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Tag Archives: speckled wood

Midsummer Woods

05 Sunday Jul 2020

Posted by theresagreen in birds of Wales, Butterflies of Wales, Insects, Local Nature Reserves, Nature of Wales, nature of woodlands, Walking, Wildflowers of Wales, woodland

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, buteo buteo, common buzzard, common lizard, Early Bumblebee, Great Pied hoverfly, longhorn beetle, pollinating insects, Red Admiral, rutpela maculata, slow walking, speckled wood, strangalia maculata, tree bumblebee, Viviparous lizard, yellow and black beetle

It had been a good while since I’d spent the best part of a day meandering around the whole rich patchwork of varying habitats that make up my local nature reserve of Bryn Euryn, so a sunny morning that was forecast to stay that way into the afternoon offered the perfect opportunity to spend a day outdoors.

09:59 – Woodland Path

Once outside I realised it wasn’t quite as warm as I’d thought it was going to be, but the air felt fresh, if slightly humid. The copious rainfalls of previous days have done wonders; plants that had looked sad and wilted a few days ago were perked upright and the leaves of the trees washed of dust and good as new. A Speckled Wood butterfly on ivy and the chirpy calls of foraging Blue Tits greeted me at the beginning of the path, which has also benefitted from the dust-settling cleansing rain.

The specialist woodland wildflowers of the early Spring have long-since finished flowering now and are directing their energies into producing seeds. There are a few later-flowering plants that can cope with the reduced sunlight though, including the beautiful Honeysuckle, one of my lifetime favourite plants whose fresh perfume I would happily fill my home with, if only someone could capture it perfectly.

An arch of Honeysuckle

It’s been a good year for this  fragrant twining-climbing plant which has given me cause to make even more frequent stops on my walks; the scent of it in the air, particularly in the cooler mornings and evenings is as much a highlight as anything I might see or hear. It has maybe passed its peak of flowering now, but there’ll be occasional blooms to enjoy for a while to come.

Also happy in partial shade and flowering now are Navelwort, which is usually more easily recognised by its distinctive round fleshy leaves and Wood Sage, which despite its name is not confined to woodland paths; it’s a tough plant that is equally as happy growing out on exposed heaths and coastal cliffs.

Wood Sage-Teucrium scorodonia
Wood Sage-Teucrium scorodonia
Navelwort-Umbilicus rupestris
Navelwort-Umbilicus rupestris

10:12 Covered with white blossoms and well-refreshed the bramble patch at the top of the first rise of the path, was my first stop this morning. Gradually being lit and warmed by sunshine, it was already busy with a variety of insects.

Honeybee on bramble blossom

A Blackbird was singing from a tree somewhere close by, his melodic, relaxed song lending an element of calm to the scene of frenetic insect activity. There were bumblebees: Tree Bumbles  definitely the most numerous, some looking fresh, their heads and thoraxes bright deep tawny brown others faded to a pale blonde, perhaps bleached out by the sun. A few smaller Buff-tailed workers are busy between them and there are a small number of Honeybees, some of the first I’ve seen this year.

Faded Tree Bumblebee
Faded Tree Bumblebee
Fresh Tree Bumblebee
Fresh Tree Bumblebee

Butterflies joined the party, two Speckled Woods, which must have been a male and a female as they behaved amicably together, feeding almost side by side until disappearing together to the privacy of the leaves of an overhanging Sycamore. A Large White scooted over but didn’t stop, but a Red Admiral, missing a piece from a hind wing stayed for the whole length of time I was there, only moving short distances between flowers.

Speckled Wood
Speckled Wood
Red Admiral
Red Admiral

Most interesting of all were the big yellow-and-black beetles, that for some reason don’t seem to have a standardised common name, so are  known to me as Strangalia maculata, (which is apparently no longer correct as they’ve changed it to Rutpela maculata!). In the midst of the tangle of bramble, honeysuckle and ivy stands the remains of a tree, which was snapped in a storm a few winters ago. I wonder if it’s within its damaged fabric that they spent their larval stage and from which they have emerged. For a while now I’ve seen them here each time I’ve passed by, several at a time. Until now all of my past and more recent sightings of these lovely beetles have been of them calmly feeding on flowers, so it was interesting to see them very active this morning, flying rather clumsily from flower to flower, not lingering for long on any.

Yellow and black beetle- Rutpela maculata
Yellow and black beetle- Rutpela maculata
Yellow and black beetle-Rutpela maculata
Yellow and black beetle-Rutpela maculata

The distant mewling of a Buzzard calling from above diverted my attention and I caught glimpses of it as it circled high above the trees.

This was the first one I’d seen in a while, so I wondered if it might appear back over the field, perhaps with its family, so moved on in that direction. It was a sun-in-and-out morning, surprisingly cool on the shady path when the breeze picked up.

Path edged with False Brome

Paths are edged with grasses, which are flowering now. False Brome predominates, covering large swathes of the woodland floor in places throughout this site, and there are lesser amounts of other species such as the distinctive Cock’s-foot.

Cock's-foot-Dactylis glomerata
Cock’s-foot-Dactylis glomerata
False Brome-Brachypodium sylvaticum
False Brome-Brachypodium sylvaticum

 

10:40 There was nothing to see at this edge of the woodland except the wind rippling over the long grass of the meadow, and it was too cool to linger.

The sun came out again as I walked between the pine trees. This has become one of my favourite parts of the woods. I love the characterful Scots Pine trees with their tall, straight trunks crowned on high with heavy, strangely twisted branches in all seasons; but today with their rust-red bark still slightly damp and darkened by rain and highlighted by filtered sunlight they had a special glow.

There were no birds to be seen and for a while no sound of them either, until their silence was briefly broken once again by the Buzzard and the familiar contact calls of more Blue Tits working their way through the trees.

PATH EDGES

Nipplewort-lapsana-communis

Opportunistic wildflowers crop up randomly along the path edges, mostly of those species that seem to travel alongside the blackberry brambles, accompanying them wherever they go. In flower now are nettles, dock and delicate-looking Nipplewort.

All have value to insects in their way, either as sources of pollen and nectar or via their leaves which are either eaten from the outside or mined and eaten from the inside.

Curled Dock
Curled Dock
Common Nettle
Common Nettle

10:47 – My next stop is at the brambly-scrubby patch at the junction of three woodland paths. In recent weeks this has been buzzing with a variety of bees, in particular Tree Bumblebees that clearly have a nest nearby, or there may even be two. There have been a lot of Early Bumblebees too, but lesser numbers of other common species and so far I’ve only seen one or two Red-tailed bumblebee queens; no workers.

Predominately a raspberry bramble patch, which flowers earlier than blackberry, there is less blossom here now so is less of a draw for foraging insects now. There were a few Tree bumblebees about though, some working, one or two taking short rests on nearby sun-warmed leaves; poor things have probably already been out working for hours. This has been a great spot for hoverflies this Spring too, where I’ve  added a few ‘new’ species to my list. It was starting to get warmer, which doesn’t seem to bother bees, but hoverflies often seek shade under leaves, so I wasn’t too surprised there were few to see. Then I spotted one of the largest of our UK hoverflies, a Great Pied Hoverfly (Volucella pellucens) on some more shaded brambles. Not a new species for me, but I’d not seen one in this spot before. In contrast there were also a few of one of our smallest and commonest hoverflies about, little Marmalade Flies (Episyrphus balteatus).

Gt Pied Hoverfly-Volucella pellucens
Gt Pied Hoverfly-Volucella pellucens
Marmalade Fly-Episyrphus bateatus
Marmalade Fly-Episyrphus bateatus

10:46 A bird landed in an Oak tree a few metres behind the Sycamore tree, on first impressions quite big,heavy-ish landing so probably a Wood Pigeon. I almost didn’t take any more notice, but then it came to mind that this is a good spot to see Jays, which I am always keen to try to photograph as they are quite elusive, so I focussed on it and was excited to see it was neither Wood Pigeon nor Jay, but a dark handsome Buzzard. What a beautiful bird, and posing so nicely too.

The Woodland Trail

11:10 As I walked on, I remember thinking that the sighting of the Buzzard and managing to get a half-decent photograph of it was going to be the main highlight of my day. But then you just can’t predict what you may or may not see on any given day in this treasure trove of nature, as I later discovered.

Reaching the Woodland Trail, I crossed it to sit on the bench for a few minutes to enjoy the sunshine and to listen to what was around me whilst I wrote some notes. I’m always fully aware of the soundtrack of my walks, but unless I get lucky and can photograph or record a singing bird can’t always properly recall what I heard. This is what I wrote here ” … for 30 seconds, maybe a little longer there are no extraneous sounds; no noise from the road, no dogs barking, no human voices, only the sounds of twittering birds – most likely Blue Tits reassure me I haven’t gone suddenly deaf! A Robin’s just flown into the tree above me. It sits and looks at me for a few seconds before flying into the woods I’ve just left. I see a Small Heath butterfly; it lands but I didn’t spot it in time and it flew off, surprisingly rapidly for such a tiny butterfly, ditto a Meadow Brown!”

As I got up to carry on I caught sight of a small gingery-furry bee flying over a fallen tree branch, which I thought might have been a Tawny Mining bee. I tried to focus in on it, but it was flying and although I pressed the shutter a couple of times I knew the bee wouldn’t be in focus, but may do as record shots. I can’t even begin to describe my feelings when I looked at those photographs on my computer later that evening. Expecting to see an out of focus bee, there too was also an almost perfectly in-focus lizard lying motionless and perfectly camouflaged along the length of the fallen branch which the bee was flying over. It had probably been watching me and wondering whether it should stay still or risk making a move. I’m grateful it chose the latter option.

Part of me was glad I hadn’t noticed the lizard, which is a Common or Viviperous Lizard, as I’m sure I’d have been so excited to see one in a position where I might get a photograph that I’d have fumbled with the camera and likely have missed it. But then I think it would have been nice to get a proper look at one rather than just a glimpse of a disappearing one, which is all I’ve managed so far in my years of tramping this hill! Mainly I’m just more than happy to know it was there and I have a photograph, however I managed it!

Being oblivious at this point to my lizard ‘capture’, and back in insect-seeking mode, I wandered along to the huge bramble tangle that once in flower has always been a brilliant place to spot a good variety of insects in a relatively short space of time with minimal effort. Years ago, this was the first place on the reserve that I recognised as an insect ‘hotspot’. There was a fair amount of activity here this morning, mostly from bumblebees, but there was also another Gt Pied Hoverfly, a Red Admiral butterfly, a Strangalia maculata beetle that only showed me its antennae and legs and a few different species of flies. Getting photographs was tricky, insects were constantly moving, the sun was shiningly brightly, but probably more to the point the path was getting busy with people and dogs and I got fed up having to keep moving to let them pass at a ‘safe distance’.

Volucella pellucens
Volucella pellucens
200615-1126-BEWT (122b)-Bumblebee no id
Tiny Tree bumblebee
Tiny Tree bumblebee
Early bumblebee
Early bumblebee
200615-1122-BEWT (110a)-Fly
200615-1116-BEWP (102a)-Fly

Tutsan growing alongside the bramble already has ripening berries. Its flowers hadn’t the same degree of appeal to insects as bramble, but I did catch a little Marmalade Fly visiting it.

Tutsan with berries
Episyrphus balteatus

The woodland is at the peak of perfection now, leaves are fully grown, in a myriad of shapes and uncountable shades of fresh green; climbers and ramblers are not yet over-reaching themselves to become sprawling and untidy and the plants along the path edges are not yet spilling over it.

 

Speckled Wood butterflies were stationed every few metres along the path, whether basking on the ground or perched on leaves overhanging the path. Constantly on alert, they readily explode into action to see off any intruders into their territory.

 

Trees arch across the path creating shady leafy tunnels

First wild raspberry

Generally birds are much quieter these days, apart from the Blackbird I heard earlier the only ones still singing to any extent are our summer breeders-Chiffchaff and Blackcap.

The closed canopy makes it too shady for there to be much in the way of ground-level plants for a while, so there are few distractions, other than Speckled Wood butterflies of course and the occasional sight of a Blackbird foraging in the safety of the dappled shade.

No matter how often I walk along this Trail, several times a week sometimes, each time I see it with fresh eyes. Looking up there are places where trees on opposite sides seem to avoid contact, leaving fascinating space between their contrasting leaves.

The same scenery changes according to the lighting effects; the varying cloud cover and the angle of the sun at different times of the day as the seasons progress all contribute, as do the weather conditions, particularly on days when there’s wind and how strong it is. On the ground, complex shadow patterns may be cast on the uneven canvas of the bare-earth path.

12:05: The steps up from the shady sheltered Woodland Trail lead into what could be an entirely different dimension….

a good place to take a break..

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September Hillside

24 Sunday Sep 2017

Posted by theresagreen in British hoverflies, Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, Butterflies of Wales, calcareous grassland, hoverflies, Nature of Wales, North Wales, slugs & snails, Wildflowers of Wales

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Arion flagellus, common carder bee, common knapweed, eyebright, green-soled slug, hemp agrimony, robin's pincushion, scabious, speckled wood, volucella zonaria, yarrow

September 8th-Bryn Euryn

As I’ve already said, it was mighty windy out here on the not-quite-summit of the hill; not the day for hanging around gazing at the views, no matter how stunning they may be.

Windswept not-quite-summit of Bryn Euryn

A quick look around showed there to be little left in the way wildflowers in bloom, but there was colour on a wild rose – a whole colony of bright red Robin’s Pincushion galls. I don’t recall ever having seen as many on a single plant. The fuzzy growths will gradually fade to brown and the little wasps that cause the growths will emerge in June. If I’m lucky, one of these days I’ll catch them coming out, although the galls also attract ‘squatters’ and there can be a dozen or more species lodging in there!

I was to keen to keep moving, but when I spotted this lovely patch of Eyebright I couldn’t resist stopping again.

The dip between this part of the hill and the slope up to the summit is usually sheltered and offers a brief respite from the wind and the noise of traffic from the A55 below, but not so today. Yarrow likes this spot and there was quite a good large patch of it still in flower here. As with Eyebright, Yarrow is a plant designed to withstand tough growing conditions and is pretty persistent, as anyone that has tried to eliminate it from a lawn will testify; you cut it down and it grows right back! Personally I prefer the ferny-leaved Yarrow to the boring grass! Funny how we discriminate against certain plants, this wildflower Yarrow’s taller-growing golden-yellow flowered relative, Achillea, is a cherished garden plant!

Some insects rather like its flowers too, I found a tiny bee motionless on a flower today and recalled I’d seen a similar looking insect on Yarrow in the Rhiwleddyn reserve a few weeks ago.

Tiny bee on Yarrow – enlarged

On the summit a patch of purple Knapweed was fuelling a few Common Carder bees that were managing to cling on and fly short distances despite the best efforts of the wind to dislodge them. The little bees had varying appearances; some were practically perfect, others a bit more battered, their ‘fur’ worn away and at least one that had a bleached appearance like it had spent too long out in the sun.

Common carder bee-practically perfect
Common carder bee-practically perfect
Common carder bee-a little faded
Common carder bee-a little faded
Common carder bee-fur worn from back
Common carder bee-fur worn from back
Common carder bee-bleached
Common carder bee-bleached

There was another lovely clump of Eyebright up here, this one framed by the distinctively-arranged pods that give the Bird’s-foot trefoil its name.

More Yarrow too, this plant sheltering a tiny fly.

I was hoping that the other side of the hill would be a bit more protected from the wind, but alas, most of it wasn’t. The sun was putting in sporadic appearances though, so at least it felt a bit warmer. Ironically, the sea looked to be calm, was coloured in shades of beautiful blue and its surface merely ruffled. The blades of the wind turbines were motionless.

Looking over in the opposite direction to te sea, the view to the oddly-shaped hill at Deganwy, was fairly clear, although beyond it, Anglesey and the Menai Strait were shrouded in a light haze. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but the hill is named the Vardre and gets its unusual appearance from having two rocky summits. It has a little less height than Bryn Euryn, it being 108m, (354 feet) while the Bryn is 131m (365 feet). It was once home to fortifications that included Deganwy Castle.

On the woodland edge leaves are beginning to change colour. Hawthorn is one of the first to go

along with Silver birch as I mentioned in the previous post. Out here in the open it was easier to appreciate the combination of yellow leaves against a clear blue sky.

Next to the Silver birch is a single Whitebeam, which bears berries. The berries are orange in colour now but will gradually turn red.

In the short grass there are still a few Rock-roses in flower and here and there are big fat ‘penny-bun’, or Bolete mushrooms. At least they would have been big and fat before they were nibbled away. I like the different shades and textures such nibbling has left on this one; there was a little black spider on it too.

I have often wondered what nibbled the mushrooms. A picture I took a few weeks ago, at the end of July may have the answer. The sight amused me and I wondered if it was a romantic al-fresco lunch for two? Of course there is more to slugs than meets the eye. No gardener is ever going to welcome them onto their plot, but out in the wild they are another important cog in the wheel of the natural waste-disposal system. Although one slug may look rather like another, there are rather a lot of different species of them in our British Isles. I submitted this image to the very helpful folk that run the Slugs and Snails of the British Isles Facebook Group, who responded that to be accurate they need to see the undersides of the slugs too, but from other features that it is likely they are juvenile Arion flagellus – the Green-soled slug.

poss. Arion flagellus- the Green-soled slug

The bottom of the grassy ‘downland’ hill was still flowery with Hemp Agrimony, Knapweed, touches of Scabious and a sprinkling of Ragwort.

I walked down to where it meets with the woodland edge and lo and behold, for a few glorious minutes the sun came out. Suddenly it was warm and bright and the scene came alive with a whole host of insects vying with one another for the best blossoms.

Speckled wood on Hemp agrimony

I hardly knew where to look first, but then couldn’t resist the sight of a pristine Speckled wood feasting on Hemp agrimony. There were several of them, all looking freshly beautiful; most were nectaring on various flowers while some rested on the leaves of nearby trees basking in the sunshine. The only other butterflies in evidence were Red Admirals which unusually stayed out of range of the camera.

Speckled wood on ragwort

There was a good variety of hoverflies,large and small, a Common wasp and more Common carder bees too.

Hoverfly - Eristalis sp
Hoverfly – Eristalis sp
Hoverfly - Eristalis sp
Hoverfly – Eristalis sp
Hoverfly-Helophilus sp
Hoverfly-Helophilus sp
Common wasp
Common wasp

Common Carder bee on Scabious

Volucella zonaria

A beautiful cast of insects, but the star of today’s show was a big handsome hoverfly, which surprisingly doesn’t have a common name, but whose scientific name, Volucella zonaria makes it sound a bit like an Italian pasta dish. This is the largest British hoverfly and is quite a recent addition to our native list, appearing on the south coast of England during the late 1930s. According to my Hoverfly bible, from there it has spread upwards and outwards across the country as far as Cheshire and Humberside and South Wales in the West. We’re not so far from the Cheshire border here, so they must still be spreading, this is the second one I’ve seen this year, the other was in my daughter’s garden a few weeks ago.

170908-1510-BEICT-Hoverfly-Volucella zonaria 3
170908-1510-BEICT-Hoverfly-Volucella zonaria 5

The spell of sunshine didn’t last long and the wind was still blowing relentlessly; time to set off in the direction of home.

Wind-blown ash tree

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Windy Wildflower Walk II

27 Sunday Aug 2017

Posted by theresagreen in Butterflies of Wales, calcareous grassland, coastal walks, Nature of Wales, North Wales Wildlife Trust, Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve, Wales Coast Path, Wildflowers of Wales, wildflowers on limestone, Wildlife of the Wales Coast Path

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

black horehound, common rockrose, harebell, hedge woundwort, Lady's bedstraw, Nature in August, Perforate St John's Wort, speckled wood, water mint, yellow dung fly

August 3rd

Part 2 – Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve -The main track

Onwards and upwards; a flight of shallow stone steps make a steep rocky section of the path a little easier to climb (except when it’s wet & they get a bit slippery).

Pause here to admire the views back down onto the road and the many shades of green of the fields and woodland on its opposite side.

Looking down onto the road into Llandudno

Facing around to the way I’m going, the views to the right of me, seen over a rampant tangle of brambles and wild clematis on the reserve boundary, are extensive and stunning. At once pastoral and contained and wild and open to the elements.

On the other side of the track is the biggest and best patch of harebells that I have seen for years, a truly beautiful sight.

Harebell- Campanula rotundifolia

I can’t resist sitting to watch them being blown and rippled by the wind and am captivated by their charm. For me this little flower has it all. Beautiful in colour and form, they have delicacy and fragility but also great adaptability and resilience to an often hostile environment. Each flower had turned its bell back to the wind to reduce its impact; their slender but tough and wiry stems having the flexibility to bend to the wind, not break. A life lesson in a wildflower!

There were yet more of the little beauties a little higher up on the slope contrasting delightfully in colour and form with frothy lemon-yellow Lady’s bedstraw. I clambered up rather inelegantly to take a closer look. Amongst other plants, these had grown taller and in a more sheltered spot, their bells were turned to the light rather than away from the wind.

Before going back down to the track, I take another look at the glorious view across the bays to the Clwydian Hills and with sheep where they are supposed be.

click to enlarge

Back on track there is a change in ambience and habitat. There are small trees and shrubs on the boundary with the farmland sufficient to cast shade, and the sloping ground on the other side provides a windbreak. The trees are mostly hawthorn, prevalent throughout the headland as its one of the few plants not grazed by sheep or rabbits and again, tough enough to withstand exposure to fierce salty winds.

I spot a movement and see a small Grasshopper jump onto a lichen speckled rock catching dappled sunlight; the perfect place to soak up a little warmth whilst staying camouflaged.

I round a bend in the track and see – sheep! Five naughty trespassing sheep! They are strictly banned from the reserve unless invited in as their indiscriminate grazing may damage or even destroy the rarer wildflowers that grow here. Fencing prevents them wandering into the higher part of the reserve from the rest of the Little Orme where they are not restricted, so I think they got in at this field level, no doubt irresistibly tempted by the sight of the lush long grass over here. I tell them they should return to their field, but can’t see where they may have got through and they pay me no heed anyway, just amble away showing me their bottoms.

I let them get ahead, the last thing I want to do is frighten them and send them scattering and concentrate on the patch of golden flowers I see amongst the long grass on the slope. I thought at first it may be Goldenrod as I’d seen some on the roadside earlier, but soon realised it was a Hypericum – St.John’s Wort.

Another plant with several species that share the same common name, but this is the one I am most familiar with and has all the right features to be Perforate St John’s Wort – Hypericum perforatum.

St John’s Wort-Hypericum perforatum

click to enlarge

Black horehound – Ballota nigra

I apologise, but need to digress a little here to explain the significance of my next plant. Earlier on in the summer a group of NWWT members were treated to a walk around this reserve guided by its manager, Rob and a guest expert botanist, Nigel. It was a brilliant walk on many levels and we learnt a lot about our special flora and its history, about its fauna and the trials and tribulations of modern Reserve management. Typically as on any walk, even guided group ones, I lagged behind snapping interesting stuff and in a rough bramble-and- nettle patch (in the pic above), spotted the plant to the right, which is still going strong. Yet another minty-looking one I didn’t recognise. I took hasty photographs and hurried after the rest of the group. No-one else immediately recognised it either, so Nigel suggested I email the pics to him later on so he could have a better look. From them his best guess was that it was Black Horehound, reservations having been that this was a vigorous, tall specimen of a plant that usually is, in his words, ‘much scruffier-looking’ He also mentioned it smells unpleasant, so this time I had a closer look and bruised and smelt a leaf. It definitely did not smell pleasant and as all its other important bits match the botanical specs, I’m taking that as another one to add to my list of wildflowers-I-will-know-how-to-identify in the future. (Unless anyone has a different idea……?)

It’s amazing what you can see in five minutes along a short shady stretch of track. I watched a dragonfly patrol up and down at speed, pausing only in his labour several times to ‘buzz’ me and let me know I was in his space. I was hoping he’d stop so I could at least see what he was, but no, much too busy. There was yet more mint here, and one I recognised from the distinctive scent of a crushed leaf – this is Water Mint-Mentha aquatic. A similar-looking plant is Corn Mint, but it grows shorter than this and doesn’t have a ‘terminal’ flowerhead (one that crowns the top of the stalk).

Water mint-Mentha aquatica

A fresh-looking Speckled Wood rested on a sun-warmed stone on the path

Speckled Wood

and a Red Admiral flew across to seek out the nectar of bramble flowers

Red Admiral – Vanessa atalanta

There is a farm gate here which I checked for security, but tightly closed there would have been no exit for sheep. Another great Clematis-framed view from here, considerably enhanced by the clouds I think, although they were blocking out the sun at this point.

click to enlarge

At the side of the gate another member of the Lamiceae (mints & dead-nettles) family, this one I know well, the Hedge Woundwort Stachys arvensis.

Yellow Dung Fly – Scathophaga stercoraria

I moved on and round the next bend found evidence I was still on the trail of the errant sheep; a smallish neat and fairly recent deposit of fresh dung. And where there is dung there may be Dung-flies, one of my favourite insects, although I’m not exactly sure why. Perhaps because I’m keen on recycling? As I hoped, a single male Yellow Dung Fly had laid claim to the heap of treasure and was intent on guarding it. A bit of a drama then ensued, but I’m saving that for later.

To the top

I had reached the Reserve boundary, marked by a gate through which the two marked ‘Trails’ continue on to cross the rest of the Little Orme headland. There is no marked official track up to the top reaches of the reserve from here though, so getting up there is a matter of a)wanting to; b) paying attention to where you are putting your feet; c)taking care not to slip on damp grass and d) watching out for rabbit holes.

Rock-roses are still fresh and lovely up here, as is the fragrant Lady’s Bedstraw.

I followed the path chosen by the sheep; they almost always know how to find the best way upwards. They were up there now, all standing facing the view. I may have thought they were admiring it, but one of them who seemed to be in charge, maybe the mother of some of them, was bleating loudly, eliciting a response from the field below. Was she calling to her friends telling them about the feast to be had on this side and inviting them over?

Once more I reminded them they were not welcome here, but Mrs Boss Sheep just gave me ‘the look’ that clearly said “mind your own business and what are you doing up here yourself?” Once past them it became more overgrown and not as clear where to head, but I kept going in the general direction of where I wanted to be and hoped for the best. I heard a bird making some squeaky sounds and spotted him as he perched atop a gorse bush, a speckly young Robin beginning to get his adult feathers. I realised this was the first bird I’d seen and heard so far on this walk apart from gulls and the occasional cormorant flying overhead.

I also realised it was lunchtime, so time to find a sheltered spot, take a break and sit and admire the sheep’s-eye view.

 

 

 

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Little Beings of Summer Woods

08 Tuesday Aug 2017

Posted by theresagreen in Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, Nature of Wales, nature of woodlands, Wildflowers of Wales, woodland walks in Wales

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

black spleenwort, dwarf cream wave, late summer wildflowers, Nature in August, polypody fern, scorpion fly, speckled wood, wild clematis

Sunday July 30th-Bryn Euryn

The Woodland Path

11:00am  It was cooler than I’d anticipated in the woods this morning. The sky was cloudy and gusts of a chilly breeze blustered between the trees of this usually sheltered mid-slope of the Bryn; less than ideal conditions for the insects I was hoping to see. And I wished I’d worn a thicker fleece. But the sun was intermittently winning through the clouds and ever the optimist I assured myself it would get warmer for me and the little creatures. 

There are a few places on my usual trail that I think of as ‘hotspots’ for insects, even on cool days such as this. The first one is an untidy, brambly-nettley spot, where opportunistic plants have filled a gap in the tree line and spread across to the other side of the path too. Dappled sunlight reaches and warms the spot, aphids thrive here, there’s nectar and pollen to be had while the bramble is in flower, followed by its fruits; the perfect ingredients for a hoverfly hangout. If I’m patient and hang around for a few minutes I’m often rewarded with sightings of a few hovering customers and sometimes less expected visitors too.

Hoverfly (syrphus sp) basking on a sunlit hazel leaf

Insects need sunshine to warm up their flight muscles to get them going, so cooler, cloudy days can be surprisingly rewarding for sightings of basking individuals slowed down by the lack of warmth. There were a few hoverflies here today, also other common flies which I’m trying to take notice of and appreciate more; well, at least I’m aiming to put names to some of them. Most of those I saw were common ‘houseflies’, a generic name that covers quite a few different species. I think it’s their habits that most of us dislike; some of them look quite pretty.

House fly
Bluebottle

A long-bodied black insect with pretty iridescent wings scurried erratically over the surfaces of leaves, a wasp I think, definitely a hunting predator, maybe a Digger wasp.

About to move on I spotted a dot of colour in the shade of some leaves. Sitting motionless was another more recognisable predator, a male Scorpion Fly.

Scorpion Fly-There are 3 species of Scorpion Fly in Britain, apparently difficult to separate other by examining genitalia; the most common being Panorpa germanica. They frequent shady places almost everywhere. All are scavenging insects and completely harmless despite the males’s scorpion-like tail. The female’s body lacks the tail, simply tapers to a point. 

Male Scorpion Fly
Male Scorpion Fly

The closed tree canopy excludes most flowers now. An exception is the woodland grass, False Brome, which grows prolifically here and is flowering now.

False Brome-

A splash of colour took me by surprise – a holly tree with red berries!

*************

Perhaps relics of the days when this path was part of the grounds of a Victorian manor house, are large clumps of two attractive ferns. Both species are evergreen, maintaining their green fronds throughout the seasons, but both look particularly fresh and verdant now and the Polypody has new fronds unfurling.

Polypody fern

Black spleenwort

 

Dwarf Cream Wave-Idaea fuscovenosa

A tiny pale-coloured moth swirled by the breeze spiralled down to land on a bramble leaf low to the ground, settling with wings spread butterfly-like under the shelter of other leaves. It is a Dwarf Cream Wave (photograph probably not far off its actual size)- the lines that show grey-mauve are where its original pale brown scales have been worn, or washed (!) away.

 

A home in a leaf ….

The pale patch on this holly leaf is probably the result of the work of an insect, the Holly leaf miner Phytomyza ilicis. This is a fly whose larvae burrow into leaves of this specific species of tree and leave characteristic pale trails or mines.

Interestingly, I learnt (from Wikipaedia) that “the holly leaf miner has frequently been used in ecological studies as a system to study food webs. Examination of the leaves can show whether the leaf miner has successfully emerged, been killed by a parasitic wasp, or been predated by blue tits.”

I’m not sure what the perfectly round hole in this one indicates. It could just be the original entry point of the egg-laying adult female’s ovipositor, but maybe too big? It looks too small and neat to be an exit hole and blue tits leave a triangular tear when seizing a miner as prey. Maybe it is the mark of the work of a predatory wasp? 

Speaking of wasps, I spotted another on an ivy leaf – a bit more distinctive than the black one I saw earlier due to its long antennae, so I asked the experts at BWARS and they say it’s a member of the Ichneumonidae family. The whole of this family are parasitoides and most species attack the caterpillars of butterflies and moths. It’s a dangerous life being an insect.

The Woodland Trail, Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve 

A big old oak tree marks the junction of my ‘Woodland Path’ and the Woodland Trail that circuits the Nature Reserve. It’s lost a few of its branches and the big lower branch has a split right through it that provided a safe home to nesting Great tits earlier on in the year.

 

 

Happily, the tree seems to be going strong and is currently nurturing some baby acorns. They have stalks, which indicate this is an English, or Pedunculate Oak.

 

 

 

Stepping out from the cover of the trees I realised how windy it had become; windy enough for birds to be able to just hang in the air and ride the air currents with minimum effort. Two buzzards were overhead, mewling and swooping around in the air currents, one being harassed by gulls, poor thing.

The unmistakable bulk of a Buzzard

My second ‘hot-spot’ is almost at the junction of the two tracks. It’s a huge bramble entwined with gorse and over which wild clematis scrambles. That blackberry & wild clematis combination is one of my favourites, even if it is another of the sights that I associate with summer’s approaching end. The clematis is just coming into flower and, the bramble already has ripening fruit, so not much for insects here today.

A lovely Speckled Wood butterfly sat on a smaller bramble nearby which still has flowers. The butterfly let me get very close, hardly moving in the coolness of the day.

There are few flowers along the sides of the Woodland Trail now, due in part I’m sure to their having been strimmed back in June – this part of the path is maintained by the local council who are wont to get these ‘jobs’ done before people complain about paths being overgrown. All kinds of good stuff was cut back, including orchids, and much of the hogweed that would now be giving nectar and pollen to hoverflies et al. I hoped they were finding sustenance nearby.

A few odd plants have survived, or revived, to flower here and others are fruiting. There are a very few hazelnuts that have thus far escaped the jaws of voracious grey squirrels, who usually eat them while they’re still soft and green.

Ragwort
Hemp Agrimony
Honeysuckle

Wild Strawberry flower
Wild strawberry fruit
Seedpods of Stinking Iris

Tutsan berries are darkening
Hazel nuts forming
Blackberries are ripening

Cool windy days may seem unpromising if you’ve set off hoping to see insects, but if you keep paying attention there is never ‘nothing to see’ (pardon my grammar). I spotted a tiny movement on the surface of a leaf and caught sight of an even tinier leaf hopper. As I got closer with the camera lens I noticed another movement under the leaf; a tiny spider had spotted the leaf hopper and was vibrating her web to try to get its attention. The leaf hopper disappeared under the leaf….. I wonder if the spider got her lunch? Apologies for the less-than-good photo, but I’m sure you get the drift!

So, I’ve reached the steps leading up to the field now and looking forward to what it has in store….

 

 

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Brambles, Bumbles and Butterflies

10 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by theresagreen in British hoverflies, Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, bumblebees, Butterflies of Wales, Insects, Nature of Wales, nature of woodlands, nature photography, plants important to wilflife

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

bombus hypnorum, bombus pratorum, coenonympha pamphilus, Early Bumblebee, grayling, Great Pied hoverfly, hipparchia semele, importance of bramble flowers to insects, Large Skipper, Meadow Brown, myathropa florea, pararge aegeria, Pellucid fly, Red Admiral, small heath, speckled wood, syrphus species of hoverfly, tree bumblebee, Volucella pellucans

June 23rd- Bryn Euryn

Bramble flowers are an important source of nectar and pollen for many species of insects and today, a large tangled patch of blackberry brambles in a sunny spot on the sheltered Woodland Trail was alive with an array of bumblebees and hoverflies.

23/6/16-Bryn Euryn on bramble

23/6/16-Pellucid fly-Volucella pellucens on bramble flower

Hoverflies

Since living here I have begun to recognise the most obvious and more commonly-occurring species of hoverflies, and they don’t come much bigger or more obvious than the handsome Pellucid Fly (Volucella pellucens), aka the Great Pied Hoverfly. This is one of the largest most obvious and recognisable of our British hoverflies.

myathropa florea

Myathropa florea

Yellow-and-black stripes are the well-used livery of many hoverfly species and sorting out the different species accurately, especially the small ones, requires more skill and knowledge than I have at the moment, or at least some crystal clear images of certain parts of them.

Bigger yellow and black species are a little easier, especially if they have good clear markings, such as sported by this new-to-me, or at least newly identified  Myathropa florea (no common name). I was aided and amused in this ID by a tip from the author of my Hoverfly bible¹, who suggests that the lower marking on the thoracic dorsum (part behind the head) resembles the Batman logo. Well, in a nice fresh clearly marked individual it does!

160703-Bryn Euryn-55-Hoverfly in dog rose flower

Syrphus sp hoverfly in a Dog Rose

160623-Bryn Euryn-55-Hoverfly hovering

One of the only small hoverflies that is unique and distinctive in its markings and has earned a common name is the  Marmalade Fly Episyrphus Baltaetus. This one was hovering at just about my head height, darting hither and thither in a patch of sunlight in defence of his territory. The image of him in the photograph is still bigger than he was.

Bumblebees 

There were bumblebees aplenty, mostly Red-tailed, White tailed and Common Carders, but also Tree Bumblebees and a few little Early Bumblebee workers.

Tree bumblebee

Tree bumblebee-Bombus hypnorum

The number of Tree Bumblebees here has increased greatly over the last few years. I used to see them mainly in early Spring in the Quarry field on Green Alkanet flowers, and maybe the odd one or two further afield. Now they are present in all parts of the site and can be spotted on an array of flowers through to the end of the summer.

 

160623-Bryn Euryn-Early Bumblebee workers

Early Bumblebee- Bombus pratorum (worker)

Butterflies

160623-Bryn Euryn-55-Meadow Brown

Meadow Brown-Maniola jurtina

160623-Bryn Euryn-55-Speckled Wood 1

Speckled Wood-Pararge aegeria 

Large Skipper (male)

Large Skipper-Ochlodes venatus (male)

3/7/16-Bryn Euryn-Large Skipper (f)

Bryn Euryn-Large Skipper (female)

Not bramble related, but a special treat was a very brief encounter with a Grayling. On the track up to the summit it literally landed in front of me, sat on a small rock for a few seconds then took off into the breeze.

Grayling

Grayling-Hipparchia semele

The same strong breeze that carried away the Grayling was keeping the Small Heaths tucked down in the grass, but I finally managed to get an almost-clear view of one feeding on Wild Thyme.

Small Heath-Coenonympha pamphilus

Small Heath-Coenonympha pamphilus

Walking back down through the woods on the way home, a Red Admiral startled me when it flew up from a bramble at the side of the track. It settled back down when I stopped, then flew out again – the feisty thing was deliberately warning me to get out of his space! He sat brazenly on a leaf at about my eye level and reared up defiantly as I approached with the camera, not giving an inch and I’m sure trying to stare me down! Loved his attitude.

Red Admiral-Vanessa atalanta

Red Admiral-Vanessa atalanta

160623-Bryn Euryn-55-Red Admiral 5

____________________________________________________________________________________

References: ¹ Britain’s Hoverflies  – Stuart Ball and Roger Morris

 

 

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Butterflies and more rare treats

29 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by theresagreen in Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, bumblebees, Butterflies of Wales, calcareous grassland, day-flying moths, Insects, nationally scarce wildflowers, Nature of Wales, Wildflowers of Wales

≈ 15 Comments

Tags

Adscita geryon, Cistus Forester moth, common blue, common rockrose, Cryptocephalus hypochaeridis, Dingy Skipper, Jewel beetles, Nottingham Catchfly, Pyramidal Orchid, salad burnet, Silene nutans, small heath, small shiny metallic green beetle, speckled wood

June 5th

One of the most fascinating, and sometimes a little frustrating thing about observing wildlife is that no two days, even in the same location are ever the same. I know that, but I had to retrace yesterday’s steps in the hope of further sightings of a Dingy Skipper or two didn’t I?

Along the Woodland Trail, Speckled Woods seemed  even more numerous than yesterday, and a little more willing to bask with open or partially open wings.

Speckled Wood

Speckled Wood and shadow

Leaving the shelter of the trees and entering the open meadow there was a fairly strong, cool breeze blowing – not the best of conditions for photographing butterflies that tend to stay low in the grass on such days, despite today’s sunshine. That didn’t deter me from stubbornly attempting to get some images of a lovely fresh male Common Blue. It was highly mobile, but during their frantic circuiting, these butterflies frequently return to the same spot to settle for a breather and luckily this was the case with this beauty; he favoured this particular grass stem or a nearby head of clover, so I waited there and eventually caught him during moments when the breeze briefly stilled. Not as sharp an image as I’d like, but a record.

Common Blue male upperside

Common Blue male upperside

Common Blue male underside

Common Blue male underside

I wondered if I might see the little green jewel beetle again. Last night, looking for information about this species I read they favour yellow compositeae flowers and remembered there were a few hawkweed plants close to where I found it yesterday. Lo and behold, I found not just one there, but a mating pair. I’ve put in two images of them, one to show their real size and another enlarged one to show how beautiful they are.

160605-BE26-Green metallic beetles-mating pair

Mating pair of Cryptocephalus aureolus

160605-BE33a-Green metallic beetles-mating pair

After a few minutes of photographing the obligingly oblivious pair I noticed a female Swollen-thighed Beetle -Oedemera nobilis (females don’t have the swollen thighs of the male) that had landed on a nearby flowerhead.

160605-BE31-Green metallic beetles-mating pair

She decided to take a closer look at what the mating pair were up to. (Sorry about blurry image-swaying flower stem!)

160605-BE39-Green metallic beetles-mating pair

Mating pair of Cryptocephalus aureolus observed by a female Oedemera nobilis

I couldn’t resist this patch of pretty Common Daisies in the long grass.

160605-BE-Daisies

A slight variation on yesterdays route took me up the track that comes out the other side of the hill. It was even breezier up there, but there were insects about taking advantage of the nectar and pollen on offer from the abundant wildflowers, mainly Rock-roses and clovers.

A Carder bumblebee in action on red and then white clover:

160605-BE42-Bee approaching clover160605-BE43-Bee on clover160605-BE44-Bee on clover160605-BE46-Bee on clover160605-BE45-Bee on clover

This side of the hill’s summit was looking beautiful, carpeted with sunshine yellow Rock-rose and Bird’s-foot Trefoil.

160605-BE1305-Rock-roses on summit

Summit carpeted with the sunshine yellow blooms of Rockroses and Bird’s-foot Trefoil (click on image to enlarge)

I stood still for a few minutes scanning the flowers for butterflies. Small Heaths  were most numerous, but I did spot a single Dingy Skipper. Living up to its name, it was skipping around randomly at speed, too fast and mobile for a photograph, but at least I’d seen it. I had more luck with a lovely little iridescent green Forester Moth that landed on a Salad Burnet flowerhead and stayed there.

160605-BEMTH-Forester moth on Salad Burnet 3a160605-BEMTH-Forester moth on Salad Burnet 1

There are three similar species of Forester Moth in Britain that can be difficult to tell apart, but I think this one is a Cistus Forester-Adscita geryon. According to the Butterfly Conservation info: “This species is generally smaller than the Forester or Scarce Forester and the presence of good quantities of the Cistus Forester’s foodplant, Common Rock-rose, can be a useful indication of this species.”

Now for the ‘rare treat’! Since I came  to live here, I have been looking out for a ‘Nationally Scarce’ plant that is recorded as growing here, the fascinating Nottingham Catchfly-Silene nutans. I’d only seen pictures and read about it, imagining I would find it in a rocky place on the cliffs or in bare ground. But, much to my amazement and delight, I found it today well-hidden amongst lush long grasses near the edge of a track. Getting my eye in, I saw there were several smaller clumps of the plant further back from the track edge, so clearly a good year for it. Difficult to photograph in the strong breeze, I’ve edited and sharpened my images a little so the plant is more visible than it was on the day!

160605-BE1256-Nottingham Catchfly (5)

Nottingham Catchfly amongst swaying long grasses

The plant is so-named because it was first found on the walls of Nottingham Castle. It no longer grows there as the site was destroyed during work done on the site in the 19th century. The flower remains the County Flower for Nottinghamshire though.

160605-BE1256-Nottingham Catchfly (4)

The plant is vespertine like many of the catchflies. This means that the flowers tend to stay closed in the daytime and open in the evening or at night, when they release a heavy scent into the evening air in order to attract night-flying insects and moths.

160605-BE1256-Nottingham Catchfly (3)

Flowers are drooping, in very open clusters and all usually pointing one way. Petals white above, greenish or pinkish beneath.

Each flower opens over three successive nights revealing one whorl of stamens on the first night and another on the second and the styles on the third. This is thought to prevent self fertilisation.

160605-BE1256-Nottingham Catchfly (2)

Moving on up to the summit I found my first Pyramidal Orchid of the year, still tightly in bud.

First Pyramidal Orchid

First Pyramidal Orchid-Anacamptis pyramidalis amongst Common Rock-rose

Back in the same spot as yesterday I got another brief glimpse of a Dingy Skipper nectaring on Bird’s-foot Trefoil.

160605-BEBFY-Dingy Skipper 1b

Dingy Skipper on Birds-foot Trefoil

At the bottom of the ‘downland’ slope I finally caught up with a Small Heath on a buttercup.

160605-BEBFLY-Small Heath on buttercup 1a

And to finish, a female Common Blue.

160605-BEBFLY-Common Blue (f) upperside 1 160605-BEBFY-Common Blue (f) 1

 

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Beautiful blooms and some rare treats (1)

26 Sunday Jun 2016

Posted by theresagreen in Beetles, Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, Butterflies of Wales, calcareous grassland, grasses, Insects, Nature, Nature of Wales, nature photography, North Wales, Wildflowers of Wales

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

brachypodium sylvaticum, burnet rose, common rockrose, Cryptocephalus hypochaeridis, Dingy Skipper, Erynnis tages, false brome, foxglove, hoary rockrose, Jewel beetles, small shiny metallic green beetle, speckled wood

160604-BE6-View across field

160604-BE15-Foxgloves

Foxglove-Digitalis

The first week of June was full of the promise of a glorious summer to come. A  run of warm sunny days had brought forth perfect and prolific blooms and began to coax out the butterflies.

June 4th

Along the woodland trail that circuits the lower slopes of the Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, the early summer wildflowers are peaking. Foxgloves are at their perfect best, with stems full of open blooms graduating upwards to buds. There are not many plants on this site, but they seem to be gradually increasing in number year on year.

Honeysuckle is blooming prolifically, the best I have ever seen it and it smells heavenly.

160604-BE19-Honeysuckle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wild strawberry patch is also full of flowers, promising a bumper crop to come,although it is in danger of becoming overwhelmed by encroaching ivy and other vegetation.

160604-BE23-Wild strawberry flowers

Wild Strawberry

 

Birds were heard but not seen, concealed by the dense foliage of the tree canopy; Chiffchaff, Wren, and Blackbirds were all still singing between nesting duties.

 

160604-BE20-Blackbird

A Blackbird male paused from singing to hunt  on the woodland track

False Brome-Brachypodium sylvaticum

False Brome-Brachypodium sylvaticum

 

Some of the clumps of grass that grow along the woodland tracks are flowering now. This is False Brome-Brachypodium sylvaticum, a perennial grass common in woodlands where it prefers the shade of the canopy.

 

 

 

 

160604-BE3-Sunlit False Brome

Flowering False Brome

Oak leaves are already being eaten

Oak leaves are already being eaten

One of the more severe winter storms brought down three Scots Pines. Two have been sawn up and cleared away but the largest has been left where it fell and poignantly continues to live, now producing new cones.

New cones on fallen Scots Pine

New cones on fallen Scots Pine

New leaves on Yew tree

New leaves on Yew tree

Beautiful fresh Speckled Wood butterflies were out in number and busy patrolling territories or sitting on leaves, wings closed in wait for intruders or potential mates.

160604-BE22-Speckled wood on ash

Speckled Wood on Ash leaf

Up the steps and into the small open meadow the first impression was of lush greenery. The grass is growing long and closer inspection reveals it is studded with purple and white clovers, yellow Common Rock-rose and buttercups and the curiously flowered salad burnet.

160604-BE24-Adder's field

160604-BE30-Grasses

A variety of meadow grasses with Common rockrose and Salad burnet

Along the edge of the tree-line another burnet, the beautiful Burnet Rose (visible centre left of the photograph above) is also in full flower. It too smells divine and was absolutely buzzing with a variety of bumblebee species revelling in the pollen and nectar bounty on offer.

160604-BE27-Burnet rose patch

Burnet rose with Tree bumblebee

Burnet rose with Tree bumblebee

In previous years I have noted that the Burnet roses have played host to a bright orange fungus, this is Rust fungus Phragmidium rosa-pimpinellifoliae. It doesn’t appear to harm the plants, but this year the fungus is almost as prolific as the blooms themselves.

160604-BE26a-Burnet rose with fungus

Burnet roses with Rust fungus

On the small rocky outcrop at the top end of the field there are pretty clumps of Common Rock-rose-Helianthemum nummularium.

160604-BE37-Hoary rockrose

160604-BE31-Shiny emerald beetle

Cryptocephalus aureolus

A glint of emerald green drew my attention to a tiny shiny beetle in the centre of a Rock-rose flower. This little Jewel beetle doesn’t appear to have a Common name, so is known by its Scientific name of Cryptocephalus aureolus. The generic name of the beetle and its relatives refers to the insects’ heads being hidden under the pronotum. This is a new species recording for me here on the Bryn, which is not to say they haven’t always been here, just that I hadn’t seen one till now

I saw some little butterflies from here, a couple of Common Blues and Small Heaths, but all flying low in the long grass and in no mood to settle to pose for portraits.

Onwards and upwards along the Summit Trail, taking the track that comes out at the bottom of the steep ‘downland’ slope. This is often a good place to find Common Blue and Brown Argus butterflies, but not today, although there were a good number of Small Heaths to be seen, again not settling for me.

160604-BE38a-Summit Trail woodland

Summit Trail

I progressed fairly slowly up the steep slope and near the summit was  attracted to a sheltered corner backed by trees, bordered by raspberry brambles and where the ground was covered by Common Rock-rose and Bird’s-foot Trefoil flowers. I was drawn there by the sight of a small brown butterfly, which I hoped may be a Brown Argus, but which turned out to be a female Common Blue.

160604-BE42c-Dingy skipper on bramble

Then I noticed a slightly larger brown flutterer that I thought at first was a moth. A closer view changed my mind, this was a butterfly and although it was rather faded and a bit tattered round the wing-edges, was the right size and shape for a Skipper. Old records for the site indicate the presence of the Dingy Skipper-Erynnis tages, whose common name may not inspire much excitement, but this is a fairly uncommon butterfly in the UK, with recorded sightings at sites in North Wales not exceeding low single figures. I hope now my ID is right – if anyone knows better, please let me know!

Dingy Skipper

Dingy Skipper from a distance

I’m sure I’m not alone here, but I get nervous when I’m confronted by a new-to-me species of anything; especially when I’m aware this may be my one and only chance to record a sighting. So, I find I hold my breath, begin to panic slightly that I won’t get a photograph that will help me confirm its identity back at home and pray no-one will pass close by and disturb my target. My ‘technique’ thereafter is quite basic – to start from a distance and gradually move in closer, capturing as many images as I can before my subject takes off!

160604-BE44-Dingy skipper

Dingy Skipper-Erynnis tages

This particular butterfly was not making things easy and was restlessly flitting about amongst the flowers, staying low to the ground and frequently hidden amongst the plants. I felt quite dizzy staying focussed and following it around, probably down to lack of oxygen intake from the not-breathing. As ever, I would have liked more opportunities for photographs, but did manage to get a couple of fairly clear images that at least have given me my sighting record.

160604-BE45b-Dingy skipper underside

Dingy Skipper underside

After a few moments the butterfly took off away down the hill and I lost track of it. The camera battery also chose that moment to expire and as this had been a spur of the moment, travel light walk, I had no spare with me!

I have written detailed posts about many of the subjects mentioned in this one, so rather than repeat myself, I have added links to click onto if you would like to see more about any of them. For more about the Dingy Skipper, go to http://butterfly-conservation.org/679-1101/dingy-skipper.html

 

 

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Last of the butterfly days

21 Wednesday Oct 2015

Posted by theresagreen in Bryn Pydew, butterflies, Butterflies of Wales, Insects, Nature, nature photography

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

butterflies on sea cliffs, common blue, lassiomata megera, Red Admiral, silver y moth, speckled wood, Wall, Wall butterfly

October generally sees the last of the butterflies on the wing, but it would seem that records of species emerging earlier and flying later are increasing, which may or may not be attributable to global warming. I was surprised to learn that as many as thirteen species have been recorded as being out and about throughout the UK in this month of the year: it is rated as a ‘low-flight period’ for them, whose duration must surely be dependent on the local weather conditions and available food supplies.

The species on the list of those that may be seen this month are Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Small Tortoishell, Red Admiral, Peacock, Painted Lady, Comma, Wall, Speckled Wood, Small Heath, Small Copper and Brown Hairstreak. 

My own list of butterfly species photographed here in North Wales in October is significantly shorter, to date comprising only two mentioned on the above list; the hardy Speckled Wood and the Red Admiral. I have yet to see a Brimstone, let alone a Brown Hairstreak in any month here, and the latest I’ve recorded Small Copper and Small Heath has been during early-mid September. I may well have seen glimpses of some of the others but not on a regular basis.

2/10/15-Speckled Wood on oak leaves

2/10/15-Speckled Wood on oak leaves

13/10/11-Red Admiral on ivy flowers

13/10/11-Red Admiral on ivy flowers

18/10/14-Red Admiral basking on a muddy woodland ride

18/10/14-Red Admiral basking on a muddy woodland ride

8/10/15-Common Blue-Bryn Pydew

8/10/15-Common Blue-Bryn Pydew

Probably due to this year’s glorious mild and sunny autumn, I do have one to add this year and that is a Blue. At Bryn Pydew there were several, probably Common Blues but as they were all in varying degrees of faded, it was difficult to say for sure. They were not really actively flying around, but rather keeping low in the grass either perched or flitting short distances amongst the low-growing plants then perching again.

8/10/15-Common Blue-Bryn Pydew

There was a more mobile Silver Y moth there too, who ended up landing on a bunch of ash keys dangling high above my head.

Silver Y moth on Ash keys

8/10/15-Silver Y moth on Ash keys-Bryn Pydew

Now, before our beautiful butterflies fade from our summer memories completely, I wanted to bring special attention to one of those that is on the list of 13 that I encountered on the Little Orme in September of this year; a Wall, or Wall Brown.

This was my first and, to date, only sighting of a Wall, Lasiommata megera, in North Wales and seeing it was an unexpected treat for me, particularly as I later learned that this species is far less common that it used to be. Quoted from the UK Butterflies website: “There has been a severe and worrying decline of inland populations of the species, with most remaining populations now being found in coastal areas. This species is therefore a priority for conservation efforts.” It doesn’t appear to be numerous on the coast either, at least not here.

150916-Little Orme 6a-Wall Brown on eyebright (2)

150916-Little Orme-Wall Brown- Lasiommata megera on eyebright

The day of my sighting I was walking on a path on the edge of the clifftop of the Little Orme. The day was beautifully sunny but with a strong cold wind blowing in off the Irish Sea, which may well have brought the butterfly here. It was in an almost-perfect condition and flying low to take nectar from various tiny eyebright and cranesbill flowers.

150916-Little Orme-Wall Brown 2

It stayed around for just long enough to allow me to get some images of it in various poses (the butterfly and me as it was so low on the ground) before it took off, probably in search of a more substantial meal.

150916-Little Orme 11a-Wall Brown on cranesbill

(More info on this butterfly:  https://theresagreen.me/about-the-blog/species-lists/butterflies-of-wales/ )

PS – I’d love to hear if you have more October species to add from other parts of the country.

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Spring on the Bryn-part II

11 Monday May 2015

Posted by theresagreen in Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, butterflies, Butterflies of Wales, Nature of Wales, nature of woodlands, Wildflowers of Wales

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

blackthorn, blackthorn blossom, Blue tit, dog violet, Great Tit, mistle thrush, orange tip, peacock butterfly, rabbit, small tortoiseshell, speckled wood, wild strawberry, woodland flowers

Walking further up through the field the local buzzard pair circled overhead, then just a few minutes later a sparrowhawk appeared from somewhere close by and startled me as it flew just a few feet over my head, then continued towards the direction from which I had come.

Gorse fully in flower

Gorse fully in flower

A bit further on I stopped for a while and sat on one of my favourite rocks savouring the warm sun and the peace and quiet; that rarely lasts long just here as its at a sort of junction of trails so there are passing dogs, usually well ahead of their owners that invariably come over to see what I’m up to. I watched two peacock butterflies vying for the best spot on a sun-warmed rock. The winner opened its slightly faded, but still beautiful wings and basked for a few short minutes undisturbed.

Peacock butterfly

Peacock butterfly

Moving off my rock to photograph the butterflies I noticed a patch of Wild Strawberry in flower. Tucked back against the rock it is sheltered and in a sunny spot, perfect for ripening berries.

Wild Strawberry plant in flower

Wild Strawberry-Fragaria vesca in flower

Back in the woods to walk up towards the summit I disturbed a large foraging bird. It flew up to a tree branch where it blended well into the dappled shade. It had to be a Mistle Thrush but I wasn’t entirely sure until it flew back down to the ground giving a better view.

A Mistle Thrush blending into the dappled shade of the wood

A Mistle Thrush blending into the dappled shade of the wood

Unmistakably a Mistle Thrush

Unmistakably a Mistle Thrush

At the top of the track there was a single Speckled Wood butterfly, a lovely ‘fresh’ one. It was intent on finding somewhere to bask in the sun and flitting and zig-zagging about low over the track. You have to keep an eye on them because once they settle they can be difficult to spot. I had to make do with this view as it still wasn’t happy and shot off quickly.

Speckled Wood butterfly

Speckled Wood butterfly

Back out in the open and continuing upwards I almost stepped on a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly also sunning itself on the bare earth of the track.

Small tortoiseshell- Aglais urticae

Small tortoiseshell- Aglais urticae

A little clump of Dog Violets growing in the grass at the side of the track caught my eye; the bee-fly zoomed in just as I pressed the shutter and was gone again before I could refocus on it.

Common Dog Violet- Viola riviniana

Common Dog Violet- Viola riviniana

Blackthorn, of which there is a generous amount up here, has been flowering for a short while now but is at its beautiful peak now. Last year was a sparse one in respect of the amount of sloes on the shrubs here, but if the masses of blossom on them now are anything to go by, this could be a bumper year.

Blackthorn with a view

Blackthorn with a view

The flowers of blackthorn appear before the leaves and these are just beginning to break from their buds.

Blackthorn-Prunus spinosa

Blackthorn-Prunus spinosa

Blackthorn blossom against a clear blue sky

Blackthorn blossom against a clear blue sky

Another male Orange Tip butterfly was racing along the boundary of the blackthorn scrub. He didn’t stop, but as my first sighting of this species this year was a few days earlier of one nectaring on blackthorn, I’m using one of the photographs I took then.

Orange Tip- Anthocharis cardamines

Orange Tip- Anthocharis cardamines

Following the path around to go up to the summit I noticed two Small Tortoiseshell butterflies on the ground. I thought at first they were mating, or about to do so and they did change their positions a few times, but nothing happened during the time I watched them. One was more fresh-looking than the other, but they were both perfectly intact and gorgeous.

150424TG-BE336-Two tortoiseshells150424TG-BE337-Two tortoiseshells150424TG-BE335-Two tortoiseshells

The grass up around the summit of the hill is kept short, constantly cropped by grazing rabbits. I think it’s highly likely that this particular part of the hill covers a maze of warrens and tunnels. You don’t often get to see them , especially during the daytime, but there are baby ones around now and not yet wise they can be seen out in the open.

Young bunnies

Young bunnies

Ground Ivy-Glechoma hederacea

Ground Ivy-Glechoma hederacea

I cut back into the woods here from the track the bunnies were on, hearing a chiffchaff a short way in. I spotted Great Tits foraging in the trees close to the track that flew over to the scrubby wild clematis-covered scrub on the other side.

Great Tit

Great Tit

Where I stopped to take the picture there were a large number of smallish hoverflies darting about, resting briefly on leaves or many on the ground, all shiny and fresh looking as the ones I saw lower down earlier in the afternoon.

There were Blue Tits out foraging too and I think its likely that a pair have a nest site quite high in a tree with ivy growing up through it.

Foraging Blue Tits

Foraging Blue Tits

At the bottom of the track I stopped for a few minutes to listen to a Mistle Thrush singing. This was a déjà vu moment as I recall doing this exact same thing last year, more or less in the exact same spot, scanning the trees for the singer. I found him then, but couldn’t spot him today, so here’s last year’s picture to be going on with. What a lovely bird and how lovely to see him again. (More about the Mistle Thrush here)

A well-marked, singing mistle thrush

A well-marked, singing Mistle Thrush

 

 

 

 

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Mellow autumn

23 Thursday Oct 2014

Posted by theresagreen in Butterflies of Wales, calcareous grassland, coastal habitat, coastal walks, Nature, Nature of Wales, nature of woodlands, nature photography, Wildflowers of Wales

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

autumn woodland, Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, common buzzard, eyebright, galls on back of oak leaves, hawthorn berries, silver birch, spangle gall, speckled wood, St John's Wort, wildflowers of Bryn Euryn

Me it delights in mellow autumn tide,                                                                       To mark the pleasaunce that my eye surrounds,                                                 The forest trees like coloured posies pied,                                                            The uplands mealy grey and russet grounds;                                                Seeking for joy where joyaunce most abounds…….                                                                                from Autumn by John Clare

Autumn certainly has been joyous this year and even the blustery tail-end effects of hurricane Gonzalo have failed to provoke most of our habitual complaints about the weather. Temperature-wise, a  walk I took on Bryn Euryn just a couple of weeks ago felt more like early summer than approaching winter and although many of the signs of autumn were in place, there were a surprising number of wildflowers in bloom and butterflies, bees and various flies on the wing.

Quarry-field cliff crowned with autumn colours

Quarry-field cliff crowned with autumn colours

Teasel  seed-heads amongst thistles

A prickly selection – teasel seed-heads amongst thistles

The woodland tracks are covered with layers of dried fallen leaves that rustle when stepped upon and the soft musky scent of their decaying matter fills the air.

Sun-dappled woodland track covered with dry fallen leaves

Sun-dappled woodland track covered with dry fallen leaves

Wild clematis is prolific throughout the reserve and curtains of the fluffy dried seed-heads is draped over vegetation of varying heights and is living up to its common name of Old Man’s Beard.

Fluffy seed heads of wild clematis or 'old man's beard'

Fluffy seed heads of wild clematis or ‘old man’s beard’

The individual seed-heads are prettily composed and shine silver in the sunlight.

141002(6)TGNW-Bryn Euryn-Old man's beard close-up

Clusters of silvery filaments make up a seed-head of wild clematis

The bountiful crops of haws on the hawthorn trees are still untouched by birds and have turned a rich ruby red.

Rich pickings still to come for hungry birds

Rich pickings still to come for hungry birds

Hawthorn leaves also turning red

Hawthorn leaves also turning red

Although there are bountiful berry crops, the oak trees do not seem to have produced many acorns this season.

Oak tree with bracken in the foreground

Oak tree with bracken in the foreground

Oak leaves turning colour

Oak leaves turning colour

There are ‘crops’ of spangle galls though.

141002(17)TGNW-Bryn Euryn- Spangle galls on oak leaves

Spangle galls on oak leaves

Before climbing up the steep track through the woods on the way to the summit I sat for a few minutes on a rock to note down what I’d seen so far and was scrutinised for a few seconds by a buzzard that flew in over the treetops. This is a favoured spot of the locally resident buzzard, known to local visitors to the site as Lucifer and if you are here for any length of time you have to be quite unlucky not to get at least a glimpse of him here. He was accompanied by his mate today and didn’t linger, moving away in a leisurely circling kind of way towards Penrhyn Hill and the Little Orme.

Buzzards circling Penrhyn Hill

Buzzards circling Penrhyn Hill

I noted: ” I’m sitting on one of my favourite rocks. It’s around noon, the sun is high in a blue sky with just the faintest wash of wispy white cloud and is so hot I can feel it burning my legs through my jeans. The grassy areas have all been cut but a few wildflowers in bloom including rockrose, harebell & a bit of hogweed. There are butterflies, mostly speckled woods, but also a red admiral. Drone flies come to bask on the sun-warmed rocks and several wasps are seeking available food sources. Birds are still fairly quiet, I’ve heard the occasional song of a Robin and Blue and Great Tits calling to one another as they flit around foraging for food, but apart from the ever-present Crows everything else is keeping a low profile.”

Moving onwards and upwards along the track that leads out onto the ‘downland’ side of the hill I could hear drying leaves crackling in the heat of the sun. On the woodland edge there were several speckled woods flitting about, pausing often to settle on oak leaves. All appeared to be dark in colour and were not fully basking, but holding their wings partially closed.

Speckled Wood basking on an oak leaf

Speckled Wood basking on an oak leaf

I photographed another insect here too: it looked like a small bee but was behaving more like a hoverfly.

Cute insect looking like a small bee and behaving like a hoverfly

Cute insect looking like a small bee and behaving like a hoverfly

There is a beautiful silver birch tree on the woodland edge. Its leaves are beginning to turn colour and it has attractive fruiting catkins that look like a bit like a small slender fir cone from which, during the winter and aided by birds, tiny winged nutlets will be released.

141002(26)TGNW-Bryn Euryn- Silver birch fruits

Silver birch leaves and fruiting bodies

141002(27)TGNW-Bryn Euryn- Silver birch fruit

Close up of fruiting body

The grass has been cut on the hillside too and the ground is criss-crossed with a lattice of bramble stems. There are a few plants of the wild Goldenrod still in flower, while others have gone to seed.

Goldenrod-Solidago virgaurea

The dry flower head with seeds attached looks as pretty as the fresh flower.

Goldenrod gone to seed

Goldenrod gone to seed

There was a fair amount of scabious still in flower and was attracting a busy little Carder Bee.

Scabious still flowering

Scabious still flowering

There were a few eyebright plants still with their usual white flowers, and one that I came upon had pretty pink-purple edged petals with a yellow patch in the centre.

Eyebright with purple-pink edged petals

Eyebright with purple-pink edged petals

The views from the hillside were outstanding today as it was perfectly clear and bright which rarely happens in the summer months.

Looking down onto woodland across the hillside. Carneddau Mountains in the background

Looking down onto woodland across the hillside. Carneddau Mountains in the background

Little Orme & Penrhyn Bay village

Little Orme & Penrhyn Bay village

The sea was almost flat calm and in as many shades of blue as I have ever seen it.

The sea in many shades of blue

The sea in many shades of blue

Looking down the coast to Abergele & Rhyl

Looking down the coast to Colwyn Bay, Abergele & Rhyl

 

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‘But it is the common species that keep the living world ticking over and provide most of our experiences of wildlife, and I would argue that maintaining the abundance of these is as important a conservation priority as maintaining the existence of rarities’. Richard Mabey

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