Warham Camp - 31st July 2023

 Jayne and I went across the Warham Camp this afternoon. It was overcast, and spitting with rain, but we still managed to see a few species of butterfly.

The key species was Chalkhill Blue, and we saw them straight away. Unfortunately, due to the weather, we only saw about half a dozen, and they kept down in the long grass. I eventually managed to get a few photos.

Chalkhill Blue

Other species seen were: Holly Blue (1), Common Blue (1), Essex Skipper (1), 6-spot Burnet (1),Yellow Shell (1), Wall Brown (1) and a single male Banded Demoiselle.

Wall Brown

There were only a few birds about: Red Kite (2), Marsh Harrier (2), Skylark (heard singing) and Yellowhammer (1 heard).

Silver-spotted Skipper

Whilst researching places to visit in East Sussex, I noticed that there was a species of butterfly, the Silver-spotted Skipper, present on and around the South Downs. As it has a very restricted distribution in the UK, and we'd never seen this one before, Jayne and I decided to have a walk in the area around the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head, to see if we could find it.

Beachy Head

We started our walk at the National Trust's Birling Gap car park, and walked up onto the Downs for a couple of miles to the Belle Tout Lighthouse (now a B and B) and Beachy Head.

Seven Sisters and Birling Gap

At the start of our walk, we spotted a couple of Small Skipper, and the first of dozens, if not hundreds, of Gatekeepers. As we continued up the cliffs we added Dark Green Fritillary (1), Chalkhill Blue and Meadow Brown to the list of butterflies seen, before finding the first Silver-spotted Skippers just below the Lighthouse.

Chalkhill Blue

As it was a lovely sunny day they were quite tricky to see, but we eventually managed to get a few photos.

Silver-spotted Skipper

Tennyson Down and The Needles

On Wednesday, Jayne and I spent a good few hours walking around Tennyson Down and The Needles, on the far west of the Island. The weather was kind, and we enjoyed some great views, along with some new insects, flowers and a "year tick"; a Dartford Warbler.

We started our walk in the High Down Chalk Pit car park, an old quarry. There were plenty of buddleia bushes here, so we had a quick scan, picking up a number of butterflies; 2 Dark Green Fritillaries, 2 Red Admirals, 1 very tatty Ringlet and  3 Painted Ladies (our first of the year). We also had a male Migrant Hawker, and 2 Peregrine Falcons (1 adult and a juvenile bird).

Painted Lady

We walked up from the car park ( a very steep walk!!), to the monument on the top of Tennyson Down, and walked the 2 miles to The Needles. Along the way we spotted dozens of Gatekeepers, Meadow Browns  and Chalkhill Blues, along with another Red Admiral and another Painted Lady. Bird wise we saw a male Stonechat, with at least 3 juveniles, 3 migrating Wheatear, a hunting Kestrel,  Herring and Great Black-backed Gull, and, best of all, a Dartford Warbler.

When we arrived at The Needles, we spent some time looking around the Old and New Battery, and also enjoyed watching a pair of Ravens flying around, and then sat on the floor, and perched on a telephone mast!

The Needles

Raven

The last thing I wanted to mention was a type of flower called Yellow Wort. This is a chalk loving species, and was quite  common all along the chalky downs. It's a new plant for me, and I like the way the leaves wrap around the stalk. Unfortunately, the petals close up unless there's full sun, so my photo isn't great, but it was nice to see, nonetheless.

Yellow Wort

Year List update:

165 - Dartford Warbler

Isle of Wight Butterflies - 31st July 2016

This morning Jayne and I spent a couple of hours at the National Trust's Afton Down reserve near Freshwater, on the Isle of Wight.

Afton Down

We went to see if we could catch up with some butterflies, including one that I've never seen before, Small Blue. As soon as we arrived, we spotted the first "blues" of the day, the Chalkhill Blue. There were dozens of these butterflies flying around, all over the hillside, including many mating pairs.

Chalkhill Blue (male)

Chalkhill Blue (female)

Chalkhill Blue (mating pair)

Along with these butterflies, we also spotted 1 Small Blue, a female that was egg laying on Kidney Vetch (thanks Jayne!), 3 Dark Green Fritillaries, 1 Marbled White, dozens of Meadow Browns, 10+ Gatekeepers, 2 Large Whites, 2 Red Admirals and a three species of day-flying moths; 6-spot Burnet,Yellow Shell and Silver Y.

Small Blue (egg laying)

Small Blue

We also walked down to Compton Chine, where we had another couple of 6-spot Burnets, dozens more "blues", and  a single Small Copper. All in all, a very good few hours!