Butterflies in August

Posted on 24th August 2020 by Richard

Exploring around the Winchester area

Hampshire apparently has the highest number of Butterfly species in England; 46 out of 59.
Last year I managed 26 but doubt if I will achieve that many or improve this year, in fact I left deeper searching too late for many.

The Claylands Reserve here in Bishop’s Waltham has a good sloping south facing field and guaranteed to have Marbled Whites every summer.
Regrettably this year someone decided to cut the meadow grass at the height of Summer which led to a rapid decrease in species and numbers.

Marble White – Bishop’s WalthamI made a couple of journeys to known sites for Butterflies; Magdalene Hill Down and St. Catherines Hill, both on the borders of Winchester.
As I said, I left it late for some of the rarer species such as the Grizzled Skipper and more.
Magdalene Hill (100 acres and managed by The Butterfly Conservation Organization) certainly has more diversity and compared to St. Catherine’s hill is much less busy. Bearing in mind it was a hot summer’s day, I saw no more than a dozen people.

Here’s a few photos plus some Moths…

Small Copper – Brown Argus – Ringlet

Painted Lady – Chalkhill Blue – Cinnabar MothMany birders are very keen Moth Spotters and with 2,500 species in the United Kingdom I wonder who’s got closest to all of them !
I think searching for them all would definitely see me out !

April – Wildlife around Bishop’s Waltham

Posted on 21st April 2020 by Richard

Lockdown kicks in – the wildlife love it

Less traffic and less pollution seems to be bringing much benefit to humans and wildlife alike, but of course, we’d rather not be in the middle of a pandemic.
In some ways I guess it’s easier for us senior citizens, we don’t need to worry about losing our jobs or not getting our full income like many who’ve been furloughed.

I’m walking on average about 25k a week and getting much solace through scenery and just listening to the birdsong everyday.

Hedgehogs under the bird feeders

Two Hedgehogs have appeared in the Garden, so hopefully both will survive and presuming they’re male and female will produce some young ones.
There’s no mistaking the noise when they arrive, loud grunts and the scraping of any leaves on the ground !

Mistle Thrush – Red Damsel Fly – Orange Tip Butterfly

Butterflies are starting to appear again with the usual Orange Tips and Brimstones. I’ve also seen a few Speckled Woods and Peacocks.
Around the Garden here, some Starlings are busy looking after their eggs in the guttering above my Flat, right racket !

Grass Snake

Bee Fly

Life plods on and it’s not easy for many but it is very nice to see people walking in the countryside. I’ve spoken to quite a few and all say it’s so nice to have some time to explore their surrounding and quite keen to learn bird species and just watch what’s going on.

They say that from something bad, good will come. I haven’t a crystal ball to see where all this is going to end but it has been a wakening to what’s good outside our door and awareness of the need to preserve it.

Late March Butterflies and incoming Birds

Posted on 29th March 2019 by Richard

Late March, the first sightings of Butterflies

As usual, the first Butterfly to appear was the Orange Tip, one day you saw one, the next day, a dozen!

After that along came the Peacocks, Speckled Woods and Small Tortoiseshells.
Claylands Nature Reserve, just a 300 meter walk from me, has some very nice ‘wildlife maintained’ meadow, hedge, woodland and a low pasture where damp prevails. All in all a great place for Invertibrates and Reptiles.

The Peacock

Titchfield Canal Buzzards and a Willow Warbler

As Spring gets deeper, the Canal at Titchfield is producing some great wildlife.
Highlight for me was the dark coloured Common Buzzard resting on a tree no more than 40 meters away. After a good 5 minute pose, off it went on another hunt, no doubt to beat the Marsh Harriers to it !

Common Buzzard

Willow Warbler

Further down the Canal Path I saw a couple of Birders who had heard about the Willow Warbler. If not only for the lovely bird I stayed around for a while.
As always for Birders, no sooner had they gone and out it came flitting from small tree to bush to small tree.
The photo doesn’t really do the beautiful yellow pink colour justice.

Small Tortoiseshell – Speckled Wood – Greenfinch

I’ve lived down this way for a year now and still not visited everywhere I should. I’ve ventured to the New Forest, Titchfield, Warsash / Hook, the Forest of Bere and Fishlake Meadows, but still not Farlington and around the coast from Lymington to Christchurch. Hopefully soon.

All in all it’s going well, the bird species spotted number is going up by the week and I look forward to a late Spring and Summer of adventures new.

A move to Bishop’s Waltham, Hampshire

Posted on 19th April 2018 by Richard

After nearly 18 years down the Lane I have upsticked and moved to Bishop’s Waltham in Hampshire; closer to the family, turned 70 with parts of my body not doing what they’re supposed to be doing so well out in the Garden etc!!
A comfortable Flat and very close to two Reserves and a short drive to the River Hamble Estuary, Titchfield and the New Forest.

Young Mallards on the march

Yesterday was my first day having a couple of good walks around and about.
First, a walk takes me 200 meters down the Road to a footpath which was once the railway line. This carries on for about 500 meters then footpaths through Farmland, fields, woodland and finishing up on the Playing Fields behind me.
There’s also a couple of nice streams running along nicely shaded glens.

Sparrowhawk – Nuthatch – Speckled Wood

The second walk is at Claylands Reserve, about a 400 meter walk away. This one’s a bit hilly but gives a nice vista, a few fields and a boggy base.

Certainly a lot to look forward to.

Bullfinch

Spring has Sprung

After the cold weather with much rain of late, it’s suddenly got silly. From single figures last week, it’s now in the low 20’s.
This certainly seems to have woken things up a bit with many Summer birds turning up and loads of Butterflies darting around all over the place.
As well as the two photos show, I saw Orange Tips, Large / Small Whites, Peacocks and a plentiful number of large Brimstones.

Comma

Next plan of action is to have a good look round ground level for any Owl Pellets and Hedgehog poos.
It certainly seems good countryside for predators and I’ve already seen Sparrowhawks, Common Buzzards plus I understand that Red Kites pay regular visits.

The future is bright as they say!

Oare Marshes on a sunny day

Posted on 18th November 2017 by Richard

It was a beautiful sunny day when I visited Oare Marshes last week and if you count the Starlings there must have been over 5,000 birds around and about, 2,000 of which were made up of Dunlin, Avocets, Golden Plover, Lapwings, Black Tailed Godwits, various Geese and on the not bird scene, beside a few Red Admirals, a Coloured Yellow Butterfly was skipping along the footpath on the sea front.

Smaller birds included Reed Buntings, Starlings and although I didn’t see them myself, a few Bearded Tits were seen in the Reedbeds alongside the estuary.

Fears for the Estuary future

Announced two weeks ago is a plan to develop the east side of the Estuary for an enormous Solar Panel Farm.
This would stretch from the Marshes right the way through to Seasalter thus stealing precious open land where many birds also reside and feed. Seals often rest on the sands along there as well, seems a great risk to our firendly, important and wonderful native creatures.

White = Oare Marshes Nature Reserve – Red = Proposed Solar Farm

Kentish people and beyond have a fine reputation of standing up to land being lost for housing or other developments including Boris’s great plan for an Airport and the destruction of Lodge Hill (see HERE) for housing which is the largest and most important summer residence of Nightingales.

Developers seem to be under the impression that if bird breeding land is taken away, the birds will simply find somewhere else to go, in most circumstances, this is not true. Maybe some of the Planners who often have their home and design studio in a nice Woodland setting should think a bit more about the importance of wildlife, no matter how big, small, feathered or 4 legged they be.

Irony is that the waters around this area have just been designated as ‘important’. Why aren’t they thinking the same about the land which borders them !
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Hummingbird Hawk Moth

Posted on 30th August 2017 by Richard

Rare visit for the Hummingbird Hawk Moth

The last time I saw the Hummingbird Hawk Moth was at Nagergot in the Himalayan Foothills ! I’d heard from several people this year who said they’ve had them in and around their Gardens, so I was especially pleased to see this one hopping on and off the Buddle1a Plant sucking out the pollen with it’s proboscis.

Great Summer for House Sparrows

Out of all the species I’ve seen in the Garden this year, the House Sparrow is right up there with excitement.
At present and as I write, a quick run round the front and back Garden has shown 8 in the front, 11 in the back and 6 on the Roof !

This way outnumbering previous years, it seems that not many places either around the guttering or the outhouses has been left undone for nests.
I know of at least 5 nests.
With it’s fair share of nooks, gaps and crannies, the Mill House opposite has also entertained many nests.

In fact, it seems that all birds down the Lane have done well this year. The only one for which there seems fewer are Dunnocks, but I’ve noticed they tend to appear a lot more as Autumn and Winter sets in.

A Red Admiral Butterfly surprisingly all in one piece still for this time of the Summer

The end of Summer is nigh

Slowly but surely the leaves on the trees are getting heavier, my massive Virginia Creeper is starting to get more bronze and red in many places and the wildlife is having a good time foraging around the Blackberries and other productive Autumnal fruits and berries.

The Squirrels are active gathering (stealing) the Hazelnuts for winter storage and a Tawny Owl is giving the Lane a friendly spookiness in the middle of the night
The Tawny is now the only mainline Owl I haven’t a photo of so I’ve been scouring the wood opposite in an attempt to see it. Alas, they’re extremley good at their elusiveness !
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Grey Wagtails back, Reptiles doing well

Posted on 21st August 2017 by Richard

Once again I’ve been confined to barracks over the last five days, but on the theory that nature and wildlife is not about four seasons but 365 days a year, I’m still spotting changes every time I walk up the Garden.

Grey Wagtails

Every year is the same with these fascinating birds, they show a face down the Lane in mid Spring, then return for a few weeks mid-August.
This is quite interesting as on the RSPB Grey Wagtail page, we’re just about borderline for Resident and Winter. I can only guess it’s a kind of mini migratory thing.

Reptiles around the Garden

The Slow Worms are continuing to thrive and another younger Grass Snake than last time appeared under the Rubber Mats.

About 12 weeks ago, the young lads over the Lane presented me with a jam jar with 5 Newts they’d found in a nearby Pond inside, their Mum thought it best to pass them on to me, so I put them in my little Pond.
That was the last I saw of them, but just in the last two days I’ve noticed two youngsters, so all did end well!
Obviously, their Predators being Grass Snakes, large Birds, Hedgehogs, Cats and Foxes, they’ll need to be on their guard!

Down the Lane

First rather exciting event was spotting an Argus Brown Butterfly, I can’t recall seeing one down here before.

Grass Snake – Young wild Trout

The other nice thing was to see a young Wild Trout in the Stream. Over the years quite a number have been born and precious few survive the odd visit from a Little Egret or Grey Heron. However, there are about 4 of reasonable size.

Egyptian Geese

Before being confined to my home and garden I did manage a short walk to the main Lake at Conningbrook, with the only thing more out of the ordinary were three Egyptian Geese

Egyptian Goose

It seems more and more of these birds are appearing around here and Dungeness has seen some breeding on the Islands.There’s a bit of controversy with these birdswith most Birders seeing them as a nuisance.
I think it’s a little like Parakeets, as much as they may be seen as ‘invasive’, they’re here to stay!
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More Butterflies and Dragons in the Garden

Posted on 9th July 2017 by Richard

Being not quite yet my usual finely tuned Olympic Triathlon self (!!) once again I’m pretty much confined to the Garden and the 100 meters or so down to the fields.
There’s always something to see though and again, the beauty of Nature’s Wildlife comes to you if you allow it and sit patiently enough of course.

A young male Green Woodpecker
Once more the Butterlies are the stars of the Lane with countless numbers flying around the Nettles and Thistles on the wasteland at the back of my Garden.

Large White – Gatekeeper – Common Blue
One thing that is worrying me, I shall do a very unusual rare thing of mine and talk politics !
With the United Kingdom leaving the EU in two years or whenever, all Policies will be taken on by our Government.
In itself that sounds good, but the small print is saying they are and will change anything after the take over has taken place.

Wide Bodied Chaser
With all extra spending in other areas I fear the environmental budget will be cut to pay for what is seen as more important things.
Will the Stewardship Scheme go? At presnt Farmers have the choice of joining the Scheme which in it’s basic terms is being substidized for leaving a 12 meter buffer around their fields, restrictions on when hedgerows are cut and in some cases more such as leaving gaps in Crops for Skylarks etc.

Common Chaser
When Michael Gove was appointed as Environmental Minister in June, the Guardian an announced it was like ‘putting a Fox in charge of a hen house’.
I hope they are proved wrong, but…………………??
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End of June in the Garden

Posted on 30th June 2017 by Richard

As feared the last part of June involved me being confined to barracks, so no day trips out or walks on the fields.
However, just sitting in the Garden made me observe more of what was going on and a chance to do some more swatting up on Wildlife Sites whilst avoiding daytime TV as much as possible !

Comma

Butterflies in the Garden

I think I mentioned a few weeks ago I was worried about the amount of Butterflies I’d seen so far this Spring / Early Summer, well, it seemed almost overnight, the Garden was over run with them, especially Meadow Browns and Skippers.
The huge stinging nettle patch inter mingled with Thistle seemed to be the attraction.
In fact, not being able to do some tidying up here and there made it even better for wildlife ! Perhaps that’s the secret…..do nothing !

Male Meadow Brown – Female Meadow Brown – Common Blue
The Slow Worms under the rubber mat continue to increase in numbers and it appears that some females are getting pretty big, so hopefully, in mid August or so, some young ones may be about.

Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar
Bird wise, beside the newly born fledging from almost every corner of the Garden and Lane, things are pretty quiet with just the constant noise of young ones flitting amongst the hedges and bushes.
At least the Sparrowhawk hasn’t appeared again as far as I know. In fact I’ve seen very little of the Common Buzzards for a few weeks, just occasionally hearing their distant cat like call probably a mile away.

Not being able to cut the Grass, the Clover growing is attracting the Honey Bees well
Hopefully July will bring better health and I can get out more.
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Wildlife Diary

Recording wild life through the year around Hampshire, Kent and elsewhere

Tag Archives: Butterflies