Pied Wheatear.

 Having just returned from the longest trip I've ever had, I was busy this week recovering and sorting far too many photos. I hadn't been home long when Matt called to say he would be popping round to say hello, as he was currently up Seaford Head watching a female Pied Wheatear!!

This was a bird I had never expected to ever see, but as the light was now failing, and I was too tired to head straight out again, I waited for him at home. In fact I had virtually forgotten about the bird over the next few days, and I assumed it had moved on.

This was not the case, and after going for a few walks locally, which included a surprise sighting of a ringtail Hen Harrier hunting on top of the downland, I had a text on Thursday from Matt asking if I had seen the Wheatear yet. For such a rare bird to be so local, at that point I decided I really should at least go and see it, after all, it was only the 2nd ever record of a Pied Wheatear in Sussex.

I arrived at the site in poor light, but did see the bird reasonably quickly, so at least I could now tell Matt I had seen the bird. After getting home, the light improved enormously, so after lunch I decided to go back to the bird. This time I included a long walk from home to get there, after all, I had put on a bit of excess weight following the trip!!

The problem now was, the sun was in front of where I was watching the bird, which wasn't exactly ideal. It was great though, seeing Paul and Malcolm there, so the time passed by as we waited for the sun to move round a bit. We were also entertained by some Black Redstarts, including one very tame female. A couple of poor shots were taken of the Wheatear, but not quite what I was hoping for.

Female Pied Wheatear.

Female Black Redstart

Black Redstart watching a fly.

The following day, I was meeting up with David, and as he hadn't yet seen the bird, he was keen to go and see it, so yet again, I was back in position hoping to improve on my photos of it. The forecast was for sunshine, but that didn't materialise. Probably though, that helped as it wasn't really bright in front of us. The bird once again showed several times, along with a couple of the Black Redstarts. A few shots were once again taken of both species, but I was still hoping for the Wheatear to show in a better position. Eventually it did, but by then the sun had gone behind thicker clouds and had got very low in the sky. However, there was a marked improvement in the images from the previous day, and I was reasonably happy with the day, spent again in good company, with both David and Gary.

Female Black Redstart.

Female Pied Wheatear.

My following posts will be from my very long trip. It is going to be very difficult choosing which images to post, as there are so many!!

 

Red-veined Darter.

 It's been said many times for sure, always have your camera with you, just in case you find something really good!!

Some of us never learn of course. So on Tuesday, the weather was not particularly promising, and I just fancied a walk without the weight of the camera gear. I was walking along the valley on my patch, when I spotted 3 butterflies sitting next to each other. A Speckled Wood, Peacock and a Small Copper. That would make a nice photo I thought. I took the phone out of the pocket to at least get a record shot, when the Speckled Wood, followed by the Small Copper took off. Oh well, not a big issue. 2 steps further on though it all became a bit more serious. There were quite a few Common Darter dragonflies patrolling around and I saw one just in front of me, this one however looked a lot fresher, so I quickly looked through the binoculars and saw it had blue eyes. Wow, straight away I realised I had the rare Red-veined Darter. The phone came back out again, this time to try and get at least a record shot of the dragonfly to prove what I had found. Of course, the phone would only focus behind the insect, but you could just make out the blue eyes. I didn't even have my glasses with me that would have helped to see that the image was terrible, but such is life. However, the dragonfly had vanished anyway, and after a search I gave up and carried on with my walk.

The following day, I decided that I might just as well head back to see if the insect was hanging around. I knew it was a very long shot, particularly as the weather was still a bit poor for dragonflies. This time I did have the camera. As soon as I arrived I spotted the dragonfly again. It was clearly the same one as it had a nasty bend in the abdomen. I managed 6 quick photos before it vanished again and couldn't be found again, but at least I had some half decent photos of it now. I could also now see that it was a teneral (immature) male.

Male teneral Red-veined Darter.

I thought that would be the end of the story, but I then had a message from Polly, a local dragonfly enthusiast, asking if I could help her to see it, so the following day, I once again headed up to the valley. Polly was already there, but not quite in the right spot. We then walked a tiny bit further and while we were chatting, she spotted the dragonfly, once again very close to the spot where I had first seen him. Once again the weather was not that warm, although when the sun came out it did warm up quickly, but the dragonfly flew a short distance a few times. One time we saw it just before the sun went in, and after a couple of minutes it was clear the temperature had got too cold for it to fly. This gave us the chance to take many more photos. 

Above, probably my best image of the dragonfly. It even hides the bent abdomen.

Male teneral Red-veined Darter.

After Polly left, James arrived to see it, but not long before he arrived I saw the dragonfly fly away a little way, and that was the last time I saw it, despite searching with James for an hour or so!!

The big question is, was it British bred, or has it migrated over from the continent. There have been very few records this year for the species in the UK and the nearest known site where they breed is over the far end of Kent at Dungeness and Sandwich. They did used to breed for a few years at West Rise Marsh at the back of Eastbourne, but I don't believe they have been seen there now for several years. This was the only place that I've seen them before in the UK although they are quite common in many parts of southern Europe.

On the 2 sessions I had with the camera, I did see a few other things of interest to photograph. This included a Knot Grass larva right where the dragonfly was.

Knot Grass larva.

I also found a new species for me a little further along the valley. This was a parasitic fly called an Ectophasia crassipennis. This species was first seen on the British mainland in 2019, so is a new arrival. It has apparently spread far and wide, and although far from common, there have now been 60 records in Sussex. It certainly is a rather nice looking fly, although not if you are a shield-bug!!

Ectophasia crassipennis.

I also came across a rather nice Common Lizard which allowed a very close approach.

Common Lizard.

Will I always have my camera with me in the future? Well, probably not, because I do enjoy a casual walk at times!!

3rd Brood Wall Brown.

 This year has not been a particularly good year for butterflies, with the cool and damp spring affecting most species. Locally, the Silver-spotted Skipper and Dark Green Fritillaries have been the species that have been affected the most, but Adonis Blue have also been well under par.

The species that I study the most, the Wall Brown, has done a little better, although even these have not been as numerous as most years. I have been hoping that the 3rd brood would do a little bit better, as the larval food plant is grass, and with there being no shortage of that this year, the butterflies should flourish. Certainly, as the 3rd brood started the numbers of Wall Brown in their traditional 3rd brood sites were looking promising, but numbers elsewhere were not so good, however, in the past week numbers have grown, and despite poor butterfly watching weather, I have seen well into double figures of the species several times now. I have also witnessed several butterflies egg laying, which is very encouraging.

On one walk locally, after already seeing a mating pair of Wall Brown, I saw a female Wall Brown fly out of a culvert that had been dug a couple of years ago to take away flood water from a footpath. This had left a scrape where sparse grasses grows and the roots are exposed. This is ideal for the Wall Brown as the female often lays her eggs on the exposed roots of grasses. I guessed when I saw her fly off that she was on an egg laying mission, and as soon as I looked through the close focussing binoculars I saw a Wall Brown egg. On closer inspection I saw another one.

Mating Wall Brown.

After finding the eggs, I have walked past the same spot twice more this week, and each time I have added more eggs to the count. In that same spot I have now found 9 Wall Brown eggs, which is by far the most I have seen in one spot. I also found 2 more in other locations.

The culvert where the eggs are.

Two Wall Brown eggs.

Surprisingly, I have also this week seen 3 aged Adonis Blue. Maybe they didn't have such a bad year after all and many emerged between my visits?

Another species that I now study is the Lace Border. A rare moth that now breeds locally, and I suspect has a 3rd brood, despite all the books saying it only has 2 broods. Each year I have seen evidence that my sites have 3rd broods, perhaps due to the 2 sites having been started by continental migration? After the 2nd brood fizzled out towards the middle of August, there was for the 3rd year running a sudden increase in numbers in late August to mid September, with 20 seen on one count at the beginning of last week.

Lace Border.

Sussex Delights.

 Over the past couple of weeks, I've had some good interesting walks with Lisa, and also on my own. Lisa and I do try to stick reasonably local when we can, so the car can be left at home. One of the delights of living just a couple of minutes walking distance away from the South Downs.

This week, which was towards the end of Lisa's summer break, she had work to get on with, in preparation for her dance classes, so I headed out on my own up to my local wildlife patch.

As I headed up the hill I was pleased to see a couple of Common Redstart, a species I sometimes see in the autumn as they migrate south. A definite sign of autumn!! Ivy Bees were also very evident along with good numbers of fresh Red Admiral.

After seeing a handful of tatty Wall Brown last week, I was expecting that I might see a 3rd brood one in great condition. Just as I reached the top of the hill, I had a fresh male Wall Brown flying around me, and then a few minutes later, around the other side of the hill, another one was also flying. I didn't see any of the tatty 2nd brood though.

I'm trying to find evidence that my colony of Lace Border here also have a 3rd brood. The past 2 seasons have given me reason to believe that this is the case, although all the books say that they only have 2 broods in the UK, but after a couple of blank searches in the latter part of August, a sudden increase in the moths, which has happened over the past 2 seasons in September, would point even more to this happening here. With 4 Lace Border seen on this day, I'm hoping that this is the start of a 3rd brood. But I really need a bigger increase than that, but time will tell. Last year I had a count of 30 moths in mid September, of this very rare and beautiful insect.

Lace Border.

Whilst I was searching, I was very surprised to find another rarity in the form of the micro moth Oncocera semirubella. Also known as Rosy Knot-horn and commonly as Rhubarb and Custard, for obvious reasons, given the colour of this little beauty. This was the first time I've found this species on the patch, although I have had a couple in the moth trap before, as well as seeing them in Transylvania before. I wonder if this moth has started to breed on the hillsides, as the larval foodplants are in the area.

Oncocera semirubella. (Rosy Knot-horn).

After getting a couple of quick photos I was about to start to concentrate on getting a better photo when it vanished. I was a little disappointed, but I need not have worried, as a few minutes later I found another one. This one was less camera shy, and I spent several minutes photographing it.

Oncocera semirubella. (Rosy Knot-horn).

Some years ago, Pete gave me a couple of potted Willow trees, which I keep on the garden patio. The idea is that I hope to get Hawk-moths laying eggs on the trees, as well as some other interesting moths. A couple of years ago I had 2 Poplar Hawk-moth larvae on the narrow leaved version, and also Grey Dagger larvae. This year though, it has come into its own as I've now had 3 Herald moth larvae. These have also all pupated among the leaves on the tree. One did actually hatch out 2 days ago on a very wet day, with such bad light I didn't actually photograph it. A few weeks ago, I also had a Pebble Prominent larva. This was a very bizarre looking larva. Hopefully it pupated somewhere nearby.

Pebble Prominent larva.

This week, when we were having breakfast, I spotted a green larva walking along the back of one of the garden chairs. When we finished breakfast, I went outside to investigate, thinking it was going to be an Angle Shades larva, which is the most common larva which is green and often found in gardens. I was surprised however, to see it was a young Poplar Hawk-moth larva. After calling Lisa out to see it, I thought the obvious thing would be to place it on the narrow leaved Willow so it could feed. As I was placing it on the tree, Lisa spotted another 2 of the larvae. We then looked a little harder at the tree and found 14 of them!! 

Young Poplar Hawk-moth larva.

When I had the 2 larvae of this species a couple of years ago I found that UV light really shows them up after dark, so that night we got the UV torch out and searched again. They were now much easier to see as they glowed in the dark, and a recount produced 17 of them. Since then, one has died, but the other 16 are, as of last night, surviving and growing quickly. I may have to move some on eventually as I doubt there are enough leaves on the small tree to support all of them!!

Last weekend Lisa and I went up to Ashdown Forest, hoping mainly to see Black Darter dragonflies, a species that has possibly vanished now from the area. I last saw them here in 2021, but sightings since then have been very poor, with only one apparently seen in 2023. We didn't get lucky unfortunately with Black Darter, or indeed, the Green Huntsman spiders, that I was also hoping to see. Lisa spotted a juvenile Raft Spider, and after continuously searching the extensive Heather, we were about to give up and come home, when I spotted the other creature I was hoping to show Lisa, the beautiful larva of the appropriately named Beautiful Yellow Underwing. This larva was only half grown, which was a surprise as I have found them earlier than this several times, almost fully grown. It did however, look sublime as it fed amongst the purple Heather.

Beautiful Yellow Underwing feeding on Heather.

The other species we saw several of was the Southern Hawker. We both wasted a lot of time trying to get flight photos of them, with very limited success!!

Male Southern Hawker in flight.

As autumn progresses, the camera is likely to be used less. However, long walks over the downs become more comfortable in the cooler conditions, as well as having lighter back packs without loads of camera gear!!

Return to Cumbria.

 When Lisa and I headed north for our break of over 3 weeks to Scotland at the end of May we had several butterfly targets. Those that do not live in the south, and are only found either in Scotland or the Lake District. Our main targets were achieved on this trip, giving Lisa 4 brand new species, but we also had hoped for a sighting of the High Brown Fritillary on our return south, but not surprisingly we were slightly too early, especially with this being a late year following the cool damp spring.

We already had the possibility of heading north again for the Scotch Argus, which is a species that is only seen from very late July, and one that I had only seen once before, several years ago, and had been keen to see again. This is as the name suggests, mainly a Scottish species, but there are 2 colonies in Cumbria, at Smardale and Arnside Knott. Arnside Knott was the site where I had seen them before, on a great trip several years ago with Nigel. Arnside was also the site where I had seen the High Brown Fritillary before, as well as at Holme-stinted Pastures, which is close to the M6 and close to the other sites that we could see the Scotch Argus at.

With a return trip to Cumbria planned for the Scotch Argus, it dawned on me that it was just possible that we may also get a High Brown Fritillary. These would normally have finished by the time of the Scotch Argus, but Lisa didn't mind how tatty the butterfly would be if it meant getting one more species nearer the full British list, so we planned to go to Holme-stinted Pastures first. I knew the site from the trip with Matt in 2021, when we stopped there after a Scotland dragonfly trip. That day we saw a couple of High Brown Fritillaries. We had also arranged to meet up with Mark, that we had met at Latterbarrow a few weeks before. We were there a couple of hours before Mark, who also had another enthusiast with him, called Tim. After a bit of a discussion, and as we had seen very little in those 2 hours, Lisa and I decided to head to White Scar, where there had been recent reports of High Brown Fritillaries.

The biggest problem we had was a lack of time, mainly due to the weather. The forecast was very poor for the following 2 days, which is all the time we had. The weather though on arrival day was not too bad, so we knew we had to get as much done as possible on that first day, despite the fact we were tired following a 5.30am start, followed by a very long drive. We were then relieved to find we could actually park only a couple of hundred metres away from the site at White Scar. Even better than that though was on our arrival, seeing 3 other photographers photographing a High Brown Fritillary!! We quickly joined them and saw 2 or 3 Fritillaries in the area. We just had to make sure we were watching High Brown, and not the very similar Dark Green Fritillary, that were also flying there. After a few minutes we saw a definite High Brown land on the ground, this butterfly was showing the concave forewing, as against the slightly convex wings of the Dark Green. The butterfly then flew to a nearby Buddleia bush to nectar on the flower.

High Brown Fritillary.

The butterfly was actually in pretty good condition considering how late in the season it was. We certainly weren't expecting to see this very rare butterfly so easily, and now we had a bit of a dilemma. With the sun still shining, do we stay here and just enjoy watching the Fritillaries, or do we drive 45 minutes plus away to Smardale Gill for the Scotch Argus. The forecast for the next 2 days was not looking at all promising, and as the Scotch Argus was really the main reason for the trip, we decided to go on to Smardale. This was a site that I had read about many times, but had never visited before, so I didn't know that after the drive it was then quite a long walk to where the Scotch Argus could be seen.

 After arriving we had a chat to a couple that had just returned to their car after seeing several Scotch Argus. They pointed us in the right direction, and off we went. By now the breeze had picked up quite a bit, and out of the sunshine it was chilly. The sun had also by now been covered with more clouds, but we did see that there were several breaks coming, so we remained hopeful. After walking for nearly a mile, the disused railway line we were on opened up a little, and the sun returned and straight away a very dark butterfly fluttered into view. Immediately we knew we had our target butterfly, so the pressure was off and we could really enjoy the rest of the late afternoon.

 A little further along the track we saw some Broad-leaved Helleborines and a very large Marsh Fragrant Orchid.

 Once again the track opened up again and after waiting a few minutes for the sunshine, we were rewarded with more than a dozen Scotch Argus flying above us on the bank. It was wonderful seeing so many of them flying here, and was a fitting way to finish the day. Just as we thought we should head to the hotel, Mark and Tim turned up. They had also seen the High Brown Fritillaries at White Scar, but they were also staying close to Smardale, whereas we were further away at Kendall, so we left Mark and Tim to enjoy the butterflies and after a short chat started the long walk back to the car.

 I was only slightly frustrated that I hadn't taken any photos, as none had settled in a position that would give me a good photo. However, just as we started walking back, a very smart Scotch Argus suddenly was flying around me, and then headed back to some bushes, where it settled in a near perfect position. So as not to disturb it I only used the camera with the telephoto on, but that was in my rucksack, but I managed to get it out quickly so I could get a couple of quick shots before it flew.

Scotch Argus.

Marsh Fragrant Orchid.

The following day, the forecast was pretty accurate with rain and very high winds with just the occasional sunny interval. We were not sure what to do, but then decided to head back to White Scar to see if we could find the High Brown Fritillary. Well, that was not going to happen, but we did look for some time. We did get a good bonus though when I disturbed a tiny male Black Darter dragonfly. I guess it had come from the nearby marshes. It flew up in front of me and landed on a low bush, where it stayed for a few minutes before moving to another bush. The light was pretty dire at this point, and with the wind blowing and light rain falling it was not easy getting any useable photos, but a few were actually okay in the end.

Male Black Darter.

Around midday, it suddenly warmed up a little, and some sunshine, albeit, very weak sunshine appeared. I then disturbed a large Fritillary from the ground. It too settled on a low bush. This turned out to be a surprisingly fresh female Dark Green Fritillary. I called Lisa over and after getting a couple of shots, it took off and landed on a Buddleia bush where it promptly went back to sleep. An hour later it was still in the same position, when I showed it to another butterfly enthusiast that had turned up.

Female Dark Green Fritillary.

We had also seen several Grayling on both our visits here, and although it wasn't a target it is always nice to see these butterflies as they hide in plain sight!!

Grayling.

After a couple of hours at White Scar, and with the weather improving slightly, we headed over to Arnside Knott. We had spoken to someone at White Scar the day before, who had seen several Brown Hairstreak that morning, nectaring on Hemp Agrimony.

 On arrival at Arnside it was clear that we would be very lucky to see any butterflies at all in the high wind, but with the shape of the hill at Arnside, there was a chance that we may find a sheltered spot. We climbed up the hill with our hopes falling as by now it had clouded up again, as well as the chilly wind still blowing. We were quite near where the man had seen the Brown Hairstreaks the day before, when we bumped into another two enthusiasts that asked us if we had seen anything. The answer was no!! They had also drew a blank here, and also at Smardale that morning. We were then even more pleased we had made the effort to get to Smardale late on the day before!! 

We mentioned we were going to check out the Hemp Agrimony in the area where the Hairstreaks had been seen the day before, and then, the sun actually appeared. Almost straight away, a very tired looking Painted Lady appeared, followed by a Common Blue, but no Hairstreaks or Scotch Argus showed. After another 30 minutes it was clear that it was just a bit too windy, so we suggested to the other 2 that it might be worth looking slightly lower down the hill to see if we could find some Hemp Agrimony in a more sheltered spot. Only around 30 metres lower we moved into a little sheltered spot and as one of the guys walked past some Hemp Agrimony I spotted a butterfly on one of the flower heads. I quickly told him to stand still, and on checking the butterfly it turned out to be a male Brown Hairstreak. We then spotted a 2nd Hairstreak on another flower head.

 On a day that held very little promise, we had suddenly changed the day for all of us into a much improved day. The only photo I managed of the Hairstreak was after it had settled nicely on a leaf, where it stayed for a couple of minutes before flying high into the trees, where we could observe it for the duration of us staying in the small enclosure.

Male Brown Hairstreak.

Later, we did hear back from Mark, who had been back at Smardale for the day. Eventually, after many hours there he saw a handful of Scotch Argus in the late afternoon.

We had initially thought we would have a bit of time on our final morning to do some butterfly searching, but with heavy rain falling, and the forecast saying it was going to rain all day we headed back south early, calling in to see Matt and Emily at Alton on the way home.

An extremely successful short trip in pretty poor weather again, which also brought my equal highest British species seen in a season of 52. Will a Long-tailed Blue turn up for me to beat my record?

It has also given Lisa her most successful butterfly year by a very long way, and she now only needs 3 species to complete the British mainland list.

Return to The Dolomites.

 In early July I co-leaded another wonderful butterfly tour to the Dolomites with Naturetrek. This was my 3rd time on this trip, and as ever, it was a fabulous experience being in such a wonderful part of the World. Every day there were superb landscapes and some stunning wildlife to admire.

The hotel we use is also set in a stunning area, with some of the best meals around, being attached to a Michelin star restaurant that uses the same chef for the small family run hotel.

The morning view from my room!!

The Hotel.

As it was, the weather during the early part of the year in the Dolomites was just as mixed as in the UK, with wet cool conditions that had pushed the butterfly season back a little bit. We did see several species that we would have expected to have finished, but it also meant we missed a few species that we would have expected. However, during the 8 days spent out in the field we still saw many delights up in the mountains and also in some of the lower areas.

As ever, when I am leading, or co-leading a tour I take very few photos, but a few that I did take and like are below.

On the way from the airport at Venice, we stopped near the gateway to the Dolomites, climbing up what was probably only classed as a high hill. On the way up we saw many Woodland Grayling that were warming themselves up on the road. As we got higher other species started to appear, and near the summit we all got out of the vans to see what we could find. The roadsides were full of many species, with some lovely False Heath Fritillaries that were my favourites at this first site. In previous years these have been very worn, but here, along with the Southern Heath Fritillaries were very fresh. This included a female Southern Heath Fritillary that was crawling up the grasses. Possibly only just emerged, she climbed up, rejecting the advance of a male, and then opening her wings wide once she had reached the top of the grass and had transferred herself onto some Bedstraw.

A newly emerged Southern Heath Fritillary.

Female Southern Heath Fritillary.

Whilst searching around we also had a very fresh Chalkhill Blue and a few other delights as well as hearing a Corncrake, just a couple of weeks after Lisa and I had heard them on the Isle of Iona on our Mull trip.

Male Chalkhill Blue

Large Wall Brown resting on the crash barrier!!

Pearly Heath.

One of the best butterflies on the tour was the Asian Fritillary. A species that only one couple had seen on last year's tour. The late season certainly helped here though, as we spotted several on our first day in the mountains. We also saw them in other areas that they were not known from, so perhaps it was a particularly good year for them this year.

Asian Fritillary.

On the same day further down the valley we found a mating pair of False Heath Fritillaries. I was really keen to get some shots of this couple, as the female was extremely fresh. As well as getting a nice image of the under-wings I was pleased to get the female as she opened her wings to reveal that she was actually an aberrant form with extended orange markings.

Mating False Heath Fritillary (aberrant female).

Mating False Heath Fritillaries.

On another day I managed a different False Heath Fritillary open wing showing the normal pattern.

False Heath Fritillary.

The most showy butterfly on the tour had to be a stunning Apollo. Unfortunately, it didn't settle in a particularly nice position, but I was still well pleased to at last get an close up image of one of these iconic butterflies.

Apollo.

Apollo.

Apollo.

After many searches on Mull for the Slender Scotch Burnet, and failing, it was quite a surprise to find that there were several of them in the vicinity of the hotel, as well as further along the valley. Not the very rare sub-species that is found only on Mull, but still nice to see.

Slender Scotch Burnet.

Wood White.

Black-veined White.

Roosting Black-veined White.

Amanda's Blue.

In one meadow I spotted a female Six-spotted Clearwing resting on the top of some grass. A beautiful small species that is rarely seen.

Female Six-belted Clearwing.

Back in the valley, on our return to the airport, we stopped near a river. Here there were many butterflies in the lowlands. Here I saw my first ever Large Chequered Skipper and Great Sooty Satyr. Here we also had Swallowtail, Provencal Short-tailed Blue, Scotch Argus and some of the group also had a Purple Emperor.

Provencal Short-tailed Blue egg laying.

Large Chequered Skipper.

Great Sooty Satyr.

As mentioned earlier, the weather had been cool during the early part of the year, and there was much more snow on the mountain tops this year. However, the scenery was just as stunning, and perhaps even more so due to this!!

Another view of the hotel from the nearby meadow.

Hopefully I will return again next year!!