Pearl-bordered Fritillary

 

I have seen a few butterflies during the January to March period, mostly Brimstones and Peacocks, but for me the butterfly season does not really start until I see a Pearl-bordered Fritillary. That usually means a trip over to Rewell Wood at the end of April.

This year, with a cold and wet spring, everything seemed to be two to three weeks late. I made trips to Rewell Wood in the last week of April and also the first week of May but there was no sign of the Pearl-bordered. Even on the 13th May I was not having much luck. Four hours walking around the wood had not given me any sightings and it was only late afternoon walking back to the car that I took a detour down a previously unvisited track and came across some signs of Spring beginning to happen.

Three Pearl-bordered seen, only one of which I managed to photograph.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

The track also gave me views of a couple of moths, the Speckled Yellow which had shown at various places in the wood and the Treble-bar with about a dozen flying in one small area.

Speckled Yellow

Treble-bar

Also seen whilst searching for the Pearl-borders were Painted Lady and Orange Tips

Painted Lady

No Duke of Burgundy butterflies in the glades or in Fairmile Bottom but they are usually a week later than the Pearl-bordered. I will have to give Kithurst Meadow a visit.

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

With the recent focus on Orchids my bird list for the year is looking a little sad. I am around thirty to forty birds behind the norm and missing a good few of the common species. Thinking I would fill a few of the gaps I headed over to Iping Common today.

There are never a lot of birds on the commons but you do pick up a few of the scarcer species. Woodlark and Redstart were welcome finds but there was no sign of any Tree Pipits which I had also hoped to see. Both birds seen were distant views with only poor record shots obtained.

There were good numbers of butterflies around but most were hyperactive in the hot sun. Silver-studded Blues, in particular, are always good to see but I am still waiting to capture photographs of the ants tending the newly emerged butterfly.

Males are easy to see but don't stay still for very long. Females are less conspicuous and tend to hide away in the vegetation. You can see why. If you do find a female you only have a few seconds to get a picture before the amorous male turns up.

Female Silver-studded Blue

Male in attendance

He didn't have much luck. She took one look and headed straight for deep cover.

There has been an influx of Painted Ladies from the continent with appearances almost everywhere. Unfortunately most look as though they have flown all the way from North Africa and are not in best condition. There should be time for a second brood which will emerge later in the year and we may get good numbers of pristine butterflies which will be well worth seeking out.

Painted Lady

There is always a chance of finding a Golden-ringed Dragonfly on the commons and if you find one that's in the middle of having its lunch it may even stay still long enough for a picture.

Golden-ringed Dragonfly and unfortunate hoverfly

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

And a freshly emerged Four-spotted Chaser. Just a pity about the busy background.

Four-spotted Chaser

Perhaps not the bird pictures that I had hoped for but still an interesting day

Painted Ladies

I have been hanging on to this blog with the intention of adding a Clouded Yellow, as a way to finish off the butterflies for the year. Sadly they don't seem to be arriving in the usual numbers. I have only seen one and that was on turbo power disappearing into the distance.

The pictures are now starting to look a little dated with most of the insects coming to the end of their flight periods. So published now with, hopefully, a Clouded Yellow still to come.

Painted Lady

Painted Lady

Common Blue

Common Blue

Small Copper

Keeled Skimmer

Migrant Hawker

Broad-bodied Chaser

Black Darter

There are still a few Butterflies and Dragonflies around but this is really the end of another season. Time seems to go by ever more quickly.

Thursley Dragons

Tuesday was a trip out to Thursley Common to top up the Dragonfly list for the year. It was hot and sunny as we left the south coast but by the time we got to Thursley it had clouded over and there was a cool breeze getting up.

We did make a quick stop over on the way to try and get Dave a Sussex Common Clubtail but we could not find any. Having first seen them just two weeks ago this suggests that the mating period when they are to be found by the river is only a couple of weeks long.

Thursley may have been cooler than we had expected but there were still a lot of Dragons and Damsels to be seen. In particular the wooden boardwalk had warmed up early and a lot of the Dragonflies were using it as a place to  bask and absorb the heat.

The pond was a bit of a disappointment though, with nothing flying around the edges. So no sign of the Downy and Brilliant Emeralds that we had been hoping to see.

First target was the Black Darter. There were a lot of newly emerged specimens to be found in the grass and reeds and a few more mature examples out on the board walk.

Black Darter - freshly emerged male

Black Darter

Black Darter

Black-tailed Skimmer

Black-tailed Skimmer

Common Blue Damselfly

Emerald Damselfly

Emerald Damselfly

Probably an immature Emerald Damselfly

Rather tatty Emperor

Female Emperor oviposting

Keeled Skimmer

Keeled Skimmer

Small Red Damselfly

And a couple of Butterflies. Nice to find a Painted Lady in good condition.

Painted Lady

Painted Lady

Small Tortoiseshell 

Brown Argus

It will be interesting to see what this years Big Butterfly Count comes up with. My own experience is that the butterflies are there, but they are in much lower numbers than I have seen before. Some, such as Tortoiseshells and Commas, have been few and far between this year.

Two weeks ago I was walking through meadows and on chalk hillsides covered in wild flowers and I was having difficulty finding any butterflies. Then in the past week or so, things have started to improve. We had a good emergence of Chalkhill Blues, then, in the last few days, Brimstone, Peacock, Painted Lady, and Red Admirals all in good condition and in good numbers.

One walk along a ride in Houghton Forest really raised my spirits. There were hundreds of these freshly emerged butterflies and even a good number of slightly worn Silver-washed Fritillaries. It was just like old times again.

With this years butterfly season drawing to a close I am just keeping my fingers crossed for a recovery in numbers next year.

Brown Argus - Newtimber Hill

A quick trip back to Newtimber Hill gave me a few good finds. This Brown Argus took a bit of chasing but I eventually got the pictures I wanted.

Brown Argus - Newtimber Hill

It is always easier to get the pictures when the butterflies are otherwise engaged and this pair of mating Silver-spotted Skippers was no exception.

Mating Pair Silver-spotted Skippers - Newtimber Hill

Another unusual sight was this pair of Painted Ladies. I have only ever seen them as singletons before. I assume they are male and female. They were sticking very close together but I did not get any action shots. I also noticed that the top one has an extra white spot in the wing tip. Possibly an aberration.

Painted Ladies  - Newtimber Hill

Peacock   -  nice but it looked much more vivid in real life.

Wall - Newtimber Hill

Brimstone - Houghton Forest

Brimstone  -  Houghton Forest

Another great butterfly. A blue version of the normally brown female of the Common Blue butterfly. You might need to read that twice!

Common Blue Female

Common Blue Female

A walk around Tillets Fields gave us plenty of Purple Hairstreaks but as with my previous visit they stayed mostly in the tops of the trees. Fortunately one did drop out of the skies at our feet. It was a bit tatty but still worth recording.

Purple Hairstreak  - Tillets Fields

Dave also spotted a Brown Haistreak at Tillets but unfortunately it was gone by the time I got there.

Red Admiral  -  Houghton Forest

Red Admiral -  Houghton Forest

Speckled Wood  -  Madgeland Woods

Houghton Forest also had the largest number of Dragonflies that I have seen in one small location. I reckon around 40 in the area where we park the car although they weren't exactly lining up to be counted. They looked like Darters and Hawkers but none were landing to enable a definite identification. We also saw large numbers of Southern Hawkers at Madgeland Woods and these were a bit more obliging.

Southern Hawker

Southern Hawker

I am missing a few of my usual butterflies this year, White Admiral, Purple Emperor, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, White Hairstreak, plus all the northern species but overall it has been a good year. There is also still a chance of connecting with Brown Hairstreaks and Clouded Yellows before the month is out and maybe even a late Long-tailed Blue so I need to keep looking.