Sunday 27 July 2014

Sunday 27th. July 2014

A catch up on the last few very humid , sunny days .
On Thursday morning , helped with the Down House butterfly survey again , with numbers down
from last week , but did produce a few freshly emerged Small Copper , pictured , a species that seems to be very much in decline this year , and two Dark Green Fritillaries amongst the more common species . In the Sandwalk Wood , the Violet ( not Violent as previously described ) Helleborines were
found in full flower , but always difficult to do justice in a photograph due to their preferred gloomy environment . After lunch I did the High Elms transect , and like at Down House , found numbers down from last week . 16 species were recorded , with at last a single White-letter Hairstreak being

found in the bottom glade , nectaring on the Canadian Golden Rod and the Hemp Agrimony . I have heard since that Keith had 5/7 specimens on Saturday which is good news . A first record of the year
on transect was a female Holly Blue found along the bridlepath , another species that has been is short supply this year . But for some butterflies it was the end of the line , like this Ringlet that
stopped to nectar on the CGR , only to find a Crab Spider waiting in ambush , and now the spider's meal as it's wings flapped lifelessly in the breeze . On Friday , I returned to New Hythe , hoping to get a shot of the male Lesser Emperor seen on Wednesday . Conditions had changed with the wind blowing across the lake rather than down it , which reduced markedly any Odonata sightings , never mind the LE . Three hours of scanning failed to produce a single sighting of the LE , and I arrived back at the car park like a wet rag having humped a heavy camera bag up and down the lake side for that time . A late evening phone call from the other Keith , meant a change of plan for an Odonata visit to East Kent , planned for Sunday , but having to be rearranged for Saturday . We set off with 4 hoped for targets , The LE and 3 members of the Emerald Damselfly family , Scarce , Southern and Willow . Our first stop was at Cliffe Pools , were we arrived in perfect conditions and headed out along the track towards the Black Barn . On the way , we couldn't help but stop to see what was in the roost on Radar Pool . A scan of the far bank produced Blak-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwit , still in breeding plumage , as was a single Spotted Redshank , Greenshank , Avocet and  lots of Lt.Egret , amongst the more common species . Later in the visit we added Marsh Harrier and Common Buzzard . Getting back to the job in hand we arrived at the 'usual' area , and started to scan the ditches . As the sun got higher , the wind also picked up , making things difficult with emergent vegetation swaying in that wind . My 'favoured spot' from previous years failed miserably so the search had to be expanded over a greater area . Eventually the first of two of the species hoped for on
site was found , Scarce Emerald Damselfly . The male , looking very similar to the male Emerald Damsefly , but lacking one half of a segment of pruinescence , just behind the thorax , and a female ,
one of just a few found . We were also lucky enough to find a pair in 'the ring' , but they insisted on
keeping to the vegetation alongside the ditch , making getting a shot more difficult . Other species
photographed in the ring included Blue-tailed Damselfly , the female on the left being of the form rufescens , and Ruddy Darter , which I must say was another species found to be well down on
previous years , but more numerous on site than Common Darter . The book says the flight season foe Black-tailed Skimmer lasts till early August , so finding a very freshly emerged specimen still
drying it's wings was somewhat unexpected . A couple of Southern Emerald Damselfies were spotted , but proved difficult to photograph in the conditions , so was pleased to come across a freshly
emerged female that was willing to pose , showing it's diagnostic bi-coloured pterostigma , and also enjoyed by a fellow enthusiast who was hoping to see the species on site . Other interest found during
the visit included lots of adult Marsh Frogs , who seem to have had a good breeding season , with lots of juveniles about , including this specimen , which although larger than many of the other juveniles ,
unusually still had it's 'tadpole tail' . The most dominant butterfly species on site was the Gatekeeper , with every Bramble bush being decorated with them . Their numbers were in the hundreds , including
this mating pair , and there must have been lots more pairs too . Red Admiral , Peacock Comma , Meadow Brown , and the three Whites , were also recorded . Leaving the site , we joined the M2 to go south of Reculver to look for Willow Emerald Damselfly . The first matrix sign we passed informed of congestion from Junct. 4 to 7 , and we were almost at the first . We decided to give it a try , but almost immediately after passing Junct.4 , being caught up in 'stop/go' traffic . By Junct. 5 , we decided to give up on the WDF on this trip and headed for New Hythe for another attempt to see / photograph the Lesser Emperor . After a quick bite of lunch , and noticing Terry's car in the car park , we set off for the area where he and I had fleeting glimpses of the species on Wednesday . A stint at the most productive area was unsuccessful , so we headed along the lake to the other area , stopping off at a couple of spots in between . It was at one of these that we had our first glimpse of the visit of the male flashing by . Another sighting at the area where it settled briefly on Wednesday , produced another fly by . After a while we returned to the first sighting area and had another fly by , as with others , close in and low to the water . Feeling like it was playing with us , we decided to return to the 'settled' area as it gave a better view of any approach . That it did as we had several more fly bys , but noticing that it was favouring a particular patch of reeds . Keith took up position one side and myself on the other side about 10 mtrs .apart . We had 6/8 more glimpses , and each time we fired off shots as it sped around and disappeared , usually finishing up as a blur when looked at on the back of the camera . But , somehow , both Keith an I managed to get two reasonable shots each , albeit 'rear end'
shots , but show the diagnostic blue saddle on the brown abdomen , a shot for me that has taken 10 hours in the recent humid conditions , but well worth it . Mind you , some person , no names , managed to get their 'rear end' shot in well under half that time . As we made our way back to the car , Keith mentioned it would be great if one of the many Brown Hawkers seen during the visit ,
would just settle for a shot . Within seconds , a male did just that , and finished off the day nicely . I would add that I checked the soles of Keith's boots before he got in the car ! Just as well today's visit was rearranged , as whilst writing this , it's been nothing but cloud .

Wednesday 23 July 2014

Wednesday 23rd. July 2014

Having being told by fellow enthusiast Terry Laws on Sunday's butterfly walk that the Lesser Emperor dragonfly had been seen at New Hythe recently , I got permission from the 'resident Blogger' and headed off to try and see this species , that would be a first for me . Before Wrotham Hill I was in sunshine and cloud , after it was solid cloud , and so it was as I arrived , and for some time before those clouds broke . Finding a lightly spot , I passed the time watching a noisy flock of
Lesser Black-backed Gulls , showing off their acrobatic flying skills . Every now and again , a pair
got into a fight , plummeting  down still engaged in combat until disappearing behind surrounding
trees so I never saw the final outcome . With the sun came a few Odonata sightings , Brown Hawker ,
Black -tailed Skimmer ( pictured , this male obviously very active with the ladies from the amount of blue pruinescence that has been rubbed off his abdomen by their legs during mating ) , Common Darter and Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselfly , but no sign of the hoped for Lesser Emperor . A bit later , three birders came by , one being Terry , who after visiting the scrub area over the railway , joined me in the search . Still without a sighting , we decided to move along the lake to a
more sheltered area , on the way finding an immature male Southern Hawker , and the search continued . Having found Red-eyed Damselfly on Lilly pads earlier , Small Red-eyed Damselfly
were found at the new spot , identified not only by size but by the blue on the underside of segment 8.
In the time in this area , we had three fly-by sightings of a male Lesser Emperor , enough to make positive ID , but not enough to get a shot , most frustrating . In between sightings , we had several visits from a female Emperor Dragonfly , ovipositing on floating vegetation and here on a branch
sticking out of the water . The end of her abdomen can be seen well into the material as she deposited a single egg . I also noticed a piece of vegetation about 3cms. long , with a caterpillar type grub at
one end , moving like a snake on sand , propelling the vegetation along . We weren't sure if it was in
trouble or not , so decided to rescue it . On dry land , it stayed in it's tube just showing it's head . Unsure of what was best to do , I returned it to the water but very close to the bank , in case it was trying to get to land . Next time I looked it was gone . Any ideas would be appreciated . Before leaving , we decided to have a last look at the first area again , on the way finding a Brimstone
Moth , and on arriving , couldn't believe our eyes to see a male Lesser Emperor in combat with a male Black-tailed Skimmer . They soon parted and the LE settled just 1 mtr. off the ground and 3 mtrs. away , with no obstructions between . We grabbed our cameras , and as we were about to hit the button , the male BTS returned and chased off the LE , not to be seen again . So near but so far , but by far the best sighting of the day . We did wait for the hoped for return , and whilst waiting were
visited by a family group of Mute Swan . All day long , we had been plagued by horse flies , and at one stage Terry swatted one that fell to the ground . Before it recovered I picked it up by the wing
and got a few shots to ID the species . Checking the books when I got home , it appears to be
Chrysops relictus , a member of the Tabanidae family , and how about those for a pair of eyes . As Terry and I were about to leave the car park , we heard a Turtle Dove 'purring' near the Millstream . We went and tried to see it and although it called another couple of times , we didn't see it .
Today was an away day with Martin , starting at Chobham Common where the target was Grayling .
Already hot on arrival , a walk to the top of the mount did find the species but  didn't cool us down , but a few of these very plain butterflies that usually land on the ground with wings closed were
found . One actually did show a bit more underwing than the others did , shame about the dead grass
in front . Just two Silver-studded Blues were found , including this female , in what looked perfect habitat for the species . Only other interest found were lots of tunnel webs of the Labyrinth Spider /
Agelena labyrinthica , and at the entrance to one was a spider , legs in front , ready to rush out and grab anything landing on it's web . Our second site was up on the Downs above Dorking , where the target species was Silver-spotted Skipper . Walking in the heat was bad enough , walking uphill was really hard work , but it was worth it when we got to the site to find good numbers of SSS . The heat also meant that none were staying still , especially the testosterone charged males , and a photograph of one was almost impossible . Some of the females were egg laying , which gave a better chance of a
photo like this one . When she moved on , I searched for her egg , finding it laid singly on Sheep's-
fescue grass , the sole food plant of the species . Any eggs layed will remain as such through the Winter , hatch in the Spring , pupate and appear as adults this time next year . I did finally manage to
get a male in the viewfinder , while he was attempted to court the female above him . His chat up line can't have been good though , as soon after , she flew off , leaving him in his own . Our last stop of the day was a quick look around Hutchinsons Bank , where we were pleased to find two female Chalkhill Blues on the wing , the offspring of adults seen on site last Summer .

Monday 21 July 2014

Monday 21st. July 2014

Yesterday dawned with sunshine and blue skies , perfect weather for the Kent Butterfly Conservation visit to High Elms . With a start time of 1030 , by 0900 cloud had rolled in and the sun was gone , but at least it was warm and dry . We set off from the car park , heading straight for Burnt Gorse , where fellow enthusiast Keith had seen good numbers of Silver-washed Fritillaries , when he visited the previous afternoon . Half way there , a stop at a bramble patch produced 3 SWF , 2 White Admiral and a Peacock , at least two of the species that people were coming to see were in the bag and I felt the pressure was eased on me . Burnt Gorse was a good as Keith had said , and plenty of photo opportunities too . The species found kept coming including Dark Green Fritillary , Essex Skipper and Comma . Whilst there , Peter , the chap who showed me the art of finding Small Skipper eggs , worked his magic for the group , much to their delight . Dropping down onto the field edge , he was at it again , finding just hatched Red Admiral caterpillar and eggs on a small stand of stinging nettles . Climbing back into the woods , we soon arrived at the bottom glade , with the hope of finding the White Letter Hairstreak nectaring on the Canadian Golden Rod , and maybe another sighting of the ginandromorph SWF , but they failed to show , even though ex-ranger Terry had seen them on Thursday morning . Climbing back uphill , we arrived at the Orchid Bank and once again searched for WLH without success . Making our way back towards the car park , I took the group through the Larch plantation , probably the best area for seeing White Admiral . Peter suggested we had a look for it's eggs and maybe , even find a caterpillar . The group waited patiently , and once again , Peter worked his magic , finding both egg and caterpillar , much to their amazement , and some got photos of both , even though the light was very poor . By the time we got back to the car park , 18 species had been seen . Happy , most of the group left , but a few stayed on for a look over the road on the Conservation Field , where just Brown Argus was added to the list . 19 out of a possible 25 was not a bad return on a mediocre weather day for butterflies . The species that we dipped were WLH and Purple Hairstreak , Red Admiral , Small Tortoiseshell , Holly Blue and Small Copper .
This afternoon , I went back with my camera to get a few shots of the WA egg and caterpillar . Surprisingly I managed to refind the ones Peter had shown us and also found two further caterpillars , following what Peter had told us . The egg , looking like a sea urchin , layed on the edge of a
Honeysuckle leaf , was hard enough to photograph , but the caterpillar , measuring about 0.75 cm
long and just about 1 mm. wide , posing on the mid-rib of the half eaten leaf , was an absolute nightmare .
And finally , on yet another unsuccessful WHL hunt last Friday in the bottom glade , a calling Common Buzzard caught my attention . Soon it drifted into view being harassed by a Kestrel . I only had the 100mm macro lens , but fired off a few shots .
 
 
I didn't see how the confrontation finished , as they drifted behind the surrounding trees . I just wish that I had had a larger lens with me .

Wednesday 16 July 2014

Wednesday 16th. July 2014

A catch up on the last few days . Morning visits up onto the Commons are producing small numbers of Purple Hairstreak , but none yet prepared to be photographed . Broad-leaved Helleborine , at least
45 flowers spikes , are now coming into bloom . Would have been more if the deer had left them
alone . The Canadian Golden Rod is a magnet at the moment for freshly emerged Brimstones . I still haven't managed to find a pupa . At High Elms , no further sighting of the gynandromorph SWF ,
but two mating pairs were found , one in the bottom glade and one on Burnt Gorse . On the bridle
path below the Beech Walk , Clouded Magpie moth was found , like the WLH , this species depends
on Wych Elm for it's foodplant . I still haven't found any WLH , but I had an email from the Ranger at High Elms , that he is sure he saw one yesterday afternoon , just in time for Sunday . Comma are
also emerging , at this time there is a good chance to find the form 'hutchinsoni' , like this one with golden brown underside . Later specimens will show dark undersides .
This morning I decided to visit Bough Beech Reservoir before more butterfly hunting , in the hope of seeing the Great White Egret that has take up residence there recently . I expected a dot in the
distance , but was surprised to find it within 20 mtrs. of the causeway on the North lake . Later , it
came out of the water down the far end of the causeway , but with the build up of passing traffic , it soon flew to the far side of the lake . Other species seen on the visit included ,
Little Ringed Plover , a juvenile ,
incessant calling by juveniles meant that the adults were kept busy providing food ,
two Greenshank were looking for food in the shallows ,
sometimes joined by Common Sandpiper ,
which itself was joined by one of four Green Sandpiper ,
that is when it didn't want to be on it's own .
All along , the Common Terns were back and forward with food for their families .
Along the causeway , many ducks were in moult , like this male Mandarin , looking far different from the dashing sight it was in breeding plumage . I had read that a Night Heron had been seen there , but that was as far as it went , until a call from the far end of the causeway 'Night Heron in flight' had me
chasing down that end , only to get a rushed , rear end shot of the bird , just as it was about to drop out of view , honest , it is !
A Spoonbill had been spotted on the right hand spit halfway down the reservoir , as normal , asleep with head tucked in and facing away . How surprised we were when down the reservoir , from that
area flew the said Spoonbill , to be joined over the causeway by a second . The pair then circled , gaining height all the time , till they were specks in the sky . Talking specks in the sky , an unusual
sight of 14 Cormorant riding the thermals , becoming specks themselves .
Two other species seen on that side of the causeway were , several juvenile Lapwing ,
and a couple of Grey Wagtail , fossicking along the waterline . A Raven was also seen , 'cronking' as it was seen off by the local Corvids , and Common Buzzard , Sparrowhawk and Kestrel along with the more common species . Just like the good old days at Bough Beech .
Never did get butterfly hunting , as cloud rolled in , but it didn't cool things down .