Buchan Boy

[Buchan Boy]

Same meadow again,different day.

22nd July 2018

Gatwick Meadow

Common Blues now enter the theatre in good numbers.

Gatwick Meadow Common Blue

Meadow Browns,competition for the sugar.

Gatwick Meadow Meadow Brown

This was odd as well, a male Brown Hairstreak in the grass,in the dewy shade,there is blackthorn here but not this side of the meadow.My only Brown Hairstreak of the year.

Gatwick Meadow Brown Hairstreak

Gatwick Meadow Brown Hairstreak

My meadow

Gatwick Meadow Meadow Brown

I'd started to notice good amounts of Silver washed fritillaries starting to patrol as well,but getting photographs was another story...

[trevor]

Brilliant shots of that male Brown Hairstreak, two of the best I've seen.

Well done,
Trevor.

[Goldie M]

Hi! BB, I don't think you need another shot of a BHS , what you've taken shots is superb Goldie

[Wurzel]

I think from the look of it Buchan you used all your Brown Hairstreak luck up with that shot - it's in mint condish and what with the hot weather open wing shots were at a premium this year

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Those are fabulous (and rarely seen) images of mint fresh male Brown Hairstreak, Dave. I have to give you 9.9/10 for these.

[Andrew555]

Some fantastic sights and shots in your reports Dave. Especially the Chequered Skippers and Brown Hairstreak.

[Buchan Boy]

A few non butterfly related things through July in my neck of the woods.

July 2018

Crawley surrounds,West sussex

Firstly a Red Kite wandering around,very close to the North Western conurbation of my town, and it is a conurbation these days!I think this may have been a wandering youngster, amazing to see though...Wealden Sussex with Red Kites,I hope many more "wander" over this way.I never see Buzzards get spooked but this Eagle,almost,scared the local Buzzard population,and everything else,a moment.

Ifield,Crawley,Red Kite

We'll have Parakeets here soon as well,spreading south out of London.
And our local streams and culverts are now full of these American crayfish,incredibly weird creatures.They were bred around here and are now in all the local streams,some are huge as well.Probably doing immense damage to the local ecology.hmmmm

Furnace Green,Crawley,American Signal Crayfish

Furnace Green,Crawley,American Signal Crayfish 2

I also managed to locate a Hornets nest at a site near Newdigate,scary BIG wasps,I've never met anyone who's been stung by one these.If theres anyone out there thats been stung by a Hornet please tell me how bad the pain is,intrigued I am.
Best way I figured was to stand a way off and have a big lens.

Newdigate photographing Hornets

Newdigate Hornet

Newdigate Hornet 2

Last summer was hot and on a dreary February day after snow Ardingly Reservoir in Summertime reminds me of Southern Englands beauty at that time of year.

Ardingly Res July 2018

Ardingly Comma

Cool,actually nearly 32 degrees that day.....about 3 today.
Dave

[Buchan Boy]

Newdigate old brickworks always beguiles me,been coming here since I was a kid,mainly to fish the lakes,but recently,last 20 years,its been left to nature since industrial activities ceased.The Brown Hairstreak colony is the main draw but I seemed to miss them this year...but other stuff is here

July 2018

Newdigate Brickworks,Surrey

White-legged Damselflies used to be so rare,find them everywhere around here now.

Newdigate White Legged Damselfly

And some Brown Argus's,which actually was a first for me here.

Newdigate Old Brickworks Brown Argus

Newdigate Old Brickworks Brown Argus 2

Chase the Brimstones...hehe

Newdigate Old Brickworks Brimstone

Dave

[Buchan Boy]

Back to my Gatwick meadow and a check on the Common Blues

July 2018

Summer

Gatwick Meadow Common Blue

Gatwick Meadow Common Blue 2

Takes me back.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Those American Crayfish are a right pain - they out-compete the slightly smaller and more timid native Crayfish - the best thing to do with them is pick up up by the bucket load and have a Barbie
Lovely sequence of shots Dave - my favourite has to be the Brown Argus tip-toeing across from one Dandelion to the next

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Buchan Boy]

Ha,American Signal Crayfish=Barbie,probably need to purge them through for a quite a while first in fresh water,the streams they in habit around here arn't your lovely chalk steams...yuck I reckon,but if foraging for food becomes a necessity,top of my list!

Anyways,my love of Orthoptera is well documented and this year held some good stuff for me.
And the odd Arachnid.
Work was becoming heavy and my butterfly antics were quickly diminishing.

Late Summer 2018
Southern Oak Bush crickets have established themselves in Southern Britain over the last decade and the long hot summer seemed to bring,these normally arboreal crickets,into lower foliage ie gardens,cars etc
Its mad to think that when I was a kid and my interest in Crickets and Grasshoppers was set,we had and always had the same amount of species in this country since books were written!,then in the last 20 years we have had some incredible expansions of previously rare Orthoptera and several new species added to the Fauna book of Britain.Three new confirmed breeding species in the last 20 years and that equates to a 10% rise in known species in this country,remarkable.Somethings going on.....Southern Oak Bush crickets being one of the new species in the last few years.

Crawley,West Sussex,Southern Oak bush cricket.

Wingless and unable to spread on the wind,clearly using other means to move across from the continent,but its likely they were here before but unable to breed, now are fully able to breed and conditions are right for it to colonise.I guess it will never be able to be known if it has an impact on our native Oak Bush cricket and hopefully they can co habit together.Also the native Oak Bush cricket came down from the trees in late summer,found both species a lot last year in August.

Crawley,West Sussex,Oak bush cricket.

And Wasp spiders are everywhere these days,used to be so rare.I counted over 200 webs at Rye harbour in August,just amazing,my friend got a photo of one trussing up a Grey bush cricket,and that is a reasonably strong and big cricket.Probably quite a major dent in the insect predator world.

Newdigate,Surrey,Wasp Spider

Got a bit arty with a female Speckled Bush cricket,always luck involved in finding these,they do not stridulate,they do however sun bathe,so inspection of nettle and bramble thickets on sunny August mornings and evenings can yield dividends.

Bewbush,Crawley,Speckled Bush cricket

And one of the jewels of aberrations in the Grasshopper world is finding a Rufous rufous Grasshopper, and although its more purple than rufous it certainly roles off the tongue better.And this coloration is normally only found in the more Western colonies of Dorset and Devon,so to find one in a Kentish colony,actually made my year,and may well be the first colour variant of this species in Kent,somethings going on.Rufous's are diagnostically noteable by their white tipped clubbed antenna.Easy distinguishing feature.

Folketsone Warren,Kent, Rufous Grasshopper

Summer was nearly done and I had to work,still struggled to locate any Brown Hairstreaks at my Surrey colony,last year,2017,had been incredible.

[Buchan Boy]

That was my year as work took more,almost,than I could give
But then right at the end of the insect season I went down to Devils Dyke to watch the sunset before the clocks went back...just to sit there and watch the sun go down as you do.And low and behold a Wall Brown fluttering around,couldn't actually believe it,it wasn't warm and that night it almost frosted.So I dont think this one had much fun,and caught in all the lovely sunset orange against that weird derelict brick building there,for anyone that knows Sussex.

19th October 2018,Devils Dyke

Devils Dyke,Sussex,Wall Brown

Devils Dyke and South Downs

That was that really,pretty much a cool year for the targeted species,Chequered's in Scotland and Wood Whites in Dorset but my local stuff suffered.Some years go like that.Already booked in for High Browns on Dartmoor this year and Marshies on the West Coast of Scotland,love that place.And where has that Small Blue colony gone on Mt.Caburn?,I'll let you know,taras Grizzled?,white Small Copper?,Long Tailed Blues?,all good.

Dave

[Allan.W.]

Great couple of posts there Dave ,must admit I was so excited seeing my first Wasp Spider some years back ,but they now seem to be turning up all over (but ,no matter …...they are stunning !!) I,ve been lucky enough to find several of their elaborate cocoons at Dungeness
and on a 100 metre stretch at Samphire Ho ! (Dover ) we found 25 ,and the warden counted 150 + in a short walk.
Have you tried for the Sickle Bearers and Tree crickets at Dungeness ,may be worth a trip for you next season !
That Rufous Grasshopper is quite stunning ! is it a particularly rare aberration ? I,ve certainly never seen anything quite like it ,great find !
we,re hoping for a short break down in Sussex in June ,and we,ll probably try mount Caburn for the Burnt tip orchids (if we can find them !) and we,ll keep our eyes open for the Small Blues ! .
Once again great posts ! Regards Allan.W.

[Wurzel]

More great posts - the Rufous Grasshopper doesn't look real - it looks like an individual in a release and recapture experiment Mind you it certainly rocks the look Love the golden Wall brown - lush that is

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Lovely, eclectic mix of images there, Dave. Nice to see a few non-butterfly subjects, although I'm not too sure about those crayfish....

[Buchan Boy]

Good to be away,gonna keep on top of this!

23rd February 2019 Buchan Park,Crawley,Sussex

Peacocks around today,just a couple

Buchan park Peacock

This one had scaling bleaching that looked liked me digging down the allotment!

Buchan park Peacock

Also the Commas have woken up,sat and watched a couple spiral upwards waiting for the settle and shots.

Buchan Park comma

Buchan Park Crawley

Dave

[Wurzel]

I can see the image you mean Buchan but it does look slightly more like someone leaning on their spade and having a bit of a breather to me Not seen a Peacock yet

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Good to see things getting active round your way, Dave. Is the long, parched-looking grass in the park a legacy of last year's drought?

[Buchan Boy]

I think so Dave,its been a mighty long dry spell,although this spring water has fallen with a bit more proficiency.

5th April 2019 Willoughby Fields,Crawley,Sussex

One of the joys of having a half day on Friday is having the ability to get out before the weekend starts.
A slight chance of my first Orange Tips in a wet meadow near me,got lucky.

Of all the butterflies local to me,these have always been somewhat of an enigma to photograph,ok to follow and watch to settle but those open wing shots have eluded me for years.Managed a Peacock doing some groundwork also a couple of Commas.

Willoughby Fields Peacock

This has always been a good spot for Small Tortoiseshells in previous years,but not seen any yet.
Pretty cool today but the sun did pop out for about 45 minutes,allowing me to track the 3 male cardamines.
The first took a rest on the Blackthorn blossom,allowing me the chance to get this and it sat there for ages,so I went hunting for others.

Willoughby Fields Orange Tip Male

Tracked two other males across the meadow and just pounced when they were on the Ladys Smock

Willoughby Fields Orange Tip Male2

Then waited for the sun to go behind some clouds and waited for this one to settle.
Shots on the larval host plant,always precious

Willoughby Fields Orange Tip Male3

Then the 10 second window as the sun reappeared and to get those lovely oranges in full tilt.
About time...

Willoughby Fields Orange Tip Male4

Orange Tip country,cardamines on the cardamines

Willoughby Fields Crawley

Always chuffed to get the year off with goods shots of these.
Dave

[Wurzel]

That is a beautifully marked OT Dave I can't recall seeing one with such a contrast between the black tips and the orange

Have a goodun

Wurzel