Blog

I’ve been feeling a bit ropy this weekend, so the prospect of a quick return to Pulborough to add the Wood Sandpiper to the on-foot list didn’t appeal.  Instead we had a rather shorter and slower 15 mile walk up to Cissbury and Chanctonbury rings.  Butterflies abounded on a sunny, but breezy day – very different to the flooded north.

Instead of one bird, I added three butterflies to the on-foot list: Chalkhill Blue, Silver-spotted Skipper and Essex Skipper, which was a nice surprise (I know they’re up there, but I thought separating one from Small Skipper would be beyond me).

Common Blue

Stonechat

Chalkhill Blue, male

Six-spotted Burnet

Chalkhil Blue, female

Silver-spotted Skipper, refusing to cooperate

Essex Skipper, easily separated from Silver-spotted, as it hides its backside behind grass instead of its head.

We haven’t seen a Hare for a few weeks, so this was a nice surprise.

My spur of the moment decision to walk to Pulborough on Sunday was looking a bit poor when after an hour scouring the brooks on my own, with rubbish lightweight optics, I had got none of my target species.  (Good job I said I had wanted a good walk.)  The prospect of a 13 mile walk back empty-handed wasn’t too appealing and I was on the point of ringing Karen up to beg a lift, when the Great White Egret I had hoped for flew across and vanished.  A dash down to another viewpoint to find it was unsuccessful for the Egret, but yielded a female Marsh Harrier and then the Green Sandpipers that had been scandalously missing earlier.  No lift back for me!

Three more species, added to a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull on Friday afternoon takes my on foot list to 162 for the year, or is it 163?  The White Stork that we saw from home last week would be an exciting addition, if it weren’t for the “re”-introduction that is happening 10 miles north of us.

After missing a singing Quail a couple of weeks ago (I arrived about half an hour after it had shut up for the night), it was great to get a call from Nick on Friday telling me he had found another.  After a 40 minute dash to Steep Down I could just hear a distant bird delivering its “wet my lips” call, barely audible over my gasps for breath.  Bird 158 on the on-foot list for the year.  Following the sound at a more leisurely pace I did get to within a few feet of it next to a footpath, but in the dense vegetation it was never going to be seen.

Yesterday we had a walk to the Dover.  The birds were largely absent, but the main target was butterflies.  We had 20 species in the day, including two species of Fritillaries and our first White Admirals of the year.

Karen goes for camouflage in the poppy field. (The Quail is in the green field behind.)

Grumpy!

Junior has a rest between flying lessons.

Dark Green Fritillary

Ringlet

Silver-washed Fritillary

White Admiral

She likes walking through corn fields and would make a hopeless prime minister…

The warm weather this week has been good for moth variety, including a few of our favourites, as well as a new moth for the house list: Obscure Wainscot.

Buff Tip

Yellow Shell

Obscure Wainscot, a new moth for home

Eyed Hawmoth

Not rare, but this Nutmeg shows its camouflage.

It’s been a good week for lepidoptera at home, with a fly-by Marbled White adding itself to the house list and two new moths, at opposite ends of the spectacular scale.  The first, a Small Dotted Buff, isn’t going to win any beauty contests, but the Scarlet Tiger is the moth of the year.  There was a good supporting cast, including 11 Hawkmoths last night (and five species for the week).

A couple of walks on the downs had loads of butterflies, with Painted Ladies in abundance, a few Ringlets and a Dark Green Fritillary.  It took us ages to find Little Owl this year, but now I know I regularly walk past a nest site, I see one most weeks.  On Friday one finally posed for the camera (its mate was less cooperative).

A day Barn Owl ringing produced a mix bag of full and empty boxes, but there were enough chicks for me to ring my first.

Phoenix

Small Dotted Buff

Corn Bunting

Little Owl

Marbled White

My first ring. This chick was very small.

An older chick

Karen gets a turn

Barrie gets the details from mum’s ring

A herd of elephants: five Elephant and four Small Elephant Hawkmoths

Privet Hawkmoth

Poplar Hawkmoth

Scarlet Tiger

We took a step into the unknown yesterday evening, helping a bird ringer check some Barn Owl boxes.  It was in at the deep end straight away: I was sent up the ladder, extracted two chicks, and then Karen got to put a ring on one of them.  The next box was empty and the last had a Stock Dove in.

No doubt there will be more pictures as we do a bit more, but thanks to Nick and Claire Oliver for taking these.

The perfect cure for fear of heights: you’re so terrified of damaging the blighter or getting skewered by her that you forget you’re teetering around on the top of a ladder.

A picture of concentration

Taking a chick out of a bag

We had a trip to Somerset this weekend to finally find a Large Blue butterfly.  There were a good number at Collard Hill, including a pair mating, which were the only ones that cooperated for the cameras (blue pictures indeed).  There was a selection of orchids there too, including a Wasp Orchid, a variant of the much more common Bee Orchid.

At Ham Wall and Shapwick Heath nature reserves Great White Egrets were all over the place and at least one Bittern was booming and another eventually showed itself.

Large Blue

Wasp Orchid

Bee Orchid

Common Spotted Orchid

Greater Butterfly Orchid (Former Butterfly Orchid, more like)

Great White Egret

Marsh Harrier

Bittern

A late post from last week when we had a day out in the New Forest.  At Acres Down the Goshawks were active but distant, and we did see Honey Buzzard, but it was a poor view.  A 16 mile walk around Bolderwood, High Corner and Fritham was quiet but pleasant, with a number of smart Redstarts and at least one Wood Warbler.

Stonechat

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

This Wood Warbler was too busy to pose.

Baby Linnet

We had a week in Yorkshire over the bank holiday, bombing around the place as well as seeing family and friends.

Scar House reservoir had horizontal rain, but also a pair of Ring Ouzels.  A twitch to Hornsea Mere delivered the Baikal Teal, eventually, but the views were poor.  The Strid was excellent, the highlight being a singing Wood Warbler, which is becoming harder to find these days.  A walk up Simon’s Seat produced Red Grouse and chicks and another Ring Ouzel as well as beautiful views.

Out east a trip to Spurn produced a Serin early on and a few more common migrants.  Hornsea was shut, so no more views of the Teal, but my first night in Bridlington since I left when I was three at least had good beer.  Bempton and Flamborough had more Puffins than I’ve ever seen there.  It was still awkward to get a photo on the ground, but I got many flight shots.

At Arkengarthdale the Black Grouse lek seems to have moved, but there was still one there and the road to the Tan Hill inn had a few Curlew chicks: something new for me.  The beer in Masham is as good as ever!

At Harrogate, the wildlife stars were a Hedgehog demanding food with menaces and a bonkers Tawny Owl, which seems to like sitting on lawns in daylight.  Of course that only happens to other people, and our views were at dusk, but they were still good.

A female Ring Ouzel gathers worms

Female Goosander

The Strid

Nuthatch

A cooperative Dipper for a change

Mandarin Duck

Red Grouse

Not famous yet

Karen’s been watching Free Solo

Female and chick with male in the background

Looking towards Harrogate from the Lord’s Seat

Meadow Pipit

The elusive waterfall in the Valley of Desolation

Avocets on Beacon Ponds at Spurn

Puffin on Flamborough Head

Gannets at Bempton Cliffs

Fulmar

Here come the Puffins

If you’re missing the Jeremy Kyle Show, try Gannets

Guillemot

Curlew chick

It’s busy at the Tan Hill Inn

Grey Partridge

Tawny Owl

After a two year absence it’s nice to catch a Poplar Hawk Moth in our trap again.  Also our second ever Lunar Marbled Brown and Scorched Wing.  Under the roofing felt, Sid the Snake is still doing well.

Sid

Poplar Hawk Moth

Scorched Wing