The weekly butterfly count and a walk around Cranford Park with friends

I was at the park at lunchtime today to complete the weekly UKBMS butterfly transect and to meet up with a couple of friends for a gentle stroll. 

The butterfly count was nice and healthy, although I was expecting a higher Meadow Brown count, but I did get a rather nice extra surprise in the form of a battered Purple Hairstreak. Thank you to Nathalie Mahieu for pointing it out. My first one this year and only my fourth one ever. 

So todays tally is as follows....

22/07/20 - 90 minute transect

Essex Skipper x 2 (id confirmed by photos)

Large White x 16

Small White x 5

Small Copper x 11

Holly Blue x 5

Red Admiral x 2

Small Tortoiseshell x 1

Peacock x 1

Speckled Wood x 10

Gatekeeper x 38

Meadow Brown x 9

Purple Hairstreak x 1

I would have expected the Meadow Brown count to be in double figures but I didn't see many at all during todays transect. They tend to be seen more in 'section 5' of my transect route, which starts by the bench at the edge of the scrub corner and goes through the meadow, through the Cattle Paddock and finishes at the gate at the Cranford Lane end of the park. I know during Lockdown this area was very popular with visitors and many, especially the new visitors to the park, did not always stick to the grass pathways. The new cattle didn't arrive until early June. There were a lot of picnics and barbeques in that area during Lockdown, and I'm wondering if the extra foot traffic has affected the Meadow Brown numbers this year. Only by comparing last years figures to next years figures, can I be absolutely certain. 

The Small Coppers however, seem to be having a bumper year at Cranford Park and a lot of the ones I saw today were very fresh and new. 

The Purple Hairstreak was found, with thanks to Nathalie, in 'section 1' of my route which includes several buddlia just before the Orchard. Purple Hairstreaks usually colonise high up in oaks, and don't often come down low enough to get photos of. They are not rare, just not commonly seen. The individual we saw today looked 'old' but it's more likely that it has had a near miss by a bird meaning it looks a bit ragged and is missing most of it's purple scales. 

Here are my photos from today …. 

Peacock

Essex Skipper

Essex Skipper

Meadow Brown

Small Copper

Small Copper

Small Copper

Gatekeeper

Gatekeeper

Speckled Wood

Purple Hairstreak - a very battered and 'old looking' individual but still great to see

We also spotted a Six-spot Burnet, a day flying moth … 

 and some Cinnabar moth caterpillars …. 

As to be expected in mid summer the river is looking particularly 'lush' at the moment. The two photos below are views from both the bridges …. 

View from the stone bridge towards the metal bridge

view from the metal bridge towards the stone bridge

Also spotted on this lovely warm day were this Migrant Hawker and Common Darter ...

And in the Secret Garden we found this beauty. The largest British hoverfly, the Volucella zonaria, the 'hornet mimic' … 

The honeybees that have a hive within one of the bricked up arches in the courtyard, were very active today. I haven't seen them this 'busy' so far this year....

During my transect I saw two Kestrels on the grass paths within the Cattle Paddock, but when we went back later we could only see one and he/she didn't want to hang around and be photographed. I also flushed a Skylark by the model aircraft landing strip, and saw a Red Kite over the old oaks. There were lots of Goldfinches calling, and we heard a couple of Green Woodpeckers. 

The girls in the Cattle Paddock were as curious as ever …. 

We done a bit of litter picking in the Cattle Paddock. Sadly these were full 'dog poo bags'. I appreciate the dog walkers that pick up after their pooches but please take the poop to a bin ! Don't bag it up and leave it, especially within the paddock where the curious cows will try to eat them … bag it and bin it !!! 

The only disappointing sight today was all the non-native Himalayan Balsam along the River Crane. This is an annually growing plant that originates from Asia. More about this attractive but invasive plant can be found on this link. One plant can produce 800 seeds and many are spread along rivers, which is why we try to remove any riverbank plants before they set seed. Due to Covid and the Lockdown, we didn't get to do an annual 'Balsam Bashing' day this year, and I did spot a few plants that had spread further from the river bank than in previous years. 

Himalayan Balsam seen from the stone bridge along the river bank

Himalayan Balsam flower head 

As well as enjoying a few hours stroll with my good friends Sheila and Nathalie, we also found Ron, Lin, Gary, Martyn, Daphne and Sandra outside the Information Centre, and bumped into Nikki Bates walking Lyns dogs along one of the paths by the side of the meadow. It's always good to have a catch up and chat, and share some banter. Lovely to see everyone, especially Daphne after the sad loss of her David recently. 

Beautiful weather and great company. A good all round day 

The latest butterfly records, and more, from Cranford Park

I was at Cranford Park today to carry out this weeks UKBMS (UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme) recording session. The overcast conditions, much cooler wind and the odd drizzly rain shower made for a poor count but two of the most commonly seen butterflies at the park at this time of year were happily feasting on the bramble patches and enabled me to get some nice close up comparison shots. But before I get started on them, here are todays stats from my 90 minute transect. 

15/07/20

Small/Essex Skipper x 7

Large White x 6

Green-veined White x 3

Gatekeeper x 15

Meadow Brown x 8

I have grouped together the Small and Essex Skippers as in flight they are identical, and it's only when they are perched that you tell the tiny difference. Essex Skippers have antennae that looked like they have been dipped in black ink whereas Small Skippers have orangey brown antennae tips. Often I cannot tell the difference unless I've taken a load of photos. No pics of them today though as I didn't see any perched, they were all fluttering around. 

However, despite the dreary weather, there was a patch of brambles that was host to both Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns. Gatekeepers were the most prolific today. 

In flight they look similar but Meadow Browns are quite large, low flying and very brown. Gatekeepers are smaller and faster flying and look more orangey. They are relatively easy to tell apart if they perch with wings open as they look quite different, but if they close their wings they can look identical, so here are some tips …

Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns both have an eye spot at the top of their upper wing. In Gatekeepers there are two white dots within the eye spot. The lower wing is a lovely mix of pale brown, beige and cream and often has several white dots ….

Gatekeeper

 But just to confuse issues, the occasional Meadow Brown also sometimes has two white dots in the eye spot, but as in this individual below you can tell it is a Meadow Brown by the colouring and marking on the lower wing …. 

Gatekeeper males have this lovely dark band across the upper wings and the white dots within the eye spot … 

male Gatekeeper

Meadow Brown females look very similar but there is just one white dot within the eye spot, and orange splashes across the top of the upper wing … 

female Meadow Brown

Female Gatekeepers are unmistakeable with their bright orange upper wings and the two white dots in the eye spot … 

female Gatekeeper

And to really add to the confusion occasionally one of the browns has an extra spot (like my closed wing Meadow Brown above, plus the aberration one I saw last week with an extra white splodge on it's upper wing), but I've never seen anything like the one below …

This is a male Gatekeeper, with the brown bands across the open upper wing and two white dots within the eye spot clearly seen, but this one also has quite a bit of white 'scuff' markings and crinkled wing edges. So what's happened to this one ? 

I'm a moderator on the Butterflies UK facebook group and have posted those photos to that group to see what other members think, but personally I reckon this individual has been damaged whilst emerging from its chrysalis and not only lost quite a few of its scales, but also emerged in a way that the wings have not been able to straighten properly. This could have happened if the caterpillar pupated too near to a hard surface like a wall, or if there was very bad weather when the butterfly emerged. It certainly was not affecting the butterfly in any way and it was feeding and flying quite happily. 

Along with butterflies I'm also a big fan of hoverflies. The variations in the hoverfly family are huge and here are two I found today that couldn't be more different … 

Volucella inanis

Sphaerophoria scripta - top view

Sphaerophoria scripta - side view

As I didn't see many butterflies, I was hoping the new Kestrel family would cheer me up, but they remained hidden in the trees by the haha wall and car park, and even though I saw five flying at one point, I could only find one hunkered down in one of the evergreen trees that was happy to be photographed … 

The field next to the park was being mown today and attracting quite a few Red Kites and Common Buzzards. At one point I counted ten Red Kites and three Common Buzzards all swooping down low to catch whatever the farmers tractor was disturbing, and one Red Kite settled very briefly in one of the tall trees on the boundary … 

Not a bad day, but I know my butterfly count would have been higher had the weather been better. 

It was nice to finally meet Caroline Allen from our Cranford Park Friends facebook group and see some of the usual regulars at the park including Phil with his two dogs, Ellie and Scruff, and of course Martyn in the Secret Garden. 

Hopefully next week the weather will be better and so will my photos ! Hahaha.

 Stay safe and keep well everyone. 

Fledged Kestrels, a dismal butterfly count and a tribute to David. The latest from Cranford Park.

I was at Cranford Park for most of the afternoon and had a lovely transect and walk. As I was leaving I bumped into Max and was told the very sad news that David Wellavise passed away early this morning. 

David had a great mischievous twinkle in his eye, a lovely smile and a wonderfully dry witty sense of humour. I bumped into him at many of the volunteering sessions, and always enjoyed some banter with him and his lovely wife, Daphne. He always showed an interest in my photos and what I had seen around the park. He will be missed. 

R.I.P David

_____________________________________________________________

My UKBMS butterfly transect was quite surprising today. It was overcast for most of the day yet butterflies I expected to see, I didn't and vice versa. 

Species seen and recorded today

Small Skipper

Essex Skipper

Large White

Small White

Small Copper

Holly Blue

Red Admiral

Peacock

Comma

Gatekeeper

Meadow Brown

Ringlet

That is what I would expect to see at this time of year, but this time last year I was counting numbers of well over 150 (on 12/07/2019 I had a total count of 198 and on 08/07/2018 I had a total count of 234 !!)  yet today with the cloudy weather I just about hit 90. The surprisingly lowest number were the Meadow Browns with only 10 seen on the transect today. I would have expected a much higher count that that today. Meadow Browns are one of the butterfly species that doesn't mind weather conditions, and can often be seen in the dullest of days. on 12/07/2019 I recorded 39 in total, and 28 of them were in the meadow where today I saw just 10. On 08/07/2018 I had a count of 30 in the meadow. 

Ringlet numbers are also down on last year. I only found 4 at their usual corner in the orchard. And I hoped and prayed for a Marbled White but saw none, yet everywhere else I've been to has good numbers of Marbled Whites. I'm not sure why Cranford Park doesn't have a healthy population, and I'm going to try and find out why. 

I was also hoping to see a Silver-washed Fritillary today as I had recorded one last July, but no sign of any yet. 

Here's a complete onslaught of butterfly pics from todays transect …. 

Comma

Comma

Comma

Comma

Comma

Comma

Red Admiral

Red Admiral

Red Admiral

Red Admiral

Peacock

Peacock

Peacock

Small Skipper

Essex Skipper

Essex Skipper

Small White

Small White

Small White

Ringlet

Holly Blue with Honeybee for size comparison

Meadow Brown (female)

Meadow Brown (female)

Meadow Brown

Meadow Brown

Gatekeeper (male) - this one has an aberration - the white spot on the upper wing is not usually present

There weren't too many critters out in the dull weather, the majority were probably hunkered down and hiding under leaves, but this Black and Yellow Longhorn (aka Rutpela maculate) was braving the clouds … 

During the transect route I heard the familiar sound of Kestrels calling, and happened to pass under the tree they were calling from, but because I was doing the time sensitive butterfly transect I opted to go back to the tree after I had finished. 

And there I found our Kestrels have fledged this years young. 

It looks like we have three youngsters this year. I think two males and a female going by the face markings that I could see. At the moment they are sticking to the trees and shrubs at the Cranford Lane end of the park, but in a few days time you'll see them on the grassy paths that cut through the meadow. They will be honing their hunting skills by trying to catch grasshoppers and crickets and butterflies. But for today they were happily perched in trees, or trying to perch on top of shrubs and waiting for the parents to bring them their food in. 

The cloudy weather meant some of my photos of them in the trees are quite dark and I've lightened them where I can. 

 

Other juvenile birds in the park that I saw today included this young Blackbird by the car park ...

and this soggy young Song Thrush at the wildlife pond ...

and yet another by the M4 wall … 

There aren't too many clumps of Ragwort in the meadows at the moment, but I did spot my first Cinnabar moth caterpillars of the season ...

and some of the young oak tree saplings have already got Oak Galls. Right inside that round mass is the grub of a parasitic tiny wasp. 

When it has fully grown and pupated, the adult wasp will make a tiny tunnel and exit through a very small hole which can normally be seen very clearly in the autumn ...

The girls in the paddock didn't really care if it was sunny or cloudy and spent most of the time lying in the grasses ...