Thursday 23rd. May 2013

Had planned a trip out for orchids and butterflies with fellow enthusiast Martin for today , but given the expected drop in temperature and heavy showers for today , decided to go yesterday instead .
Mount Caburn near Glynde in Sussex was our first stop , hoping to see the Burnt Orchid / Orchis ustulata , a species that I have seen on the site twice , but Martin hadn't . The long haul from the road to the top of Mount Caburn was exhilarating to say the least , in cool , cloudy conditions and the odd spot of drizzle thrown in . Undeterred , we painstakingly searched the area where I had seen them in 2005 and 2009 for a good hour and a half , without a single sighting .This was our target species , a

picture I took on the 2005 visit . It would be very sad to think that the species has been lost from the site , but looking at the structure of the ground vegetation in the picture above and comparing it to the one below , taken in the same area , it looks as if the grass has swamped everything else , and could well be why we couldn't find any of the orchids .  In fact , apart from Cowslips , there was very little

 

to look at , just the odd Houndstongue / Cynoglossum officinale , a member of the Borage family , related to Common Comfrey . I very rarely come across this plant , and once again forgot to smell it , as the books describe it as 'smelling of mice' . The only other interest found was a small white

crucifer , which I think could be Hairy Rockcress / Arabis hirsute , a member of the Cabbage family , and a plant I haven't come across before , of course assuming my ID is correct . Defeated in our search , we made our way back down to the road , and with grey skies still , knew it would not be worth while trying for butterflies , so decided to try an orchid site that Martin visited a few years ago , where he found Early Spider and Green-winged species . After another hike well off road , though not as energy sapping as the first , Martin found the field where he found the orchids , only to find that it was now fenced off , without any access . We did see on the way though , a pair of Yellowhammer , very well camouflaged in amongst the Gorse bushes . Getting back to the car , lunchtime was near , but we decided to move on to the butterfly site and have lunch there . The skies failed to break up on our way to Abbots Wood near Hailsham  , where we hoped to find the Pearl-bordered Fritillary . With just a couple of other cars in the car park , it was obvious that other butterfly enthusiasts were less confident , hopeful , than us than the skies would break up , so we settled down to lunch with fingers crossed . As we finished , another car pulled in next to us , and as we got ready to have a look around , I looked to the sky to see a small patch of blue . We looked at the map of the wood on the notice board and realised just how big the wood and surrounding woods were . As we walked past the other car , the driver asked 'what are you looking for ? ' I replied butterflies , 'us too' was his reply , followed by 'do you know where to find them ? ' I answered in the negative , he produced a map of the woods with the best areas for Pearl-bordered Fritillary marked on it . Brilliant . We set off following his directions , as they got themselves ready . That small blue patch opened larger , and although it clouded over at times during the visit , there was enough bright patches to encourage the butterflies to fly . On the way to the 'best area' , we came across a young fox

walking down the side of the ride towards us , but moving slowly and seemingly oblivious to us until we were within 15 mtrs. of each other . It was only then that it turned and slowly made it's way into

thicker vegetation to the side of the ride . Neither of us thought that it looked very well . Beyond the lake , we must have taken a wrong turn , then somehow got back onto the right track , as behind us appeared the couple who gave us directions . Needless to say , we tagged onto them for the last part of the way , arriving in a large coppiced area where just one person was looking for the butterflies . With almost the first patch of sunshine a PBF was seen , but flying quickly and close to the ground , was soon lost from sight , but at least we knew that they were about . Not too long later , the first

work for the camera , when a specimen landed and posed with open wings . Success . There followed

 a most enjoyable couple of hours , looking for and photographing this rapidly declining butterfly . It can be confused with the Small PBF , but on the underside of the forewing , the seven 'pearls' on the

edge are set in a red chevron , whereas on the Sm.PBF the chevron is black . One specimen even obliged with 'the full monty' , and I remember , as I photographed this one , a Nightingale and a Willow were both in full song in the scrub beyond . A couple more enthusiasts arrived , and after a while a mating pair were found , the female on the right , being pounced on by the male , still not

having fully inflated her wings . The only other species around was a single Grizzled Skipper and 

Peacock , but plenty of Speckled Yellow moths , including a mating pair of them too . A few Slow Worms were found under felts placed around the edges of the coppiced area , but nothing more exciting . A Common Buzzard was constantly drifting over the area and a pair of Kestrels were also seen . A last look at the happy couple found them still 'busy' , but the male was now showing his

upper wings . A quick shot from distance , and we left them to finish their business .
From what looked like it was going to be a disaster during the morning , we walked back to the car in great spirit and hopefully look forward to meeting up with the Sm.PBF at a site we passed on the way back home , but that will be in a couple of weeks time . A long , tiring , but most enjoyable day , made in no small way by the fellow enthusiasts with the map .