june 2011

[Piers]

Disappointed to see several 'desecrated' anthills

Desecrated anthills



Piers.

[ChrisC]

which actually brings a question to mind. would Green woodpeckers have any influence on population?

Chris

[Susie]

I reported something similar about ant hills at Denbies Hillside last year and remember being told it was probably animal damage. Can't remember exactly what was said but it was something like badgers looking for ant grubs.

[Essex Bertie]

I reported something similar about ant hills at Denbies Hillside last year and remember being told it was probably animal damage. Can't remember exactly what was said but it was something like badgers looking for ant grubs.

Yep, badgers are a possibility. But the distribution made me think 'human' and there were a couple of stick hole impressions. Anyway, best not make a mountain...

[ChrisC]

my first white admiral and silver washed this afternoon along with speckled wood and meadow brown at a local wood today. not a soul seen.

[Susie]

After an extremely large lunch out I needed a walk this afternoon so set off for a walk around my local patch. At 5pm with blustery overcast conditions I didnt expect to see much. I was pleased to see meadow brown and half a dozen or so small tortoiseshell. Then I spotted a scarce chaser by the arun and was really pleased. My little bit of the river seems to be unaffected by the recent pollution. I was hoping against hope that I might spot a purple emperor, although I would have happily settled for a silver washed fritillary, white admiral or purple hairstreak but no luck. I was chuffed to see an egret and a hobby though and was bimbling home when I saw something butterfly like sitting in the middle of the road. It was a fresh white letter hairstreak

[Wurzel]

Bentley Wood this morning had Purple Hairstreak, Ringlets, Large Skippers, White Admirals, Silver Washed Fritillaries and singles of Red Admiral, Hutchinson's Comma, Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary and Dark Green Fritillary

Photos and more details to follow tomorrow on my personal diary if I get a chance

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Hugh Middleton]

For once a free afternoon and it is overcast with rain about. Decided to have a few hours out and about and saw my first White Admiral of the year in the Lincs Limewoods.

Hugh

[David M]

Had a last moment change of plan for today.

Late last night someone posted that today was Collard Hill's Large Blue 'Open Day' and that the species was expected to be at its peak.

This reassured me that there is still some while to go yet before this butterfly's flight season comes to its end, so having checked the weather forecast and having seen conditions in Shropshire predicted to be almost identical to those in Somerset, I changed tack and made my way up north to visit Whixall Moss near Shrewsbury (plus I wasn't overkeen on visiting Collard Hill if it was likely to be overcrowded with visitors).

I left Swansea at 7.15am but got lost near Whixall, as the map I'd printed out didn't cover the area in sufficient detail. All the roads were unmarked and I ended up driving round aimlessly before I spotted a brown sign which guided me not to Whixall Moss but to its neighbour, Bettisfield Moss, which is on the other side of the canal.

At this point I was just keen to get out of the car and stretch my legs, and to be fair the terrain looked pretty promising - grassy pathway through light woodland leading onto what looked like a peat bog.

Sure enough, having emerged onto the bog it wasn't long before the first Large Heath turned up, followed by a handful more.

I love watching butterflies but I am also highly interested in the habitats they live in, but I have to say peat bogs aren't my thing. I tried going off the main path but it soon became clear that this was foolhardy. Even when I did see a Large Heath I couldn't track it properly as I had to watch every step I made through the bog as the ground was uneven at best and practically hollow at worst.

I saw about a dozen Large Heaths along with a few moths (this really IS a habitat specialist as no other butterfly was prepared to be seen dead there!)

After about an hour my ankles were starting to hurt so I called it a day and walked back to the car, whereupon I saw a couple of Speckled Woods, a Meadow Brown, a Large Skipper and a Ringlet that had a fixation with my car for some reason.



'World's End', and believe me, when I was in the midst of it that's just the way it felt!



Quite an austere environment for butterflies, and only one species was making the most of it



First Large Heath seen - thankfully by the side of the pathway



Clouds obscured the sun for a while making this one fairly easy to approach



This Ringlet posed nicely but then took a shine to my car for some reason

[Susie]

White letter hairstreak from this afternoon.

[Matsukaze]

Today I saw a giant male Meadow Brown, somewhere in between a Small Tortoiseshell and a Peacock in size. How unusual is this?

[Michaeljf]

Hi Neil and Paul,
thanks for the further help with the ID. I did think at the time it was more likely an DGF, but I just wasn't sure either way. I find some easier to ID than others.

Susie - nice fresh White-Letter Hairstreak. Nice picture too .

I went to Bernwood Forest and Bernwood Meadows today (Oxfordshire), which was a mistake: the weather was crap: mostly overcast and grey, and quite windy and cold after a while. We arrived at about 9:20, and things started well: were greeted with sunny conditions, and loads of very agitated Marbled Whites, Ringlets and Meadow Browns all flying in the meadow. We spent about 35 minutes walking to the Bernwood Forest entrance, whereupon we saw a White Admiral, two Silver-Washed Fritillaries and numerous Large Skippers within the forest ride. Just around 10am the cloud came over and that was pretty much it: nothing else flying except the odd Ringlet. We met a few more walkers after seeing butterflies too - some after Black Hairstreaks - I told them to keep an eye on the forum as they were out earlier this year! We had a few good chats with locals, but otherwise it was a bit of a wasted journey. Shame - the weather was actually better in South Wales today!

Michael

[Susie]

Thanks Michael, he was nice and fresh but must have suffered from the wind and heavy showers we've had recently as he only had one leg on the other side and showed quite a lot of wear and tear.

[Essex Bertie]

I left Swansea at 7.15am but got lost near Whixall, as the map I'd printed out didn't cover the area in sufficient detail. All the roads were unmarked and I ended up driving round aimlessly before I spotted a brown sign which guided me not to Whixall Moss but to its neighbour, Bettisfield Moss, which is on the other side of the canal.

Yes, I got completely lost too. Too many Y junctions without signposts. Came in from the south, headed down (the wrong end of?) 'Moss Lane' and ended up at World's End Farm. Worth a look at 'Streetview' for some of these places.

[David M]

I left Swansea at 7.15am but got lost near Whixall, as the map I'd printed out didn't cover the area in sufficient detail. All the roads were unmarked and I ended up driving round aimlessly before I spotted a brown sign which guided me not to Whixall Moss but to its neighbour, Bettisfield Moss, which is on the other side of the canal.

Yes, I got completely lost too. Too many Y junctions without signposts. Came in from the south, headed down (the wrong end of?) 'Moss Lane' and ended up at World's End Farm. Worth a look at 'Streetview' for some of these places.

LOL! That's where I ended up too. Hundreds of chickens on a farm by a dead end track.

I was shocked when I suddenly saw a nature reserve car park (and relieved too). Bettisfield's only on the other side of the canal from Whixall and the landscape is identical so it wasn't surprising to find Large Heaths there.

PS: I looked at Streetview too, but I think there are TWO Moss Lanes (not altogether a shock given that the whole area is surrounded by mossland).

[David M]

After my exertions on Bettisfield Moss, I made the short journey to Prees Heath (arriving just before midday) to see how the Silver Studded Blue colonies have held up to the fallout from the travellers' encampment that pitched up here a few weeks ago.

Security has now been beefed up - iron gates and heavy boulders bar the way for any vehicle wishing to gain access to the site. Apart from that, there was little evidence that the travellers had been there (just a couple of scorched areas where there had been fires lit).

It was only after 200m or so that I saw my first SSB, and I was hotly pursued by another visitor who had enough camera equipment to sink the Bismarck. There were quite a few people on the site who had come to see the butterflies, so there has clearly been publicity generated as a result of the heath being in the news (albeit for the wrong reasons).

You can park right next to the entrance on the gravel path (room for about a dozen vehicles), and it is located literally at the side of the A49, making it one of the easiest sites in the country to find and get to.

Further into the site, there is a shallow path which is protected by vegetation to the west, and it was here where most of the SSBs were to be found. Their numbers were simply ridiculous, to the point where if you stood still and stared at the foliage you soon realised there were more than a dozen SSBs staring back!! This was in spite of 16C temperatures, fresh winds and 80% cloud cover!

In typical SSB fashion though, once you strayed from their favoured areas, there were none to be seen at all. I spent about an hour and a half in the main area, but I took a detour to the far eastern side of the site on my way back and saw not a single one!

If anyone was ever in any doubt about how important it is that we try and preserve our butterflies (especially those whose colonies are isolated from any neighbouring ones) then the following 'headcount' statistics will hopefully reinforce it - take a look at the figures below and imagine what this lovely site would be like if the Silver Studded Blues were lost:

Total species seen (and numbers):

1. Silver Studded Blue 100-150
2. Small Heath 2
3. Meadow Brown 1



Sign at the entrance to the heath



No way in for travellers now!



Typical male from the site



Aberrant male - he was much larger with smudges on his forewings. Looked like his wings hadn't inflated properly after emergence



Members of this species get on particularly well with each other...



...in fact, they seem to like to share the same strip of greenery!



Females were basking amongst the males (though it was 10 males to every female)



Not surprising many mating pairs are evident given their sociable nature

[NickB]

Totally agree, David! The whole concept of conservation needs to be higher-up the public's agenda; politicians looking for votes will then have to really deliver in these areas......Until then....we must try to preserve what species we can in our outdoor zoos and link these areas with suitable corridors for all wildlife to increase their ranges..... (putting away soap-box... )
....
Met Jack Harrison today and went to Bedford Purlieus; once the sun appeared we immediately saw 2 SWFs in the ride, followed by PhilB and Rosalyn walking up from the road. Phil has honed his local knowledge, reading of the weather and his journey times to the extent that he has an uncanny ability to arrive at just the right time - luck has nothing to do with it
At one point we had 4 or 5 SWFs (males only so far) down feeding on the brambles and basking. I managed persuade one, that was interested in the white plastic bag containing my lunch (lamb curry - yum!) to move to my hand, where it sat happily taking-up minerals, a very strange sensation; kissed by a butterfly! Also saw a good number of fresh Ringlet and MBs, a few Large Skippers, a GVW, 2 STs, a Comma and the silver flash of a single Purple Hairstreak. The White Letters were out in the tops of the trees, often 3 or 4 visible at a time. Unfortunately the sun went in and they never got down to ground-level.

SWF

SWF

Also popped into Barnack Hills and Holes NNR, but with little sun saw a few more Large Skippers and around 5 Marbled Whites, my first of the year, plus an RA. Nice views too of a Red Kite that cruised over to check out the action.
N

[Zonda]

Quite a dull day (yesterday)in north Dorset, but bright at first. Several White Admiral at Piddles Wood. Loads of Meadow Browns at Alners Gorse. A few Marbled Whites were about at Lydlinch Common.

[Jack Harrison]

Nick:

...... Bedford Purlieus....19 June

The SW Frits had most likely emerged that morning. The behaviour in attempting to sample Nick's curry and then his hand, suggests that they were seeking minerals that are probably vital in the early hours of an adult's life. I had never witnessed this before with SWFs but this sort of behaviour is only too well know with Purple Emperors. (and no doubt in many other species).

Jack

[millerd]

Right at the end of the day yesterday (19th), I found myself on the M25 near J9, and decided there was just enough time to pop into Denbies before the light failed. On arrival the lower slopes were well into shadow, but careful looking revealed large numbers of Marbled Whites tucked up for the night. No Blues of any description, but Marbled Whites appear to be just as sociable when roosting.

Dave