Saturday, 2 June 2012

A stroll round Cissbury Ring

Cinnabar moth, Tyria jacobaeae
Yesterday afternoon I visited Cissbury Ring for the first time in ages. I found two male Adonis Blues in the ditch on the north-east side, plus a Red Admiral which hid itself in the ground cover. This Cinnabar moth also showed itself. The Adonis flew up the slope towards the inner ring and I followed but lost them. A Small Heath then appeared and gave me the run around. There were plenty of flowers out, including honeysuckle. I saw a Woodpecker fly off and plenty of wild strawberries were ripening. Later in the evening while I was processing my photos, I received a SusSAR callout for a lady missing in the Leechpool Wood area of Horsham. We had a good turnout and it was 3am when I returned. My team saw a herd of 6 deer, a fox and two toads. Unfortunately no sighting of Jennifer Marsh.
Adonis Blue, Lysandra bellargus male
Bramble, Rubus fruticosus
Ground Ivy, Glechoma hederacea
views north-west

Clover, Trifolium sp
Common Carpet Epirrhoe alternata
Common Carpet Epirrhoe alternata
Common Speedwell, Veronica officinalis
Common Vetch, Vicia sativa
Herb Robert, Geranium robertianum
Honeysuckle, Lonicera caprifolium
Rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus
Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta
Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus
Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus
Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus
Spider id needed
White Campion, Silene latifolia and Forget-me-not, Myostis sp
Wild Strawberry, Fragaria vesca
Wild Strawberry, Fragaria vesca
Leechpool Wood, Horsham:
Common Toad, Bufo bufo

Friday, 1 June 2012

Early morning at Mill Hill

Adonis Blue, Lysandra bellargus male
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
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