Week 30: Frayed Fritillary, Painted Lady & Beautiful Buteo

I feel a bit like the weather this week…throwing the lot at you! Variety is, of course, the spice of life and you won’t get wet, I promise. In between light showers, pelting rain, darkness, sunshine, gusts and calm, I slotted in a few Box Moor visits. I split my time between Westbrook Hay and the Brickworks. I was very pleased to have the opportunity to photograph and film one of the Hay Wood Common Buzzards (Buteo buteo). Often, they are circling high over head or on an obscured perch but I got lucky on two occasions this week. One particular bird enjoys sitting in an Oak on Preston Hill (photographed below) or in one of the trees on the fringe of Hay Wood (where I filmed it).

I rarely visit Westbrook Hay without seeing and hearing at least 1 bird, frequently 2 and sometimes more. It’s ideal habitat for this handsome raptor, which nests on the edge of woodland but feeds on prey mainly found in open countryside. They hunt by sight and the fields surrounding the wood are a bit like the local take-away. I mentioned in an earlier post that the birds eat worms but the rampant rabbit population is almost certainly what sustains them at Westbrook Hay, although their diet is varied. During the 1950s and 60s the UK Buzzard population decreased dramatically as a result of myxomatosis decimating the rabbit population. Thankfully, both species recovered and both seem to thrive around Hay Wood. Buzzards mate for life, the male performing a spectacular aerial display at the beginning of Spring. He’ll repeatedly rise high into the sky, turn and then plummet downwards in a spiralling, twisting, turning motion, known as “the roller coaster” apparently. Mmm...I probably should have omitted that last fact since my video clip is the opposite of dramatic and enthralling. Ah well...

From birds to butterflies and over at the Brickworks I struck lucky again. An undamaged Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) butterfly, a migrant species originating in North Africa. I’m not sure how likely this particular specimen is to have come from Africa. I suspect it’s probably one of the next generation, brooded on the continent. Either way, fantastic to see and the first record for 10 years for the area!

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)

I returned to the Brickworks on Wednesday morning, hoping the sunshine might bring out some interesting insects. Still plenty of Common Blue butterflies, Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers, Speckled Woods, Peacocks, a Red Admiral and a Small Tortoiseshell. Every visit, I check the Buddleja at the NE end of Baker’s Wood. Finally, this week, on my return journey, high up, nectaring on one of the few remaining flowers, I spotted a tatty orange butterfly. I was expecting it to be a worn Comma (Polygonia c-album) but through binoculars I could see it was more likely a Fritillary species, possibly a Silver-washed (Argynnis paphia). I grabbed my camera, fired off 7 shots and it was gone, fluttering up into the trees and away.

On 22nd June, Martin Parr had briefly seen a Fritillary species at the Brickworks but it had zoomed off before he could ID it. There’s a good chance that this week’s extremely worn, male Silver-washed Fritillary is the same specimen Martin observed. When I returned on Thursday, I relocated it not far from the Buddleja and simultaneously discovered an area of the Brickworks I didn’t know existed. On the SE side of Baker’s Wood there’s an expanse of open scrub with a number of substantial Buddleja bushes, two in full sun, towards the southern end (map here). I really wish I’d found these 2 months ago and it’s likely that the Fritillary and other butterflies were here in abundance. One to keep a close eye on next Spring/Summer, I think. Oh, and a big yellow butterfly came careering past me but never settled, disappeared up in to the tree canopy and I couldn’t rule out Brimstone. Hopes for my first Clouded Yellow went with it. Another day perhaps…

Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis raphia)
 The first record of this species in the Bovingdon area

From fauna onto flora. I have been meaning to include this tiny, weeny flower in a blog post all summer. It's approximately 4mm wide and best viewed with a magnifying glass (deerstalker hat is optional)! This week, I finally came across the perfect specimens at the Brickworks and couldn’t resist photographing them. It is the cheerfully named Eyebright (Euphrasia species), so called because it was traditionally used to treat eye infections, although I could easily believe that the vibrant, pretty little flowers were inspiration enough for its name. It is another semi-parasitic plant (like the Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor)), keeping vigorous grasses at bay. It’s also a calcareous soil indicator and commonly found on rough grasslands - there’s plenty around the Box Moor Trust sites, particularly at Roughdown Common. It is easily missed but, up close, it really is beautiful.

Eyebright (Euphrasia species)

Finally, the moody skies of Dellfield over the Oak and the Scotts Pine. This was taken just after a shower had passed through on Monday (yes, I did get wet).

Week 15, Mammal: Whiskers not Whitethroats

Wednesday was a day of mixed fortunes. Lows followed by highs. First off, the “smidgeon of sunshine” I referred to on Tuesday expanded to fill almost the entire day! Very unexpected but by no means unwelcome. I set off as early as possible for Bovingdon Brickworks in the hope of photographing the Whitethroats. There are probably a dozen displaying males now around the complex. They are fairly easy to spot, with a bit of patience, because of their tendency to launch themselves up into the air at regular intervals and flutter to a nearby perch, whilst throwing out a burst of enticing, territorial song as they go. However, they aren’t a confiding species and this makes them tricky to photograph. I had to admit defeat once again yesterday.

The other species to elude my lens, in consummate style, were the male Orange-tip butterflies. They were out in good numbers but insisted on only coming to rest in the middle of the biggest and broadest expanses of bramble, way out of photographic range. After a good hour and half of taking approximately no photographs, I decided to assuage my frustration by simply enjoying what was around. It is usually (but not always) at this point that, with an open mind, something I hadn’t been looking for, or expecting, rescues the day. You know where this is going don’t you...

Enter The Easter Bunny...only a couple of weeks late.

There are rabbits all around the Box Moor sites but they are wild and rarely allow you to observe them in the open. I was extremely lucky with yesterday’s little forager. I had approached the area carefully, and simply stood, stock still, in an obscure/shady spot and waited. The rabbit eventually emerged, just a few metres away from me. It may be a common species but it’s still wonderful when a wild animal allows you to observe it feeding at such close range. I’d had to be far more tactical and distant to see/photograph the Dellfield rabbits (below) at the weekend.

With the sun shining and now filled with a sense of optimism and satisfaction (clever bunny), I thought I’d end the morning with a visit to Roughdown Common. I was hoping to see Box Moor’s rarest species of butterfly. More on that to follow...