Early morning at Mill Hill

Adonis Blue, Lysandra bellargus male

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Yesterday morning I met Mark Colvin at Mill Hill to see the roosting Adonis at 5:30am. It was well worth it as we saw many roosting butterflies, mainly on clumps of tall grasses. Afterwards I did my weekly transect:

Adonis Blue male 92

Adonis Blue female 22

Common blue 8

Small Heath 29

Small Copper 1

Adonis Blue, Lysandra bellargus female

Adonis Blue, Lysandra bellargus female

Adonis Blue, Lysandra bellargus female

Adonis Blue, Lysandra bellargus female

Adonis Blue, Lysandra bellargus female

Adonis Blue, Lysandra bellargus female

Roosting blues

Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus male

Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus male

Mark enjoys the view

Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus males

Columbine, Aquilegia vulgaris

thanks to Phil at http://goldenorfephotography.blogspot.com for the id

Mill Hill covered by Horseshoe Vetch, Hippocrepis comosa 

Horseshoe Vetch is the larval food plant of the Adonis Blue

Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus

Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus

Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus

id needed for this 1cm snail

Wild Rose, Rosa acicularis

Wild Rose, Rosa acicularis

Rewell Wood afternoon

Green Orb-weaver, Araniella cucurbitina

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On Wednesday afternoon I spent an hour or so at Rewell Wood. One Comma showed itself plus a few Speckled Yellow moths, including one nectaring on Foxglove. This tiny Green Orb-weaver caught my attention. During the past two weeks the plants have soared from the ground like Jack's beanstalk.

Comma, Polygonia c-album

Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea

Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea

Green Orb-weaver, Araniella cucurbitina

Green Orb-weaver, Araniella cucurbitina

Green Orb-weaver, Araniella cucurbitina

Slow-worm, Anguis fragilis

Speckled Yellow moth, Pseudopanthera macularia

Speckled Yellow moth, Pseudopanthera macularia

id needed for this tiny flower

Choughs at Martin's Haven cliffs

Chough, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

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Pembrokeshire trip, part 2

Chough numbers have been rising in this area of Pembrokeshire and I heard that wardens had counted 26 at Martin's Haven so far this season. The cliffs are a short uphill walk from the National Trust car park at Martin's Haven which fills up in the morning for the Skomer Island trips. The cliff walk is wonderful and I used to spend a few hours there every day enjoying the magnificent views and seeing new things such as the Sea Campion and Spring Squill. It was also a delight to see Common Blues, mainly females, fluttering around the Bird's-foot Trefoil. Plus on the small inland cliff wall below the white hut I saw two Walls and a Small Tortoiseshell battling it out. They were there every day so the  fighting was futile! The Tortoiseshell always saw off the others. One Wall had a chunk of hind wing missing. One day Swallows dived down past the cliff and the Tortoiseshell headed straight up to see them off. This happened four times then the Swallows got the message and did not return. Amazing - the butterfly should have been a snack!

Buzzard, Buteo buteo

Choughs, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Chough, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Choughs, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Chough, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Choughs, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Choughs, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Chough, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Choughs, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Choughs, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Cicindela campestris, Green Tiger Beetle

Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus, female

Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus, female

Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo

Cuckooflower (Lady's Smock), Cardamine pratensis

Four-spotted Chaser, Libellula quadrimaculata

Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea

Green-veined White, Artogeia rapae

Herring Gull, Larus argentatus

Martin's Haven

Martin's Haven

Martin's Haven

Skomer Island in background

Skomer Island in background

Where the Wall and Tortoishell played

road to Martin's Haven

Sea campion, Silene maritima

looking out to Martin's Haven from track to the cliffs

Skomer Island

Jackdaw, Corvus monedula

Kidney Vetch, Anthyllis vulneraria

Meadow Pipit, Anthus pratensis

Navelwort, Umbilicus rupestris

Ragged Robin, Lychnis flos-cuculi

Small Tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae

Spring Squill, Scilla verna

Spring Squill, Scilla verna and Primrose, Primula vulgaris

Stonechat, Saxicola rubicola

Thrift, Armeria maritima

Thrift, Armeria maritima

Violet

Wall, Lasiommata megera

Wall, Lasiommata megera

Wall, Lasiommata megera on Thrift

Primroses, Primula vulgaris

Bluebells, Hyacinthoides non-scripta