Old Wolf

[Old Wolf]

OK, here goes. My first diary post. Welcome one and all.

If you have wandered by and were expecting a barrage of brilliant pics of exotic butterflies in perfect focus and compositionally brilliant (as I see from many other diaries on here), then prepare to be............disappointed

I am fairly newish to this and am learning as i go. I welcome all criticism and will value any feedback and advice that anyone has to offer. Please don't hold back about being negative because if someone can tell me where/how/why I am going wrong then I can look into addressing it and seeing if I can overcome it.

Thanks for stopping by and hopefully there is at least something you may like contained within.

Stay tuned, first entry coming in a few.

[Old Wolf]

Date: Weds 27th June
Location: RSPB - The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire
Time: Early Evening.

The weather was too hot to take the dogs out too early, so I had an hour or so spare. A quick ride up the RSPB to see if I could get a pic of anything interesting. My first trip up there looking for butterflies.

The first thing to catch my eye was a Marbled White flitting around in the tall grass. I stopped to see if it would settle for me but it didn't want to play. I noticed it paying particular attention to a small patch and on closer inspection there was another down in the shorter grass. This one was 'battle damaged' and although I know it is nice to see them Pristine, I can't help but love the ones with stories to tell. I had to photograph it and it obliged by very slowly unfurling what was left of its wings for me.

It clearly couldn't fly as I watched it drop lower into the grass and I felt a pang of sympathy for the little fella.

In the bramble patches and track edges there were Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Skippers and Gatekeepers but very flighty because although still very warm, there was quite a breeze.

About the only reasonable-ish pic was a Ringlet.

Further wandering didn't turn up very much more in the way of excitement although I did witness a couple of shrews chasing each other through through the fallen leaves. I stopped camera ready but I think they must have heard me because all sound and movement ceased abruptly.

The sun was dropping and it was ime to take the dogs out so time to toodle pip off home.

[Wurzel]

Welcome Old Wolf That Marbled White certainly has a story to tell with most of its wing missing Looking forward to the next post

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Old Wolf]

Date: Sat 30th June
Location - Greensands Ridge Walk path, Sandy, Bedfordshire
Time: Afternoon.

On a recent dogwalk here I though it might be nice to pop back with the camera to see what I could find. The path runs along the edge of fields with plenty of trees and brambles to see what I could find. The path in question is an itersection so I chained my bike to the fence and decided on going right because, well why not?,

There were butterflies everywhere! Countless Meadow Brown, Gatekeepers, Skippers, small whites and green veined whites. Hopefully I might be able to get a few pics here right?

The problem I found with so many buzzing around was that one would settle, I would triangulate my postion, creep closer only for the butterfly to get 'buzzed' by another just before I could press the button and they would both go off swirling and spiralling further and further away from me.

I think this pic probably sums up how most of my time was spent.

Anyways, I managed to snap a reasonable pic of a gatekeeper.

For some reason I am eerily drawn to the shadow of this Green Veined White pic.

Small Skippy.

And although not a good picture by any means, I was thrilled to see my first Hairstreak. I spotted a White Letter on the way up the path and on my return saw what I thought was another, but on closer inspection (and confirmation by the kind folks here) it turns out the first was a White Letter and the second a Purple. So I present to you in all it's glory, my pic of an Oak tree with a butterfly in it somewhere.

Very happy I headed back to my bike and just though I would take a quick look up the other path and a little way in I hear rustling in the field to my left so I stop and out saunters a badger who strolls across the path in front of me. I quickly grabbed the camera and hastily refocussed to catch a quick snap of the little blighter before he headed into the trees to my right.

I can't decide whether he was still up from the night before and heading home or up early

[Old Wolf]

Last one for the night.

Thanks for the welcome Wurzel. I look forward to speaking with you in the future.

Date: Sun 1st July
Location - Greensands Ridge Walk path, Sandy, Bedfordshire
Time: Afternoon.

After my brief encounter with the Hairstreaks yesterday I felt I had to go back. Surely I could get a better look at one and maybe a pic today?

This time I headed straight back to where I saw the others yesterday and on my way I hear rustling in the field to my right, another badger maybe? I thought. But no, jumping out of the tall grass came a black squirrel or Gothic Squirrel as I have named him.

He scuttled up the telegraph pole and stopped to look at me. As I inched closer to get a pic, he scuttled further up then turned around and scampered down head first, off of the pole and into the trees. He was making a mighty racket and I thought he had come to help by disturbing anything on the tops of the leaves higher up but no luck.

After a while of scanning the trees and looking up it was becoming clear that no one was coming to see me today, so I thought I would head down the other way to see if there was anything different.

I did find a few tree that had Hairstreaks buzzing around in them but waiting to see if any would come close enough was not working. They did not want to come down. I think binoculars are in order next time.

Anyways much like the day before there were countless Meadow Brown, Gatekeepers, Skippers, Small Whites, Large Whites and the addition of many Marbled Whites.

The Marbled Whites stuck to the edge of the field behind a wall of impenetrable brambles and thistles ensuring I could get nowhere near them.

I was buzzed by a few angry Commas on a couple of occasions and I did happen across a few Painted Ladies, one of which I managed to snap.

A Small Skippy.

And finally a Large Skippy.

A brief side quest into the edge of a farmers field turned up a few Small Heath and more Hairstreaks in the trees but no luck there. It was time to turn around and head home but not before stopping at the intersection where I had seen the Hairstreaks earlier, but they were just not playing ball!

[Pauline]

Welcome Old Wolf - I don't think you'll get much crticism on this site if you keep posting shots like that! Great photo of the badger - unusual to see them out during the day so I'm wondering if it's the heat. A few years back I made a trip to photograph black squirrels but as you say they're not easy subjects so well done with that. Looking forward to more

[Old Wolf]

Thanks for the welcome Pauline.

It was the first black squirrel I had ever seen so I was pretty pleased to have camera in hand at the time. I know there are some in towns further south of Sandy (Letchworth/Badock I think) but I was unaware that they were travelling northwards.

[Wurzel]

Interesting to see the Black Squirrel Old Wolf, I've not seen one myself but I've read that they're even more aggressive than the non-melanistic greys I enjoyed the game of find the butterfly

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Janet Turnbull]

Welcome from me too, Old Wolf! You certainly struck lucky with the badger and black squirrel. Looking forward to seeing more of your posts - happy butterflying!

[ernie f]

What a fantastic start to your diary, Old Wolf. I look forward to seeing and reading more. The Black Squirrel is amazing - it has a velvety-like fur. I know Red Squirrels have a melanistic variety but I never knew greys did - but of course now it becomes obvious.

Love the badger, too. Not an easy shot to make.

I thought your pic of the Oak tree with the Hairstreak in it was great. Its just as you actually see them. It took me some while to find it on zoom setting but there it is, right in the centre of the shot. Brilliant.

Plus you report seeing a few Painted Ladies. That is something in itself. I have only seen two this year on separate occasions.

[Goldie M]

Welcome from me too Old Wolf, Badgers in the Day time and a Black Squirrel your posts will be very interesting Goldie

[Andrew555]

Hi Old Wolf and welcome. A nice selection in your first few posts.

[Neil Freeman]

Hi and welcome from me too Old Wolf. A great start to your diary and looking forward to seeing more

Cheers,

Neil

[David M]

A warm welcome from me too.

I look forward to reading more especially if there's 'quirky' stuff to go with the butterfly reports.

[Old Wolf]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. I look forward to talking with you soon.

There are sooooo many diaries that I get lost looking at all the beautiful pictures. I plan on commenting on as many as possible but so many pictures to look at, and not enough time

I typed my latest entry the other night but the forum timed out and I lost the whole thing. Very frustrating. Anyways, I managed to get out a few times and here are my latest entries.

Date: Saturday 7th July
Location: Dunstable Downs
Time: Late morning to afternoon.

My fathers day treat this year was a picnic on Dunstable Downs with butterfly hunting and I was very excited because on previous visits I had seen hundreds of butterflies with many Blues that I couldn't identify so this time, with camera I would hopefully be able get some pics and identify later.

Whilst waiting to leave I was in the garden and a Holly Blue came to visit. The first pic I have managed to get of one, albeit a little dark as I hadn't taken the correction off from a previous trip out. Still it was a good omen I thought.

We arrived and ate but I was chomping at the bit to get going, so as soon as I had wolfed down some lunch I was off

I headed down the first chalk path and there were a large amount of Marbled Whites, Skippers, Ringlets and Meadow Browns, a few Commas and Brimstone but not a Blue to be seen anywhere. I tried to get some pics but I was having absolutely no luck. I am postitive the butterflies could hear the whine of the focus because as soon as I touched the button they scarpered.

I carried on down the path for about an hour and a half admiring the view, the butterflies and the sunshine but I couldn't get a picture for love nor money. I was getting thirsty so it was time to head back to basecamp for a drink and a change of area to hunt. From basecamp I spotted an area I had never been, so I headed across the ridge and planned on descending down the slope to see what I could find there.

It looked like an easy descent from the top but it was far steeper than I had realised so a lot of very careful sidestepping until I got near the bottom to see there was a wall of impenetrable brambles preventing me from reaching my destination. So, it was back up the slope to find another way down and as luck would have it I found another chalky path a little further along that looked do-able. It wasn't as steep as the the previous path but it was chalky so caution would be needed.

I sarted the descent and startled a Brimtone from beside the path who flitted a little further down until I caught him up again, so off he would go until I caught him up again. This little game continued a few times until some loose chalk gave way from underneath me and I came down hard on my right hand, skidding down the slope with my loaned camera held aloft in my left hand. I managed to stop myself from sliding and got up, covered in chalk and decided more caution was needed. The Brimstone was still with me.

I very, very cautiously carried on.......for about 10 seconds until the loose chalk gave way again and came down even harder this time onto my left elbow because I had the camera in my left hand and couldn't use the hand to break the fall. That really hurt. I slid down the slope for a few metres but managed to stop myself and get up. I was really covered in chalk now, bloodied, sore and deciding how best to continue. To go back up would be even more dangerous I thought, so I carried on. The Brimstone agreed that this was the right decision.

Using as much caution as I could, I continued on and got to the bottom without any further incident. And with me at the bottom was the Brimstone. It had accompanied me from the very top of the downs to the very bottom and now it had landed and allowed me to finally get a picture at Dunstable Downs.

I went to the area I was intending to reach and there were many of the previously mentioned butterflies but they did not want me to photograph them. I did manage to get my first pic (and subsequently identify) of an Essex Skipper.

After some more wandering I finally found a Blue. I managed to get a few pics and was unsure as to which type but posted it here and it was confirmed to be a Chalk Hill Blue (Thanks for the help Guy). My third new butterfly sighting this year

See if you can spot the photobomber in this one

I wandered the area trying to get close but I was having no luck so it was time to head back to base camp, pack up and head home.

If you have got this far then I thank you for reading about my adventure and apologise for the lack of pics but my lack of skill and/or luck prevented me from posting more for you to look at. I at least hope you have been entertained

Stay Hydrated.

Old Wolf.

[Old Wolf]

Date: Thursday 12th July
Location: Triangle Field
Time: Early Evening.

A spare hour in the evening and I jumped on my bike and headed to local place I call Triangle Field. Any chance I get to practice with the camera, I am taking it

Triangle field is not triangular. It is a meadow with a path diagonally across the middle so you can walk it in two triangles which is why I named it thus. It is a place I like to take the dogs and is next to the old railway emabankment of the old Bedford train line that closed years ago.

It has been a while since I had last visited and the grass has been left to grow and it stood a good 4 feet tall. I could see meadow brown, small white, large white, green veined white and ringlet all flitting across the tops of the grass in the eveing sun, but the most numerous were the gatekeepers.

Slowly walking through the field and I could hear all sorts of rustling and footsteps in the dry, long grass and it wasn't long until right in front of me a Weasel burst through the grass, spotted me and turned and dived back in. It was gone in the blink of an eye and far too fast for me to even get my hands on the camera.

The problem with the grass so long is that I didn't want to go into it for fear of disturbing anything on, in or underneath it so I was limited to the path only.

I managed to a reasonable pic of a female common blue (I think. Please feel free to correct me if wrong).

And the only Marbled White I saw.

After a while of wandering in the triangle field I decided to go through the tunnel under the embankment to another field that sometimes has horses. Guess what I call it? Horse Field. Clever right

My entrance startled a pair of Oystercatchers who took flight. One flew off and one circled back to land again. I started testing my creeping skills but before I could get close enough for a pic it took off and didn't return this time.

To be honest, Horse Field was a bit empty other than rabbits. No horses and no butterflies I could see. I wandered for a bit and caught sight of a comma on some nettles.

The sun was beginning to dip too low to continue so it was time to head home. At least I managed this trip without hurting myself

Finally a pic from the tunnel.

Stay Hydrated.

Old Wolf.

[bugboy]

Well that sounds like an eventful day out. Hope your wounds heal and you're not sore for long. People just don't understand the perils we put ourselves through!

There's actually few things worth commenting about on this post. Firstly don't worry about not having time to comment, this is the busiest season I've known on here, I haven't been able to keep up for the last few months. Also I (and I think several other regulars on here) find writing our reports out in a word document and then copy/paste it over to here works. You're not the first person to have lost their carefully crafted report into the mists of the interweb

Your first image, the Holly Blue, is clearly a female and from the position of her abdomen is looking to lay, whats interesting is that she's toying with the idea of laying on Buddleja. They do have a very wide range of food plants but that's a new one on me!

You also mentioned about the butterflies hearing your camera which you may have said in jest, but many are spooked by this sound, particularly in the heat of recent weeks, and if you think the ones you saw today were a pain, just wait until you go for the Wall Brown, you'll be tearing your hair out in frustration after the first couple of hours ! When I get close up (closer than a foot) I usually switch to manual focus which I find gives me better results anyway.

Keep up the good work and look forward to your next post, hopefully it will be a less painful one to make!

Edit: You're busy posting tonight! My comments are in reference to your 7th July adventures

[Old Wolf]

Date: Friday 13th July
Location: The Sand Hills. Sandy, Bedfordshire.
Time: Evening.

I was blessed with another spare hour this evening so I headed to a local place called the Sand Hills which is a hilly woodland with very sandy soil that has plenty of Oak trees. Now I know where to look, I wonder if there are any haistreak up in them?

I headed to the meadow at the bottom called the Pinnacle to have a look and sure enough, I look up into the Oak tress and there are hairstreak everywhere! I counted at least fifty of them over seven or eight Oak trees around the edge of the meadow. I waited to see if any would come low enough for me to be able to see what type or if I could be lucky and get a pic but they were far too busy chasing each other and a comma around the canopy. They looked silvery in the sunlight so I am thinking probably Purple but don't know for sure.

To think I have been here hundreds of times and had I known to look up I spent a while watching them but the sun was beginning to dip so I walked a circuit of the meadow. There were a few large and small whites, meadow brown and gatekeepers and then a blue flitted past me catching my eye. I tracked it with my action man 'Eagle Eyes' and it landed on some tall grass where I managed to take the first butterfly picture that I am truly happy with.

I hope you all like it

I am not 100% on which type (even trying to use your process of elimination technique Guy) but am thinking female common blue. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Stay Hydrated.

Old Wolf.

[bugboy]

Thats a wonderfully evocotive final pic. It tells of a long hot summer, perhaps nearing the end and creeping into autumn

[Wurzel]

I can see why you're so happy with that shot Old Wolf, its a corker

Have a goodun

Wurzel