Beautiful Birds (7): Chuffed - or Choughed - to Bits!

We headed off to St Davids (no apostrophe in the name for some reason) in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, last Saturday in the hope that we might spot some young seals along the coast. You can see one of the fluffy pups we saw last year if you click the link here to my seal photo and accompanying poem. Please feel free to cast a vote or leave a comment for any of the poems in the competition. You will see a link to them all at the bottom of the linked page. I believe the poll closes at the end of this month.

Sadly there were no pups in evidence this year, though we heard that some had been spotted earlier in the week before the gale. Even worse: we saw a dead seal on the shore. Thankfully the one above was alive and kicking. I think (s)he may be quite a veteran.

We were just leaving the cliff path when we noticed a streak of red and realised that it was the curved bill of a Chough. I have only seen these birds twice before, but they are not as rare as they were a few years ago. As you can see, it turned out to be two for the price of one!

Be sure to look at Adam Tilt's stunning Chough photos here - and his footage of an Otter in Pembrokeshire. 
 

• More on the Chough
• Operation Chough
• BBC Nesting Choughs
• Cornish Choughs in Jersey
• Foster Chough chick

Butterflies and Moths (11): The Hummingbird Hawk-Moth

Hummingbird Hawk-Moth at Methoni, Messenia, Greece

David and I have occasionally seen the odd Hummingbird Hawk-Moth in the UK, but this summer has been a bumper year for us. The first examples we saw were flitting and fluttering around the castle walls at Dinefwr near Llandeilo in Wales. They were well camouflaged against the stone - and they proved far too fast to catch on camera. Their name in Latin, Macroglossum stellatarum (Linnaeus, 1758), presumably means large tongue (or proboscis, used for extracting nectar), and I imagine the second word must relate to stars.

We were particularly delighted to find a 'flock' of these feathery creatures, making their way along the row of geraniums outside our apartment in the Pylos area of Messenia in the western Peloponnese. 

We made a couple of visits to Methoni with its vast castle, where more of these moths were attracted to the pink pea-like flower you can see in the top photograph. 

The picture below shows the tower promontory, or Bourtzi, comprising a tiny fortified island at the seaward end of the castro with its Venetian walls. This part of Greece is steeped in legend: Homer assigned the epithet, 'rich in vines', to Methoni. Much later on, Cervantes is said (by some) to have been a prisoner here: his experiences are recorded in Don Quixote.  

Methoni, Messenia, Greece

Above and Below: Hummingbird Hawk-Moth in Yialova, Messenia, Greece

• Hummingbird Hawk-Moth sightings for 2010 (Butterfly Conservation)
• On the BBC site and here

Butterflies and Moths (10): The Tiger reigns in Greece

Like Odysseus, the wanderer has returned ...

I have just spent a special holiday week in the Pylos area of the Western Peloponnese in Greece. You can see Pylos harbour in the photograph below. It was my first time out of the UK in almost a decade, and my first return visit to Greece in almost a quarter of a century. The weather was a steady 30 degrees Centigrade and the sea a sparkling Aegean Blue. We saw colourful examples of fauna and flora, some of which I hope to share with you in the coming days.


Homer speaks of 'sandy Pylos', the home of King Nestor, who offers hospitality to Telemachus, son of Odysseus. Telemachus arrives by sea in search of his father, who has yet to return to the island of Ithaca from the war in Troy. Archaeologists are currently trying to assess a complex on the island, which may (or may not) have been home to the heroes. There have, of course, been other similar investigations.

Given this background, it seemed appropriate to stick with the theme of journeys - so I will begin with a migrating butterfly. I believe it is a relative of the Monarch Danaus plexippus, called the Plain Tiger Danaus chrysippus. The plant in my photograph below is a species of Butterfly (Milk)Weed, also known as Pleurisy Root or Asclepias tuberosa.


You can read about these rare migrant Tigers on the Greek Birding blog here. Although they are not often seen in Greece, they are a common sight in India. You will notice one on the header of Kanak's lovely blog.

[Postscript: Kanak has kindly informed me that the species on her header is in fact 'the Red Lacewing'. She adds 'I do have quite a few photos of the Plain Tiger in my old blog', which we can find here. Many thanks, Kanak, for your help]

The bright orange colour serves as a warning to predators. The butterfly can fake death and emit a foul liquid, which will cause illness in a potential predator. Other less toxic butterflies, e.g. the Diadem Hypolimnas misippus, mimic the stunning amber appearance as a form of protection (see Batesian mimicry). The Tiger is one of the earliest butterflies to appear in extant art. A 3500 year old fresco from Thebes aka Luxor (Egypt) depicts an artist's impression of this species.

Tigers lay their eggs on Butterfly Weed; but I have a feeling that the web below may belong to another butterfly species, as I have been unable to ascertain that these butterflies spin webs. I have come across lepidoptera webs before, but never in Greece. Do let me know if you can identify the secret spinner!

Squirrels (1): Red Squirrels in Scotland

I was delighted to see Red Squirrels in Scotland back in June. There is a magnificent Fox Squirrel on Naquillity's blog (do take a look here), so I thought it was about time my squirrel photos had an outing, too.

My Squirrel photography is far from brilliant here: you can either blame the midges, the dark shade in the wood or the fact that this was my first experiment with a small tripod and maximum zoom.

We had been told that we might see a Red Squirrel in woodland not far from Kingussie. It was a real thrill when we caught sight of several at once. They were extremely active.

Grey Squirrels were among the first creatures I saw as a young child in Greenwich Park, but Red Squirrels are rare these days. I last saw one or two some years ago on Brownsea Island (where I bought my first binoculars!). Have you seen any recently?

• Squirrel Nutkin
• More from me about Greenwich - and its new 'Moby Dick'
  

Orthoptera (2): Grasshopper or Cricket?

Having posted about a Grasshopper in my last post (also on our car windscreen), I thought it would make sense to post this creature here. It was actually spotted in September 2009 in Wiltshire. Judging by the long antennae, I guess it may be a Cricket. There are ten species of Bush Cricket in Britain, apparently.

You might enjoy:

• Seabrooke Leckie's Canadian Grasshopper Season
• Naquillity's Katydid - and Haiku
  

Orthoptera (1): Grasshopper

Due to my fractured arm, David took this 'arty' photograph for me of the Grasshopper on our windscreen yesterday at Laugharne. The reflected image (at least I think it is the reflection) picks out the creature's orange abdomen.

I am guessing that it may be a Striped-Winged Grasshopper (Stenobothrus lineatus), as the Common Green does not have red or orange on its abdomen. The creature soon hopped off.

• You might enjoy a post on Adam Tilt's blog about the Dark Bush Cricket
  

Sunsets (1): Llanrhidian, Gower

We had had a lovely day at Laugharne, and came back to find a relatively cloudless sunset over the saltmarsh at Llanrhidian on Gower. There were a few birds and bats - and plenty of gnats - flying about. I hope you had an enjoyable Bank Holiday, too.

Dragonflies (2): Golden-ringed Dragonfly

The weather was cool, blustery and grey, with the occasional sunny interval. It didn't seem particularly promising for Odonata. I was thrilled to spot the Golden-ringed Dragonfly above from the short boardwalk in the National Botanic Garden of Wales, as I had only seen one once before (at WWT Llanelli), and had failed on that occasion to photograph it. It is certainly one of the largest I have seen.

This species can apparently be found in the UK, across Asia Minor and in India. I was surprised to learn that these Dragonflies sometimes eat tadpoles and fish, alongside their usual diet of snails and the larvae of insects.

Butterflies and Moths (9): a Small Turnaround Trend for the Small Tortoiseshell?

We have heard many reports of the decline in numbers of this beautiful butterfly, (though it may be making a small comeback - see this newspaper report); but judging by a report from North Wales (and here), we weren't alone in seeing (what for us were) record numbers this afternoon in the beautiful gardens at Aberglasney in Carmarthenshire.











Do let me know if you have also seen anything approaching 'swarm' proportions! It was a joy to behold. The Small Tortoiseshells were joined by a sprinkling of Peacocks, Red Admirals and Small Whites. On this note, my thanks to Brian of Devon and Cornwall Viewpoint in the Tamar Valley for informing me that his August observations correspond with my own. You can read Brian's post here.



My thanks to David Gill for taking these photographs for me (on account of my fractured arm...).

• Aberglasney, the official site for the Garden Lost in Time - we highly recommend a visit!
• The NEW garden at Aberglasney
  

Butterflies and Moths (8): Painted Ladies

I thought back to last summer and the invasion of Painted Ladies. I have hardly seen any this year, but you can read about their mass migration antics here. If you have seen Painted Ladies in 2010, you might care to log them here.

I thought this butterfly would be a good subject for my experiment at enlarging the size of my photos on Blogger, thanks to a little help from Madsen Madness. Feel free to let me know how these look for size on your screen.

Butterflies and Moths (7): Caterpillars - fur, hair and bristles!

The Peacock (or possibly Small Tortoiseshell?) caterpillars above
were spotted on nettles
beside the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path in August 2009.

These furry things above are the barbed hairs of the caterpillars
of the native Brown-Tail Moth (Euproctis Chrysorrhoea).
We saw them at Spurn Point, Yorkshire, in April 2009.

Our car park ticket informed us that the adults
emerge in spring from their white webs
to feed on Sea Buckthorn.
Apparently they shed their skins,
releasing the hairs before pupating and taking wing.

Early September 2009:
we watched this Fox Moth caterpillar crawling about on Raasay,
the small island between Skye and Applecross
on which Calum built his road.

You can see another furry caterpillar on the island
if you follow this link and scroll down.

I spotted this Fox Moth caterpillar (above)
at Hartland Point in Devon,
on 16 April 2010.

You might like to look at the Marsland Moth blog,
since Marsland is closeby,
on the Devon-Cornish border.

This caterpillar
(below, with detail above)
was much close to home,
at Oxwich on Gower.

I noticed it on 22 August 2009.
It is as yet unidentified!

P.S. 2012 ... a Fox Moth caterpillar?

The yellow and black creature below
only just qualifies for this post of hairy crawlers!
It is a Burnet Moth caterpillar
(and I plan to do a post on this moth soon).

I photographed the caterpillar
at Mwnt in Cardiganshire back in late May 2010.

A Knot Grass caterpillar (above and below)
on St Columba's fascinating inland island (photo here),
situated in the Snizort River on Skye.
The adult looks like this.

The caterpillar below was spotted way back on 5 August 2006
at the National Botanic Garden of Wales.

Do take a look at Rosie's Vapourer moth over at Leaves 'n Bloom here.