No Large Tortoiseshell

Today we were out searching for a Large Tortoiseshell Butterfly. We didn't find one and I guess we were not too surprised, it was always a long shot. Three have been seen around the North Stoke area but you have to set that against thousands of hours that have been spent searching for them.

There are reports of Large Tortoiseshells found on the south coast most years. They are probably vagrants from France but to have reports so early in the year suggests that these could have overwintered here and may even be breeding here. The sceptics would say that someone is releasing them but with the climate warming we can expect a gradual northward drift of the butterfly species.

It would put my claim to have seen all the UK butterflies in jeopardy but it could be worse. I just have to find one butterfly. Patrick Barkham (The Butterfly Isles) will probably have to start again to be able to keep his record of seeing all the UK butterflies in one summer.

So, no Large Tortoiseshell, but it was good to get out on a first butterfly trip of the year and there were a good number of butterflies about.

Green-veined White

Green-veined White

Orange Tips Anthocharis cardemines on one of its main larval plants Cuckoo Flower/Lady's Smock Cardemine pratensis.

Orange Tip

Orange Tip (male)

Orange tip

Orange Tip (female)

Peacock

Small Copper

Small Copper

Small Copper

Speckled Wood

The weather has been good and 2017 looks like a much better year for Butterflies than last year. Lets hope for a big recovery in numbers. As for the Large Tortoiseshell, well I may give it another go but the interesting time will be July and August when, if there is a UK population, a new brood should be on the wing.

Damselflies

I had a late start today and ended up visiting a number of local sites. The objective was to see a Common Cuckoo. This was really driven by seeing the Great Spotted Cuckoo at Portland earlier in the week and then realising that I was yet to connect with a common this year.

For a bird that has such a distinctive call and often perches out in the open during the breeding season it is proving surprisingly difficult to find this year.

As far as the objective goes it was unsuccessful. I heard three possibly four Cuckoos but did not manage to see any of them. Nor were there many other birds around. Fortunately I had taken the macro lens with me and I did come across a few Damselflies although strangely not a single Dragonfly. 


Banded Demoiselles were the most common. Nature produces some amazing colours and the metallic blues and greens on these insects are truly stunning.

Banded Demoiselle - male

Banded Demoiselle - female

There were a few "blue" Damselflies around but the only one I managed to photograph was this Azure

Azure Damselfly

 and there were also a few Large Reds

Large Red Damselfly

Butterflies were much in evidence with Orange Tips, Peacocks, Red Admirals, Brimstones, Tortoiseshells, and a variety of whites on the wing.

Green-veined White

The Cuckoo will just have to wait for another day.

Grizzled Skipper

Spring has suddenly happened. The last two weeks in April and the first two in May feel as though they have been compressed into just a couple of days. The trees seem to have turned green overnight, bird migration has restarted and the butterflies have appeared. The trouble is, that there isn't enough time to fit everything in. I am missing some of the regular birds and the butterflies are happening out of sequence.

Today was an attempt to do some catching up. See the Turtle Doves at Woods Mills, find a Chequered Skipper, finally get to see the Lesser Whitethroat we had heard singing by the long pool at Pagham Harbour, and as a bonus have a look at the Tawny Owl chicks in the explorer area by the Pagham Harbour Visitors Centre.

It didn't go to plan. There was no sign of the Turtle Doves either in Woods Mills or along the footpath to the river. It was also uncomfortably hot and humid. We did hear three Nightingales singing within a few feet of us but they were not visible, in what is now a dense green hedge. 

The best I could manage was my first Green-veined White of the year and a Blackcap. A poor substitute for the Turtle Dove, but good to see anyway. It was also interesting to note that one of the large trees in Woods Mills, where you could often find the Turtle Dove purring away, had blown down.

Green-veined White

Blackcap

Next stop was Mill Hill to look for the Grizzled Skipper. It's a bit of a sun trap which is why it is so good for butterflies but at least here there was a breeze coming in off the sea. Two weeks ago I couldn't find a single butterfly here but today there were plenty flying.  Green Hairstreaks, Common Blue, Brimstone, Peacock, Small Heath, and both Dingy and Grizzled Skippers.

Common Blue

Mating pair Dingy Skippers

Still mating

The Grizzled Skipper always comes as a surprise. For some reason I always expect it to be bigger and it never is, but it is a great little butterfly to see and to photograph.

Grizzled Skipper

Mating pair Grizzled Skipper

and still mating - it looks like the male on the left and the female on the right

 I also found a couple of moths, the first at Mill Hill and the second sitting on the kitchen ceiling when I got back home.

Micro moth - I think this one is a Wavy-barred Sable - Pyrausta nigrata

and I am still trying to identify this one.

We had a look at the Tawny Owlets, one in the nest box and one out on a branch. Distant but must be worth a quick picture.

I came home with decent pictures of the mating Dingy and Grizzled Skippers but overall it was a disappointing day. There wasn't a lot to be seen and we could not really be bothered to go chasing half chances. It was too hot and stuffy to be comfortable and I am already looking forward to those crisp clear winter days.

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.

Baltic Gull

Well. I am just back from holiday, a two week cruise around the Baltic. Plenty of food and culture, Stockholm, St Petersburg, etc. and with the benefit of a days mini Paleartic cruise across the North Sea at the beginning and end of it. I can really recommend sitting out on the balcony, in the sun, with a cold beer just waiting for something like a Storm Petrel to turn up. The trouble is that nothing did turn up. I had seen Petrels before as well as other sea going birds but this time it was just Herring Gulls and Gannets.

Herring Gull

Gannet

Things improved slightly as we moved north through the Baltic with the Herring Gulls gradually being replace by Baltic Gulls. I had not expected the Baltics to be much different from a Lesser Black-backed but these were a much more elegant looking bird with longer wings and a very dark back.

Baltic Gull

The idea then was to immerse myself in the culture of the places we visited and to enjoy a different type of holiday. The trouble is that I have a camera that just refuses to take holiday snaps and gets very excited when birds or butterflies come near. There were very few opportunities for pictures but there was always the unusual that showed that you were not back in England. Flocks of Barnacle Geese on most of the lakes where I would have expected Canada Geese and Carrion Crow replaced by Hooded Crow.

Barnacle Goose

Hooded Crow

and a Sand Lizard, perhaps not unusual but I cannot remember the last time I saw one in England.

Sand Lizard

The butterfly sightings were equally flat. I chased after a few whites whilst in St Petersburg hoping that I had an Appolo or a Black-veined White but they were all Green-veined.

Green-veined White

I did have one find, a Queen of Spain Fritillary which is a first for me. I did think about putting it in a box and bringing it back to England ... but that would be cheating.

Queen of Spain Fritillary

I left the sun and temperatures of thirty degrees plus in Sweden and Russia and I have come back to rain and gales. I need it all to clear up quickly as I still have that Brown Hairstreak to find. It should be my final butterfly of the year and I will then be able get back to the birding. That is, unless the Queen of Spain puts in a late autumn appearance over here as it did at Chichester a few years ago.

Hairy Dragonfly

Life gets busier. Birds, butterflies, and now dragonflies as well, all to keep me occupied and away from the dreaded DIY. Its just as well that I am not into orchids or counting Poms on the seafront.

Both dragonflies shown here were found whilst out chasing birds and butterflies. They are two of the early fliers and as with all dragonflies they are such stunning insects that it is impossible to walk past without taking a picture. The first, a Hairy Dragonfly was on Kithurst Meadow where we were searching for the Duke of Burgundy butterfly. The Large Red was at Pulborough Brooks.

Hairy Dragonfly

Hairy Dragonfly

Large Red Dragonfly

We did find Dukes at Kithurst. Five possibly six, not as big a colony as in my earlier blog on Heyshott but good to see them closer to home

Duke of Burgundy

We also found a large colony of Green Hairsteaks further along the downs towards Chantry Hill. I would estimate forty to fifty seen both as singles and roosting in groups of up to a dozen. Quite an amazing sight, especially after having spent a couple of hours finding a single specimen at Mill Hill NR.

Green Hairstreak

There have been plenty of other butterflies on the wing. A quick walk around Houghton Forest gave me Brimstones, Orange Tips, and Green-veined Whites. I tracked the Brimstones and Orange Tips for ages in an attempt to find them perched out in the open. When I finally caught up with a Brimstone I found it had a damaged wing. The Orange Tip was even harder, I could not get anywhere near them. I think a few early morning visits are called for, to catch them whilst they are still roosting.

Brimstone - pity about the damaged wing

Orange Tip

Green-veined White

Can't wait to get out again but it looks like wind and rain through to the end of the weekend. Picture opportunities will be limited.