Butterfly and Moth Bonanza

With my butterfly year list for 2022 standing at 37 and with a few more weeks still left in this years butterfly season I decided to try for 40 species for the year - and with my birthday money from Mum and Dad burning a hole in my pocket I thought the best way to achieve this would be to take a trip to Fontmell Down in Dorset.

Fontmell Down - strong legs and a head for heights required! 

Fontmell Down - very brown and dry

Fontmell Down - stunning as always

I last visited Fontmell Down 2 years ago and I was very much looking forward to revisiting this spectacular site again. It was forecast to be a hot and sunny day, perhaps not the best conditions for butterfly watching, but with another heatwave brewing, train strikes looming and a parched landscape it seemed as good a time as any to head out for a visit.

It was an early start again (05:25 hrs train!) and an expensive train ticket and taxi ride but I arrived on the Down at around 09:00hrs and it was already a very warm day. The Down looked dry and sun scorched but there was plenty of insect activity to observe despite this. The baking heat meant very active and mobile butterflies and along with the harsh sunlight the conditions proved very challenging for taking any decent photos but I managed to get a few passable shots.

Within a few minutes of arriving I found my first Silver-spotted Skipper looking absolutely mint as it buzzed from flower to flower before dashing off. Over the course of the morning I saw plenty more, certainly the most I've ever seen here before and all looking very smart but they never settled for very long. I never really saw the upper wings of any of them either as they mostly always kept their wings firmly closed but at least they showed off their beautifully patterned underwing.

Silver-spotted Skipper

Silver-spotted Skipper

There were lots of Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers around and Common Blues were very numerous too. I checked out every blue butterfly I saw and eventually found a stunning male Adonis Blue, unmistakable as soon as I clapped eyes on it. It was a dazzling blue, probably newly emerged, but it never settled for long and always kept its wings shut when it did. As it flew around the hillside its electric blue upperwings contrasted with the brown coloured underwings giving it a very distinctive look. 

Adonis Blue

I also found at least 2 male Chalkhill Blues flitting about, a beautiful pale blue colour and again very distinctive in flight but both very worn with the black markings on the upper wings very faded. 

Chalkhill Blue

Chalkhill Blue

A Clouded Yellow, a male Brimstone and a few Small Heath were also noted but a surprise sighting was of 2 Dingy Skipper with one seen busily laying eggs. A mating pair of Common Blue were much more accommodating for the camera. 

Common Blues

Common Blues

I had a wander over to nearby Melbury Down to check out a small quarry where I think Small Blues are found but I was out of luck although I did find 2 smart Brown Argus feeding on flowers. 

Brown Argus

Brown Argus 

A few birds were noted over the course of my visit, the best being a Lesser Whitethroat skulking in the shrubbery, a brief view only but my first of the year. 2 Red Kites, 2 Buzzards and 2 Kestrels overhead, a Green Woodpecker yaffling away and very lemony looking juvenile Willow Warblers flitting about in the bushes were also of note. 

Dwarf Thistle - splashes of colour hidden in the browned grass

Agriphila inquinatella - large numbers constantly disturbed from the grass

The journey home to Plymouth was long, hot and tiring but with only a minor delay experienced this time as the train came to a halt for around 5 minutes just outside Ivybridge. I didn't mind too much as I was able to watch 2 Painted Lady, 2 Red Admiral and a Silver-washed Fritillary feeding on the Buddleia flowers right by the trackside and bringing my Butterfly total for the day to 22 species - and my year list now stands at a record breaking 41 species! 

Tuesday 9th August was hotter again and I took a quick walk along the coast path at Wembury before yet another looming night shift. It was uncomfortably hot as soon as I stepped off the bus and I was very glad 3 hours later to return home to escape from the heat. 

The tide was low but out on the rocks there were 2 Little Egrets, Oystercatchers, a male Mallard in eclipse plumage and at least 11 Mediterranean Gulls (6 adults, 3 juveniles and 2 2nd winters). 

Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Stonechat, Linnet and Cirl Bunting were all seen but a search for Willow Warbler drew a blank. Overhead 3 Swallow, 2 Kestrel and 2 Raven were noted and a Green Woodpecker was again heard yaffling away at The Point. 

There was plenty of butterfly activity in the heat including at least 3 Painted Lady, a Comma, 2 Clouded Yellow, a Wall, a Green-veined White and a few Small White along with the usual species. A record total of 11 Beautiful Demoiselle (3 female) were seen flitting about around the streamside vegetation and a Hornet Robberfly was a nice find too but proved a swine to get a decent photo of it.

Painted Lady

Wall

I had the moth box out in the back yard overnight on Wednesday 10th August and on the following morning I had a garden record of 17 Jersey Tiger in the trap including a yellow lutescens form. 

There were plenty of other moths in the trap including a Diamond-back Moth, 3 Rush Veneer, 3 Mullein Wave, a Marbled Green, a Marbled Beauty and an August Thorn (in August!). 

Marbled Beauty and Marbled Green

August Thorn

Micro-moths stole the show though with the highlight being 2 Cosmopterix pulchrimella, one which unfortunately soon became deceased and the other which unfortunately flew off pretty quickly from its pot even after a spell in the fridge. 

Cosmopterix pulchrimella

Bucculatrix thoracella, Ringed China Mark, Garden Rose Tortrix and 2 Acleris literana were the best of the rest lurking in the trap. 

Garden Rose Tortrix

Acleris literana

Thursday was set to be another scorching hot day as the heatwave continues to build and so we decided to head up to Dartmoor to walk more of the Devonport Leat, figuring the higher altitude would mean lower temperatures and a more cooling breeze, and indeed it was cooler but still searingly hot in the sunshine. We enjoyed the walk anyway and it was nice to actually see some green grass for a change although we were very glad to stop for lunch at The Two Bridges Hotel and to get out of the heat. 

A juvenile Spotted Flycatcher was the avian highlight with a Grey Heron, 2 Reed Bunting, a Grey Wagtail and 5 Mallard also of note. A few Small Heath, a Red Admiral, Beautiful Demoiselle, Large Red Damselfly, Common Darter and Golden-ringed Dragonfly were also seen. 

Spotted Flycatcher

Golden-ringed Dragonfly