Rewell Wood

 

I have written this same blog, around the end of April, for many years now and it has always been titled Pearl-bordered Fritillary. It marks the start of the butterfly season for me and usually consists of three parts, see and photograph the Pearl-bordered, see and usually fail to photograph the Speckled Yellow moth and then, in the afternoon, go looking for the Duke of Burgundy at one of its locations on the downs.

Today that all changed. The Duke of Burgundy had come to Rewell Wood.  How it got there is open to speculation but it was definitely flying there.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

We found the first Pearl-bordered about a quarter past nine. The sun was starting to warm the ground but there was still a cool wind blowing. Ideal conditions, the butterflies were just starting to move but were still sluggish and thus giving good views as they basked in the sun.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

They could also we found basking on the dirt paths which warm up faster than the surrounding vegetation.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

All very much as expected until another butterfly came into view. At a distance, the right colour, but a bit on the small size and flying a bit closer to the ground, a Duke of Burgundy. A quick record shot and a phone call to Dave, who at this point was out of sight about a quarter of a mile away and then I had to make sure I kept sight of it until he managed to get back to see it.

He made record time. It is not an unusual butterfly for us to see but this was a first for us in Rewell Wood and he wanted to record it himself. He probably also wanted to check that I had the identification right. A Duke of Burgundy and it had only just turned nine thirty, something of a record as they don't usually put in an appearance until closer to eleven.

Duke of Burgundy

Although we are used to seeing the Duke of Burgundy on open chalk downlands it was, in the past, more a butterfly of coppiced woodland. So it is perhaps not unusual to find it somewhere like Rewell Wood. We did not see any of its favoured foodplant, the Cowslip, in the area but there were plenty of  Primroses growing which are from the same family Primulaceae. 

The mystery is how they got there. I am not aware of any colonies within a reasonable migration distance of the wood. An assisted migration or perhaps they have benefited from the " Fritillaries for the Future" program?

Duke of Burgundy

Duke of Burgundy

We saw probably half a dozen Dukes allowing for multiple sightings from some of them. This is a good number for a coppiced woodland so early in the season and suggests there may be a sustainable population there.

The other encouraging aspect is that in the past the Pearl-bordered had been holding on in just one or two areas of the wood. Today we found them along rides where we had not seen them before and in widely dispersed areas of the wood.

A couple more of the early season butterflies, a Dingy Skipper and Grizzled Skipper from a recent trip to Levin Down.

Grizzled Skipper

Dingy Skipper

I have also seen a few Green Hairstreaks, one of my early season favourites, but as yet I have not been able to get a photograph of one.