SILVER STUDS AT SILCHESTER

 

At this time of  year I find myself making more journeys to locate specific species of butterfly to ensure I keep up with the emergence of butterflies during the year. Yesterday  I saw black hairstreaks and today it was the turn of the silver studded blue, of which there is a colony at Silchester common, which, happily for me, is only a short distance from where one of my daughters lives. 

I arrived at the parking area next to the adjacent Pamber forest to find a large group of people  armed with cameras and binoculars standing around chatting , and the car park full. However, after turning round,  I did manage to squeeze in at the side of the road a short distance away. It transpired that this was a Natural History group hoping to see butterflies as well as other flora and fauna. 

I made my way past the group and headed out onto to an area of Silchester Common where I know that my target species are usually found. I noted that there was a lot of heather still in flower, in contrast to  some of my previous visits  when most had gone over. Several stonechats were calling from the tops of the gorse bushes. Initially the sun only appeared at intervals although it was quite warm with little wind. But when it did come out, so did the  butterflies, fluttering only a few inches above the dry heathland. The blue males were predominant, but I did manage to find one brown female. In the sun, the butterflies settled with their wings open, and it took some time to find an individual with its wings closed, in order to look closely at the silver 'studs' which give the species its name. As the morning wore on, the clouds gradually disappeared and the numbers of butterflies increased before it was time to leave. I came across the Natural history group as I left, so was glad I had the site to myself for a while! 

silver studded blue male

silver studded blue female

underwing showing silver 'studs'

stonechat

I  went on to another site, Padworth common, to see if I could spot any dragonflies near the pond amongst the trees but only found  blue damselflies and the occasional broad bodied chaser flying at the other end of the pond. However, on my way back to the car I had  nice views of a roe deer which fed for quite a while before realising my presence. 

BIRDS AND BUTTERFLIES

 

  

Today I spent most of the morning at Slimbridge WWT centre.  I had been planning to make another visit and I'd noted that the little ringed plovers on the Rushy Pen now had two chicks (a further two had been predated). There have also been sightings of a white spotted bluethroat from the summer walkway  so I thought I may as well take a look there just in case...

From the Rushy Pen hide I easily spotted the little ringed plovers; their nest with eggs had been protected with a wire cage but now the family were outside it by the water's edge. While I was watching, there was a bit of drama when a pair of jackdaws started taking an interest in the chicks so the parents feigned being injured to lure them away. However, the jackdaws flew off after a while and they were left in peace.

With not much else on to see from the Holden Walkway I headed out via the summer walkway towards Mid point where the blue throat had been seen. The reeds were blowing about quite a bit in the wind so it was not surprising that the blue throat did not make an appearance. However I did meet my cousin Jon amongst the birders so it was nice to catch up. 

As I had spent quite a while watching for the blue throat, I did not have time to visit all the hides today.  However, I did decide to explore a couple of newly opened areas of the Centre, namely a Nene goose area and a large  new aviary  where it was possible to get close up photos of some common waders. 

avocet and chick

avocet chick

greylag and goslings

little egret

little ringed plover chick

adult LRP feigning injury

adult LRP and one of the chicks

nene goose

greylag goslings asleep in the middle of the path!

shelduck ducklings

ringed plover in the aviary

redshank in the aviary

oyster catcher and redshank in the aviary

With the promise of some late sunshine,  I went home  and then headed out again to Bernwood Meadows in the hope of finding some black hairstreaks, as they only have a very short flight season, and I wasn't sure how much longer they would be around.

I didn't arrive till 4 oclock and there were only a few spells of sunshine although it was still failry warm. Knowing where to find the butterflies meant that I could  head straight for the blackthorn hedge near the entrance  to the woods and  it wasn't long before I saw the first small black hairstreak fluttering above the hedge. However it went down on the opposite side where I could not see it.  I only found 3 of these butterflies in total, and they only appeared when the sun came out. On one occasion, one individual did settle where I could get my camera focussed on it although it wasn't the best angle, but it was the only photo I could get from the hour and a half I was there. There were a few dragonflies around, including broad bodied chaser and emperor and just one small heath butterfly in the meadow flowers.  

black hairstreak

the hairstreaks were found on the blackthorn hedge to the left of the sign board at the rear of the field

broad bodied chaser f

broad bodied chaser m

MORE BUTTERFLIES ON THE WING

 I paid a visit to Ravensroost woods this afternoon in cloudy weather; in the meadows I saw plenty of  meadow brown butterflies and a few large skippers. A largish dragonfly was flying around for a bit but not near enough to identify. I followed the track down to the ponds but the only butterfly seen was a speckled wood. Wating to turn onto the A419 I noticed a marbled white butterfly fluttering amongst the vegetation on the  verge. So that was three  new species for the year, although  being common species, I am sure they will occur regularly in my walks over the coming months. 

large skipper

large skipper

meadow brown

DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES

 

A dull day for my day off this week, but still  pretty warm at 21 degrees  so I decided to go in search of a few  odonata.  Whelford Pools (Glos wildlife trust) and Lower Moor Farm  ( Wilts wildlife trust)are good places to look for dragonflies and damselflies and boast  a good number of  different species.

I started off by visiting Whelford pools where common blue damselflies were everywhere on the vegetation. At a small  pool as you enter the reserve I stopped on the wooden decked area . A female emperor dragonfly was egg laying in the water, and amongst the numerous damselflies I picked out common blue, red eyed and blue tailed. 

Further on  into the reserve I found black tailed skimmers and four spotted chasers. Butterflies included two speckled wood, a red admiral and a small tortoiseshell; I also found a scarlet tiger moth.

I drove on to the reserve at Lower Moor Farm, but as I parked it began to  drizzle. However, it was still warm so I set off on a circular route which I knew.  Again there were numerous blue damselflies and good numbers of dragonflies,  but I was walking fairly quickly and saw no new species and  returned to the car. 

I should add that I have had up to a dozen common blue damselflies in the long grass  in the wild area of the garden at home. 

black tailed skimmer

blue tailed damselfly

common blue damselfly

four spotted chaser

red eyed damselfly

scarlet tiger moth

emperor dragonfly (f)

common blue damselfly at Stonecote

     

 

OUT AND ABOUT IN CAMBS AND SURROUNDING AREAS

 

 

With a few days free this week, I went up to stay with my sister in Cambridgeshire. We usually go out for a trip or two whenever I stay there, and this time I hoped to make a repeat trip to Strumpshaw Fen in Norfolk, a well known habitat for  the UK's largest butterfly, the Swallowtail.  A few years back,  we visited at the end of May but only saw a brief glimpse of one of these butterflies as it flew swiftly over a hedge behind us. We concluded that it was rather early in their flight season and there was a bit too much wind. Leaving our trip until June this year, we hoped for better results, but sadly it was not to be, as very few had emerged on the reserve and despite the forecast,  the sun was only out for a short while in the morning we were there. However,  Karen did actually manage to see one as it flew past; I only saw a yellow shape disappearing into the distance! I consoled myself with sightings of a few dragonflies and damselflies including a Norfolk hawker, hairy dragonfly, four spotted chaser, large red damselfly, blue tailed damselfly, azure damselfly and banded demoiselle. We also spotted a number of lizards sunbathing on the board walk. We followed our visit with a brief trip to nearby Buckenham marshes but I was unable to add any sightings to any of my year lists. 

azure damselfly

female banded demoiselle

lizard

four spotted chaser

large red damselfly

blue tailed damselfly

The following morning we headed over to RSPB Ouse Fen,  which is currently being developed into a larger reserve. It was a pleasant walk, and we had good views of a very vocal male blackcap and also a couple of black tailed skimmers which were landing regularly on the ground in front of us.

blackcap

black tailed skimmer

After lunch, we visited Therfield heath, an area of chalk grassland adjacent to a golf course. I was hoping for a first Adonis blue of the year and Karen wanted to add a common blue to her year list.  Within minutes of our arrival on the grassland, both of us spotted our target butterflies amongst the dozens of blues that were fluttering about at our feet. Apart from those two species, however, there was little else. We then took a walk round the RSPB reserve at Fowlmere which was only a few miles away but again it was very quiet.

adonis blue

The following morning I returned home, stopping off for an hour or so at Bucknell Wood to search for wood white butterflies which I have seen there for the past three years.  I arrived at 930 and walked hopefully up the track but the only butterflies I saw were a couple of speckled wood. I decided it was rather early in the day and still too cool for the wood whites to fly, so waited around for a while. There were rather more clouds than patches of blue sky so every time the sun  shone,  I  looked hopefully for the rather weak flight of the dainty wood white butterfly. Eventually  I  saw three on different occasions, but only the last one settled in a place where I could see it, and even then I had to clamber over some large logs to get in a position to photograph it.

the wood white butterfly settled at the back of these logs which were lining the track.

wood white