Butterfly Transect Update.

After quite a long blogging absence I felt it was time to provide an update on my fourth year of undertaking butterfly monitoring on the northern boundary of Ashtead Common NNR, managed by the City of London Corporation. 

The transect, covering a distance of 1770 meters, follows tracks and footpaths through deciduous woodland, with many ancient oaks, and open grassy glades .

As in previous years the predominant early species on the wing has been the Brimstone.

The second most common species during the last six visits has been the Speckled Wood with the highest weekly count of nine yesterday.

At Flag Pond, probably a former clay pit (hence the water colour) linked to the nearby Roman villa complex, I tend to stop for a while to check out the wildlife. On the 4th May I recorded the first Large Red Damselfly and from mid May the numbers of Broad-bodied Chasers has steadily increased with White-legged Damselflies appearing in the grassland nearby. I have also seen Common Blue Damselfly and Beautiful Demoiselle here in the last two weeks.

While watching the pond life yesterday I heard the begging calls of young Blue Tits (below) from a tree behind me and turned round to find four hungry individuals squashed together in the cleft of the tree waiting for the parents to return with food. [Unfortunately I didn't have a long lens with me so these images are heavily cropped].

I have also recorded 22 bird species so far this year whilst walking the transect and two weeks ago heard my first ever Cuckoo calling on the common from woodland south of the Roman earthwork complex.

Other species of butterfly recorded so far this season, albeit in very low numbers, include Small and Large White, Green-veined White, Comma, Common Blue, Holly Blue and Orange-Tip (below).

Orange-Tip (female)

About a hundred yards away from the transect I saw my first Large Skipper of the year yesterday so hopefully they and a few other species will provide some photo opportunities in the coming weeks.

During yesterdays walk I watched masses of micro-moths, Green Oak Tortrix (Tortrix viridana). On two trees I estimated there were at least 300 fluttering and feeding. One individual dropped onto the bracken below allowing me to grab a quick snap. 

Below are just a few of the wild flowers that have finally emerged in the last two weeks.

Linking to:
Nature Notes

Getting to grips with new gear.

At long last I finally decided it was time to upgrade from my trusty Canon 450D that has served me well for many years to something with a great deal more fire power and also add a macro lens to my tool box.

So earlier this week I paid an early morning visit to the lower chalk downland slopes at Juniper Bottom together with my new 80D and a 100mm f2.8L Macro lens in anticipation of finding some 'flutters' to photograph.

Whilst the temperature was a reasonable 19 deg.C there was a blustery wind and nothing appeared to be on the wing until I spotted a lonely male Marbled White hunkered down in the grass.

Over the following twenty minutes it constantly flitted around the hillside rarely stopping to perch for a second or two but finally came to rest long enough to test the new set up.

As the morning wore on I found a few other species.

A male Common Blue.

And fairly close by was a female Common Blue (below).

When the sun disappeared behind the clouds I turned my attention to the varied selection of wild flowers scattered over the grassland.

Attaching an extension tube to the macro lens gave me an opportunity to test its use with some close-ups of Knapweed bracts (below).

A male Small Skipper.

A chance find was this Silver-Spotted Skipper hiding close to my feet and I only managed one shot before it flew away never to be seen again!

There were plenty of Six-spot Burnets all over the grassland.

 

One species I was hopeful of seeing was the Dark Green Fritillary (below). I followed several up and down the slope for what seemed ages before getting just one shot of this individual as it perched briefly.

Having reviewed all the images taken during this test excursion I am very pleased with the outcome and performance of the new gear ... just need to get used to the different button layout on the 80D and maybe read the instruction manual. FAB.

Ashtead Common Transect.

After the torrential storms on Thursday which flooded our rear garden I anticipated that even beneath a partially sunny sky late on Friday morning the underfoot conditions for my planned butterfly transect walk at Ashtead Common would require waterproof footwear. All the ditches were brimming full of water that was still seeping off the hillside and the main rides were very boggy so the Muck Boots were definitely the right choice.

The dominant species recorded was Meadow Brown (17) plus Speckled Wood (2), Large Skipper (5) and a single Red Admiral. As expected, due to the weather conditions, the overall numbers for the last 13 weeks of the survey period are down by at least 15% compared to last year.

Fortunately during my walk there were a few other interesting encounters mainly centered around the very muddy Flag Pond including more sightings of several male White-legged Damselflies, an Emperor dragonfly ovipositing, two male and one female Broad-bodied Chaser plus Blue and Large Red Damselflies.

 A female Large Red Damselfly (Phrrhosoma nymphula).

The largest open woodland pasture now has a few clumps of foxgloves but is quickly being dominated by the overbearing bracken but the time I spent here produced a few day flying moth species.

Brown Silver-line (Petrophora chlorosata).

One of the varied number of micro Grass Moths (Crambidae family).

I also disturbed at least half a dozen Silver Y (Autographa gamma) but getting a clear focus deep within their grassy hideaway was a real challenge!

The most unexpected find was this immature Black-tailed Skimmer (above) probably displaced by the windy weather. Below is just one of the five Large Skipper recorded throughout the transect.

Linking to:
Saturday's Critters
Nature Notes
Through My Lens
image-in-ing 

Fence, Flutters and Flowers.

A recent wander below the slopes at Denbies Hillside provided another opportunity to grab some shots for this week's edition of  'Good Fences' of the original iron Estate fence with its ornate fittings.

Wild flowers abound alongside the track including Oxeye Daisy, Bird's-foot-trefoil (with attendant female Five-spot Burnet), Honeysuckle, Buttercup and Crane's-bill.

A male Common Blue on Bird's-foot-trefoil, one of the caterpillar's food plants.

A well camouflaged Green Hairstreak deep within the grassy sword.

While back at home the trellis fencing supports two roses; 'Mme Alfred Carrière' and 'Compassion' with 'Mum in a Million' in a pot nearby; all currently producing an abundance of fragrant blooms.

Elsewhere in the garden the recent rain and sunshine has helped the central border to flourish with a varied collection of hardy Geraniums, the first flower on Clematis 'Scartho Gem' planted last year, the dainty red spray of a Heuchera, the ever spreading Aquilegia 'William Guiness' plus the drooping fragrant bunches of Lilac flowers.

Linking to:
Good Fences
Today's Flowers
Floral Friday Photos

Encounter with a Duke.

Last week, following an e-mail from an ex-work colleague, I accepted an invitation to drive over to Kent to see some early flowering wild Orchids and hopefully to find and photograph a 'Duke'. After an hour plus journey we met up on the fringes of Denge Wood and started our walk along the forest trail towards Bonsai Bank.

One or two Brimstone were on the wing beside the trail but the only flutter to offer a quick shot was this Speckled Wood who briefly rested on the track. On entering the flower rich area of chalk grassland known as Bonsai Bank, which takes its name from the stunted conifers that grow there, we were greeted by a delightful array of wild orchids.

This collage is dominated by the Lady Orchid as I had not photographed this species before and just one image of the Early Purple. Before searching for our main quarry I spotted this Green Carpet Moth (below) resting on vegetation.

Fortunately it didn't take us long to find the star attraction of this site, the rare Duke of Burgundy (Hamearis lucina) occurring in small discrete colonies in scrubby calcareous grassland and recent woodland clearings where its larval food plants, either Primrose (Primula vulgaris) or Cowslip (P. veris), grow in reasonable abundance in sheltered but open, sunny conditions.

As this was the first time I had encountered this small, rare butterfly we spent some time in their company before moving onto another location to take a stroll across a yellow strewn hillside dotted with a bit of purple.

My thanks go to David for suggesting this outing and the unforgettable encounter with the 'Duke'.  FAB.

Linking to:

Nature Notes

Yellow on Blue.

I carried out this week's butterfly transect on Ashtead Common North around midday on Tuesday but with the temperature hovering just above 12 deg C I logged just five species; Speckled Wood (3), Small White (1), Large White (1), Peacock (1) and a solitary Brimstone nectaring on a Bluebell.

With more wild flowers appearing and the temperature expected to improve I will hopefully come across some different flutters during my wanderings over the coming days. FAB.

Linking to: 
Floral Friday Fotos
Today's Flowers  

Castle Hill LNR.

Just a 20 minute walk from home is Castle Hill LNR. Castle Hill has been designated as an Ancient Monument and is thought to be the site of a medieval moated farmstead dating from the 13th century known as Brettgrave. The area is now dominated by mature deciduous woodland but over the past few years active management by coppicing is helping to keep the under-story open thereby encouraging more wildlife.

At this time of year, apart from the typical woodland bird life, the main attraction is the swathes of our native Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) competing with a green carpet of Cleavers (Bedstraw) beneath an open canopy that is very slowly greening up.

A Song Thrush perches high overhead taking a rest from proclaiming its territory with its characteristic repetitive song.

The reserve boundary is dominated by an old iron fence that in many places is showing the test of time!

Other 'regulars' during my early morning stroll were Robin (above) and the tiny [Winter] Wren (below) with the big voice.

And finally a collage showing a few of the wild flowers that have appeared during the past couple of weeks including the invasive Three-cornered Garlic growing amongst the Bluebells, Red Dead-nettle, Greater Stitchwort, Green Alkanet and Bedstraw.

Linking to:

Good Fences