A Profusion of Painted Ladies - Chambers Wall to Shuart 14/06/19

It was good to have a day off today and I aimed for a slow wander from Chambers Wall to Shuart. There were some brief sunny intervals and a moderate to strong south westerly wind when I arrived but as the visit went on the length of the sunny intervals increased. A Hairy Dragonfly was on the wing but I did not see it settle. I could see a few Azure Damselflies tucked down amongst the vegetation out of the wind. A male Chaffinch was singing away and Skylark song filled the air. I had a look at the waters edge and could see lots of fish fry in the shallows and a couple of male Red-eyed Damselflies were vying for the best spot. An Emperor Dragonfly appeared briefly but then disappeared from view.

Fish Fry

A Blackcap was singing away and Whitethroats were on the hunt for insects. I came across an attractive Hoverfly, which on looking it up is a Chrysotoxum bicinctum. A Red-eyed Damselfly was resting out of the wind but otherwise it seemed pretty quiet for damselflies. I saw the odd Blue-tailed here and there but the combination of a cool wind and fairly short sunny intervals seemed to be keeping them down and out of sight.

Chrysotoxum bicinctum

female Red-eyed Damselfly

I had a look in a sheltered area near the waters edge and saw a mating pair of Azure Damselflies. A couple of Common Blue Damselflies were active but otherwise, again, it was very quiet with very little in the damselfly line and no dragonflies at all. It was nice to be able to spend time watching the Common Blue Damselflies. A few Swallow were overhead and some Sand Martin passed through.

mating Azure Damselflies

male Common Blue Damselfly

male Common Blue Damselfly

As I came up onto the embankment a pair of Swift were hawking away and a family of 5 Long-tailed Tits were busy searching the bushes for insects.

Swift

juvenile Long-tailed Tit

A single Brown Argus butterfly was braving the wind and a couple of little mushrooms were tucked down in amongst the grass. I will have to update when I can find out which they are.

Brown Argus Butterfly

Brown Argus Butterfly

A Blackbird was alarm calling repeatedly but I could not see at what. On the whole it seemed very quiet for birds with only the usual jobs seen. I saw a type of insect that I have not seen before and on looking it up it appears to be a Sicus, of which only 2 species apparently occur in Britain one of which is very rare so I am assuming that this is a Sicus ferrugineus. Apparently they are parasitoids of a range of bumblebees. It was an interesting looking insect.

Sicus ferrugineus

Sicus ferrugineus

Sicus ferrugineus

A family of Blue Tits were moving through the back of the bushes and one youngster paused and peeped through at me. There appeared to be 4 youngsters. A Cantharis livida was in amongst the grasses.

young Blue Tit

Cantharis livida

The sunny intervals were becoming longer and out of the wind it was nice and warm. In one of the sheltered areas a smart Small Tortoiseshell was sunning itself on the path and a couple of Common Blue Damselflies were tucked down in the grass.

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly

male Common Blue Damselfly

It was nice to see that the Everlasting Pea's were in flower and they were certainly popular with White-tailed and Buff-tailed Bumblebees. I saw a bee that I think may be a Vestal Cuckoo Bee Bombus vestalis.

Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

Vestal Cuckoo Bee Bombus vestalis

While sat having a rest I saw an interesting small bee on a clover flower and on looking it up I wondered if it might be Shrill Carder Bumblebee but I do not think it can be because the black on the thorax does not appear to extend to the wing bases and does not even seem to be black hairs as such but more of a bare patch. At the moment I am not sure what it is but it will be interesting to try and work it out. I do seem pretty rubbish at insects, I spend more time puzzled than not. Still the good thing is that I can only get better at identifying them!

 A Cetti's Warbler burst into song nearby and another family of Blue Tits were calling away. I saw both a Large and Small White Butterfly and a few Holly Blue's. A couple of Red Admiral and some more very fresh looking Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies were in sheltered areas as were a couple of Lattice Heath Moths. There were lots of patches of Everlasting Pea flowers and I enjoyed seeing the various shades of pink that they came in along the embankment.

Everlasting Pea

I began to see a Painted Lady Butterfly here and there and then came to an extended sheltered area and they seemed to be everywhere. Many were very faded and there was quite a difference in size between some of them. Some were much fresher and it was nice to get reacquainted with them. In the end I did very well for Painted Ladies during the visit and saw 37 along the embankment with many of those congregating in just a few sheltered areas.

Painted Lady Butterfly

Painted Lady Butterfly

Painted Lady Butterfly

 I could hear Mediterranean Gulls calling and had 2 adults and a first summer above heading towards the sea. A flooded field had attracted a mixed group of roosting gulls, mostly Herring but also a couple of Lesser Black-backed, 3 Great Black-backed and some Black-headed Gulls. I wondered if the Mediterranean Gulls had come up from there. There were also 16 Mallard making the most of the puddles of water. In a nearby field I could see a couple of Hares chasing each other.

adult Mediterranean Gulls

Flooded Field

I saw a couple of different Nomad bees. The first one I think is a Flavous Nomad Bee and the second Gooden's Nomad Bee.

Flavous Nomad Bee Nomada flava

Gooden's Nomad Bee Nomada goodenianna

 A female Hairy Dragonfly zipped by me and shortly afterwards I saw a male who was somewhat more obliging and settled briefly. They are very handsome dragonflies.

male Hairy Dragonfly

I could hear another Cuckoo calling but though it came tantalisingly close it did not come past. As I looked out over the fields I could see a male Marsh Harrier flying towards Shuart. A little further on I caught sight of my first Orchid of this year. It was only in bud but still nice to see and is presumably a Pyramidal. A Seven-spot Ladybird was resting on a leaf and a very pretty female Common Blue Butterfly with a large amount of blue in her wings settled briefly.

Pyramidal Orchid 

Seven-spot Ladybird

female Common Blue Butterfly

I came across a Grasshopper that was missing its back leg.  It seemed to be getting round pretty well. I think that it is a female Meadow Grasshopper. 

female Meadow Grasshopper

The walk back up to Shuart was pretty quiet overall. Where the vegetation at the edge of the path has been cut here and at Chambers Wall the drop in visible damselfly numbers was marked. Butterfly wise I only saw a single Red Admiral butterfly on the walk up but it was getting cooler. 2 Hairy Dragonflies, both males, were patrolling. I heard a Common Buzzard call and could see a Sparrowhawk harrying it above me. A little further on I saw 3 Common Buzzard in the air together which could have included this one. A couple of Cetti's Warblers were singing and joined by Song Thrush, Blackbird, Blackcap and Wren.

Red Admiral Butterfly

I finished off with a walk up to the bridleway and had a short look around the start of the path. A couple of Ring-necked Parakeets flew over and a Common Buzzard flew past carrying prey. I was very pleased to catch up with my first Common Darter of the year.

Common Darter

A Small Heath Butterfly was also enjoying the last of the sunshine and I could hear a couple of Red-legged Partridge calling.

Small Heath Butterfly

I heard a Kestrel call and caught sight, through the trees, of one perched while another was flying and calling. I tried for a photo but massively overexposed it. Still, I was pleased to be able to get it and it made a nice memory shot at the end of the visit.

Kestrel

It had been an interesting visit and I had enjoyed seeing so many Painted Lady Butterflies.

Birds seen this visit include: 14 Chaffinch, Skylarks, 8 Linnet, 9 Wren, 12 Blackbird, 11 Reed Bunting, 5 Robin, 11 Goldfinch, Carrion Crow, 12 Reed Warbler, 8 Magpie, 20 Whitethroat, 3 Dunnock, Blue Tits, Great Tits, 5 Blackcap, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 19 Swift, 21 Swallow, 11 Sand Martin, 6 Sedge Warbler, Rooks, 8 Long-tailed Tit, 3 Yellow Wagtail, Starlings, 5 Cetti's Warbler, 3 Chiffchaff, 4 Lapwing, 3 Great Black-backed Gull, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 3 Mediterranean Gull, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, 3 Dunnock, 16 Mallard, 2 Cuckoo, Cormorants, 4 Pheasant, 5 Mute Swan, 1 Marsh Harrier, 4 Collared Dove, 1 Pied Wagtail, 6 Song Thrush, 3 Common Buzzard, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Kestrel, 2 Ring-necked Parakeet, 2 Red-legged Partridge, 1 Jay, 1 Coot, 2 Stock Dove, 1 Mistle Thrush, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Green Woodpecker, Jackdaws, 1 Grey Heron, Wood Pigeons