After the relative failure of my recent week in Sardinia (see here) I was glad of securing a further dragonfly life-list addition on this second June trip to Greece. Just about the only odonata-oriented location on our butterfly dominated agenda was the Strimonas valley near Kalavrita and it was there that Turkish Clubtail (pictured below) was located.

Turkish Clubtail (male)

This dragonfly (Gomphus schneiderii) replaces the far more widespread Common Clubtail (G. vulgatissimus) in the southern Balkans, Greece and as the name suggests Turkey. Its range also extends into the Caucasus, Lebanon and Iran. The overlap of the two species in Greece is poorly understood. Turkish Clubtail is generally smaller and more slender than Common, and in mature males the eyes are much bluer, not green as the pictures in this post show clearly.

The Dijkstra and Lewington field guide states that other differences between the two species are minor, but to me these Greek specimens looked much blacker than Common Clubtails at home in England. But that could be because I have only previously observed newly emerged individuals (see here). I also wondered if the Turkish variety is less prone to taking to the tree tops immediately after emergence, never to be seen again by frustrated odo hunters, since some of those in the riverside vegetation were quite ragged (pictured below).

Turkish Clubtail

Turkish Clubtail

2018 was an above average year for Common Clubtail sightings in Oxfordshire (see here), but I myself only had time to look for them once and did not repeat my success of a year ago. Six more Clubtail species in Europe all have limited or highly localised ranges. But I have now experienced all of the three that occur more widely, having self-found Western Clubtail (below, right) in Portugal in May 2014. These (below) are both archive pictures.

Common Clubtail (teneral)

Western Clubtail

The main other odonata interest along the River Strimonas in Greece was Blue Featherleg, or White-legged Damselfly as the species is known in Great Britain. I was pleased to capture images of some new colour forms here, since most of those I had come across before in England were immature or maturing males. The blue mature male form (below, left and top right) is really quite striking and just look at those splendid white legs. The immature female (bottom right) was another pleasing new find.

Blue Featherleg (male)

Newly emerged female

The default Demoiselle in the areas we visited appeared to be Beautiful Demoiselle (pictured below, top) that was abundant along both the Strimonas and Vouraikos rivers close to Kalavrita. This largest and darkest of its genus is always photogenic with entirely metallic cobalt blue wings in males and transparently greenish to dark ebony tones in females. Some Banded Demoiselle (below, bottom) were also present here. Both species are common and abundant throughout Europe.

Beautiful Demoiselle (male)

Beautiful Demoiselle (female)

Banded Demoiselle (female)

“Wet for the time of year, dear” … “Can’t make up its mind, can it?”

A purely chance sample of other insects now follow that caught my attention during the week under review. I can always find space for Grasshoppers and Crickets in this journal. Greece is especially blessed with this order since the majority of its 17,000 known European members are confined either there or in the Iberian peninsula. Only around 250 species extend into central Europe while the British isles have just 30. Given those numbers I can rarely match what I find on my travels to field guides and so have no idea of what species the individuals pictured below actually are.

Giant grasshopper

Blue grasshopper

Grasshopper sp

Bush Cricket sp

The top left picture is of the biggest Grasshopper I have ever encountered, while the colourful Bush Cricket was seen a number of times. I am intrigued as to whether some of these insects can alter their colouration to blend with their surroundings, having previously seen a red-toned grasshopper against red soil in Portugal (below left) and now this blue-toned individual (below right) here in Greece. The two do look superficially similar in size and shape.

Ant-lions, Ascalaphids and Lacewings are another complex order that no field guide appears to do justice to. These are soft-bodied flying insects with membranous wingspans ranging from about 3mm to more than 100mm. The large Ant-lion species pictured below left confused proceedings a number of times by resembling a dragonfly at first sight, but they are much narrower bodied and once settled pull their wings in tightly and so are then difficult to pick out from the vegetation in which they rest.

Ant-lion sp

Ascalaphid sp

Lastly Ascalaphids provided variety on a number of times here as in Sardinia. The right hand picture is of the only one I managed to capture adequately. These fast flying relatives of the Ant-lions are generally shorter and stouter with long clubbed antennae. There are 15 European species occurring mainly in the south.

This (pictured below) is one of Europe’s rarest butterflies. Chelmos Blue flies only for a few weeks each year high on the mountain of the same name in Peloponnesian Greece. Collectors come from far and wide to steal it from the wild because though the species also occurs in Turkey and eastward into Asia they (the collectors) all covet a Chelmos from Mount Chelmos. Lying a little to the south of the Gulf of Corinth, this is one of Greece’s most well known butterfly locations in which the range of habitats can yield more than 50 species in one day.

Chelmos Blue (male)

I now have Chelmos Blue in my butterfly picture collection, a rather more eco-friendly way of going about things, after self-finding this individual during a Naturetrek tour of two centres in southern Greece from 17th – 22nd June. As the group searched one gulley near the mountain’s summit, I walked back to the roadside after a while and noticed a different looking, fairly bright butterfly very close to our minibus. Nobody else was near and so I set about taking pictures without being sure what it was.

Chelmos Blue has a greyish underside with an arrangement of dark spots, and the broad white stripe on the lower hind-wing is a key diagnostic. On showing the above image to our tour leader on his return he confirmed I had indeed stumbled upon what was our top trip target. We then decided to stay at the spot for our picnic lunch and the butterfly appeared again so everyone got to see it in the end.

Chelmos Blue (male)

Chelmos Blue (male)

The gulley location

After lunch we moved on to search out Odd-spot Blue. This tiny species entails even more of a challenge since not only does it occur in Europe at just two Greek mountain top sites, but on Mount Chelmos only on a particular rocky slope, above a certain elevation where the larval food plant grows. Colonies are typically this small. Fortunately the tour leader knew exactly where to look, that after all is a pretty essential skill for a guide.

I am aware that the image cropping I employ often makes butterflies presented in this journal appear larger than life size. Odd-spot (pictured below) is a Small Blue-sized species that takes it’s name from the prominent arrangement of dark spots on the upper hind-wing. We had searched in vain a day earlier in rather too cool and damp conditions, but the second attempt was in sunshine. Having climbed all the way to the top once I opted to let others do the work this time and sat down to rest half way up.

Odd-spot Blue (male)

Odd-spot Blue (female)

When the sighting was called a sudden surge of adrenalin nonetheless propelled me to the higher elevation. There two males and a female had been located, this being a fast-moving insect that darts about and so tends to go out of view then appear again. The two species featured above were quite a double for our day, since no more than three of each had been found by Naturetrek groups in any previous year.

I joined this trip on the recommendation of its leader Philip Thompson, with whom I had been to the Macedonian region of northern Greece in May 2017. Noticing my interest in butterflies on that occasion he told me this June tour usually returns 80 plus species. In the event, despite untypically cool (by Greek standards) and showery conditions for the time of year, we found 86 different butterflies that for myself included a respectable 30 lifers. Happy bunny then! This tour delivered its itinerary.

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The default Blue species at altitude here are Common and Silver-studded Blue (pictured below) that are both present in their thousands. In normal summer weather conditions of constant 35+ degree heat large concentrations of butterflies occur around water sources such as mud puddles, natural springs and livestock water troughs. Identification is then a matter of painstakingly picking out the specialities from the commonplace. But 2018 has been a wet summer in Greece and with much more damp ground available butterflies naturally disperse into it. In the event we still did rather well and were only actually rained off on the first day.

Common Blue (male)

Common Blue (male)

Silver-studded Blue (male)

Silver-studded Blue (male)

The other prizes high on Mount Chelmos are Pontic and Greek Marzarine Blue, but neither of these were found. It would be very unusual to record all four speciality Blues in one visit, since emergence times vary from year to year. A third new Blue for me here was Zephyr Blue (pictured below) that was present in good numbers, the easiest diagnostic being black dots along the hind-wing bottom edges. This butterfly occurs in dry habitats from Spain through Alpine regions and as far east as Iran. It is said to resemble Silver-studded Blue in appearance but is larger, and there are a number of sub-species.

Zephyr Blue (male)

Zephyr Blue (male)

Also encountered in similar numbers was Escher’s Blue (Agrodiaetus ainsae) that I had observed previously in Les Cevennes, France (see here). This largish Blue is patchily distributed across Europe south of the Alps, flying in flowery and often rocky places. But here in south-eastern Europe there is a different sub-species A e dalmaticus that appears brighter and more iridescent and that is what I saw this time. I also found my first ever female Escher’s on this trip that are encountered far less frequently than males.

Male Escher’s Blue (ssp dalmaticus)

Male Escher’s Blue (ssp dalmaticus)

Female Escher’s Blue

The Blues are of course a highly complex group of often similar species, so I am open to correction if I have got anything wrong in this post. One lesson of this trip is that to continue to advance with butterfly identification I will eventually need a net, a lepidopterist’s jar with magnifying glass in the lid, and a copy of the out of print 2004 Lafranchis field guide. This after all is how things are done by true experts in the field, whatever some others might think about netting. Lafranchis details the exact fine diagnostics that should be matched to close inspection of every European species. Copies now change hands for large amounts of money and Naturetrek owns one that it issues to its tour leaders.

At lower elevation, in meadows and roadside habitat as we drove up to the summit, I was pleased to gain good underside pictures of Chapman’s Blue for the first time. This widespread central and southern European species is most easily distinguished by the large white patch mid-way along the array of orange sub-marginal spots. Their upper side is very similar to Common Blue, but to me the underside appears much brighter and for the Lafranchis devotee there is no cell spot. The top right hand picture is of a roosting individual on the day that was rained off, and I rather like the wet effect.

Chapman’s Blue (male)

Moving on to some common larger butterflies of Mount Chelmos, one of the most plentiful encounters was with Balkan Marbled White (pictured below). I now have several European MW species in my picture collection and this south-eastern one has rather more smoky tones than the others. The often cool conditions gave rise to excellent picture opportunities of less flighty than usual and sometimes roosting individuals. Familiarity certainly didn’t breed contempt since this was one of my favourite butterflies of the trip and always good value.

Balkan Marbled White

Black-veined White was fairly frequent though not generally inclined to settle, as is their wont. For the first time I distinguished and captured pictorially females of this species that have a translucent quality, while some exhibited brown-toned veining by comparison with the males.

Black-veined White (male left and female)

Black-veined White (female)

There are several Grayling species in Greece, the biggest and most often seen of which was Great Banded Grayling (below, left). Though this handsome butterfly might at first appear to resemble White Admiral in flight, upon settling the jizz and cryptic underwing patterning of the Grayling group is all too apparent. Our tour leader identified the right hand butterfly (below) as Woodland Grayling, one of three others of the genus that can only be separated reliably by close examination of the genitalia. Yes, a bits job!

Great Banded Grayling

Woodland Grayling

On 17th, after poor weather had driven us down from the summit, I self-found another of the Graylings named simply The Hermit (pictured below) in a sunnier valley area that we headed for. This butterfly had a pale top side band like Great Banded but was smaller and when settled on stony ground the underwing pattern was totally different. I was told it was quite a scarce record for this Naturetrek tour, but like the Chelmos Blue it was relocated so all the group saw the Hermit too. That wasn’t always so easy since like all Graylings this one was a master of camouflage against both stony ground and leaf litter.

The Hermit

The Hermit

Having spent much of the first two days around the summit of Mount Chelmos, on 19th we turned our attention to some lower locations that held various species of note, closer to our base of Kalavrita. The first of those was Lattice Brown that I had seen just once previously in northern Greece in May 2017 (see here). This large and striking Brown has a long flight season from April to October, occurring locally across south-east Europe and the near East. It is known for concealing itself in dense shade so I was pleased that one individual here struck up a nicely back-lit pose before relocating to a metal gate (pictured below).

Lattice Brown

Lattice Brown

Later that morning we visited the monastery garden of Aghia Lavra that has already featured in the previous post about Hairstreaks. Amongst the mix of butterflies here were Lattice Brown again, Clouded Yellow, Southern White Admiral, Sloe and Ilex Hairstreak, Grecian and Lesser Fiery Copper, and Ripart’s Anomalous Blue; producing collectively one of the highlights of the trip. I have saved the best Ilex Hairstreak nectaring on Mint pictures (below) for this post, and things do not get much better.

Ilex Hairstreak

That having been said, after the Ripart’s Anomalous Blue appeared it too set up as captivating poses on the monastery garden Mint. My insect pictures involve no props, no bait and with few exceptions are captured with entry level equipment in completely natural and uncontrived circumstances. What an absolute pleasure it is that butterflies and other insects allow for such an approach but then I do not regard myself as a photographer, merely a wildlife enthusiast who enjoys taking pictures as records of what I observe. To my mind that is the best sense of priorities, rather than an insect or bird being a subject for the complex technicality that is a “photograph”, and for this reason I now try to avoid using that last term altogether.

Ripart’s Anomlous Blue (male)

Ripart’s Anomlous Blue

The Anomalous Blues are something of an enigma since both males and females are plain brown on the top side. Collins lists nine different European species, most of which are very tricky to separate and limited to highly localised geographical ranges. Three of these were on the wish list for this trip but Ripart’s was the only one we located. This butterfly is rather powdery in tone on the underside of both wings, has strong marginal markings, and males have a prominent white unh stripe very like the Chelmos Blue that headed this post.

Grecian Copper

Grecian Copper

The last of the “Mint specialists” was Grecian Copper (pictured above), the most frequent of the Coppers we came across through the week as well as the most vividly coloured. Our next stop after the monastery was a walk along the nearby River Strimonas where that fiery little native of the southern Balkans, Greece and Turkey was again present in good numbers. Females of this species tend to keep a low profile after pairing, so I was pleased to record one here (below, right). Another sighting of note in this location was egg laying Iolas Blue but I didn’t attempt pictures in the glary light and shade conditions, and in any case had captured the species well in Macedonia.

Grecian Copper (male)

Grecian Copper (female)

In the afternoon we headed higher up again, taking a very winding road above Kalavrita to a remote and scenic second home village, Souvardo. A walk onwards from there along a high track produced two more Blues for my life list and another Grayling. Meleager’s Blue (pictured below) is an attractive species with a bright blue top side and subtle, pale-toned marginal markings and dark grey spots on the underwings. It ranges fairly widely through eastern and southern Europe.

Meleager’s Blue (male)

Meleager’s Blue (male)

Having in the past self-found Baton and Panoptes Blues in France and Portugal, I was now pleased to record a third member of their diminutive group Eastern Baton Blue (pictured below) at this location and along a second lower track . This one is by far the most widely distributed of those three Small Blue-sized species, occurring across the eastern half of Europe from southern Finland down to Turkey then across southern Asia to China.

Eastern Baton Blue (male)

Eastern Baton Blue (male)

There are a number of very similar Grayling species in south-eastern Europe. This one (below) matches the Delattin’s Grayling illustration in Collins nicely, and I can see it is also different from the slightly smaller Southern Grayling that I observed in Corsica last autumn. Our group leader assured us Delattin’s is a good enough ID since separating it from Balkan Grayling that Lafranchis also lists (but not Collins) is another bits job.

Delattin’s Grayling

Delattin’s Grayling

Lastly there were the Skippers. Various Grizzled Skipper-like species were experienced during the trip but I thought of this group as too tricky to attempt to get my head around, especially as the illustrations in Collins are not of the best. Fortunately my tour colleague Paul Selby and our group leader were both very good at distinguishing them from one another. I am indebted to them both for the following IDs, and so am now getting my eye in too.

Persian Skipper

Persian Skipper

Olive Skipper

Olive Skipper

Oberthur’s Grizzled Skipper

On 20th we took a walk around countryside just to the south of Kalavrita, following a track from the River Vouraikos through smallholdings and arable fields into the low hills nearby. Here butterflies of interest included Silver-washed Fritillary, Southern White Admiral and the third brood form of Small Copper. The last of those (below right) is much darker toned than the form seen at home, and some individuals can be smaller due to premature pupation.

Silver-washed Fritillary

Southern White Admiral

Small Copper (third brood)

I found Kalavrita to be a pleasant if touristy town, tucked into a verdant river valley below the slopes of Mount Chelmos in which the pace of life seemed unhurried and largely unchanged from times past. It lies at the head of a famous funicular railway dating from the late 19th century. Foreign visitors here mostly arrive by the coach load, not usually staying for more than one night so a longer remaining group such as ours was good trade for local hoteliers and restaurant owners.

Landscape near Kalavrita with many Mulleins

After these three and a bit days described above we relocated from here to our second centre, the as notable butterfly location of Mount Parnassos across the Gulf of Corinth to the north. That second stage of this trip will be the subject of a further post in due course.

Black Hairstreak has enjoyed an exceptional 2018 flight season in England, with much larger than usual numbers recorded at traditional sites and more at new locations where small colonies had probably gone undetected previously. In between my two trips abroad during June this was the one local butterfly that commanded my attention. Then I experienced Sloe and Ilex Hairstreaks for the first time in southern Greece, and gained my best ever pictures of White-letter Hairstreak there as well. So I will now take the opportunity to present these four Satyrium hairstreak species in one post.

Black Hairstreak

Sloe Hairstreak

Ilex Hairstreak

White-letter Hairstreak

When 11th dawned sunny I checked the BC UTB sightings page to find all the records while I was in Sardinia had been from Oxon’s Whitecross Green Wood. So that is where the butterfly tourists will have gone in 2018. For myself I headed off to a site further to the north in Bucks that Ewan and I had discovered a year ago and which thankfully is still tourist free. Here a path runs behind roadside Privet that attracts these butterflies from the woodland edge.

A stretch of this hedge had been cut to half height with a flail, serving to let more light into the narrow strip behind where only occasional patches of Privet had been sunlit on that previous visit. In one spot a tallish stand appeared to have been pushed over backwards by the cutting machine and was in full bloom at and just above head height This looked promising and indeed upon it were nectaring three Black Hairstreak.

At once I sensed a picture opportunity par excellence and began to record images using my usual 300mm telephoto lens. But it is well known that when nectaring this butterfly will allow a point blank approach, and so I changed to my macro lens for the first time in quite a while. The outcome was my best ever Black Hairstreak pictures and the communion enjoyed with these rare and precious gems was simply off the top of the scale.

No props, no bait and just inches away

Black Hairstreak

I had to keep reminding myself that inches from my face was one of England’s scarcest and most sought butterflies that enjoys an almost mythical status amongst people who observe them, and I had them all to myself. As on many other occasions I am convinced that insects come to accept human presence so long as they are not harassed or chased around. At one point I was leaning over one BH to take pictures of another and the first butterfly was not in the slightest bit bothered. Even if they did take fright the BH would always come back again to nectar anew.

This observer too was enjoying a similar freedom from jostling and harassment. Every so often I would glance nervously along the path to see if any other person might be approaching, but in around an hour spent with the Hairstreaks I remained gloriously alone. After the previous week in Sardinia being in a group of 15 to seek out scarce insects with very mixed results this day was quite simply how things should be done.

When company did eventually arrive it was in the familiar form of Ewan, who like myself had gone out on the spur of the moment. Between us we must have seen between 20 and 30 BH at this spot, by the roadside and along another path into the woods; and my colleague saw many more after I left. We were both struck by how fresh the butterflies were compared to our visit a year ago, so we had timed things just right. For a fuller account of this species from June 2017 see here.

Two other members of the superficially similar but subtly different Satyrium genus of Hairstreaks were encountered several times during my week in southern Greece, often flying together. On 19th we visited a monastery garden, Aghia Lavra near our base of Kalavrita in the Peloponnese. There both species were active low down amongst the rather unkempt flowers as well as on marginal shrubs. The following pictures are all of these butterflies nectaring on Mint.

Sloe Hairstreak

Sloe Hairstreak

Sloe Hairstreak (pictured above) has larger and rounder red spots than other Satyriae on the underside hind-wing (unh), with internal black triangles on the margin and black edging externally. There are four of these markings limited to the areas around the tail. The thin white line that gives all Hairstreaks their name is usually quite strong and almost straight.

Sloe appeared paler in tone than Ilex Hairstreak (pictured below), in which the white band is better defined and black edged, also extending more faintly across the forewing. The array of red-orange and black spots in Ilex extends around most of the unh. Both these butterflies occur across much of central and southern Europe in June and July, usually in hot and dry scrub habitats in which they are more prone to nectaring openly than their English cousins.

Ilex Hairstreak

Ilex Hairstreak

On 22nd we commenced our exploration of Mount Parnassos that rises above the northern shore of the Gulf of Corinth. Driving up we passed through what appeared to be a large winter sports complex that had either fallen foul of the recent crash in the Greek economy, or else the many new houses were city dwellers’ second homes and not occupied in summer. Here there was a large bramble patch known to our group leader as a reliable hot spot for White-letter Hairstreak and this fourth species duly obliged in good numbers.

Why WLH should be present here was something of a mystery since there were no Elm trees anywhere in the vicinity. In England and throughout its range across most of Europe this Hairstreak is always associated with Elm. I had previously observed them mostly in tree tops at home, and close up only at one site in south-east Oxfordshire where I might typically encounter a few worn individuals. This latest experience and the pictures that came out of it were both much better.

White-letter Hairstreak

White-letter Hairstreak

White-letter Hairstreak (pictured above) takes its name from the letter W traced out by the white band on the unh. A further diagnostic is the tails are longer than in the other species described herein. This Hairstreak is probably under recorded in England. Every season records are posted on the BC UTB sightings page from new sites, always where there are Elm trees, and particularly so due to the diligence of the current species champion Peter Cuss. My advice to anyone with an interest is if you know where there are some Elms take a close look and see what you find.

A minor retrospective now. The other two members of the six-strong Satyrium genus are False Ilex and Blue-spot, both of which I self-found on waste ground at Tavira in the Portuguese Algarve in May 2014. False Ilex Hairstreak is very closely related to Ilex but confined in Europe to the Iberian peninsula and far south of France. Blue-spot Hairstreak is distinguished by the feature of its name at the lower unh tip, and is noticeably larger and more triangular than the others. These archive pictures below are for comparison’s sake.

False Ilex Hairstreak

Blue-spot Hairstreak

So now I have observed all six of the Satyrium Hairstreaks. I would say Black Hairstreak is probably the most boldly marked and attractive of the group though all are very similar in terms of their behaviour. This year has been unusual, thanks to travel abroad, in allowing me to experience four of them in such a short space of time and so it seemed appropriate to describe and compare them here. Black Hairstreak are now almost over for 2018 in southern England, but White-letter will be out there for a little while yet before the never ending four-stage cycle of butterfly life begins all over again.

I wasn’t expecting much in the way of butterflies from a week in Sardinia and so was pleased to return home with four new life list and picture collection additions. My favourite for the trip was Corsican Heath because I had been to Corsica itself too late in the season for them last year and so had to find it this time. The species only occurs in the Tyrrhenian islands where it is widespread and locally common, flying from May to August.

I spotted this gorgeous individual pictured below on the island of Asinara from the Land Rover window, and so interrupted our local guide’s history lesson to get out and take some pictures. The attractive, rich brown underside hind-wing ground colour, white discal band and spotting are quite distinct in separating this from other Heath species. This was the only one of it’s kind observed all week.

Corsican Heath

Another endemic I was pleased to record was Corsican Dappled White (pictured below). This species can be confused with the far more widespread and common Western Bath White, from which it is best distinguished by the underside mottling, so I hope I have got this right. Collins lists four different Dappled White species, of which the Tyrrhenian variety produces two broods in very early spring, then from late May through June. Our tour leader was asked why so many Tyrrhenian endemics bear the prefix Corsican. The reason apparently is that Corsican naturalists like to lay claim to things, while their Sardinian counterparts tend to be a more secretive bunch.

Corsican Dappled White

Corsican Dappled White

As in Corsica, the local race of Wall Brown (below, left) was a fairly frequent sight. These (Lasiommata tigellus) are brighter orange with bolder wing bars than the regular and more widespread L megera that occurs throughout Europe. The Tyrrhenian population is accorded full species status by some sources but is not a generally agreed endemic. As familiar throughout the trip were the southern European race of Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria aegeria – below, right) that has an orange ground colour by comparison with the yellow and creamy white northern race (P a tircis) seen in Great Britain.

Wall Brown (local race)

Speckled Wood (southern race)

On to rather more stand-out things now and two much desired lifers. At one site I was pleased to encounter my first ever Large Tortoiseshell, a Nymphalid that has always seemed to be late emerging whenever I have been where it might be found abroad. This large species occurs through most of Europe, northern Africa and western Asia. Twin broods each season are usually on the wing from May to mid-June, then mid-July to mid-August, hence the ease of missing them in an atypical season. This butterfly disappeared from Great Britain in the 1950s and is now an extreme rarity at home if captive bred releases are ignored.

Large Tortoiseshell

On 6th we visited Su Gologne, a gorge containing natural springs in the Gennargentu mountains of eastern Sardinia. There the most notable sighting was the enigmatic Nettle-tree Butterfly (pictured below), the only member of its family the Libytheinae in Europe. It has some striking physical features, notably a curious pointed snout, gently widening rather than club-shaped antennae and a hump at the top of the hindwing that breaks up the outline. All these contribute to excellent camouflage when settled in dead leaves and other ground litter as the good numbers here were prone to do. This butterfly produces a short-lived summer brood that emerges and egg lays in June, giving rise to a hibernating generation from August. It takes its name from the main larval food plant, the Nettle Tree.

Nettle-tree Butterfly

Nettle-tree Butterfly

Nettle-tree Butterfly

Various colourful but commonplace southern European species also presented good picture opportunities and so I will include a few images here. Cleopatra is often fast flying and not inclined to settle, but this one (below, top) sat up for the camera just above head height for some time, also at Su Gologne. Clouded Yellow (bottom, left) were a frequent sight as everywhere abroad, while the continental European race of Swallowtail (bottom, right) is certain to be a popular draw with groups such as I had joined.

Cleopatra

Cleopatra

A yellow spectrum Mediterranean threesome (above and below)

Clouded Yellow

Continental Swallowtail

Lastly a Two-tailed Pasha came to inspect our picnic lunch on Isla di S Pietro where we went to see the Eleonora’s Falcons on 8th. It was then enticed to stick around with some fruit before re-locating into nearby bushes. For many tour participants this was one of the week’s highlights, but I had enjoyed less contrived communion once before in May 2014 whilst totally alone on a track in the middle of nowhere in the Algarve hills. That sort of experience is difficult to better and so I was a bit more blasé over things on this occasion, but it was still good to be reacquainted with this magnificent insect once again.

Two-tailed Pasha

Other insects

There follows a purely random sample of other insects that caught my eye through the week under review. I paid far less attention to grasshoppers and crickets here than in Corsica (see here), since this trip involved the much higher priority of scarce dragonflies to locate. But a Saddled Bush Cricket (below, left) on Asinara was worth recording, while the green grasshopper species on the right also prompted my attention.

Saddled Bush Cricket

Grasshopper sp

I cannot recall ever having come across either a Stick Insect or Praying Mantis in the wild before, but both (pictured below, top) were amongst the weird and wonderful beasties that came out at dusk around our remote hotel at Su Baione. The gruesome detail I always recall about the latter is that during copulation females are said to eat the male from the head downwards while their mate continues to do the business undeterred from the other end, adding a whole new dimension to the term “ball breaker”. Worth thinking about, that one! These creatures are no wimps.

Stick Insect

Praying Mantis

Ascalaphid sp

Ascalaphid sp

The rather more congenial flying insects that are Ascalaphids (pictured above) are always fun to see and I have encountered them in most places visited in the Mediterranean. There are 15 different European species in this group and many more worldwide. And so this two-part presentation on insects observed during my latest trip in the region is complete.

Having previously done justice to Cyprus, Malta and more recently Corsica it has been a further ambition to similarly explore the Tyrrenhian island of  Sardinia. The last-named has been fortunate in largely escaping the ravages of mass-market tourism and offers a range of interesting habitats for an extensive flora and fauna. The scenery is very varied with mountains and rugged limestone hills, extensive forests, farmland; and extensive coastal wetlands in which birds (see previous post) and particularly odonata thrive.

Dragonflies

Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean, can host several African dragonfly species that extend into southern Europe mostly here and in parts of the Iberian peninsula. But it soon became clear that some of these must occur in very small numbers and take some searching out. The Naturetrek tour itinerary cited a potential 35 different dragon and damselflies at this time of year, but I actually observed around 20. Most disappointing of all the exotic Green Hooktail and Bladetail, the odo-orientated participants’ top two targets for the trip, were not found.

My dragonfly of the trip was the seriously beautiful Long Skimmer, a large, elongated and powerful species that is common in tropical and north-west Africa and parts of south-west Asia. This was my third most important reason for joining this tour as it was not amongst some northward expanding dragons I had self-found in Portugal in 2014. LS was first recorded there in 1991, where it remains uncommon and highly localised in the south of the country.

Long Skimmer (mature male)

On 4th we visited Lago Baratz in the north-west corner of Sardinia, the island’s only natural fresh-water lake. For me this was the outstanding location of the tour, as the lakeside vegetation simply teemed with dragonflies whose exuvia littered the reed stems. There were thousands of Black-tailed Skimmer here, and fairly abundant amongst those were the highly attractive Long Skimmer (pictured above and below). The males are dark-slate coloured blue with a thin cylindrical abdomen of 38-44mm that is bulbous in segments 1 and 2. In mature males the abdomen can appear almost black, while immature males have an olive-yellow ground colour that turns gradually blue. The pale yellow females were more difficult both to locate and take pictures of.

Long Skimmer (imm male)

Long Skimmer (female)

Male Long Skimmer

Maturing male

Mature male

Mature male

Maturing male

Banded Groundling is another abundant and widespread African dragonfly that has colonised Sardinia and parts of Iberia very locally in recent decades. As the name suggests this species prefers to fly low over and to perch on bare ground where it is nicely camouflaged. They are often found around grazing animals and may even follow humans to catch disturbed smaller insects. The tour itinerary said “hundreds would be flying as we walked along, making the ground appear to shimmer beneath our feet”, which was something of an exaggeration. In the event we found rather more modest numbers first at Lago del Cuga in north-west Sarninia on 5th, then subsequently at various locations further south.

At emergence both genders are yellowish and lack wing-bands that develop gradually in extent and intensity. The male’s body and bands eventually become black, while females become brownish with less distinct brown bands. The twin-coloured cream and brown pterostigma are common to all forms and life stages. I had observed this species once previously in Morocco but had not come across the immature form (below, right) before. As with Long Skimmer, mature females were more difficult to locate and I only gained one poor shot of the latter.

Banded Groundling (mature male)

Banded Groundling (immature)

Two more species self-found before in Portugal and Morocco also featured prominently on this trip. I had been delighted by the highly attractive Violet Dropwing upon first encountering it in the Algarve in 2014, and gained more good quality images this time around. Males are a small, pink and purple dragonfly with striking amber wing bases and veining, while the deep yellow females are similarly pleasing on the eye. Having expanded their range out of Africa since the 1970s, much of the northern Mediterranean margin has now been colonised. They tend to perch prominently and in one place I found male, female and immature individuals on the same shrub for comparison.

Violet Dropwing (male)

Violet Dropwing (male)

Violet Dropwing (female)

Violet Dropwing (female)

Violet Dropwing (maturig male)

Broad Scarlet, also known as Scarlet Darter, was one of the week’s more frequent sightings wherever we went. Once common only in the Mediterranean region, the robust and aggressive, all-red males are becoming recorded ever more frequently further north. This species is also common and widespread throughout Africa and in western Asia. Young males and females are brown-yellow with pale stripes on the thorax and blackish lines on the abdomen. This species often makes a striking picture, but especially so against the resplendent swaying grass-heads of Lago Baratz (below).

Broad Scarlet (above and below)

Broad Scarlet (male)

Broad Scarlet (male)

Broad Scarlet (female)

Broad Scarlet (immature)

Broad Scarlet (male)

As anywhere in the Mediterranean, Red-veined Darter was also encountered fairly regularly. This small red dragonfly is common and widespread across southern Europe and North Africa, though more sporadic further north including Great Britain. I should also mention Southern Darter, a new species for me that is quite difficult to distinguish from the more abundant Common Darter. Our tour leader Nicola Scatassi assured me the individual he is holding in the bottom right picture (below) is one. I can assure anyone who might be opposed to netting insects that none of the specimens he presented to the group in this way were injured. Southern Darter were called from time to time, but I probably paid insufficient attention to that particular lifer on the trip.

Red-veined Darter (male)

Red-veined Darter (female)

Southern Darter

Red-veined, Southern and Common Darters (above and below)

Common Darter (female)

Common Darter (immature)

The dragonfly list for the trip was completed by two medium-sized blue species that are familiar at home: Black-tailed and Keeled Skimmer. The first of those were plentiful in most places we went, while the latter were found first at Su Baione then at other locations in the south of the island. I always find the yellow and black newly emerged BTS especially attractive and photogenic and at Lago Baratz that was no exception.

Black-tailed Skimmer (male)

Black-tailed Skimmer (maturing male)

Black-tailed Skimmer (immature)

Keeled Skimmer (male)

Keeled Skimmer (mating pair)

Damselflies

Fortunately the trip’s damselfly content added a bit more in the new and different sense, with five life list additions. The most satisfying of these were two new Spreadwings, or Emeralds as they are known in Great Britain. The first, Dark Spreadwing is a Sardinia speciality and our tour was timed to coincide with their limited flight season there. This species is also highly localised across southern Europe from the Iberian peninsula to Turkey.

On our first day, 3rd we took a ferry to the island of Asinara off the north-west tip of Sardinia. Once a penal colony in centuries past, this place is now a national nature reserve and several local companies operate 4×4 tours there. It didn’t take long to find Dark Spreadwings that were active at the first brackish habitat we stopped at. I found their two-tone blue head and thorax and generally dark and metallic colouring very attractive, and the notably large and dark pterostigma are quite a striking diagnostic. More were found at a site near Cagliari in the south of the island on 8th.

Dark Spreadwing

I was also pleased to catch up with Migrant Spreadwing on this trip, that in Great Britain is known as Southern Emerald. At home I believe this rather pale-toned damsel has since 2002 occurred only at certain sites in Kent known to local odo royalty, hence my relief at having now observed it abroad. MS has increased dramatically in northern Europe since the mid-1990s, and also occurs eastwards as far as Mongolia. The yellow jowls, wide antehumeral stripes and bi-coloured pterostigma are all diagnostic. The pictures below were taken near Su Baione.

Migrant Spreadwing

or Southern Emerald (BDS name)

The commonest damselfly in Sardinia appeared to be Island Bluetail that we came across almost everywhere we went. This species is closely related to the Common Bluetail that is abundant in Great Britain, but has always a bright green face and thorax and a particularly vivid blue segment 8. IB is endemic to the Tyrrhenian islands, Sicily and Malta where it replaces CB in standing and running waters with rich vegetation.

Island Bluetail

Island Bluetail

Island Bluetail (mating pair)

Two more new (for me) blue damselflies were observed in various places. Dainty Bluet is rather localised throughout southern Europe but is expanding northwards, inhabiting slow-flowing waters with rich vegetation. We first found them on Asinara and only occasionally thereafter. The aptly named Blue-eye is a southern species that can be abundant in the Mediterranean region. The slender males have a diagnostic goblet marking on segment 2 and just look at those big blue eyes. These were seen at a number of locations throughout the trip, often perching horizontally on emergent stakes above the water’s surface.

Dainty Bluet

Dainty Bluet

Blue-eye

Blue-eye

Last but by no means least were the dark, metallic Copper Demoiselle that were observed at a number of sites in central and southern areas. This common larger damselfly occurs only around the western Mediterranean and north-west Africa. Disappointingly all those recorded were of the same blue form that I had seen previously in Portugal, whereas I had been hoping for the beautiful deep copper-red form that gives the species it’s name.

Copper Demoiselle

Copper Demoiselle

The lingering sentiment from this trip, with so few lifers gained is one of anti-climax. Sardinia on this occasion at least was not the dragonfly hunting mecca of its billing. It is said to have been the wettest spring in Italy for many years, which could have had some bearing on the dearth of exotics. I am not so sure of that, although much of the island remains unexplored and under-recorded in odonata terms. The most sought African species might perhaps have been hiding out there somewhere, but I will never know and feel little inclination to return.

I have just returned from a week’s tour of Sardinia with Naturetrek. The itinerary’s main focus was Odonata but I also had three must-see birds for the trip and all of them were found. A fourth life list addition was the endemic Tyrrhenian Flycatcher, that was split as a species from Spotted Flycatcher in 2015.

On 4th we visited Capo Caccia, near Alghero in the north-west of the island. There as the group enthused over what for me are now commonplace Mediterranean birds, I became distracted by lizards at the roadside. That was until I noticed everyone gathered about 100 metres away and clearly observing something of note. I hurried over to find that one of our guides, Luca Boscain had discovered a territorial Marmora’s Warbler which could not have read the script that they are by reputation skulkers offering only glimpses of themselves.

Marmora’s Warbler

This was my top target and now bird of the tour simply because they breed locally only in the Tyrrhenian islands (with a different race in the Balearics), wintering in North Africa. So I do not expect to see another one anytime soon. The species resembles Dartford Warbler in size and shape but has grey not red-brown underparts. They favour dry, scrubby locations, often in low maquis or rocky terrain.

One had been pointed out to me in Corsica last September flitting just once from cover to cover but to my mind it could have been anything, hence my desire to gain proper views this time. And the bird pictured below was quite exceptional in that respect, moving from one to another prominent perch on shrub tops or rocks, singing feistily all the while. To say this sighting exceeded my expectations is an understatement. What a beauty!

Marmora’s Warbler

On 5th and 6th we stayed overnight at Su Baione near Abbasarra in central Sardinia, a remote location in a Cork Oak woodland. From dusk onwards the air around our hotel was filled continuously with the deep whistling calls of Scops Owl, but they were much harder to actually see. This is a small migrant Owl that is a widespread breeder across southern Europe, and also a long-time straggler on my remaining wish-list for the region.

During the first evening’s after dinner walk the group was more interested in locating Nightjar, that were heard distantly and so I was frustrated in my own aim. Returning to my room more Owls could be heard outside the window and so I sat out on the balcony for a while, still without success. Naively I expected to see them flying from tree to tree but they were rather more difficult to pick out than that, as the second evening’s experience demonstrated.

Eurasian Scops Owl courtesy of Luca Boscain

This time the group’s focus was the same as my own and the more experienced amongst us picked out a calling Scops with torches. It took a while to get my eye in then first the bird was seen from behind, dipping its tail with each call at 3-4 second intervals, and next head on from the other side of the tree (pictured above). At all times this Owl kept very close to branches at the centre of the tree, hence my own failed attempts at observation previously.

So that was two down and one to go: Eleonora’s, said to be the scarcest European Falcon. This summer visitor breeds colonially on islands throughout the Mediterranean, wintering in Africa. It owes it’s important lifer status to being absent from my Cyprus list, but I was probably there too early in the season in April 2012 since Eleonora’s postpones breeding until late summer to coincide with return passage of small passerines that are caught over the sea.

Eleonora’s Falcon nesting cliffs on San Pietro island

On 8th we visited San Pietro island off Sardinia’s south-west corner, a long established breeding location for Eleonora’s Falcon. On the walk down to the nesting cliffs (above) I concentrated on scanning the rock faces ahead, seeing a dark, Falcon-shaped silhouette emerge from one of the many crevices and holes. But not having seen an Eleonora’s before I didn’t like to call it. Eventually our guides spotted another one against the sky and so I knew that I had indeed self-found this newest lifer while the group were busying themselves with roadside bugs.

To quote Collins, this is a medium-sized Falcon with long, comparatively narrow wings, long tail and rather slim body. It was clearly still early in their season and there were not many birds present, but those of us who left last had another sighting on the walk back up. It was an immense relief for me to have gained all three required lifers for this trip, especially as we did not find some key dragonfly targets which was very disappointing.

Tyrrhenian Flycatcher

Tyrrhenian Flycatcher (pictured above) was encountered fairly frequently during this tour. It struck me as quite an urban sort of bird, given to hanging around hotels and bars and getting into dubious company such as groups of ageing British wildlife enthusiasts. My own brief researches reveal that prior to 2015 seven sub-species of Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) were recognised across the Palearctic region. Studies of the Sardinian and Corsican breeding population (M. striata tyrrhenicais) over 10 previous years confirmed morphological differences previously observed in the field and cited in scientific literature and hence the latter was split as a full species.

To put things very simply, the paper I am quoting (†) cites the immediate impression given by Tyrrhenian Flycatcher is of a paler bird with warmer tones to the back and more homogeneous underparts. The breast markings, which are generally well defined streaks in Spotted Flycatcher (M. striata striata), appear faded and more spot-like, and the streaking on the nape is also less well defined. My own experiences this week certainly confirm this, but as always I have quoted very basic detail herein.

† Biodiversity Journal, 2015, 6 (1): 271–284. Morphological differences between two subspecies of Spotted Flycatcher, by Michele Viganò and Andrea Corso.

Given this month’s now prolonged window of sunny weather, insect emergence in the new season appears to be back to normal after a wet early spring. Since last visiting the butterfly mecca of Cotley Hill, Wiltshire in 2015 (see here) it had been a vagueish aim to compare Marsh Fritillary numbers across three more hills – Scratchbury, Middle and Battlesbury – that lie north-westward at the bottom left corner of the Salisbury Plain military training area.

On consulting Butterfly Conservation’s Wilts county web site (see here) on Friday evening, most of the recent Marsh Frit sightings were coming from the most north-westerly site, Battlesbury Hill (ST898456) on the edge of the aptly named garrison town of Warminster. A good spread of other spring species was also being observed here, including Duke of Burgundy. So as Ewan had contacted me during the day to ask if I was butterflying this weekend I suggested we make this our latest destination, and he agreed.

The delicate stained-glass petals that are Marsh Fritillary

Amongst iron age hill-forts Battlesbury is certainly formidable, sitting atop a very steep, round hill upon which rise as steep ramparts. Our prehistoric forebears were certainly no mugs in selecting sites on which to build these enclosures to provide safe haven for local communities during times of unrest. Battlesbury and it’s neighbour Scratchbury (ST911443) dominate the Wylye valley to the south from the scarp edge of Salisbury Plain, and each site has fine views of the other. Battlesbury is an example of the type of late iron age fortification where multiple lines of ramparts follow the contours of a hill top, with intervening ditches and complex entrances. Scratchbury, just 1.5km away is a simpler and roughly rectangular structure.

These ancient sites are accessed via a public right of way starting from MoD facilities in a road named Sack Hill (ST89923 46476) NE of Warminster town centre. Once reached the ramparts of Battlesbury Hill are an impressive prospect (pictured below). The natural chalk grassland of the Defence Estates-owned enclosure is grazed by cattle to maintain a tussocky structure and 30-40 plant species may be found within just one square metre. This all provides ideal habitat for a diverse range of insects, as well as birds.

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Whenever I take other Oxon birders out to see insects I notice a twitching impatience to connect as quickly as possible with whatever it is we are looking for. I am content to explore the location first to see what’s there and eventually enjoy due communion with what is discovered. Observing insects cannot be hurried and in any case once found they are unlikely to fly off somewhere else as birds might do. For these reasons I was happy to follow our separate inclinations at first while keeping in touch by phone.

At first it seemed there were not many butterflies around. The species encountered most often on the hill’s south side was perhaps surprisingly Wall Brown. I can recall visiting this region several times in the early years of this decade to look for them, only ever finding ones and twos. Today’s evidence was that they must now be faring rather better. This is most often an unco-operative butterfly to approach and photograph so a grassy record shot (below left) will have to suffice for this post. Limited numbers of Small Heath (right) were also on the wing.

Wall Brown

Small Heath

On reaching the eastern ramparts I began to notice butterflies below me with a lighter, more delicate jizz than the similar-sized Walls. These were indeed the Marsh Fritillary of our intention and I edged down the slope a little to attempt some first pictures. Then I called Ewan who in the event was walking up quite close behind me. And so with our prime target species in the bag my companion now relaxed more and began to enjoy this stunning location and its myriad butterfly life. And there was plenty more to come.

From this point onward there were numerous Marsh Frit wherever we trod. Though a butterfly of conservation concern in England, in my experience where it does occur it is abundant. There must have been hundreds of them here, offering an experience that certainly matched my visits to Cotley Hill between 2011 and 2015. This is a very photogenic insect with the pleasing trait of resting on flower and seed heads with wings spread gloriously open and flat. And what a picture they make (below) with beautifully marbled upper wings perhaps suggestive of stained glassware.

Marsh Fritillary

Marsh Fritillary

Marsh Fritillary

Several other notable spring species were active here since the east-facing slopes, especially between the upper and lower ramparts were sheltered and warm, facing directly into the sun. Busy Dingy Skipper buzzing about and basking Small Copper were both present in good numbers, as well as a few Brown Argus. All of the butterflies mentioned so far, other than the Dingy were my first records of the year. Fairly frequent Green Hairstreak also encountered were mostly past their prime and becoming worn.

Small Copper

Brown Argus

When we reached the fort’s eastern entrance we crossed over to the outer rampart to walk back around the lower ring, reasoning the north side of the hill would probably be less productive. From here there were panoramic vistas (below) over the area described earlier in this post, and the military training land to the north. The connecting right of way was visible across the two hills to the south-east. I at once conceded my original plan of tracking Marsh Frit numbers all along that route would probably have been ambitious to achieve.

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A short distance back round the lower circuit, another butterfly enthusiast below us drew our attention to two Adonis Blue (pictured below) he had found. For this bright herald of shortly arriving summer to be on the wing here in mid-May is a good indicator that the 2018 butterfly season is nicely back on track. And all the while we continued to be delighted by the dancing, gliding and ever delicious delicacies that were the Marsh Fritillaries.

Adonis Blue

Back at our start point, the western fort entrance, of the species on our wish list we had yet to see Grizzled Skipper and Duke of Burgundy. Two other observers advised us to look for the latter around some Beech hangings on Battlesbury Hill’s southern slopes. We then took a lower path still, and in some Hawthorn scrub habitat I picked out two fresh looking Dukes staking out exposed twigs or grass heads. This was my fifth different site for the species so far in May, and once again “His Grace” rather stole the show (below).

Duke of Burgundy

Lastly we made our (or at least my own) weary way back uphill then crossed the hill top to see if Grizzled Skipper could be found in the open area within the prehistoric enclosure itself. But that little butterfly remained our one miss of the day and we headed back to the car satisfied with having obtained an almost full set. An exercise monitoring app Ewan uses on his i-phone revealed we had trodden a total of seven miles in enjoying another highly rewarding butterfly outing while re-acquainting ourselves with the so pleasing and attractive Marsh Fritillary.

Where “Pearls” are concerned one site has been receiving a lot of attention in the current season, Rewell Wood near Arundel in Sussex. I had observed this butterfly before only at Bentley Wood on the Hants / Wilts border, and this year wanted to go somewhere different. And so it was to this new (for me) place that my attention turned.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary (male) and friend

The exact location within the extensive mixed woodland was not easy to find and in the event took me three attempts. BC’s Sussex branch web site (see here) says these butterflies are active along the main west-east ride, but there are two such tracks so which one was it? After my 9th May visit to Heyshott Down (see previous post) I ended the day by checking out the more northerly ride that is accessed from a lay-by on the A29 (SU98310 09079). Crossing Fairmile Bottom LNR then making a steep uphill climb brought me to an area of clear fell in which there was abundant blooming Bugle (Ajuga) on which Pearl’s’ nectar. But there were no butterflies there and after a brief look around the woods that turned up no more suitable areas I left.

The next day I returned with Ewan following our visit to Noar Hill. We spent a good couple of hours in the clearing, but once again despite the seeming suitability of the habitat no butterflies were encountered. We again walked to some other parts of the woods but without success. Then over the intervening weekend large numbers of PBF were reported on-line, so it seemed most likely we had been in the wrong place and an injection of local knowledge was required.

A walk through Rewell Wood: the joy of an English Bluebell woodland in May

Today (15th) we investigated the southern ride that may be accessed from two points. The first is a metalled track from the A27 trunk road, but there are just two parking spaces there within a private facility of the Duke of Norfolk’s estate, so BC asks visitors to find alternatives. A public bridleway close to Shellbridge Road south of Slindon (SU97727 06987) also leads up into Rewell Wood and getting there involves walking for 100 metres along the verge of the A27 trunk road, that may not appeal to everyone.

Once we were on the latter right of way I followed my intuition that this time did not let us down. Turning right when we joined the west-east ride, we reached a more open area in which Pearl-bordered Fritillary soon became visible at the ride edges, zooming low across the ground and rarely settling as is their wont. Having such a short adult life span of no more than a few weeks this butterfly is seemingly always in a hurry. The males spend most of their day searching for newly emerged females, that once mated spend the rest of their own flight period keeping a low profile whilst egg laying and avoiding further contact with males.

We had of course arrived on site approaching the warmest part of the day when the PBF are at their most hyperactive. I am not ever likely to obtain better pictures of this species than in Bentley Wood in May 2015 (see here) but those were of inactive insects in cool conditions. In today’s sunshine and in this habitat, gaining uncluttered images of the standard I seek was always going to be more difficult. At first and with perseverance most of the more acceptable results were under-wing studies (below).

Pearl-bordered Fritillary (above and below)

It is very important that visiting observers, especially those with cameras do not chase the fast moving PBF around. Doing so will not make them stop and is likely to result in habitat being trampled with loss of pupae, newly-deposited eggs and even adult insects. Standing in one place and waiting for them to approach and settle is likely to be far more effective. The better picture opportunities are near the beginning and end of the day when the PBF are more inclined to rest for longer and nectar.

In the early afternoon we were fortunate enough to run into the estate ecologist and Sussex butterfly authority Neil Hulme, who readily shared his extensive knowledge of all things PBF and this site’s management for them. We were indeed in a conservation area where rotational coppicing is being practiced with the intention of meeting the species’ finely balanced habitat needs and boosting its numbers all along the ride year on year. The other spot that so distracted us is on a neighbouring estate and had been felled commercially since the last breeding season. Mystery solved!

Neil (left) and Ewan

The conservation area

There was now an interval to fill before conditions would start to cool again after 4pm, and so we went on to Kithurst Hill (TQ070125) on the South Downs escarpment to seek out some different spring butterflies. Just below the hill top is a meadow managed by the National Park Authority and Butterfly Conservation to encourage the spread of plant and insect species that were once much more common. Here I recorded my season’s first Dingy Skipper, Common and Small Blue; as well as Duke of Burgundy at a fourth site, and Green Hairstreak.

Duke of Burgundy (both pictures)

Despite a somewhat busy ambience, these butterflies offered images with the kind of diffused backgrounds and pastel shades I prefer. One Duke (pictured above, right) provided an underwing study to match my recent improved top-side shots. Several Dingy Skipper (below) gave a reminder there is no such thing as a mundane butterfly, and a Small Blue showed just why it is one of my favourites. The normally photogenic Grizzled Skipper, unfortunately could not be found so I have still not seen one this year.

Dingy Skipper

Small Blue

We returned to Rewell Wood before 5pm and met up again with Neil who had told us where those two parking spaces were. He was busy recording Pearl-bordered Fritillary numbers along the conservation ride. It can be seen here how relatively small areas are coppiced in succession, so a brood emerges from one cut patch then females disperse into another to lay their eggs. Our priority now was top-side pictures but it was still some time before the PBF showed signs of slowing down.

There was plenty of other insect life in this woodland, with recently emerged Broad-bodied Chaser in particular (below, centre and right) encountered frequently. By way of something a little different Dark-edged Bee Fly (below left) had been abundant in the newly felled clearing of our earlier visit, hovering over spring flowers in sunny spots. This intriguing creature is so-called because of it’s furry appearance and sucks nectar from plants through a rigid black proboscis. I instantly formed a liking for them, hence their inclusion herein.

Dark-edged Bee Fly

Dark-edged Bee Fly

Broad-bodied Chaser (immature)

Broad-bodied Chaser (maturing male)

Whilst appreciating the benefits of company I was by this time beginning to yearn for the solitude that would allow a proper communion with the dancing, restless Pearls. And so I wandered off, finding a few late flying individuals still nectaring on Bugle (below). All the pictures in this new post are quite different from those premium treatments of three years ago (see here), but still as satisfying in their way.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Two further encounters were yet to stand out. First Neil spotted a mating pair (below, left) fairly high up, assuring us this was late in the day at 6:30pm for such an occurrence. The female must have emerged well into the afternoon. He was also concerned to find us a roosting individual, since there is no way that PBF will move once they’ve “gone to bed”, and eventually he did. In the failing light it was difficult to find the right camera setting, but after much cursing I got to manage something half decent (below right).

Mating Pearls

Roosting Pearl

It had been a thoroughly rewarding if long and tiring day, thanks in no small measure to the very personable and knowledgeable Neil, and so we two Oxon visitors headed home. As Ewan remarked, it makes such a difference to be with someone who knows what they are talking about. Like Duke of Burgundy I now feel I have done justice to Pearl-bordered Fritillary in the 2018 butterfly season, and their immediate future at this site at least looks to be assured.

This butterfly (pictured below) is probably my Duke of the 2018 season. Why so? Because it was self-found in a new and rather stunning location, then kept still for long enough for me to practice with camera settings and get things passably right. The last of those reasons was helped by there not being another human soul around.

Basking Duke of Burgundy (male), a scarce and diminutive jewel

This all began while I researched some Sussex butterfly sites on Wednesday morning (9th). In the absence of new and different southern English butterflies to experience, I have considered visiting more locations beyond Oxon, Bucks and Berks as a motivation in 2018. Now, reading of Heyshott Down on the South Downs escarpment it seemed so scenic and otherwise superb I just upped and went.

I was not disappointed on arrival. The South Downs national park is not an area I know well, but its outstanding natural beauty has always impressed when travelling nearby. The Duke site (SU896168) is reached via a minor road east of Cocking on the A286 and towards the village of Heyshott itself. The picture below is the view back from where I chose to park.

The South Downs escarpment between Cocking and Heyshott

From below the butterfly habitat was immediately apparent a little further to the east. Access tracks leading up to it through arable fields were populated with the new season’s fresh Orange Tip and Green-veined White, flying amongst upward thrusting Cow Parsley, abundant English Bluebells and other wild flowers. Eventually I reached a gate into open access land that resembled the historically quarried habitat of Noar Hill. This had to be the place and up and onward I climbed.

The Heyshott Down site from below

… and into the sun

As previously at Noar Hill and Rake Bottom (see previous post) I found just two territorial male Duke of Burgundy in this third spot, though more were no doubt present had I searched thoroughly enough. With the second of these tiny jewels I sat down for a while and enjoyed the sense of communion that is only possible when completely alone with a self-discovered insect in a beautiful natural ambience. Such a situation banishes at least temporarily all thoughts of material and populist concerns or any other of the assorted stresses of daily existence.

Heyshott Down Duke

… territorial male at rest

The location I had reached was an equal part of the experience: remote, wild, perfectly quiet and unspoiled at least on this occasion by dog walkers, kite flyers, mountain bikers, shouters and whoopers, projectile throwers, light aircraft performing aerobatics or any of the other man-made distractions that butterflying can entail. Aside possibly of their imbalance of oilseed rape fields, the vistas northward into The Weald (below) could perhaps be described as the acme of traditional English summer. I simply luxuriated in having all this rural peace and tranquillity to myself in the spirit quenching sunshine of such an early May day.

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On Thursday (10th) I had arranged to go butterflying with Ewan, our first such outing in 2018. As he had not observed Duke of Burgundy in a while we went first to Noar Hill, Hants (SU745317) which was a re-visit for me but a first for him. This time the Dukes were at last out in force and we began to find them as soon as we entered the hill-top Hants and IoW Trust reserve. During two hours on site we must have amassed 25-30 butterflies between us, and aside of one group outing and a conservation work party we had the place quite agreeably to ourselves for much of the time.

These (below) are my better new images from this visit, armed as I was with a preferred camera setting from the previous day. Once located this is quite an easy butterfly to approach since the territorial males tend to return to the same spot over and again if disturbed or after flying up to challenge rivals. On this breezy day they were distributed in more sheltered spots in the many former medieval chalk pits across this hill top.

Noar Hill Dukes

Most of the Dukes I have recorded this May have been in such a pose, males absorbing warmth on exposed perches. It seems they have been less inclined to offer underwing images in the current season. But more importantly, a threatened species appears to be faring tolerably well in the southern counties and carefully managed habitats of the visits described here.

One thing that always strikes me about this butterfly is just how small they are. Given the high regard they excite amongst enthusiasts due to their scarcity, I had expected something a bit bigger when I first went out on Butterfly Conservation field meetings in 2010. But then as now their diminutiveness was in inverse proportion to their reputation. The species was once known as Duke of Burgundy Fritillary on account of the colouration. But this is not a fritillary at all, rather the sole European member of a butterfly family occurring in other parts of the world.

Early Purple Orchid

In amongst the abundant Cowslip on which Noar Hill’s DoB depend, the sward here was becoming carpeted in Orchids (pictured above). It is always a pleasure to include some pictures of these iconic wild plants in a blog post. I am not a botanist but believe these are Early Purple Orchid or hybrids thereof.

Medieval chalk pit at Noar Hill, Hants

Linky Down, Oxon

So now I have done justice to Duke of Burgundy in their present flight season. Earlier this week on 8th I also went out locally to record one of my favourite butterflies, the subtle and delicate Green Hairstreak. During an earlier visit to the Chilterns escarpment on 22nd April (see here) I had noticed the Hawthorn scrub habitat at the species’ former stronghold of Linky Down (SU725965) was growing up once more, having been cut severely by English Nature in recent seasons. So now I went back to see whether butterfly numbers were on the increase again. In the event I found two specimens, one of which sat up for the camera nicely (pictured below).

The heart gladdening treasure that is Green Hairstreak

A three minute scene for a forthcoming TV production was being filmed on the hillside above the M40 motorway, a day long exercise that seemingly required a vast assemblage of vehicles, facilities, equipment and people. When the luvvies saw someone with camera and binoculars walking close to their cordoned off area, they sent their EN contact across to find out what I was doing. It was perhaps an effort of understanding for the one-off visitors, being so far from London that a person carrying optics on a national nature reserve might just be observing wildlife rather than looking at themselves.

So having been engaged by someone from English Nature I took the opportunity to talk to him about the site’s butterflies and habitat management. Whilst saying that Dingy Skipper are still present on another part of the reserve, he confirmed as when I last encountered an EN work party here that the Hawthorn scrub will be cut again soon. The priority is to preserve the chalk downland sward and hence to remove the invasive Hawthorn. I dare say there are very sound reasons for this but to my mind it is still a shame that one of Oxfordshire’s best Green Hairstreak locations was destroyed in the process.

There’s no two ways about it, the first precious jewels of spring have had a difficult time of it so far this year. The bulk of the interval since my last post in this journal has been cold, windy and at times oppressively wet; so 2018 butterfly emergences are running more than two weeks later than in a typical season.

With fine weather forecast for the next few days, on Friday morning I just felt like going somewhere and hence decided to re-visit a particular Hampshire heath with an indigenous Smooth Snake population that had captured my fancy of late. On the way I dropped in at the classic Duke of Burgundy site to the south-east of Alton, Noar Hill (SU745317) where that much sought butterfly had commenced it’s flight season on 1st May.

New season Duke of Burgundy at Noar Hill

I had not recorded this species in Great Britain since compiling entries in my 2015 British butterflies series (see here and here). Arriving at around 11:30 I headed for the spot that had been the most reliable for sightings earlier in this decade. There another observer spotted a Duke keeping fairly low in the vegetation, before going to ground altogether. So I wandered on to try to re-locate another hotspot recalled from three years ago.

Conditions had become lightly overcast, and on my way back a group of four observers were gathered in one of the many former chalk pits on this hill top. That could only mean one thing and I went across to join them. I do not favour the situation of being amongst several people all pointing camera lenses at one butterfly, but in the circumstances this was the best option. Things were cooler and cloudier than the morning’s BBC forecast had suggested, and there was a lot of habitat in which to seek out more butterflies.

Those conditions did ensure this individual Duke of Burgundy was keeping stock still on its chosen perch. I was able to capture some rather different images than in previous seasons, first of all from below. I then asked and was granted my field colleagues’ permission to climb the bank above the butterfly that was resting with wings flat to absorb what warmth it could. As one man remarked it wouldn’t be going anywhere and the greatest risk was my sliding down the slope taking the Duke with me.

Duke of Burgundy

Duke of Burgundy

English Duke of Burgundy are found mostly on southern chalk and limestone grassland such as this. They require a delicate balance of site management to cater for their needs, which are sheltered habitat with patches of scrub and well distributed Cowslip and Primrose. Those larval food plants must not become too shaded by surrounding shrubs and grasses. In the past DoB was known as a woodland species using managed coppice where the plants abound. But due to the general reduction of coppicing a relocation of around 80% of the population has occurred in modern times. Most sightings are of territorial males perching on prominent leaves at the edge of scrub. The females are more elusive, spending much of their time resting or flying low to the ground.

Now a digression. Throughout a short time on Noar Hill I remained aware that it wasn’t exactly ideal reptile conditions. But after indulging my liking for home-made village shop pasties in nearby Selborne I still moved on the short distance to the Smooth Snake site of my intention. There, strangely for this observer in the field, the sun came out on my arrival and there was a good window of opportunity but all I found was one Slow Worm. This is not expected to be easy though and the quest goes on.

On Saturday (5th) I began the day at my “new spiritual home” in Surrey. Arriving at 8:45am I staked out the spot for the next 90 minutes or so where in mid-April I encountered male and female Sand Lizard (see previous post), finding nothing this time. Then it was a drive south-west along the A3 to Butser Hill (SU713206) near Petersfield, Sussex to check out how early season butterflies were doing there.

Rake Bottom from Butser Hill

… and the view back up again

This site or more specifically Rake Bottom, a deep dry valley on the hill’s western flank, also featured in my 2015 British butterflies series (see here and here). Today despite gloriously sunny conditions butterflies had clearly not got going for the year. I walked the length of the valley bottom in this stunningly beautiful location, then back again but felt little inclination to search extensively for the very sparse numbers of Green Hairstreak and Grizzled Skipper being mentioned by other people present.

Butser Hill Dukes

I did come across two more Dukes here (pictured above) and other observers I met spoke of up to five. It was all not a patch on what I experienced three years ago but after such a cold early spring there were not a lot of wild flowers around, the exception being one of the Duke of Burgundy’s food plants, Cowslip. The valley is also now being grazed by cattle that cannot help, since such grazing is cited as one cause of DoB population declines. This location nonetheless has a wilder and more remote feel to it than Noar Hill, where I was told there were 27 parked cars later on the day of my visit after sightings were posted online.

There were certainly more people on the hill top that day than I can ever remember in past seasons. Fortunately they all came across as genuine and knowledgeable butterfly enthusiasts, rather than that irritating field underclass of butterfly tourists who seemingly have yet to add this scarcity to the small species range that attracts their destructive attentions. One person still quipped that the Dukes will probably all be trampled under foot after the forecast sunny bank holiday weekend, by the crowds they are likely to attract. I hope not. This remains a species of major conservation concern.