Holiday Butterflies (2): Silver-washed Fritillary Sighting

 

This post follows on from my Swallowtail one and is the second of my posts about three species of butterfly, all new to us, that we saw during our recent time away in Norfolk. 

 

 

David and I visited Holt Country Park for the first time. It was a very hot day in June, and we were grateful for the shade afforded by the woodland rides. We had barely left the car park when we saw the flutter of large orange wings, the large orange wings of our first ever Silver-washed Fritillary! 

 

Several sightings followed thereafter, though the butterflies were very active and hard to catch on camera. 

I believe this is only the second species of Fritillary I have ever knowingly seen, the first being the exquisite Pearl-bordered variety, which we encountered back in 2014 on the famous path to Hallaig on the tiny Inner Hebridean island of Raasay. 

 

Pearl-bordered Fritillary, path to Hallaig, Raasay, 2014

2014 Photoshop collage: Raasay with Fritillary

 

I missed seeing the Fritillary David found in Galloway in 2018, but he let me post his photo here. 

 

Our Fritillary sightings have been few and far between, and two have been north of the border. The word 'fritillary' makes me think not only of butterflies but of the Snakes-head Fritillary flower. I began wondering why these chequered butterflies and plants should share this name. What did it mean? 

 

I did a bit of Googling (this article may not have answered my question, but it proved a fascinating read along the way), and discovered that while the word finds its origin in Latin, a derivation of it became the name for a 'dice-box' in the 1500s and 1600s. I wonder if some of these boxes from which dice were thrown were themselves made to look like large dice, with spot-marks ... 

 

Update, 15 July 2022

 

I continued to ponder the nature of the dice-box and to wonder how the word fritillary in one of its forms must surely have indicated a feature that would link the appearance of the butterfly with the flower.  

 

Help came from The Oxford English Dictionary, which cites a passage in J. Gerard's Herball of 1597. This passage suggests that what we recognise as the Fritillary flower was known as Frittillaria (as Gerard spelled it). Gerard proceeded to add that Frittillus (again, his spelling), a slightly different form of the word, was thought by some to refer to a chessboard comprising 'square checkers'. This last bit makes good sense to me as both butterfly and flower display a design similar to that of a chessboard.

Common Crossbill on an Autumn Afternoon

We were not far from the car when a birder hailed us, telling us to look up as there was a small flock of Crossbills in a tall pine tree. The Common Crossbill is a bird I have long wanted to see so I cricked my neck and waited for a flicker of movement in the high branches.

It was not long before I spotted a male...  

 

 ...with his burnt-orange feathers.

I particularly wanted to capture the distinctive cross-over bill on my photo, and despite the distance and poor light, you can just about make it out in the photo above. 

The kind birder mentioned that there had been a flock, and while we only saw three in total ourselves, it was not long before I noticed the female with her green plumage. You can see her at the end of the lower arrow in the photo above. I always enjoy seeing a new species, and keep hoping the day will come when I happen to be in the same place as a Hoopoe, but a surprise encounter, like this one with the Crossbills, is always a particular joy. Our friend told us there were also Redpolls about but we failed to see them.

The area in question has mixed swathes of woodland, and in the deciduous areas, there were plenty of chestnuts on the ground ...

... and a good selection of fungi.

Most fronds of bracken have taken on that beautiful bronze hue of autumn.

We noticed one small moth larva on the sandy soil. Autumn is not my favourite season, but I do particularly like the display of red (see below), yellow, brown and orange.

P.S. Apologies if the spacing looks odd on your screen. Since Blogger updated its platform, I have found it hard to use the html option and hard to position pictures evenly within text.

Purple Hairstreak in my Garden Butterfly Survey Records for July 2020

I am glad to report that, despite numerous overcast days, my Garden Butterfly Survey numbers for July were considerably up on my June figures. 

We have been particularly delighted to see a Purple Hairstreak and two Brown Argus (verified on iSpot) in the garden for the first time since we moved here to our Suffolk home some eight or nine years ago. The Purple Hairstreak, like the two Green Hairstreaks earlier in the year, did not stay long. The photo above was the only one I managed to take; but I'm pleased to have a record shot, especially as this was my first sighting ever of the species, despite looking (hard!) in the Wood of Cree in the Galloway Forest and around the oaks at Suffolk Wildlife Trust's Carlton Marshes in previous summers. 

Please bear in mind that for the Garden Butterfly Survey the largest number of a species seen on a given count is what shows up in the chart, rather than the total number of butterflies seen in the whole month. Our number of Small Whites, for example, seen and recorded in the garden through the month greatly exceeds 14, but we never saw more than 14 at a time. Likewise, we actually had two Brown Argus sightings, but these are recorded as '1' because we saw one of these butterflies on two occasions, rather than two at once.

In other garden news: we saw a Common Lizard in the garden for the first time. I wonder if there are more about or whether it was attracted by the ants or the long grass.

Marbled White butterfly

2019 will be marked as the year in which I (knowingly) saw my first Marbled Whites. I am not aware of having seen these striking butterflies before, but this last summer we saw a few at Stowe Landscape Gardens and then the one above on the edge of the golf course that leads to St Enodoc church in Cornwall. 

In my previous post, I added a photo of a moth with vibrant orange underwings; and here, by contrast, is a stylish specimen that lacks the array of pigments we often associate with butterflies. It just goes to show that moths can be bright and colourful and butterflies can be... well, frankly, black and white!   

*

I feel sure the tapestry hassock above from the church at St Enodoc displays a Purple Emperor, classed by many as 'His (or Her) Imperial Majesty' among our British butterflies. I have only ever seen a female... to date.

Sir John Betjeman's Cornish Slate grave at St Enodoc

First for me: White-letter Hairstreak Butterfly

We came back from the north a few days ago and have needed to attend to various matters (including a poetry reading) since our return. Despite the wild weather we encountered, I am looking forward to posting some photos of our holiday in due course.

Meanwhile, I am delighted to say that I believe I may have seen a new butterfly - well, new for me, at any rate. I watched it flutter into the pink Convolvulus flower above, little realising what it was. We were taking part in the Big Butterfly Count, but it was only when I uploaded my photos that I registered the distinctive hairstreak.

To the best of my knowledge I have only ever seen one other hairstreak butterfly and that was the Green Hairstreak: that butterfly was also here in Suffolk. You can read more about the White-letter Hairstreak on the Butterfly Conservation site here. Since this butterfly spends most of its tine in the tree-tops, I guess we were fortunate to see one nectaring almost at ground level. According to the Wildlife Trusts website, these butterflies have declined by 99% in the last quarter of a century: Dutch Elm Disease may be partly to blame as the eggs are deposited on these trees. I shall be reporting this sighting to the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

Lifer ~ Stone Curlew at Weeting Heath

We spent part of the Bank Holiday at Weeting Heath, one of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust's flagship reserves on account of its population of Stone Curlew.

My photos are barely record shots, but at least we saw a Stone Curlew in this distance. If you click on this link, you may begin to realise how camouflaged they can be when lying low

In fact we saw two, but the other kept popping its head below its dusty parapet as I positioned my camera!

It's always a thrill to see a bird for the first time, particularly a species that you have failed to see on a previous occasion. Perhaps next time the photos will be better!

• RSPB Stone Curlew news
• Tip: the hides are pretty close to the car park. 
• You might also like ... my Tree Following post for April to May here. 

Lifer ~ the Bearded Tit

Bearded tit at Minsmere - a gentle flapping of feathers

We have visited RSPB Minsmere many times and have longed to see the Bearded tit. It is an elusive bird and one on the orange conservation list. 

There are probably good numbers of this bird at Minsmere, but it is an elusive creature, despite the distinctive 'ping ping' of its voice. As you can see from the photos, it prefers to hang out in the reedbeds. 

We were in the Island Mere Hide over the weekend when a man moved at speed in the direction of our corner, camera poised. It transpired that he was on the case and had located a female. 

After a gentle flapping of feathers, the bird rose to the top of a reed ...

... and launched into the air. I had a feeling that that was all we were going to see.

However, that was not the end of the story. The RSPB volunteer got us up to speed on our Bearded tit fieldcraft, and soon we were waiting for the reeds to twitch. The twitching was almost invariably followed by a movement up the stem until a secretive face appeared.  

We had some good views of the female and now that we know a little more about these beautiful birds and their habitat, I hope we will have the chance to see the male before long. There is a magnificent photo of one here. You will notice that the male bird actually has markings more akin to a long moustache than a beard!

The RSPB Minsmere blog for 29 September (today), written by Ian Barthorpe, mentions the imminent irruption of this species. You can read about this aspect of Bearded tit ecology here.

Bearded tits, also known as Bearded reedlings, are apparently no longer included in the tit family.

Such poise!

It was a pleasure and a privilege to see this bird at very close quarters, thanks to the protection of the hide. Our 'audience' with the little creature was soon over and we watched as a small pair of wings flapped gently away.

Scottish Odyssey 2014 ~ The Crex-Crex of the Corncrake

"... a summer noise among the meadow hay…" 

John Clare

Corncrake making its 'Crex- crex' song. Photo credit: © David Gill 2014

I have a new 'lifer' on my bird list. David and I were on Skye two weeks ago, watching Corncrakes!

Yes, we actually saw two Corncrakes, one in flight and the other some distance away from the first in long vegetation. These birds have been given Red conservation status by the RSPB. They were far more prevalent in the past before updated agricultural practices began to interfere with the Corncrake habitats. You can read about the legal protection of this species here.

Many folk in the islands off the west coast of Scotland will have heard the distinctive 'crex-crex' sound, but few will have seen these shy birds in recent years. After our Skye sightings we kept a sharp eye open on Iona, but failed to spot any more. We knew they were close by as several males were calling loudly.

We sent this iPad audio recording of a male Corncrake, with David's photo, to the RSPB, along with details of the Corncrakes we saw and heard ... It may take a few seconds to load on this page.

Photo and audio credit: © David Gill 2014, used with permission

Corncrakes are fascinating birds. Unlike most members of their bird family - the Coots, Water Rails and Moorhens - they rarely inhabit wetland landscapes, preferring meadows with long grass and wild flowers and fields in which the crops have reached a decent height for cover.

Each winter the birds migrate to the grassy plains of sub-Saharan Africa and each spring they make the long journey to the islands off the west coast of Scotland.

My photo ... you can see how hidden the Corncrake was. Photo shot with zoom lens.

Male Corncrake singing. Photo credit: © David Gill 2014

Deep in the foliage ...

... with one eye peeping out. Photo credit: © David Gill 2014

Corncrakes breed in their first year, with the female incubating the clutch of about ten eggs while the male moves on to mate with another partner. I was given the impression that the Corncrake is a bird who loves to skulk away from the limelight, so I was not surprised to discover that nests are laid low on the ground in the middle of areas covered by vegetation.

The Corncrake is also known as the Landrail. You might like to read this RSPB blog post by Mark Avery - and the rest of John Clare's poem, The Landrail, which features in it ...



Recommended reading

• Corncrakes by Rhys Green and Heather Riley (Scottish Natural Heritage, 2005 edition)
  

Website suggestions

• The Corncrake on BBC Nature
• and on the Zoological Society of London site
• The Corncrake in a Guardian-Observer review of 'Findings' by Kathleen Jamie
• Scottish Poetry Library: Before the Traffic, the Corncrake
• Update in 2015: Corncrake Chess by Wildlife Artist, Jane Smith 

Beautiful Birds: The Common Crane

We have just returned from a few days away on the east coast of England. I will post about Puffins soon, but I thought these Common Cranes deserved an initial mention since it was my first sighting of these birds in the wild.

We knew that the Cranes were about, but we really were not at all sure that they would put in an appearance. However, we had not been sitting quietly for very long when we heard a very distinctive sound. It was unmistakeable, and you can listen to a short (if somewhat muted) recording on the RSPB site here. We find Homer in the Iliad comparing the sonorous call to the noise made by advancing armies. We read that ...

"the Trojans advanced as a flight of wild fowl or cranes that scream overhead when rain and winter drive them over the flowing waters of Ocean."

We watched the birds in a mesmerised state, not sure whether to use the camera or binoculars.

It was fascinating to see the coordination between the wings and the feet. With the help of binoculars, we could just about make out the red patch above the eye.

The Common Crane is very large: in flight it reminded me of a Flamingo. The Crane was once a regular part of the East Anglian landscape, but ceased to breed here way back in about 1600. Place names like Cranfield and Cranmere reflect the presence of these birds in former days.

During our time away, we visited the extensive secondhand bookshop at Blickling Hall, where I bought a copy of Nature in Norfolk: a Heritage in Trust (Jarrold), a symposium volume published in 1976 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Norfolk Naturalists Trust. Eric Fowler's introduction includes a quotation by the seventeenth century diarist, John Evelyn, mentioning cranes' eggs from 'that country (especially the promontory of Norfolk.' Scientific knowledge was increasing rapidly, but concepts of 'conservation' were still two hundred years away.

You can read more about Cranes in the UK here at the Great Crane Project, supported by WWT, RSPB and Pensthorpe Conservation Trust. The Norfolk Wildlife Trust supports the Common Crane along with many other species in its patch. We joined the Trust while we were away, and greatly enjoyed the NWT reserves at Cley, Ranworth and Hickling. 

So why was I keen to see the Common Crane in the wild? Well, it is always exciting to see a new bird, to tick off a 'lifer', but Cranes came to my attention thanks to the wonderful blogging work of Vickie Henderson in the USA. You can see some of Vickie's Sandhill Crane photos here. Samples of her artwork of the rare Whooping Crane can be seen and purchased here.

Oh, and ... if you go down on the marsh today, look out for a big surprise!