Week 18: The Butterfly Effect

There has been an awful lot to catch my eye, spark my interest and tickle my fancy this week! I’m quite glad of the forecast rain today. It gives me the opportunity to put together a post.

The butterfly effect. Going to sleep last night, the lasting vision, burned into my retinas, was that of a tiny butterfly, on the top of a flower, blowing gently in the breeze. Unfortunately, in the field, that vision is all too often accompanied by mild impatience and the taste of helplessness (please let this little creature stay put), with anticipation that said flower might finally come to rest, allowing the chance to take a shot. It may not be chaos theory but, capturing the moment is downright tricky, especially if a butterfly decides to flap its wings.

When it comes to photographing these lovely insects, I am a novice. It seems to involve a heck of a lot of patience and luck. I have been pursuing Orange-tips all spring, without success. This week, it was the Small Coppers that led me on a merry dance (quite literally) around Dellfield and Bovingdon Brickworks. I dread to think what I looked like to passing dog-walkers, as I ran around in circles, weaving this way and that, following tiny (invisible?!) flying objects! However, when you do come across a butterfly, or group of butterflies, which are inclined to settle in one spot, it is pure heaven. Such was my good fortune on Tuesday afternoon.

The main meadow at Bovingdon Brickworks (the one with the mound of earth in the centre) held at least 7 Common Blue butterflies, all in one small area. This meadow, and the one to the north-west of it, are covered in Bird’s-foot Trefoil, the favoured nectar plant of the adults and the primary foodplant for the larvae. Through the afternoon, the sun was hidden behind clouds, which meant the butterflies were less energetic. In what felt like the blink of an eye, I had whiled away an hour in the company of predominantly settled Common Blues. I had the opportunity to photograph both male and female and to gain upper and underwing shots.

Common Blues (almost a mating pair, female, left; male, right) on Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi)

Male upperwing

Female upperwing

Male underwing

Female underwing

[If you’d like to see higher resolution images of the Common Blues, they are in a set on Flickr, here]

The good weather carried on into Wednesday so I decided to return to the Brickworks. I’d seen a Small Copper the previous day and hoped to relocate it. However, before I even arrived at the meadow’s entrance gate, in an area of dappled shade, I came upon a duelling pair of male Speckled Woods. I watched them tussling in flight until the interloper eventually capitulated and flew off. The victor quickly took up his favoured, sunlit spot in the nettles to wait for passing females. As for the Small Copper, I did eventually find one at the Brickworks but only managed a record shot. In the afternoon, I thought I’d try my luck at Dellfield and when I’d finally given up and was heading home, I stumbled upon a settled Small Copper. It absolutely made my day.

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)

Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas)

Butterflies weren’t the only insects on the wing this week. Whilst trying and failing with the Small Copper at Dellfield, I came across my first migrant moth, a Silver Y (Autographa gamma). The “Y” refers to the prominent creamy/white marking on each wing resembling a “Y” or the greek letter “gamma”. There were also a couple of Grass Rivulet moths (Perizoma albulata) and numerous Burnet Companions out around Dellfield (where there’s plenty of Red Clover (larval food plant)). There was also a Cinnabar moth and 2 or 3 Burnet Companions out at the Brickworks (the Bird’s-foot Trefoil being another preferred larval food plant for the Companion).

[Dellfield] Silver Y moth (Autographa gamma)  [For a higher resolution, see Flickr image]

[Brickworks] Cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae)

[Brickworks] Burnet Companion moth (Euclidia glyphica)

A couple of other fun finds at the Brickworks were a Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly and the aptly named Swollen-thighed Beetle. The Chaser took me completely by surprise (I was nowhere near a pond!) and I only managed 2 photographs, from a distance, with the wrong lens, before I lost it again. The Beetle was feasting on the buttercup pollen and it's the massive thighs which indicate gender.

Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa) (female)

Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis) (male)

Birds of note at the Brickworks on Wednesday morning were a singing male Cuckoo, a couple of Bullfinches (a male flew over my head) and a Nuthatch in the woods by Shantock Hall Lane. I also came across a ragged looking female Whitethroat, perhaps busy raising a brood. The Common Frog spawn seems to have disappeared from the flooded gully so I shall stop reporting on that.

Ben and the team ran the moth traps this week at the Brickworks and Gadespring. They attracted more than 100 species, staying up into the early hours of the morning! That’s what I call dedication! You can read the full report on Ben’s blog here.

If you’ve not had a chance yet to vote in the readership poll, in the previous post, there's still time. It would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Finally, this week’s Oak photograph. What a difference a few leaves makes!

Left, 23 January 2014; Right, 19 May 2014

Week 14: A Cuckoo for Company

I was away visiting family over the long weekend and the forecast for today/Saturday/Sunday is basically rain, so, yesterday was my window of opportunity with the Oak. Fuelled by my Easter sugar high (M&S’s toffee fudge and belgian chocolate hot cross buns are, without a doubt, the teacakes to eclipse all teacakes. I recoil in mock horror at the sight of dried fruit in cakes/buns/cereal bars/etc. Replacing it with chocolate and fudge; I say again, chocolate and fudge; is a mouthwatering masterstroke in my opinion). Anyway, where was I (other than advertising for M&S)? Oh yes, I arrived at Dellfield at around 10am, without a teacake. 

The Cowslips have grown and the Dandelions are all now in full flower. Dellfield is a beautiful sea of yellow and green. I even enjoyed a ray or two of sunshine early on, which helped with this week's Oak photograph.

It would appear that the tree I’ve chosen to follow this year is the slowest Oak to come into leaf in the country! Maybe. At any rate, it is markedly behind a number of other specimens that I’d seen over the weekend and is also lagging when compared to the Oaks up on Preston Hill. I suspect its position on the north-facing slope is the cause. I may have to wait another couple of weeks for leaf burst. Anyway, the Oak bud from Preston Hill has advanced (13 days since the last photograph).

April 11th

April 24th

Overhead, a pair of Buzzards were being mobbed by a crow. I left them to it and ventured into Hay woods to take in the Bluebells. They are now at their peak, having begun flowering nearly 3 weeks ago. The scent of Spring. And the woods were alive with the song of birds. Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Wren and Great Tit were the most noticeable but I could also hear the delicate ringing of Goldcrests. As time wore on, and I became more and more engrossed in photographing the flowers, it was the sudden call of the Cuckoo which shattered my concentration and filled me with joy. There’s nothing like it. Having spent the previous 7 weeks fairly unwell and confined to the local area, I’d not had the opportunity to go anywhere a Cuckoo might be. This was my first of the year. I couldn’t have asked for better company. The whole experience seemed to epitomise the loveliness of Spring. Crouching carefully in a shaded woodland, taking in the scent and sight of Bluebells, whilst listening to the hollow, plaintive call of a Cuckoo reverberating around the canopy. Perfect.

If I'd had a little bit of sunshine, I'd have included a photograph of the woodland floor and the carpet of Bluebells. As it was, the light was flat and dull so no chance of a nice shot, unfortunately. One for another day, perhaps.

By late morning, it was time to squeeze in a quick visit to Bovingdon Brickworks. The gully containing the frog spawn has dried up considerably in the last 2 weeks. Hopefully, the water will last long enough for the tadpoles to sprout legs!

There were a few butterflies on the wing, including at least 4 beautiful, male Orange-tips (Anthocharis cardamines). Sadly, they were far too energetic, and not inclined to settle, so no luck with photographs.

The Common Whitethroats have arrived. I counted at least 6 displaying males around the complex. I also came across a pair of nesting Linnets, which was rather lovely. The female was carrying a freshly collected feather to line her nest. A single Swallow flew through, overhead, and a male Great Spotted Woodpecker darted past me at one point. Even at midday, the songs of Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Wren, Dunnock, Chaffinch and, now, Whitethroat were all mingling in the Spring air.

Week 12, Take Two: Sparkly Spawn & Sparring Songsters

I needed a second bite at the cherry. You probably guessed that I wasn’t altogether convinced by my Wednesday effort at the Oak photograph. With improving health this week, I returned to the scene of the crime yesterday morning. I give you “Dellfield Oak and Cowslips”....take two.

Length: approx 8mm. Dellfield, more Life amongst the Common Nettles 

The other itch that needed scratching was a desire to get some singing Blackcap footage. They really are little tinkers. Either, he tucks himself away in a bush, sits still, and sings his tiny heart out. Or, he flits from branch to branch, bursts of his discordant song left in his wake, and no sign of him settling for more than a second or two. Either scenario is entirely soul destroying when it comes to shooting video. Yesterday was no different! Almost.

At Bovingdon Brickworks, in the same area as I filmed the Chiffchaff last week, I came across 2 male Blackcaps going toe-to-toe over territory and mate. There is clearly something desirable about this location as Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Dunnock have all set up territories here. Lots of insect life, I expect. Anyway, the two male Blackcaps were chasing one another in and out of bushes. Up and down branches. From one tree over to another tree. Into the open. Then back into cover. Explosions of song from both contenders filling the air. I tried and failed miserably to get anything on film and walked on to see how the Common Frog spawn were doing. At least they couldn't fly away.

The tadpoles look as though an over enthusiastic 5 year old has come along with a tub of gold, silver and bronze glitter and made them All Pretty. The speckled appearance at this age is a sure sign that they are the Common Frog species.

When I returned to the Blackcaps, they had stopped chasing one another (a good start!), and, eventually (meaning, after getting lots of wobbly images of empty twigs and skinning my knuckle on the tripod, trying not to miss The Moment), I managed to get the footage below. Unfortunately, I was the wrong side of the gate when the bird flew into the bush beyond. It was a case of catching some distant footage....with an awkward viewpoint....through heat haze, or likely get nothing at all. If you spend the whole video wishing you could move the twig out of the way, you're not the only one! The sound of the brickworks in the background doesn’t help...and the Chiffchaff above my head drowned out the Blackcap at one point....but, hey, I think it’s better than nothing. Incidentally, a lady Blackcap arrived on the scene this morning so hopefully one of the males did enough to impress her.  Not to be left out, the Chiffchaff features at the end of the clip. Ironically, the Blackcap tried to sing over him! The Chiffchaff's reaction was priceless…complete indignation. I don't think the death stare was fatal but it made the point.  Singing louder seemed to be the weapon of choice.



P.S. The leaf buds on both the Oak and Ash trees are now just beginning to lengthen and/or expand, soon to burst. It feels as though almost every other tree has beaten them to it. More on that next week, perhaps.

Week 11, Extra: Singing in the Smog

In a rather dark, shady spot at Bovingdon Brickworks, a swathe of Forget-me-nots

Just a couple of videos from yesterday at the Brickworks. The light wasn't great for photography/video making but smoggy air couldn't stop the birds from singing. A Blackcap accompanied my frog spawn filming and, later, I grabbed some footage of one of the many singing Chiffchaffs. At this time of year, both birds are driven to establish territory and attract a female. I love how Spring is as much about the sounds as it is about the sights.

Singing Blackcap

Singing Chiffchaff

Elsewhere, over in Hay Wood, the first of the Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) are flowering.

Week 10, Extra: Just A Snippet

After a week spent mostly indoors and inactive, I sprang(ish) into action(ish) yesterday. Both my regular readers will, I’m sure, be bristling with excitement. By now, optimistically, firing on a quarter of a cylinder, I called in at Dellfield and at Bovingdon Brickworks. The life and times of tiny black specs encased in balls of jelly are irresistible (it’s got to be decades since I followed the progress of common frog spawn). However, before that, I stopped off at Dellfield and was lucky to enjoy 3 Red Kites soaring through the skies, over the Oak. One even landed in the neighbouring Scots Pine.  Two of the Kites were an obvious pair, staying close (one following the other), mirroring one another’s movements and displaying to one another. Unfortunately, I was in the wrong place to capture the action properly (shooting into the sun) but caught their silhouette’s over the Oak (below, right. I applied a blue gradient filter to enhance the image - it was either that or black birds against white sky). Having hurried back up the hill, I did manage a somewhat distant shot of one of the birds (below, left).

Courting Red Kites 

Red Kite (Milvus milvus)

Red Kite (Milvus milvus)

Developing Frog Spawn 

The frog spawn at Bovingdon is coming along nicely. Different clumps are at different stages of development. One section is now probably more than 5 weeks old, with the new tadpoles wriggling around in a large mass on top of the jelly. I am not entirely sure whether the tadpoles in the photograph below are Common Toad or Common Frog. I suspect the former but will hopefully confirm if/when I know.

Week 9, Extra: Bovingdon Brickworks Chiffs & Frogs

The green arrow points to numerous clumps of frog spawn.
The white arrow is the area shown in the top photograph, with the easy-to-miss frog

The alternative title was "Sneaky Frog seeks Blog Fame!"

This week, I'm largely confined to the immediate area so thought I'd have a wander around Bovingdon Brickworks. As the name suggests, this is outside the Boxmoor district of Hemel Hempstead, located in Bovingdon. In 2000, approx 40 acres of land owned by the Brickworks were gifted to the Box Moor Trust to be used as a conservation site. This afternoon, it was Chiffchaff central! I counted at least 7 singing birds, all of them clearly keen to drive me absolutely nuts. Getting a decent photograph proved beyond my capabilities (and patience) today, so, just a taster (below) which I hope to improve upon.

A number of shallow gullies are still full of water from the winter’s prolonged and heavy rains. Two of them (photographed right) are now home to developing Common frog spawn….and a visiting Common Frog which may well have been there to lay more eggs.

I’m all for happy accidents, in fact, most of my blog content is a happy accident. The orchestration of birds, butterflies, bees, worms(!?) or even celestial bodies, for that matter, has nothing to do with me. However, 99% of the time, I’m aware of what I’m photographing. Today was that 1% where I might as well have been shooting with my eyes closed. I was completely oblivious to the fact that I'd actually managed to photograph the frog. I had seen it whilst exploring the the edges of the gully but didn't know that it had secret desires to make its internet debut on my blog. I’m very glad it popped its head out when and where it did!

During one of my failed attempts at Chiffchaff stalking, I'd reached the brow of a particularly large and deep gully and come face to face with a beautiful Red Fox. I'm not sure who was more surprised. The Fox instantly lifted itself from its resting place and darted off into the scrub before I could catch my breath. And, the afternoon wouldn't have been complete without the calls and soaring of Common Buzzard (photographed below, right) and Red Kite.