Totternhoe Knolls and Quarry and Knocking Hoe 21.5.14

Another fine spring day and a trip down to Bedfordshire for a variety of rare Butterflies and Orchids. First was Totternhoe, which has a good population of Small Blue Butterflies and also Duke of Burgundy in the old quarry, as well as lots of Orchids and is really one of the best grassland habitats in the area. Next was Knocking Hoe, a new site for me which has some lovely views, as well as a fine colony of Burnt Orchids and White Helleborine. 

Small Blues Cupido minimus

Common Twayblade Neottia ovate and Beetle

Mother Shipton Moth Callistege mi

Duke of Burgundy Hamearis lucina

A fairly well marked Grizzled Skipper Pyrgus Malvae

A nice pale Common Spotted Orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii

White Helleborine Cephalanthera damasonium

Cardinal Beetle Pyrochroa serraticornis

 Brown Argus Aricia agestis

Burnt Orchids Neotinea ustulata

Common Blue m Polyommatus icarus

Bedford Purlieus, Barnack Hills and Holes and Castor Hanglands 14.5.14

A beautiful spring day and we (my expert friend Roger) were off to North Hunts for two types of rare Orchid and anything else we could see. The Fly Orchid was a first for me and is now pretty much my favourite Orchid, and very interesting to witness a wasp visiting a flower. They are so small and could be happily growing somewhere unobserved by passers by. The Bird's Nest Orchid was next and is a very hard plant to find, unless you know someone who can show you, they really blend into the background and grow in shady areas of woodland. They lack Chlorophyll hence the weird colour, and get energy from a parasitic relationship with a fungus. We also saw Lily-of-the-Valley and Herb Paris. 

At Barnack the Man Orchids were just beginning to open, and there were some lovely Pasque Flowers about too. Roger was kind enough to lend me his Macro lens for a few shots of the Man Orchids which only increases my desire to get one. 

At Castor Hanglands the expected Marsh Orchids were not showing yet. There were a couple of Common Twayblades, and in the pond my first sighting of Palmate Newts which was great. 

Fly Orchids Ophrys insectifera

Bird's Nest Orchids Neottia nidus-avis

Herb Paris Paris quadrifolia

Man Orchid Orchis anthropophora

Pasque Flower Pulsatilla vulgaris

Green Hairstreak Callophrys rubi

 Palmate Newt Lissotriton helveticus

Oxfordshire - Wiltshire Trip 11-12.5.14

A trip I have long wanted to make, the principle target being the Marsh Fritillary butterfly which being mainly on the west and southern part of England and into Wales I hadn't yet seen. It's such a beautiful butterfly I didn't want to let another year pass without seeing it, so planned a trip with many potential sites to visit and hoped for good weather and timing. On the way down to Wiltshire I couldn't miss the chance to see the Monkey Orchids at Hartslock in Oxfordshire, as the timing for flowering matched perfectly. It is a really stunning location, on a bank above the slender curving River Thames, and very carefully looked after and monitored by dedicated volunteers, being one of only two sites in England open to the public for the Monkey Orchid. I took some photos, taking great care with each step as the site is precious and the orchids very fragile, and wondered at the rich colour and intricate forms of these incredibly rare plants. There are hybrids here, and its fascinating to see the pure Monkeys, pure Lady and hybrids between them. 

Then I drove up to Seven Barrows near Wantage as being a potential site for Marsh Frits, but it was either cold or too early for this site. So then I went over to Bentley Wood as a couple had been spotted that week, didn't see any, but Pearl-bordered Fritillaries were a good consolation. 

The next day I was up early, and optimistically checking the weather over breakfast, I could see a sunny window of opportunity, so went over to Cotley Hill near Warminster. Driving along the A303 past Stonehenge and beautiful countryside was a treat, and I arrived in sunny conditions so raced to the top of the hill to see what I could find. I found some nice Green Hairstreak on Hawthorn but realised I was probably in the wrong place, so came around the hill and found what looked to be better habitat. The grass was thick and rain soaked, and I found some Grizzled Skippers perching waiting for warmth to send them on their way. And through some grass caught sight of something orange and knew it wasn't a Small Heath, I had found my quarry nestling deep in some grass and eagerly took photos. The feeling of discovering something long wished for is a great one and I greedily checked my photos to see how they had come out. They weren't all that good but I didn't really care, I had seen them and the trip was justified. From that view point, and with a strong wind in my face, I could see the threatening dark clouds zooming along toward me from the West and soon it was hammering it down, so retreated down the precipitous slopes to my car. After changing shoes and spotting a break in the clouds, I went back and got some better photos. It was just the most fun as there were around 20 in very good condition, and getting close to them was amazing to see how beautiful they are. With wet the conditions (not called Marsh Fritillary for nothing!) apparently an earlier name for them was the Greasy Fritillary, which belies their ability to withstand wet conditions by having a coating to their wings which the water beads off. I had about 10-15 minutes of beautiful sun and then the heavy rain came again, and I felt exhilarated to have seen so many in such a short space of time. I had been the only person there, and had a special experience watching these gorgeous butterflies go about their business. 

With the forecast for the rest of the day being very mixed I thought finding Orchids might prove more successful  so went to Pewsey Down (which also has Marsh Fritillary) to find Burnt Orchids. I searched over a wide area, through pouring rain, but really wasn't getting anywhere until I met a helpful chap and after some more searching, he found them. I had no idea how small they were, being tight in bud, and felt very fortunate to have seen them.

All in all a brilliant trip to a beautiful part of the Country, will love to go again for longer. 

View of the Thames from Hartslock

Monkey-Lady Orchid Hybrids

Lady Orchid Orchis purpurea

Monkey Orchid Orchis simia

View from Cotley Hill looking North. Here comes some rain...

Grizzled Skipper Pyrgus malvae 

Marsh Fritillary m Euphydryas aurinia

Pewsey Down

Burnt Orchid Neotinea ustulata

Beechwoods 9.5.14

A short trip in the evening to get good light for the White Helleborine, a flower in the Orchid family roughly at the northern end of its range here in Cambridgeshire. Its a beautiful flower but rarely opens fully out, and likes shady areas of calcareous Woodland.

White Helleborine Cephalanthera damasonium

Beechwoods, south of Cambridge

Fleam Dyke 7.5.14

A trip to Fleam Dyke this morning, which was windy and cloudy with sunny spells and fairly chilly. Saw lots of Holly Blue perching as well as a wide variety of insects visiting the spring flowers. 

Species seen - 

Holly Blue 10
Green Hairstreak 5
Speckled Wood 2
Orange-tip 6
Brimstone m 4 f 3
Small Whites
Small Tortoiseshell 1

Black and Red Frog Hopper
Beetle Pterostichus niger
Psyllid possibly Cacopsylla melanoneura
Nettle-tap Moth
Moth Incurvaria masculella 
Moth Psychoides filicivora
Bee Andrena minutula
Sawfly Tenthredo mesomela 
Sawfly Tenthredo temula
Cuckoo Bee Nomada
Fly Polietes lardarius
Fungus Gnat Macrocera phalerata

Holly Blue

Holly Blue

Brimstone female and Psyllid (poss. Cacopsylla melanoneura) top middle.

Moth Incurvaria masculella

Sawfly Tenthredo temula

Beetle Pterostichus niger

Fleam Dyke looking north west

Foxley Wood, Wiveton Down, New Buckenham Common 4.5.14

A lovely day was had in Norfolk with my parents. We started at Foxley Wood which had the best Bluebell display I've ever seen, it was really a fantastic sight. Also lots of Early Purple Orchids just off the paths, and some pinkish Wood Anemone still in flower. It gradually warmed into a beautiful and fairly still spring day, ideal for Butterflies. Next was Wiveton Down for Wall butterflies, a species I've only seen once before as it has declined much in recent years. But there we plenty here and quite active due to the warmth. Also seen were Green Hairstreak, in the gorse bushes and stoney paths. Finally an evening bike ride to New Buckenham common for Green-winged Orchids, of which there are many. 

Species seen - 

Foxley Wood
Orange-tip
Small White

Wiveton Down
Wall
Green hairstreak
Holly Blue
Brimstone
Small White
Large White
Green-veined White
Small Tortoiseshell
Peacock
Comma 
Speckled Wood

New Buckenham Common
Green-winged Orchid (two white ones also)
Micropterix calthella Moth

Foxley Wood Bluebells

 Pink Bluebell

 Longhorn Moth

 View from the top of Wiveton Down

 Wall

 Green Hairstreak

 Green-winged Orchid

 Interesting colour variant

 Albino Green-winged Orchid

Micropterix calthella Moth