A Trip to Suffolk

Sunday 11th July and it was off to Suffolk for a few days away visiting my family. The journey from Plymouth to Suffolk was not fun though, taking 7 hours and beset with heavy traffic and various jams but we arrived safely and in one piece and I managed to see 8 Red Kites along the way. 

We stayed at The Holiday Inn again which is  just across the road from my Mums house and on checking out the grassy roadside verges along the A12 when we walked back and forth between the hotel and Mums house I was very pleased to find quite a few Essex Skippers along with Small Skippers, a Bee Orchid and a few Pyramidal Orchids. 

Essex Skipper

Essex Skipper

Small Skipper

Monday 12th July and I managed to wangle a 3 hour visit to RSPB Minsmere. It was raining quite heavily when I was dropped off near the Island Mere Hide but by the time I was picked up 3 hours later it was hot and sunny.

I had a great time despite the weather and the challenging light conditions and I managed to add Common and Little Tern, Ruff, Little Gull, Green Sandpiper, Knot, Bearded Tit and Spotted Redshank to my year list. Marsh Harrier, Avocet, Kittiwake, Mediterranean Gull, Reed Warbler, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Sanderling and Sand Martin were all good to see too. 

Common Terns, Minsmere

Mediterranean Gull, Felixstowe

With the sun beginning to shine I decided to finish my visit with a walk along the butterfly trail and was pleased to find 2 Comma, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Silver-washed Fritillary and a White Admiral flitting about. 

Silver-washed Fritillary, Minsmere

Silver-washed Fritillary 

Silver-washed Fritillary 

Long Horn Beetle Sp., Minsmere

Tuesday 13th July and I had my moth box out in my Mums back garden and the next morning I had a nice haul of moths including 3 Elephant Hawk Moths, a Light Arches, 10 Box Tree Moth, a Short-cloaked Moth, a Poplar Grey, a Pale Mottled Willow, Least Carpet and a Rush Veneer. 

Elephant Hawk Moth

Box Tree Moth

Short-cloaked Moth

Pale Mottled Willow

Heading home to Plymouth on Thursday 15th July and the journey was much more pleasent with only a few hold ups this time and along the way I saw a total of 7 Red Kites soaring overhead.

An enjoyable trip as always but the weather wasn't great for butterflying and I didn't get an opportunity to look for Purple Emperors and Small Blues as originally planned. It was nice to do some proper birding though despite the rain and also nice to catch up with my family in these continuing weird COVID times. 

River Plym Walk, 28th June 2020

A walk from home along the River Plym to Saltram and back has become more of a fortnightly event now that we are well and truly in the Summer Doldrums and with the day free on Sunday 28th June it was time to head out again for another look around.

It was quite breezey and there were only a few brief spells of sunshine but I managed to find quite a few butterflies flitting about in the more sheltered spots although many were quite worn looking. A Peacock, a Small Copper, a Red Admiral, Small and Large Skipper and Marbled White were looking quite smart but Ringlet, Small Heath, Common Blue and Meadow Brown were mostly all looking the worse for wear.

 Small Skiper

 Peacock

 Marbled White - newly emerged

 Marbled White - still pumping up its wings

 Small Copper

 Small Heath

Ringlet

Birding was slow but a Common Sandpiper and a 2nd Summer Mediterranean Gull were nice finds at Blaxton Meadow on the high tide along with 8 Curlew, a juvenile Black-headed Gull amongst around 100 variously plumaged adults, a Grey Heron, 3 Little Egret and a juvenile Shelduck amongst the adult birds present. Chiffchaff and Blackcap were heard singing with Skylarks also songflighting and House Martin and Swallow were skimming for flies over the grassy fields. Stock Dove were heard cooing and 2 birds were seen together flying overhead. A female Pheasent was disturbed from the long grass and put on quite a display as its young chicks dispersed away into cover.

A nice walk but already with a sense of approaching autumn in the air.

A Week Off Work (Thank Goodness!) - Part I

The original plan for my week off work was to head up to The Lake District on Sunday June 14th to look for butterflies but with the COVID-19 lockdown still in effect our plans have had to be cancelled. I have been unable to cancel my annual leave from work though and so my week off will be spent in Plymouth with hopefully a few day trips out somewhere and considering I haven't had anytime off since lock down began in March and work has not been particularly easy I wouldn't have wanted to have cancelled my leave anyway as I feel absolutely knackered.

Saturday 13th June and I was feeling groggy after working Wednesday and Thursday night but needed to get out for a walk and so I ambled over to Ford Park Cemetery for a look around before heading into town for a food shop. It was cloudy and breezy but warm and humid and fortunately on arriving at the Cemetery the sun shone from behind the clouds for a short time.

I quickly found a few Meadow Brown flitting about which were soon joined by at least 2 Marbled White and a Red Admiral. A Ringlet also flitted about but never settled before I lost sight of it.

 Marbled White

Marbled White

Raven, Magpie. Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Buzzard and House Sparrow were also seen along with a skittish Grey Squirrel before the clouds rolled back in and I headed off to Sainsbury's.

Sunday 14th June and with less breeze and more sunshine I took my usual weekly walk along the River Plym to Saltram, something I have neglected to do of late. It wasn't too busy with people but with the high tide and being a Sunday the river was awash with jet skis and water skiers from the rowing club.

Blaxton Meadow was quiet with 2 Oystercatchers, 3 Curlew and 3 Little Egret roosting with Shelduck and Canada Geese. A small flock of assorted plumaged Black-headed Gulls didn't contain yesterday's reported Mediterranean Gulls and they were very flighty due to the attentions of nearby Carrion Crows. A Whitethroat singing from the Meadow embankment was my first for the year here.

The woods held the usual birds with Chiffchaff still singing away and it was nice to see Coal Tit and Great Tit fledglings feeding in family groups in the trees. Skylarks were still singing over Chelson Meadow where a Swallow, House Martins and Swifts were hawking insects and 3 noisy and worn looking Ravens cronked overhead. A Green Woodpecker again mocked me as it yaffled away hidden in the trees.

Insects were noticeable in the warm sunshine and I found Marbled White, Small Heath, a Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown, 2 Red Admiral, a male Common Blue, Large White and 2 Small Skipper on the wing, the Skippers being my first of the year and my first for Saltram.

 Marbled White

 Meadow Brown

 Small Tortoiseshell

 Small Skipper

 Small Skipper

Small Skipper

A Yellow Shell, a Nettle Tap, Burnet Companion, a Cinnabar Moth and a 6-Spot Burnet were also seen along with Garden Chafers and a nice Wasp Beetle. A few Bee Orchids were still in flower too in the usual spot.

 Wasp Beetle

Garden Chafer

I had a quick look at Blagdon's Meadow on the walk home and there were a few weedy looking Southern Marsh Orchids in flower in the shade of the hedgerow and a very smart Scarlet Tiger Moth was found resting on the brambles but the Meadow vegetation is still very sparse and stunted in the continuing dry conditions.

Scarlet Tiger

Monday 15th June began with a look through the back yard moth box and the highlight was an L-Album Wainscot, another one of my top 10 favourite back yard moths. Flame, Dark Arches, Common Emerald and Large Yellow Underwing were also firsts for the year.

L-Album Wainscot

Flame

Dark Arches

Common Emerald

With the sun shining and a gentle breeze we headed off mid-morning to Stoke Point for a walk for the first time this year. The Ship Inn at Noss Mayo is still closed due to the COVID-19 Lock Down so we took a packed lunch with us instead and we had a very enjoyable walk as usual.

Butterflies were flitting about, mostly Meadow Browns, but I also saw Large White, Small Copper, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Large Skipper and Small Tortoiseshell.

Large Skipper

Large Skipper

Large Skipper

The usual birds were seen - Raven, Cirl Bunting, Yellowhammer, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, Stonechat, Peregrine, Linnet, Skylark, Blackcap, Fulmar and Kestrel - but there was no sign of any Dartford Warbler and the usual Green Woodpecker yaffled away mockingly out of sight. Swallow and House Martin were feeding overhead and 5 Swift were watched flying south out to sea.

A Thistle Ermine was seen on thistles but was very flighty and Mullein caterpillars were munching away on the leaves of flowering Mulleins.

Thistle Ermine

Not a bad start to my week off work. 

Warren House Wander

Wednesday 31st July and I met up with Mavis at Yelverton for a Dartmoor day, something we haven't done in July before. We decided to have a walk around the Warren House area and parked up at Bennets Cross at around 10am. It was cool and breezy and the skies were grey but we headed down the valley towards Soussons with high hopes.

It was surprisingly quiet as we started our walk but as we entered the more sheltered gullies birds and butterflies began to appear. Stonechat, chaffinch, whitethroat, blue tit and willow warbler including a singing bird heard only were noted along with magpies and woodpigeons and 5 ravens together overhead, presumably a family group. Meadow browns and a few small whites were flitting about too.

Further down the valley we found a small flock of linnet feeding in the heather and 2 juvenile whinchat sat in the tops of the bracken. Keeled skimmers and a blue damselfly were buzzing around with small skippers and both sundew and bog asphodel were found in the boggy areas.

Keeled Skimmer

Sundew

Sundew

Small Skipper

Small Skipper

A break for a coffee in the ruins of a building at Golden Dagger was interrupted by 4 crossbill flying over "glipping" away and heading off high towards Birch Tor and a short time later 2 were seen flying back into the pine trees.

After our coffee we walked back to the car at Bennets Cross, seeing 4 juvenile whinchat on the bracken tops along with a gatekeeper and a small heath, and then drove round to Challacombe Farm for lunch and a look about. Unfortunately the clouds and drizzle had arrived and it was a bit soggy but we had a nice view of a male redstart along with a grey wagtail, a grey heron flying over and house martins flitting about over the trees. The attentions of the 4 piglets was quite cute too but we ended up wet and muddy as they sniffed and snuffled around us, they have grown since our visit in April and unfortunately it can't be long now before they are off to the butchers.

 Whinchat

 Whinchat

Whinchat

Heading home and we saw 2 wheatear by the roadside near Grimspound before the rain really kicked in but arriving back in Plymouth it was dry - however it had been a very enjoyable walk with Warren House looking different but beautiful at a time of the year I don't usually see it.

Dorset and Wiltshire Butterflies

My original plan had been to visit Salisbury in Wiltshire for a few days away for my birthday so I could visit nearby Bentley Woods to look for purple emperors, a little late in the season in normal years but too late this year due to the amazing hot and dry weather we have been experiencing recently so curtailing the season early - hence my visit to Bentley Woods by train back in June.

And so on Wednesday 18th July we drove to Salisbury but with Bentley Woods no longer on the itinerary and on the drive there we stopped off at Athelhampton House and Gardens in Dorset for a visit. The house was very interesting and the gardens were lovely and I managed some interesting wildlife sightings.

Comma, holly blue, red admiral, large white, meadow brown, gatekeeper and small white were all seen along with a hummingbird hawkmoth, beautiful demoiselle, flyover siskin and a family party of spotted flycatchers moving through the trees.

Comma

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

Beautiful Demoiselle

Driving on to Salisbury and we stopped off in a layby on the A35 near Bere Regis where I wandered around the very dry vergeside vegetation looking for Essex skippers which are found here. I had a very brief view of a skipper before it dashed off, it had the black tips to the underside of its antenna indicative of an Essex skipper but despite searching I couldn't refind it.

Common blues were flying around and I watched one checking out what I thought was a female common blue but on closer inspection I realised it was a brown argus, appearing newly emerged and in beautiful condition.

Brown Argus

Brown Argus

Further searching in hot and humid conditions while the traffic thundered past along the carriageway was proving fruitless and just as I was about to give up and head back to the car I eventually found an Essex skipper which was quite flighty and a swine to observe but I managed to get a few photos of the black undersides of its antenna - I was very pleased to find one as it has been over 32 years since I last saw one back in Suffolk.

Essex Skipper

Essex Skipper

Essex Skipper 

Essex Skipper 

Essex Skipper

Essex Skipper

Essex Skipper

Essex Skipper

On to Salisbury and The Grasmere Hotel where we stayed for 3 nights was very nice, the room was cool and quiet and with no noisy herring gulls nearby so we actually slept very well. The hotel was on the river and with views of the cathedral and we had a very pleasent stay.

Thursday 19th July and it was hot and sunny and humid as usual and we headed out to Old Sarum for a visit, somewhere we have visited twice before in the winter but never in the summer. It was very interesting but for me the butterflies stole the show, they were everywhere - small white, brimstone, peacock, small tortoiseshell, red admiral, ringlet, common blue, brown argus, large white, gatekeeper, meadow brown, marbled white, chalkhill blue, green veined white and clouded yellow - amazing!

 Brimstone

 Large White

 Small Tortoiseshell

 Chalkhill Blue

Clouded Yellow

Also seen was a dusky sallow feeding on a thistle flower, a new moth for me, along with the usual silver y and 6 spot burnet, and yellowhammers were busily singing away.

Dusky Sallow

Onwards to nearby Woodhenge, a new place for us, and we followed a National Trust walking trail around the nearby area. A corn bunting and another spotted flycatcher family were the bird highlights with more brown argus and common blues being the butterfly highlights. I checked out all the skippers flitting about but all the ones I was able to identify were small and not Essex. The views on the walk were lovely across Salisbury Plain towards Stonehenge and the Barrows were interesting too but the traffic jams on the A303 didn't look much fun.

 Spotted Flycatcher 

 Brown Argus

Small Skipper - orange underside to the antenna tips

Small Skipper

Our last visit of the day was to Figsbury Ring, a National Trust managed Iron Age Fort and another site awash with butterflies - chalkhill blue, brown argus, large white, meadow brown, brimstone, small white, common blue, marbled white, holly blue and gatekeeper all flying with small heath and faded dark green fritillary also seen along with a Pyrausta nigrata.

 Dark Green Fritillary

 Small Heath

 Chalkhill Blue on Harebell

Chalkhill Blue 

Pyrausta nigrata

Friday 20th July and another hot and sunny day greeted us as we drove to Old Wardour Castle near Tisbury for a visit, a very peaceful and interesting place with a red kite flying over adding some avian interest.

Next stop was Heale Gardens near Salisbury where another family party of spotted flycatchers were seen in the trees, a hobby dashed past overhead and brimstones and green veined whites flitted about with a Pyrausta aurata.

 Spotted Flycatcher 

Spotted Flycatcher 

Pyrausta aurata

The final stop of the day was Woodhenge again where we had another wander around, seeing small heath, yellowhammers and a roe deer on a walk around the area.

Yellowhammer with House Sparrow

Saturday 21st July and our final day before heading back to Plymouth was spent looking around Salisbury and admiring the amazing architecture. A look along the river bank in the hotel garden before checking out revealed a few banded demoiselles resting on the vegetation along with a brief view of a green looking damselfly, probably an emerald damselfly.

We visited the cathedral and did a tour of the spire, something we did 20+years ago and which was a great experience then as now. I didn't manage a sighting of any peregrines which usually nest on the spire (but not this year) although I did hear a bird calling a few times.

Salisbury Cathedral

And so a great trip away, good weather, some interesting sight seeing and loads of butterflies - perfect!