We're all going on an egg hunt!

brown hairstreak (Thecla betulae)

Vapourer (Orgyia antiqua)

Oxenbourne Down, Hampshire

Oxenbourne Down

Polyommatus Icarus on Carlina vulgaris

Epargyreus clarus on Scabiosa columbaria

Isle of Wight extended weekend perambulations

Hazel dormouse

Muscardinus avellanarius

Dormouse monitoring

Briddlesford Woods

Dormouse bridge

Briddlesford Woods

Common cow wheat Melampyrum pratense

Briddlesford Woods

The weekend started with two days of hazel dormouse monitoring in Briddlesford Woods, a site owned and managed by Peoples Trust for Endangered Species. It also provided an opportunity to take a closer look at the fabulous dormouse bridge, which spans the railway running through the woodland.

An encounter with common cow wheat along the woodland rides, would prompt a later diversion to St Lawrence Shute to see the beautiful - yet still not quite in full flower - field cow wheat (Melampyrum arvense) which grows in some number on the south facing bank of an arable field. A once common but now rare plant that is found on only a few sites in the country (Hampshire and IOW Wildlife Trust 2017).

Field cow wheat
St Lawrence Shute

On our third day, we took a left at Ventnor and walked the undercliffs of Wheelers Bay connecting with 10's of Glanville fritillary (Melitaea cinxia).

By chance we met the gentleman responsible for managing the site for Glanvilles, who generously gave us a full tour of the undercliffs, and provided an insight into the management history / process and progress to date.

Recent management prescriptions had focussed on recreating patches of bare ground behind the sea defences to promote opportunities for the early successional Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata), the butterfly's primary larval food plant. In one large area chalk had been deposited to create a defence against an over-topping sea. Behind this new defence the ground had been scraped back to bare earth / gravel. At one end of this scrape an artificially sloping bank was installed, to create micro-climates within the bare ground habitat.

After our impromptu private tour we got the sunshine and the Glanvilles in spades! We noted six other butterfly spp. on the wing, along with a splendid hummingbird hawk moth (Macroglossum stellatarum).

Glanville fritillary

Wheelers Bay

After a late lunch at the Spyglass Inn we walked west out of Ventnor, starting at the car park adjacent the coastal path. A scan of the walls of the car park, provided the briefest hint of a wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) dropping out of site into marginal vegetation. At Castle Cove a single lizard showed as it crossed the footpath running between the sea defences. A hasty record shot was obtained, and then we arrived at Steephill Cove, where we grabbed some refreshments and decided to retrace our steps, as the heat of a long day out in the sunshine was finally catching up with us.

Our return along the sea defences of castle cove provided an opportunity to watch wall lizard in small numbers (Ca. 10 individuals seen), as they basked and moved along the rocks behind the sea wall. Despite their proximity, and the splendid views we enjoyed I failed to get anything other than record shots. Several Glanvilles were also flying in this area.

Castle Cove - looking East

wall lizard

Lasiommata megera

St Boniface Down

On our final day we undertook a 8 mile round walk on the downs above and to the north of Ventnor. Successfully connecting with wall butterfly (Lasiommata megera), whilst dipping on Adonis blue(Polyommatus bellargus). A couple of adder (Viperus berus) basking in mid-afternoon sun doubled our reptile list for the weekend.

Bibliography

Hampshire and IOW Wildlife Trust, 2017 [Online]
St Lawrence Bank

Unseasonal Greetings from Halnaker Windmill

I was pleasantly surprised today, to share the summit of Halnaker Hill with this unseasonal migrant species.

The butterfly was using the south facing aspects of the WWII searchlight placement and the unimproved chalk grassland to bask in the mid-day sun.

A hasty phone shot secured the record.

Vanessa cardui

Lulworth Cove fossilised forest; and Lulworth Skipper (Thymelicus acteon)

A cross-referenced BLOG update from the sister site of "part-time Naturalist":

http://awalkamongstthestones.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/fossil-forest-lulworth.html

Alice Holt and Thursley Common

Out of county trip today, saw David and I heading for the Surrey heathlands in search of Lepidoptera and Odanata.

At Goose Green, Alice Holt, we watched purple emperor (Apatura iris) - with one male atop a sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa)- tussling a second male on the wing; and purple hairstreak (Neozephyrus quercus) - both species lifers for me.

Also flying ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus), peacock (Inachis io), meadow brown (Manilio jurtina), large skipper (Ochlodes venata), marbled white (Melanargia galathea), gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonis) and silver-washed fritillary (Argynnis paphia).

Odanata interest was provided by brown hawker (Aeshna grandis) and southern hawker (Aeshna cyanea).

A goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) overhead was a complete bonus!

His Royal Highness (record shot)

silver-washed fritillary

downy emerald

black darter

small red damselfy
(Ceriagrion tenellum)

very worn out fem.
keeled skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens)

Chalkhill Blue (Lysandra coridon L.), Minchinhampton Common

Chalkhill blue, male on carline thistle (Carlina vulgaris)
photo courtesy Alison Hogan - shot on iPhone 5

White light, white heat

Pieris brassicae (L.)

Dartmeet, Dartmoor, Easter Sunday

pearl-bordered fritillary (Boloria euphrosyne); willow warblers (Phylloscopus trochilus)

garden butterflies

at least 2 x large white (Pieris brassicae), 1 x holly blue (Calestrina argiolus) and a single unidentified small white butterfly on the wing over the back gardens this afternoon.

garden butterfly

Large white (Pieris brassicae) in strong flight over the back gardens this morning.

Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni L.) on the wing

♂ seen crossing over A32 (just N of J10 on the M27) .. the first butterfly I have seen on the wing this spring .. and some 2.5 months after the first recorded sighting of the year for this species on 8th Jan 2011 somewhere in Wiltshire ..

see http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/ 

mini-beasts of Brittany

Following on the theme from Monday's invertebrate session in Ower Wood - these mini-beasts were photographed on Chuck and Fe's recent trip to Brittany. From top to bottom: brimstone butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni); spiked shield bug (Picromerus bidens); large marsh grasshopper (Stethophyma grossum).

All pictures copyright Chuck Eccleston.