Frustration turns to joy

I've decided to start this posting with an unrelated picture. There you go, Lyme Regis last night. Strange day yesterday, which ended in me taking a good friend of mine to Lyme for a picnic in the evening. She's been going through absolute hell recently with one thing and another, so partly as it's her birthday next week, partly a glorious evening and partly she needed sun, sand and....de-stressing (we're just friends before you ask), off we went and had a glorious 6 hours down there, not leaving until well after 9am. I just love Lyme Regis, and it was a super evening which did the relaxation-trick for her, even if I'd over filled the cool-box with comestibles and it weighed a ton!!

Anyway on with today's posting. Rising at the crack of 9am, unheard of for me, normally up at 5am I thought I'd have one final hunt for this Glanville Fritillary. What with one thing and another didn't get there until 11am, walked up to the trig-point and just about the scan the slope when half a dozen unfit middle aged men, who quite frankly should have known better, began running over the slope like school children. "it's there, it's there" they kept shouting. Being as sharp as a parsnip, I knew exactly what they were doing, so this middle aged man ran like the wind to see what's happening. I AM NOT AS FIT AS I THINK!!

I stood there puffing like a train and said, where is it (I'm not one for introductions)... a man with a camera the size of a small house said there..... and there it was, on the Wild Thyme. Well slap me vitals with a small lettuce, at last a Glanville Fritillary. I have to admit if they'd not been there I'd probably not seen it, and I can not give you any photographic evidence, as just as yours truly whipped out his camera, it flew off, landed, flew off again and then wasn't seen again. Damn!!

The chap with the camera had some stunning views though, which we all Ohh'd and Ahh'd at., looking back should have said can you e-mail these, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. I later found out all these men were unrelated. No I don't mean as in in-breeding, but that all happened to be on the slope independently and hunting his nibs, most from north or Bristol and Birmingham, one from Taunton. The photo above shows where it was (honestly, apparently it was a worn specimen!), and the photo below, what it was feeding on, Wild Thyme.

Thoroughly subdued, I went off in search of something else. And boy did I get something else. those of you under 18 or of a nervous disposition should avoid the next section..... copulating Common Blue's... the original Blue Movie??

They were so engrossed in what I can only describe as disgraceful behaviour on a Sunday morning, even my trying to hold the stem still in the wind to get a better photo didn't stop their antics. But what a piece of behaviour to behold... made up for the unfulfilled Fritillary I tell you.

I have to say the remainder of the stroll across the slope was quite quiet, although I did (I think) briefly see a flying female Cuckoo, it shot past me when I was looking at something else and so I failed to get the bins onto it, but pretty certain by the profile.

This Buff-Tail Bumbler on a Musk Thistle was nice though, as was the Clouded Silver, below and another Large Skipper below that, and lets not forget the White Campion below the skipper.

Oh well there was nothing else to do other than return to the car, which just happened to be parked next to an ice-cream van..... absolute joy on a hot summers day!!

National Moth Night

A colleague, Brett Westwood, has just reminded me that this weekend, in fact tomorrow is National Moth Night. http://www.nationalmothnight.info/

And as a reminder of this he sent this note.

Lots of these moths, Pyrausta aurata emerging in garden today. They feed on mint and related plants. Small, but great colours.

And I have to agree with Brett, this is one "Bobby Dazzler" Moth, which I don't think I've seen before. I know very little about moths, but as the weather looks set fine this weekend, I think I may have to spend an evening in the garden seeing what comes along, could be fun after a cider or 2 (at least that way I'll be seeing double the number) !!

Granville .. fetch the cloth

Lepidoptera books will tell you that the Glaville Fritillary is only found in Britain on the Isle of Wight near Ventnor. This is indeed true, unless you know of another colony, which was introduced onto undisclosed National Trust land in the South West in the 1980's.

Here's the Fella-me-Lad, the 4/5 spots on the second upperwing band are the identification marks. So today your anti-hero and blogger, Border Reiver ventured to said undisclosed site to see if they are still there. I have to report they may be (I did spy a fast flying Little Brown job, but not able to identify it), but not so today. Bizarrely considering I was on an site not many know about, I met a very nice woman who was also looking for this, and knew a lot more about butterflies than I ever will. She confirmed they were seen last year, so it's possible we're a bit too late as they fly May into June...or the volunteer National Trust Wardens who were strimming ragwort may have had chased them away.

Ahh well, there's always next year. It was such a glorious day, sun shining, not much wind and warm, I spent a wonderful 3 hours mooching about next to the sea in unspoilt countryside. One thing of note too for those birders amongst you, the place is swarming with Whitethroat, they were everywhere, I even managed to watch a pair in display/courtship flight for 10 minutes. Very nice just sitting there with the sun on my back, at peace with the world (and not at work!!)

So I'll let the rest of the blog just be photos from the day. I hope you enjoy them and welcome any details if I've mis-identified anything.

Butterflies

Small Copper

Speckled Wood

Red Admiral (sorry it was x24 hand held)

Now I think this is just a Common Blue, but having spots I'm not 100% sure

Large Skipper

Large White (again apologies for the x24 photo)

Female Common Blue and for the life of me, the blogger keeps turning it upside down. I've no idea why so have given up trying to get it the right way.

Male Common Blue, on ribwort plantaine, the host species of...... yes you've guessed it, Glanville Fritillary.

The Beasties (thanks Brett for additional info here)

Soldier Beetle, probably Cantharis rustica

Mosquito, possibly Chironomous plumosus - only male has plumes

Coreus marginatus, shield bug locked into docks and related plants

Now someone is bound to correct me here, but I'm pretty sure this is a "Woolly Bear" caterpillar of the Garden Tiger Moth

Lacewing, of the green variety, most probably Chrysoperis perla

Longhorn beetle on an ox-eye daisy, as there's 20,000 different varieties of these I've no idea.

The Flowers

Wild Clary (Julian's livid... no one outside the UK will get that joke)

Common Poppy

That elusive Scarlet Pimpernel

And last but by no means least, a Common Cat-Ear

Dorset Bats

Just been re-reading a fellow wildlife blogger, Jane's blog, and her trip to Brownsea with the Dorset Wildlife Trust. And as bats aren't something which come along regularly in the blogging community and I enjoyed her posting so much, I thought I'd add a link, so those of you who don't know her site or the work there can have a peek. Great stuff

http://urbanextension.wordpress.com/2008/06/01/bats-on-brownsea/

RSPB have reclassified bird identification

Well as I sit here whilst chewing my morning porridge, watching LBJ's on the feeders, finally I now know what I'm seeing. Back to work yesterday and one of the e-mails I received was a news article, outlining how the RSPB are thinking of reclassifying birds. I think we should support this as it would make life a lot easier!!

http://www.jasperfforde.com/toad/rspb.html


Which brings me in mind of a Warden I know who calls all birds, BUDGIES !! so this lovely juvenile Magpie I spied on Sunday, is actually..... a duck. Brilliant !!! :-)

The final triptych of weekend postings

Sunday mornings are for listening to the Archers, so while doing that finally a brief posting of the short trip to The Leas, South Shields last Thursday. The other 2 postings are below. My trip up north last week was last minute, and I'd hoped to have a day at the Farne Islands, and take my parents who after 70+ years of living in the North East, have never been. However one thing and another stopped this happening, so on Thursday morning I consoled myself with a hour on the coast at South Tyneside. My father above looks happy anyway with the change.

Above: Can there be a more accessible seabird colony? The carpark is opposite the stack (click on any image to enlarge for a better view)

Before moving south I used to be involved with Souter and the Leas when it became part of the National Trust portfolio, and it gave me a bit of a start when I realised it's 21 years since the land was handed over on my 23rd Birthday. I was fortunate enough to be part of the transition of the Lighthouse from Trinity House to the NT, and in 1986 was allowed access to the lighthouse while it was working to take photographs and record the change. This included being allowed up in the tower while the prism was working which was fascinating as it revolves on a mercury bath and I think only a 60watt light bulb, and hearing the foghorn blow for the last time.

Something I'll always treasure, that unique access to a dying piece of British Life. I was amazed that although the Lighthouse was on the mainland, the keepers had to remain there for 2 weeks at a time, as if they were off-shore. One other piece of trivia, Souter Lighthouse is on Lizard Point, but because of the more famous Lizard in Cornwall, could not be named so.

Kittiwakes on the stack (L) and Cormorants feeding chicks (R)

Above :Cormorants (note egg) (L) and Kittiwakes and Razorbill (R)

Below : Razorbill with Kittiwakes (L) and Fulmar (R)

The whole area is vital for Seabirds, having long been one of the top seabird colonies in Britain, with Marsden Rock a Tyneside landmark. However in 1996, half of the rock, actually an arch collapsed due to frost action penetrating water in deep cracks. Since then the seabird colonies are spreading along the coast, not least as with the removal of pollution in the Rivers Tyne and Wear, the sea here is now teeming with marine life, allowing more and more wildlife to be enjoyed by the huge Tyneside population, right on it's doorstep. Sometimes down there, it can be more like the Mediterranean or Cornwall than Tyneside. Mind you not quite as warm!?!

Kittiwakes are the main attraction, who also can be found nesting 10 miles inland along the River Tyne. This visit though picked out a handful of Razorbills. Just after the NT took over the area, I was rung by Peter Collins the NT Warden at the time to say one was nesting on Marsden Rock on the seaward side. We went out on a rowing boat in less than ideal conditions to try and photograph it. I did, but it's wasn't anything like as easy or as clear as those I took today.

Speaking of Peter, I produced a lot of slide photographs for him/NT for talks etc (seems like another era talking about slides, what with digital technology and laptop presentations but it was only 20 years ago). He rang me and said there's a Bee Orchid on the Leas can you come and photograph it. We wandered across the rough grassland for 20 minutes and I remember him saying, it's odd it was here this morning. In horror I looked down as he moved off, we'd only gone and stood on it!! The NT's Enterprise Neptune campaign was in fill swing in those days, with the 500th mile piece of coast being the purchase of the old coalfield coastline near Easington, which Peter also managed before Dennis Rowney took over. Happy Days but a long time ago now....

Closer time wise were the birds of the area last week. Above were a handful of Sandwich Terns which were hunting over the sea, and fortunately a Cormorant flew by to give a size reference to these big terns. And I can't leave out the Jackdaws or Oystercatchers. The former are here all year and give wonderful photo opportunities, this one against the Thrift. I think with Kittiwake, Razorbill and Sandwich Tern my year list is now 146 species, but to be honest I've lost track. Hopeless!! I never was any good at detail.

You see Tyneside is no longer flat caps and whippets. If you haven't visited before, treat yourself to the wonders of the North East, but remember to take a Gansie (wooly pullover) as the wind is awwer brisk off the sea.

The Bicycling Naturalist

After last night's posting about the antics of the garden birds in my parents North East garden, the next posting was meant to be about seabirds. That's not a seabird I can hear you say. It's a bicycle. Correct it's my 20 year old Dawes Fox, and a trusty steed it's been these many a year. Designed like me for comfort, not speed.

After mist the morning was glorious and so a bike ride around the lanes of Wick St Lawrence. Which became 10 miles in 2 hours, I'm not exactly pushing myself!! I don't do enough exercise anyway, so bicycling around lanes is an excellent way of seeing wildlife while covering a bit of ground and getting fitter. It always fascinates me that while cycling wildlife by and large will ignore the traveler, but stop and they're off. Thomas Hardy had a great poem about this, Wagtail and Baby. Reading the old Edwardian naturalists they travelled miles and miles on bicycles, and I have to say it does give one a different view of the countryside, and of course if something interesting is seen, one can stop immediately and have a proper look.

Such as these emergent Small Eggar Eriogaster lanestris caterpillars I spied on some Blackthorn. The day produced other interest, Buzzard mobbed by Rooks, Swallows and House Martins collecting mud from fields, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Reed Warbler all in song and a bank vole across the road were amongst the highlights. Sadly no Spotted Flycatchers at a known spot.

But the day really is about the atmosphere of cycling around lanes, peaceful, non-polluting, and a great way to see countryside in all it's glory. If you can, I'd recommend getting out of the car and giving it a go. It's amazing what you'll see. I therefore leave you with a "point of view" memento of the morning as I cycled back to the village of Wick St Lawrence with the birds singing and the shadows over the lane.