Dusk Birding and More Butterflies

It was a beautiful evening on Tuesday 17th June as I headed up to the edge of Dartmoor to meet Mavis and Kay for a Nightjar walk. There was only a little breeze and it felt quite warm although it cooled down quickly as dusk fell, the skies were mostly clear too but the bits of cloud present made for a beautiful sunset. It was lovely to have Mike join us too and we all kept our fingers crossed for some Nightjar action.

Myself, Mavis and Kay set off for a walk while Mike stayed in the car and we managed to find a few birds in the fading light, the best being a Spotted Flycatcher flitting about between Hawthorn bushes before disappearing from view. Stonechats, Meadow Pipits and Linnets were vocal and showy too while Willow Warblers were melodiously singing away.

We headed back to the car and drove over to another car park to set ourselves up for the Nightjars as the light continued to fall. We could hear a very distant Cuckoo calling while Kay sadly found a dead Slow Worm on the footpath, my second one of the year. A male Yellowhammer was seen perched up on top of a bush and a group of Fallow Deer showed nicely as they crossed the road, skillfully avoiding the frequent cars passing by.

Fallow Deer at dusk - a very lovely photo courtesy of Mavis

As we were scanning about I caught sight of a distant white bird flying over the Down, at first I thought it was a Little Egret (!) before realising it was in fact a Barn Owl! We watched it for a while as it quartered over the ground, it occassionally hovered and dived down into the vegetation although it never appeared to catch anything. It eventually drifted off out of sight but I was pleased to have seen only my second ever Devon Barn Owl, an unexpected and very delightful surprise.

Eventually we heard a Nightjar churring, a strange and wonderful sound, it sang away for a good 30 minutes as it moved position around the Down but unfortunately we never got a view of it and no other males were heard either. The light eventually went and it was time to leave with Kay very kindly dropping me off closer to civilisation so I could catch a bus home. It had a been a very enjoyable evening indeed despite the lack of a Nightjar sighting but listening to their churring song is always a special treat.

With the weather beginning to heat up I headed out to Wembury for a walk on Thursday 19th June, I arrived off the bus at around 9:45am and it was already very hot in the strong sunshine and there was very little breeze to cool things down. I was on the lookout for butterflies again so didn't pay much attention to bird life, there wasn't much to see anyway and I didnt even find any Oystercatchers or Stonechats on my walk which is very unusual but there were Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Whitethroats and Cirl Buntings singing away and I also briefly heard a Cetti's Warbler in the valley to the beach. I was pleased to see 2 Swifts hawking insects over the village amongst the House Martins as I passed by on the bus and the only other sightings of note were 2 Little Egret and a female Mallard along the beach.

I did find some butterflies though with sightings of my first Small Skippers and Ringlets of the year along with 2 Green Hairstreak, a Common Blue, a Painted Lady, 2 Red Admiral, Large Skippers, Meadow Browns and Commas.

Green Hairstreak

Sand-tailed Digger Wasp carrying a Weevil back to it's nest

I stepped off the bus at Morrisons on the journey home from Wembury to meet up with Mavis and Kay to look for the Oreston Hairstreaks. It was baking hot by now but quite breezy and the tree tops were swaying away making viewing difficult but we did find White-letter Hairstreaks flitting about and I also managed a brief view of a Purple Hairstreak, making it a rare 3 Hairstreak day. To finish off we had a look at the nearby Bee and Pyramidal Orchids before heading home, I'd had a great time but was very glad to get indoors and out of the heat.

White-letter Hairstreak

It was even hotter the next day (Friday 20th June) and with David finally having his Op at Derriford Hospital that morning I had a few hours to kill while waiting around for him to emerge from his surgery. I went to see a few of my old work colleagues and also had a wander around Bircham Meadow, a nature reserve at the back of the hospital. It was baking hot in the sun but there were Ringlets, Meadow Browns, Small Skippers, Marbled Whites and Large Skippers buzzing around everywhere. I also saw a Red Admiral, a Comma, a Painted Lady and a Silver-washed Fritillary with a Golden-ringed Dragonfly, a male Beautiful Demoiselle, a Broad-bodied Chaser and an Emperor Dragonfly also found. A Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Buzzard and Stock Doves were seen while a Jay, a Goldcrest, a Nuthatch, Chiffchaff and Blackcap were heard but again I was very glad to get back indoors and out of the heat.

Ringlet

More Local Butterflying

I headed out to Wembury on Saturday 14th June for a walk, it's been a while since my last visit and I was hoping to catch up with some butterflies. It was cool and breezy despite the mostly sunny skies but I did find a Painted Lady, 2 Red Admiral, 3 Large Skipper and 4 Meadow Browns along with a single Small Copper and a very faded Common Blue. I also had a brief glimpse of a probable Small Skipper but it was off and gone before I properly got onto it along with a brief view of a flitty Marbled White which was my first for the year.

Painted Lady

Marbled White

A few moths were seen too with the highlight being my first Hummingbird Hawkmoth of the year feeding on Valerian. A Silver Y, 2 Rush Veneer and a Double-Striped Pug were also disturbed from the vegetation and a worn looking Shears, a new moth for me, was found resting on a Mullein where 2 Mullein caterpillars were also feeding. A large Lackey Caterpillar was also seen basking on a fence post.

Shears

Mullein and Lackey Caterpillars

Mating Black-and-Yellow Longhorn Beetles

There wasn't much going on with the birdlife as expected, the highlights were 44 Oystercatcher roosting along the beach on the high tide before being flushed by dog walkers, Fulmars around The Mewstone, vocal and showy Whitethroats and a hovering Kestrel near the Church.

I headed out to Saltram for a walk on Sunday 15th June, it was warmer and sunnier than the previous day but still breezy and again I hoped to see some butterflies. I caught the bus to Laira Bridge and started off by having a look at the Elm near The Range where I found 3+ White-letter Hairstreaks flitting about amongst the leaves of a very healthy looking tree. They were keeping high up in the tree though and binoculars were needed for decent views, it's easy to forget how spoilt we are with the views we can get at the Oreston site.

White-letter Hairstreak

I then headed along The Ride towards Saltram Beach where a Whitethroat was heard singing away with a second bird then seen flitting about on Chelson Meadow along with a juvenile Stonechat. There were also House Martins and 2 Swifts hawking for insects overhead, Skylarks singing away and lots of Grass Vetchlings in flower amongst the long grass.

Grass Vetchling

A few Marbled Whites, Meadow Browns, Large Skippers and Common Blues were fitting about along with a Small Heath, a Red Admiral, a Large White and a Comma. I had a look for White-letter Hairstreaks at the site I first found them at last year but other than a very brief view of a potential Hairstreak disappearing over the tree tops I was out of luck.

It was hot and sunny on Monday 16th June and the breeze had died down as I headed up to Long Ash on Dartmoor to meet up with Dave the Buttefly Guy for a Fritillary walk. Long Ash is apparently a good site for Dark Green Fritillary and is not too far as the Fritillary flies from my High Brown Fritillary site and we were both intrigued to see if we could find High Browns at Long Ash too.

I caught the bus to Yelverton where I found a Small Fan Foot moth on the toilet block wall before I walked over the Down to Long Ash to meet up with Dave, birds I saw along the way included a female Bullfinch, 2 Coal Tit, a male Yellowhammer and 4 Long-tailed Tit with Willow Warblers and a garden Warbler also heard. At least 6 Silver-washed Fritillary were flitting about too and I managed some good views of 2 of them when they landed briefly before dashing off again.

Small Fan Foot

Silver-washed Fritillary

Silver-washed Fritillary

Silver-washed Fritillary

After meeting Dave at Long Ash we headed off into the valley to look for Fritillaries, a few were seen dashing about over the Bracken but didn't settle for a second. Eventually we arrived at Daves Dark Green Fritillary hotspot where Brambles and Thistles were in flower and we settled down to stake them out for any nectaring butterflies. There were Fritillaries dashing about all over the place and again they rarely and only briefly settled on the flowers to feed but we positively ID'd 1 Dark Green Fritillary and an amazing 4 High Brown Fritillary!

High Brown Fritillary

Meadow Browns, a Small White, a male Brimstone and a Red Admiral were also seen along with a possible Ringlet while birds noted included 2 Stock Dove, a flyover Grey Heron and a pair of Bullfinch with Siskins calling overhead and Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and another Garden Warbler heard.

As we headed back to the car park at Long Ash we found a male High Brown Fritillary on the muddy footpath, presumably newly emerged and taking in minerals, and we finally got some proper views of the underwings.

High Brown Fritillary

It had been an interesting walk and I was very surprised to have seen High Brown Fritillaries, I really hadn't expected to find any at all but it does go to show what is out there if you go and look. The apparent lack of Dark Green Fritillaries is odd too, a situation echoed at Aish Tor where High Browns are also having a good season and Dark Green not so much, maybe the Dark Green are just running late this year.

With news of Purple Hairstreak amongst the White-letter Hairstreaks at Oreston I headed out there for a quick look on Tuesday 17th June. It was hot and sunny and on arriving on site at around 9:45am there were 3 butterflyers already present and they had been watching a Purple Hairstreak for around 30 minutes before it flew off just as I arrived - typical! 

There were White-letter Hairstreaks flitting about though, there must have been at least 10 present and despite being very active I had some great views of them and they were all looking very smart.

White-letter Hairstreak

White-letter Hairstreak

Eventually a Purple Hairstreak showed itself and gave some nice views with a second individual briefly seen as well.

Purple Hairstreak

Purple Hairstreak and Wasp

A Comma, 2 Speckled Wood and a Large White were also seen and on the walk over to the nearby Elm tree at The Range I found Bee Orchids and Pyramidal Orchids still in flower, I did also see at least 2 White-letter Hairstreak buzzing around the Elm but again the views were tricky and distant looking up into the tree top.