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.

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.

Emperor Dragonfly Oviposting

With the birding being a bit flat at the moment we decided on another day chasing butterflies. We still wanted to see a Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary  in Sussex so we started off at the butterfly reserve at Park Corner Heath. It was my third visit over the past couple of months and so far had delivered just one Brimstone and one Speckled Wood. I had to go back to prove that I had just been unlucky. Well it was an improvement, I have now seen two Brimstones and two Speckled Woods over my three visits, somewhat short of expectations.

There may be some long term plan in place to develop the site and I do understand letting the bracken grow to provide the right conditions for the growth of violets, the Fritillary caterpillars food plant. However, this environment looks nothing like Bentley Wood in Wiltshire where we saw large numbers of the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries flying only a week ago.

Still the Speckled Wood was in good condition -

Speckled Wood

Fortunately the adjacent Rowland Wood proved more interesting with insects, dragonflies, moths and butterflies. The butterflies, mostly Large Skippers and Meadow Browns were very active, and in the heat I could not be bothered with chasing them. The moths were more interesting with a good specimen of Mother Shipton found.

Mother Shipton

The dragonflies were also entertaining. I thought Dave and I had both photographed the same dragonfly but looking at his blog  he has a Common Darter, yellow stripes down the legs and mine appears to be a female Ruddy Darter with black legs. It looks like we both missed an opportunity.

Female Ruddy Darter

Insects were also in evidence. I knew that this was a Longhorn Beetle but it took a bit more digging to identify it as Four-banded Longhorn Beetle (Leptura Quadrifasciata). Where would I be without the web?

Four-banded Longhorn Beetle (Leptura Quadrifasciata)

Having been a bit disappointed with our pictures of the Silver-studded Blues the other day we decided to head up to Old Lodge to see if they had put in an appearance there as yet. Butterfly wise it was a bit disappointing, we did see a few birds, Redstarts, Raven, Jays, etc. but neither of us had a long lens with us. Instead we made our way over to the ponds to look for more dragonflies.

There were plenty in evidence, Emperors, Broad-bodied Chasers, Four-spotted Chasers, and an assortment of Damselflies.

Slightly tatty Broad-bodied Chaser

and one in better condition

Four-spotted Chaser

Of most interest was this female Emperor Dragonfly oviposting in one of the ponds.

Female Emperor Dragonfly oviposting

Female Emperor Dragonfly oviposting

Female Emperor Dragonfly oviposting

The male Emperor was patrolling the pond for most of the afternoon. He did put down twice but only for a few seconds and he was flying again before I could get there. I always try for a flight shot but its very difficult. My best effort is shown below. I think I needed a bit more light and a faster shutter speed but I was happy to at least get him in the viewfinder.

Next time

Glanville Fritillary

The Glanville Fritillary is named after Eleanor Glanville, an ecentric 17th and 18th century English butterfly enthuisiast - a very unusual occupation for a woman at that time. She was the first to capture British specimens in Lincolnshire during the 1690s. A contemporary wrote:-

This fly is named for Eleanor Glanvil, whose memory had like to have suffered for her curiosity. Some relations that was disappointed by her Will, attempted to let it aside by Acts of Lunacy, for they suggested that none but those who were deprived of their senses, would go in pursuit of butterflies.           Moses Harris 1776

Wikipedia        

The population has shrunk a little since those days. Now the only reliable place to see them is on the south coast of the Isle of Wight. There have been small colonies reported on the mainland at Hurst Castle, Wrecclesham in Surrey, and in the Avon Gorge but I have not seen any reports of these so far this year. That leaves Hutchinson's Bank near Croydon as the only reported sightings on the mainland. These are probably the result of a relocated population by a member of the public from the Wrecclesham site.

Hutchinson's Bank is certainly a promising butterflying location with 29 reported species. I searched it for a couple of hours today but only managed to come up with one Glanville and I only had that for about 30 seconds. I was momentarily distracted by a Jay flying through and when I turned back it was gone never to be found again. The second I took my eyes off it I knew I had made a mistake but it was too late. Fortunately the 30 seconds was long enough to get a couple of record shots.

Glanville Fritillary (Female)

Glanville Fritillary

Strange to think that if I could only find this one butterfly it may well have been the only one of its kind flying in mainland UK today.

Hutchinson's bank also yielded a number of Common Blue and Speckled Wood, two Small Heath, two Dingy Skippers, one Small Blue, one Peacock, and dozens of Brimstones. There seems to be large numbers of Brimstones at every site I visit.

Brimstone

Common Blue

Common Blue

Speckled Wood

I also stopped off at Mill Hill NR to look for the Adonis Blue. The photographs never seem to reproduce the vivid colours you see on the Adonis in the field.

Adonis Blue

Adonis Blue female

Green Hairstreak

Small Heath

Still no sign of the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary in Sussex

Wood White

There may not have been many opportunities for bird photography over the past couple of days but the butterflies have more than compensated.

As I was up at Iping Common looking for Tree Pipits and Woodlarks I decided to head over the border into Surrey to visit Botany Bay Wood in the hope of seeing Wood Whites. I did not attempt to count them but just along the main ride there must have been thirty to forty of them flying. I was also pleased to find that they are an easy butterfly to photograph. They do not seem to be concerned by a close approach or by the odd bit of gardening to give a better shot.

Wood White

Much darker markings on this one

There were also dozens of a little orange moth flying which I later identified as a Speckled Yellow Moth.

Speckled Yellow Moth

The rides also had lots of Brimstones and for a change they seemed to be settling to feed regularly giving plenty of picture opportunities.

Brimstone

On the way home I called in at Kithurst meadow. I already had lots of shots of the Duke of Burgundys but I wanted a Small Blue and I knew they had been seen there. I struggled to find one at first but then someone suggested that I look outside the meadow on the bank by the side of the road and sure enough there were two specimens out there.

Small Blue

Small Blue

I also found a Dingy Skipper. Not unusual  except that that this is the first shot I have taken of one with closed wings.

Dingy Skipper

And a Damselfly which I am reasonably confident in identifying as a Variable Damselfly which would be a first for me. I got it wrong, its an Azure Damselfly, wishful thinking on my part.

Variable Azure Damselfly

A couple of other Butterflies spotted the next day. The first is a Speckled Wood at Park Copse Pagham Harbour. Nothing unusual in the butterfly but the lighting is good.

Speckled Wood

And an Orange Tip taken just north of the Black Rabbit.

Orange Tip

The Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary is the next butterfly on the list.