RIDGEWAY PATH AT HACKPEN HILL

I took an hour's walk along part of the Ridgeway trail at Hackpen this afternoon and it proved a  good spot for butterflies as I recorded 12 different species. My target was to see a Dark Green Fritillary but the area I had intended looking required a walk through a field of cattle, including some young ones, so I decided against that, but  continued along the Ridgeway path. 

There were plenty of butterflies about, despite cloudy conditions at times, although it was warm at 20 degrees. I saw lots of meadow browns and ringlets, a few large and small skippers, common blues, small heath, large and small white, small tortoiseshell and a red admiral . There were also good numbers of marbled whites, and just as I had thought I'd had a wasted trip, a dark green fritillary turned up, nectaring at the side of the track for a while before flying  off over the fields. 

small tortoiseshell

large skipper

marbled white

small skipper

Ridgeway path

meadwo brown

dark green fritillary - rather tatty but the only one I saw

getting a bit crowded on here!

RAVENSROOST

 The continued sunshine is bringing out a number of summer woodland species. I've seen reports of purple emperors, white letter hairstreaks, white admirals and silver washed fritillaries. The last two of these can be usually be seen at Ravensroost wood near Minety, about 25 minutes from my home so after work I headed straight there, knowing that after today the weather was due to change. 

It was warm with a few breaks in the clouds just sufficient for  the butterflies to fly. As soon as I entered the wood I saw a silver washed fritillary which settled for a short time a couple of metres above me. This species often emerges after the White Admiral but they seem to have been recorded  at the same time this year. However I did only see 2 or 3 of them during my visit. 

I saw more White Admirals, but apart from the first one I saw which settled conveniently on some bramble next to the path it was difficult to photograph them, mainly because they were not settling very often, or if they did, they were behind a leaf or too high up. 

I also saw plenty of ringlets, (first for the year) , together with meadow browns, a large skipper, small white and a few commas. 

There were also various dragonflies, including emperors, black tailed skimmers and broad bodied chasers. 

silver washed fritillary

white admiral

comma

large skipper

broad bodied chaser

SLIMBRIDGE AGAIN!

 I paid a further visit to Slimbridge WWT this morning, where I gained further views of the bluethroat and black winged stilt as well as some new for year sightings of a spotted redshank in breeding plumage. 

It was cloudier than it has been lately when I arrived at opening time, but I was grateful for that as the air was still warm enough to leave my jacket in the car. I decided to head straight for the summer walkway where the bluethroat had already been seen well that morning.  As I reached the viewing spot, there it was, perched on one of the distant  twigs which rise above the reeds. The bird showed well, on and off for the next hour and a half I was there, at one point perching slightly closer on a fence post, though not as close as it had been seen yesterday apparently. 

 As the bluethroat showed no intention of coming any closer, I decided to leave and walk back to the centre and see if the stilt or spotted redshank were still on South Lake. It was clear when I entered the Discovery hide that they were present,  as a group of photographers were all peering out of the window with their long lenses. Joining them, I could see the black winged stilt quite close in front of the hide, with the spotted redshank not far behind it. At one point the spotted redshank stood behind its cousin the common redshank which made comparisons easy.

After finding an empty bench where I could sit to eat my lunch, I decided, to go back to some of the hides I'd missed out on the Holden walkway. Nothing of any note was seen, though I did have a nice view of a kingfisher for a few seconds before it dived then made its way up one of the water channels. 

bluethroat

bluethroat and reed bunting

gardens at Slimbridge

shelduck family

black winged stilt

chiffchaff

kingfisher

view over the Rushy

SILVER STUDDED BLUES

 A visit to Silchester Common this afternoon enabled me to add silver studded blue to my increasing butterfly year list. A visit to the same spot two weeks ago,  yielded none at all but today a lot more heather was in flower on the heathland and there were  plenty of silver studded blues to see'  It was warm and sunny and they weren't settling that often though eventually I managed to get close enough to see the silver studs on the underwings which given this species its name.

 

BLUETHROAT - FINALLY!

Having heard and seen photos of the white spotted bluethroat that has found a summer home by the Severn Estuary at Slimbridge WWT Centre, and which had been showing very well and quite regularly over the weekend, I decided to go over to Slimbridge with the main purpose of spending some time by the Shepherds hut hide waiting for the bluethroat to (hopefully) appear. 

It was mainly sunny and a slight breeze when I made my way along the summer walkway to join the group of birders/photographers already assembled on the sea wall. The bluethroat had been seen shortly before my arrival and several times during the morning so I remained hopeful. It was probably three quarters of an hour before the bird finally was spotted perched on one of the sticks set up for that purpose, jutting out above the reeds. It was quite distant but clear to see through binoculars. It stayed for several minutes allowing those birders with long lenses the opportunity to gain some nice photos before flying down into the reeds. After another twenty minutes it reappeared  at the top of some reeds for a short time before flying off over towards the estuary. These were the only sightings I had but it had been a 'lifer' for me to see the bird. This particular individual is thought to have visited Slimbridge for the past three years, this year it remined elusive for about a month but then at the weekend had been displaying and perching in full view for lengthy periods of time. Maybe one day a female will come along......

Before leaving the centre, I visited the South Lake Discovery Hide where I  had another view of the  black winged stilt which has now been around for several weeks, and also saw two little ringed plovers to add to my year list. 

black winged stilt

some distant record shots of the white spotted bluethroat

BUTTERFLY CATCH-UP

When comparing my butterfly sightings with this time last year, interestingly I found that I'd seen exactly the same number and types  of species by the middle of June! (32 in total).  

Since my last butterfly blog I've been over to Daneway Banks and found a few of the beautiful but rare large blues,  as well as my first marbled whites. Being a hot day with  blue skies, they were reluctant to open their wings but did so enough for me to confirm that they were the large blues rather than common blues. 

common blue

marbled white

large blue

Yesterday I visited Strumpshaw fen with my sister to see if we could get some better views of Swallowtail butterflies which have always been just a fleeting glimpse in the past as they sailed past us in the breeze. This time the weather looked more promising with more in the way of sunshine and less in the way of wind. We arrived about 10 o'clock and found that already the car park was full and we had to park in the overflow one. Upon reaching the reception table we were immediately told that there was a bittern in view from the hide nearby. Someone kindly let us use their telescope to locate it in the far off reeds but  once found we did see it briefly through our binoculars before it crept away into the reeds. A good sighting to start our visit though. 

From previous experience we have found the  recommended place to find swallowtails is in the front garden of the 'doctor''s house which lies adjacent to the reserve trail. The quickest way to reach it was to leave the reserve and cross over the railway line, walk along the road  and then take a lane which leads from the road back onto the reserve. The house is set back up a slight hill from the trail and its front garden consists of grass with a central  flower bed running from the house down to the path where visitors can stand. We soon reached it and were told that there were two swallowtails around, one of which had spent some time nectaring on some flowers right close  to the path but had now flown off! Hopeful that it would return, we decided to wait. After a while we did see one butterfly but it chose instead to use the brightly coloured flowers close to the house and although it flew around  from time to time, sometimes with another swallowtail,  it always seemed to return to the same spot. Some photos were possible, although not the close ones I had been hoping for! 

We decided to  continue following the trail around the reserve, which led through some reed beds adjacent to the River Yare.  A swallowtail passed   very close and for a second or two we were hopeful of a 'private viewing' but it didn't settle. We also saw some dragonflies and damselflies, including a Norfolk hawker and several mallard families from the Tower hide. After a picnic lunch we returned for another try at the   house but the swallowtail was remaining far off. 

the doctors house

mallard and ducklings

River Yare

Norfolk hawker

On the way home I decided to stop off at Bernwood Meadows near Oxford to see if I could find some black hairstreak butterflies, which have just begun to emerge. I wasn't sure of the weather forecast as some early rain had been forecast followed by either cloud or sun, depending on which forecast you chose to follow. 

I was pleased to find there was a space in the tiny car park, which only takes 3 cars ( other visitors can park in the woodland car park down the road) but as soon as I had stopped, the spots of rain on the window became a bit more frequent and I realised I might have to wait a bit. Standing outside one of the other cars I recognised someone I had met on previous occasions, who, after we had wondered how long it would be before the rain eased,  asked me if I could tell him where the hairstreaks were to be found. Of course, I agreed, and when the  rain stopped a few minutes later we walked through a couple of flower meadows to where the black hairstreaks could be often located amongst the blackthorn.

It wasn't long before we  spotted the first of a number of black hairstreaks flitting about above the hedge. They would occasionally settle briefly on a leaf before being roused by a another butterfly coming past but never in an easy to photograph position, preferring to remain at the top or back of the bushes. I did eventually get a view of one through a gap which I managed to get a few photo of. 

In the meadows themselves, I found marbled whites, large skippers, common blues and meadow browns. 

black hairstreak