Pearl Bordered Fritillary, Dunsford Woods

Monday 21st May was the last day of my holiday and an early start saw me heading off on the train to Exeter and then the bus to Steps Bridge and Dunsford Woods for a walk on a sunny and surprisingly hot day.

I had hoped to see wood warblers but was out of luck, they seem to be very scarce this year and I have probably now missed my chance of catching up with one this spring.

I did see some good birds though on my 3 hour wander through the woods with the highlights being a male great spotted woodpecker, 2 fledgling ravens flying over, songflighting siskins, singing pied flycatchers, a marsh tit, a dipper, a grey wagtail and a female goosander with just 1 fluffy duckling.

 Steps Bridge

 Dipper

 Goosander with Duckling

 Goosanders

Goosanders

There were plenty of insects around too and I spent a lot of time watching my footing as there were oil beetles and bloody nose beetles galore on the footpath. Broad bodied chasers were buzzing about and beautiful demoiselles were flitting about and brown silver line moths, speckled yellows and a common heath were also seen. Butterflies were very much in evidence with brimstone, peacock, speckled wood, large white, a wall brown, green veined white, orange tip and a holly blue noted but the highlight were the pearl bordered fritillaries fluttering about, a few nectaring on the flowers in the woodland glades and warming up in the sun and many more fluttering over the bracken slopes above the woods in the building heat of the day.

 Oil Beetle

 Oil Beetle

 Beautiful Demoiselle

 Broad Bodied Chaser

 Common Heath

 Common Heath

 Beautiful Demoiselle

 Peacock

 Wall

 Broad Bodied Chaser

 Broad Bodied Chaser

 Broad Bodied Chaser

Brown Silver Line

 Pearl Bordered Fritillary

 Pearl Bordered Fritillary

 Pearl Bordered Fritillary

Pearl Bordered Fritillary

Bluebells, yellow archangel and ramsons were all in full bloom with the heady smell of garlic from the ramsons being very noticeable and I found a few early purple orchids too.

 Bluebells

 Yellow Archangel

 Yellow Archangel

Early Purple Orchid

I caught the bus back to Exeter at 12:30 and it had become incredibly hot in the sunshine and so I decided to jump off the train at Dawlish Warren on the way back to Plymouth for a quick look around. It was bakingly hot by now and a look for sand lizards along the dune ridge only gave me my usual brief view of a lizard species scuttling across the sand into cover as I think it was too hot even for them. I found the lone green winged orchid again in the same spot as last year but it had gone over but there were plenty of southern marsh orchids beginning to flower.

 Dawlish Warren Dunes

 Grass Sp.

Southern Marsh Orchid

Bird wise it was quiet with a Canada goose, 2 little grebes and a pair of moorhen with 2 chicks on the main pond with chuntering reed warblers in the reeds, an immature male eider and a few gannets offshore with 2 Sandwich terns, oystercatchers and shelduck in the estuary and linnets and a skylark in the dunes.

A few butterflies were on the wing including 2 small copper and a lovely male common blue, my first of the year.

Common Blue

The heat eventually got the better of me and I headed home to Plymouth on the train, having had a great day out despite dipping on the wood warblers.

Plastic Year Ticks on The River Exe

Saturday 27th May and a change in the weather as I left the house - cool, breezey and mizzley - but by the time I arrived at Exminster Marsh by the River Exe the mizzle had lifted and the sun gradually began to appear from behind the cloud until it became another hot and sunny but breezey day.

I started my walk along the back path and within a few minutes was watching a female marsh harrier flying over the marsh and spooking all the birds until it disappeared behind some trees. A short while later and I refound it soaring high overhead before it dropped down onto the marsh and was again lost from sight behind trees. There was no sight nor sound of the lesser whitethroat but a common whitethroat, chiffchaff, blackcap and reed warbler were heard and sedge warblers were very vocal and showy. Swifts, swallows and house martins buzzed overhead and a peregrine surveyed all the activity from the top of a pylon.

Peregrine Pylon Peek-a-boo

A male shoveler and 3 male tufted duck were on the lagoon and 2 little ringed plovers were feeding along the back of the pool by the road where 2 noisey and nervous looking Egyptian geese were feeding before flying off, my first sighting for the year.

 Egyptian Goose

 Egyptian Goose and Shelduck

 Egyptian Goose

Egyptian Goose

Some nearby birders called me over to view the female marsh harrier flying over the marsh again and we chatted about birds for a while including the recent influx of red kites in the south west which occurs every year around this time and as I had a quick scan above I picked up a red kite soaring high overhead heading east, another first for the year. I always like to see red kites in Devon at this time of year as they feel more like genuine wild birds than those I see from the train or car on the journey from Plymouth towards London but it seems that the birds over the south west at this time of year are in fact individuals from the introduced English population having a bit of a mass wander.

Damselflies were on the wing - large red, blue tailed and azure - and there were quite a few large dragonflies whizzing around too and the ones I managed to get a good look at and photograph threw me on their ID at first but I think they are immature male broad bodied chasers, recently emerged and still in their teneral phase and yet to develop the blue body colouration of mature males.

 Mating Azure Damselfly

 Broad Bodied Chaser

 Broad Bodied Chaser

 Broad Bodied Chaser

 Broad Bodied Chaser

 Broad Bodied Chaser

 Broad Bodied Chaser

Broad Bodied Chaser

Heading onwards to Dawlish Warren and at Starcross railway station there were 14 turnstones feeding along the shoreline and Herbert the resident Slavonian grebe now in summer plumage was seen distantly out on the river. Dawlish Warren was packed and I questioned my sanity on visiting here on a hot and sunny saturday on a Bank Holiday weekend but as I headed off into the nature reserve it was peaceful and quiet.

Chiffchaff, whitethroat and blackcap were heard and by the main pond a male reed bunting was seen and a reed warbler heard. Offshore viewing was difficult on a very low tide with harsh light and heat haze but a scan overhead revealed another red kite drifting over heading east.

 Red Kite Record Shot

Red Kite

I spent some time wandering around the Greenland Lake area where there were lots of southern marsh orchids and blue eyed grass in flower along with quite a few butterflies including 2 meadow brown (my first of the year), a small copper, common blues (with just a single female seen) and 3 brown argus - 2 very tatty looking males but still with plenty of vigour as they constantly chased after any male common blue that passed nearby and a much smarter looking individual which was also constantly buzzing common blues passing by and making getting a decent photo quite difficult.

 Southern Marsh Orchid

 Southern Marsh Orchid

 Small Copper

Blue Eyed Grass

 Brown Argus

 Brown Argus

 Brown Argus

 Brown Argus

 Brown Argus

 Brown Argus

 Brown Argus

Clouded Border

Another red kite was seen soaring high overhead and heading east on a brief look upwards from all the butterfly action but the clouds were beginning to build and as I caught the train back to Plymouth the sun had disappeared completely although it was still very hot and humid.

And so not a bad day out with 2 plastic year ticks to boot and some nice views of brown argus - I just wish I had another week off work!