Friday 6th. May 2011

Over the last couple of days , Carol has heard plaintiff bird calls around the garden , and wondered if we had youngsters in the garden . This morning , while we were having breakfast , I noticed a speckled individual , feeding on the patio . From the back bedroom window , I can confirm that our Dunnock pair are at least three . With the other surveyer away again , I decided to do the reptile rounds up on the Downs , even though things have been very quiet for some time now . the results are that nothing has improved , I did see one Adder , which saw me at the same time and was making off as the shutter went , 3 Slow Worms and a single Common Lizard was all that I could find , so it was as well that there were other interests about . I visited three sites and recorded 15 species of butterfly , the most numerous being Common Blue , of which 83 went into the notebook . This was followed by Dingy Skipper , which seem to have been on the wing for ages now , although some were somewhat worn , with 62 . Brown Argus made the third place with 37 , and a few females were recorded , but males like this one were dominant . 21 Small heaths , and a bonus of the rarely seen top wing , when I got this shot of two males in a territorial dispute . The over-wintered Brimstones are still showing well with 13 recorded , this female nectaring on Sainfoin , in between egg laying . Other species recorded were , Grizzled Skipper (17) , Small Copper (3) , Large White (3) , Small White (3) , Red Admiral (2) , Speckled Wood (1) , Orange Tip (2) , Peacock (1) and Green-veined White (1)
Like yesterday , other insects kept the interest going , some of those being :Soldier Beetle / Cantharis rustica ,another yellow Crab Spider , waiting for a meal , lots of Garden Chaffers / Phyllopertha horticola , a large Longhorn Beetle / Stenocorus meridianus , body without legs about 2.5/3 cms . ,a small iridescent Leaf Beetle / Chrysolina polita , with reverse colouring to the Garden Chaffer Several day flying moths including Trebble Bar , Mother Shipton , Burnet Companion and Small Purple-bar were seen together with two more Lace Border , posted last visit , and what I think is a Common Carpet . But I don't know this one , at the time I thought it was a Burnett Companion from a distance , but you could never get one of that species to sit and pose on a finger . I think it is a night flier , but 'the man' will hopefully able to confirm that .