Have the Seasons Changed?

I stumbled on a post I wrote while still in Dumfries, celebrating the fact that I saw butterflies on the buddleia as late as 22nd September. At the time I scoffed inwardly, reckoning I'd easily beat that date as my goal each year now (have I ever achieved this??) was to see a butterfly on buddleia after the beginning of October.

In fact there was hardly any buddleia flowering in the garden by 22nd September this year and the last buddleia butterfly sighting must have been three or four days earlier. This came as a minor shock and I speculated that the long dry spell may have been responsible for all three bushes at the back deciding to shut up shop early.

Around the 22nd there were one or two painted ladies around but they passed on without stopping.  The only thing that did call in while I enjoyed the last of the sunshine was this common darter.

Common Darter on decking

Of course there are still a few butterflies around and, whilst checking a few possible ivy bee sites, I found a couple of red admiral guzzling ivy nectar on the Tyne between Bywell and Ovingham.

Red Admiral on Ivy

Turning my attention to garden birds a bit earlier in the year than usual I put out some extra feed. This drew an instant response from two male nuthatches until one of them fought the other off. No sign though of the willow warbler, which has presumably headed off to Africa. 

In the meanwhile I have been on a cultural visit to Berlin and as a change from cycling and targeted nature watching. Inevitably there were plenty of hooded crows. It always amazes me how common they are in big cities in Europe and how seldom anywhere here.

Garden Nuthatch

Berlin Hooded Crow

There were a few butterflies around, notably in Treptower Park.  Mainly they were all large and small whites, two pairs of the latter typically having sex right in front of me, and one or two speckled wood. I did start to wonder if the southern small white had reached Berlin yet (it has) but the only suspect was assaulted by another white and quickly flew off. However I did catch sight of one holly blue flying between trees.  Interestingly there were no nymphiladae to be seen and it struck me that I haven't seen a peacock anywhere for over a month.

There were a few bees but I saw nothing that wasn't either a honey bee or a buff-tailed bumblebee.

Insects on Ivy

Struggling for two weeks to finally shift a heavy cold and chest infection, I took a laborious bike ride to Corbridge with the plan of checking out the several bushes of ivy on the way back to the Tyne.  

In fact the areas where the ivy was actually flowering were still fairly scarce. South of Styford I did find one good crop that was popular with honey and bumblebees but no sign of any ivy bees, which I think could possibly be found in the area. One thing I did find was a rather large hoverfly which according to others is a pellucid hoverfly (genus volucella.)

Pellucid Hoverfly

A little further on there was a south-facing bush with more bee action going on, plus a visit by a red admiral to nectar on the ivy flowers.

My attention was mainly drawn by a very large queen bumblebee with a decidedly brown tail.  I was trying to figure out which species of queen it was. The matter was resolved when it was sexually assaulted by what was clearly a buff-tailed male so that I once again found myself witnessing insect pornography.  The tussle went on quite a long time and, when I tried to move some leaves for a better view, spilled over onto my glove.

The Queen

The tussle...

...on my glove

After all this, I stopped off again at Wylam to see how the known ivy bees again.  The action was considerable:

Ivy Bees

A large area of ivy that hadn't flowered yet was also found near the Tyne East of Bywell.  This might be worth further investigation as ivy bees are known to favour river banks.

In the garden, space on the buddleia is becoming tight and painted lady and small tortoiseshell had to share the same bloom.

Painted Lady and Small Tortoiseshell

Small Tortoiseshells Appear

After bemoaning the lack of small tortoiseshells, I was obviously pleased when one turned up on Tuesday. 

Small Tortoiseshell

I didn't say so earlier but I did have a slight notion that the chances would be better at the end of summer and they have been appearing regularly since. Today there were three in the garden on two occasions - so the famine is over if not exactly a feast.

Butterfly appearances have generally hit the high spot over the last week. Some while ago I decided not to repeatedly take photos of the same species.  It would be nice to capture several together but so far they've been too widely spread on the buddleia.  I reckon the most frequent visitors have been red admiral and painted lady, the latter perhaps preferring to wait for the sun to warm up - unlike the single red admiral that turned up during the solar eclipse.

Red Admiral and Painted Lady

A holly blue was also seen again today.

Away from butterflies, I encountered a minor rarity earlier this week in the form of this hornet hoverfly.

These can grow up to two inches long and the photo doesn't do justice to the size.

Hornet Hoverfly

I thought it was too yellow for a bee on seeing it from a distance but it was fairly easy to work out it was a fly.  Fortunately I haven't seen any hornets.  

One bee did catch my interest today but I think it is probably just a dark buff-tailed bumblebee queen. Note the gingery tail band.

Buff-tailed Bumblebee Queen

For some reason, it made me reflect that I haven't recorded any garden bumblebees this year, perhaps dismissing them as buff-tailed.  I shall keep a more careful lookout - if it's not too late.

Staying Local

On Sunday I had planned to cycle out to Parkhead on the Waskerley Way.  I was thinking that I hadn't seen a small copper since returning from Avignon and that seems to be a good area to look for them.  However the plan had to be abandoned as the Derwent Walk cycle track 14 is still closed. I could have sworn I'd seen a sign saying that it would only be closed until early July.

So another plan was called for and I decided to head in the opposite direction, effectively limiting my scope to revisiting a couple of gardens near the Tyne.

Comma

Cutting across to Blaydon, I hit the Keelman's Way westwards and quickly spotted a holly blue in the area of Blaydon Station. As it's a known site for small copper, I took a quick look around Ryton Meadows but, as elsewhere, the vegetation was so dry that the chances were minimal. In spite of one fleeting sighting of something brown, I doubled back and crossed Newburn Bridge to the local Community Garden.

Here the buddleia was producing the usual suspects - several painted ladies, red admiral, peacock and a good few comma.

As in my garden the other day however, the notable absentee was the small tortoiseshell.

People worry about the small tortoiseshell and for a while its decline was a bit of a mystery, but now ascribed to climate change, altered hibernation patterns and parasitic flies.

Moving on I took another look at the Calaminarian Grassland at Wylam to check - rather late in the year, or so I thought - the story that there might be harebells attracting the gold-tailed melitta.  In fact there were a good few harebells, if somewhat sparsely distributed, though I could not find any sort of bee activity on them.  One very small item was dismissed as a possible wasp.

Having expectedly also failed to find anything in the small Wylam Nature Reserve (more trees than flowers) I went up the hill to Bradley Gardens as the most likely of all to produce something interesting.

It wasn't long before, among the usual red admiral, peacock and plentiful painted ladies, I encountered another holly blue. 

Holly Blue

It wasn't long either before a few more turned up and by the end of the day I reckoned I saw about five including a late visitor in my own garden.  In fact a couple that flew past overhead looked very blue and I did wonder about common blue, however unlikely in a formal garden.

More of a surprise was the definite sighting of a couple of small copper, thereby achieving the original purpose of going out in the first place:

Small Copper

Neither would I have bet any money on a meadow brown turning up there. Mayne it's another statement about the arid nature of the grassland.

Meadow Brown

As ever the painted ladies were frequently posing on the ground.  The only other butterfly I caught on film was a rather battered green-veined white.

Painted Lady

Green-veined White

There were a few hoverflies around at both the gardens which i basically chose to ignore apart from one. Apparently it is a common tachinid.

Common Tachinid

Today I had a slightly strange sighting in the garden - a nuthatch scurrying over the path and stones picking up bits of food.  I didn't know they did that.  I have also positively identified a couple of small whites on the buddleia.  I wonder if I've been overlooking them?

In The Garden

Following my own lead that gardens are the best place to be for insects this year, I've spent a fair bit of time in my own.

The best day so far was yesterday, when I made a rather hurried contribution to the Big Butterfly Count, recording totals of Red Admiral 7, Peacock 7, Large White 5, Painted Lady 10, Comma 2, Green-veined White 2, Holly Blue 2, Humming Bird Hawk Moth 2

I don't think I saw a small white but it was a bit chaotic.

Clearly it is a painted lady year and it is currently being seen daily.

Painted Lady

Painted Lady (underwing)

I continue to find butterflies in compromising situations, which very much applies to two of the large whites in each others' clutches for more than ten minutes that I noticed.

Large Whites

It hasn't quite come out in the image but they had a strong yellowish sheen so that I first wondered if I'd uncovered a female brimstone.

An absentee from the party was however the small tortoiseshell, and I don't think I've seen one yet in the back garden at all.

I was however particularly chuffed to get a great video of one of the hummingbird hawk moths.  Unfortunately it was too big for blogger, so you'll have to look for my post on facebook today.

One minor disappointment was not being able to catch up with one of the holly blues, which again landed on the buddleia but didn't hang around.

Meanwhile my neighbours across the road think they are getting visited by a raven - and I think they may well be right.

Raven?

In fact the first shot I took showed a second beak behind the silhouette so maybe there's a pair...

The Dry Season

After my brief outing to Chopwell East Field, I decided to see if things were any better at the brownfield site I visited early in the year and saw dingy skipper.  If anything they were worse and all I could muster in 45 minutes was a single green-veined white, one shaded broad bar moth and a tatty looking female common blue:

Common Blue

Otherwise the bird's foot trefoil had all but vanished and grasshoppers and mini moths patrolled the large expanses of sunburnt vegetation.

I don't know why I have been catching up with so many amorous butterflies lately but a quick exploration of the surrounds at a nearby car park revealed a couple of large whites getting in the mood.

Large Whites

Taking a policy decision it might be better to visit formal gardens (which get watered by human-beings) I set off yesterday to Seaton Delaval Hall gardens.

Conditions weren't great with a strong wind and very brief glimpses of sunshine.  The main formal garden seemed to have more emphasis on symmetry and exotic appearance than on encouraging nature and bees were the main visitors.

I was however quite pleased to find another white-tailed bumblebee on the lavender and also turned up what may be a member of the globetail hoverfly group. 

White-tailed Bumblebee

Globetail Hoverfly?

I haven't yet seen a specific suggestion for the hoverfly that accounts for the yellow face.

When the sun flourished briefly, the few whites were joined by the occasional red admiral and one peacock appeared.

Red Admiral

Peacock

The buddleia is now out in the back garden and has today been visited by large and small white as well as peacock. red admiral and some fresh-looking commas, flying strongly.

Comma

Today a couple of holly blues flew over and one caused a slight surprise when it landed briefly on the buddleia.  Not knowing they did that, I momentarily mistook it for an undersized small white!

I've been bemoaning the lack of bees, partly the result of a clearout of dying and over-invasive plants.  However a new pink plant has appeared without my intervention and has proved popular with honey bees and early bumblebees.

Honey Bee

I checked the plant out and it appeared to be marjoram, which was duly confirmed by sampling one of the leaves.

Some Hits and Some Misses - Part 2

On the Sunday we headed down to Finglandrigg Wood in Cumbria. 

This was the latest in a series of attempts we have made to see the marsh fritillary there and once again we missed out, mainly seeing more of the butterflies from yesterday.

Two of three times we got excited, only to find we had been deceived by other brown species, namely comma and painted lady. Once when I lagged behind the others all that remained at a bushy area was a peacock.

Comma

Peacock

Part of the delay was that I had come across a honey bee and realised with surprise that it was the first one I've seen this summer.  We later had a discussion about the lack of bees observed.

There was also a marshy area where I kept an eye open for the large heath, this time with no success at all.

We moved on to Campfield Marsh where the objectives were slightly different, as marsh harriers and an osprey nest had been reported.  This time we were successful with both as they were visible from the hide. After many attempts, I did eventually get a clear shot of the osprey with the chicks peering from the nest.  With the marsh harrier I was less lucky but managed to observe it through the binoculars several times.

Osprey and chicks

Marsh Harrier

Not much was seen on the nearby pool - some lapwings and a few greylag geese. Later on we observed some young willow warblers moving through the trees with parental supervision.

There were also quite a few dragonflies around but the only one that settled was this common darter:

Common Darter

An added bonus was a pair of roe deer that were feeding on a farmer's field:

Roe Deer

By the time we made our way back to the car it was early evening but it remained warm and the butterflies were coming out in force.  Here there were more meadow brown than ringlet, but also red admiral, small tortoiseshell and painted lady.

Small Tortoiseshell

Red Admiral

Painted Lady

In fact we must have seen going on for 20 painted ladies, confirming the impression that this may go down as a 'painted lady year.'

Some Hits and Some Misses - Part 1

Not for the first time, I've fallen rather behind with my nature record keeping. It's difficult keeping up with lots happening and the various distractions of the  World Cup, Wimbledon and the Tour de France.

Where to start?

Well I did do a couple of Large Heath surveys at Muckle Moss near Hadrian's Wall but the first on a windy day produced none and the second in slightly better conditions last Thursday only one definite and one suspected sighting. On the first occasion there was at least a possible sighting of the Manchester Treble Bar moth and there was a plump specimen of the oak eggar moth.

Oak Eggar Moth

It seems the season for Large Heath in the Hadrian's Wall area is pretty much over.  On the way back from the second trip, I made a bit of a detour to Bywell to see if I could find the white-letter hairstreak, only to discover that the tree where I saw it before was completely dead - presumably a victim of Dutch Elm Disease.

There was a similar disappointment a couple of days earlier when I took a bike ride to the Big Waters Reserve to see if the farmland nearby where the clouded yellow turned up was still under set-aside. It wasn't. At least on a fairly brief stay I managed to see two small skipper, a few dragonflies, a red admiral and two small tortoiseshell.

At the weekend I travelled West to link up with V&A and baby.  On the Saturday afternoon we went to Broughtonknowe Wood near Biggar, an impressive and large area of grassland.  I was quickly pleased to note a number of ringlet around. In fact there must have been over a hundred of them, considerably outnumbering meadow brown and all others.  The whites all proved to be green-veined white, a change from the mainly large whites I've been seeing at home.

Ringlet

Green-veined White

There were a couple of small skipper and a large number of burnet moths but bees were largely overshadowed by drone flies. Apart from a couple of azure damselflies, dragonflies weren't settling.

Azure Damselfly	Blotch-winged Hoverfly
Orange-spined Drone Fly	Furry Dronefly

In the evening we took a walk along the old railway line near Leadhills.  The objective here was a pair of hen harriers with chicks that had been observed by V&A as recently as last Thursday.

As it happened they weren't to be seen and we speculated that they may have left the area - perhaps wisely as this is a known shooting area.

So the main birds we saw perched on posts were a very distant buzzard and a juvenile wheatear.

Buzzard

Wheatear

Oh, and I did catch a view of a grey heron enjoying a scratch.

Heron