Fovant 28-04-2024
I’d noticed that my camera body was starting to get a bit old and a bit banged up but luckily my wife had also had a D90 knocking about that she wasn’t using and so I swapped my lens over and then waited for a break in the weather so that I could test it out. Things weren’t looking good as all the best days seemed to be during the week and the promise of a great weekend made the previous week gradually deteriorated from full sun to sunny intervals to 70% chance of showers. It turned cooler as well and so once again come Sunday lunchtime when I spotted the briefest of breaks in the clouds I grabbed my camera and just went out anyway. The sun strengthened as I drove, lasting for longer and longer periods whilst the cloud cover did the opposite and when I pulled up in the little lay-by at Fovant we’d almost completed another seasonal cycle from the spring a week before, through a squally autumn and mild winter and back to spring again!
I’d chosen Fovant as it is a much shorter drive than Martin Down and also because I was hoping to find a Grizzlie either along the sheltered paths or in the bowls formed from long deceased quarries. I hopped over the gate and followed the narrow path round and up into the base of the bowl. It seemed a little early for the usual Little Brown Jobs/Dukes but I still spied out a Peacock on the far side as well as a Green-veined White which drifted from one Coltsfoot to the next, pausing at each clump to take a sip. As I approached it I discovered problem one – the autofocus didn’t seem to work? Instead of some cracking, crisp images I got a shaky blurry blob as I’d clicked away out of force of habit. When I tried manual that wasn’t much easier either as I’d discovered problem 2, the view through the viewfinder was equally as blurry and unfocused. As I strolled up the hill I could possibly have missed out on a plethora of Grizzlies as I spent most of the trip up looking over the camera body. Then I noticed a little switch marked AF/M and clicked it round to AF. Boom, problem 1 solved. At the top another Green-veined White paused on the ever-reliable Dandelion and so I leant in and clicked away. Problem 2 hadn’t gone away but by pointing in roughly the right direction the AF had produced some passable images. I strolled back down the track and back into the Bowl picking up a Large White with a folded wing whilst a Brimstone scaled the heights at the back of the bowl.
I crossed the road and climbed over the next gate racking my brains why the viewfinder was blurry? Then I noticed the little +/- wheel at the top of the camera so I looked through the viewfinder and turned it one way then the other and Boom, problem 2 solved! ‘Good job I’d decided to make the trip on such a quiet day’ I thought to myself as I completed the walk to the bowl on this side of the road. It got even better for as I skirted round the inside edge I spotted a Peacock and then a fast moving, very small brown blur. I did my best to watch it, the difficulty with which I did this suggested that it was a Skipper and the colour a Dingy at that so when it eventually landed I was ready. I got a few shots and then it moved to ‘ledge’ slightly higher up the steep bank but this gave me the advantage of approaching it from cover and so I got some closer shots. Brilliant, just sorting the camera out would have been reward enough but a first for the year was even better!
I worked out of the other side of the Bowl and then started up the diagonal track with its occasional hollows. In the first there was another fast moving Peacock but also a Green-veined White sitting amid the damp and dew while it waited for the sun, which had momentarily ducked behind a passing cloud, to reappear. When it did, little tendrils of light raking out across the dark grass, the butterfly took off promptly and was away. I turned to follow it and was startled as a Fox that had been watching me slunk off before I even gave a thought to raising my camera. However I did raise my camera as I’d spotted a small, brown but not fast moving butterfly sitting and basking on the grass tops. It was my first Duke of the year and so my day got even better. After I’d gotten my shots I took a step back to watch the butterfly and that was when it took off and climbed up the steep wall like side of the Down passing out of view.
I carried on up to the top of the path and then back down in the low gully ending up back in the Bowl with only another Peacock and a Specklie to add to the tally and in the Bowl an Orange-tip deigned to have its photo taken. Once back at the car I realized that I still had five minutes or so left before I needed to head back and so I gave the Bowl one last check. It again held the Large White and what I suspect was the same Peacock and when I climbed out the other side I got another shock as Hare took from almost under my feet giving me one hell of a start! With that I loaded up and shipped out musing as I drove how I’d have felt if I’d not bothered to head out?
Went out anyway
Get the camera sorted
Duke and Dingy too!
I’d chosen Fovant as it is a much shorter drive than Martin Down and also because I was hoping to find a Grizzlie either along the sheltered paths or in the bowls formed from long deceased quarries. I hopped over the gate and followed the narrow path round and up into the base of the bowl. It seemed a little early for the usual Little Brown Jobs/Dukes but I still spied out a Peacock on the far side as well as a Green-veined White which drifted from one Coltsfoot to the next, pausing at each clump to take a sip. As I approached it I discovered problem one – the autofocus didn’t seem to work? Instead of some cracking, crisp images I got a shaky blurry blob as I’d clicked away out of force of habit. When I tried manual that wasn’t much easier either as I’d discovered problem 2, the view through the viewfinder was equally as blurry and unfocused. As I strolled up the hill I could possibly have missed out on a plethora of Grizzlies as I spent most of the trip up looking over the camera body. Then I noticed a little switch marked AF/M and clicked it round to AF. Boom, problem 1 solved. At the top another Green-veined White paused on the ever-reliable Dandelion and so I leant in and clicked away. Problem 2 hadn’t gone away but by pointing in roughly the right direction the AF had produced some passable images. I strolled back down the track and back into the Bowl picking up a Large White with a folded wing whilst a Brimstone scaled the heights at the back of the bowl.
I crossed the road and climbed over the next gate racking my brains why the viewfinder was blurry? Then I noticed the little +/- wheel at the top of the camera so I looked through the viewfinder and turned it one way then the other and Boom, problem 2 solved! ‘Good job I’d decided to make the trip on such a quiet day’ I thought to myself as I completed the walk to the bowl on this side of the road. It got even better for as I skirted round the inside edge I spotted a Peacock and then a fast moving, very small brown blur. I did my best to watch it, the difficulty with which I did this suggested that it was a Skipper and the colour a Dingy at that so when it eventually landed I was ready. I got a few shots and then it moved to ‘ledge’ slightly higher up the steep bank but this gave me the advantage of approaching it from cover and so I got some closer shots. Brilliant, just sorting the camera out would have been reward enough but a first for the year was even better!
I worked out of the other side of the Bowl and then started up the diagonal track with its occasional hollows. In the first there was another fast moving Peacock but also a Green-veined White sitting amid the damp and dew while it waited for the sun, which had momentarily ducked behind a passing cloud, to reappear. When it did, little tendrils of light raking out across the dark grass, the butterfly took off promptly and was away. I turned to follow it and was startled as a Fox that had been watching me slunk off before I even gave a thought to raising my camera. However I did raise my camera as I’d spotted a small, brown but not fast moving butterfly sitting and basking on the grass tops. It was my first Duke of the year and so my day got even better. After I’d gotten my shots I took a step back to watch the butterfly and that was when it took off and climbed up the steep wall like side of the Down passing out of view.
I carried on up to the top of the path and then back down in the low gully ending up back in the Bowl with only another Peacock and a Specklie to add to the tally and in the Bowl an Orange-tip deigned to have its photo taken. Once back at the car I realized that I still had five minutes or so left before I needed to head back and so I gave the Bowl one last check. It again held the Large White and what I suspect was the same Peacock and when I climbed out the other side I got another shock as Hare took from almost under my feet giving me one hell of a start! With that I loaded up and shipped out musing as I drove how I’d have felt if I’d not bothered to head out?
Went out anyway
Get the camera sorted
Duke and Dingy too!
Martin Down 21-04-2024
I’d seen report from a couple of sites, one further East and the other further West, that the Grizzlies were emerging and so to that end I decided that after lunch, with all the jobs jobbed, I head over to Martin Down an hope that as that was in the middle of the other two sites that the Grizzlies would be out there too…
I didn’t think that my slow puncture or the suspension would thank me for visiting Sillen’s Lane and so I pulled up instead in the Main Car Park off the A354. It was quite busy so I hoped that most of the visitors would be looking for butterflies as this is a big site and the Grizzle is a small butterfly and the more pairs of eyes the better. However most of the people that I encountered seemed to have a penchant for carrying miniature bin bags and calling out strange names so it seemed that I would have to rely on my eyes alone. I started off having a quick look around the large island of scrub from the car park. In the past I’ve encountered Greenstreaks, Grizzlies and even a Cloudy in this spot but all I could find today was a male Adder in the usual spot, basking at the side of the path.
I then cut across the ‘bowl’ and climbed down into the Dyke. Hopefully in a few weeks there will be Marshies all along here but today it was barren and so I set off along the top path with the Dyke on my right and made for the Butts. Along the way I had a look in a couple of the little fields as the banks caught the sun and offered some respite from the breeze which was quite gusty at times. I still couldn’t find any butterflies but instead checked out a couple of the old iron sheets. One had a Slow Worm whilst the other had a couple of Adders, one of which seemed huge and would have had quite a reach on it should it have been in a cantankerous mood. Luckily I’d used a handy stick to lift the sheet up else I’d have been fair game for a quick nip if she’d of had the mind.
The lack of butterflies continued all the way along the rest of the walk, and even the sheltered field behind the Butts was barren. Eventually I reached the Half-way point where a trio of butterfliers were checking out the narrow path. One I’d met before down at Portland and I’d seen the work of the other couple on Facebook. After a brief chat they decided to carry on and they left me with the brace of Greenstreaks who were holding territory along the edge of the path.
With something of the butterfly variety on the memory card I pressed on reasoning that in the breeze the sheltered spots would pay a premium and so to that end I followed one of the diagonal tracks across the grassland to one end of the Tunnel track. Almost as soon as the double hedge began the butterflies started appearing. The first was a beautifully fresh Specklie which played around the entrance to the track it kind of reminded me of a kid running out with the waves only to run back in when the waves returned only it would dart out of the tunnel track, a gust of wind would hit it and it would come racing back in to the shelter. Further along I spotted another couple of enthusiasts who were peering into the hedge. When I reached the spot they’d been peering at I paused and had a quick look. A small, bright green triangle suddenly stood out against the more yellow hued foliage – the third Greenstreak for the day. While I clicked away the other enthusiasts joined me and they explained that they’d been focusing on Holly Blues so had missed the Greenstreak. Again one person I’d met before and the other’s photos I’d seen on Facebook.
They headed off slightly further along the track and as they left I enjoyed a little purple patch with 2 male Orange-tips patrolling along the hedge, a Peacock dropping in and two male Holly Blues. The second flew along the hedge towards me and stopped quite close to even though I wasn’t whispering at it to do so! It started to open up and as I stepped in closer a female, slightly to my left and lower down on the hedge decided that she needed a bit more of a bask. The male quite literally almost fell off his perch and so I was witness to perhaps the shortest courtship; it lasted only about 30 seconds. The male then disappeared off the female having very effectively got her message across and she proceeded to continue with her sun bathing. I called the others back and so we were all able to get some shots of her looking her best.
While we clicked away we talked and it appeared that a Grizzlie had been seen the day before and so while the others made their way back to the car I doubled back to have a look around the Gorse fields hopeful that the Grizzlie may still have been around. Despite plenty of searching I didn’t find it, in fact I didn’t see anything butterfly wise and so I decided that rather than looking for a needle in the haystack I’d head over to the corner of Greenstreak field where it would be a case of looking for a needle in a needle sized box labelled ‘Needle’ and containing one needle. I scanned across the lower foliage by the narrow track and sure enough there was a Greenstreak. It played a little hard to get to start with, sitting so that part of it was obscured and at one point deep within the thorns of the Gorse but eventually I won its trust and it came out into the open a little more.
Pleased with my collection of shots I had a little poke around whilst munching on my snack; a Green-veined White and a Brimstone both did a recce and when I decided to make a move I looked back to watch a white butterfly detach itself from a leaf that is had been roosting on whilst the sun had been in. It was a female Orange-tip. I looked upwards hoping that there would be some more cloud bubbling up to settle her down but alas I was in the middle of a Blue Sky period. I watched as she fluttered towards me, seemingly investigating all the nectar sources around and about and then she alighted ever so briefly on a Purple Orchid. I fired off a few hopeful shots but she was quite distant.
After this I did a time check and the verdict wasn’t good so I had to head for home. Of course I called in at the Half-way point where the Greenstreaks were both up high and didn’t stray down. I also found a few cats on the path which I think could be Marsh Frits but I need to check and also checked in with the Adders who seemed to be bunking up with a Slow Worm and then I drove home. Hopefully we’ll get a few more days like this weather wise and then things will really start taking off. Fingers crossed!
Pop to Martin Down
Going on a Grizzlie Hunt
But it’s a no show
I didn’t think that my slow puncture or the suspension would thank me for visiting Sillen’s Lane and so I pulled up instead in the Main Car Park off the A354. It was quite busy so I hoped that most of the visitors would be looking for butterflies as this is a big site and the Grizzle is a small butterfly and the more pairs of eyes the better. However most of the people that I encountered seemed to have a penchant for carrying miniature bin bags and calling out strange names so it seemed that I would have to rely on my eyes alone. I started off having a quick look around the large island of scrub from the car park. In the past I’ve encountered Greenstreaks, Grizzlies and even a Cloudy in this spot but all I could find today was a male Adder in the usual spot, basking at the side of the path.
I then cut across the ‘bowl’ and climbed down into the Dyke. Hopefully in a few weeks there will be Marshies all along here but today it was barren and so I set off along the top path with the Dyke on my right and made for the Butts. Along the way I had a look in a couple of the little fields as the banks caught the sun and offered some respite from the breeze which was quite gusty at times. I still couldn’t find any butterflies but instead checked out a couple of the old iron sheets. One had a Slow Worm whilst the other had a couple of Adders, one of which seemed huge and would have had quite a reach on it should it have been in a cantankerous mood. Luckily I’d used a handy stick to lift the sheet up else I’d have been fair game for a quick nip if she’d of had the mind.
The lack of butterflies continued all the way along the rest of the walk, and even the sheltered field behind the Butts was barren. Eventually I reached the Half-way point where a trio of butterfliers were checking out the narrow path. One I’d met before down at Portland and I’d seen the work of the other couple on Facebook. After a brief chat they decided to carry on and they left me with the brace of Greenstreaks who were holding territory along the edge of the path.
With something of the butterfly variety on the memory card I pressed on reasoning that in the breeze the sheltered spots would pay a premium and so to that end I followed one of the diagonal tracks across the grassland to one end of the Tunnel track. Almost as soon as the double hedge began the butterflies started appearing. The first was a beautifully fresh Specklie which played around the entrance to the track it kind of reminded me of a kid running out with the waves only to run back in when the waves returned only it would dart out of the tunnel track, a gust of wind would hit it and it would come racing back in to the shelter. Further along I spotted another couple of enthusiasts who were peering into the hedge. When I reached the spot they’d been peering at I paused and had a quick look. A small, bright green triangle suddenly stood out against the more yellow hued foliage – the third Greenstreak for the day. While I clicked away the other enthusiasts joined me and they explained that they’d been focusing on Holly Blues so had missed the Greenstreak. Again one person I’d met before and the other’s photos I’d seen on Facebook.
They headed off slightly further along the track and as they left I enjoyed a little purple patch with 2 male Orange-tips patrolling along the hedge, a Peacock dropping in and two male Holly Blues. The second flew along the hedge towards me and stopped quite close to even though I wasn’t whispering at it to do so! It started to open up and as I stepped in closer a female, slightly to my left and lower down on the hedge decided that she needed a bit more of a bask. The male quite literally almost fell off his perch and so I was witness to perhaps the shortest courtship; it lasted only about 30 seconds. The male then disappeared off the female having very effectively got her message across and she proceeded to continue with her sun bathing. I called the others back and so we were all able to get some shots of her looking her best.
While we clicked away we talked and it appeared that a Grizzlie had been seen the day before and so while the others made their way back to the car I doubled back to have a look around the Gorse fields hopeful that the Grizzlie may still have been around. Despite plenty of searching I didn’t find it, in fact I didn’t see anything butterfly wise and so I decided that rather than looking for a needle in the haystack I’d head over to the corner of Greenstreak field where it would be a case of looking for a needle in a needle sized box labelled ‘Needle’ and containing one needle. I scanned across the lower foliage by the narrow track and sure enough there was a Greenstreak. It played a little hard to get to start with, sitting so that part of it was obscured and at one point deep within the thorns of the Gorse but eventually I won its trust and it came out into the open a little more.
Pleased with my collection of shots I had a little poke around whilst munching on my snack; a Green-veined White and a Brimstone both did a recce and when I decided to make a move I looked back to watch a white butterfly detach itself from a leaf that is had been roosting on whilst the sun had been in. It was a female Orange-tip. I looked upwards hoping that there would be some more cloud bubbling up to settle her down but alas I was in the middle of a Blue Sky period. I watched as she fluttered towards me, seemingly investigating all the nectar sources around and about and then she alighted ever so briefly on a Purple Orchid. I fired off a few hopeful shots but she was quite distant.
After this I did a time check and the verdict wasn’t good so I had to head for home. Of course I called in at the Half-way point where the Greenstreaks were both up high and didn’t stray down. I also found a few cats on the path which I think could be Marsh Frits but I need to check and also checked in with the Adders who seemed to be bunking up with a Slow Worm and then I drove home. Hopefully we’ll get a few more days like this weather wise and then things will really start taking off. Fingers crossed!
Pop to Martin Down
Going on a Grizzlie Hunt
But it’s a no show
Brown’s Folly 20-04-2024
My wife and K fancied a visit to Bath and so I was to be the taxi service. Once we’d located the Park and Ride despite the best efforts of the SATNAV to thwart us I dropped them off and then had 5 or so hours to explore an entirely new site. I was hoping to find an early Grizzlie and so I’d chosen a site which apparently held this species as well as Greenstreaks and with a good mix of habitats; Brown’s Folly. It meant driving through the city and out the other side and for some of the way I had to traverse the Zone C with its signs threatening legal action if the fees weren’t paid but eventually I was driving up a very narrow and ridiculously steep road to the small car park perched on the side of the hill. From here there was a stroll up a much less steep rise through an open beech wood and while I walked I also checked on the internet and was reassured that the Zone C fee didn’t apply to my car – phew!
As I reached the top of the rise the track that I was only veered sharply to the left, carrying on along the top of the hill, but I went though the gate and started down wooden stairs cut into the hillside, admiring the breathtaking vista as I went. Though the sun was shining in a blue sky there was still a nip in the air so I was hoping that radiant would win out of ambient heat. About half the way down something small and dark flashed past and there was something about the ‘jink’ that made me exclaim ‘Greenstreak’. I kept and eye on it and it landing on a supporting post of the barbed wire fence. I tried to approach it but even in the cool of the morning it was still very twitchy and after a few distant record shots it was off to the other side of the fence and I lose it amongst the unfurling green leaves. Still, I was off the mark as it were.
I completed my descent and then walked over the closely cropped turf as it undulated between long extinct workings. This area of the site seemed to consist of this terrace with a near vertical cliff (with caves to boot) on one side and a steep hill terminating in a wood at the bottom. I trawled across the old workings, this way and that, examining every patch of Wild Strawberry or Dandelion along the way but all I found was a Peacock right at start of my ramblings. As I reached the other side of the quarry area on my third pass I took the diagonal path that cut across the steep hill down towards the very bottom of the quarry area. The path came to a gate from whence it dove back into the surrounding wood so because the quarry area had proved so quiet I carried on following the ride. After about 100 metres I passed through 2, possibly 3, different Peacock territories, found a Specklie and seen two male Holly Blues (unfortunately all were up high). This gave me the sense that things had finally started waking up and so I started back following a fork in the track which brought me back to the quarry about half way along the bottom fence.
Once back in the quarry I worked along the fence line at the bottom, scrubby grasses on one side and on the other a short sere into woodland with some transitional Hawthorns just within arms reach. As is often the way I was about to call it quits here when in the corner I spotted a familiar looking emerald triangle in the penultimate Hawthorn. It was a bit of a pain, being slightly too high and slightly too far for my lens. But that’s the good thing about Greenstreaks – you seldom have to wait long for them to change position. This time the one I was watching was forced from it’s perch by a second that flew in from where I don’t and so they both set off across the thin turf scarping for all they were worth. When they drifted apart one landed lower down whilst the visitor reseated themselves on the Hawthorn. I spent a bit of time here cursing the choice of perch and the fence that prevented me getting closer in equal measure.
With one or three Greenstreak shots on the memory card and the day warming up nicely I decided to another check around the upper part of the site. I wandered right to the top to the Folly and then along the middle terrace like part of the quarry. At the end with the wooden stairs I spotted a flash of light blue and as I drew nearer I could see a Holly Blue which was intent on sampling some of the delicacies left behind by the resident goats. As it kept going down to the deck I knelt down and waited for it to come close enough to grab a few shots and eventually it complied stopping within crawling distance a couple of times. I then cut back down the steep hill with both male and female Brimstones on the way down, a passing Orange-tip at the bottom before I found a handy rock to set up lunch on. As I enjoyed my coffee and munched down on the Mixed pickle sandwich a brace of Peacocks entertained me, dinner and a show almost.
Refreshed and replenished I started back along the bottom fence line with the aim of relocating a Greenstreak. As I stared at the penultimate Hawthorn I found a Greenstreak. But something didn’t look right and as I drew near I discovered why – there wasn’t just one but two Greenstreaks, Greenstreaks in cop a first for me! Now I doubly cursed the fence and their choice of lofty boudoir! However providence struck and a third Greenstreak passed by and tried to get in on the action displacing the couple. I watched with bated breath as they took off, still coupled, and flew up and around the Hawthorn. Then they reappeared and drifted down, down, down to the ground into the grass. Even luckier their move had confused the potent love rival and so after a little gentle pruning I was able to click away to my hearts’ content garnering plenty of images of the happy couple.
Once I’d taken more than enough photos, then a few more as well just to be sure and then a final set to be sure to be sure I started dawdling my way back to the car park taking the woodland ride that I briefly ventured along before. This time I was greeted by a Peacock which was holding the first territory and then a Large White which bombed along the track before ducking down to take a few quick sips of nectar from various of the Dandelions. I carried on along the track through 2 more Peacock territories with each sitting diligently on the track. As I would get close, probably to within a metre they would take off and fly slightly further along the path, only to repeat the behaviour as I continued to progress until they breached their neighbours territory. Then both would spiral up into the heavens until they ran out of steam, would detach and drift lazily back down their respective spots. As I walked I was also joined by at least three Orange-tips one of which paused at nearly every single Herb Robert plant on the verge. This proved to be a very reliable way to try for some shots. I’d watch it start nectaring and then make my way gingerly towards it, clicking as I went, almost a more cautious form of the ‘Click-step’. The difference this time was that if it took off there was a very good chance it would land only one or two plants over. When it got to the end the patch it would move rapidly off only to call in at the next clump and repeat the whole procedure again.
As I moved further into the wood I added a brace of Holly Blues and both a male and female Brimstone. Then came I slight change as instead of walking into the wood I must have started walking out of it. It’s hard to describe but there seemed to be slightly more light, there was a slight increase in the movement of air and in amid the birdsong the faintest of urban noise started to filter through. Specklies also started showing up now as well as another Large White, a male, sitting atop a Garlic Mustard. The penultimate butterfly was a gorgeous and brightly marked female Specklie before I finished with a flourish of a male Orange-tip racing me into the car park.
Pleased despite my lack of a Grizzlie I loaded up shipped out, feeling much happier traversing the city in the knowledge that I’d had a good day and also that there wasn’t a charge waiting for me for driving in a C Zone. I wonder if the girls want to do another shopping trip to Bath?
A lack of Grizzlies
But a coupling of Greenstreaks
Saved the day for me
A stolen afternoon…18-04-2024
I woke up at the usual weekday time and then half way through my breakfast I remembered that I had the joy of a Hospital appointment. Once that was dealt with I took a quick walk over to Waitrose to pick up something for lunch as all my other victuals were stashed at work and as the sun was still shining I took my camera as well. I walked on the sunny side of the pavement along the back route through the housing estate and as I did so I could feel the warmth of the sun on my back which prompted me to start paying a little more attention to the vegetation along the verges and in the small gardens. I reached the fake pond (where tiles and stones have been placed so as to look like flowing water replete with both a nest containing eggs and several stone ducks and ducklings) and took a slight diversion so that I could have a look at the flower beds on the other side of the miniature park. As I drew near I spotted the telltale flash of bright orange and so I hastened over and started clicking away at the male OT. It seemed that it had only just awoken as it stretched open fully as I clicked away some more.
I left it to finish its sunbathing and carried on along the path but when I reached the little patch of green I had to tarry a little longer as first a female Brimstone went up and then the Orange-tip dropped in for a little light breakfast on the smorgasbord of early flowers. I grabbed a few more shots but mainly just stood back and enjoyed the sight of it bumbling form flower to flower. Things went quieter once I’d left the calm of the estate although a Holly Blue fluttered around the entrance of the car park.
Once I’d eaten lunch I still had an hour or so before I needed to think about picking up L from school and so I chanced my arm and drove the short distance over to Martin Down. I was hoping that Sillen’s Lane would be back in operation but there was still a stream flowing along the track, albeit less deep than previously. I pulled into the car park and set off along the length of the hedge. There were plenty of Brimstones of both sexes flying away in the distance but a bit closer to home was an male Orange-tip which was rapidly closing the distance to me. When it was almost on top of me it ducked down into the long grass and then two butterflies popped back up. One was the male but the other was my first female OT of the year. Normally this would allow a close approach as the male courted and the female either accepted or declined his offer. There was a little bit of negative abdomen waving but instead of being able to settle down and get some open wing shots the female was off across the Down leaving the male behind and in no doubt of his rejection.
I carried on noting a Comma, Peacock, numerous Brimstones and then more of the same along the Tunnel track with the addition of a Holly Blue. At the end I turned left and then worked up and over the side of the Iron age workings and down the other side eventually arriving past stands of Gorse (looking out of place in the middle of a Chalk Down) and scrubby thorns at the ‘usual spot’ in Greenstreak field. A Brimstone fluttered along the line of the hedge and as it reached the break where the narrowest of paths leads through a much smaller, dark brown butterfly took off from a previously unobserved spot, flew out and viciously attacked. Brill I’d found my first Greenstreaks of the season. I then settled down and took shots after shot of this delightful little butterfly.
After a while, my appetite for a ‘new species’ sated I decided to have a look to see if I could find an early Grizzlie. To that end I ducked and bobbed through the tiny track and worked round to the Terraces. It was slightly disappointing as there didn’t seem to be too much, if any nectar sources available. I carried on hoping that the half-way point would prove a bit more butterfly filled however all it could muster was a brace of Brimstones and a distant Small White so I retraced my steps all the way back to the Greenstreak field. Once there I settled down again with the Greenstreak which was occupying the same territory flying between a couple of Bramble leaves low to the ground, a perch half way up the tall, spindly Gorse and a branch in a birch tree at the side of the path. I showed a couple of other observers and then as I was making off a second Greenstreak put in a brief appearance almost as if to wave me off.
From here I made my back up the Hill fort and along the Tunnel Track towards the main hedge. Again the were several Peacocks, a multitude of Brimstones and at least three male Orange-tips patrolling the length of the hedge. A much whiter, almost square cut white hove into view and I watched it pass by so it became a Green-veined White. When I was about half way along the track I slowed down as I could see a Peacock on the deck up ahead and beyond that a Comma yet as I watched and tried to work out how to approach them a Red Admiral flew in from the field and put both of the others up. I would love to have gotten a shot with all three Aristos in view but alas I had to make do with just watching and snatches of old jokes came to mind; “A Comma and a Peacock were sitting in a bar when in came Red Admiral…” but again alas I couldn’t come up with a punchline beyond “…he’s a Red Mad-miral”...I’ll get me coat…
Back with the butterflies it all went very white after that Brimstones and the odd Orange-tip but there was also a couple of Green-veined Whites patrolling as well. One got slightly confused and took somewhat of a liking to a female Brimstone, even deigning to try and force an ardent male out of the way. It didn’t succeed but the male Brimstone didn’t have it all his way as he was soon joined by a second male neither of whose attentions the female wanted. AT one point all three went down but not for long and it seemed to be a subtle ruse by the female because as soon as the males grounded she shot up and off across the fields away to the Downs! After this I attempted to follow one of the male OT’s but it had reached that point in the day when they’d basked and armed up enough and it was far too early to think about roosting so they just flew and flew and flew. I did finish off with a white though as a Green-veined White plopped down on practically the last clump of Dandelion before the lush and verdant grass transitioned into the hardcore of the car park.
I then drove home and straight over to Five Rivers so that I was ready to pick L up from school. I pulled up so that my car was visible from the back gate and then wandered over the grass and down onto the riverside path that leads to the Glades. A male OT popped up from a small patch of Red Nettles and shot off as is their way during wall-to-wall sunshine but I didn’t mind as somehow I managed to spot a roosting female at the other end of the Glades. She was sitting on a piece of Cow Parsley and doing her best to imitate the little white florets. A slither of sun crept through the thickening canopy and gave it just enough light to take to the air but she made a bit of a mistake and flew deeper into the shade. Too slow she realised and ended up almost belly-flopping down into some Stingers. With so careful manipulation using a few twigs I managed to hold back the obscuring leaves and get a few shots before leaving her in peace and stepping out from the shade of the Glade and into the sun along the path to Specklie Intersection.
Along the Banks various Peacocks and Commas flew, about half way along a Green-veined White flew by and stopped a few times but only long enough for me to get close enough to confirm it’s ID but not long enough to actually get a shot off. Both a Red Admiral and Small Tort did fly-bys but these are starting to show their age now as they’re often the first species out and about after the winter at this site. At the far corner another OT fed briefly on some Bluebells and then I turned around and worked back counting as I moved along the Banks. By the time I was back at Specklie Intersection I racked up 2 Brimstones, 7 Peacocks, 3 Commas and singletons of Specklie and Green-veined White. Pleased with this I climbed up the small bank and had a peek at Comma Corner. Sure enough there was a Comma sitting in the middle of the cleared zone and then a second just off to one side.
Time was starting to run out and so I picked up the pace and hurried back towards the car. However I stopped in at the end of the Glades for a few minutes as I’d managed to relocate the roosting female OT. She hadn’t gone much further, just sort of slipped a little lower down the stem. As I was wrapping up with the final shots my phone went off and I quickly reverted to ‘Dad mode’ and so wished the OT luck and headed back to the car park to pick up. As I drove home we talked about our days and then was when I made a shocking realization…I hadn’t check the weather apps once, I’d just gone for it!
What a citrus day
With Oranges and lemons
Finally some Limes.
I left it to finish its sunbathing and carried on along the path but when I reached the little patch of green I had to tarry a little longer as first a female Brimstone went up and then the Orange-tip dropped in for a little light breakfast on the smorgasbord of early flowers. I grabbed a few more shots but mainly just stood back and enjoyed the sight of it bumbling form flower to flower. Things went quieter once I’d left the calm of the estate although a Holly Blue fluttered around the entrance of the car park.
Once I’d eaten lunch I still had an hour or so before I needed to think about picking up L from school and so I chanced my arm and drove the short distance over to Martin Down. I was hoping that Sillen’s Lane would be back in operation but there was still a stream flowing along the track, albeit less deep than previously. I pulled into the car park and set off along the length of the hedge. There were plenty of Brimstones of both sexes flying away in the distance but a bit closer to home was an male Orange-tip which was rapidly closing the distance to me. When it was almost on top of me it ducked down into the long grass and then two butterflies popped back up. One was the male but the other was my first female OT of the year. Normally this would allow a close approach as the male courted and the female either accepted or declined his offer. There was a little bit of negative abdomen waving but instead of being able to settle down and get some open wing shots the female was off across the Down leaving the male behind and in no doubt of his rejection.
I carried on noting a Comma, Peacock, numerous Brimstones and then more of the same along the Tunnel track with the addition of a Holly Blue. At the end I turned left and then worked up and over the side of the Iron age workings and down the other side eventually arriving past stands of Gorse (looking out of place in the middle of a Chalk Down) and scrubby thorns at the ‘usual spot’ in Greenstreak field. A Brimstone fluttered along the line of the hedge and as it reached the break where the narrowest of paths leads through a much smaller, dark brown butterfly took off from a previously unobserved spot, flew out and viciously attacked. Brill I’d found my first Greenstreaks of the season. I then settled down and took shots after shot of this delightful little butterfly.
After a while, my appetite for a ‘new species’ sated I decided to have a look to see if I could find an early Grizzlie. To that end I ducked and bobbed through the tiny track and worked round to the Terraces. It was slightly disappointing as there didn’t seem to be too much, if any nectar sources available. I carried on hoping that the half-way point would prove a bit more butterfly filled however all it could muster was a brace of Brimstones and a distant Small White so I retraced my steps all the way back to the Greenstreak field. Once there I settled down again with the Greenstreak which was occupying the same territory flying between a couple of Bramble leaves low to the ground, a perch half way up the tall, spindly Gorse and a branch in a birch tree at the side of the path. I showed a couple of other observers and then as I was making off a second Greenstreak put in a brief appearance almost as if to wave me off.
From here I made my back up the Hill fort and along the Tunnel Track towards the main hedge. Again the were several Peacocks, a multitude of Brimstones and at least three male Orange-tips patrolling the length of the hedge. A much whiter, almost square cut white hove into view and I watched it pass by so it became a Green-veined White. When I was about half way along the track I slowed down as I could see a Peacock on the deck up ahead and beyond that a Comma yet as I watched and tried to work out how to approach them a Red Admiral flew in from the field and put both of the others up. I would love to have gotten a shot with all three Aristos in view but alas I had to make do with just watching and snatches of old jokes came to mind; “A Comma and a Peacock were sitting in a bar when in came Red Admiral…” but again alas I couldn’t come up with a punchline beyond “…he’s a Red Mad-miral”...I’ll get me coat…
Back with the butterflies it all went very white after that Brimstones and the odd Orange-tip but there was also a couple of Green-veined Whites patrolling as well. One got slightly confused and took somewhat of a liking to a female Brimstone, even deigning to try and force an ardent male out of the way. It didn’t succeed but the male Brimstone didn’t have it all his way as he was soon joined by a second male neither of whose attentions the female wanted. AT one point all three went down but not for long and it seemed to be a subtle ruse by the female because as soon as the males grounded she shot up and off across the fields away to the Downs! After this I attempted to follow one of the male OT’s but it had reached that point in the day when they’d basked and armed up enough and it was far too early to think about roosting so they just flew and flew and flew. I did finish off with a white though as a Green-veined White plopped down on practically the last clump of Dandelion before the lush and verdant grass transitioned into the hardcore of the car park.
I then drove home and straight over to Five Rivers so that I was ready to pick L up from school. I pulled up so that my car was visible from the back gate and then wandered over the grass and down onto the riverside path that leads to the Glades. A male OT popped up from a small patch of Red Nettles and shot off as is their way during wall-to-wall sunshine but I didn’t mind as somehow I managed to spot a roosting female at the other end of the Glades. She was sitting on a piece of Cow Parsley and doing her best to imitate the little white florets. A slither of sun crept through the thickening canopy and gave it just enough light to take to the air but she made a bit of a mistake and flew deeper into the shade. Too slow she realised and ended up almost belly-flopping down into some Stingers. With so careful manipulation using a few twigs I managed to hold back the obscuring leaves and get a few shots before leaving her in peace and stepping out from the shade of the Glade and into the sun along the path to Specklie Intersection.
Along the Banks various Peacocks and Commas flew, about half way along a Green-veined White flew by and stopped a few times but only long enough for me to get close enough to confirm it’s ID but not long enough to actually get a shot off. Both a Red Admiral and Small Tort did fly-bys but these are starting to show their age now as they’re often the first species out and about after the winter at this site. At the far corner another OT fed briefly on some Bluebells and then I turned around and worked back counting as I moved along the Banks. By the time I was back at Specklie Intersection I racked up 2 Brimstones, 7 Peacocks, 3 Commas and singletons of Specklie and Green-veined White. Pleased with this I climbed up the small bank and had a peek at Comma Corner. Sure enough there was a Comma sitting in the middle of the cleared zone and then a second just off to one side.
Time was starting to run out and so I picked up the pace and hurried back towards the car. However I stopped in at the end of the Glades for a few minutes as I’d managed to relocate the roosting female OT. She hadn’t gone much further, just sort of slipped a little lower down the stem. As I was wrapping up with the final shots my phone went off and I quickly reverted to ‘Dad mode’ and so wished the OT luck and headed back to the car park to pick up. As I drove home we talked about our days and then was when I made a shocking realization…I hadn’t check the weather apps once, I’d just gone for it!
What a citrus day
With Oranges and lemons
Finally some Limes.
Five Rivers 13-04-2024
When I looked at of the window there was a blue sky and the sun was shining. In fact when I popped into town for the usual Saturday morning errands I didn’t even wear a coat and I was still comfortable so when I got back and everything was stored away I jumped in the car and drove over to Five Rivers to take advantage of good weather. While waiting at one set of traffic lights it suddenly dawned on me why the weather was improving…it was the final weekend of the break! So all the rain, hail, gales, cloud cover and cooler temperatures would now be replaced by something much more temperate now that I would be ensconced in a classroom all day! This made me even more determined to squeeze butterflies out of every single minute of the visit.
I parked behind the Glades and tripped through and to the bank at Comma Corner where I spied my first butterfly of the day; a Small White fluttering as if it had just woken up and was bumbling around the kitchen bleary eyed. It started to perk up and with each successive flower that it visited it seemed to fly a little faster, a little more directly and so I followed it round the back of the copse before it set off determinedly across the middle of the fields. I returned my gaze back to the foliage of the copse where first one and then a second Holly Blue detached themselves from their perch and jinked up and down the tree line. Frustratingly they remained up too high for my lens to reach and so in the end I left them to it and walked right round and back to Comma Corner where a Peacock was sunbathing and a brace of Commas were battling it out for the best spot.
I then strolled down the slight slope to Specklie Intersection, which held a Brimstone rather than the expected Specklie, and from there onto the Banks. I hadn’t covered much ground when a Red Admiral took off form an unseen spot in the vegetation. I was shocked when I saw the red epaulets as I’d expected it to be a Peacock as I’d not seen an Admiral since February. I wondered if it was a recent incomer or a stalwart survivor but either way it still had plenty of vim and vigour and played quite hard to get, leading me on a merry dance along the first section of The Banks up to the little break in the trees. Once I was through said trees and on the more open Mid Banks I picked up another Peacock and another Red Admiral although it could have been the same one, it was difficult to tell as once again it played hard to get, resting for just long enough that I decided to risk an approach and then taking off as my first footstep fell.
Once I reached the end I carried on down the bank and along the path to the little cleared section at the far corner. A flash of orange showed up the presence of an Orange-tip and just below it a Small Tort whilst a Peacock gets short shrift slightly further on. I spent some time with the OT following it this way and that as it quartered the miniature clearing. Occasionally I’d step into the bed and pick my way round the clumps of flowers to try for a few shots. After several circuits it strayed a little further form its patrol zone and then disappeared over the hedge and into the allotments beyond. I started back along the path and encountered the OT again. This time it plopped down close to the edge of the path and I was able to get in really close. As I was straightening back up a Holly Blue fluttered to the middle of the shallow bank before dropping down in the grass. It must have got confused and thought that it was a Common Blue when normally they are almost Hairstreak in behaviour as it sat there amid the tufts of grass in a habitat that was more Grass Downland than Woodland.
I worked my way back along the Banks stopping regularly to either note down a sighting, try for a few shots or maybe even both. The order ran Peacock, Peacock, Specklie, Brimstone and then as I neared the end of the Banks two Red Admirals (so it might have been ‘another’ earlier and not ‘the same’) and a further two Brimstones in the final short stretch. Round at Comma Corner instead of a Comma or the ‘Jonny-come-lately vying for naming rights Peacock I found a Small Tort of all things and then I dove back into the dappled light of and bright clearings of the Glades.
I parked behind the Glades and tripped through and to the bank at Comma Corner where I spied my first butterfly of the day; a Small White fluttering as if it had just woken up and was bumbling around the kitchen bleary eyed. It started to perk up and with each successive flower that it visited it seemed to fly a little faster, a little more directly and so I followed it round the back of the copse before it set off determinedly across the middle of the fields. I returned my gaze back to the foliage of the copse where first one and then a second Holly Blue detached themselves from their perch and jinked up and down the tree line. Frustratingly they remained up too high for my lens to reach and so in the end I left them to it and walked right round and back to Comma Corner where a Peacock was sunbathing and a brace of Commas were battling it out for the best spot.
I then strolled down the slight slope to Specklie Intersection, which held a Brimstone rather than the expected Specklie, and from there onto the Banks. I hadn’t covered much ground when a Red Admiral took off form an unseen spot in the vegetation. I was shocked when I saw the red epaulets as I’d expected it to be a Peacock as I’d not seen an Admiral since February. I wondered if it was a recent incomer or a stalwart survivor but either way it still had plenty of vim and vigour and played quite hard to get, leading me on a merry dance along the first section of The Banks up to the little break in the trees. Once I was through said trees and on the more open Mid Banks I picked up another Peacock and another Red Admiral although it could have been the same one, it was difficult to tell as once again it played hard to get, resting for just long enough that I decided to risk an approach and then taking off as my first footstep fell.
Once I reached the end I carried on down the bank and along the path to the little cleared section at the far corner. A flash of orange showed up the presence of an Orange-tip and just below it a Small Tort whilst a Peacock gets short shrift slightly further on. I spent some time with the OT following it this way and that as it quartered the miniature clearing. Occasionally I’d step into the bed and pick my way round the clumps of flowers to try for a few shots. After several circuits it strayed a little further form its patrol zone and then disappeared over the hedge and into the allotments beyond. I started back along the path and encountered the OT again. This time it plopped down close to the edge of the path and I was able to get in really close. As I was straightening back up a Holly Blue fluttered to the middle of the shallow bank before dropping down in the grass. It must have got confused and thought that it was a Common Blue when normally they are almost Hairstreak in behaviour as it sat there amid the tufts of grass in a habitat that was more Grass Downland than Woodland.
I worked my way back along the Banks stopping regularly to either note down a sighting, try for a few shots or maybe even both. The order ran Peacock, Peacock, Specklie, Brimstone and then as I neared the end of the Banks two Red Admirals (so it might have been ‘another’ earlier and not ‘the same’) and a further two Brimstones in the final short stretch. Round at Comma Corner instead of a Comma or the ‘Jonny-come-lately vying for naming rights Peacock I found a Small Tort of all things and then I dove back into the dappled light of and bright clearings of the Glades.
Once safely ensconced a set about scanning and quickly spotted a Comma taking a breather on the large clump of Bramble whilst a Holly Blue flutters along the tops of the nettles teasing me and flying up to the tops of the surround trees the minute I made a move. This time I kept walking along the riverside path when I reached the last little scallop of the Glades before it opens out in plain old grass lawn I found the Glades in microcosm. A bold and brash Brimstone rattled overhead and a Specklie that was frequenting the middle of the nettle patch was clearly in a bothered state of agitation. As I looked a little closer to try and work out what was going on first one, then two Holly Blue took off and went for the Specklie. They seemed to be working as a tag team and then, having driven off the large butterfly they turned on each other. The brief glimpse that I’d had convinced me that one of the Holly Blues was in better nick than the other so I waited to see which would land…
Happy to have caught up with the brace of Blues I finished up my circuit back in the main Glades finding a Green-veined White, female Brimstone and a very tattered Comma. Then as I strolled back to the car I totted up and my tally had reached 10, my first double digit trip of the year which could only lead to one question…where to next?
After a bit of an internal debate which lasted the length of the drive out of the car park I headed over to The Devenish. I eschewed the Paddocks as a cursory glance had shown that there wasn’t an awful lot in terms of nectar and so I made my way along the short woodland track and through the gate into the Orchid Meadow. Almost as soon as I was in the meadow I spotted a Comma and then a Green-veined White. I wandered to the far end and watched a male and female Brimstone drift from one side of the field to another whilst a male Orange-tip passed behind me on its patrol. This was swiftly followed by a second heading in the same direction but on the opposite side of the field. I mooched about at the top end of the field for a bit and while I was there notched up 4 Brimstones, a Peacock and a Red Admiral as well a brace of Orange-tips which I assumed were the original pair. But not a one stopped!
I felt like waiting and seeing wasn’t going to cut it as the afternoon sun had pumped the butterflies up so I took to Wandering and Watching instead. This meant climbing up to the top and strolling along through the woodland walk but it this also saw a poor rate of return; a lot of walking for only a few Brimstones fluttering along the rides. True one did look spectacular as it floated through the nearly naked Beech Hanger intermittently catching the sun and so looking like a fast-moving flame. I took the stairs back down into the Paddock and walked the length with two Orange-tips patrolling, a Green-veined White past and a Small White, Peacock and Holly Blue all hanging around at the end with a further 4 Brimstones past. But again nothing stopped!! Therefore I thought the few photos would end up going into the ‘Maybe do later’ file or worse still the bin. However then a male OT dropped in so the post was back in the game as I managed to grab a handful of shots of it as it noodled about and before I headed homewards.
Was today the day?
Could I get to 10 species?
Today was that day!
Happy to have caught up with the brace of Blues I finished up my circuit back in the main Glades finding a Green-veined White, female Brimstone and a very tattered Comma. Then as I strolled back to the car I totted up and my tally had reached 10, my first double digit trip of the year which could only lead to one question…where to next?
After a bit of an internal debate which lasted the length of the drive out of the car park I headed over to The Devenish. I eschewed the Paddocks as a cursory glance had shown that there wasn’t an awful lot in terms of nectar and so I made my way along the short woodland track and through the gate into the Orchid Meadow. Almost as soon as I was in the meadow I spotted a Comma and then a Green-veined White. I wandered to the far end and watched a male and female Brimstone drift from one side of the field to another whilst a male Orange-tip passed behind me on its patrol. This was swiftly followed by a second heading in the same direction but on the opposite side of the field. I mooched about at the top end of the field for a bit and while I was there notched up 4 Brimstones, a Peacock and a Red Admiral as well a brace of Orange-tips which I assumed were the original pair. But not a one stopped!
I felt like waiting and seeing wasn’t going to cut it as the afternoon sun had pumped the butterflies up so I took to Wandering and Watching instead. This meant climbing up to the top and strolling along through the woodland walk but it this also saw a poor rate of return; a lot of walking for only a few Brimstones fluttering along the rides. True one did look spectacular as it floated through the nearly naked Beech Hanger intermittently catching the sun and so looking like a fast-moving flame. I took the stairs back down into the Paddock and walked the length with two Orange-tips patrolling, a Green-veined White past and a Small White, Peacock and Holly Blue all hanging around at the end with a further 4 Brimstones past. But again nothing stopped!! Therefore I thought the few photos would end up going into the ‘Maybe do later’ file or worse still the bin. However then a male OT dropped in so the post was back in the game as I managed to grab a handful of shots of it as it noodled about and before I headed homewards.
Was today the day?
Could I get to 10 species?
Today was that day!
Martin Down 12-04-2024 Part 2
By now I’d realised that this wasn’t going to be one of those vintage visits and so I decided to head for home. As is so often the way of course that’s when the butterflies started appearing. As I left the Tunnels and got back onto the main track along the hedge back to the car park I looked ahead and watched a Peacock take off from the middle of the track when a male Brimstone passed by on its patrol. Further in the distance I spied out three more Brimstones at various points along the hedge as well as the inky black silhouette of a second Peacock. Whilst seeing all of these butterflies making their way along the hedge was great it suddenly got even better. Right at the far end, near to the little turn off blocked by the hay bales I spotted the cream tangerine of a male Orange-tip making its way towards me.
I hastened along the path to meet it half-way which was the least I could do and as I drew near to it I found a likely looking spot and stood and watched. It carried on past me and then 10 metres or so away it turned and started back. I watched it do a couple of passes of this circuit and clocked that it seemed to linger over a patch of Stitchwort so while it was on its way to the furthest reach of its territory I moved over to the aforementioned flower patch and waited. I then got a little lucky break for as it started flying over the white flowers the sun momentarily dipped behind a passing cloud and so the butterfly went down. I grabbed a few shots and then another set when the sun once again dipped in. So Orange-tip in the bag which can only mean that we are definitely now in spring (even if the weather seems to be stuck in a late autumn loop).
I didn’t want the day to end there, and refueled on Caffiene, I girded my loins to make the drive over to the other side which would mean having to brave the stream once more. I thought it would have drained slightly by now but if anything it seemed deeper; possibly the previous rain had finally completed its infiltration and so was eager to get once more to the sea! It made for an interesting 10 minutes and I’m not sure that I got out of first gear but I main thing was that I made it to the Main car park in one piece and the undercarriage would be sparklingly clean.
I walked along the main track, the tall hedges on either side hemming me in and then turned right and worked along the line of the hedge. All was quiet and all I added to the memory card were a few shots of yet another Adder in the usual spot by the decaying branch. I wandered over to the start of the Dyke, climbed down and conscious of the number of Adders I’d seen, worked ever so carefully along the length. A Small Tort stopped and started its way along the bottom of the path attacking both of the only other butterflies that I saw; an Orange-tip which didn’t hang around an merely shrugged off the larger, bolshey butterfly and a Brimstone which took the attack as an affront and slunk off with its abdomen tucked between its’ tarsi.
As it was so quiet here I crossed the road and worked up the dusty track towards Kitts Grave and Vernditch. Two different Peacocks sunbathed on the dusty track but despite seemingly induced into a coma by the sun were off like a shot as I drew near. An Orange-tip stopped ever so fleetingly a few times, toying with me. The strong gusting breeze that rattled tis way straight up the track didn’t help either for when it finally sat still and supped a little nectar it was rocked back and forth violently. After completing a circuit I’d only added a few more Peacocks and Brimstones to the days tally so I made my way home. I was sure that I’d find a Greenstreak but perhaps it was still a little early; maybe next week?
I hastened along the path to meet it half-way which was the least I could do and as I drew near to it I found a likely looking spot and stood and watched. It carried on past me and then 10 metres or so away it turned and started back. I watched it do a couple of passes of this circuit and clocked that it seemed to linger over a patch of Stitchwort so while it was on its way to the furthest reach of its territory I moved over to the aforementioned flower patch and waited. I then got a little lucky break for as it started flying over the white flowers the sun momentarily dipped behind a passing cloud and so the butterfly went down. I grabbed a few shots and then another set when the sun once again dipped in. So Orange-tip in the bag which can only mean that we are definitely now in spring (even if the weather seems to be stuck in a late autumn loop).
I didn’t want the day to end there, and refueled on Caffiene, I girded my loins to make the drive over to the other side which would mean having to brave the stream once more. I thought it would have drained slightly by now but if anything it seemed deeper; possibly the previous rain had finally completed its infiltration and so was eager to get once more to the sea! It made for an interesting 10 minutes and I’m not sure that I got out of first gear but I main thing was that I made it to the Main car park in one piece and the undercarriage would be sparklingly clean.
I walked along the main track, the tall hedges on either side hemming me in and then turned right and worked along the line of the hedge. All was quiet and all I added to the memory card were a few shots of yet another Adder in the usual spot by the decaying branch. I wandered over to the start of the Dyke, climbed down and conscious of the number of Adders I’d seen, worked ever so carefully along the length. A Small Tort stopped and started its way along the bottom of the path attacking both of the only other butterflies that I saw; an Orange-tip which didn’t hang around an merely shrugged off the larger, bolshey butterfly and a Brimstone which took the attack as an affront and slunk off with its abdomen tucked between its’ tarsi.
As it was so quiet here I crossed the road and worked up the dusty track towards Kitts Grave and Vernditch. Two different Peacocks sunbathed on the dusty track but despite seemingly induced into a coma by the sun were off like a shot as I drew near. An Orange-tip stopped ever so fleetingly a few times, toying with me. The strong gusting breeze that rattled tis way straight up the track didn’t help either for when it finally sat still and supped a little nectar it was rocked back and forth violently. After completing a circuit I’d only added a few more Peacocks and Brimstones to the days tally so I made my way home. I was sure that I’d find a Greenstreak but perhaps it was still a little early; maybe next week?
Martin Down 12-04-2024
It felt like the time was right, Greenstreaks had been seen at nearby Battlesbury and some other sites further afield so I made for Martin Down in the hope that they’d be flying here too. Reasoning that Greenstreak Field would be my best bet for finding an early Greenstreak I turned off the main road and drove down into Martin before turning right up Sillen’s Lane. At the end of last season the surface had been levelled here and there but I reckoned that there may be some new pot holes that had been formed over the very wet winter. What I hadn’t expected was to be driving up a stream to get to the car park! Luckily someone had put a traffic cone in the deepest submerged pot hole so I came through relatively unscathed and I hoped that on the return journey things would be a bit easier as the water would have had a chance to drain away.
The wet theme continued once I was out of the car and walking along the hedge. The recently dug drainage gulley was filled to the brim and various sections of the track were quagmires (giggity) so I picked my way carefully on towards the Tunnel track cross-eyed from trying to watch the hedge and where my feet were at the same time. As I made slow progress I was accompanied for some of the way by a Peacock that was doing that odd thing that butterflies do; it would take off, fly a head of me and then settle down on the path only to be surprised once again when I rumbled up to it. The Tunnel tracks look slightly more habitable after their drastic haircut last year and so I started scanning ever more hopefully as I made my way down and then back up the track. My hope became false though with only a Holly Blue flying too high for my lens and a brace of Specklies at either end of the track. Slightly dejectedly I rounded the corner and made my way to the corner of Greenstreak field which usually produces the goods but despite waiting around and examining the Gorse bush and its surrounding scrub in minute detail the hotspot and the Hollow Hotspot only housed a single Brimstone.
From here I decided to walk up to the top following the Dyke. I occasionally paused my ascent; stopping here and there along the way to nip down into the Dyke because I’d seen something, to run up the other side as there was something on the opposite bank or because there was a promising looking spot at the bottom. First an Adder turned up and then a Small White took up some of my time. Normally I wouldn’t bother too much beyond a record shot but as this was only the second definite one that I’d seen and also the first that played nicely enough for a photo I tarried longer than usual with it. The next pause came about due to another Adder, coiled up and basking half way down the bank. I must have trodden a bit too heavily on my approach because as I got into range it slithered off…only to reveal another, slightly large one beneath it! Then I arrested my climb for a Green-veined White which was almost as twitchy as the first one I’d encountered. As well as being annoyingly flighty it also chose the steepest, tallest part of the Dyke to land at the top of.
There were also a few Brimstones flying along the way up which made me consider my next step once I’d reached the top hence I pressed on right to the very top and then briefly down the other side following a Brimstone at first but then when I started back up I spotted a Comma which I’d previously walked straight past. Once at the top there was really only one way to go and so I retraced my steps back down, periodically peering into the depths of the Dyke. The highlights of the return trip were a female Brimstone and a large brown and tan Adder, whose size suggested that it was a female? As I reached to lower slope a brace of Brimstones bombed past and shortly I was back in the Greenstreak field staring at the hedge once more and trying to pick out an emerald triangle with no success.
As Greenstreak field was still not living up to its name I mooched across the main track and started along the line of vegetation up towards the island of scrub in the middle of the down and from there to the little clearing on the inside. On the way two Specklies and a GVW both showed up with only one of the Specklies stopping for a photo. Once I’d fought my way into the clearing I was rewarded with…a single Specklie which was a poor reward for the time and effort put in and the cuts and scratches I received in getting in there in the first place. I was starting to feel a little tired and so I clawed and ducked my way back out and then down the hill and then up the hill and then back down to the start/end of the Tunnel tracks. I walked the length and the butterflies were more of the same as seen before in the following order; Peacock, Specklie and then 2 male and 2 female Brimstones.
The wet theme continued once I was out of the car and walking along the hedge. The recently dug drainage gulley was filled to the brim and various sections of the track were quagmires (giggity) so I picked my way carefully on towards the Tunnel track cross-eyed from trying to watch the hedge and where my feet were at the same time. As I made slow progress I was accompanied for some of the way by a Peacock that was doing that odd thing that butterflies do; it would take off, fly a head of me and then settle down on the path only to be surprised once again when I rumbled up to it. The Tunnel tracks look slightly more habitable after their drastic haircut last year and so I started scanning ever more hopefully as I made my way down and then back up the track. My hope became false though with only a Holly Blue flying too high for my lens and a brace of Specklies at either end of the track. Slightly dejectedly I rounded the corner and made my way to the corner of Greenstreak field which usually produces the goods but despite waiting around and examining the Gorse bush and its surrounding scrub in minute detail the hotspot and the Hollow Hotspot only housed a single Brimstone.
From here I decided to walk up to the top following the Dyke. I occasionally paused my ascent; stopping here and there along the way to nip down into the Dyke because I’d seen something, to run up the other side as there was something on the opposite bank or because there was a promising looking spot at the bottom. First an Adder turned up and then a Small White took up some of my time. Normally I wouldn’t bother too much beyond a record shot but as this was only the second definite one that I’d seen and also the first that played nicely enough for a photo I tarried longer than usual with it. The next pause came about due to another Adder, coiled up and basking half way down the bank. I must have trodden a bit too heavily on my approach because as I got into range it slithered off…only to reveal another, slightly large one beneath it! Then I arrested my climb for a Green-veined White which was almost as twitchy as the first one I’d encountered. As well as being annoyingly flighty it also chose the steepest, tallest part of the Dyke to land at the top of.
There were also a few Brimstones flying along the way up which made me consider my next step once I’d reached the top hence I pressed on right to the very top and then briefly down the other side following a Brimstone at first but then when I started back up I spotted a Comma which I’d previously walked straight past. Once at the top there was really only one way to go and so I retraced my steps back down, periodically peering into the depths of the Dyke. The highlights of the return trip were a female Brimstone and a large brown and tan Adder, whose size suggested that it was a female? As I reached to lower slope a brace of Brimstones bombed past and shortly I was back in the Greenstreak field staring at the hedge once more and trying to pick out an emerald triangle with no success.
As Greenstreak field was still not living up to its name I mooched across the main track and started along the line of vegetation up towards the island of scrub in the middle of the down and from there to the little clearing on the inside. On the way two Specklies and a GVW both showed up with only one of the Specklies stopping for a photo. Once I’d fought my way into the clearing I was rewarded with…a single Specklie which was a poor reward for the time and effort put in and the cuts and scratches I received in getting in there in the first place. I was starting to feel a little tired and so I clawed and ducked my way back out and then down the hill and then up the hill and then back down to the start/end of the Tunnel tracks. I walked the length and the butterflies were more of the same as seen before in the following order; Peacock, Specklie and then 2 male and 2 female Brimstones.
Walk to the shops 09-04-2024
This was actually supposed to be a quick walk to Waitrose to pick up a free coffee and a few other bits and bobs but I took my camera and went the long way round (via Five Rivers) primarily to see if I could catch up with the Green-veined White. As it was only a short visit I restricted myself to only wandering the Glades and the first section of the Banks. The sun shone infrequently and so my wanderings would be punctuated with pauses at particular places whilst I awaited the sun to break through the cloud. When it did everywhere was bathed in a golden glow, the green of the grass seemed to ‘pop’ as fashionistas would say and the temperature went from chilly to pleasant almost in the blink of an eye such was the increasing strength of the spring sun. At Specklie Intersection the resident Specklie sat and awaited the return of the sun and as is usual Peacocks abounded but all were very flightly.
All in all pretty quiet and I was considering giving it a break and heading back to Waitrose, the real reason for the outing, and consigning this to the ‘sort it maybe later’ file or even the bin. However as I came out into one of the more open sections of the Glades a white fluttered by. To my eyes the Green-veined White always seems more square cut, more angular in silhouette so I was fairly convinced that this UFW was one. I watched and waited and after plenty of false stops it eventually landed and so blossom. This made for an attractive background but unfortunately it had chosen its perch poorly for photography as it had landed at about shoulder height on one of the outermost branches at the very edge of the clearing and in the full force of the wind which was gusting stronger from across the other side of the river straight through the clearing. It shook about all over the place, not just nipping in and out of focus but disappearing in and out of the viewfinder. Gingerly so as not to disturb it (I don’t know why I thought that as it was already sitting on the equivalent of a bucking bronco!) I reached out and walked my hand up the branch until eventually I was holding the sprig of blossom steady and then I clicked away one handed. Having reversed the process and stepped back I watched it feeding away and then it took to the air.
Normally that would be that but I couldn’t really be sure that I’d gotten the shots and so I watched it and when it went down again, this time lower down in the vegetation in a much more sheltered spot I set to stalking it so that I could get some more/back-up images. It bumbled about a few times, not flying very far between groundings seemingly sampling the developing smorgasbord of nectar that Five Rivers had to offer. After a while it sat on a leaf for a bit, possibly letting its dinner go down, and when it took off it seemed to fly with a different gait; more powerful, more direct, less falling with style and more making headway. So I watched it disappear off into the wilds of Five Rivers whilst I went to the wilds of Waitrose…
Green-veined White succumbs
From a little shopping trip
Better behaved too
All in all pretty quiet and I was considering giving it a break and heading back to Waitrose, the real reason for the outing, and consigning this to the ‘sort it maybe later’ file or even the bin. However as I came out into one of the more open sections of the Glades a white fluttered by. To my eyes the Green-veined White always seems more square cut, more angular in silhouette so I was fairly convinced that this UFW was one. I watched and waited and after plenty of false stops it eventually landed and so blossom. This made for an attractive background but unfortunately it had chosen its perch poorly for photography as it had landed at about shoulder height on one of the outermost branches at the very edge of the clearing and in the full force of the wind which was gusting stronger from across the other side of the river straight through the clearing. It shook about all over the place, not just nipping in and out of focus but disappearing in and out of the viewfinder. Gingerly so as not to disturb it (I don’t know why I thought that as it was already sitting on the equivalent of a bucking bronco!) I reached out and walked my hand up the branch until eventually I was holding the sprig of blossom steady and then I clicked away one handed. Having reversed the process and stepped back I watched it feeding away and then it took to the air.
Normally that would be that but I couldn’t really be sure that I’d gotten the shots and so I watched it and when it went down again, this time lower down in the vegetation in a much more sheltered spot I set to stalking it so that I could get some more/back-up images. It bumbled about a few times, not flying very far between groundings seemingly sampling the developing smorgasbord of nectar that Five Rivers had to offer. After a while it sat on a leaf for a bit, possibly letting its dinner go down, and when it took off it seemed to fly with a different gait; more powerful, more direct, less falling with style and more making headway. So I watched it disappear off into the wilds of Five Rivers whilst I went to the wilds of Waitrose…
Green-veined White succumbs
From a little shopping trip
Better behaved too
Out and about again…08-04-2024 (Middle Street)
As usual I started off down the back path, where the Nettles were starting to reach to just below the knee in some spots, and also as usual there were a couple of Peacocks to greet me, three in fact. With something in the bag I moved round to the little field at the Hotspot. A brace of Brimstones drifted across the lush growth whilst a Peacock and a Small Tort both put in an appearance. I decided to try and have a look into the old pond but it proved impenetrable and so I walked back round the wall of briar and started to wander back along the path when a silvery-blue blob drifted down from the top of the tree. At first I had it down as just a feather dislodge from a Woodpigeon as it exploded off when I first arrived but its descent seemed more jinky so I moved towards it. When I was a couple of metres away I could suddenly see that it was in fact a Holly Blue down low enough that instead of having to stand on tip-toes and peer at it I was able to kneel down and get level to them. I then clicked away even trying for a few back-lit shots from the other side. My second ‘first photographed’ for the year.
Pleased I set off along the Bank Path checking out the Dips…Dip 1 had 2 Brimstones at the far side and a sole Peacock. Dip 2 and 3 were both quiet and the at the half way a Brimstone passed by and a Small Tort basked on the spot of the recently cleared bramble. I was starting to run out of steam so I decided to do a final run to the end and back before heading for home. I found however that my tiredness swiftly departed at the sight of two Small Torts down on the deck and within 30cm of each other. I hoped that they may have started courting but instead the closer individual orientated itself on the edge of a low growing nettle leaf and curved its abdomen round. After a few shots of this ovipositing Small Tort I did a slow and wide walk round to get to the second which was sitting and holding its wings in such a way as to look like a low tent. AT the end of this sheltered little spot I spotted a third Small Tort. I know that this was definitely a different one as it had the lowest wing to body ratio that I’ve encountered! How it would be able to fly I still can’t fathom but eventually when a break in the cloud appeared off it went, albeit somewhat clumsily. After a final Peacock at the hot spot I started back along the back path pausing for a female Brimstone on the way and then that as they say was that. Isn’t it great when the forecasters get it wrong in such a way?
A duo of trips
Green-veined and a Holly Blue
A duo of ‘firsts’
Pleased I set off along the Bank Path checking out the Dips…Dip 1 had 2 Brimstones at the far side and a sole Peacock. Dip 2 and 3 were both quiet and the at the half way a Brimstone passed by and a Small Tort basked on the spot of the recently cleared bramble. I was starting to run out of steam so I decided to do a final run to the end and back before heading for home. I found however that my tiredness swiftly departed at the sight of two Small Torts down on the deck and within 30cm of each other. I hoped that they may have started courting but instead the closer individual orientated itself on the edge of a low growing nettle leaf and curved its abdomen round. After a few shots of this ovipositing Small Tort I did a slow and wide walk round to get to the second which was sitting and holding its wings in such a way as to look like a low tent. AT the end of this sheltered little spot I spotted a third Small Tort. I know that this was definitely a different one as it had the lowest wing to body ratio that I’ve encountered! How it would be able to fly I still can’t fathom but eventually when a break in the cloud appeared off it went, albeit somewhat clumsily. After a final Peacock at the hot spot I started back along the back path pausing for a female Brimstone on the way and then that as they say was that. Isn’t it great when the forecasters get it wrong in such a way?
A duo of trips
Green-veined and a Holly Blue
A duo of ‘firsts’
Out and about again….08-04-2024
A quick walk on the previous day hadn’t produced any butterflies but a Grass Snake at Middle Street was a definite bonus. However today the weather was forecast to be reasonable first thing and up to lunch with a drastic deterioration come midday and so I grabbed my camera and made my way over to Five Rivers.
As I strolled through the Glades not much was showing so a let myself drift along the paths and up and round to the bank on the football pitch side of the Copse. I scanned across the dead wood and chippings hoping that they would provide a good bed for basking on and amid the greys and dull browns of the decaying pieces of wood a tiny tiger shone out; a Small Tort. Once I’d had a go at getting a few shots I carried on around the Copse and back round and down towards Specklie Intersection which sure enough housed a Specklie. Looking up I spotted a few more breaks in the cloud and so instead of taking off along the Banks I made my way back to the Glades hoping that the butterflies there had gotten out of bed. It seems that they had for as I drew near to a tree at the edge near the car park I spotted a blue flash…my first Holly Blue of the year. Unfortunately it was up way too high for my lens so I had to console myself with watching and then trying for shots of the Specklie or Peacock on the other side of the tree. Still a first for the year was a good find even if I couldn’t get a shot.
I wandered back towards Specklie Intersection and as I rounded the corner a fast moving blur caught my eye. I couldn’t believe it but it was a Hummingbird Hawk Moth working its way at hyper speed from one nectar source to another. I made a few attempts at getting some shots before it moved on, disturbing the resident Specklie as it did so. After this exotic interlude I pressed on along the Banks finding more usual fare in the form of a Peacock. However just on from this something square cut and white took off. I managed to follow it even though it was very flighty and would only sit still for a few seconds at a time and so I was able to identify it as my first Green-veined White of the season. It proved really tricky to get anything decent shot wise as it was even more jittery than hair trigger Peacocks so I had to be happy with a sighting and ‘proof of sighting’ shots. When I continued along the Banks between the half-way point and the end I managed to add a passing Brimstone and a Small Tort to the days list but the forecast started to ring true with increasing levels of cloud billowing over the valley.
On the walk back a Peacock blasted through the Glades but that was it and then I had a quick spot of lunch once I got back home. As I munched the light streamed through the window and I did my usual weather check of stepping out into the courtyard and looking up followed by looking out f the bathroom window over in the direction of Middle Street. The sun had remained and the forecast rain hadn’t materialized – the kind of error I don’t mind the Forecasters making – and so I grabbed my things and set off to Middle Street…
As I strolled through the Glades not much was showing so a let myself drift along the paths and up and round to the bank on the football pitch side of the Copse. I scanned across the dead wood and chippings hoping that they would provide a good bed for basking on and amid the greys and dull browns of the decaying pieces of wood a tiny tiger shone out; a Small Tort. Once I’d had a go at getting a few shots I carried on around the Copse and back round and down towards Specklie Intersection which sure enough housed a Specklie. Looking up I spotted a few more breaks in the cloud and so instead of taking off along the Banks I made my way back to the Glades hoping that the butterflies there had gotten out of bed. It seems that they had for as I drew near to a tree at the edge near the car park I spotted a blue flash…my first Holly Blue of the year. Unfortunately it was up way too high for my lens so I had to console myself with watching and then trying for shots of the Specklie or Peacock on the other side of the tree. Still a first for the year was a good find even if I couldn’t get a shot.
I wandered back towards Specklie Intersection and as I rounded the corner a fast moving blur caught my eye. I couldn’t believe it but it was a Hummingbird Hawk Moth working its way at hyper speed from one nectar source to another. I made a few attempts at getting some shots before it moved on, disturbing the resident Specklie as it did so. After this exotic interlude I pressed on along the Banks finding more usual fare in the form of a Peacock. However just on from this something square cut and white took off. I managed to follow it even though it was very flighty and would only sit still for a few seconds at a time and so I was able to identify it as my first Green-veined White of the season. It proved really tricky to get anything decent shot wise as it was even more jittery than hair trigger Peacocks so I had to be happy with a sighting and ‘proof of sighting’ shots. When I continued along the Banks between the half-way point and the end I managed to add a passing Brimstone and a Small Tort to the days list but the forecast started to ring true with increasing levels of cloud billowing over the valley.
On the walk back a Peacock blasted through the Glades but that was it and then I had a quick spot of lunch once I got back home. As I munched the light streamed through the window and I did my usual weather check of stepping out into the courtyard and looking up followed by looking out f the bathroom window over in the direction of Middle Street. The sun had remained and the forecast rain hadn’t materialized – the kind of error I don’t mind the Forecasters making – and so I grabbed my things and set off to Middle Street…
Work 02-04-2024
It was the day after the Bank Holiday and so officially the start of the Easter break. This of course meant that I was in work offering a Revision session and further of course this meant that weather wise it was shaping up to be the best day of the week. So it came to pass that as I sat or stood in the dark cave that is my lab outside the sun shone brightly and everything else was filled with the joys of spring. With increasing trepidation I would occasionally glance out of the window to check the weather in preparation for a lunchtime foray. I noted that as the day progressed the sun was spending longer and longer behind the clouds and as lunch time drew near my feeling of pessimistic frustration only increased.
However cometh the hour cometh the sun and whilst the pupils all headed ‘down the Best One’ I walked, slightly shell shocked into what was an increasingly sunny vista. When I got to half way point a Brimstone shot past which I took to be a good omen. Sadly it wasn’t as all the usual nooks, crannies, scallops, clumps of flowers or basking spots could produce was a whole heap of nothing. Slightly downtrodden I started the walk back. I mean here was a break in the weather, here was the spring sun shining down and warming my back nicely, here was the bountiful blossom, nectar of the gods but there were no butterflies! As I was thinking this a Small Tortoiseshell hopped from one garden to another but it didn’t come any closer than to allow a very heavily cropped image from the furthest distance my lens can cope with. Some salve but only the slightest amount.
Despondently I moped back towards work but in my funk my feet carried me straight on up the path rather than turning and walking along through the estate. I came out in the school car park before I realized where I was and then something happened that took this post from the realms of ‘bin’ to ‘deemed worthy of a write-up’. As I stared into the distance something caught my eye and unfortunately it took me so long to register that it disappeared from view over the fence into a neighbouring garden. I realized that it was a White and so I walked over to the scrap of round it had been fluttering about before it had done a Houdini and mooched about a bit. Luckily enough if returned and while it supped I clicked away both happy and surprised. Happy to have found something ‘new for the year’ on this disappointing day and surprised that rather than being the expected Small White, it was actually a small Large White.
Needless to say the afternoon passed by much more quickly and I didn’t even mind the heavy, squalling showers that rocked up later in the day. I was surprised yet again how one butterfly can make all the difference.
It’s spring time, no I’m still stuck here working,
Try to get out, but the weather goes bad,
So, taking a chance, I grab my camera and go out,
Get a nice surprise, a Large White
However cometh the hour cometh the sun and whilst the pupils all headed ‘down the Best One’ I walked, slightly shell shocked into what was an increasingly sunny vista. When I got to half way point a Brimstone shot past which I took to be a good omen. Sadly it wasn’t as all the usual nooks, crannies, scallops, clumps of flowers or basking spots could produce was a whole heap of nothing. Slightly downtrodden I started the walk back. I mean here was a break in the weather, here was the spring sun shining down and warming my back nicely, here was the bountiful blossom, nectar of the gods but there were no butterflies! As I was thinking this a Small Tortoiseshell hopped from one garden to another but it didn’t come any closer than to allow a very heavily cropped image from the furthest distance my lens can cope with. Some salve but only the slightest amount.
Despondently I moped back towards work but in my funk my feet carried me straight on up the path rather than turning and walking along through the estate. I came out in the school car park before I realized where I was and then something happened that took this post from the realms of ‘bin’ to ‘deemed worthy of a write-up’. As I stared into the distance something caught my eye and unfortunately it took me so long to register that it disappeared from view over the fence into a neighbouring garden. I realized that it was a White and so I walked over to the scrap of round it had been fluttering about before it had done a Houdini and mooched about a bit. Luckily enough if returned and while it supped I clicked away both happy and surprised. Happy to have found something ‘new for the year’ on this disappointing day and surprised that rather than being the expected Small White, it was actually a small Large White.
Needless to say the afternoon passed by much more quickly and I didn’t even mind the heavy, squalling showers that rocked up later in the day. I was surprised yet again how one butterfly can make all the difference.
It’s spring time, no I’m still stuck here working,
Try to get out, but the weather goes bad,
So, taking a chance, I grab my camera and go out,
Get a nice surprise, a Large White
Five Rivers 01-04-2024
The weather report for the two days previously had been wrong on both days, first wrong in a good way with a warm and sun-drenched Saturday and then wrong in a bad way as it was much colder and duller, almost a No-Sunday as it were. So today instead of checking the forecast I waited for it to warm up slightly, grabbed my shopping list and walked over to Waitrose…by way of Five Rivers.
I strolled along through the Glades and when I reached Specklie Intersection instead of starting to follow the trail I’d been blazing since the start of the season I kept instead to the lower path that follows the river. I followed it on as it rounded the corner at the end of the Banks and walked right up to the end where the reserve ends abruptly in footpath and then a small housing estate. On my left the area had been cleared a few years back and it looked promising so I slowed my gait and paid more attention to it as there was a slight break in the cloud cover and so it was illuminated as if under a spotlight. After only the briefest of scans it produced the goods with a Small Tort fluttering about amidst the sprouting shrubs and wild flower spikes.
With an eye on the sky I reasoned that there would be some further breaks so I started back climbing up the bank to reach the end corner where the Banks ended (but from this direction started). Just before I needed to wade into the longer grass at the mid-section I somehow spotted a Comma hugging the hedge. I again glanced upwards to judge the state of play in terms of the lighting and I could see the coming slither of brightness so I manoeuvred myself in readiness after getting a few closed wing shots. When the sun came the butterfly opened up and I was there ready. When the sun went back in again I didn’t need to worry about spooking it as it seemed locked into place so I got a few closed wing shots too. I set off, once again trying to keep to the footsteps that I’d made on numerous previous visits and when I reached the break in the line of trees that runs at ninety degrees to the main hedge and stepped through I spotted a Specklie and spooked a Peacock. Which to watch/follow? I went with the Specklie as it was the newer addition to the year list but also because I’d had enough of being messed about by flighty, twitchy Peacocks.
Once I’d finished traversing the Banks I had a quick check of Comma Corner which turned into a slightly longer look as I had to wait for the sun to remerge. When it did sure enough a butterfly turned up, not the expected Comma but a Peacock. After the run around that this one gave me and their general attitude this year there is no way I’m changing the name of this spot of the reserve. After a quick once over the neighbouring bank I decided that it was time to head off and get the shopping done and so I wandered back though the Glades when a/another Specklie passed by. It arrested my motion for a while but then I got back on course only for one final interruption in the form of a Peacock which was sitting in the spot so favoured by the Red Admirals in the autumn. It had closed up and was down on the deck and if it hadn’t have given a quick flash to a retreating Hoverfly then I would have passed it by and been none the wiser to its presence. As it was I stopped to marvel at the inky blackness of the underside looking to all intents and purposes as a triangular lump of coal. With that final image resting nicely in my short-term memory I made for Waitrose and that all important free coffee!
Butterflies today?
Don’t trust the weather forecasts
Took a chance and went
I strolled along through the Glades and when I reached Specklie Intersection instead of starting to follow the trail I’d been blazing since the start of the season I kept instead to the lower path that follows the river. I followed it on as it rounded the corner at the end of the Banks and walked right up to the end where the reserve ends abruptly in footpath and then a small housing estate. On my left the area had been cleared a few years back and it looked promising so I slowed my gait and paid more attention to it as there was a slight break in the cloud cover and so it was illuminated as if under a spotlight. After only the briefest of scans it produced the goods with a Small Tort fluttering about amidst the sprouting shrubs and wild flower spikes.
With an eye on the sky I reasoned that there would be some further breaks so I started back climbing up the bank to reach the end corner where the Banks ended (but from this direction started). Just before I needed to wade into the longer grass at the mid-section I somehow spotted a Comma hugging the hedge. I again glanced upwards to judge the state of play in terms of the lighting and I could see the coming slither of brightness so I manoeuvred myself in readiness after getting a few closed wing shots. When the sun came the butterfly opened up and I was there ready. When the sun went back in again I didn’t need to worry about spooking it as it seemed locked into place so I got a few closed wing shots too. I set off, once again trying to keep to the footsteps that I’d made on numerous previous visits and when I reached the break in the line of trees that runs at ninety degrees to the main hedge and stepped through I spotted a Specklie and spooked a Peacock. Which to watch/follow? I went with the Specklie as it was the newer addition to the year list but also because I’d had enough of being messed about by flighty, twitchy Peacocks.
Once I’d finished traversing the Banks I had a quick check of Comma Corner which turned into a slightly longer look as I had to wait for the sun to remerge. When it did sure enough a butterfly turned up, not the expected Comma but a Peacock. After the run around that this one gave me and their general attitude this year there is no way I’m changing the name of this spot of the reserve. After a quick once over the neighbouring bank I decided that it was time to head off and get the shopping done and so I wandered back though the Glades when a/another Specklie passed by. It arrested my motion for a while but then I got back on course only for one final interruption in the form of a Peacock which was sitting in the spot so favoured by the Red Admirals in the autumn. It had closed up and was down on the deck and if it hadn’t have given a quick flash to a retreating Hoverfly then I would have passed it by and been none the wiser to its presence. As it was I stopped to marvel at the inky blackness of the underside looking to all intents and purposes as a triangular lump of coal. With that final image resting nicely in my short-term memory I made for Waitrose and that all important free coffee!
Butterflies today?
Don’t trust the weather forecasts
Took a chance and went
