20th May - Martin Down, Hampshire

A beautiful morning in May and I was at Martin Down.  I have visited several times this year in the winter, but it is this time of year when this reserve comes into its own, and this year it was interesting to see the affect of the lack of rain over the last couple of months.

I set off from the car park walking along the left hand side as you look away from the car park.  A Yellowhammer was singing from a bush.  You don't see too many of these and the Corn Bunting at this time of year, they become more abundant as we move into June.

I was listening for bird song as I walked and it didn't take long to hear the purring song of a Turtle Dove.  Once a specialty here at Martin Down, over the last few years they have become harder to see.  A tall Ash tree used to be good place to find them and here today was one singing in the tree.

The dove though was not easy to see, but it suddenly burst into the air and flew around displaying before heading back to the cover of the Ash tree.

I could hear another calling from the copse a further on down the path and soon was able to locate the owner of the call at the top of a dead tree in the centre of the copse.

Fortunately the heat haze had't got up yet and the images were some of the best I have taken of this special dove.

There are lots of theories relating to the decline of this summer visitor, shooting in the Mediterranean islands, loss of suitable breeding habitat, and the lack of available water.  Talking to the rangers later they confirmed there are four pairs in this area, and they were hopeful more would return.

On nearby Cranbourne Chase there has been work with the farmers to try and ensure suitable habitat.  That isn't the case here at Martin, but it was confirmed that they have created ponds that are suitable for the doves and that they will be creating more around the reserve.  However it was expressed that there never was water when the doves were in good numbers here, so it is a bit of mystery.

It was just lovely to get some great shots for once.

As I photographed the Turtle Dove, there were several Small Heath on the ground and in fact this was probably the most numerous butterfly on the day.

I walked up the hill and it was the usual wonderful scene looking down the hill towards the copse where the Turtle Dove had been singing.

On reaching the dyke my first Adonis Blue of the year.

There were several spikes of the greater Butterfly Orchids all around the area.

But only one out in bloom, but then it is early.

I set off along the path, today was all about butterflies and orchids, a chance to catch up on the early emerging species I have yet to see this year.

A male Brimstone in the dyke.

And a Common Blue amongst the grass, nectaring on trefoil.

Red insects flying around turned out to be Five Spot Burnets.

I turned and walked up the Jubilee path hoping to find Spotted Flycatchers, they were absent but I did flush a pair of Red Kite from the trees.

Back to the dyke and I carried on my way.  A Green Hairstreak flew up out of the grass, another first for the year.

Whenever I am here there is always something in the landscape.  Here the dry conditions of the reserve and grassland contrast with the highly watered and fertilised cereal crop beyond.

Then the first Marsh Fritillary, another target species.  This one was a little worn out.

More Adonis, their blue flashing brightly in the sunshine.

Then more Marsh Fritillaries, these in much better condition.

This one kept flying amongst the grasses and settling in the stems.

There were plenty of Small Blue in the usual place where another footpath crosses the dyke.  They were chasing each other around and settling on the grass stems and the leaves of the bushes.

The special orchid found here is the the Burnt Tip, very much a chalk species and one that normally does well here.  However this year it looks as if the drought has had an impact and there was only one in flower and that was very stunted, very much like the Green-winged Orchis we saw earlier in the spring.

Hopefully they will return again in better numbers next year.

Walking on there were some day flying moths that frequent the grasslands, the Burnet Companion.

Brimstone females were flying around the small blackthorn bushes looking to lay their eggs.

Another moth, this is a Mother Shipton Moth.

I walked up to the firing Ranges and searched the area where Ian and I had Frog Orchid last year.  There wasn't any sign and talking to the rangers they would expect to see them in about the second week of June.  Compensation was in a the presence of a Small Copper, another first for the year.

In the middle of the field was another Green Hairstreak, a really stunning butterfly with the metallic green underwing.

I mentioned earlier that the Corn Bunting are not in their high numbers here until June when they start to breed, there were a few singing though, the bird throwing the head back as it delivers its jangling song.

I made my way back to the car, walking along the dyke at first where there were a few Common Spotted Orchids coming out.

A pair of Brown Argus were mating in one of the small hawthorn bushes.

As I approached the car a Painted Lady flew up in front of me and settled briefly on the grass.  Was this to be the first of maybe an Painted Lady year?  There were certainly quite a few in Crete last week.

I walked back up the slope from the car park, I was looking for Grizzled Skipper and this area had always been a good one for them and I duly found one.

If you wanted to see the affect of the lack of rain here was a good example.  The area that is white has been grazed recently, that beyond has been left and is a better green.  One wonders that when the rain eventually comes will there be an explosion of wild flowers and colour?

I walked back down the hill and a couple of Brimstone were dueling over the path.

Then at the car park a Yellowhammer was singing from the hawthorn bushes.

Martin Down always delivers, whether it is the scenery or the wild life.  Today some great views of the Turtle Doves and the chance to get all the targeted butterflies.  The only concern is the Burnt Tip Orchids, lets hope they can recover.

10th June - MartinDown NNR, Hampshire

 Whilst it has been dry and sunny, a cool north easterly wind had taken the edge of the temperature and if you were caught in the breeze it could be cool.  All that was to change and as I arrived at the car park at Martin Down it was very still with a beautiful blue sky.

We were back again and over the last three weeks since we were last here there has been some considerable change.  Gone is the white blossom in the hawthorn bushes, the grass has grown with long strands swaying lightly as far as the eye could see and the dropwort was flowering in a sure sign we were now in summer.

Ian and I set off on the same path heading towards the Bokerley Ditch and alongside the path were several pink orchids.  These were not the widespread Common Spotted Orchid, but Fragrant Orchids.  There are three types of fragrant orchids, two of which can be found here at Martin Down, the Chalk Fragrant and Marsh Fragrant.  This was the Marsh Fragrant Orchid.

The spike is generally taller than it is wide.  Here you can see the flowers where the lip is wider than long and the sepals are usually unrolled and held out straight.  While the name implies they like damp conditions they can be found in calcareous grassland as is the habitat here.

We had hoped to hear the purring of a Turtle Dove in the main plantation, but once again all we could see were many Wood Pigeons at the top of the bushes.

A Cuckoo called away in the distance and looking east the scene was so different, the ant hills that were visible three weeks agao were now obscurred by the grass.

Two Roe Deer were walking through the long grass, the scene taking on an image of the antelope in an African savannah.

We made our way up the hill towards the ditch with a lovely view behind us as the sun began to influence the temperature.

As we approached the ditch we could hear a Tree Pipit singing and picked it up as it parachuted down and into a leafless tree.

We edged closer, the Tree Pipit in a tree on the other side of the ditch.

They are not regular here so it was nice to catch up with one that was showing well.

One of the reasons for returning at this time of year was for the orchid specialties.  Right in front of us was one of those, the Greater Butterfly Orchid.

The Greater Butterfly Orchid stands out amongst the grassland due to the large white flowers.  It favours calcareous soils in ancient and coppiced woodland, but is equally at home on open rough downland and grazed hill pastures.

The lip usually curves backwards in the Greater Butterfly, while the Lesser points straight down.  However the two species very rarely co-occur.  A more reliabele distinguishing feature is the pollinia.  In the Greater these are widely spaced and angled as can be seen here.  In the Lesser they close together and parallel.

The Tree Pipit was still singing and I climbed the side of the ditch to get a closer look, while the pipit watched my approach it didn't stop singing.

It is possible to see the long hind claw on the feet.

I clambered back down the slope to be told the first butterflies of the day had been seen, a Meadow Brown and Small Heath and it was only 6:30 am.

I went back to the Greater Butterfly Orchids with some lovely black backgrounds.

A view from the bottom of the ditch looking through the grass with the orchids spread amongst them.

We left the orchids and started the regulation walk down the side of the ditch with the sun now quite high on our right.

More Marsh FragrantOrchids in the grass around the ditch.

We were starting to see butterflies that were warming up amongst the grass.

A rather bedraggled Adonis Blue.

A Small Heath that appears to be defying gravity and floating above the leaf.

And a Grizzled Skipper.

It doesn't seem possible that just under two months ago we both were excited at the scratchy song of the Whitethroat being sung from a gorse bush on Oxey Marsh.  Last week we heard them along the coastal path and didn't give them a second thought, here, today they were singing almost everywhere.

This male showed well in amongstthe Dog Rose that were in bloom along the ditch.

It then moved to the top of the branch.

The ditch now winds down towards the crossroads with the Jubilee Trail and on our right two Roe Deer, that looked like they were the two deer we had seen earlier on the side of the grassed slope, came bounding through the grass and eventually crossed in front of us and then away into the plantation.

In the sheltered area around the crossroads a Brown Argus, again looking rather worn was sunning on sum trefoil.

An immaculate newly emerged Knapweed, more of which later.

As we always do we turned to walk between the fields and the plantation.  We only had a brief view of a Spotted Flycatcher on the fence, but it disappeared into the wood.  A little further along we could see Brown Hares in the field, some running around while others were stretched out in the grass.

The footpath then reaches a track that comes in from the left hand side, further along the track there was a Hare sitting up right on the path.  When I framed this I thought it looked like a scene from a children's book and captures the magic of the Brown Hare beautifully.

Several Brown Hare then appeared on the path and we could see that they were young "teenager" Hares and that they were looking to play or reherse what they would be up to next spring.  They chased each other around the field, twisting and turning and every sooften jumping into the air to avoid each other.

Then some movement on the ground quite close to us caught my eye, at first I thought it was a Rabbit, but then realised it was a much smaller Hare, probably youndg enough to still be called a Leveret.

It was quietly eating close to the fence and gate.  It seemed to know we were there but I have seen this before with Hare, they look like they have clocked you, then go and do something stupid and come closer.

Which is what this little fella did, he crawled under the fence and came on to the path in front of us.

If it was concerened it didn't stop it from chewing away.

Then it turned and walked even closer to us, sitting down on the track and again looking at us.

It was adorable, the feet and ears look far to big for it and it was as if it was still coming to terms with them.

It then started to come even closer and I couldn't resist squatting down to see how close it would come.  It then realised that maybe it needed to back off and it did, turning and moving up the track.

Being the smallest it seems it was the target for the other hares and suddenly it was being chased, taking a loop out into the field and then coming back on to the track further up the hill, being chased towards us.

The little one managed to shake off the chaser by heading out into the centre of the field, but others were coming down the track, again completely oblivious of us as they ran directly at us.

Ears forward...

Then stop when it realised we were there.

A case of who blinks first

But the Hare did and it turned, slipped under the fence and headed out into the field.  We walked to the end of the plantation where the rapeseed that was in full bloom three weeks ago was now just seed pods.

Coming back we came across some of the hares once again.

This one a little older, but still I suspect one of this year's leverets.

Close enough now for a portrait.

And a black and white close up on the magical eye.

The ears still with a mind of their own.

It was a wonderful Hare experience, they never fail to deliver.

Coming back onto the ditch we were now expecting butterflies as weturned left and headed towards the rifle ranges.  Looking across the grasslands they appared very dry, almost like the Masai Mara

There were plenty of Small Heath on the wing now.

One or two Small Blue, but they were very worn, coming to the end of their season.

A butterfly at the start of its season is the Meadow Brown and here one was still drying out its wings.

Like the Small Blue, the Adonis Blue were comingto the end of their first season, the males looking a little worn.

At this time of year you would expect to see Pyramidal Orchids, this one was just emerging, still a bud.

An Adonis looking in better condition which could mean maybe it was a female.

A male Common Blue.

Looking out of the ditch through the Dropwort with Windmill Hill in the background.

At the next crossroad of footpaths we came across this Cinnabar Moth.

Cinnabar moths start life as yellow and black caterpillars and are particularly fond of munching on ragwort plants. Their bright colours warn predators that they’re poisonous, but they only build up their poison after feeding on the ragwort. The caterpillars spend the winter as cocoons on the ground before emerging as moths in the summer.

We had seen the Burnt Tip Orchids three weeks ago when there were quite a few in bloom. I wished I had taken a photograph from above then, so fortunately there were one or two about and I was able to take the shot I wanted, showing the "burnt tip".

A little away from the orchid I was taken by the seed head of a dandelion.

Another day flying moth, the Five Spot Burnet.  There is a seperate species called the Narrow Bordered Five Spot Burnet, but with the wings so tightly closed it is difficult to say if this is one

A Yellowhammer singing from the top of the hawthorn bush.

A Coomon Spotted Orchid in the grazed area by the rifle ranges.  Looks very nice with the black background.

We walked past the ranges and there were several Skylark coming up from the grass to sing.

We crossed the road to walk along the path on the edge of the wood.  There was very little about other than Small Heath and Meadow Brown and good numbers of Five Spot Burnets, this one of two that was nectaring on the flower of a Musk Thistle

At the end of the path where you turn right to head back to the road there was a large bank of bramble that was in flower and here we found the first Large Skipper of the year nectaring on the bramble flower.

There were also several Meadow Browns, so an opportunity to take the first and last Meadow Brown photographs of the year!

We crossed the road and made the way into the main reserve.  It was now mid morning, there was no wind and it was becoming very hit and oppressive.  Walking on the butterflies we had hoped to find were just not about.  We did though find another Pyramidal Orchid, this time a little more advanced.

There were plenty of Five Spot Burnets, these two clearly engaged in courtship.

This one with wings open showing it lacks the narrow border on the hind wing.

From the car park we headed out towards the ditch, this provided a new view.

It was now very hot and there was very little about, several female Brimstone could be seen prospecting the young blackthorn bushes, but that was about it.  We decided to go back to the car for lunch.  After eating we decided to do a short circuit, we made it back to the Jubilee trail crossroads and here we found another Large Skipper.

It then settled on the Knapweed I had photographed earlier!

Walking was becoming difficult, feet hurt and the air was very humid so we decided to call it a day at 13:00, un heard of for us but for once the weather had beaten us. We made our way back to the car with Small Heath and Burnets whizzing by us. I wonder if we will return again this year?