Sunday 27th. April 2014

Another  damp , drab morning , but at least it gives a chance to catch up on processing pictures and catch up on a couple of recent visits .
For once , I managed to get to Burnt Gorse at High Elms LNR in warm conditions , with some sunny intervals . It took some time before I found my first butterfly species , but it was one that I have been looking for on previous visits , the Green Hairstreak . Two males were found , spending much of the

time in aerial combat , but , every now and again , resting in the sunshine , before the next scrap . Hairstreak is a bit of a misnomer for this species , as unlike the Purple , White-letter , Black and Brown members of the family , the streak is reduced to a row of white dots , sometimes none at all . Another anomaly is that it is the only family member not to have 'tails' on it's hindwings . The green metallic colour is unique amongst British butterflies , and is produced byeffects of light on the scales on the wing only allowing the green colour of the spectrum to reach the viewer's eye . I also managed

to record my first Dingy Skipper on site this year , this , one of four found was nectaring on Bugle . Whilst on Burnt Gorse , I also found a couple of insects that I didn't recognise , and spent a lot of time searching books and the web , without success . I would like to say I finally found them , but it was down to two enthusiasts on 'I-spot' who came up with the identifications . The first was a

strange looking red and black beetle on a Wayfarer leaf which turned out to be a Hazel Leaf-roller Weevil / Apoderus coryli , and the second that looked to me like a Long-horned Beetle , but the

antennae weren't long enough , and turned out to be a Click Beetle / Agrypnus murinus . Shortly after this shot , it flew a short distance with a surprise , and landed again . I got in position and waited for it

to do the same again , which it did , giving the same surprise . The last find on BG was 6 Fly Orchid /

Ophrys insectifera , clustered in a loose group , one of which was just coming into flower . On the Orchid Bank , after a fantastic season last year , the Common Twayblade / Listera ovate , seems to be

having a rest this year , with just a few of the specimens found , though not yet in flower . Neither were

either of the Man Orchid /Aceras anthropophorum found , one being perilously close to the edge of the path that runs through the middle . The walk back to the car produced a concealed Fox which

took no notice of me , seemingly with it's eye on something else , and some Town Hall Clock /

Moschatel , getting it's common name by having four flowers , each at right angles to the next one , and one on top for good luck . But being green and small , amongst a mat of green leaves , it's not the easiest of species to spot . Back in the garden , I missed the first Damselfly to emerge from the pond ,

a Large Red , identified by the dark and light bands on the legs of it's larval case or exuvia , left behind when it took it's maiden flight .
A bit of brightness yesterday afternoon had me heading for the Greensand Ridge , and in not the best

of conditions managed to find 7 Adders . One was the big female that mated with the large Black and white male , seemingly at ease with the world . The other female amongst the 7 was found lounging

with a male that looked very much like the one that was vanquished in the epic 36 minute combat .

When I looked in on them again later , it had escalated from lounging to the precursor of mating , but

this pair were a bit more dignified , moving well into cover before completing the business in hand . That makes four matings that I have witnessed this Spring up on the Ridge , so probabilities say there must have been at least double that , good news for the species .