PEARL BORDERED FRITILLARIES

I had a course booked for this afternoon  near Cirencester so decided it would provide a good opportunity to combine a visit to some woods nearby to look for pearl bordered fritillaries. Usually I opt for Oakley Woods but had recently been told that these butterflies had been seen in good numbers at another site - Siccaridge Wood. I knew where this was, as it is immediately opposite the entrance to Daneway banks - a well known site for large blue butterflies. 

Having secured a parking space not too far away, I went through the gate and followed the path through the woods. After a while I came to a cleared area, which had some bugle flowers in bloom - a pearl bordered favourite - and saw some other people chatting holding cameras. Looking around in the sunshine, a couple of orange butterflies  appeared as if from nowhere flying close to the ground.  Immediately I knew they were what I was looking for. After taking a few photos, I got into conversation with one person who said there was a particularly good area, further down the track where there was a large amount of bugle. After thanking them for the information, I headed further along the path and soon found a couple of other people.. and more butterflies!  

They were settling regularly, giving opportunities for both upper and underwing photos which show the line of 'pearls' along the edge which give the species its name,  and without the need to stray far from the path. One of them even settled on my shoe for a few seconds! 

As I left the woods, I turned back to look at the sunny scene behind me. As I did so, a roe dear appeared from the trees and after stopping and looking at me for a few seconds, continued to cross into the trees at the other side of the path.  Soon afterwards, it was followed by three or four others. Certainly a site worth remembering for the future. 

BUTTERFLIES AT ASTON UPTHORPE DOWNS.

With the target of finding a grizzled skipper butterfly, I drove over to Aston Upthorpe Downs this morning, a valley in the Berkshire downs, comprising chalk downland with juniper scrub. Having visited several times I was familiar with the parking area beside an old barn, followed by a half mile walk down a rutted track which opens out into a lovely valley accessed via a small gate. 

Often it has been windy so I've had to look for a sheltered spot to find the butterflies I'm looking for but today there was little wind.  Along the track I saw several brimstones and peacocks, also a comma which lay basking in the sun on the ground and soon after I entered the reserve, I spotted a small dark butterfly fluttering low above the ground - my first grizzled skipper of the day.  Tick! 

I saw about four individuals of this species in a short space of time, before finding a few dingy skippers and a small heath. Walking further up the valley , I saw two people who had stopped with cameras. Although they had moved on a bit, I soon found what they had been looking at - a couple of small copper butterflies, both very fresh looking.  The lady was standing next to a large hawthorn bush and I quickly realised she was probably looking for green hairstreaks and after a while she pointed one  out to me. We only saw two and already they were looking slightly faded.  On my way back to the car, I found a fresh male common blue which made three new butterfly species of the year during today's visit, bring my total to 14. 

comma

 

grizzled skipper

dingy skipper

green hairstreak

view up the valley

small copper

brimstone

small heath

OTMOOR RSPB in the morning sun

I paid a morning visit to rspb Otmoor today to catch up with some of the warblers that migrate there for the summer. The hedgerows along the bridle way were full of birdsong, and it wasn't long before I caught up with a very showy sedge warbler singing from the top of one of the bushes.  Blackcaps could also be heard along with chiffchaffs, reed warblers, lesser white throat, and reed bunting. 

At the first screen, a marsh harrier could be seen hunting over the reeds, and three  herons were at the edge of the reed beds. 

I didn't hear a grasshopper warbler reeling, which I have done in the past but I heard a cuckoo calling and saw it fly off. 

singing sedge warbler

hedgerows full of birdsong

reed warbler

 

SUNSHINE BRINGS OUT THE BUTTERFLIES AT RODBOROUGH COMMON

 

The first warm sunny day for a while gave me the chance to head over to Rodborough Common to see the early spring butterflies that fly there at the beginning of May. 

I headed down the  steep hillside at the end of the common, to where the butterflies I was looking for, usually can be found. Surprisingly no one else was already there, and at first I could see no butterflies at all. Then a single dingy skipper flew up and then settled on a buttercup.  It was sunny so I was surprised that there was so little butterfly activity. As I glanced around, I caught sight of a glimmer of green amongst the grass a little way off -  a somewhat battered green hairstreak was partly hidden amongst the leaves. Then I spotted a small heath which settled for a short time before I lost it from sight further along the hillside. 

Meanwhile I was joined by another gentleman,  who then started looking closely at something   a few metres away. He had found a pristine Duke of Burgundy!  It obligingly posed for quite a while allowing for some photos. 

I got chatting to him; he had one more species of UK butterfly still to find - the mountain ringlet, having failed to find it last year.  Unless you live nearby it is often the last butterfly to be found, as it entails a trek up a mountainside in the lake district - although last year I met someone who told me he wanted his last butterfly to be the Swallowtail!  This gentleman also  told me about the species he'd seen at a quarry  in Portland, where I hope to visit at the end of the month! 

Another couple came by, and while there we saw a one or two more dingy skippers and another green hairstreak. No common blues or brown argus to be found, however.  

Although I had ticked off the species I had targeted for this visit, butterflies were, admittedly, in short supply. Perhaps  a few more days of sunshine will bring some more. Interestingly none of the people I spoke to today had seen a Red Admiral  yet this year!

green hairstreak

Duke of Burgundy

Dingy skipper

view from Rodborough Common

SPRING MIGRANTS IN THE FOREST OF DEAN

It's usually at this time of year when I make a trip to the Forest of Dean to see some of the summer visitors to the woodland at rspb Nagshead. It's a bit early for spotted flycatchers but I hoped to see pied flycatchers and maybe a redstart when I drove over to the rspb reserve early this morning. At 7.45 am., I was the first car in the car park which did actually surprise me but at least I would have the best choice of seats in the Lower hide!  It was quite chilly, only 4 degrees when I arrived although their was some hazy sunshine. 

In the Lower hide , which is reached by a walk through some conifer woodland, I could hear lots of birdsong, and great tits and blue tits were busy chasing each other through the trees. A stock dove stopped for a while at the top of a dead tree, and I had a glimpse of a grey wagtail flying through the woodland, which actually was the first I'd seen this year. 

After an hour or so I eventually saw what I was looking for: a male pied flycatcher appeared amongst some distant holly. It flew to a nearby branch and back a couple of times before disappearing from view. Shortly after, I noticed the female fly into a small tree on an island in the pond. She flew out and back several times, presumably after insects but always perched the other side of a leafy branch. Then she, too flew off. 

Suddenly I saw a splash of red in a small tree growing at the edge of the pond - a male redstart had made an appearance. lt perched for a while, then flew down to a small  area of wooden boardwalk  before flying off into the woods again. 

The pied flycatchers came back to their original area and flittered about as before but never came any nearer to the hide. On previous visits I have  watched them right outside the hide but not today.

Meanwhile some more visitors  came into the hide; they had seen some flycatchers at the other hide so I decided to leave my current position and go and check out that hide. 

There were a couple of people already there, who informed me they'd seen some pied flycatchers as well as siskin, nuthatch,  and blackcaps.  In fact as I sat down, I could see one of the flycatchers was investigating a nest box but then flew off.  It seemed quite a wait before we saw anything else of interest, but eventually we had some nice views of a tree creeper, a song thrush having a bath as well as siskin, goldcrest and a male blackcap. 

Both male and female pied flycatcher appeared from time to time, the male was not particularly obliging for photos, but the female perched on a  small log by the pond before having a drink. 

Having seen what I'd come for, I decided to leave, hoping to return in a month or so to look for spotted flycatchers. I stopped for my picnic lunch at New Fancy Viewpoint, but  although I climbed up to the viewing area, there was little to see so I   returned home.

tree creeper

song thrush bathing

male redstart

female pied flycatcher

male pied flycatcher

BOOMING BITTERNS AND CALLING CETTIS AT AVALON MARSHES

It was a glorious spring day for a trip down to Avalon Marshes in Somerset, where I visited the rspb reserve at Ham Wall. After a fairly early start I arrived at the reserve carpark just before quarter to nine, and it was already getting warm. I put on my coat but quickly abandoned it in favour of a gilet, having considered it was probably worth putting up with a little chilliness until the sun warmed things up rather than  have to carry a coat around. 

Soon after I walked onto the reserve itself, I heard a bittern booming and cettis warblers calling from the reeds. In fact, there was a constant sound of booming bitterns throughout the day, although I didn't actually see one. The cettis warbler was slightly more obliging and I actually got a  photo of one!

Most people seemed to be congregating around the first viewing platform where there were a good selection of waterfowl to be seen, including various duck species, little and great white egrets, black tailed godwits and three glossy ibis feeding at a distance.

I visited most of the hides and viewing areas, seeing great crested grebes, including one on a nest, marsh harriers and my first dragonfly, though I couldn't tell the species. Blackcaps and chiffchaffs were singing everywhere, and I caught a glimpse of a reed warbler singing amongst the dense reeds. Surprisingly I didn't see or hear a sedge warbler. 

As the day warmed up, butterflies started flying and I logged a couple of new ones for the year, including green veined white and small tortoiseshell.  

canada goose

nesting great crested grebe

cettis warbler

glossy ibis

small tortoiseshell

peacock

orange tip

green veined white

 

WHITE WAGTAIL AND A FIRST SWALLOW

 I haven't been over to Farmoor Reservoir for a while so as the wind had dropped a bit and changed to a more westerly direction after the cold blast we've just had, I drove over there on Thursday afternoon.

The wind was blowing but it wasn't unpleasant in the light cloud/hazy sunshine. Along the causeway there were some wagtails, mainly pied but with a few subspecies 'white' wagtails among them. This one had a pale grey back and distinct contrast between the black on its head and its grey back which defines it  as 'white' compared to the black back of the pied wagtail. 

Down at the hides it was peaceful, I could hear  sedge and reed warblers singing but they kept out of sight.  A pair of gadwall  were in the water in front of the Pinkhill  hide, together with a mallard and a couple of ducklings - my first of the year. At the Shrike hide, a  heron was  fishing amongst the reeds on the opposite bank and a female blackcap flitted about the branches in the  tree to the left of the hide .

I also saw my first lone swallow of the season fly over the reservoir. The sun wasn't particular strong or warm and I saw no butterflies on my visit.