Brown Hairstreaks

 

Out walking on the Downs recently, there were still a lot of butterflies on the wing but most were starting to look a bit worn. There will still be fresh looking Red Admirals, Peacocks and Brimstones around for a few months yet and possibly even a Short-tailed Blue but the end of the butterflying season is usually marked by the emergence of the Brown Hairstreaks. When most other species are past their best the flash of bright orange stands out amongst the drab browns - that is, if you manage to find one.

Fortunately we have a couple of good sites close by and this year we headed over to Steyning Rifle Range in search of the target. Target butterfly that is, no shots have been fired here since the 1980s.

I would like to say what a wonderful day we had but Brown Hairstreaks always seem like hard work. We arrived early and spent two to three hours searching for that flash of orange. A complete waste of time. Males tend to stay on territory in the tops of the Ash trees, whilst the females coming down to the Blackthorn to lay eggs don't usually appear until after 11am. If you are really lucky you may find one sunbathing or nectaring on Brambles or Fleabane after egg laying.

We did eventually get to see a couple and it was worth the wait but only just.

It has been an unusual butterflying year. We had a shortage of the blue species early in the year. It did improve a bit late summer but they were still not in the numbers I would expect, yet walking on the downs now there seems to be good numbers of second broods.

Plants also seem to be out of sync with the butterflies. We usually visit Houghton Forest in August to photograph Silver-spotted Skippers and White Admirals on the Hemp Agrimony. Not only is it a great nectaring plant but it is four or five feet tall so you don't have to go crawling about on your hands an knees to get your shots. This year it flowered late, it looks good now but the shots are not really what I was looking for.

Hemp Agrimony looking good but I can't say the same for the Silver-washed Fritillary

Or for the White Admiral

Fortunately the Small Tortoiseshells are still looking good.

Small Tortoiseshell

The Buddleia in my garden at home also seems to be having a bad year. It flowered at about the right time  but it doesn't seem to be attracting the butterflies this year. Perhaps nectar levels are linked to temperature and moisture levels.

A late push has eventually raised my butterfly list for the year to more respectable levels. There are forty seven butterflies that can be seen in Sussex in a good year. I missed out on the Purple Emperor and Purple Hairstreak and the jury is still out on the Long-tailed Blue which could be flying through to the end of October. Still forty four is not a bad count and if the Large Tortoiseshell becomes established in Sussex I could be looking for forty eight next year.

Below are some of the late additions to the list.

Brimstone

Brown Argus

Clouded Yellow - it's a bit tatty but they all count

Common Blue

Silver-spotted Skipper

Small Copper

Speckled Wood

Wall

It doesn't seem possible that the summer is all but over. Did it ever really happen this year or is it just that I was isolating through the best part of it. 

It will still be worth looking for moths for a couple more months and we could get a warm September which will keep the insects active but the focus will now start to turn back to the birds. Which is only appropriate for what claims to be a birding blog. Bring on those winter days stood on the North Wall at Pagham waiting for that once in a lifetime find to turn up.

Red-necked Phalarope

I wasn't going to bother going to see the Phalarope at Pulburough Brooks. It's a great place for birds but not so good for bird photographers, especially in the summer when the water in the brooks seems to retreat back over the horizon. Then sitting at home you start to think - I haven't seen a Phalarope for a couple of years; I haven't been out all day; I do need to top up on the bird feed supplies. In the end I was convinced. I did get to see it and I did get my shot although it was a little distant!

Red-necked Phalarope on a 600mm lens combination

With a big crop you can at least see what it is. It was nice to catch up with it although I don't think that it will be taking pride of place amongst my Phalarope pictures.

Better news though, in a Spotted Flycatcher, that at first landed too close for me to focus on. Fortunately, after staring me out for about fifteen seconds, it did give me a second chance, moving a little further away before quickly disappearing into the distance. One of those all too fleeting magic moments.

Spotted Flycatcher

This was my first Spotted Flycatcher of the autumn although I have seen a number of Pied Flycatchers. A reversal of the usual autumn norm.

Walking back up the zig-zags to the visitors centre its always worth inspecting the Stinking Willies (Ragwort) for insects. This time finding an obliging Clouded Yellow.

Clouded Yellow

and a Painted Lady in reasonable condition

Painted Lady

A couple of shots from the past week. A Whinchat, all I had to show from a morning searching for the Beachy Head Montagu's Harrier.

Whinchat

and an ugly duckling but it won't be long before he turns into a beautiful Reed Bunting.

Reed Bunting

Nice to get some pictures but we could do with a rarity on the patch.

Willow Emerald Damselfly

Thursday was a good day. Not only was the weather perfect but I also had two life ticks. Insects unfortunately, rather than birds but I still came home with a smile on my face.

We had started off the day on Cissbury Ring looking for an early Ring Ouzel. No luck with that but we did have a secondary target, caeruleopunctata, aberrations of the Small Copper butterfly with a row of blue spots on its hind wings.

Aberrations giving variations in colour and markings are quite common in the Small Copper. In the wild these can be genetically inherited or the result of extreme conditions during the pupation stage. In previous years we had noted the caeruleopunctata aberation on Cissbury Hill, in late year third broods. I am not sure if this is just a result of when we end up looking for them or whether there is an underlying cause for it.

There were hundreds of Small Coppers flying, so if we searched long enough we were likely to be successful. We did eventually see a couple of examples although none were in really good condition.

Small Copper with just a hint of blue spots.

caeruleopunctata aberration although unfortunately in worn condition.

and one from a previous year in slightly better condition

caeruleopunctata

Whilst searching for Small Coppers I  also managed to find a new Shieldbug, Coreus marginatus, more commonly known as a Dock Bug and a life tick for me.

Dock Bug  -  Coreus marginatus

Late, but still welcome, the Clouded Yellows have started to arrived over the past week. I was beginning to think they wouldn't appear in any numbers this year but I have seen five or six in the past few days. This being the first one that stayed still long enough for a picture.

Clouded Yellow

By far the best sighting of the week were the Willow Emerald Damselflies at Warnham Nature Reserve. This species, common in southern Europe, is relatively new to the UK. The first specimen was collected in Kent in 1992 but was not identified until 2003. Then in 2009 a substantial population of 400 was identified in Suffolk and adjacent counties probably from an unrecorded influx from the Continent.

Since then they have spread rapidly and can now be seen in Sussex, both at Warnham and Woods Mills, although it is likely that they are far more widespread than this.

Willow Emerald Damselfly  -  Lestes viridis

Willow Emerald Damselfly  -  Lestes viridis

Willow Emerald Damselfly  -  Lestes viridis

A rewarding day in what has been a less than spectacular Autumn around Sussex. Long may it continue.

Yellow Wagtails

With the autumn migration getting under way, I managed to add a few year ticks this week but pictures opportunities have been limited. Pagham Harbour, in particular, has provided some good birding but the key target, Curlew Sandpiper, has proved to be a bit elusive.

The best photographic opportunity came this afternoon when we found a flock of 200 plus Yellow Wagtails.

They were feeding in amongst cattle in the fields just to the west of the Breech Pool. Initially the flock was only around thirty birds and we could not get close to them. However, by standing in the middle of the herd we managed to get some good close up views.

We then had other flocks coming in and joining the cattle. It was impossible to do an accurate count but we estimated at least 200 birds.





The only problem was that the cows were curios and soon came closer to investigate. I don't mind being licked by them or having them attempt to eat my shirt but licking the camera and blocking the view of the wagtails was a different matter. We eventually had to make a strategic withdrawal with the cattle in pursuit and still managing to block our view.

Still, we had some good picture opportunities with the Wagtails seeming happy to come closer as the cows had accepted us as part of the herd.

Back on the Breech Pool there was a small flock of five Little Stints. I had only ever seen them in ones and twos before.

Two of the Little Stint

Sowing the prominent white lines on their back

The white markings on their back are very distinctive but earlier I had been left somewhat confused by a Dunlin showing similar markings. Fortunately, when you see the Little Stint along side the Dunlin the size difference ensures that there can be no confusion.


Other sightings included Wheatear, Whinchat, Kingfisher and earlier in the week Yellow-legged Gulls and Lesser Whitethroat.

Wheatear

There were also a good number of Clouded Yellow Butterflies at both Pagham Harbour and Medmerry

Clouded Yellows usually mark the end of the butterfly season but there is always the chance of a rare migrant turning up. Last year we had Long-tailed Blues. Perhaps this year it will be a Camberwell Beauty - dream on!

Clouded Yellow

Bit of a disappointing day today. The weather didn't look promising but we thought we would try a few of the local sites looking for Dragonflies and Butterflies. First stop was Black Pool at Pulborough Brooks. Not a good place to start as it had all but dried out and there were no signs of life around it. All the water levels across the Pulborough site seemed low and we only saw two dragonflies all morning, a Brown Hawker and a Southern Hawker. Neither stayed around to have their pictures taken.

Pulborough also seemed to be almost devoid of birds. I did have a look from Netley's and could see a couple of very distant Sandpipers. I would like to have got a confirmed sighting of the Wood Sandpiper but to me they looked like two Commons and one Green.

Picture taking was confined to one brief spell of sunshine in the meadow area above Netley's. We were hoping for a Brown Hairstreak but could not see any movement in the trees or bushes.

The first Clouded Yellow of the year got us off to a good start, even if it was a little on the tatty side.

After that it was really just the everyday butterflies. But at least it was something flying and the chance to take a few shots.

Gatekeepers were probably the most common butterfly.

Gatekeeper

and there were still a few fresh looking Small Heaths about

Small Heath

Ringlets and Meadow Browns had mostly gone over but there was a nice Small Copper, a few Green-veined Whites and a couple of Common Blues around.

Small Copper

Small Copper

Green-veined White

Common Blue

There were hundreds of the Common Grass Moth around so I thought I would take a shot of one for the record.

Common Grass Moth Agriphila straminella

and the always fascinating Scorpion Fly

Scorpion Fly

We had about an hour of sunshine before the clouds came over, then time to walk back to the car before the rain started. Despite what the forecasts had promised there seemed little chance of it clearing as we went into the afternoon so in the end we packed up and headed for home.