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
No comments:
Post a Comment