The Firecrest for me has been the bird of the spring with many sightings around my local patch in Four Marks, I even saw one close to where I parked the car in Box Hill this week.
We were not here though for the birds although as we crossed the border back into Hampshire and walked to the Eastern Clearing of the wood we could hear both Willow Warbler and Garden Warbler singing. The Garden Warbler gave us a run around singing constantly in the centre of the trees and giving fleeting glimpses as it moved through the leaves and flew from tree to tree.
In searching for the Garden Warbler we came across this young Pipit hidden in the grass.
Due to the time of year the first thought is Meadow Pipit, but this isn't Meadow Pipit habitat, the presence of an adult Tree Pipit with food on the top of a dead tree and then a check of the calls of Tree Pipit confirmed this to be a young fledged Tree Pipit.
There were in fact four young birds scattered in the grass and the bushes all calling and keeping out of sight.
There was no sign of any butterflies emerging so we wandered around the area and became interested in a pair of Willow Warblers that appeared to have a nest hidden down amongst the bracken.
Every so often there would be a burst of the lovely trilling song
It was a case of walking around the trails staring at the ground in the hope of disturbing something. Just after eight o'clock I flushed a Red Admiral from the ground and it flew to a tree.
Then a few minutes later a call from Ian revealed a Pearl-bordered Fritillary, one of the target butterflies of the day. We had seen them last week, probably in a bit better condition than this individual, they are though coming to the end of their flying period for the year.
Was this to be the start of the butterflies? It turned out to be a No. We continued to walk around the Clearing but it was completely devoid off any butterflies, not even a Brimstone drifting by. There were though more Willow Warblers. This one calling as it fed in the branches.
Here better representation of what we were looking at.
It was now nine o'clock and was warm in the morning sunshine, still no butterflies. A few other people had turned up and this added a few more eyes to look, but there was very little to see. We continued to wander. Ian eventually found a Large Skipper but as I managed to arrive it did what skippers do and sprang away and out of sight.
To pass the time I photographed the many Bracken fronds that were emerging against a black background.
There were also a few Common Spotted Orchids flowering amongst the bracken and grass.
Various forms in the sunshine
There was also the delicate Ragged Robin flowering amongst the grass
It was now two hours since we had arrived and we had managed to see three butterflies! We decided to return to Wiltshire to have a cup of tea.
Coming back to the Clearing around 10 o'clock there had still not been any butterfly sightings. The aimless wandering resumed, than at 10:16 a butterfly was found. It was claimed as the sort after Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary but something didn't seem very right. Checking the images on the camera it was clear it wasn't either Small or Pearl-bordered, it was in fact a Marsh Fritillary. Here a rare view of the underside.
It moved to a bullrush stem and provided another different view back lit from below
Closer in with a lovely dark background
Then finally five minutes later the butterfly we had come for, a Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary.
This Fritillary is similar in size and habitats to the
Pearl-bordered Fritillary but is more widespread across the country and occurs
in damper, grassy habitats as well as woodland clearings and moorland.
The adults fly close to the ground, stopping frequently to take nectar from flowers such as Bramble and thistles. It can be identified from the more numerous whitish pearls on the underside hind wings, the outer ones bordered by black chevrons and from the larger black central dot which you can just see in this view.
The Pearl bordered Fritillary remains widespread and locally
abundant in Scotland and Wales but has undergone a severe decline in England. Here in Hampshire this is the one sight where
they have been regularly seen, but it would appear this population is beginning
to die out. This has been put down to interference,
too many visitors, and the fact that what was a damp and boggy area is now drying
out through lack of management
This butterfly was charged up and kept flying around the area, keeping low to the ground and us on our toes, but it never settled again or more likely couldn't be found.
Never mind the unexpected surprise was the Marsh Fritillary and we found another, this time with what looks like a hind wing that hasn't unfolded properly.
From the colours and the other wings this looks as if it has only just emerged.
I started to chase another orange butterfly in flight that I hoped was another Small Pearl, but turned out once again to be yet another Marsh Fritillary. It would seem the sight is not too dry for them.
It was a case of job done and time to move on, as we reached the gate a Speckled Wood appeared to make it six species of butterfly seen and a total of eight butterflies of which three were Marsh Fritillaries.
We made the short journey to Stockbridge Down arriving just after 11.00. There were plenty of people about but the area is huge so there were no concerns. We walked along the bottom of the down parallel to the road. There were lots of buttercups and Birds foot Trefoil in flower and in amongst the flowers were Small Heaths and Common Blues. In the hdege were Brimstones both male and females.
It was a white butterfly that caught our eye, at first maybe Small White or even Green-veined White, but as it settled on a small white flower are saw a speckled green pattern on the underside, a female Orange Tip, something I didn't expect to find.
The Orange Tip was laying her eggs on the small white flower I think is Thale Cress
The butterfly was very busy visiting each flower and depositing the egg at the base of the flower head.
A little further along we came across another female and we watched as she searched through the grass for the same white flower and on finding it deposited the eggs in the same way in the same place on the flower.
As we watched the Orange Tip the butterfly we were hoping for flew past but never stopped. I had seen two at Box Hill in Surrey on a family trip yesterday, and felt the conditions would be right today for the Dark -green Fritillary and so it turned out. All we need now was to find one that would settle.
The path drops down to the far end by the road and passes through an avenue of bushes. We found a Small Blue settled on a leaf.
A male Brimstone posed nicely on a dandelion head. There were plenty of both sexes about. The name Brimstone comes from the sulphur yellow colour of the males, Brimstone being another name for Sulphur.
Another Dark-green Fritillary flew past us and as we tried to find we found another new butterfly, the Meadow Brown.
It is a standing joke between us that the first Meadow Brown is the best Meadow Brown, they are probably the commonest butterfly in Hampshire and soon you tire of them, but for now it is time to enjoy their emergence.
Turning back we came across a track that was lined with hawthorn and bramble bushes on either side. Flying powerfully up and down was another Dark-green Fritillary and as we watched, it settled on a leaf.
The Dark Green Fritillary is the most widespread fritillary
found in the British Isles and is an impressive sight as it flies powerfully
over its grassland habitats, frequently stopping to nectar on Thistles and
Knapweed.
It gets its name from the green hue found on the underside
of the hindwings, which are peppered with large silver spots.
After resting it would continue the circular flight up and down the open area of the track, patrolling and at time flying straight at birds to move them form the area.
Adults are on the wing throughout the summer, from June to
early September (these being early emerging in late May), but there is one generation per year. They live on chalk and
limestone grassland, sand dunes and moorland, and in woodland rides, where the
caterpillars feed on violets. Despite
its powerful flight, it is somewhat surprising that this species is not
particularly mobile, staying within its breeding grounds.
I can't recall seeing four species of fritillary in the UK in one day before.
We left the fritillary and walked through the bushes. There were plenty of Small Heaths about, they would scatter in front of us as we walked across the grass. There was a mixture of Thyme and trefoil creating a lovely carpet on the grass. I did manage to find a Green Hairstreak but unlike that species it was extremely mobile and we lost it amongst the blues and Small Heaths. What was a surprise though was a Small Tortoiseshell. It decided to rest in a shady area that made the photography difficult but it was good to see.
Fishlake Meadows had reports in the week of Osprey and several Hobbys. Despite the fact that we knew that we probably would not see either we decided to take the short journey there. We never learn!
The car park for some reason is closed due to the virus, but we managed to park on the road close by. The first place to check was the view point and as we approached the road bridge over the canal we came across a group of demoiselles. At first the Beautiful Demoiselle.
But also a male Banded Demoiselle.
Knowing that we would seem more as we walked the canal path we headed to the view point.
Hard to say it was a surprise that there was no Osprey or any sign of a Hobby, but there was a Pochard and good numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Great Crested Grebes.
Back on the canal path there definitely more demoiselles. Here the Beautiful Demoiselle
The Beautiful demoiselle is a large damselfly that lives on small, fast-flowing rivers. It is one of only two UK damselflies with obviously coloured wings; the similar-looking Banded demoiselle, however, has distinctive dark patches on its wings. The Beautiful demoiselle is typically on the wing from May to August. It displays a flitting, fluttering flight, which the male uses to attract a female.
Male Beautiful demoiselles have dark-coloured wings and
metallic blue-green bodies; females have brown wings and green bodies. The
Beautiful demoiselle is similar to the Banded Demoiselle, but the males of the
that species have distinctive dark patches in the middle of their wings. Here a female
They became another of those photographic challenges
There were also Azure , Blue-tailed and Large Red Damselflies as well.
From the canal path we walked across the reserve, the demoiselles then changed to the Banded in the various pools. While the beautiful like fast flowing water the Banded prefers slow moving pools. The canal has a current, I wouldn't say it was fast but it was moving. The pools were just that still.
The Banded demoiselle is another large damselfly that lives
along the edges of still ponds and lakes, and among lush, damp vegetation. Its
common name is derived from the distinctive 'fingerprint' mark on the males'
wings. Banded Demoiselle males are very
territorial, performing fluttering display flights to win over females. They
are on the wing from May to August.
Male Banded demoiselles are metallic blue, with broad, dark
blue patches on each wing; females are metallic green with pale greenish wings.
Of the UK's damselflies, only the Banded demoiselle and similar. At rest, damselflies hold their wings along
the length of their abdomen.
At rest they will every soften flick the wings and you get a stationary view of the bands on the wing
Walking to the viewing blinds there were Reed and Sedge Warbler singing and giving the occasional sighting. Reed Buntings sang from the top of bushes and every so often there would be a burst of song from a Cetti's Warbler.
At the blinds there was little to see other than a family group of Coot and lots of Mallards. Out over the water the numbers of Swifts and hirundines was increasing but there was no sign of any Hobby.
We made our way back to the canal path. Here a female Beautiful Demoiselle sat on a leaf with a lovely dark, black background. I think this is the photograph of the day.
Walking back it was much of the same we had seenon the way, however this Beautiful Demoiselle sat on the emerging lily flower was a nice way to finish things off.
Another great day both meteorologically and for the wildlife. Two butterflies I haven't seen for some time and some great views of the demoiselles always a special find
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