On July 13th I led a guided Butterfly Walk and Talk - it was very successful with a good turn out and we saw all eight target species plus the added bonus of a Purple Hairstreak
After the walk ended my friend Sue and I loitered by the buddleia and were lucky enough to see a Silver-washed Fritillary - only my second ever time of seeing one at Cranford Park
Yesterday (21st July) I decided to see if it was still there
There were plenty of the usual suspects
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| Small Skipper |
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| Comma (underwing) |
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| Comma |
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| Comma |
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| Peacock |
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| Peacock |
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| Red Admiral |
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| Red Admiral |
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| Red Admirals (female at top with male underneath) |
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| Red Admiral |
And then came along the unmistakable large Silver-washed Fritillary
When Sue and I saw it last week we just took a couple of record shots on our phones - but today I was ready with my camera
This is a male and he was behaving in a very territorial manner chasing away any other butterfly species and also having a go at a patrolling Migrant Hawker
He is looking a little tatty now with a chunk missing out of one lower wing (possibly an attempt by a bird to catch it) It is not necessarily a rare butterfly - they are fairly common in the south - but according to my UKBMS mentor (Paul Busby) this is only the third recorded sighting in 21 years at Cranford Park
So now for a complete overload of photos
The buddleia was also attracting a number of hoverflies including the huge Volucella zonaria
Other species were seen too - ids under photos
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| Volucella pellucens |
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| Eristalis sp |
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| Syrphus sp |
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| Chrysotoxum bicinctum |
The Migrant Hawker also favouring the buddleia posed for me nicely
Dragging myself away some time later I made my way to the meadows
Last week I had forlornly walked around the meadows for some time looking for any fledged kestrels but to no avail - however at the Family Fun Day on Saturday I got talking to Trevor and Karena and they confirmed they had seen four kestrels that same morning
Whilst I searched with my binoculars I had three Common Buzzard go over and this tatty Red Kite
The Kestrels are fairly predictable - just like previous years they do like to sit on the tree guards and watch the world go by - it's also a handy perch to watch the grasshoppers and crickets on the grassy paths
I could see the adult male and three juveniles but no sign of the adult female - she was probably watching her brood play fight and hone their hunting skills from the safety of a nearby tall tree
So now for an overload of Kestrel pics - the ones of them on the paths aren't that clear - I had the wrong lens on the camera - that's my excuse anyway :)
A very productive visit to the park and again a reminder that even though Cranford Park is surrounded on three sides by Heathrow and the M4 and the A312 - it is still rich in wildlife
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