Heyshott and Pagham Harbour

Woodpigeon

Wednesday is Heyshott work party day, We had a good turnout this morning and cleared much bramble covered wood which had been cut years ago but not disposed of. Our bonfire was the biggest yet and it was very satisfying looking at the total area cleared this winter. 

Primrose

This plant is the object of all our work. When the primrose seeds discover the open glade we have created, we hope they will burst forth and attract the female Duke of Burgundy butterflies to deposit their eggs on the underside of the leaves.

Afterwards I called in at Pagham Harbour again where I found about 20 birders looking for the Paddyfield Warbler. It was seen briefly a couple of times and I went on a walkabout to see what else was around.

Woodpigeon

Curlew

geese

godwits

Grey Heron

Little Grebe

Little Grebe diving

 It spent more time underwater than on the surface

Mallard

Pintail

Pintail and Mallard

Redshank

female Teal

male Teal

pair of Great Crested Grebes

Paddyfield Warbler at Pagham Harbour

male Teal

Mark called me to say there was a Paddyfield Warbler at Pagham Harbour so I was pleased to meet him there for a sighting of this rare immigrant to the U.K. It lives in Asia and normally winters in the Indian subcontinent. We arrived at 9:30am and found over a dozen enthusiasts already set up. The bird had been seen earlier but was hiding in the reed beds and after a couple of hours Mark spotted it when it rose up to catch an insect. It continued this behaviour for an hour before staying low. Every so often it would dart up above the reeds, then head down again, all in a second or so. I never had much opportunity to focus for a shot, though I saw it many times. It looks similar to a Reed Warbler. 

Others have captured good images of this bird, including Dave Barnes: http://www.pbase.com/davebarnes/paddyfield_warbler__west_sussex

All morning Curlews made their lovely call, and a huge flock of Brent Geese flew by. I also saw Teal, Reed Buntings, Redshank and Little Grebe and heard a Cetti's Warbler.

Curlew

Little Grebe

Paddyfield Warbler

Paddyfield Warbler

Redshank

male Reed Bunting in summer plumage

male Reed Bunting in winter plumage

male Teal

female Teal

maleTeal

Teal pair

Me on the left next to serious weaponry (Photo courtesy of Mark Colvin)

To view Marks blog click here

Final Wisley visit

Idea leuconoe, Tree Nymph

To  view  a  Slideshow,  click  here then  choose  Fullscreen  (top  right)

This morning I made my final visit to the Wisley butterfly exhibit which closes Sunday. Linda joined me as she is on holiday this week and we met Mark at the entrance. There were far fewer butterflies and not the variety that we have been used to as they are winding down and there aren't many new ones hatching. Most of those left were in poor condition, and the cooler weather today meant there weren't as many flying. We had lunch at the cafe and headed for home earlier than usual. It obviously time to hunt for the emerging natives with Brimstones, Small Tortoiseshells, Peacocks, Commas and Red Admirals coming out of hibernation in the warm weather.
I have created galleries for each species of the species I photographed at Wisley in 2011 and 2012: http://www.colinknightimages.com/Nature-Photography-UK/Tropical-butterflies

Caligo eurilochus, Forest Giant Owl

I have amended this post because Philzoid on the UK Butterflies forum (click here) has made an excellent observation about the Owls that were seen on the last few days of the exhibit. He noticed that the anterior forewing is blue/grey compared to the Caligo memnon Owls which have a cream coloured anterior forewing. The conclusion is that these newer Owls are a different species - Caligo eurilochus, the Forest Giant Owl.

Caligo eurilochus, Forest Giant Owl

Caligo eurilochus, Forest Giant Owl

comparison of the two Owl species

Caligo eurilochus, Forest Giant Owl 

They often land on clothes!

Moi + Blue Morpho taken by Mark

Idea leuconoe, Tree Nymph

Idea leuconoe, Tree Nymph

Idea leuconoe, Tree Nymph

Siproeta stelenes, Malachite

Morpho achilles, Achilles Morpho

Morpho achilles, Achilles Morpho

Morpho peleides, Blue Morpho

Morpho peleides, Blue Morpho

Morpho peleides, Blue Morphos mating

Papilio palinurus, Emerald Swallowtail

Papilio lowi, Asian Swallowtail female

Papilio lowi, Asian Swallowtail female

Papilio lowi, Asian Swallowtail female

Papilio lowi, Asian Swallowtail male 

Papilio polytes, Common Mormon male

Papilio polytes, Common Mormon male

Papilio thoas, King Swallowtail

Siproeta stelenes, Malachite

Siproeta stelenes, Malachite

Troides rhadamantus, Golden Birdwing