This afternoon the weather was quite wet but during a lull I agreed to join Mark at Cissbury Ring. where we found mist on the hill and mild drizzle - perfect butterfly weather! Undaunted we set off up the hill in search of the Dark Green Fritillary. We saw a Speckled Wood at the start of the path. We searched the north-east Ring where I found a male Common Blue, then scoured the southern top in the long grass. Plenty of Meadow Browns and Small Heaths there. We then tried the north-west ring and the meadow on the north-east side. Here I found a Dark Green Fritillary hunkered down in the grass, wings half open. After a while he became lively, waved his wings to warm up, then climbed up the grass and flew off. We also found several Marbled Whites. It was here that Mark demonstrated his butterfly whispering powers, and when I next looked his Marbled White was perched on top of a stem. Ringlets were also seen here. Seven species, not a bad haul for a day when most people would stay at home.
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| view from the car park |
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| Cinnabar moth, Tyria jacobaeae |
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| male Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus |
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| Common Heath, Ematurga atomaria |
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| Dark Green Fritillary, Argynnis aglaja |
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| Five-Spot Burnet moth larva, Zygaena trifolii |
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| Marbled White, Melanargia galathea |
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| Marbled White, Melanargia galathea |
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| Pyramidal Orchid, Anacamptis pyramidalis |
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| Pyramidal Orchid, Anacamptis pyramidalis |
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| Commoon Spotted-orchid, Dactylorhiza fuchsii |
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| Yellow Shell moth, Camptogramma bilineata |
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Parasol mushroom, Macrolepiota procera |
This mushroom has emerged much earlier than last year, thanks to Andy Horton for confirming id.
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| Parasol mushroom, Macrolepiota procera |
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| Cucumber Spider, Araniella cucurbitina |
Parasol
ReplyDeleteVery early