Thursday 19 May 2011

Having seen a posting on a butterfly webpage last night , a trip down into Hampshire was hastily organised and at 0730 a friend and myself were heading for Hampshire , hoping to find the first of two species targets for the day , Glanville Fritillary . We made good time down , and arrived with a coolness still in the air , but the sun warming things up by the minute . I'm glad to say it
wasn't very long before we were photographing the first of many specimens . Being a very active
species and the temperature rising , it was a race against time to get shots before they warmed up and they did their best to make sure that we got shots from every possible angle .Other species on the site included Common Blue , Brown Argus , Large Skipper (pictured) , Dingy Skipper , and lots of Green Hairstreaks . Whilst walking around , we found plenty of specimens of Grass Vetchling/Lathyrus nissolia , one of my favourite meadow plants .We saw at least two Roe Deer , this female showing a clean pair of heels as she made off .An overflying Cuckoo , and a very secretive Lesser Whitethroat were also seen / heard , and good numbers of Common Blue Damselfies were found .
Well pleased , about midday , we left to travel back into Surrey for our second species target , Wood White . A half hour or so later , we were on site , and found our first specimen within a few minutes of getting out of the car . Good numbers were seen throughout the visit , but none of the females seemed interested in the male's advances , and most males gave up and moved on , to try their luck with a different female . A couple of day flying moths were seen , Mother Shipton ,and Speckled Yellow , which were exceptionally active and difficult to photograph .
Nightingales were heard all over the site , along with probably two Cuckoos . We even had a very quick glimpse of the back end of a Badger , but it was very quick as it hurried away up a bank .Another of the Pea family , Meadow Vetchling/Lathyrus pratensis was found along the tracks , just coming into flower . Odonata seen on this site included several male Emperor Dragonfly , a female Broad Bodied Chaser and a newly emerged Black-tailed Skimmer . Orange Tip , Comma and Speckled Wood were added to the list , along with Brimstone , who once again failed to come up with the goods when this male and female came together .
A brilliant day out in good company , boosted by finding and photographing both target species .



6 comments:

Warren Baker said...

That must be your best day out for a long time Greenie, a top 5 day perhaps :-)

What great butterflies frittilaries are :-)

Paul said...

Hi Greenie, some cracking shots there mate, and that fritillary looks very nice indeed.

ShySongbird said...

A delightful post Greenie! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Glanville Fritillary is beautiful and your photos show that perfectly. I would love to see them but know I won't without travelling a considerable way so your account is the next best thing :)

Well done with the Wood White too. A butterfly I don't think I have seen (unless I overlooked it!) but have more chance of than the GF. I remember you hunting it down last year.

The Speckled Yellow Moth is very pretty and not one I see on blogs often, explained I suspect by your 'exceptionally active and difficult to photograph' comment.

What a great action shot of the Roe Deer!!

Phil said...

Glanville Fritillary and Wood White, yet another two species I have never seen. Great photos Greenie.
What's the butterfly equivalent to a twitcher called then? Flutterer,flitterer,butterer any ideas?

Jason K said...

Lovely Glanville Fritillary shots Greenie...I may make a journey down to Hampshire at some point to see them...truely stunning

Kingsdowner said...

Belated congratulations for the pics.
The Glanville's a lovely butterfly - I wasn't previously aware that they are on the mainland.