Pearl-bordered Fritillary

As I have written before, for me, the emergence of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary marks the start of the butterfly season. So today it was the annual trip over to Rewell Wood to see if they were flying. The date was about right but with the cold nights we have been seeing recently and with some aspects of the flora and fauna appearing to be running a couple of weeks behind schedule we were not sure what we would find.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Arriving just before ten it all looked quiet but as the cloud cover burnt off and the temperature started to rise the first pearls took to the air. It is mostly the males that you see flying. If you can catch up with them, before they warm up, you have a good chance of a picture. Once they get up to speed they are difficult to follow and rarely put down for any length of time.

On Bugle

If you miss the morning sweet spot your best chance of a picture is either, late afternoon when the males are worn out and may be found nectaring on Bugle,  patchy cloud cover which could freeze the action, or find a female which will either have a male in attendance or be egg laying on nearby violets.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

A trip to Mill Hill added a few more of the spring Butterflies.

Dingy Skipper

The Grizzled Skipper was particularly taxing. I pursued one for about 20 minutes trying to get a picture only to find that it was missing a rear wing. Fortunately one in better condition turned up just as I was leaving.

Grizzled Skipper

Two pictures of the Green Hairstreak, such a fabulous little butterfly  .......

and a small copper. The picture doesn't do it justice but I couldn't get the open wing shot which would show the bright upper wing colours.

 

We also had a Common Blue fly by today. There was no picture opportunity but it is worth recording as it was my first blue of the year. It's very unusual not to have seen a Holy Blue in the garden by now.

A Godwits Travels

 

There was a time when visits to the Breech Pool at Pagham Harbour would enable me to indulge in a favourite pastime of photographing ringed Black-tailed Godwits. Sadly the water levels in the pool are no longer managed, or at least are not managed in the interests of birds, and sightings of waders on the pool are now rare. Even if the Godwits are there, they are in deep water and the rings are not visible.

It was interesting then, a few weeks ago, to pick up a Godwit out in the harbour with rings on display. The picture is a huge crop but it is still possible to make out the colours.

Black-tailed Godwit

I sent these off to Pete Potts who is my go to authority on Godwits on the South Coast. I always get a history of the birds activities within a few days but this one was a bit longer than usual.

From the dates the bird is at least eight years old but is probably more than ten. It would have stayed in Africa after its first migration returning to England as a two year old. So probably at least two when it was ringed in 2012. They can live to twenty years of age but ten is probably a good age given high mortality rates in their early years and the risk of migrating through France in the hunting season.

29-Sep-12       Harty, The Swale, Kent, SE England
08-Jul-13         Pilning Reserve, Seven Beach, south Gloucestshire
09-Jul-13         Pilning Reserve, Seven Beach, south Gloucestshire
24-Jul-13         Lymington-Keyhaven NNR, NW Solent, Hampshire
25-Jul-13         Lymington-Keyhaven NNR, NW Solent, Hampshire
15-Aug-13       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
26-Aug-13       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
29-Aug-13       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
30-Aug-13       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
24-Mar-14       Fishbourne, Chichester Harbour, W Sussex, S England
13-Aug-14       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
18-Aug-14       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
25-Aug-14       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
28-Aug-14       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
29-Aug-14       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
30-Aug-14       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
01-Sep-14       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
04-Sep-14       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
10-Sep-14       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
16-Sep-14       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
24-Sep-14       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
28-Sep-14       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
26-Oct-14        Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
28-Oct-14        Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
05-Nov-14       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
07-Nov-14       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England

19-Jul-15        Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
28-Jul-15        Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
29-Jul-15        Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
30-Jul-15        Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
04-Aug-15      Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
07-Aug-15      Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
08-Aug-15      Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
10-Aug-15      Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
15-Aug-15      Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
17-Aug-15      Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
21-Aug-15      Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
30-Aug-15      Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
05-Sep-15      Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
18-Sep-15      Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
30-Sep-15      Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
08-Oct-15       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
10-Oct-15       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
17-Oct-15       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
18-Oct-15       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
15-Nov-15      Conyer, Swale Estuary, Kent, SE England
18-Nov-15      Conyer, Swale Estuary, Kent, SE England

28-Jan-16       Avon, Avon Valley, Hampshire, S England
07-Feb-16       Avon, north Sopley, south of Ringwood, Hampshire
16-Feb-16       Avon, Avon Valley, Hampshire, S England
22-Mar-16       Pagham Harbour, Chichester, West Sussex, S England
25-Aug-16       Titchfield Haven NNR, Fareham, Hampshire, S England
07-Sep-16       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
13-Sep-16       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
15-Sep-16       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
17-Sep-16       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
19-Sep-16       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
22-Sep-16       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
23-Sep-16       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
26-Sep-16       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
29-Sep-16       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
06-Oct-16       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England

24-Mar-17      Slimbridge WWT reserve, Gloucestershire, W England
01-Apr-17      Goldcliff Lagoon, Gwent, S Wales
13-Apr-17      Goldcliff Lagoon, Gwent, S Wales
14-Apr-17      Slimbridge WWT reserve, Gloucestershire, W England
04-Aug-17     Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
21-Aug-17     Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
10-Sep-17     Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England

17-Aug-18     Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England

08-Apr-19      Pagham Harbour, Chichester, West Sussex, S England
18-Apr-19      Moneycarragh, Dundrum South, County Down, Ireland
05-Jul-19       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
15-Jul-19       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
01-Aug-19     Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
10-Nov-19     Portchester Castle, Portsmouth Harbour, Hampshire

12-Jul-20       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
27-Jul-20       Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
06-Aug-20     Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
09-Aug-20     Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
20-Aug-20     Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, Kent, SE England
22-Mar-21     Pagham Harbour, Chichester, West Sussex, S England

A much travelled bird. It seems, based in England for eight or nine months through the summer and missing in December January and February, presumably on migration to Africa. It spends most of the summer based at Oare Marshes and the Swale area but with stopovers at the south coast sites on its inward and outward migration. I assume the sightings in Wales and Ireland are just part of this inward migration.

It would be interesting to know what happened over the winter of 2015/16 when it was recorded on the 18th Nov, 28th Jan, 7th Feb and 16th Feb. Did it migrate during the six week gap or did it stay in this country? Godwits are powerful fliers. Recent satellite tracking data has identified Bar-tailed Godwits as completing journeys from Siberia to New Zealand non stop over the Pacific, a distance of 11,000 miles in just eight days. A trip to Africa and back in the six weeks is clearly possible but why would it bother (or am I thinking like a human instead of like a Godwit?).

I have always had some doubts over the value of ringing birds, particularly with small birds where the recovery rate is so low. For example on studies of migrating House Martins I have seen figures quoted of 20 recoveries out of  1,029,107 birds ringed. I have also seen some really grose flags attached to waders legs that must seriously impact on their movement and comfort. However, when you see data like this you can start to see the value to researchers.

Note - I left off the names of all the individuals that recorded the bird and submitted the data as I am not sure where I stand on data protection. However I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their efforts and to encourage others to join in the fun.

Emperor Moth

 

I was out with Dave yesterday looking for Emperor Moths and trying out the first of our pheromone lures. They were really purchased to go looking for Clearwing Moths later in the year but the addition of the Emperor Moth lure to the purchase was too good a chance to miss.

I have seen Emperor moths before but rarely close up. They sometimes fly past at high speed, when they are easy to mistake for Peacock butterflies, but they always seem to disappear into the distance without putting down anywhere. Once settled they are difficult to find. They may be brightly coloured but they blend in well with the bracken and undergrowth.

The good news is that the lures do work. On a walk around one of the commons we saw probably a dozen different moths with as many as five together at one point. The bad news is that converting the sighting into a good picture is not as easy as we had hoped.

Emperor on my rucksack looking for the lure

The real problem is that the male is expecting to find a female and with the pheromone telling him he is onto a good thing, he seems to get a bit frantic when he cannot find her. We were not interested in capturing the moth or harming it in any way so all we could hope for was a lucky freeze the action shot whilst it was searching or hope that it tired itself out and rested somewhere in sight of where we were standing. Usually they quickly got bored and flew off into the distance.

This one has found the lure hanging on the back of the rucksack.

The next three shots are all of the same moth. He spent a long time frantically flapping around searching for the lure and eventually seemed to have exhausted himself and settled close by to rest. We managed to track and relocate him, although he was in a position where we could not get a photograph. Fortunately  he proved very obliging in allowing us to transfer him to better perches and to get our photographs. However once settled and in roost mode he would not show the underwings which really make the pictures.

Sometimes you get the ideal pose but from the wrong moth. This one has suffered extensive damage to its wings although it has still retained most of its scales and strong colours.

Heavily damaged specimen

We still have a bit of a learning curve to go through on using the lures. Possibly deploying them late afternoon may find the males calmer and more likely to present picture opportunities. Useful as they are, the old approach of finding the male in the throws of mating and unlikely to be distracted is still the most promising way to get a picture.

Better pictures to come I hope!

Moths

 

My first full year of mothing has got off to a slow start with my current year list sitting at just nine moths. Poor return for the number of hours the moth trap has been out. I didn't manage to see any of the winter moths and in fact did not catch anything at the trap in January and February with my best catch being just three moths back on the 21st March.

Looking on the more positive side, five of those moths seen were are also new for my life list. That's not difficult though, as I only started recording moths in September of last year, so I am in the fortunate position that most of what I catch in the early part of this year is going to be new for me.

The five new moths are shown below headed up by the Brindled Beauty, probably the most impressive of those caught.

Brindled Beauty - Lycia hirtaria

With Common Quaker, Early Grey, Hebrew Character, and Small Quaker being the other moths new for me.

Common Quaker - Orthosia cerasi

Early Grey - Xylocampa areola

Hebrew Character - Orthosia gothica

Small Quaker - Orthoaia cruda

Other moths caught were the three below plus another Bloxworth Snout which I did not bother to photograph as it was so badly worn.

Double-striped Pug - Gymnoscelis rufifasciata

Light Brown Apple Moth - Epiphyas positvittana

Pale Mottled Willow - Caradrina clavipalpis

Angle Shades - Phlogophora meticulosa

Hopefully we will see an end to the cold nights over the next week or so and with the weather warming better returns from the traps. Something needs to change soon, we are less than a week away away from my earliest date for seeing Pearl-bordered Fritillary which for me marks the start of the butterfly season.

White-throated Sparrow

 

My aversion to being part of a twitch caused me to miss seeing the Northern Mockingbird on Friday. It had stopped over at Pulborough, only a few miles from where I live and was reported to be showing well.  I was determined not to go or to be part of the melee that normally ensues. That is, determined until I saw some of the pictures emerging on the Friday evening and realised what a mistake I had made. Out at the crack of dawn on the Saturday I joined the group of forlorn looking "should have been here yesterday" birders  -  it had of course flown overnight.

I was further tested on the Saturday when details of another North American vagrant, the long staying White-throated Sparrow in East Sussex, began to emerge. I think I had first seen reference to it back  at the beginning of February or possibly the end of January but no details of its location were forthcoming. We were in the middle of lockdown and suppression of the details did not seem unreasonable.

Awake early on the Sunday I decided I couldn't risk missing another rarity and set off before dawn in the hope of missing the twitch. Unfortunately others must have had similar thoughts and there were already about thirty people on site when I arrived. 

Fortunately the bird was very obliging. It turned up almost immediately, it stayed less than two minutes, I got my record shots and a life tick and was able to leave having spent less than ten minutes on site. Why can't all twitches be like this? 

The bird is very obliging and I am sure that on a one to one basis and with more time there are some much better pictures to be had but when lots of people want to see the bird there are limits on what can be achieved.

As for the Mockingbird, you always need to leave one for another day. Lets just hope we don't have to wait another thirty years for the next one.