15th May - Hill Head and Martin Down NNR, Hampshire

 Another week of cold temperatures and heavy showers interspersed with sunny intervals.  The forecast for this Saturday was much the same, but with a spell of rain and south easterly winds first thing.  The south east wind was the decider for me, always a good wind for sea watching on the south coast, the wind coupled with poor visibility was the ideal conditions for something special.  However the birds hadn't read the script.  Maybe it had something to do with the tide, it was low tide when I arrived and there was plenty of beach showing.

In the three hours we spent staring at the sea the only thing of note was an Avocet that I picked up in the middle of the channel and flew in and over our heads into the reserve.

The rest of the time we had to make do with Oystercatchers either on the beach and shore.

Or flying past low over the sea.

Or there were the Terns, Sandwich and Common, fishing off shore and then carrying the fish to a mate on the reserve.

A walk around to the harbour saw all the Turnstone put up by a Sparrowhawk that came low across the harbour and then away over Duck Lake.

Coming back to the cars there were six Black-tailed Godwits on Duck Lake along with an Avocet feeding in the shallow water.

It was still overcast with drizzle, but we had to make a decision, where would we go next, forecasts were for sunny intervals and showers, so we decided on taking a chance with Martin Down up on the Hampshire / Wiltshire border.  This time last year we had a wonderful afternoon walking the Ditch in search of butterflies.

The journey lasted an hour and we went through several different kind of weather, but on arriving at the car park at the end of Sillens Lane the sun was out and it felt quite pleasant.  After something to eat and drink we set off along one of the many bridleways as Whitethroat sang from the hawthorn bushes close to the path.

On closer inspection we could see it was carrying some grass in its bill while singing at the same time.

A big black bird flew over and based on the shape around the head and bill we called it as a Raven.

Then strangely another...

But something wasn't right when another appeared but this came closer and we could immediately see it was in fact a Rook carrying something in its bill.  I think it is carrying a maize husk as later I found one or two around the reserve, I expect they were getting them from the pig fields around Tidpit.

We were hoping for Turtle Doves around the small scrubby patch of Hawthorn,m but there was no sight or sound of them.  Another hope was Lesser Whitethroat, but the only singing bird was the Common Whitethroat.  Walking along the path I kicked up a Small Heath butterfly but as quickly as it appeared it was gone.  The omens were good though.

A distant Yellowhammer revealed a Wheatear on an ant hill that then flew to the top of a Hawthorn bush.

On reaching the Bokerly Ditch a short sharp shower passed through but also produced a very confiding Yellowhammer.  As we photographed it, the bird was calling.

Didn't seem too bothered as we crept closer.

The rain showing up on these pictures.

A check of the banks of the ditch for signs of any orchids produced nothing, in fact there was very little plant life at all.

We decided to use the same tactic as last year me walking the ditch and Ian close by on the bank.  The sun was out and almost immediately we came across the first Dingy Skipper of the day sitting in the sun on the ground and then another perched on the stem of a plant with the blurred background of cowslips.

Then from a different angle and a green background.

The Dingy Skipper became the most numerous we saw on the day with well over 30 being seen along the ditch.

Then two new butterflies for the year, first the Grizzled Skipper, probably just emerged sometime today.

And a little further on a flash of blue revealed a Small Blue, the dark blue of the upper parts showing some iridescent spots.

So a good start and considering the weather a bit of a surprise but the ditch appears to have its own micro-climate, sheltered from the wind the sun was very warm and this was bourne out as I disturbed a sun bathing female Adder.  It scurried off away into the vegetation, but I was a lot more cautious as I continued the walk.

Martin Down is a very special place, especially at this time of year.  The showers and clouds all add to the magical scenes that play out across the grassland and downs, the contrasting colours of the fields away towards the horizon picked out by localised sunshine.

Big white puffy clouds drifting across the scene.

Bokerly Ditch, I walk down the middle while Ian covers the bank.

A little further along another pristine Grizzled Skipper on wild Marjoram.

Then a surprise, a Silver Y moth which is a migrant day flying moth.  I would not have thought the weather has been conducive to migration, but here was one.

We had a brief view of a Small Heath earlier, but this one stuck around, another first for the year.

On reaching the junction with Grim's Ditch the there is a widening of the ditch and increased shelter.  Here we had a purple moment as first a Brown Argus appeared.

Then a flash of Orange and a Small Copper settled close by.

Then it was time to get down low in the grass.

The butterflies just kept coming, next a flicker of green and Ian had found a Green Hairstreak, first settled on a cowslip.

Then moving to a buttercup.

The taking advantage of wild thyme.

The Green Hairstreak holds its wings closed, except in flight, showing only the green underside with its faint white streak. The extent of this white marking is very variable; it is frequently reduced to a few white dots, in this case just one is visible and in many it may be almost absent.

Back in the ditch and walking north west there were more Dingy Skippers, the now overcast conditions keeping them still and mostly settled on the stems and flowers.

A Grizzled Skipper settled on the seed head of a Dandelion.

Normally buzzing around, it allowed close approach and the opportunity to view the patterns on the underside of the wings

A wide angle view from the bottom of the ditch.

The clouds then darkened and we felt the drops of the first meaningful rain.  We decided to back track to Grim's Dyke to use the shelter of the woodland there and was able to find an old bivouac that provided some shelter, a time to chew the fat.

After a while the rain eased and the skies began to clear.  As the sun came out the departing storm clouds were lit up and provided a dramatic back drop to the Martin Down scenery.

With the rain gone the bird song started up, from the edge of the ditch the jangling song of the Corn Bunting could be heard, but for now the owners remained hidden.  Yellowhammer, too,  from the tops of the small Hawthorn bushes, but the dominant song was that of the skylark with birds rising from the grass and towering over our heads allowing us to pick them up early.

THey were not flying too high and would reach a point at which they would open their wings and glide, or parachute down back to the grass for a break before doing it all again.

The sound of the grassland and it never fails to stir the soul in this beautiful place

Back to the ditch and finally a Corn Bunting showed at the top of the bank, not the most interesting of birds, but a special one unfortunately because of their increasing rarity locally.

The clouds were still dark around us but fortunately this was the storm moving away and we were afforded a window of sunshine.

The ridge here last year had flowering Burnt Tip Orchids, but there was no sign of them today, not even the basal leaves.

Another specialty of this area is the endangered Field Fleawort a small yellow flower that would normally be flowering in good numbers here.  We could find one or two, mostly just emerging.  This one slightly damaged was the only sign of the plant flowering.

Another species very conspicuous by its absence was the Marsh Fritillary the butterfly we had hoped to find today.  This day last year they were out in good numbers, we had seen over 50.  Today there was no sign of them at all.  But we shouldn't complain on a day that was forecast to be a wash out we were finding butterflies, another Small Copper appeared.

Along with a few more Dingy and these two Grizzled Skippers.

In the micro climate of the ditch it only need a brief spell of sunshine to bring the butterflies out.  This Small Blue taking in the sunshine.  This small butterfly seen to scale settled on this Gentian.

Then it sprung off and I managed somehow to capture a blurred image, but with the iridescent blue in the upper wing.

Then settled on a stem still showing the sparkling scales on the upper wings.

Clouds were threatening again, but we were still finding butterflies, another Small Copper.

And then the best of the day, but it was so brief without a photo, a Painted Lady that I disturbed and never settled again.

We stopped to talk to a couple searching for orchids we showed them the basal leaves of a Common Spotted Orchid and they showed us an Early Purple Orchid, in flower.

As we stood talking to them I noticed that on the rifle range bank a small bush appeared to indent into the dark clouds that were now becoming a big threat.

The rain came and this time we didn't have a suitable shelter so we had to do the best we could.  We were lucky though it didn't last too long and after about 15 minutes it was easing and there were signs of blue sky.  We headed back up the ditch, hoping for Marsh Fritillaries but resigned to the fact that they were yet to emerge.

A family of Stonechat called from the bank of the ditch, here the female.

I walked the ditch once again, the first butterflies to appear were the ever present Brimstone and I also found a few more Dingy Skippers but the frequency of sightings were much reduced compared with before the rain.

I was taken by this lone Cowslip on the bank above me as I looked from the ditch.

We were heading back the way we had came earlier, the hope was that the Turtle Doves would show in the hawthorn scrub you can see in the picture.

However before got there we were brought to a stop by a male Yellowhammer sitting in a small bush right in front of us.  It performed beautifully producing some wonderful shots with a gorgeous background.

The Yellowhammer is a rather large bunting, (about 10% longer than a Chaffinch) with a distinctly forked tail. Adult male Yellowhammers are vibrant birds in the breeding season, their red brown plumage streaked with black, is supplemented by bright yellow on the head and belly.

Yellowhammers are birds of open countryside, present across much of Britain, making them one of the most familiar farmland species.

It is outside the breeding season that Yellowhammers are dependent upon large grass seeds (including cereal seeds), so the decline in numbers witnessed over recent decades is likely to be related to food availability. If food becomes impossible to find in open habitats because of snow cover, then Yellowhammers will move to human settlements, notably farmyards and, to a lesser extent, rural gardens.

The reserve here at Martin Down is a strong hold for this species with plenty of natural grassland and seed in winter

Leaving the Yellowhammer we headed down the hill towards the scrub.  The blue sky and sunshine brightening everything up.

There was no sign of the doves, but we did find a singing Garden Warbler.  A male Brimstone was using the long grass for shelter, finally managing to get a photograph of a butterfly that has been plentiful all day but impossible to photograph.

As we reached the car park there was the unmistakable "gronk" of a Raven and one definitely passed overhead

Today was one of those from nowhere, the weather was supposed to stop us, but never achieved it.  Although we didn't get everything we hoped for it means I am now going to have to come back to this wonderful place.  Missing today were the Marsh Fritillaries, Common Blue and the orchids, hopefully they will be about next weekend, we shall have to wait and see