Bugboys mission

[bugboy]

Thanks guys, it’s always interesting to hear different versions of how the seasons panned out, somewhat depressing it seemed to be the same everywhere last year. Lets hope for better this year.

I realised I missed two species from my roundup, Small Blue and Painted Lady. I only saw Small Blue at Hutchinsons bank during their first brood when the sun wasn’t working, and of course it really wasn’t much of a year for migrants so I reckon I only saw thirty or so of the latter.


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Back to the present… (almost). I’ll try and race through January, it won’t come as a surprise it was a butterfly free month for me, not much in the way of sun.

January 2025

Saturday 4th. My first trip of the year was a local one to see if the Kingfisher was about. It was a gloomy day but after a bit of searching, Kingfisher put on a show for me.

At one point as I was photographing him from the opposite bank, he flew directly towards me to a perch right in front of me, my camera said he was 7 metres away! Can’t be many places where Kingfishers are that brazen, I was standing in full view of him.

I took a wander over to the horse paddocks where a small flock of Redwing were feeding.

[essexbutterflyer]

and of course it really wasn’t much of a year for migrants so I reckon I only saw thirty or so of the latter.

Thirty Painted Ladies, or thirty migrants? I only saw 5 painted ladies maximum in 2024, across 4 counties... so thirty painted ladies is astonishing for me . In my whole time butterflying (which admittedly isn't that long) I've likely found under 15. Can I ask please how many you see in a good year bugboy? (and how on earth are you finding them )

Zayed

[bugboy]

Hi Zayed, that was thirty Painted Ladies for the whole season which for me is pretty pathetic, one of the worst in recent memory. That was spread over London, Sussex, Kent, Surrey and Essex. About half of them were seen during the White invasion in September. Whether they were migrants as well or home bred emergents fattening up for the journey south I can’t say. Painted Lady seem to have a 10 year(ish) cycle through which they’ll peak and trough. I think we’re currently going through one of the trough’s but we should be due a good season soon. Off course the other factor is the weather conditions, they have to be conducive to a northward migration too. There’ll be other factors too, how productive their winter breeding grounds in sub-Saharan Africa are for example.

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January 2025

Wednesday 8th. More gloom but nevertheless I spent a few hours down at Barnes WWT. There were no Bittern today but in the Alders were some Siskin. The gloom meant pictures were shoddy at best and I didn’t realise until I got home that I had some Redpoll amongst them too.

Siskin

Redpoll

Siskin

Redpoll

Underneath the Alders a female Green Woodpecker was looking for ant nests and allowed me to get rather close.

Best spot of the day though were some distant views of Bearded Tit, a lifer. I saw them through my bins but by the time I’d trained my lens on the patch of reeds they’d gone. Later I was watching some Reed Buntings in another reed bed further away and took a few shots, knowing full well I’d likely not be able to make anything out but zooming in, right there was a Bearded Tit .

[bugboy]

January 2025

Thursday 9th. A rare sunny day so I headed for the hills around Amberley with perhaps the outside possibility of a Brimstone (it didn’t happen). The action started early with a female Sparrowhawk being harassed by the local Rooks, she was much more nimble in the air and out manoeuvred them with ease.

Further on a flock of Linnet were enjoying the morning sun.

As usual the Kites were out but unusually the Buzzards weren’t.

Also flying around were the winter Thrushes.

Fieldfare

Redwing & Mistle Thrush

Kestrels were also rather numerous, here’s one with lunch.

Last year around the same time of year some Cattle Egret were wandering around a field just outside Burpham. Most likely the same birds that were here again today.

I managed to sneak up on a Fieldfare nearby. It’s friends had all buggered off!

It was good to feel the sun and for a few hours at least it did feel like spring was knocking on the door. Of course winter was going to add a few more locks on that particular door!

[bugboy]

January 2025

Tuesday 14th. Last year a new member of staff joined my team at work. On discovering she is a keen birdwatcher and is in the possession of a van that now she lives in London, sits idly in a car park, it seemed silly not to suggest some road trips, particularly since we share a few days off too. She eagerly accepted, the van gets a day out on the road, I save some pennies on train fares, and she gets to see some new places and species, win, win, win! Anyway, the first destination was RSPB Pulborough Brooks, hopefully to find some Eagles.

We did indeed find the Eagles, two of them keeping their distance from the hides but still unmistakably massive!

Also present was a juvenile Peregrine, being an irritation to the Lapwings.

A few other birds of note: Black-tailed Godwit

Coal Tit

Pintail

Fieldfare

Snipe

This was actually the first day of a short break from work…and the last time I was to see the sun for a while. So no hope of finding an early hibernator then! But in the absence of any adult butterflies we did find some Brown Hairstreak eggs so at least I can end with something lepidopteran!

[bugboy]

January 2025

Wednesday 15th. It was a gloomy day, but the tide times sat nicely for some wader watching on two tree island. I had enough time (or so I thought) for a wander round the Island before settling down at the hide. The Brent Geese were today joined by large numbers of Shelduck.

Teal

Shelduck

Brent Geese

Curlew were active too

As I approached the hide I couldn’t help but notice the flocks of Waders which should by now have been settled down to sit out high tide were whooshing around in the sky.

Arriving at the hide I was greeted with those immortal and wonderfully useful words “should’ve been here 10 minutes ago” . Apparently a Peregrine had flown through and put everything up. The only things sat around now were Shelduck and a few brave odds and ends.

Avocet & Redshank

Black-tailed Godwit

Shelduck

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Thursday 16th. I stayed local the next day when even the birds stayed mostly monochrome to match the gloom. No kingfisher to brighten the day. Some Coots were getting lairy with each other

A cormorant was quietly minding its own business

And a Heron didn’t look particularly comfortable on its chosen perch.

The only bit of colour came from a Great-spotted Woodpecker's butt!

I can only hope 2025 is saving it’s sunny days for the butterfly season!

[bugboy]

January 2025

Friday 17th. Barnes Wetland Centre, hoping to catch up with the Bearded Tits again. Well they were there again, in the same reedbed as before, sadly I only knew about them from the utterance of “ they were here half an hour ago”. There was a Great-crested Grebe breakfasting on Perch.

A single Bittern was to be found peering out from another reedbed.

A midday stretch, hard work standing motionless in a reed bed for hours on end!

A Woodpecker had decided it was time to look for a mate/mark out a territory.

Some Reed Buntings did come close to one of the hides

And I did see some Tits in the Reedbeds, wrong type though…

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Still waiting for my first butterfly of the year to appear.

[Wurzel]

Cracking bird photos Bugboy - I've been out birding a bit recently - Shorties, male Hen Harrier and Barn Owl being the highlights but no photos - I need to get a new lens (70-300?). Mind you I don't know about the Blue Tit being the wrong one aren't they called Bearded Babbler or Beared Reedlings now?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, I nice selection of species that. My lens is the Sigma 150 – 600. Technically they’re Bearded Reedlings now, and apparently have no close relatives, being in their own family all by themselves only distantly related to the Larks. Still Long-tailed Tits are no longer classified with the true Tits either now, closer to the Warblers!

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January 2025

Saturday 18th. Still no sun but still two days spare so I had a try at finding some Purple Sandpipers down at Newhaven, a bird I’ve never seen before. They unfortunately never turned up but some friendly Turnstone did, probably hoping for some little scraps from the local fishermen.

Elsewhere the Fulmers were cruising around

Whilst below them Rock Pipits and Stonechats were picking up tiny morsels where a few months ago I was watching a Large White lay eggs.

[bugboy]

January 2025

Sunday 19th. It was a particularly gloomy day in the hills of Sussex, once again no hope of an early Brimstone encounter. Indeed there wasn’t a great deal of much around. Kestrels were the most numerous BoP

And a few coveys of Grey Partridge were starting to get vocal

Hopefully only another few weeks and butterflies will once again be gracing this diary!

[Wurzel]

Great to see those Grey Partridges Bugboy - and also a useful reminder to add them to my year-list as I saw a covey on the way home the other day . Thanks for the lens info - I'm calling in at Castle Cameras this weekend!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, more Partridges below. Looking forward to seeing what you can do with your new lens, I find mine particularly handy during the Purple season.


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February 2025

Sunday 2nd. February started with a false promise. Wall to wall blue sky so I had more than a little hope that I might catch sight of my first butterfly of the year in the hills around Amberley. We made good time in the van and left it at the station. On the road between the station and North Stoke is a water meadow where I often hear Water Rail in the morning. A couple were here this morning, squawking at each other. I live in hope of catching sight of one one day, not today though.

Despite the clear skies it was all rather quiet. As the day wore on and the suns shallow arc inched higher I concentrated on the most likely places a freshly awoken butterfly might be found. Despite the springlike feel, none were seen. Partridges were out again though.

After stopping off at the pub in Burpham we wandered over to see if the Cattle Egret were still in the nearby field. They were, six of them today. It does seem a little incongruous to see birds I normally associate with the plains of Africa mixing it up with some English sheep!

The slow wander back to the station gave us a close encounter with a Woodpecker, lots of Kestrels

and a distant view of a Red-legged Partridge.

We also found where the Cattle Egret roost at night, in one of the flood meadows between Burpham and North Stoke

The final sighting of the day was a Pair of Peregrine close to the station. It was dusk and this picture has been heavily processed to make it presentable… well recognisable at least.

[bugboy]

February 2025

Thursday 6th. Another sunny day on my day off, two in one week! I went down into Sussex again for another attempt to kick off my butterfly season, this time walking between Lancing and Cissbury Rings. On the way to Lancing Ring on the Adur there was plenty of activity. Some Great-black-backed Gulls were flying around whilst on the shore near me a small gang of Turnstone were feeding.

It was still nice and sunny when I arrived at Lancing Ring at around 11am but despite this and the presence of numerous sheltered pockets there was no sign of any butterflies. The path between the two rings is largely exposed so I wasn’t expecting to find any there, but the local Skylark population was in fine voice. There was also a Raven doing some practice rolls ready for courtship and a pair of Stonechat.

Yes the picture is the right orientation!

The clouds managed to stay away until I reached Cissbury Ring. Here I planned to concentrate on the steep south face bank below the hill fort, but the annoying amount of cloud that had just arrived put paid what little heat had accumulated.

Unfortunately the cloud cover continued to build during the walk back to Lancing Ring so there was no hope of any butterfly activity once I returned. Some Lapwing of the Adur finished the day as the sun was setting.

The quest for my first 2025 butterfly continues…

[bugboy]

February 2025

Tuesday 11th. The weather patterns had returned to form, grey and cold on my days off and no hope of finding even the bravest of butterflies. I decided I’d use my WWT membership and have another go at tracking down those Bearded Tits/Reedlings at Barnes. Unfortunately, they were a no show. In fact there wasn’t a great deal to shout about, even the wintering Bitterns stayed well hidden. Lapwings regularly took to the air,

And I did spend a fair bit of time watching pairs of Shoveler spinning round in unison, creating a watery vortex from which they can filter food from the silt as it rises in the water column.

[bugboy]

February 2025

Saturday 15th. I had high hopes for this weekend. At the beginning of the week we were promised two sunny days, but as so often happens, the forecast went downhill and we ended up with two cloudy, chilly days. Just to rub salt in the Friday and Monday either side (work days) were indeed filled with blue skies. Yet again then there was no chance of being able to have an early butterfly post, sorry. A small silver lining did present itself though, in the form of a rather rare bird turning up on my local patch. To put things into context, only one or two pairs of Red-necked Grebe breed in the UK. This total increases to around 60 birds who winter here, but mostly around the coast, so when I heard one was seen on one of the local reservoirs I figured it would be rude not to try and find it.

It didn’t take long to track down, it was actually on the same reservoir as the Black-necked Grebes were on late last year. Admittedly at this time of year they don’t really live up to their name, their winter plumage is somewhat drabber than the breeding finery, but it’s still another bird to add to my ‘twitchers’ list.

Of course since I was here, it would also be rude not to stop to say hello to the Kingfisher who behaved impeccably today!

[bugboy]

February 2025

Sunday 16th. A few glimpses of the sun today but nothing worth looking for butterflies so after a few errands I went to see if the Grebe was still hanging around and get a few shots in slightly better light. Of course the sun pretty much vanished when I got there and I was informed the Grebe had left (seen flying north an hour beforehand). The silver lining today was a male Goldeneye.

Reliable as ever Mr Kingfisher was today perched on a windowsill.

Looks a bit odd but in context makes a bit more sense, it’s a window on the old mill house looking over one of his favoured fishing spots.

Fingers crossed this warm spell that's arrived overnight might stir something, it looks set to last a while.

[bugboy]

February 2025

Wednesday 19th. According to work, it’s now summer, and with that comes a change in rota with a rostered half day once a fortnight of which today was my first of the year. Typically the day started of quite nice but just in time for lunch and the end of my shift, cloud took over the sky. There were a few chinks in the afternoon but sadly not enough to make butterfly hunting worthwhile so I caught up with the Kingfisher again. He already had an audience so very easy to find.

A brief wander on the marshes turned up very little except for a solitary Blackthorn flower, spring is coming!

Well, that’s me finally up to date. Had I not been at work today I’m sure I would have bagged my first butterfly of the year, maybe Tuesday…

[Wurzel]

Brilliant Red-necked Grebe and Kingfisher shots Bugboy I took your advice and bought the 150-600 - it's a brilliant lens! Mind you the drawback is now I'll get even further behind with my PD

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Thanks for all those wonderful kingfisher images lately, Paul. They've helped keep spirits up during the near-incessant cloud we've had until recently.

[bugboy]

anks Wurzel, look forward to seeing the results from the new lens
Thanks David, they are rather addictive, especially when they just sit around with not a care in the world.


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February 2025

Tuesday 25th promised to be decent after some early morning rain had passed through. I’d already planned to go on a road trip with ‘Lady and her van’, so whilst waiting for the cloud to pass over we killed time at Arundel WWT, keeping a close eye on the sky and weather apps. On the exotics front, you don’t get much more weird and wonderful amongst the ducks than the Spectacled Eider.

Amongst the natives a Grey Wagtail wandered past one of the hides and the Cattle Egret (presumably the same lot that hang around Burpham, probably only 10 minutes as the Egret flies from here) were found chilling on a small shingle island.

The cloud that had accompanied the earlier rain was really dragging its heals and the promise of some sun by lunchtime never materialised but parking the van at Amberley station we could see the edge of it slowly inching its way from the west. A pair of Peregrine drifting low overhead distracted us for a while before we moved on.

The cloud was annoyingly persistent and it wasn’t until 2 that we saw the sun, causing us to shed a few layers in the sudden Spring-like warmth. Sadly it was probably an hour or two late to stir any butterflies so we settled for more birds and more than a couple of Hares.

We stayed out quite late, the local Partridge’s becoming very vocal as we watched the sun going down

And we decided this bright crescent shaped star must have been Venus. No idea whether it was, astronomy isn’t our strong point! It was high in the west.