Kithurst Meadow

 

With the Pearl-bordered in the bag I needed my second spring priority, the Duke of Burgundy. Kithurst Meadow was an all but guaranteed location and it would give me some of the other spring butterflies.

It fills you with confidence when you walk into the meadow and see Cowslips the preferred egg laying plant and Bugle a good nectaring plant growing everywhere.

The Dukes were soon found with probably a dozen flying in the sheltered part of the meadow.

There were also lots of other species flying

Brown Argus

Dingy Skipper

Green Hairstreak

Grizzled Skipper

Orange Tip

Common Blues, Large and Small Whites, Brimstones, Red Admirals and Peacocks were also seen but were not stopping for a photograph.

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.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

An hour at Mill Hill NR on the 25th had got the butterfly list off to a good start with ten species recorded in just over an hour. I didn't manage to photograph them all but at least I got plenty of exercise chasing the Brimstones and Orange tips on the steep slopes.

Best finds of the day, Small Copper and Green Hairstreak. Unexpected were a couple of Wall which I had not recorded at this site before. More worrying was the lack of Grizzled Skippers, usually guaranteed at Mill Hill. Perhaps it was just too cold for them.

Dingy Skipper

Green Hairstreak

Speckled Wood

Wall

We followed this up with our annual pilgrimage to Rewell Wood to see the Pearl-bordered Fritillary. Somehow this always feels like the start of the butterflying season.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Underwing view of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

We also had a supporting cast of Grizzled Skipper, a butterfly I had missed at Mill Hill, and a good number of Orange-tips. Picture below is of a female, I don't think I saw a male stationary all day.

Grizzled Skipper

Female Orange-tip

Underside of the female Orange-tip

Although Duke of Burgundy have been reported from some locations I haven't seen any on the local patch. Heyshott Down always seems to be a week in front of other sites. No Blues seen yet either.

Marsh Fritillary

With our trip to Portland this morning delivering a life tick on the Great Spotted Cuckoo we moved on to Cotley Hill in the afternoon for the Marsh Fritillaries. 

They have been lost from the South East and I think that Cotley Hill is now the nearest place to home, where we have a chance of seeing them. Last year we arrived too late in the season and the butterflies were past their best. Although they are a weak flyer, they seem to damage easily and worn specimens take on a greasy appearance. One of the old names for them is the Greasy Fritillary.

This year we were looking for newly emerged specimens and we seem to have timed it just right.

 

In most of the country the Marsh Fritillary inhabits damp wet areas but in a few places on the downs like Cotley they exist on dry grassy slopes. Given that it can survive on such varied habitat it is difficult to see why it is in such serious decline.

 

You need sunshine to be able to find them. As soon as the sun goes behind the clouds the Marsh Fritillary drops into the grass and will often bury itself deep out of sight.

 

 

 Last year we had them nectaring a lot more but I expect this early in the season they are more intent on finding a partner for breeding.

It was the Marsh Fritillary that had drawn us to Cotley Hill but it is a good site for other butterflies as well. We saw Grizzled and Dingy Skippers, Common Blue, Green Hairstreaks, Meadow Brown, and a couple of Wall Brown.

Female Common Blue - perhaps unusual in tending more towards the blue/grey than the usual brown

Grizzled Skipper

Dingy Skipper

Wall Brown

Wall Brown

Some great pictures of the Marsh Frits and a new first for me. The first time I have produced two blogs from one day out. It's so much easier when you have interesting subjects and you manage to get some good pictures.

 

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.