Pilgrimage to Rewell Wood

 This is a bit of a resurrection job as I published this blog several days ago and subsequently spotted an error. I corrected the error pushed the update button and lo and behold the lot disappeared into cyberspace, never to be seen again. Of course no back up so I have to recreate what was after all a small blog.

About this time of year for the past seven years we have made what has become a pilgrimage to Rewell Wood in West Sussex. Primarily to pay homage to that most scarce and beautiful of butterflies - the Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Boloria euphrosyne. I believe the attraction is that this is a butterfly that was "hanging on" when we first started but now, locally, is on the up.

We usually park up in the layby at Fairmile Bottom and take the walk over the hill, of late I am sure the hill is getting steeper. On the way there is great anticipation and discussion, will we find it, who will spot it first? Questions that almost distract you from the sea of blue created by the Bluebells that carpet the woodland floor. This year the season seems a tad late and the blue vista is just emerging.

Arriving at the favoured ride it wasn't long before Martin spotted our first specimen, a male on a mission, not stopping, careering along the ride in search of a mate. Times past there would have been the sight of two elderly butterfliers chasing after each specimen, hell bent on getting the perfect shot. Things are a little more sedate nowadays, we have learned patience and the reward is the satisfaction of gaining some not too shabby record shots. We hung around for a couple of hours and in that time we probably had a dozen butterflies, mostly males, some of which were freshly emerged and preferring to bask in the warm sunshine. Orange Tip, Brimstone, Speckled Wood and Peacock were the supporting cast.

I managed to record a Gooden's Nomad Bee, Nomada goodiana, a wasp mimic that is a kleptoparasite. These are organisms that take over the nest or nest cell of the target host species. The offspring then feed off the food supplies intended for that of the host.

In contrast to the blue of the Bluebells the Common Dog Violets, Viola riviniana and Bugle, Ajuga reptans provide a striking purple hue to the areas that have been recently coppiced. Both plants are important to the PbF, the violet as a larval host plant and the Bugle as a common source of nectar. I couldn't resist recording the violet as it is the county flower of God's Own County - Lincolnshire.

Taken on a previous visit

Ditto

Hail to the Emperor!

 Almost a year since my last blog, notwithstanding the trials and tribulations of Covid I just couldn't find the wherewithal to set pen to paper. Today I made my first proper foray into the field for many a long month. Way back in 2019 I planned that I would have a crack at finding and photographing Clearwing moths. Purchasing a full set of pheromone lures plus an additional lure for the Emperor Moth (Saturnia pavonia)  from Anglian Lepidopterist Supplies and several months researching likely sites I came up with a cunning plan. Then - all stop - lockdowns galore - no field trips - no photos and no blogs.

However, today all that changed as Martin and I visited a "Sussex Common" armed with two lures and a load of hope. I had read accounts of people using the lure and making irritating reports such as "I opened the lure and ten minutes later the moth magically appeared". Fat chance I thought but I was proved wrong, as we strolled along a track, lures clipped to our camera bags, two moths appeared, almost on the dot of the stated time. One disappeared after a short time but the other remained and perched nearby. Martin found it and of course it was in a position that was impossible for photography so the "moth wrangler" did the business and cajoled it  into resting in a more accessible spot. Great elation at achieving our goal, and as we progressed around the Common we were visited by even more and at one stage we had five in view at the same time.

Using the lure proved to be a steep learning curve, we will have to adapt our methods to be more moth and photographer friendly. The moths are only fooled for a relatively short time, driven to distraction by the pheromone it soon becomes apparent to the moth that there isn't actually a receptive female present. There are none of the added cues that a live moth provides such as movements and posture, so the male drifts off and does not return.


A big thankyou to Martin for helping me get back out there, on the way home I compared the day with having a "brain flush" Several hours of concentrated moth hunting and inane chat had removed a huge amount of mental clutter. I am not given to poetry but to quote Fernando Pessoa, as everyone does, "It's been a long time since I have been me."


Perhaps a go at the Large Red-belted Clearwing next, it has a penchant for birch stumps so there are some Sussex Commons and woodlands worth a visit and maybe another go at getting some improved Emperor photographs.


I hadn't totally given up on the natural world as I have run the moth trap in the garden during the lockdown, never a productive site and this year, so far, has been no exception. A Common Plume was hiding on a fence post, almost the same colour as the wood but definitely worth snapping.

Reports of White-tailed Eagles wandering around Sussex coastal sites have caused me to spend far too much time looking toward the heavens. This paid off with a fairly good sighting of a large female Sparrowhawk that frequents the neighbourhood. Sadly no sign of the eagle - yet.

Migrating Monarchs

Being self isolated has added to my knowledge of natural history - little did I realise how few species populate the garden and how slowly the populations change, or how many specimens fly in then immediately depart. Photographic opportunities are fleeting.

The  isolation has at least one upside, I can now catch up on processing a large backlog of photographs. Not least my trip to Cape May in New Jersey back in late September, which was primarily to witness the Eastern Flyway, but afforded me the opportunity to witness another key migration, that of the Monarch Butterfly, Danaus plexippus.

There are few true migrating butterflies, the two that immediately come to mind are Painted Ladies and the Monarch. Both occur in spectacular numbers and travel huge distances. In the Monarch's case millions migrate each year, all heading to one location - the forest mountains of central Mexico. A journey entailing distances of over 2000 miles. Of course the attrition rate is high, unable to tolerate prolonged freezes, many perish. However, the cool mountain temperatures in Mexico allow the butterfly to spend the North American winter in hibernation. In early spring rising temperatures break their sleep and they start the northerly migration, As the Milkweeds of Northern Mexico and the southern United states appear, the larval host plant, the females lay their eggs. It is the progeny of this first wave that will repopulate North America. Two or three non migratory generations occur - then, in the Autumn the migration begins again and this is what I was pleased to observe at Cape May.

Researchers at Cape May are monitoring numbers to learn how varying environmental factors are influencing the migration. A standardised census count is made three time a day between September 1st and October 31st. Thousands of Monarch butterflies are tagged each year in Cape May. The tags consist of small pieces of coded adhesive paper place on the wing which does not change the way the butterfly behaves or flies. Monarchs are not slow during the migration, one butterfly tagged in Cape May was monitored in Georgia three days later - a distance of 558 miles.

Come the evening they roost in huge numbers.

Reproductive hormones are turned off for the duration on the migration - these are just good friends.

"My Monarch"

I had the opportunity to have a lengthy chat with one of the researchers and my burning question was about the genetic make up of the population. Occasionally Monarchs turn up in UK, where they come from is anyone's guess, whether arrival from west or east or the abhorrent "confetti" - who knows. However, I had imagined that these butterflies and those sedentary populations on the Atlantic Islands would have significantly different ancestry. The answer - they are all genetically identical - the mind boggles.


Many thanks to the staff at Cape May for the information on the Monarch and their patience with an inquisitive visitor.

Self Isolation - Part 4 Butterflies and Bees

This one is for Kevin

Firstly humble apologies to my 7 readers for being so tardy in producing part 4. When we started self isolation I thought it would be a doddle, just photograph stuff in  and over the garden. Well several weeks in and new material has become hard to find, the birds have thinned out looking for breeding sites. The long staying female Blackcap was joined briefly by a male and now both have melted away. One Jay is still visiting, no longer to cache peanuts but now on the prowl for the chance of eggs or nestlings. Our resident Blackbird pair, who have nested in the dense Bay tree next to the patio had a ding dong set to with the Jay and were struggling to drive it off, a rap on the patio door resolved the situation but I fear only temporarily. Jays are persistent nest robbers. In the front garden, two Robins have set up home, the male sits atop an ornamental birch tree and informs the world that this is "my patch".  

Another bonus of lockdown is that traffic noise has virtually disappeared and now I can hear birds that are much further away. The Wren who shares his presence over about six gardens was loudly  proclaiming his ownership of the territory and was being answered by at least two other birds. In the garden the other day I suddenly came up short as I realised I was listening to the faint far off strains of a Skylark - god knows how far away that would be as the nearest suitable habitat has to be at least a mile away.

The butterfly list has been extended by Large White, Brimstone, Holly Blue and several off course female Orange Tips. Speaking of off course - I was summoned by Liz to view a large butterfly sunning itself on one of the large plant containers on the patio. As always, I grabbed the camera but as I arrived the subject went airborne, did a lap of the garden and disappeared over the fence into my neighbour's extensive patch. My first UK Large Tortoiseshell. I stood in the garden ruing the fact that I had missed a shot when lo and behold the said butterfly reappeared, did another circuit of the garden and without pause disappeared forever. It would appear that there has been an influx of Large Tortoiseshells on the warm southerly winds, plenty of reports from Sussex to Suffolk.

Holly Blue

Comma

Plenty of Bees about, especially Grey-patched Mining Bees. The problem with photographing insects is that it takes fractions of a second to record the subject and several hours poring over the books to come up with, what in the end, is a best guess. Of course you could take the easy way out, stick it on Twitter and ask for an ID, sort of bypasses the reasons for having the book and adds little to your knowledge.

Grey-patched Mining Bee, Andrena nitida

Grey-patched Mining Bee, Andrena nitida

Grey-patched Mining Bee, Andrena nitida

Another Andrena??

Hoverfly - a Platycheirus??

Buff-tailed Bumblebee, Bombus terrestris

Buff-tailed Bumblebee, Bombus terrestris

Dark- edged Bee Fly, Bombylius major

Eristalis pertinax

Constant searching of the skies has revealed very little, today a fly over Buzzard at extreme height and precious little else. No sign of the White Storks that have been doing the rounds, nor of any hirundines. Ten vociferous Mediterranean Gulls flying high over added another bird species to the lockdown list

Self Isolation - Part 3 Birds and Moths

Whilst the continuing easterly winds have suppressed the numbers of birds there has been an added bonus. The stiff north-easter has driven relocating Red Kites south of the downs and onto the coastal strip. The last two days I have had a total of eight over the garden, the first wave was four birds which tracked north east and were observed by other birders. I don't have to scan the skies for them, I just wait for the resident Herring Gulls to go up in alarm. 

The regular Sparrowhawk paid a fleeting visit but this time, when I pointed the camera at him, he skedaddled. The three Jays have become two and these appear to be an item, now visiting together, several times day. A vociferous Wren has taken up residence in the far corner of the garden - you just can't miss it when he bursts into song. One always turns up around this time and has done for many years.

We have a pair of Collared Doves visiting the feeders, they also turn up most years but I have no idea where they nest and I have never seen any obviously young birds.

Last night I deployed the moth trap for the first time, with the low temperatures a bit optimistic. The light was on for about nine hours and we had a grand return of four moths of three species. I hope it picks up a bit when the warmer weather arrives.

Hebrew Character

Early Grey

Early Grey

Common Quaker

Common Quaker

In the greenhouse the welcome arrival of some colour in the form of Pleione orchids, nothing rare, just common or garden varieties that are easy to grow almost anywhere. I hope that in the coming weeks I will get to sow Bee Orchid, Ophrys apifera seed and also some Pyramidal Orchids. The dactylorhizas are doing well and I now have upwards of 70 plants in pots, I will be pleased if half of them survive.