More Butterflies

Realising that, with a trip abroad forthcoming (watch this space) my opportunities were limited, I decided to make a concerted attempt to catch up with the dingy skipper this week.  My efforts took me back to Path Head Nature Reserve, The Spetchells and Weetslade Country Park and unfortunately remained unfulfilled.

Late morning at Path Head looked likely to produce nothing at all. I was actually on my way out when I finally caught up with five small heath, two common blue and a single speckled wood all pretty much in constant flight. 

Worn bumblebee

Later the same day at Spetchells, results were rather better.

The first thing that caught my attention was actually a bee.  My first impression was that it was a worn buff-tailed bumblebee.  it seemed to have some pollen underneath the abdomen so I wondered about another leafcutter but on balance it seems the first impression was correct.

The giveaway is the faded stripe on the thorax.

For a while I again didn't see butterflies and began to speculate why.  It strikes me that there isn't amount of bird's foot trefoil at the Eastern end of the area, where it used to be relatively easy to find common blues, burnet moths and of course dingy skipper.

At some parts it's apparent that bird's foot trefoil is being overwhelmed by cotoneaster spread, others look like they could do with some grazing but in some there was no clear reason.  There were at least a couple of nice orchids to look at:

Early Purple Orchid?

Common Spotted Orchid?

I've no idea if I've identified them correctly.

Anyway the result of my deliberations was that I headed further East, where there are more trees and bushes and somewhat surprisingly started to see things, in particular a number of ringlets.  While they settled long enough to get a decent look, they were too skittish to photograph - probably freshly emerged - and the same applied to pretty much everything else I saw. The butterfly tally this time was Ringlet nine, Common Blue five, Speckled Wood five, Small Heath one and Large Skipper one.

Of these, only speckled wood and the large skipper was posing for the camera:

Large Skipper

For a moment I thought I'd hit on something really interesting when what appeared to be a brimstone was floating around the trees.  Again it was skittish, but when it did briefly settle I detected some wing markings that indicated it was a brimstone moth.  Moths also played a role on the way back as four or five small orange moths turned up and were eventually identified as yellow shell, which together with the previous one were first sightings for me.

Yellow Shell Moth

The day after at Weetslade, I again didn't see much in windy weather until I started foraging, when the dominant species proved to be the meadow brown.  This interested me as it was the first time I haven't seen them earlier in the summer than the ringlet, which I tend to associate more with July and August.

At Weetslade the scores were:  Meadow Brown 17, Large Skipper five, Common Blue four (including the first female I've seen this year), Small Heath one.

Meadow Brown

Female Common Blue

I think the common blue may have been ovipositing. Incidentally, all the meadow browns showing their upper wing were male. It's also interesting that no small skippers were seen over the three visits.

So still no dingy skipper then.  Although local sources suggest May and June is the best time for them, the Butterfly Conservation website states they are still on the wing in July - so there may still be hope.

Back in the garden the male bullfinch continues to appear.  It seems to be getting more confident, even feeding on the lawn, and a female is occasionally sighted.  A couple of goldfinches have also visited briefly - the first time in the seven years I've been here.

The only notable appearance by a butterfly was by a lone red admiral but I did think I might have spotted a first white-tailed bumblebee but on balance I am not entirely convinced.

Red Admiral

White-tailed Bumblebee

Even More Butterflies

A quick ride round the northern part of Chopwell Wood proved that my previous laments about the shortages of speckled wood do not signal its total demise, as I saw half a dozen of them within half an hour.

Perhaps more interesting since I don't recall spotting them there before was a healthy display of orchids along the slightly remote track I followed:

Orchids

Common Spotted Orchid

I'm not sure what kind they are but they reminded me that I'd seen a cracker a few days earlier at the Spetchells - a common spotted orchid I believe. 

However I digress...

Last Sunday I cycled to Weetslade Country Park, enticed by an article suggesting the presence of small copper and small skipper, and still anxious to see as many butterflies as possible. 

I arrived about lunchtime and settled near the top of the hill and saw nothing for forty five minutes apart from a single red-tailed bumble bee.  Then just before I moved on a single common blue appeared.

Moving around a bit I didn't find anything until right near the western exit I came across a triangle of grassy heathland, where things really started to happen.

Within an hour I totalled 25 ringlets, 12 male common blue, one of which sunbathed next to me repeatedly plus 5 of what I assumed at the time would be small skipper. On inspection of photographs however they were more likely large skippers - wasn't expecting that one!

Large Skipper

Small copper didn't appear - probably between broods - but a couple of girls said they had seen several small heath and I reckon I might have caught sight of one in flight but wasn't certain.

As at the Spetchells, I noticed a lack of bird's foot trefoil.  As there the main compensation seems to be an immense number of buttercups, which is what the skipper was nectaring on.

There were also a couple of speckled wood along the woodland edge and several on the cycle track through Ponteland, proving that rumours of its demise are indeed exaggerated.

Back at home the tits have finally realised that the caged peanut feeder is indeed for their benefit.

Plus there was a brief but noticeable reappearance of female red mason bees around the bug hotel.

One of them landed on my hand yesterday but more significant was the appearance of a broken-belted bumblebee worker on the plants nearest the house.  Unfortunately, my new wonder camera let me down, only managing hopelessly blurry shots, but I got a clear view and was pretty confident of what I saw.

Monday 4th June

I did finally get out to the Spetchells again last Monday, but only in the evening after the sun finally came out around teatime.  This was after some debate about going after green hairstreaks at Dipton Woods near Corbridge but that will probably need to wait 'til next year now.

Female red-tailed bumble bee

At Spetchells the mining bees were not much in action so presumably they retire early.  I did manage to see three each of speckled wood and dingy skipper as well as a common carpet moth and another single skipper - presumably a large skipper but I would have like a photo as not entirely convinced.

I also checked out a couple of trees I couldn't immediately identify - and still can't... and finally caught up with the female red-tailed bumble bee.

Since then the weather has been unreliable and not much has happened.  I am beginning to worry that the jackdaws are dominating so much in the garden that the more interesting smaller birds are becoming reluctant to visit.

It has struck me meanwhile that the dingy skipper was a first sighting.

Wednesday 21st June

Got out on a small fishing trip on Saturday, mainly to use up some of the bait from the earlier trips this month.  I had intended to go to Lochfoot but the north bank has been rendered virtually inaccessible by extended heavy fencing.  So I ended up legering from the north bank at Mill Loch.

At first it looked like it might be another blank as bites were not forthcoming for a while.  Of course, as soon as I set up a second rod, the bites did start to come and I landed a perch, a roach and two more perch in a fairly short period around three to four o' clock.  After that bites got shyer and harder to detect.  I switched to corn on one rod, retaining red maggot on the other and got another three roach before packing up mid-evening.  None of them were any size and there were no bream.

The catch before release

Another angler told me he had been catching good roach and six bream from the western stretch of the north bank, which seems to be the favoured stretch these days.  However it is an awful long way from the road.  I was exhausted enough after carting the gear as it was!

Yesterday, Vicki and I decided on another quick walk at Kingholm Quay.  Once again it was quite productive and there were a couple of pleasant surprises.

It started quietly setting off towards Glencaple with a brief sighting of a female greenfinch and a couple of ringlet butterflies (first of the year) that flew around restlessly without ever settling plus a green-veined white (probable) doing exactly the same.  There was also an extensive pink-flowering bush that may have been some sort of domestic escapee.

Another unidentified pink flower

We then spotted two or three birds behaving very furtively in a group of dog roses.  I got enough of a view to reckon they might be sedge warblers, but it proved impossible despite several attempts to get any sort of a photo.  Then Vicki used her phone to confirm the spotting and actually played the sedge warbler call a afew times, which immediately drew a considerable response from all around!  So we unconsciously found a new means of identifying bird life.

Shortly thereafter I spotted a fascinating section of rough scrub.  I was trying to follow a small flock of birds entering a tree when a redstart showed up in the binoculars as it settled in the undergrowth just in front.  It didn't stay for long but long enough to identify it positively.  I haven't seen one for a few years now.

On the way back there were more similar encounters with warblers and butterflies, including a couple of willow warblers.  At one point a small brown butterfly settled that I expected to be a small copper.  However it proved to be a skipper.  On appearance I thought it might be a small or essex skipper but they are not common here and not yet officially on the wing, so I suppose that large skipper is the obvious answer.  Frustratingly, no photograph was possible yet again but we did rather better with a single red admiral that was nectaring on flowers - the first of the year for me.

Red admiral

You can see how fresh it looks, so I think it must have hatched recently.

17th July

Walk at Moffat Community Wildlife Reserve.  Willow warblers, redstarts.  Plenty of butterflies in spite of mixed weather -  ringlets, meadow browns (several although apparently in decline elsewhere) and two small tortoiseshells.  Pleasant mixed habitat.

Also did Earshaig Walk.  Lots of siskins, spotted woodpecker and excellent view of male redstart on way marker  Lots more ringlets and two large(?) skippers.