood that I miss out on when we take our walks here. The verges seemed alive with Ringlets and slightly bigger and lighter looking Meadow Browns. A Green-veined sat still just long enough for me try for a few shots or at least work out what it was. Then a big ginger beastie appeared on my radar and I watched as my first Silver-washed flew into view. It stopped for some nectar within range but in the chill it’s vibrated its wings so getting anything in focus was tricky. After a few stops it must have worked out that it had partaken of all the nectar available and it set off at pace gliding and scything its way into the wood.
I carried on up the ride with many more Ringlets and the odd Meadow Brown and then I spot what at first I thought was an old leaf but turned out to be a grounded Silver Washed. It felt great to catch up with this species again and so I got a few shots and then stood back and drank in the scene for a few minutes before leaving it still sitting wings out desperately trying to gather some sun. Up at the staggered cross tracks a Marbled White adds a different colour to the palette and also put me onto something a little more interesting. At first I thought that it was just a Ringlet with fewer spots on the wings but a closer look revealed that they were still there, just reduced to tiny white pin pricks. A passing Meadow Brown put it up so I watched as it flew and when it landed I was there just long enough to see that it was an ab.arete but in the cool grey air it quickly opened up to full basking position so I couldn’t get a shot of the under wing.
I moved on and down the track with Meadow Browns and Ringlets, still very fresh and looking like chocolate coloured velvet. Another Green-veined White sat on a leaf and so I paused my proceeding and had another look at a species that I’ve not seen that much of so far this year. Once I got on my way again things reverted to form and I reached the butterfly enclosure without adding any additional species to the days tally. I turned around and started back and spotted a Large Skipper and then a small orange looking butterfly. It set my mind to racing as to what it was and then it clicked – it was my first Hedgie of the year. I had to get in a bit closer but The Lady favoured me as someone else had already walked up to the clump of Bramble and so I picked my way along in their footsteps. Whilst there another Ringlet caught my eye as it was a lovely russet brown colour and had been well provisioned with spots.
Chuffed with my findings I made my way back up the track and once at the staggered cross roads I cut across and made my way along the plantation. The little clearings and fields were bedecked by butterflies with some of the taller flower heads holding several butterflies a piece. When I walked along at the edge of the path butterflies would float upwards as I passed and it was great to just be surrounded by them, they were everywhere that I looked. And on one occasion there again was a big ginger beastie, grounded I guessed by the slight drop in temperature that had accompanied the thickening cloud cover. I picked my way through the clumps of grass and the taller flowers hoping that the erupting Ringlets and Meadow Browns which I had previously enjoyed seeing didn’t ruin it for me by spooking the Silver Washed. As I approached I saw that it was a slightly more muted orange, almost with a greenish tinge as it was a female. She too, like the males from before, was vibrating her wings in an effort to warm up but it wasn’t working out too well for her so I backed off and skirted round her so I could get back to the path without spooking her myself. I was almost back when I happened to glance down and there was a Small Skipper sitting out the cool too.
I cut back through to the main track and then contented myself with watching another male Silver Washed and pootling around with the Ringlets for the remaining time. I found myself breathing deeply and easily, the dull ache that had been behind my eyes for the last month had gone and my mind had stilled. Just what the doctor could have ordered.
Gloomy old Garston
The return of an old friend
The Hedgies are back
When I arrived I made my way straight up the main ride as this is generally the one bit of the wood that I miss out on when we take our walks here. The verges seemed alive with Ringlets and slightly bigger and lighter looking Meadow Browns. A Green-veined sat still just long enough for me try for a few shots or at least work out what it was. Then a big ginger beastie appeared on my radar and I watched as my first Silver-washed flew into view. It stopped for some nectar within range but in the chill it’s vibrated its wings so getting anything in focus was tricky. After a few stops it must have worked out that it had partaken of all the nectar available and it set off at pace gliding and scything its way into the wood.
I carried on up the ride with many more Ringlets and the odd Meadow Brown and then I spot what at first I thought was an old leaf but turned out to be a grounded Silver Washed. It felt great to catch up with this species again and so I got a few shots and then stood back and drank in the scene for a few minutes before leaving it still sitting wings out desperately trying to gather some sun. Up at the staggered cross tracks a Marbled White adds a different colour to the palette and also put me onto something a little more interesting. At first I thought that it was just a Ringlet with fewer spots on the wings but a closer look revealed that they were still there, just reduced to tiny white pin pricks. A passing Meadow Brown put it up so I watched as it flew and when it landed I was there just long enough to see that it was an ab.arete but in the cool grey air it quickly opened up to full basking position so I couldn’t get a shot of the under wing.
I moved on and down the track with Meadow Browns and Ringlets, still very fresh and looking like chocolate coloured velvet. Another Green-veined White sat on a leaf and so I paused my proceeding and had another look at a species that I’ve not seen that much of so far this year. Once I got on my way again things reverted to form and I reached the butterfly enclosure without adding any additional species to the days tally. I turned around and started back and spotted a Large Skipper and then a small orange looking butterfly. It set my mind to racing as to what it was and then it clicked – it was my first Hedgie of the year. I had to get in a bit closer but The Lady favoured me as someone else had already walked up to the clump of Bramble and so I picked my way along in their footsteps. Whilst there another Ringlet caught my eye as it was a lovely russet brown colour and had been well provisioned with spots.
Chuffed with my findings I made my way back up the track and once at the staggered cross roads I cut across and made my way along the plantation. The little clearings and fields were bedecked by butterflies with some of the taller flower heads holding several butterflies a piece. When I walked along at the edge of the path butterflies would float upwards as I passed and it was great to just be surrounded by them, they were everywhere that I looked. And on one occasion there again was a big ginger beastie, grounded I guessed by the slight drop in temperature that had accompanied the thickening cloud cover. I picked my way through the clumps of grass and the taller flowers hoping that the erupting Ringlets and Meadow Browns which I had previously enjoyed seeing didn’t ruin it for me by spooking the Silver Washed. As I approached I saw that it was a slightly more muted orange, almost with a greenish tinge as it was a female. She too, like the males from before, was vibrating her wings in an effort to warm up but it wasn’t working out too well for her so I backed off and skirted round her so I could get back to the path without spooking her myself. I was almost back when I happened to glance down and there was a Small Skipper sitting out the cool too.
I cut back through to the main track and then contented myself with watching another male Silver Washed and pootling around with the Ringlets for the remaining time. I found myself breathing deeply and easily, the dull ache that had been behind my eyes for the last month had gone and my mind had stilled. Just what the doctor could have ordered.
Gloomy old Garston
The return of an old friend
The Hedgies are back
Work 06-07-2021
As this was Sports Day I was sporting my Australia football shirt and so I didn’t know if I would have much luck with the butterflies due to its bright yellow colour? I remember reading that some insects can see quite far into the violet spectrum so how a yellow top looked under these conditions I could only guess. The strong breeze, intermittent showers and passing clouds didn’t help matters either but I set off ever hopeful and with the Socceroo’s motto of Never Say Never passing through my mind.
Along the small tracks at the Pits the usual butterflies appeared. The Large Skippers were looking very jaded and I couldn’t find a single Ringlet. I checked as many of the Smessex Skippers as possible but they remained either Smessex when they took flight too quickly or became Smalls when they were better behaved. Behind the large Bramble the breeze whipped across the grasses but despite this it seemed that the Marbled Whites and Skippers had usurped the Meadow Browns as there were none of the later and three each of the other two species.
I cut across to the gap in the trees and out up the Specklie as I broke out into the daylight. There was no Red Admiral here today instead a Small Tort had discovered the nectar source and was guzzling greedily on the good stuff. Leaving it supping I strolled down the path to the bottom of the field. The hedge side held Meadow Browns and Skippers whilst in the grass Small Heath played. When I reached the bottom I started back and a Small Tort dropped into the Bramble. As I looked up from getting some record shots of it a second, which I’d missed on the way down due to it having its cryptic underwing facing me, suddenly appeared.
Further along the Red Admiral flew past but that was the final ‘different sighting’ of the outing. Another brief but efficacious trip which hadn’t been noticeably affected by the less than usual clothing!
Would I be lucky?
In bright yellow football shirt
It doesn’t scare them
Along the small tracks at the Pits the usual butterflies appeared. The Large Skippers were looking very jaded and I couldn’t find a single Ringlet. I checked as many of the Smessex Skippers as possible but they remained either Smessex when they took flight too quickly or became Smalls when they were better behaved. Behind the large Bramble the breeze whipped across the grasses but despite this it seemed that the Marbled Whites and Skippers had usurped the Meadow Browns as there were none of the later and three each of the other two species.
I cut across to the gap in the trees and out up the Specklie as I broke out into the daylight. There was no Red Admiral here today instead a Small Tort had discovered the nectar source and was guzzling greedily on the good stuff. Leaving it supping I strolled down the path to the bottom of the field. The hedge side held Meadow Browns and Skippers whilst in the grass Small Heath played. When I reached the bottom I started back and a Small Tort dropped into the Bramble. As I looked up from getting some record shots of it a second, which I’d missed on the way down due to it having its cryptic underwing facing me, suddenly appeared.
Further along the Red Admiral flew past but that was the final ‘different sighting’ of the outing. Another brief but efficacious trip which hadn’t been noticeably affected by the less than usual clothing!
Would I be lucky?
In bright yellow football shirt
It doesn’t scare them
Larkhill 05-07-2021
I called in at Larkhill on the way home as I just had a feeling that I might get onto an Essex here after drawing a blank at work. I started up the rising path and a Small White immediately caught my eye so after catching up with it I moved on my eyes staring to make out small yellowish shapes amid the grasses. The rain we’d had over the previous month had made the grass spring up and now finding butterflies was tricky and more often than not the only reason any butterflies was seen was the fact that they’d erupted from their hidey hole deep within the grass. As I was bemoaning this fact to myself I happened to look to my right and there in a slightly shorter patch of grass were two butterflies that seemed to fit the description of my target species. I managed to get a closer look at one and sure enough there was the thin, straight sex brand, the sandier colour and most obvious the antennae that had been dabbed in ink. I tried for a few shots before checking out the second which was also an Essex and that was when the first went up. I managed somehow to keep track of it possibly because it was less energetic in the gloom. After really making sure that I had some positive ID shots I moved on and a Small Tort tempted me to retrace my steps.
I did and again found the Small White but the Small Tort had vanished so I carried on and tried the overgrown path that cuts diagonally across the field. First one, then a second, then a third and finally a fourth DGF all went up and then motored away skimming the grass tops. The first and the second I hadn’t had a chance with but the third and fourth I was expecting. However what I hadn’t expected was exactly how well they hide away despite their large size and their bright ginger livery. I didn’t want to lose too many Brownie points and so I made for home but not before the Small Tort helped me across the road and I watched a Red Admiral cutting along the edge of the farmer’s field. The two main thing from this stop off were that I’d gotten my target and I had an inkling that I knew where the DGFs would be if I decided to stop off again…
Ten minute stop-off
Enough time to bag my target
Got me an Essex
I did and again found the Small White but the Small Tort had vanished so I carried on and tried the overgrown path that cuts diagonally across the field. First one, then a second, then a third and finally a fourth DGF all went up and then motored away skimming the grass tops. The first and the second I hadn’t had a chance with but the third and fourth I was expecting. However what I hadn’t expected was exactly how well they hide away despite their large size and their bright ginger livery. I didn’t want to lose too many Brownie points and so I made for home but not before the Small Tort helped me across the road and I watched a Red Admiral cutting along the edge of the farmer’s field. The two main thing from this stop off were that I’d gotten my target and I had an inkling that I knew where the DGFs would be if I decided to stop off again…
Ten minute stop-off
Enough time to bag my target
Got me an Essex
Work 05-07-2021
During break duty a Red Admiral bombed by and paused just long enough on the wall of the Drama Studio to positively ID it. I was left wondering whether it was the same one that I’d had fleeting views of over the last fortnight and also where it was bombing off too? Hence it was with some annoyance that I spotted another Red Admiral (or the same one?) during my lunchtime trip to the Pits. Again allowed a positive ID, this time cruising slowly past me before shifting up several gears and disappearing from sight into the Primary School. Still I carried on wandering the small paths, the huge grass stems brushed my shins as I walked and Marbled Whites and Meadow Browns, the occasional Ringlet and little orange blur of a Smessex zipped this way and that ceaselessly.
I carried on past the large Bramble and started checking the Smessex in earnest but try as I might all turned out to be Smalls. The antennae all flicked out, any sex brands were thick and crooked and all were a bright orange colour. I just couldn’t seem to find an Essex and then I saw what I thought was good for one. It had a sandier colour compared to all the others I’d seen so I cautiously approached it and fired off a few shots but alas it too was a Small.
By this stage I’d reached the patch of Thistles and so I paused a while to take in the scene both before me and around me. The Marbled Whites when they weren’t sitting down in the perched atop the Thistles heads as did the Meadow Browns. The Skippers also joined in when not sitting on the smaller flower tops or some the large broad leaves around the margins of the paths. But it was the Ringlets that proved the most difficult as they flew pathetically but continuously. I followed one round to the ribbon of woodland and it was joined by a second but neither would land.
Through the trees the Specklie went up from its usual perching spot but I was more interested in the large dark butterfly I’d seen out of the corner of my eye. It was a/the Red Admiral and so I set up camp for a few moments and added several sets of images to the memory card. It fluttered out and back perching lower than its original position and so I once more fired off a load of shots. Leaving it in peace I moved on down the hedge where another Smessex remained a Small and soon entered into the Small Heath territory. Looking out over the small fields of unmown grass I could see many Small Heaths flapping about along with the occasional Marbled White and Meadow Brown but I was short of time and so started back.
On my return leg I saw a lot of the same butterflies but I did stop for a couple. The first stop was for a Small Skipper which on one of the Orchids along with a hidden predator. The second was for another Small but this one had a strange blob of black on the rear tip of the fore wing – a possible ab or some form of damage I couldn’t work it out.
Slip past me at break
But catch up with it at lunch
Yes Sir, Admiral!
I carried on past the large Bramble and started checking the Smessex in earnest but try as I might all turned out to be Smalls. The antennae all flicked out, any sex brands were thick and crooked and all were a bright orange colour. I just couldn’t seem to find an Essex and then I saw what I thought was good for one. It had a sandier colour compared to all the others I’d seen so I cautiously approached it and fired off a few shots but alas it too was a Small.
By this stage I’d reached the patch of Thistles and so I paused a while to take in the scene both before me and around me. The Marbled Whites when they weren’t sitting down in the perched atop the Thistles heads as did the Meadow Browns. The Skippers also joined in when not sitting on the smaller flower tops or some the large broad leaves around the margins of the paths. But it was the Ringlets that proved the most difficult as they flew pathetically but continuously. I followed one round to the ribbon of woodland and it was joined by a second but neither would land.
Through the trees the Specklie went up from its usual perching spot but I was more interested in the large dark butterfly I’d seen out of the corner of my eye. It was a/the Red Admiral and so I set up camp for a few moments and added several sets of images to the memory card. It fluttered out and back perching lower than its original position and so I once more fired off a load of shots. Leaving it in peace I moved on down the hedge where another Smessex remained a Small and soon entered into the Small Heath territory. Looking out over the small fields of unmown grass I could see many Small Heaths flapping about along with the occasional Marbled White and Meadow Brown but I was short of time and so started back.
On my return leg I saw a lot of the same butterflies but I did stop for a couple. The first stop was for a Small Skipper which on one of the Orchids along with a hidden predator. The second was for another Small but this one had a strange blob of black on the rear tip of the fore wing – a possible ab or some form of damage I couldn’t work it out.
Slip past me at break
But catch up with it at lunch
Yes Sir, Admiral!
Work 02-07-2021
The phone hadn’t rung yesterday so today we were safe. To celebrate I took myself off to the Pits at lunchtime. It’s certainly more enjoyable now I know that the Browns are about as they seem to pootle about even when it’s drizzling so there will always be something to see. Also without the year 11 I don’t have to worry about bumping into the smokers and then my time out being cut short through having to deal with them.
As I reached the chest hall wall of grass at the start of the Pits the sun was hidden behind some cloud but its warmth and light was still reaching though so the butterflies were active. A Meadow Brown would haul itself up into the air, some of them had an air of chocolate orange about them whereas the faster, more direct Marbled Whites appeared a light grey as the black and white blur into one. There were also a few Ringlets skulking about low down and in the dull they looked almost jet black. If things were starting to get a bit monotone the Skippers brightened things up both by their attire and their character. The first butterfly that fell under my lens was none of these however the honour passed instead to a Small Heath who was looking in mighty fine fettle.
On past the large Bramble with more skippers (both Large and Smessex, though in all probability Small) and the others flitting by. I stood back and watched as a Red Admiral was seen off by a moody Meadow Brown and unfortunately the Red Admiral made a bee-line for the train tracks across the Primary school’s field. The less dense patch on the other side again was the playground for Large Skippers, Smessex and Marbled Whites. The fewer Ringlets and Meadow Browns favoured the margins where the grass grew longer and some Meadow Browns were delighting in the thistle patch. I spent a bit of time here trying my best to get anything but all were playing hard to get. I’d take a few steps, something would go up and then I’d watch as it flew around and around investigating almost every flower head before flying on more powerfully to pastures new. I did have some successes; a definite male Small, a Marbled White feeding on some thistle and a Small appearing to float in mid-air. However the pride of place went to a Small Skipper feeding on a Pyramidal Orchid – a lovely addition to another of my collections and some consolation for not getting onto a Marbled White that had been on the flower earlier.
Walking back I totted up the numbers in my head but apart from the single Red Admiral and 2 Small Heath the others were next to impossible to count. The Meadow Browns would appear to go down amid the grass and another would fly up – but was it another or was it the same one? The Marbled Whites would chase each other about and put up others that had been hiding and as for the Skippers well they put the Craw Step to good use; I’d be watching one intently and then it would shift up a couple of gears and just vanish. In the end I just took to wandering and marvelling although a final Small Skipper posed too nicely to ignore.
As I made my way back to the block I counted myself lucky to have access to the Pits every day.
With charming Skippers
Marbs and Ringlets abounding
The Pits it isn’t
As I reached the chest hall wall of grass at the start of the Pits the sun was hidden behind some cloud but its warmth and light was still reaching though so the butterflies were active. A Meadow Brown would haul itself up into the air, some of them had an air of chocolate orange about them whereas the faster, more direct Marbled Whites appeared a light grey as the black and white blur into one. There were also a few Ringlets skulking about low down and in the dull they looked almost jet black. If things were starting to get a bit monotone the Skippers brightened things up both by their attire and their character. The first butterfly that fell under my lens was none of these however the honour passed instead to a Small Heath who was looking in mighty fine fettle.
On past the large Bramble with more skippers (both Large and Smessex, though in all probability Small) and the others flitting by. I stood back and watched as a Red Admiral was seen off by a moody Meadow Brown and unfortunately the Red Admiral made a bee-line for the train tracks across the Primary school’s field. The less dense patch on the other side again was the playground for Large Skippers, Smessex and Marbled Whites. The fewer Ringlets and Meadow Browns favoured the margins where the grass grew longer and some Meadow Browns were delighting in the thistle patch. I spent a bit of time here trying my best to get anything but all were playing hard to get. I’d take a few steps, something would go up and then I’d watch as it flew around and around investigating almost every flower head before flying on more powerfully to pastures new. I did have some successes; a definite male Small, a Marbled White feeding on some thistle and a Small appearing to float in mid-air. However the pride of place went to a Small Skipper feeding on a Pyramidal Orchid – a lovely addition to another of my collections and some consolation for not getting onto a Marbled White that had been on the flower earlier.
Walking back I totted up the numbers in my head but apart from the single Red Admiral and 2 Small Heath the others were next to impossible to count. The Meadow Browns would appear to go down amid the grass and another would fly up – but was it another or was it the same one? The Marbled Whites would chase each other about and put up others that had been hiding and as for the Skippers well they put the Craw Step to good use; I’d be watching one intently and then it would shift up a couple of gears and just vanish. In the end I just took to wandering and marvelling although a final Small Skipper posed too nicely to ignore.
As I made my way back to the block I counted myself lucky to have access to the Pits every day.
With charming Skippers
Marbs and Ringlets abounding
The Pits it isn’t
Work 01-07-2021
Another day and another dollar which is what it pretty much came down to at work during this time. We had the triple threat of OfSTED hanging over us, being PINGED and having to isolate just when things are getting good butterfly wise or even worse catching Co-Vid from one of the pupils. Needless to say when the opportunity arose at lunch I grabbed it eagerly with both paws and made my way out to the relative peace of the Pits. I say relative peace as the proximity of the Primary School does somewhat temper the tranquillity but I’m finding that with each passing visit I can tune out more and more easily with the added benefit that there aren’t various curse words littering the occasional outburst that pierces my mental bubble.
As I crossed the threshold from recently mown into the chest height wildness of the Pits I was greeted by a by a Large Skipper as well as a few bouncy Meadow Browns and a Marbled White or two. What I was really interested in however were the Ringlets which had only just started emerging and seemed to be the last of the Browns to appear on the scene. I got lucky as one actually sat still on a blade of grass long enough for me to confirm that it was actually a Ringlet and not just a dark Meadow Brown and also for a couple of shots. After this I kept my eyes open for more and I could see a few but none were stopping and so I made my way round to the other side of the Bramble bush.
Almost immediately I spotted a golden skipper and the sandy and less orange tone suggested that it was an Essex but getting in close enough I was able to see the long and crooked sex brand so it was a Small doing an even better job than usual of confusing identification! Also here a few Marbs – possibly the same ones which I’d seen at the start of the Pits, flew in and out of the tall flowers and a Large Skipper rested on some wind flattened tufts of grass.
I checked out the corner and the Specklie was in its usual position but the lighting was pretty dire here – all the shots came out bleached and blown as the sun was still slipping through the cloud and the camera seemed to be over compensating for the slight dulling effect of the cloud and the shady situation so overexposing my shots. I worked my way back to the far side of the Bramble by which time the sun had come out proper and things looked better on the viewing screen; the Small Skipper certainly glowed a fine golden colour. The Thistles held a few Meadow Browns which were partaking of the nectar and I found another Small Skipper enjoying the Creeping thistles. I started to make my way back noting a more Marbled Whites and Ringlets in amongst the much more common Meadow Browns and right on the edge, almost the final stem of tall grass a Small Skipper sat nicely and waited for me to take its photo. With this achieved it was once more unto the breach…
Much needed escape
Ringlet sits for a photo
What’s up with it then?
As I crossed the threshold from recently mown into the chest height wildness of the Pits I was greeted by a by a Large Skipper as well as a few bouncy Meadow Browns and a Marbled White or two. What I was really interested in however were the Ringlets which had only just started emerging and seemed to be the last of the Browns to appear on the scene. I got lucky as one actually sat still on a blade of grass long enough for me to confirm that it was actually a Ringlet and not just a dark Meadow Brown and also for a couple of shots. After this I kept my eyes open for more and I could see a few but none were stopping and so I made my way round to the other side of the Bramble bush.
Almost immediately I spotted a golden skipper and the sandy and less orange tone suggested that it was an Essex but getting in close enough I was able to see the long and crooked sex brand so it was a Small doing an even better job than usual of confusing identification! Also here a few Marbs – possibly the same ones which I’d seen at the start of the Pits, flew in and out of the tall flowers and a Large Skipper rested on some wind flattened tufts of grass.
I checked out the corner and the Specklie was in its usual position but the lighting was pretty dire here – all the shots came out bleached and blown as the sun was still slipping through the cloud and the camera seemed to be over compensating for the slight dulling effect of the cloud and the shady situation so overexposing my shots. I worked my way back to the far side of the Bramble by which time the sun had come out proper and things looked better on the viewing screen; the Small Skipper certainly glowed a fine golden colour. The Thistles held a few Meadow Browns which were partaking of the nectar and I found another Small Skipper enjoying the Creeping thistles. I started to make my way back noting a more Marbled Whites and Ringlets in amongst the much more common Meadow Browns and right on the edge, almost the final stem of tall grass a Small Skipper sat nicely and waited for me to take its photo. With this achieved it was once more unto the breach…
Much needed escape
Ringlet sits for a photo
What’s up with it then?
