Wurzel

[essexbuzzard]

Excellent Chalkhills, Wurzel. Numbers were low at my sites, but it sounds like they did okay round your way.

Martin Down is an excellent site, for sure.

[Goldie M]

Lovely shots Wurzel I'm hoping better weather for next year and that the Chalkhills will be back to normal here in Kent, Goldie
I must still be under the antiseptic Wurzel, I see I entered the favourite Butterfly photo too soon( Sorry Vince and Wurzel) I'm ready for Spring already Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Trevor The leg work finally paid in dividends on that visit
Cheers Essex It seems that things were a bit all over the place this year with some spots doing better than others, it would be nice if we could have a 'normal' season for a change A few more Chalkhills coming up...
Cheers Goldie There's nothing wrong with being keen Goldie I too am also counting down the days until next season

Martin Down 13-08-2024 Part 2

As I drew nearer to overproportioned hump I left the main track and veered right onto the track that runs along the bottom of the hump. I was greeted almost immediately by a male Common Blue whose chase ultimately led me to a brace of Small Coppers, one being beautifully fresh and the other not so much, hence my confidence in numbering them as two. There were also some, brilliantly marked male Chalkhills. As I wandered across the thinly turfed ground in front of the Butt I found yet more Chalkhills and in amongst these I finally found a couple of single ladies. They seemed to have worn very quickly and all the ones that I saw showed the pale brown topside which no doubt helped them avoid the unwelcome advances by the males, many of whom passed by seemingly oblivious to the females directly in front or below them.

After a few turns around the field I decided that it was time to make the slow return home and so when I retraced my steps to the half way part I took the diagonal track that terminated at the Tunnel track. This proved to be a good choice as it meant that I was able to catch up with most, if not all, of the species I’d previously photographed. There were Chalkhills, a cracking male Common Blue, Small Copper and a brace of Brown Argus. There was even a Small Heath that actually sat still for long enough to have its photograph taken. At the Tunnel track I could see that it was suffering the same affliction as everywhere this season; overgrowth! What used to be cleared sections of hedge were covered to waist height. Even the track itself was barely recognisable as such. Still I made my way along it adding three Specklies and a Holly Blue to the days tally.

The final section along the hedge was still much quieter than normal and even the ‘triangle’ by the gate wasn’t up to its usual standards. To be fair some work had been done here; stones to fill in the holes, tractor tracks gouging up the triangle etc. so that might explain it. However I did find a male Chalkhill followed by a Common Blue and a Brown Argus all at the intersection of the paths so it looks like it’ll soon be back to its best. As I reached the very last furlongs a Green-veined White flew up from somewhere unseen before me and the Peacock was again on sentry duty at the barrier. End as you started I suppose?

A Chalkhill catch-up
At a quiet Martin Down
The end is in sight?
Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Ashton Rowant 16-08-2024

It was ERAs day! This meant that while all three girls were celebrating Swift-ie style I’d have to occupy myself for about 12 hours from 11 to 11. The latter stages were all sorted; chill out and read in the car or find a nice pub and nurse a cold pint (of coke). However what to do while the sun shone? Some digging revealed that Ashton Rowant was only 30minutes away from where I’d drop the girls off. I sent Dave a PM asking for some ‘dets’ and he was already planning on going so I was all sorted!

Despite the delays of motorway traffic (M25 and M40) I arrived slightly before Dave and had just enough time to slap on some suncream before he rocked up. Then he led the way and we were off thought eh little wood before venturing out onto the Down which dropped away rapidly to our left before levelling out at the very last minute at the motorway. It was very hot as we set off, much hotter than forecast and I was glad that I’d packed a change of gear so I wouldn’t spend the night sitting in sticky, clammy and stinky gear. It was, much like most places this season, very overgrown but the butterflies seemed used to it and the first butterfly of the day, a Small Heath, soon popped up. It was Swiftly (wink) joined by Meadow Browns, Chalkies and where the sward thinned slightly a Silver-spotted Skipper or two…or three even? We kept following the narrow paths, originally created by the local wildlife, that criss-crossed the down and which we were now using to see the more diminutive species. A very blue female Common Blue showed up and then a lovely female Chalkie which was followed by a flurry of Silver-spots. We followed some of these downhill roughly along the line of the hedge and at the bottom near the gate we found a male Common Blue and also a Brown Argus, oddly enough the exact species we’d just been chatting about on our way down the slope. It sent the Common Blue packing in next to no time and then started harrying anything that came within spitting distance be that another butterfly or even, I surmise, anything up to the size of a German Shepherd.

Dave told me that the track along the bottom was good for Adonis and so we set about wandering back and forth along its length eagerly seeking out the electric blue one. A male Common Blue wasn’t anywhere near bright enough but a pairing was still nice to see. Then a blinding blue blur flew speedily along the path, a definite Adonis. There were possibly a further two as well so we spent a while here patiently stalking, what felt like, the eternally moving butterflies.

Eventually we decided to carry on and the path dove down into a small section of wood but we veered off to the right of it noting a Green-veined White and a Brimstone as we moved up. There was another female Common Blue but a mating pair of Chalkhills held most of our attention. Once we set off again it was noticeable that the Brown Argus seemed to like this patch as there were several flying as we continued to progress, very slowly, almost imperceptibly uphill…

When we did reach the top of the rise we looked across to the next spur on the other side of the small valley. The grass really did look greener on the other side but just like the axiom when we wandered through it, it was just as straw coloured as the original side. It must have been a trick of the light. Either way the butterflies didn’t seem to have noticed as when they left the large, low Hemp Agrimony and Brambles bushes in the middle of the ‘v’ they’d fly in either direction. A quick root around here turned up a Smessex, Chalkies, Brown Argus, on the Hemp in particular and also a couple of Silver-spots, one of which was an egg-laying female. She seemed to be being very particular in her selection, spending most of her time crawling around in the undergrowth, abdomen bent round beneath her.

We pressed on up to the top. On the walk up there were plenty of Meadow Browns, a Small Heath actually sat still and there was a Silver-spot waiting for us on the path…only to bugger off the minute that we spotted it. At the very top we paused at the sign which appeared to have confused Common and Chalkhill Blue? We spent a fair bit of time here as the grass grew more sparsely so you had a fighting chance of photographing our quarry…and there was plenty of that. The grass was fair bubbling in butterflies with Meadow Browns and Chalkies all over the place with a few Silver-spots in between. The males were very frustrating as most times you’d spot one, fire off 1, maybe 2 shots and then the viewfinder would be devoid of butterfly! Luckily I got onto a female and she behaved much more sedately, often remaining in the same spot for whole minutes at a time. After this there was a gender confused Silver-spot. A male that behaved exactly in the same fashion as the female.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

That was a pretty productive visit Wurzel - there were, as you describe, quite a good number of butterflies and a fair bit of variety too. Some great shots there as well - especially useful as mine from the trip were among those lost in the Great Laptop Disaster of 2024... A top-notch meetup.

Cheers,

Dave

[essexbuzzard]

I’m glad you managed to get to AR while you were over this way, and the weather played ball. Looks like you have more success with SSS than me at that site. But that’s good!

[Wurzel]

Cheers Dave It was a great day, a bit more is chronicled below
Cheers Essex It was a great site although I've gotten used to finding Silver-spots on flatter terrain so my calves took a bit of a battering A few more Silver-spots to come ...

Ashton Rowant...Part 2

With memory cards heaving we carried on down the hill ending up back at the bottom path by the gate. As we were there we decided to give it another going over to hopefully catch up with more Adonis. We managed to catch-up with at least one more representative of four different Blue species. The Adonis was the brightest, the Chalkhill is the best behaved and the Brown Argus was obviously the most belligerent.

We then started the very, very slow journey back, slow because it was up hill but also because we kept getting distracted. First though we went down into the ditch that runs parallel along the bottom path. Again we got onto the ubiquitous Chalky, Common Blue and also a Smessex. Then having climbed out we carried on climbing up the side of the down. As we moved into an area of slightly shorter turf we found a few more Silver-spots including a brilliantly fresh one sat in the much sought after pose; wings closed, side on, gleaming golden lime/lemon with the spots tipex-ed in. Meandering after the Silver-spots we’d ended up following the hedge line at the ‘bottom’ of the slope (actually the bottom of the grassland). Oddly enough as we working along the hedge a Hedgie appeared. As we kept on moving the odd butterfly would pop up to take our mind off the increasing gradient. First a Small Heath, then a Brown Argus and even a couple of Silver-spots amongst the grasses hemming in the hedge. A Starsky Comma also fluttered about on a patch of Bramble. Something else, big and orange went past and both Dave and I wondered if it was a DGF but it actually turned out to be a Meadow Brown taking to mimicry. It was quite an orange Meadow Brown to be fair, reminiscent of a faded DGF but what really got us thinking along the wrong lines was the rapid wing beats followed by a soaring glide.

Eventually we reached the top and after a natter Dave said his goodbyes and headed off, presumably homewards. Myself? Well I still had several hours of daylight so plenty of time before I’d need to think about tea…In the end I decided to cross the motorway and give the South side of Ashton a try. I ended up parking in the Cowleaze car park and then after a bit of a walk ended up on the down quite near the bottom. It was a little confusing as the site was partitioned off and fenced here and there. After my bemused wanderings I found myself at the bottom of one section. The grass had grown to knee height so finding anything proved tricky although I did watch a Chalky and a Common Blue pass by. I started back up the hill sticking rigidly to the track closest to the tree/fence line as here the grass was shorter and various wildflowers had been able to get a better purchase. A Green Woody flew over, yaffling at me and I realised that the odd purple flowers were Chiltern Gentians, a bit of a speciality. The only butterfly I managed to get a shot of was a Smessex in the end. As this side seemed like harder work; what with not really knowing where to go and the compartmentalisation I beat a hasty retreat and struck out uphill towards the treeline. When I reached it I’d correctly surmised that this was the road and on the other side the car park. With a coffee in hand I was working out what to do next? It was still too early to head back to Amersham so I made the only choice possible and made my way back to the North side of the reserve.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Ashton Rowant Part 3

As I was feeling a little tired I decided to only head as far as the bottom path so off I set stopping just after the wood for a surprise Large Skipper which was clinging to the hedge. Then it was down to the half-way point where the grasses thinned and the Silver-spots played. Sure enough I got onto some of the cute little blighters. They led me on a merry dance across the down which, when I finally awoke from their spell, had brought me to the bottom of the hill where I caught up with three of the four Blue species that were flying.

I didn’t get far along the bottom path as my progress was arrested by first a male Chalky which led me to a gorgeous female. She was an aberrant Chalkhill. I only had glimpses of her topside so it was difficult to confirm which. Also I was much more interested in her underside as it was a lovely, orangey brown and devoid of most of the spotting. I’d love to have known the name of the aberrant but at the time I did the best thing and just marveled.

When she finally fluttered off I started the final walk back up the hill. It was a very slow walk again, partly because I was getting a little foot sore by now but also for some final Silver-spots. A few flew about here and there and as the afternoon had worn into early evening they’d calmed down a little, pausing for slightly longer at each fuel stop. The final butterfly of the day photo wise was a lovely looking Small Heath. It seemed kind of fitting to finish with this as this was the species that had started off my monster of a day! I finally did reach the car I enjoyed a final cup of coffee and got cleaned up and changed before settling down in a nearby pub for some scran and a deliciously cold pint (of coke with ice and a slice). What a cracking site and what a cracking day…when’s Taylor playing again?

An old friend well met
And a new site to explore
At Ashton Rowant
Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

I'm pleased you found your visit to Aston Rowant worthwhile, Wurzel - and you didn't even see it at its best this year. I try and get up there about once a fortnight from the end of April onwards and it's always worth the trip. It looks like your third bite of the cherry was as productive as the others, especially with that aberrant female Chalkhill...

Cheers,

Dave

[Goldie M]

Some lovely shots of the SSS Wurzel, I missed it this year , hope fully next year( if I can still climb the steps at Temple Ewell) Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Dave It was a great site even if it was lack lustre by all accounts compared to other years I just took it as great' not knowing any different, ignorance is bliss and all that
Cheers Goldie Good luck with the SSS next season - is there an easier site to work over your way? If not you look into whether you could get an Uber to the top?

Shipton Bellinger 18-08-2024

The following day we were off, flying to Montpellier. As I was all packed there was little for me to do but sit around and thumb twiddle. My wife must have found this irritating so she suggested that I head out for a bit. Having already caught up with plenty of Chalkies and Silver-spots I thought it might be good to have a final quick check-in on the Brostreaks…so it was off to Shipton.

I parked at the back just off the Bulford Road, and cut through towards the Nettle Bed. As I did scanned and searched the Wild Parsnip but only found few Meadow Browns and the odd aged Hedgie. At the Nettle Bed I decided to risk having a look up the main but this year ‘impenetrable’ track. Others had gone before me and there was the slightest of breaks which I found I could squeeze down, sideways, back to the Wild Parsnip, front to the slightly lower nettles. When I reached the stands of Thistle I eyed the tops to no avail. There were a couple of Meadow Browns partaking of the remaining nectar but no Brostreaks. So I turned to leave and ‘Boom’ there was one right there in my line of sight. It must have flown in whilst I was looking at the Browns or been sitting under the flower head. However it got there it was a fantastic find. A beautiful side on female all to myself and having only been on site for a matter of minutes. She tottered about various different flower heads and I clicked away but eventually all good things must pass so I left here there, wondering if she’d remain, and set off to check the rest of the site.

The main hedge was bereft of both people and Brostreaks although there were still plenty of the Browns. The Meadow Browns would fly out from the hedge and then back before flapping up high whereas Hedgies would emulate the jinky flight of a Hairstreak and fly into or along the hedge. A Common Blue passed by to break the monotony of Browns but once at the cross tracks we were back to beige, albeit with Marmalade tones showing up from the brace of Walls there. I spent a little time in the corner of the little field behind the main hedge. There were no DGFs on this visit but another Wall tempted me away from the many Brimstones. It was a futile chase as every time I’d get near it would fly on a little further ahead. Even when I gave it 30 seconds or so to settle down it still repeated the performance. I was just contemplating giving up when it did one over the hedge; giving up on me before I could give up on it! Annoyed I quickly returned to the little corner and concentrated on the Browns and 5 Brimstones that were flying there instead.

After this I took a stroll down the main track, amazed at how quiet it was. I veered off to the right hand side of the dual hedge track and spotted a couple of Specklies and a female Holly Blue that opened up slightly for me. Slightly further on where the track widened a Wall kept buzzing in front of me and another chap, Matt, caught up with me and was looking for Brostreaks to. After a few False-streaks went past, almost for illustrative purposes, I spotted a Brostreak up high. It was a little too far for my lens so the best I could manage was a few record shots of the ‘see that orange dot, that’s a Brsotreak…honest’ variety.

Reaching the end of the dual track we started back towards the back of the site along the other side of the hedge. A Wall flew ahead of us most of the way and the odd Meadow Brown tried its best to test us but we’d gotten our eyes in now and so there wasn’t much to add apart form a nice female Common Blue. Working back down the Main Hedge I diligently checked the yellow florets, the Bramble flowers and ticked off every Hedgie/False-streak that I saw. A Small Heath played for a bit and then about three quarters of the way along I hit pay dirt with another Brostreak. It was another female and again she was unfortunately up too high again for anything but record shots.

A she wasn’t forthcoming in coming down any lower I assumed that she was a freshly emerged female waiting for her wings to harden. We left her in peace and carried on round, through the enclave towards the Nettle Bed. I was just explaining to Matt that we were very near to where I’d see the female earlier when we rounded the corner. She was still there, her shape, colour and white streak making her stick out like a sore thumb. So we ventured in and clicked away as she pirouetted around the fluffy purple flower top.

Reasoning that three was a reasonable haul for a couple of hours work I bade Matt farewell and good luck and headed home to check, recheck and check my packing for a third time.
A break from packing
What’s the first butterfly?
Early doors Brostreak
Have a goodun

Wurzel

[trevor]

There is no facility on farcebook for mrgreens so here are some for your
fabulous female Brown Hairstreak complete with some excellent shots.

[Goldie M]

Fantastic shots of the Hair Streak Wurzel I don't think there's many sites near me so I'll keep enjoying your shots.

I usually park my car near the Steps at Temple Ewell, I think if I park on the road instead I may find another way up to see the SSS, fingers crossed I'll find a way Goldie

[Allan.W.]

Hello Goldie,
Just seen your post re;SSS at TE. Do you mean the steps up through the car park ,through Dragon Wood and up the slope ? although i can see that they may be difficult for you ,its probably still the best route .I believe that theres another path up from the main road ,that skirts the allotments(the far side ) but never used it myself..........but its still UP ! You could also consider a visit to Queendown Warren in North Kent.....generally good numbers there......perhaps give "Testudoman" a PM he knows the site very well ! I,m sure he'd be happy to give you a few pointers . Queendown also has all the Downland Blues.....and I believe a few Dark Green Frits (but could be wrong on this one !) SSS are also found in very small numbers at Wye NNR ,and on the cliffs at South Foreland.......but they're very few and far between.
About TE/LN ,This year and last SSS were easier to see at the Lydden end of the downland ,particularly on the old Kent trust reserve.
Good hunting ! Allan.W.

[Allan.W.]

My apologies Wurzel ! ........thought i'd posted this on "Goldies" site ..........senior moment ! Sorry about that.
Allan.W.

[millerd]

That is one cracker of a female Hairstreak, Wurzel! She did what all hairstreaks seem to do and sneaked up behind you and pretended she was there all along...

Cheers,

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cheers Trevor She just turned up out of nowhere I'm surprised after my shocking language due to the surprise of her shock arrival she didn't depart almost as swiftly
Cheers Goldie I reckon I'm just returning the compliment for your Heath Frits
Cheers Allen No worries, they come on quick sometimes
Cheers Dave She was the original Ginger Ninja

November 2024

Happy November! Not long to go now til we're counting down to the start of the next season!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

I look forward to your Monthly calendars Wurzel Can't wait for the Spring one Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Goldie There's still one to go this year yet

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Walk to Waitrose 30-08-2024

This was going to be a bit tricky as I’d need to get my eye in again and not be expecting Scarce Swallowtails or Lang’s Short-tailed Blues. It was a bit of a shock to the system and not helped by my first proper opportunity to get out being a quick trip to Waitrose. Still any opportunity must be grabbed and so off I toddled with my camera at the ready.

The usual suspects showed themselves on the walk through the back of the housing estate in the form of a few Whites and Red Admirals. As always they’d show themselves, fly over my head and then disappear back over the sound boards to the other side of the Buddleia. In the little square of lawn by the park I finally found something sitting still; a female Small White. As I readjusted to my geographical location I forewent the usual checks ‘in case it was a Southern’. Just over the road in the next miniature housing estate there were a few more Whites fluttering about, two of which paused for a quick refuel.

Pleased to just be back in the saddle I pressed on under the bridge along the river path. A Green-veined White teased me, waiting until I was just within range before flying off. I wasn’t too bothered though as I spied something slightly different mooching about amid the Brambles. As I drew near it set off on a brief foray, its wings catching the light and looking golden brown. I waited a few steps away from where it had ascended and sure enough a few moments later it returned and I was able to get my first shots of a Brown Hawker. With some shots in the bag I finally reached journeys end and restocked the victuals.

Well returned from France
With receding memory
Back with a whimper
Have a goodun

Wurzel