Fermyn Wood - 7th July 2019

Jayne and I had our first visit to this woodland site in Northamptonshire today to take part in a guided walk lead by the East Midland's Branch of Butterfly Conservation . The main species we were hoping to see was Purple Emperor, and we managed to see 1 flying past. Unfortunately, we didn't get one on the ground, so no photo this time. Still a very good butterfly to see, and a new one for us both.

The other species that we wanted to see was Silver-washed Fritillary, and this time we got great views and some super photos of both males and females.

Silver-washed Fritillary (male)

Silver-washed Fritillary (female)

Other species seen were: Ringlet (everywhere), Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Comma (2), Painted Lady (4), Meadow Brown, Red Admiral (1), Large White and Small White.

Norfolk Butterflies and Reptiles

Holt Country Park in North Norfolk is an excellent spot to find a couple of butterfly species, so I had a few hours here on Monday.

The first species is Silver-washed Fritillary. Several individuals were seen straight away in the car park feeding around the Buddlehia bushes.

Silver-washed Fritillary

 We walked down to the small pond, where there were several more fritillaries, including 2 females of the form valezina. As you can see, the markings on this individual are the same as the more usual form, but the colour is very different. Apparently, 10 - 15% of females can be of this form, and its more common in central and southern Britain. See the Butterfly Conservation website here for more details about this species.

Silver-washed Fritillary, valezina form 

The other key species at this site is the White Admiral (see here for details). We saw 2 individuals, but I didn't manage to get a photo on this visit- more reason for a return visit!

When we returned to the car park, we spotted a sign warning visitors about Adders that were present in the area. We were very lucky to spot this individual curled up about 1m away from the sign! I've seen one before, on Big Moor in Derbyshire, but this was the first one I've managed to get a photo of. See here for details about this species on the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Group website.

Adder

Whilst looking at the Adder, we noticed this Slow-worm! It too, was sunbathing just by the edge of the car park. This is my first ever record. See here for details.

Slow-worm

Return to Lindrick Dale

Last year I discovered a really great butterfly site that held 3 species that are very uncommon in this area, namely Dark Green Fritillary, Marbled White and Silver-studded Blue. I visited a couple of times and managed to catch up with all three species (click on the label Lindrick Dale below to see these posts). Last weekend (28th June) I had another visit and managed to see the first two species.

Last year I managed to get some really nice shots of the upperwing of the Dark Green Fritillary, so this year I was really keen to try and get some photos of the green underwing. Here are my efforts.

Dark Green Fritillary

The other species, Marbled White, was also present, but in quite small numbers, (fewer than 6 were seen). I got a nice photo of a pristine male.

Marbled White

As well as the key species, there were also a couple of Large Skippers, one Small Heath and dozens of Ringlets present. 

Ringlet

Finally, there were some nice flowers present too. Here are pictures of Pyramidal, Common Spotted and Bee Orchid.

Pyramidal Orchid

Common Spotted Orchid (I think)

Bee Orchid

Now I need to get back to try and find the Silver-studded Blues!

Derbyshire Butterflies and Dragons

The sun was shining today and the temperature got up to 16 degrees, so I was out and about with Jayne enjoying the weather and the insects that are starting to appear here in Derbyshire.

First stop was a small pond called Cupola Pond near Stanedge, Chesterfield. This small pond is found on the edge of the moors, and is a very good spot for a range of Damsel- and Dragonflies. On today's visit we spotted 2 species: Large Red Damselfly and Four-spotted Chaser, both of which are common species here in Derbyshire. See the Derbyshire Dragonflies website here for more details of these and other species present in the county. The website of the British Dragonfly Society (here), is also worth a look for details about all the British species.

Here are a couple of pictures taken today of both species.

Large Red Damselfly

Four-spotted Chaser

After this we drove across to Cromford Canal, where we spotted this female Orange Tip butterfly. Not quite as showy as the male, but still a very nice butterfly to see. See the excellent Butterfly Conservation webite here for more details about this species.

Female Orange Tip

Painted Lady and Mole at Linacre

I had a couple of hours at Linacre today. The birdlife was quite quiet, but I did record a few insects, including my first Painted Lady of the year. This is only my second Linacre record, with the first coming last year. I didn't manage a photo today, so here's one of last year's individual.

Painted Lady

The Painted Lady is an annual migrant to Britain, sometimes seen in good numbers. See the Butterfly Conservation's website here for more details.

As well as the Painted Lady I also spotted my first ever Linacre record of Mole.  I've seen molehills on site before, but never an actual animal. Unfortunately today's individual was found dead on the path by the middle reservoir. It had a little bit of blood  on its paw, so had possibly been killed by a dog.

Mole

Suffolk Butterflies and Moths

As well as looking at the birds in Suffolk last week, I also managed to spot a few butterflies and moths. Most of the species seen were at the RSPB Minsmere reserve. Over the course of the week I managed to spot 19 species of butterfly and 3 moths.

The butterflies included many of the commoner species, namely Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Gatekeeper, Common Blue, Small Copper, Ringlet, Speckled Wood, Green-veined White, Small Heath, Small, Large and Essex Skipper (a new species for me) and Comma as well as a few more unfamiliar ones such as Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Grayling, Purple Hairstreak, (2 basking in the sunshine from Bittern Hide), White Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary. More information about all these species can be found on the Butterfly Conservation's website here. Here are a few pictures.

Essex Skipper

White Admiral

I didn't take my moth trap with me, so the moths I saw were three day-flying varieties; 6-spot Burnet, Rosy Tabby (Endotricha flammealis, seen at Dunwich Heath) and a mint moth called  Pyrausta aurata or Small Purple and Gold. More information about these species can be found on the UK Moths website here.

6-spot Burnet

Small Purple and Gold

Rosy Tabby

Silver-studded Blue

Last week I posted a blog about a brilliant site in South Yorkshire where I had been lucky enough to see Dark Green Fritillary and Marbled White butterflies (see here). I went back to this site again this weekend to see if I could catch up with another species, one that I'd missed last week; the Silver-studded Blue (see Butterfly Conservation's website here for details about this species), and this time I got lucky!

Underwing

Upperwing

I managed to see this male butterfly. Unfortunately the photos aren't very sharp, but you can hopefully see the tick black borer of the upperwing, which helps separate it from the Common Blue Butterfly (see here).

As well as this new species, I also saw at least 10-15 Dark Green Fritillaries and 20+ Marbled Whites; including several mating pairs, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, Small Heath, 20+ Ringlets, Meadow Brown and a skipper species, most likely Large.

Lovely butterflies

The other day I was going through Twitter when I came across a picture of a Silver-studded Blue butterfly. This is a species I've not seen before, and the individual in question was reported at being in Lindrick Dale, near Worksop. After a few "tweets" I had found out the site and so, with half decent weather, I decided to have a drive over to see if I could see the species for myself. Unfortunately, I drew a blank, but whilst there, I did manage to spot another couple of very nice butterfly species that I've never seen  near home.

The first species was the Dark Green Fritillary. I've seen this species once before in Cornwall, but on this walk I managed to see about half a dozen individuals. More information about this species can be found on Butterfly Conservation's website here.

Dark Green Fritillary

 

 The second species was the Marbled White. I only saw 2 individuals, but I did manage to get some nice shots. Again, more info here.

Marbled White (upperwing)

 

Marbled White (underwing)

Other species spotted during the walk were: Small Tortoiseshell (1), Small Heath (1) and Ringlet (20+).

As I said at the start of this post, I drew a blank with the SS Blues, so I'll pop back again, and hopefully add some pictures of this species next time.

New garden moth, first butterflies of 2014 and Year List update

With temperatures rising (19 degrees today!) I decided to put my moth trap out last night, for the first time in 2014. It was on all night (7pm to 5am), and only caught 2 moths of the same species, but, at least it was a new species- Hebrew Character.

Hebrew Character

 

2 Hebrew Characters

 

This species is a common moth, which flies between March and April, so hopefully I should see a few more over the coming months. More details here. Many thanks to the people on Ispot, who identified it for me.

 

When the sun came out today I managed to see my first butterflies of the year as well. First up was a Small Tortoiseshell basking on the side of the house. The next two species; Peacock and Comma, were both seen as I walked around Yorkshire Sculpture Park this afternoon. Click here to find out more information about these species.  Last up, 1 new bird for the year was a singing Chiffchaff in the afternoon sunshine.

Year List update:

113 - Chiffchaff

Moth List update:
3 - Hebrew Character

 

Beyond Limits

On Sunday the weather topped 21 degrees here in Derbyshire, so we popped out to Chatsworth House to look at the sculptures that are currently on display in the gardens as part of the Beyond Limits exhibition.

As well as looking at all the sculptures, being in the gardens also gave me the chance to look at the local wildlife. Birds were far and few between, but I did spot this attractive looking Mallard.

Mallard

There were a few butterflies flying around as well; 1 Red Admiral, 2 Small Tortoiseshells, 1 Comma and 1 Purple Hairstreak.

Purple Hairstreak (female)

 

Like my last Purple Hairstreak (see here), this individual was quite worn, as this is quite late for them to be flying. Its a female, because of the purple patch on the forewing. Males are much brighter and have purple on the hindwings too (see here for more a picture and more information).