Sunday 30 July 2017

Back to Cranford Park for butterflies, fungi and hoverflies

First of all apologies for the lack of blog posts over the last couple of weeks. I've been very busy. On the 15th July I led my first ever 'guided butterfly walk and talk' around Cranford Park which would have been better had the weather been nicer, and on the 22nd July it was the annual Cranford Park Fun Day.
 
Back on the 8th July I found some Small Tortoiseshell caterpillars in the alley way leading from Roseville Road to the subway (photos are on my blog post from the same day) On the 22nd July as Sheila and I were walking back down the alley way after the Fun Day had ended, I briefly checked the nettle patch where the caterpillars had been seen. They had all dispersed but I found two had made their way up the brick wall behind the nettle patch and had attached themselves to the underneath of a neighbours shed that is next to the wall. They were already in chrysalis form. I didn't have my camera with me that day but I was delighted to see they were still there today.......
 


 
and just a bit further along there was a caterpillar that had just started the chrysalis process, already attached to the shed by a button of silk and already in the 'J' position, which is how they start to pupate......

 
If you use the Roseville Road entrance it's worth checking the shed as you walk past.
You cant miss it, it's the only patch of red brick along the alley way.
I will be following the progress of these little lovelies.....
 
Elsewhere around the park more signs of a late summer. The heritage apple trees in the orchard are heavy with fruit. There are plenty of blackberries ripening.....
 
 
and the wild plum trees are so ripe they are already dropping to the ground...

 
There has been a lot of rain recently and the River Crane is possibly at the highest I've seen it for a long while......
 
 
The wet warm weather means fungi season is well under way......
 
 
The 'Dead Mans Fingers' fungi below was really sticking it's fingers up at me.......

 
and I found another new location for the beautiful but small 'Yellow Stagshorn'....

 
Todays weather was fairly warm, when the wind wasn't blowing, and cloudy with the sun often breaking through the clouds. Not ideal conditions for butterflies but almost ideal for hoverflies.
Five species today. All ids under the photos....
 
Myathropa florea

Volucella pellucens

Chrysotoxum bicinctum (a lifer for me)

Chrysotoxum festivum
 and the most prolific seen today were the largest British hoverfly, Volucella zonaria......
 




 
This mornings UKBMS butterfly count was a little less than I would expect at this time of year, but with the weather conditions it was still a good number.
 
During a 90 minute transect I had 94 butterflies of 8 species
Green-veined White x 3
Small Copper x 1
Brown Argus x 1 (first of the year)
Common Blue x 5
Red Admiral x 3
Speckled Wood x 8
Gatekeeper x 48
Meadow Brown x 25
 
Red Admiral

Red Admiral

Red Admiral - underwing
 
Speckled Wood

Speckled Wood
 
Common Blue - male

Common Blue - male

Common Blue - male

Common Blue - male

Small Copper
Brown Argus - male
  
The same Brown Argus next to a folded wing Meadow Brown for size comparison

Meadow Brown - female

Meadow Brown - male

Gatekeeper - male

Gatekeeper - female
 
Despite searching the meadows twice I didn't see any of the Kestrels but my friends Nathalie and John saw three last Saturday. In fact I didn't see many birds at all today. A lot of the smaller birds are now flying around in family groups and not really showing themselves. I thought I heard a Kingfisher but could not locate it. With the water levels so high there were no signs of any Mallards, Moorhens or Coots. One juvenile Grey Heron had decided to explore the Headland area but flew off before I could take a photo. But the numbers of hovers and butterflies made up for it. Hopefully next weekend I'll be seeing more of our feathered friends.
 
 
 
 
 

Friday 14 July 2017

WWT Caerlaverock 13th July

My last morning at WWT Caerlaverock and I waited 30 minutes for a Hare to show up in front of the kitchen window. When they didn't oblige I took a wander up to the Whooper Pond to see the Canada Goose and his/her Whooper Swan companion......
 
 
A family of Mute Swans are also sharing the pond, with the male frequently gently shooing away the goose and the Whooper whilst the female teaches her cygnets how to look for food.....

 
A Cormorant was also on the pond this morning.......

 
I took my cup of morning coffee down to the feeder station along the Peter Scott trail and sat on the bench watching the birds through the open slats......

juvenile Tree Sparrow
 and was rewarded with the juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker again coming down, but perching this time very nicely on the side of a tree.....
 

 
Sadly my cab turned up and my stay at the farmhouse was at an end. Again I wondered why I had only booked a three night stay, and already I'm planning on when I can next visit.
 
What an incredible experience staying on site is. I would 100% recommend it for any nature lover. The staff and volunteers are friendly and knowledgeable. The farmhouse is comfortable and clean. The reserve itself is full of hidden corners, great hides, and crammed full of wildlife.
 
Lastly I thought I would share my own entries in the Badger Diary that's kept in the conservatory.......

 
WWT Caerlaverock.......thank you for everything !

WWT Caerlaverock 12th July

Wednesday morning saw me sitting outside at 7.30am waiting for the Hares to appear. Did they ? Nope, but with the reserve empty except for me, the House Martins came down to pick at the grit and allow me to get some lovely close up photos with my longer auto focus lens....
 



 
The five young Swallows that were still in the nest above the entrance to the two man hide overlooking the Teal Pond had fledged, but there were still two coming in to the hide to rest up every now and then......
 

 
It was another glorious day with blue skies and very little wind.
There are a few species of butterfly at Caerlaverock at the moment - I saw Green-veined Whites, Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers, and lots of Red Admirals including the one below.....

 
and of course my eyes were drawn to every hoverfly I saw.......

ID not confirmed but this could be either Megasyrphus or a Syrphus sp.

Helophilus pendulas - female
 From the Camplbell hide I had distant views of a Common Buzzard, a pair of Ravens and this hovering Kestrel....
 
 
and perched right outside the same hide, almost hidden by the long grass, was this beautiful Chiffchaff....

 
Several times during my stay I saw Roe Deer but they were generally in the distant and not easily photographed. This one below was in the long grass in Tower Field and just viewable from the Avenue Tower. I managed to fire off a few shots before she disappeared from view but not before I realised she had a fawn with her. Unfortunately my only photo of the fawn was completely out of focus but it looked a good size and was bouncing around behind its mother. Fawns, or kids, are born late May to June so this one was only a couple of months old.....

 
I know House Sparrows are pretty boring to some, but they are not as common as they used to be and today, like yesterday, I didn't tire of watching them. The photo below reminds me of the saying 'Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil'.......

 
One of the Tree Sparrows along the Peter Scott trail gave me an outstanding photo opportunity.....
 
 
and then posed next to a rather tatty House Sparrow for a nice comparison shot.....

 
Some of the male Chaffinches are looking far from tatty. This beautifully coloured male was also along the Peter Scott trail.....

 
I had heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker yesterday but didn't see it, but today it came down to the feeders. This is a juvenile with the all red cap. And from studying GS Woodpeckers a few years ago, I can say for certain this is a female. The red cap is very forward on the head and she will lose all of the red feathers which will be replaced by black feathers. Young male's red caps are a little more set back and they retain the red feathers on their napes as adults.....

 
In the Corner Field I counted 131 Lapwings at 9am from the Silver & Gold Hide.
By 2pm there were just 34.....

 
This lovely male Blackcap was in the Wildlife Garden.....

 
From the Folly Pond Hide early evening I watched a family of Pied Wagtails on the nearest waters edge. Across the pond there was another adult with three juveniles....


 
My evening was completed with the regular Badgers visiting at 9.30pm. I will never tire of the memories of seeing these stunning mammals just feet away from me.......

iPhone photo through glass

iPhone photo through glass

iPhone photo through glass
Another wonderful wildlife day at Caerlaverock, and by now I'm wondering why I only booked a three night stay.........