Pearl-bordered Fritillary

For me the emergence of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary marks the start of the butterfly season. There are butterflies on the wing earlier in the year, Brimstone, Comma, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral that have spent the winter hibernating. Holly Blues are in the garden, Dingy and Chequered Skippers as well as Green Hairstreaks and even Duke of Burgundy are out on the downs.


Lots of butterflies flying but the Pearl-bordered is the first one that I have to search for and there is always the fear that it may not be there. Lockdown posed a problem this year but I have been good so far so the short drive over to Rewell Wood seemed like just reward.

Slightly worn Pearl-bordered Fritillary

It was good to see that they were still there and in what appeared to be increasing numbers. I saw somewhere between twelve and sixteen specimens in a couple of hours searching as compared to six or seven years ago when you would be lucky to spot one or two flying.

As butterflies go it was as annoying as ever. You see them in the distance, some even come close but they have an uncanny ability to just change direction and seemingly disappear completely, right in front of you. I also got there too early in the day and the males seemed hyperactive. The best picture I managed was the slightly worn specimen above. The shot below is from a previous year and shows a more pristine image.

My suggestion is aim for mid or late afternoon when the males are starting to tire and can be found nectaring. Stake out a patch of Bugle and wait for them to come to you. If you are worried about self isolating, the woods were very quiet, I only saw one other person in the time I was there.

A better specimen from 2018

It was also nice to get a decent shot of a Lesser Treble-bar, one of the day flying moths.

Lesser Treble-bar

Having found my main target for the day I decided to call in at Kithurst Meadow, on the way home, to see what else was about. The Duke of Burgundy is a much more accommodating butterfly. It doesn't fly very far or very fast and seems quite happy to pose for pictures although not always on such a good perch as the one below.

Duke of Burgundy

Duke of Burgundy

Dingy Skippers were easy to find but the only Chequered Skippers  I saw were two that were involved in an aerial skirmish which gradually took them away down the hill and out of sight.

Dingy Skipper

Also a Green Hairstreak

Green Hairstreak

 and back home one of the many Holly Blues we have had in the garden this year.

Holly Blue

Holly Blue open wing shot

Not a bad start to the butterfly year but the most impressive thing is the continuing recovery of both the Pearl-bordered Fritillaries and the Duke of Bugundys. Work in West Sussex by the Butterfly Conservation Organisation and some of the more enlightened landowners is really starting to have an impact.                                                                                                                                                         

Lockdown Birding

Like many others I didn't see lockdown as a problem. I have a garden, there are birds, butterflies and a wealth of macro photography opportunities with the insects that inhabit the garden. It would be a chance to increase my knowledge of the natural world and would open up new areas of interest.

I was wrong. The birds have been limited to the usual half dozen or so garden regulars. Flyovers have been few and far between and of course don't really give picture opportunities. There have been a few butterflies through but other than the Holly Blues none have stopped to pose for a picture. There are  some flies and hoverflies around but nothing like the varieties I had expected to see. It seems almost as if I see the same three or four insects in the same location every day. I knew that Hoverflies could be territorial but assumed that this was just for a short period as they moved through an area. Do they establish long term territories?

One from the garden - not the smartest looking Blackbird that I have ever seen but the song was wonderful 

I usually take my daily exercise along the seashore when the tide is out. There is never anyone close and the sense of open space and freedom is invigorating. In these times I am truly fortunate in living just a couple of hundred metres from the sea. Unfortunately birdwise it has been a bit disappointing.

Sanderlings on Worthing Beach

There are flocks of Turnstones and Sanderlings along the tide line, the occasional Swallow, House Martin and Sand Martin going over, but I seem to have missed the Wheatears and where are the sea birds. This should be peak migration time but I have seen little sign of any Skuas, Divers, or Sea Ducks going through. Are they in lockdown as well or have they all gone up the west coast route this year?

My first Swallow of the year 

My longer walks have given me a little more variety. Ferring Rife was full of bird song, Reed Warblers, Cetti's and Blackcaps but also a lot of dog walkers. Few birds were displaying but I did get decent views of a Whitethroat.

Whitethroat

Widewater also had some decent birds on offer with Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel and Dunlin on the lagoon. Looking out to sea was not quite as interesting with nothing seen flying through or sitting on the sea other than a few of the usual gulls.

Bar-tailed Godwit

Whimbrel walking through what looks like Sea Campion flowers

Dunlin

And a couple of shots from before the current restrictions, both taken at Brooklands Park, a Pochard and a Song Thrush.

Pochard

Song Thrush

It's good to get a few decent pictures and to be able to produce a blog again. The opportunities are all around me, I just have to manage my expectations and see the beauty in the common species rather than go looking for the exceptional.

Lesser Redpoll

I always look forward to birding during January and February. Cold, crisp clear days with beautiful soft lighting and always the prospect of some good photographs. It just didn't happen this year.  Wind, rain and dull weather and a seeming lack of interesting birds. This part driven by a lack of a real cold spell to drive the birds south but also a function of my reluctance to venture out into the storms looking for them.

I did go out on Wednesday, not with any great hope but I had given a commitment to a friend, Jim, and I needed to make the effort and get out birding again. The problem was where to go that wasn't a foot deep in mud. We ended up at Warnham LNR up near Horsham and I will be forever grateful to Jim, for levering me out from sitting in front of the computer. I just needed a good bird and a picture opportunity to get me fired up again......... and it turned up

Lesser Redpoll

There is nothing like a bit of colour to brighten up both the day and the spirits. Lesser Redpolls are not that common on the south coast and when you do find them they usually stay in the tops of the trees.

Lesser Redpoll

It showed well and although there were the usual problems with branches in the way, I did get a couple of decent shots.

Lesser Redpoll

Even the Blue Tits and Robins suddenly seemed worth photographing.

Blue Tit

Robin  - just in case you didn't recognise it!

A scruffy looking Coal Tit stopped long enough for a photograph but I couldn't get clear shots of the Marsh Tit and Nuthatch that were also around the feeders. Nor could I piece together the full details on the Coal Tits leg ring.

Coal Tit

Walking round the plantation later we also had an obliging Treecreeper.

Treecreeper

Reed Bunting

Warnham is well worth a visit. It has always been good for photography, a place where you can get close to the birds without disturbing them but with recent additions, it now has a mix of seven screens and hides so gives even more opportunities. It costs £2 to get in but it's well worth the money. Whilst you are there have a look for some of the other wildlife. Bank Voles are guaranteed under the feeders and later in the year it's worth looking for the Willow Emerald Damselfly.

Flies and Hoverflies

As with the previous blog just a few shots taken during last year that I finally got round to identifying. Or perhaps it would be safer to say had a go at identifying. I spent a good few hours on putting names to the pictures but I am sure that I won't have got everything right. So, any corrections will be gratefully received and whatever you do, don't use my blog as an authoritative source for naming your finds.


First the Flies

Coenosia tigrina

Photographing copulating flies in the middle of the Wisley flower show. Far more interesting than looking at the flowers.

Still working on this one - life is too short - probably from the Muscidae family

Parasitic Fly  - Gymnosoma sp  possibly nudifrons

The parasitic fly looks like Gymnosoma nudifrons but reading up on the species it looks as though you need a detailed examination of the genitalia to be sure.

Looks like a Yellow Dung Fly - Scathophaga stercoraria

Kite-tailed Robberfly - Machimus (Tolmerus) atricapillus

Fly - Tachina magnicornis

Now the Hoverflies

Drone Fly - Eristalis tenax

This is a female Drone Fly Eristalis tenax, the eyes would be touching if it were a male. I think the picture below also shows a female Drone Fly. Research suggests that the species can have quite variable markings on its body and that some specimens can be almost totally black. I did not see any males that day but they are a lighter colour and have more yellow on them. This suggests that the males could be mimicking wasps and similar, whilst the females are mimicking mining bees.

Probably the correct identification but there are very similar species in E. nemorum and E. abusivus.

Drone Fly - Eristalis tenax?

Hoverfly - Helophilus pendulus

I have seen a number of common names for Helophilus pendulus, Marsh Hoverfly, Sun Fly, Tiger Hoverfly and even The Footballer. This one getting in the way of my attempts to photograph the White-letter Hairstreak.

Hoverfly - Syrphus ribesii (or S.vitripennis)

Hornet Mimic Hoverfly - Volucella zonaria

Hoverfly possibly the Pellucid Fly - Volucella pellucens

I wish I had taken a few more pictures of this hoverfly. The ring around the middle looks to be an ivory colour which would make it Volucella pellucens, common names the Pellucid Fly or Large Pied Hoverfly. Just worried it might be a trick of the light.

Marmalade Hoverfly - Episyrphus balteatus

and to finish, an Ivy Bee.

Ivy Bee  -  Colletes hederae

I still have a lot to learn about insects!

Spiders, Beetles and Bugs

Not many of them, it's not my main area of interest but I always end up taking a few pictures during the year and then don't find the time to research and identify them. They usually wait until we get a wet and windy winters day when I have nothing better to do.


Three spiders, all easy to identify. An interesting area to explore but it's difficult to get decent photographs and the identification, once you get away from the more obvious ones, can be really time consuming. Perhaps I just need to have a "Big Spider Year".

Common Garden Spider - Araneus diadematus

Zebra Spider - Salticus scenicus

Green Orb-weaver - Araniella cucurbitina

Beetles and Shieldbugs next. These are really just a by-product of taking pictures of butterflies. It's just fascinating how much life exists in the vegetation but you just don't see it unless you stop and look.

Black and Yellow Longhorned beetle - Rutpela maculata

Cantharis rustica - one of the soldier beetles

Common Red Soldier Beetle - Rhagonycha fulva

Sulphur Beetle - Cteniopus sulphureus

Thick-legged Flower Beetle - Oedemera nobilis

Oedemeridae group of beetles probably Oedemera lurida

Shieldbugs I particularly like. They are relatively easy to identify and there are only around forty four species recorded in the UK. Just the right sort of number for a life list, challenging but achievable. Not sure that I want to go in for netting or hoovering though, so it would be difficult to find them all.

Hairy Shieldbug - Dloycoris Baccarum

Red-legged Shieldbug - Pentatoma rufipes

Red-legged Shieldbug - Pentatoma rufipes

Common Green Shieldbug - Palomena prasina

Came into the house on the Christmas tree and trying to get out through the double glazing

Common Green Shieldbug - Palomena prasina

Only one problem, you need to be careful not to confuse them with Squash Bugs, family Coreidae, that can look very similar. This one below the Dock Bug.

Dock Bug - Coreus marginatus

The last picture, a Harlequin Ladybird, an invasive and problematic species. It out competes our native ladybirds for food and also eats their larvae and eggs. I rarely see any other ladybirds these days.

Harlequin Ladybird -  Harmonia axyridis

More to follow with Flies and Hoverflies.