26th July - Greywell Moors and Shipton Belinger, Hampshire

After the constant non-stop drizzle of Thursday, today was a complete contrast, blue skies, a warm sun and light winds.  I was meeting Ian at a new location for us, Grewell Moors, a small Hampshire and Isle of Wight Trust reserve on the outside of Odiham in North Hampshire.

The reserve is a combination of spring-fed fen, alkaline fen and carr fen woodland. It is a nationally important fenland, renowned for its varied range of nationally scarce plant species including orchids, ferns, mosses and liverworts.  The river Whitewater that rises from a spring between the villages of Upton Grey and Greywell is the centre piece of the reserve.

It took some time to find the right place, but eventually we parked close to the pumping station.  The area we were looking for was the northern part of the reserve, but it wasn't clear where that was.  We ended up walking south and on to the reserve.  A group of cattle with calves blocked our way so we decided not to disturb them and crossed the reserve and river.  A Beautiful Peacock showed on part of the fence by the path.

In order to try and find the right place we decided to walk around the reserve, a boardwalk alongside the river heading upstream.  As I said earlier, the River Whitewater rises at springs near Bidden Grange Farm between Upton Grey and Greywell in Hampshire. It flows northeast and is a tributary of the River Blackwater near Swallowfield. Its headwaters flow over chalk and there is little pollution.  The river Blackwater flows into the Loddon and then eventually the water reaches the Thames.  It is a beautiful chalk stream with crystal clear water.

A Juvenile Red Kite called overhead and a Kingfisher zipped through the woodland to the river.  The walk took us alongside the river, past reeds with singing Reed Warbler and then back through grazing meadow.  A Comma flew past and settled on the leaves alongside us.

The juvenile Red Kite appearing high above us.

There was a welcome number of Red Admiral about along with plentiful numbers of Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper.

We finally decided that the area we were looking for was probably on the other side of the road.  There was a gate next to the pumping station gates and we went through, this took us through a marshy area and eventually I managed to find some orchids, which is what we were here to try and see.  First found was a Marsh Fragrant Orchid.

Then looking around the orchid we were here to see, the Marsh Helleborine.  It was amongst the tall grass close to the wooded edge of the field.

A stunning orchid of wetland areas, the Marsh helleborine can be found in fens, damp grassland, marshes and dune slacks, particularly on chalky soils. Its rather loose flower spike carries up to 20 white-and-pink flowers during July and August

The Marsh helleborine has broad, oval leaves at the base of the stem, and narrower leaves higher up the reddish stem. The flower spike consists of a loose cluster of white flowers that have a white, frilly lip and reddish sepals which look like wings; they hang on reddish stalks.

Never having seen one before I was more than impressed with the detail on the flower.  Bee Orchids are impressive but so is this one in a completely different way.

This plant thrives in habitats which are usually submerged with water during the winter and maintain high levels of moisture during the summer. Dune slacks are often home to vast colonies, as are fens which are fed by alkaline springs running through limestone rocks - chalk being the other essential element to enable the Marsh Helleborine to flourish.

The Marsh Fragrant Orchids were also quite numerous and impressive

As we left the reserve a Red Admiral settled close to the cars.

The sun still shining we decided to try and see if the Brown Hairstreaks were on the wing at Shipton Belinger.  We had seen them this time last year, but unfortunately this year is much different.  However one was seen on Wednesday so there was a chance.

It was just over a 30 minute drive along the A303 and we parked up in the Village Hall car park.  After lunch we set off up the bridleway.  Both sides are lined with hedgerow and there was a few butterflies about.  This almost immaculate Peacock.

Brimstones, both male and female were all over the place, this male nectaring on the Field Scabious.

A Small Skipper, things were looking positive.

Checking the Scabious I found this bee with distinctive pink legs.

It is a Large Scabious Mining Beetle.  This bee is found across Europe, including Britain where it is considered rare.

In Britain, it’s a southern species, its range extending from the north Norfolk coast in a south westerly band to the north Cornwall coast. Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire supports what is probably the most substantial population in the country. Hence this being found here today.

It nests in the ground, in areas that are hidden by low vegetation. Unlike many of the other species of mining bee, this species doesn’t generally form large nesting aggregations - its nests tend to occur singly or in small thinly scattered groups, adding to the challenge of locating it.

Each chamber within the burrow is provisioned with a small ball of pollen, on which an egg is laid. The females forage for pollen almost exclusively from Field Scabious and Small Scabious  a flowers although Knapweeds are also used - it’s the Field Scabious pollen that gives females their striking pink colouration.

We walked to the south facing bank where the Brown Hairstreak are found.  The Wild Parsley seemed much higher this year, making the viewing of the hedges difficult.  The Parsley though was quite impressive.

One hairstreak had been seen in the morning, but the only orange butterfly we could see was the commoner Gatekeeper.  We patrolled up and down without any luck.  Eventually we decided to wander further afield and headed up the hill and away to the west.  Brimstones were everywhere, constantly nectaring on the flowering plants.

Gatekeepers too.

We moved away from the trees and hedges and into the open grassland and almost immediately got lucky.  A Painted lady flying around the grass, but also looking for flowers to nectar on.

It seemed to have a preference for the Self Heal.

If not a closed wing shot a nice view of the head and proboscis.

An almost immaculate individual.

The Painted Lady drifted away over the grasses, but was almost immediately replaced by a female Dark-green Fritillary, a butterfly of open grassland, also liking the self heal.

This large and powerful butterfly is one of our most widespread fritillaries and can be seen flying rapidly in a range of open sunny habitats. 

It is the most widespread fritillary found in the British Isles and is a pleasure to see 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. 

Despite its powerful flight, it is somewhat surprising that this species is not particularly mobile, staying within its breeding grounds. 

Both sexes are avid nectar feeders and typically feed in early morning or late afternoon, when they will constantly fly from flower head to flower head staying at each flower for only a few seconds.

We decided to have one more look for the hairstreak, on the way Ian found this Flower Crab Spider on the head of a Scabious.

Unlike many spiders, flower crab spiders don’t spin webs to trap insects. Instead they ambush their prey, often laying in wait on foliage for unsuspecting bees, moths and other insects that come to feed on flowers. The male is smaller than the female and, unlike the female, cannot change their colouration.

The flower crab spider has a globular abdomen, sometimes with spots or lines. They can change their colour to match their surroundings but often appear white. Their front legs are longer and stronger than their back legs. Primarily daytime feeders, these spiders are easiest to spot outdoors between April and September.

We couldn't find any Brown Hairstreak and concluded that maybe it was a little too early yet.  I will be back the following week and hopefully can find the other specialty here, the wall Brown.

But a good day, another new orchid, one of several this year, the marsh Helleborine.