I completed the UKBMS butterfly transect yesterday on one of the hottest days of the year - I also walked it whilst the meadow was being mown so my numbers are well down on last week
18th July - 234 butterflies of 15 species
25th July - 179 butterflies of 12 species
Large White x 31
Small White x 5
Small Copper x 11
Common Blue x 23
Brown Argus x 5
Holly Blue x 6
Peacock x 1
Speckled Wood x 32
Gatekeeper x 39
Meadow Brown x 23
Small Heath x 2
Purple Hairstreak x 1
I spotted the Purple Hairstreak in the same location as the one I found on 18th July - again I could only see the one but I managed to fire off some photos this time - they're not great but they will do as record shots for now
 |
| Purple Hairstreak - record shot |
 |
| Purple Hairstreak - record shot |
 |
| Purple Hairstreak - record shot |
and here are the best of the rest - ids under photos
 |
| Brown Argus |
 |
| Brown Argus |
 |
| Gatekeepers mating |
 |
| Gatekeepers mating |
 |
| Gatekeepers mating |
 |
| male Common Blue |
 |
| Small Heath |
 |
| Small Heath |
 |
| Large White |
 |
| Small Copper |
 |
| Small Copper |
 |
| Small Copper |
 |
| Holly Blue |
 |
| Holly Blue |
 |
| Speckled Wood |
The meadow being cut attracted five Red Kites and one Common Buzzard - I tried hard to get them all in one picture but could only manage three
I've seen Kites and Buzzards do this before - sometimes when a field is being ploughed - I guess its because small prey may be flushed out or earthworms and other tasty critters exposed
The heat meant there weren't that many hoverflies around but I did find this beauty in some shady grass - its a female Chrysotoxum bicintum
There are still no signs of any juvenile Kestrels so I went back over my records to see the dates I had recorded for them appearing in the meadows
12th July 2013
4th July 2014
4th July 2015
17th July 2016
2nd July 2017
I am now fairly certain we will not see any at Cranford Park this year which is a real shame as they were so entertaining watching them learn how to hunt and hover
We desperately need a day of rain to help not only the grass but also the wildlife - it was very very quiet bird wise yesterday - the river level is low and the wildlife pond level is low
I'm leading a guided Butterfly Walk at Cranford Park on the 4th August - all ages welcome - meet at the Information Centre at 11am
No comments:
Post a Comment