Friday 2nd. May 2014

A change in weather conditions meant that the third full butterfly transect at High Elms LNR , done in a brief period of broken sunshine and a cool breeze , only found four new species with Green Hairstreak (6) , Dingy Skipper (4) , Speckled Wood (1) and Green-veined White (10) making their first transect appearances this year . A couple of days later , fellow enthusiast Keith found a Common Blue on Burnt Gorse , which is the first I have seen recorded on the web .
The following morning I assisted another enthusiast , who has a Great Crested Newt license , with an amphibian survey on two ponds , which proved to be very productive , with the following species

being found . Great Crested Newt 18 , 11 netted and 7 found around the edges of the ponds ( male pictured ) , Smooth Newt 27 , 24 netted and 3 found around the edges , Frog 1 and Common Toad 3

( one pictured ) . Surprisingly , no Palmate Newts were found this time after finding good numbers on the last survey . Before returning all the GCNs to the water , I got a shot of the same male through the

side of a holding container , showing the full glory of the crest , which collapses over the back when out of water . The water is that colour in the pond , and they seem to thrive in it .
A visit to the bird feeders in the woods proved very quiet , with no birds coming to the feeders and no sign of Bank Voles either . A large Grass Snake that evaded the camera was found under refugia and

on a log pile , purposely drilled to attract insects , A wasp , which is either Ancistrocerus gazelle / Tube Wasp or A. Aparietum / Potter Wasp . From what I read it is almost impossible to tell the two

species apart just by looking at them . Lots of Yellow Pimpernel / Lysimachia nemorum was found along the open tracks , but the best find was as I was making my way back to the car , when this Roe

buck wandered into view , browsing on fresh vegetation . With no cover around me , I just froze , taking single shots , before the inevitable happened , he saw me , and I saw his rear end .
A visit to Hutchinson's Bank , hoping for an early Fritillary wasn't successful , but I did find my first two Small Coppers of the season , both of them showed signs of the aberration caeruleopunctata ,

where blue spots are found along the orange bands on the hindwings . Orange Tip numbers seem to

be well down following last year's wet , cold Spring , let's hope those that did make it can start a recovery .
A visit to Spring Park Pond , where the spring feeding the pond has finally stopped running , also meaning that the flooding on the nearby rugby pitches is finally receding , produced the first

Damselfly on site , a male Large Red . The continual spring water entering the pond having probably kept the water temperature down , and consequently affected their emergence . Looking around the woodland edge vegetation for any Broad-bodied Chasers , who use the Brambles to dry off and

sunbathe , failed to find any , but a queen Common Wasp /Vespule vulgaris , was doing just that . A flash of red flying by , when landed , proved to be a Red-headed Cardinal Beetle /Pyrochroa

serraticornis , apparently more common than it's Black-headed relative , P.coccinea , from what I read . A visit up on the Common was disappointing , as no further work has been done on a GSWoodpecker nesthole that I have been keeping an eye on . My hopes of some pictures of young being fed has had to be put on hold , hoping that it might return and finish the job .Female Brimstones are still egg laying on the Buckthorn and right on the edge , I found 3 male Green Hairstreaks , battling over possession of the tallest Gorse plants . For once it was nice to get a few

shots of Green on yellow , rather than Green on green . Only other interest found was a Slime

Mould / Fuligo septica , one of the 'higher classes' of fungi I read , on a stack of decaying logs , and a

few male Common Heath moths have emerged , this one resting , before franticly searching for a mate .