Suffolk Argus The
Brimstone egg-laying on Common Buckthorn (see p 8) Photo by Julian Dowding
The Newsletter of the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation
Autumn 2010
Volume 49
The Suffolk Argus
White Admiral form obliterae Photo by Jon King (see p8)
Scotland Place Farm, Stoke by Nayland
Wildflower Meadow
Butterfly Hunters
Priors Oak
Dunwich Forest
Snapping the Cinnabar larva
Heteropterists on their knees
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Autumn 2010
Contents Editorial & Editorial copy date 2010 Butterfly Report Work Parties on Heathland Habitat Late ovipositing Brimstone Spread of the White Admiral Migrants in 2010 Distractions Dark Sky Dancing Writing a best-seller Britain’s Butterflies 2nd Edition The Butterflies of Britain & Ireland Good News...and not such good news Totternhoe Quarry and Knolls Walk around Eyke Open Day at Priors Oak, Aldeburgh Open Day at Scotland Place Farm Dunwich Forest Kerkini diary Lake Kerkini in June 2011 North of the Border - In search of Swallowtails
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Suffolk Branch Contacts
Back Cover
New Members
We welcome the following new members who have joined the Branch and we look forward to meeting them at some of our events in the new year. Mr A & Mrs E Beaumont & Family Mrs YP Davies Ms M Francis & Ms H Godbold Mr DJ & Mrs S Gordon Mr A E & Mrs E A O Grosset Dr D & Mrs W Jobson Mrs SP Plant Mr and Mrs K Saunders Mr GP & Mrs PJ Schooling Ms R Stewart & Mr J Fulcher Mrs A Tyerman Mrs AA Wells Miss KE Wilmot Mr MW Wood
Lowestoft Sudbury Sudbury Aldeburgh Monks Eleigh Leiston Lowestoft Eye Cambridge Woodbridge Hadleigh Saxmundham Ipswich Halstead
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The Suffolk Argus
Editorial Peter Maddison included are the SOBW events held by Trudie Willis at Priors Oak and the Hayter family at Scotland Place Farm. We are extremely grateful to them for welcoming our members and the public, and for the several hundred pounds raised for BC projects. Travellers’ tales are recorded from the Branch tour of the Kerkini district of Greece and Matt Berry describes a longweekend photographers’ tour in search of Swallowtails. Even optimists would be hard stretched in this abysmal, early October weather to hope for late butterfly sightings, but if, like I am, you are already looking forward to next season, and you enjoy upto-date information, you will be enticed to read the book reviews of recently published handbooks.
The butterfly season wouldn’t be much fun if you weren’t an optimist. That’s not to say that we’ve had a bad season! Far from it, in fact early sightings in the warmth of May and June were quite good and later on there were notable recordings of less common species. But there was a drought in which important nectar rich plants were desiccated and in high summer northerly winds brought cloud and rain. But no matter what the weather conditions, the naturalist – the optimist - goes out into the field to observe, to take notes and to learn. It was in being an optimist that I surveyed an apparently derelict piece of land, ripe for development and found a previously unrecorded colony of Grayling. Sitting on a sandy bank I watched a pair in courtship display: male facing the female raising his wings high above his body, antennae touching, scent glands aquiver. As an optimist I look to the success of the colony next season.
Matt Berry and Julian Dowding (Brimstone article) recently volunteered to work on the Branch committee and, you will be pleased to read, at the recent AGM they were appointed speedily. We welcome them and look forward to their knowledgeable participation.
In this edition of the newsletter members record their observations of White Admirals, Brimstones and Hummingbird Hawkmoths. Rob Parker outlines the season of Silverstudded Blues, White-letter Hairstreaks and Silver-washed Fritillaries. There is a further selection of our summer event reports, and
We are grateful to NFU Mutual for funding the postage of this newsletter.
Editorial copy date Contributions for the Spring edition of our newsletter are very welcome and should be sent to the Editor, Peter Maddison, no later than Saturday 8th January 2011. Any piece of writing considered to be of interest will be published and we also welcome line drawings, prints and photographs. Contributions (preferably electronic) can be sent to the address on the back page or by email to: prmaddison@yahoo.co.uk
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2010 Butterfly Conservation Report Rob Parker gives an overview of the butterfly season, presented as a slide show at the AGM The colony we translocated to Blaxhall Common in 2007 also had its best-ever year, with a peak of 31 butterflies counted during the 6-week period they were flying on the transect. At the other end of the scale, visits to Purdis Heath never found more than 3, re-affirming the importance of extending our efforts to improve the deteriorating habitat before the colony is completely extinguished. Neil Ravenscroft’s survey highlighted the decline of the flight area over 20 years, and we now plan a conservation project for the benefit of all the Ipswich heaths.
The year began with a relatively harsh winter, with persistent heavy frosts and strong winds which killed tender plants and will have had a significant impact on overwintering eggs, larvae & pupae. Nonetheless, spring butterflies appeared in reasonable numbers, and the first impression was that all was okay. In the longer term, the year has been something of a Curate’s Egg – good in parts, but very flat otherwise. Most of our common butterflies had a mediocre season, yet some of our BAP species had a really good year. Dingy Skipper Survey. Once again, none was found at Center Parcs or at RAF Barnham. On the other hand, there were 2 causes for optimism. The flight area in the east side of King’s Forest seems to have extended, and work to improve the habitat there continues. Unexpectedly, Sharon Hearle came across 4 Dingy Skippers flying in a young plantation in the south part of the Thetford Forest. This lies just north of the old Marmansgrave Wood site, and is only a mile from RAF Barnham.
White-letter Hairstreak. The hot drought days of July proved to be perfect for inducing White-letter Hairstreaks down from the elm canopy to find nectar at bramble and thistle. Six recorders managed to photograph them in gardens and at spots not known as established colonies, and a dedicated search re-discovered them at the SWT reserve in Bloodhill Quarry. White Admiral. This was a pleasingly strong year, with good numbers at many of the known sites and no less than 12 reports of White Admirals dispersing to places not usually considered to be host colonies. One almost black specimen of ab. obliterae was photographed by Jon King on the Hadleigh railway line walk, and another by Mervyn Crawford in Mildenhall woods.
Silver-studded Blue. The annual survey counted over 7000 S-sBs – with good results at the larger sites. Especially pleasing were an expanding colony in Minsmere’s reversion field, and at the southern edge of the Dunwich Forest, where the Westleton Heath colony has quickly re-colonised a forest compartment felled by the RSPB specifically to allow heathland regeneration.
Silver-washed Fritillary. Undoubtedly the
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The Suffolk Argus Marbled White and Heath Fritillary both put in appearances in Ipswich’s Landseer Park, and as the latter must be the result of a misguided release, doubt is thrown on the validity of the first. One Long-tailed Blue was more likely to have arrived as a caterpillar in a packet of peas, than to have flown in on its own wings.
highlight of the season was the spread of Silver-washed Fritillary from a couple of tentative footholds to no less than 9 places in Suffolk. Of these, 6 are woods with violets and some chance of providing breeding habitat. Essex, Cambs and Norfolk all experienced this dispersal event, and there is hope that the species will stay – it has been considered absent since 1969.
Recording. The start of a new 5-year period has already brought in some interesting records for White Admiral, White-letter Hairstreak and Silver-washed Fritillary. As peoples’ end of season records come in we are making inroads into our new distribution map. I think we would do well to make a special effort to find Grayling next year – there have been very few in West Suffolk this season.
Conservation Advice. Site-specific butterfly conservation advice has been provided to the Sotterley Estate, the SWT reserve at Cubbitt’s Pit in the Bloodhill Quarry and to the management at Pakenham Wood. All 3 sites host BAP species, and White Admiral, White-letter Hairstreak and Silver-washed Fritillary put in appearances during the advice & monitoring phase. Transects. Richard Stewart’s transect in the Fynn valley is being discontinued after a ten-year run, but has been replaced by new walks in the Dunwich Forest and Arger Fen. They will have had an unspectacular first year, but an adequate baseline to monitor the changes that both sites are about to undergo. Dunwich Forest has some special promise, as both Grayling and White Admiral are seen on the transect route, a useful new tool for monitoring our BAP species.
Events in 2011 Check our website early in the new year as our programme of events will be available there. The green events card will be mailed, as usual, with the Spring edition of The Suffolk Argus.
Swallowtail and Oddities. There was a higher-than-usual incidence of Swallowtail sightings from Milden in the south of the county to Beccles in the north. At least some of these were explained as accidental releases of captive-bred specimens, and this makes it impossible to declare which of them might have been wild vagrants.
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Work Parties on Heathland Habitat Volunteers are needed in the Ipswich area to work on two separate projects for heathland butterflies. The Silver-studded Blue site at Purdis Heath is in urgent need of improvement as the colony has fallen to critically low numbers in recent years. The maximum count for 2010 was only 3 butterflies! Mechanical work is being done to increase the extent of the pioneer heather re-growth, courtesy of the Ipswich Golf Club, but manual labour is also going to be needed to clear the encroaching gorse. Work parties are organised periodically by the Greenways Project and publicised at http://www.greenlivingcentre.org.uk/diar y/diary.php , or in the Local Wildlife News http://www.greenlivingcentre.org.uk/gree nways/lwn1008/ If you would like to receive copies of Local Wildlife News regularly through the post, please contact the Greenways Project on 01473 433995 or at greenways.project@ipswich.gov.uk The annual megabash at Purdis Heath will be held on 22nd January, and other volunteer activities are arranged on Tuesdays or Fridays. If you are interested in taking part, please make yourself known to James Baker on 01473 433995.
In both cases, the dates of heathland restoration work parties have yet to be settled, but will occur during the autumn/winter months. Suffolk Branch is starting a project to ensure that we give advice and assistance to support the ailing colonies of Silver-studded Blue surviving on the Ipswich heaths. Please take this opportunity to do something practical for butterflies. To the east of Ipswich at Martlesham Heath, where there is a Silver-studded Blue colony, the Martlesham Conservation Group meets on the second Sunday of each month. If you are able to help with gorse and bracken clearance, call Phil Smith on 01473 625630 or email: phil.j.smith@btinternet.com. The megabash will be held in February, and more information will be available from James Baker on 01473 433995.
White-letter Hairstreak and the WCBS 2009 Peter Dare (WCBS Co-ordinator)
The excellent site at Pipers Vale does not have Silver-studded Blue, but the heather is already being extended to improve the possibilities. Two separate areas of ling with bell heather now exist and need further work - particularly gorse clearance. If you might be able to assist, please make contact with: Richard Sharp Orwell Country Park Wildlife & Education Ranger Telephone: 01473 433991 Mobile: 07736 826 301 richard.sharp@ipswich.gov.uk
Apologies to Steve Goddard for the omission of his sighting of White-letter Hairstreak in TM0553 from the WCBS Report, The Suffolk Argus, Summer 2010, Vol. 48. This was the only record of the species during the 2009 survey.
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The Suffolk Argus
Late ovipositing Brimstone Julian Dowding observation. They proved to be fertile as larvae subsequently emerged. Fresh eggs, identifiable by their pale greenish white colour, were found on Common Buckthorn too. These also hatched. Most of the larvae made it through to their final instar and in early September, 3 were still feeding on bushes in the hedge. Phenograms of Brimstone activity suggest peak numbers in mid May and mid August. This female was totally out of sync. with this and would therefore suggest either a very senior lady of maybe 14 months, or a new brood specimen laying eggs in its first year, which we think is unheard of.
In the UK, Brimstone butterflies lay their eggs on Alder Buckthorn and Common Buckthorn. On July 29th, a female Brimstone was seen laying eggs on Alder Buckthorn growing in my garden hedge. She was worn looking, and also had some odd marks and blotches which to me were very similar to a female photographed in the garden in April (see cover photo). This individual had been visiting on and off throughout early summer. Rob, our county butterfly recorder was contacted because it was felt to be a rather late egg-laying record. He confirmed that this was the case and suggested keeping the eggs under
Spread of the White Admiral Jon King muck (see photo page 2).
White Admirals appear to have had a very good season in 2010. At my local patch for seeing these wonderful butterflies I counted fifteen on a casual stroll through Raydon Great Wood on 3rd July.
Added to this was the number of new locations I found single White Admirals present this year. These included Tinkers Lane, Hadleigh on 10th July, Stack Wood, Polstead Heath on 14th July and finally Wolves Wood RSPB Reserve, Hadleigh on 15th July, this being my first ever sighting here after regularly visiting the wood for thirty years.
Several of these were of the aberrant obliterae form in which the white bands are almost completely obscured. These were really stunning with the wings looking like black velvet and a very unusual underside. I managed to photograph one, which came to ground to sample the delights of dog’s
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Migrants in 2010 Richard Stewart how different it looks at rest, which is admittedly not very often observed. It becomes a very drab creature with virtually all colour gone and also well camouflaged. Undoubtedly though the speed at which it feeds is one of its most impressive attributes, making it difficult to get good photos. Having a few minutes to spare on the 25th July, before we went out, I timed one visiting valerian growing in front of our French window. The time was 9.30am and I watched it closely and carefully to see how long it took to visit fifty valerian florets though it obviously didn’t feed from each one. The first fifty took just thirty seconds, the next fifty took forty seconds. Just imagine the energy needed for that result and the necessity to get as much nectar as possible.
It is only the beginning of August so perhaps my comments about it being a poor year for migrants are premature. One has however been the exception, the Silver Y moth. I first saw these, in hundreds, on the 20th July, at Winterton Dunes on the East Norfolk coast. Since then they have been evident wherever I have been looking for butterflies, and in our garden they have fed mainly on buddleia, Silver Y lavender and a second by Mervyn Crawford flowering of valerian. They have been most active from dusk onwards and by the end of July we had seen a Hummingbird Hawkmoth six times in our garden, ranging from 9.30am to 8.50pm, visiting buddleia and valerian. Although this is a migrant there have been a few recent reports of overwintering in sheltered areas. The other fascinating aspect of this insect is
Hummingbird Hawkmoth
National AGM and Members Day 20th November 2010 This year’s AGM and Members Day will take place on Saturday 20th November at Churchill College, Cambridge and will be hosted by the Cambridgeshire & Essex Branch. The programme for the day has been distributed with the Autumn issue of Butterfly. As the venue is within our region, perhaps a number of our Suffolk Branch members will be able to attend.
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The Suffolk Argus
Distractions Richard Stewart Butterflies are obviously the main focus on our programmed meetings and on the many trips elsewhere, but sometimes they can be upstaged by something special and unexpected. For example towards the end of our visit to Poker Wood at Framsden, on 6th July, we were all engrossed by discovering clusters of young shieldbugs on leaves of silver birch, these trees having been ‘rescued’ after scrub removal work at North Warren reserve. These small shieldbugs were packed together like a defensive shield ring, then we found another group, with a much larger parent close by. Thanks to the Fosters they were not just found but also Swallowtail by Beryl Johnson identified as the Parent Shieldbug Elasmucha grisea, which feeds on birch catkins. Several more groups of young were located on the same tree but perhaps the most memorable incident was watching the parent moving along a branch, with all the young following in line. My Oxford Book of Insects remarks that ‘this is one of the rare examples of an insect caring for its young’ and ‘while she stays with them, for how long is not known, she protects them, putting herself between them and any danger’. The second incident was on a morning in July when the weather was not conducive
for trying to find White-letter Hairstreaks at the recycling site between Bramford and Somersham. However the recent rain had brought out snails, fifty or more, so many you had to place your feet very carefully. These weren’t just the normal species of snail, but the large Roman variety. I had never before seen them so close to Ipswich and it was the first time I had seen them on the move. A few days later, when we returned in much better weather, hardly any were to be seen. Finally, on 22nd June, Marie and I had a very successful day of watching Swallowtails at Strumpshaw Fen, for once with many seen close up and nectaring. We don’t usually spend much time in the reception hide as it tends to be noisy but this time we did, and were very pleased to have made that decision. Many black-headed gulls were noisily nesting on small islands of reed in the middle of the large stretch of water in front of the hide. Suddenly I saw something moving in the water, towards the nesting birds, and we then had good, long views of an otter, obviously after eggs or young or both, with the nesting birds dive-bombing it on several occasions. One of the voluntary wardens subsequently told me that three breeding females were present in the series of reserves adjacent to the Yare. This was only the fifth otter I have seen in my lifetime and it was definitely the highlight of the day.
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Autumn 2010
Dark Sky Dancing Richard Stewart’s new book, illustrated with photos of five of Anne-Marie’s quilts, is a series of 112 haiku, short three line poems covering the four seasons of the year. Many of the haiku have been published in national magazines and copies can be obtained from Richard at £3.50 or £4.00 by post from – ‘Valezina’, 112, Westerfield Road, Ipswich, Suffolk. IP4 2XW. Any profits will go to Butterfly Conservation. Butterflies feature in many haikus and here are three examples from the Spring section: Survivors Sunlight on hard frost And deep within a green pine Red Admirals stir. Butterflies Two Peacocks fly up Spiralling in a bright sky Covered by larksong. Larvae The green consumers Voyagers though inner space Instar to instar. Peacock by Beryl Johnson
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The Suffolk Argus
Writing a best-seller David Tomlinson As one who has always written to make a living, I always listen with interest when people are rude about Jeffery Archer’s books. They may not be literary masterpieces, but they have been hugely successful, and I would have been delighted to write any of them. Only a small majority of the thousands of books published annually in this country ever make their author any money, and my income has always come from magazine articles rather than the few books I have been involved in. However, I’m quite proud of the fact that my name does appear on the cover of a bestseller: Britain’s Butterflies, A field guide to the butterflies of Britain and Ireland, published by WILDGuides. Like so many things in life, I came to write it by chance. A pal of mine, David Tipling, was running a photo library, and had been working with WILDGuides on various projects. He heard that there was a butterfly book being planned, but that an author was needed. Knowing my enthusiasm for butterflies, he put my name forward. Writing the text for the 60 or so species that occur in the British Isles seemed a pretty straightforward task, and I didn’t think it would take very long. The aim of the book was to support Butterfly Conservation, so when my authorship was agreed, I decided to simply charge a modest fee £1200) for my time, with no subsequent royalties. Unfortunately I had badly misjudged quite how much work was required, and I’ve no doubt that my financial reward, if costed by
the hour, would have fallen well short of the statutory minimum wage. I do recall thinking that I had completed the text, but found that I had forgotten the Black Hairstreak, so with a groan I had to go back to work. I must also admit that despite my enthusiasm for butterflies, I don’t pretend to be a butterfly expert. I had seen the great majority of the butterflies on the British list, but my real depth of knowledge is with birds, not butterflies. However, as a professional writer I’m well practised at finding and putting together the information I need, though I can’t recall using the Internet at all in the research – it was 10 years ago. I have got a good reference library of butterfly books, which I made extensive use of. I was pretty confident that my text was accurate and informative, and before publication it was read through, improved and corrected by staff at Butterfly Conservation. The amusing result of this was that I could read through my own book and learn things I was unaware of. The main attraction of the finished book wasn’t my text but the clever use of photographs to illustrate it, and I’ve no doubt that this was why it sold so well. However, having written a best-seller, I did meet people who assumed I had expertise with butterflies that I have never claimed. Rob Parker has never admitted it, but I’m sure that his pleasure in finding I had moved to Suffolk was diminished somewhat when he discovered that I wasn’t quite the expert
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Autumn 2010 he might have imagined. The first edition sold out earlier this year, nine years since its publication. WILDGuides sensibly recruited a real butterfly pundit to revise it, which is why the name of David Newland appears on the cover in rather bigger type than my name on the second edition, which has been fully revised and updated. If you read through it carefully, you will discover a sentence at the back that reads, “we had the tremendous advantage of being able to build on David Tomlinson’s excellent text from the original book”. Thanks, chaps. The new edition is a terrific improvement over the old, with more pages, more pictures
and more general information. I can honestly say that I think it’s the best photographic guide there is, but then I would say that, wouldn’t I? I’m really quite flattered that my name still appears on the cover. As for the Black Hairstreak – I went this year to Glapthorn Cow Pastures near Oundle to see it. If I were reviving the text, I would add that it is possibly Britain’s most boring butterfly, as well as one of its rarest. The two individuals I saw never moved in over an hour. The text of the second edition still uses the words I used in the first: highly elusive and secretive. Boring isn’t a word you can use in a butterfly book, however much you want to.
Britain’s Butterflies 2nd Edition
David Newland, Robert Still, David Tomlinson & Andy Swash WILDGuides 2010 A review by Rob Parker Many Suffolk Argus readers already own a copy of the original 2002 WILDGuides by David Tomlinson, himself a member of our Branch of Butterfly Conservation. I cherish mine because its pictorial presentation is different to any other butterfly book, each species being illustrated on one page of photographs blended with Rob Still’s artful backgrounds. This allows images of male & female, upperside and underside, egg, caterpillar and chrysalis to be shown together. Some people love it, others hate the artificial nature of the creation.
The 2002 edition sold out, with a donation to Butterfly Conservation made on every sale, and now WildGuides have created a Second Edition. I was surprised at the number of changes incorporated into the volume, making it very nearly a different book. The page count jumps from 192 to 224 pages, and a good deal of fresh material has been incorporated – even more than you would expect, as the size of the typeface has been reduced to squeeze in extra text and images. Most of the photographs are new, and the new author, David Newland
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The Suffolk Argus we might find either species coming to Suffolk!
himself, took many. His expertise includes authorship of WILDGuides‘ Discover Butterflies in Britain, and the extra content includes some nice habitat photography as well as a table showing where to go to find particular species. Much of David’s original text is retained, and updated where necessary. The photography has been rearranged, separating the images in a more conventional way, and curiously, dropping the images of egg, larva and pupa from the main plate. These early stages were always to be found at the back of the book in the original version, but now that is the only place to find them. The space thus saved is used for photos of typical habitat for each species. The same basic pattern for the species descriptions has otherwise been retained, featuring updated distribution maps, the cartwheel life-cycle calendar and some additional information on Biodiversity Action Plan/Red Data Book status.
This trend away from simplicity is one of the features which leave me feeling that I preferred the original. Another is the loss of a number of very pretty full-page pictures – sacrificed in order to squeeze in more content. But my final grouse is more practical. The new edition is bound with a simple glued spine, and refuses to stay open at the chosen page. The same feature means that trying to read the distribution maps (on the right hand side of the left pages) is difficult because they get lost in the fold. The original version drops open nicely, of course. One good feature carried forward, is the involvement of Butterfly Conservation, both as a contributor and a beneficiary. The Second Edition is available in bookshops for £17.95, a slice of which will go to Butterfly Conservation.
The preliminary pages have been expanded to contain more information on biology and life-cycle, where to look for butterflies, and a nice spread on forms and aberrations has been added. Another worthwhile addition is the section on Conservation and legislation – both European and domestic. Towards the back of the book, several tables of species lists, butterfly food sources and caterpillar foodplants have been expanded to include (for example) Black-veined White and Geranium Bronze. This is a step towards comprehensive cover which some might argue is inappropriate in a compact book for an amateur readership, but who knows? A little more global warming and
Small Copper by Beryl Johnson
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The Butterflies of Britain & Ireland Written by Jeremy Thomas and illustrated by Richard Lewington British Wildlife Publishing A review by David Tomlinson There are a rich variety of butterfly books on my shelves, but if I was to be limited to just one, I’ve no doubt whatsoever which it would be: The Butterflies of Britain & Ireland, written by Jeremy Thomas and illustrated by Richard Lewington. I acquired my original copy, a review book, in 1991, and was deeply impressed. At the time I was a member of the judging panel for the Natural World natural history book of the year award, and I was a prime mover in ensuring that this was the title that won that year. Not that my fellow judges needed much persuading, for this was a volume that combined beautifully written and informative essays with delightful illustrations. Few people know more about Britain’s butterflies than Professor Thomas, while Richard Lewington is arguably the best butterfly illustrator ever. The original edition, published by Dorling Kindersley, was limited to just 20,000 copies, and it sold out quickly. Somewhat inexplicably, the publishers decided not to reprint, so for the last 15 years or so the only way you could get hold of a copy was by scouring the shelves of second-hand bookshops. My own copy, signed by both artist and author, is in surprisingly good condition considering how often is has been
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referred to. It was a great source of both information and inspiration when I was working on the text for Britain’s Butterflies (see page 12), while I’ve frequently dipped into it when planning a trip to see a specific butterfly, such as Swallowtail in the Broads, or after a successful expedition, such as having watched Purple Emperors in Rockingham Forest. Now, at long last, we have a revised second edition. It’s just as handsome a production as the original, but it is a more conventional shape, which means that it will sit more happily on your bookshelf. The same exquisite essays are there, but each one has been revised and updated, as a lot has happened to our butterflies in the last two decades. Take the Large Blue for example. In the original edition we read: “it is still uncertain whether we will be able to maintain this colony permanently [Thomas was referring to the original introduction], or succeed in our ambition of re-establishing on another five formal sites, but the initial results are encouraging”. In the second edition, under the subtitle A conservation success, we learn just how successful this reintroduction has been, with more than 25 colonies now in the west country.
The Suffolk Argus It’s not just the essays that have been revised and expanded, for Richard Lewington has been able to add much new artwork. In addition, butterflies like the Geranium Bronze, unrecorded in the UK in 1991, and the Monarch and the Mazarine Blue all have their own chapters, so now no fewer than 72 species are covered, compared with 60 before.
of this latest edition, British Wildlife Publishing, has chosen to reproduce part of my review on the dust jacket. It reads: ‘No one with any interest in these insects, or in natural history generally, should hesitate to buy Jeremy Thomas and Richard Lewington’s exceptional work’. I endorse the latest edition just as heartily. Even if you have the first edition, treat yourself to this one, as you won’t be disappointed. And just in case you’re wondering, I did pay for my
I reviewed the first edition for New Scientist, so was delighted to note that the publisher
latest copy.
Good news…….. A recent United Nations report has shown that Britain has more woodland now than at any time since the 1750s. New plantings have increased the amount of woodland to 11,200 square miles, or 11.8 per cent of the total land area. ….Surely there is room for butterflies and moths! But careful management is essential: sheltered, sunny rides, coppicing and wild woodland are all important features of rich biodiversity, and in our events programme this year we were able to see all these practices in the woodlands at Newson’s Farm, White House Farm and Poker Wood.
……..and not such good news The Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner Cameraria ohridella, the moth that causes the premature discolouration of horse chestnut tree leaves, has been an unwelcome feature of our countryside for the last few years. First identified in Greece in the 1970s the moth has spread through much of Europe. Biologists think that the moth makes horse chestnuts more susceptible to the fatal bleeding canker disease, which has already affected more than half of the horse chestnut trees in some parts of the UK. What is particularly worrying is that there is no known natural predator. But the collection and burning or the commercial composting of fallen leaves in autumn will remove over-wintering pupae and eliminate the first generation of moths in the following spring. This is when trees are growing strongly and when any reduction in damage is of the greatest benefit.
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Totternhoe Quarry and Knolls Wednesday 12th May 2010 downhill for a mid-hill rendezvous. On the more exposed sections of the path there was cool, moderate breeze, but occasionally the sun broke through the cloud cover and in the sheltered parts our group of ten people searched out Grizzled Skipper and a Duke of Burgundy. Sheltered banks of cowslips looked ideal habitat for the latter butterfly but better weather conditions would be necessary before more made an appearance. A Grizzled Skipper in fine condition had been seen earlier near the car park, but on our return to the vehicles the skipper remained hidden. However, undeterred by cloud and breeze, a copulating pair of Speckled Wood proved that time is short and chances have to be taken in the insect world.
Totternhoe Quarry and Knolls, owned by the Bedfordshire Wildlife Trust is a stronghold of the Duke of Burgundy. In recent years much work has been done to understand the requirements of this BAP species: it is a fickle creature, disappearing from one part of the reserve for no apparent reason only to reappear in another area. Our leader, Colin Lucas, was able to give us up to date information on the state of the butterfly. Perhaps we were a little early in the season, and on a day of much cloud and a cool wind we were not overly hopeful about finding our target species, but the temperature in some of the hollows on the site was noticeably higher than on the tops and in a rare moment of sunshine Colin led us to the most likely haunt, where fortune shone upon us. A single Duke of Burgundy rested on a dried-up bramble and then two more were noticed. Colin spoke about how the Trust was managing the site for the known requirements of warmth and shelter, and cowslip or primrose as larval food plants. Winter work on thickets of hawthorn and Clematis vitalba that need to be kept at bay is a time consuming and arduous task.
Pleased that our target species of Duke of Burgundy and Grizzled Skipper had been seen we departed from this chalk downland scenery for the clay and sand soils of Suffolk, with the thought that we must return again to the Chilterns.
After lunch a short walk to a grassy area of scrub produced a number of Dingy Skipper, Speckled Wood, Brimstone and Green Hairstreak. Then on to Bison Hill, where car passengers alighted at the lower slope to begin their gradual ascent and car drivers continued to the car park, then walked
Grizzled Skipper by Douglas Hammersley
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The Suffolk Argus
Walk around Eyke (Tetrad TM3250) Wednesday 9th June 2010 Stella and Roger Wolfe The route had been selected because it was within a tetrad that had been unrecorded in recent years, but with overcast weather and rain predicted it seemed an unpromising day to go butterfly spotting.
paused briefly enough to be identified. The wide grassy margins on either side of a road had few flowers apart from seeding hedge garlic. As the day warmed up Silver Y moths became abundant.
As we arrived two nightingales sang close by. In an overgrown quarry a Cinnabar and a Brown Silver-line moth were seen in gorse and other shrubs. The adjacent neglected ‘sports field’ was open to a cool breeze so few insects were flying. This was disappointing because when visited on a warm day last summer the field was teeming with insect life.
The egg of an Orange-tip was seen nestling in a head of sweet rocket as we skirted a large garden by a grassy field margin. More Silver Y moths here showed that the summer migration was under way. There were more Cinnabars, a female Orange-tip, a Green-veined White and a Harlequin Ladybird. Until then all ladybirds seen had been of the native seven-spot variety.
Reaching the open access woodland it was still cool. Although conifers had been closely planted the ride was fringed with oak and some elm and cherry. Some tree trunks were entwined with thick, sheltergiving ivy that will provide a good nectar source later in the year. The scent of honeysuckle climbing up trees filled the air.
A tree-lined reservoir provided a delightful location to see a variety of wildlife. Yellow flag grew abundantly in the margins of the water and on the banks a Common Blue butterfly was seen in a patch of bird’s foot trefoil. Two swallows swooped low over the surface catching insects. Tadpoles basked in the still water and above them dragonflies and damselflies chased and hovered. Jim identified Black-tailed Skimmer, Blue-tailed, Red-eyed and Common Blue Damselflies. As we moved on a Large Skipper was seen resting on a bramble leaf and a Speckled Wood startled us as it flew over our heads. A Peacock flew over, then a late male Orange–tip; we thought we had seen the last of those for this year! The presence of oak and wych elm in the adjacent woodland seemed a promising habitat for Purple
We left the wood by a track bordered with pignut and gorse bushes. An adjacent field, lately out of cultivation, seemed worth investigating because the air temperature had risen and the light soil was warming up. The abundant storksbill attracted Brown Argus, Common Blue and Green Hairstreak butterflies as well as Yellow Shell and Silver Y moths. Continuing along the track a Small White
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Autumn 2010 we had seen the whole cycle of that butterfly (apart from the chrysalis stage) in a single day. The final butterfly noted was a Large White, bringing the day’s total to 11 species, something not anticipated when we set out. The great variety of habitat enjoyed on this walk invites further recording later in the year, perhaps late afternoon?
Hairstreaks and White-letter Hairstreaks later in the season. On entering the forestry area again a mass of broom alerted us to the possibility of Green Hairstreak and sure enough, close by, perching on an unopened bramble flower, we found one. This specimen exhibited really clearly the white hair-line on the under side of its hind wing. With the sighting of an Orange-tip caterpillar on the seedpods of hedge garlic
Open Day at Priors Oak, Aldeburgh Sunday 25th July 2010 Peter Maddison When a garden is open to the public you would expect to see a mown lawn, flowerbeds and a vegetable patch, and you will find all that in splendid luxuriance at Trudie Willis’ house. But there is much more at Priors Oak. It is a garden with a difference, a garden where the conservation of wildlife is a high priority.
garden is bordered with lavender. Honeysuckle scrambles through the stronger growing shrubs and trees, and the garden holds numerous buddlejas. The latter is a growing collection of species and hybrid forms and has been extended recently to edge a newly created buddleja walk.
Trudie Willis and her late husband, David, purchased Priors Oak in 1977 and soon after acquired a further seven acres to the side and rear of the house and its immediate garden. Strongly influenced by Lawrence Hills and his organic principles of growing plants, Trudie set about cultivating the sandy, heathland soil. Liberal additions of homemade comfrey compost and animal manure from the sheep field have resulted in a floriferous and productive garden. So what is grown here? Nectar bearing plants are prized and much of the vegetable
To the front of the house a bank and hedge helps to filter the worst of the North Sea gales that would buffet this part of the garden, but a willow platform and arbor allow views across the RSPB North Warren reserve to the sea. Behind the house is an area of heath and woodland comprising hazel, cherry, oak, maple, bramble, rose and elder, although in recent years much of the latter has aged and died.
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Paul is responsible for the upkeep of the garden and on the open day he not only
The Suffolk Argus least two Grayling. More Grayling were sighted on the heath where Small Copper was noted, and appropriately in the wood a Speckled Wood – generally considered to be rather scarce at the moment - was spotted. Unlike 2009 when the buddleja were weighed down by the invasion of Painted Lady, this year the species has been noteable for its absence, and during the day only one was recorded.
helped to park cars but also was kept busy answering questions about how he kept the garden in such good heart – a man with green fingers! Visitors arriving mid-morning were invited to take part in Rob Parker’s informative butterfly walks and two were held before a late lunch was taken. A couple of moth traps had been set up the night before, and between the butterfly walks the catch was examined by Mike Swindells and an enthralled audience, fascinated by the variety and beauty of these little known creatures of the night.
We thank Trudie and her gardener, Paul and other helpers for their hard work in preparation and their enthusiasm on the day. The large garden at Priors Oak with its many formal and informal outdoor rooms, the wild heathland garden and the wood make this a fascinating garden to visit, and the more so during Save Our Butterflies Week when knowledgeable enthusiasts are at hand to indentify and inform visitors about the butterflies and moths. If you haven’t visited then make Priors Oak a priority for 2011.
The generally overcast sky did not encourage day-flying moths and butterflies into flight, but the temperature was high and in the sheltered garden migrant Silver Y moths covered the lavender. Red Admirals, a few Peacock butterflies, a Comma or two, and whites adorned the buddleja bushes, which also attracted at
Open Day at Scotland Place Farm, Stoke by Nayland. Sunday 1st August 2010 Michèle Francis I’m a new conscript to BC, and clearly as green as I’m cabbage-looking. This morning’s introduction to Peter Maddison, as editor of The Suffolk Argus newsletter, was quickly followed by the suggestion that I write my impressions of the day. Here goes ...
Today, I attended the open day at Scotland Place Farm (Stoke by Nayland). An open day is run every year, in aid of a variety of charities. Today was the turn of the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation. Scotland Place Farm aims to have a lower-carbon
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Autumn 2010 other who is sensible enough to bring her binoculars when butterfly spotting, and who is co-ordinating improvement of a green space in the town as a butterfly meadow and wildlife corridor. I learnt a lot walking around the farm with them, talking about their projects and, incidentally, how the machinery of local government works.
impact, to farm less intensively, to raise quality livestock including large black pigs (a rare breed). This is a family-run farm: Simon Hayter grew up on this farm, and his wife Tracey was also born in the village. They and their families are involved in producing local organic food. It was an excellent day for meeting new people and sharing information about wildlife-friendly farm management, gardening with insects in mind, or simply the best way to spot Purple Hairstreak (with binoculars, from the top floor of a block of flats!). It was also a day for local networking, since a few of us used free group transport (a large taxi), organised by Jane Hutton, which had been paid for by “Sudbury’s Market Town Partnership” as part of Green Suffolk. The open day at Scotland Place Farm is part of a series of five (I believe) eco-days in Sudbury and the surrounding villages, looking at positive action in conservation and landmanagement AND green buildings and businesses. I for one am enthusiastically supporting any practical initiative to pool local knowledge and experience.
The farm was show-casing its butterfly meadow today: a field on a hill, well, a floriferous hill-field with large swathes of mown pathway. I was just trying to recall which way its slopes faced, and pretty-well every direction is my conclusion. Steeper slopes up from north east and north west, gentler slopes back down in a more southerly direction, at the top open towards the south. The meadow is bounded on three sides by old established mixed hedges with some oak, some (diseased) elms and other trees standing proud with other food plants like spindle and sloe or hawthorn and in places bracken, bramble, nettles forming an understorey. There is a mature oak on the more sheltered side of the hill, standing alone in the field. The western field boundary seemed to have a ditch, in which there was standing water. The present meadow was sown and now there is plentiful bird’s-foot-trefoil, a mixture of smaller grasses, standing taller was mainly field thistle, some greater knapweed and a little lucerne, and a range of yellow composites as well as field chamomile. I did not notice as many umbellifers or vetches as I have seen elsewhere lately, and I did not see any sorrel Rumex acetosella, but there was some common dock. So all in all this was a varied habitat, with lots of different possible food plants for Lepidoptera. I spent quite some time on my knees examining stands of
2010 was bound to be my year to get out into the field more. I’m delighted that some synchronicities have made my practical efforts worthwhile. I’ve had a magical time meeting new people and making new wildlife contacts. Today has been a good day. Not brilliant in terms of actually seeing Lepidoptera on the wing, as it was overcast, cool and eventually showery, but a fabulous day for meeting with like-minded souls. I met two ladies from Sudbury, one of whom is on the Common Lands board of Trustees (aka Sudbury water meadows) and the
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The Suffolk Argus distinct sorts of dragonfly – just don’t ask me to name them! The most common sighting of the day was of Six-spot Burnet moths, some looking fresher than others, most cocoons empty and straw-coloured but a few butter yellow & still holding their contents. I was able to point these and the adults out to some children who once they knew what to look for were away! (see photo) I also found a pair which I photographed inflagrante delicto, for use in Year 6 Life Cycle lesson (thankfully, ‘birds & bees’ is still taught in our National Curriculum).
BFT (which clearly were being eaten) for small green larvae. Even carefully parting the stems and looking between the grass thatch for fallen caterpillars. Not one. Later, Rob told me, “One factor to remember about looking for larvae is the timing. It is best to choose the middle of the normal period in which they are in the larval stage. A good book on butterflies will include a timeline diagram, showing (for Common Blue) that they overwinter as larvae and feed up into April. The second generation hatch as larvae early in June and keep munching until mid July, pupating briefly to emerge as second generation adults late July/early August. So when we were at Tracey’s, the butterflies flying were recently hatched, and those yet to hatch were pupae. Any stragglers that were still in the caterpillar phase would have had to be two or more weeks behind the mean. Not impossible, but only in very small numbers.”
Part of my pleasure in meeting Stella, Peter and Rob was hearing their in-depth knowledge. I also thank them for welcoming me and all members of the public so warmly and equally enthusiastically. They were able to engage everyone in an appropriate level of conversation be that expert discussion on management of elm, or how to lift the flap to find a hidden picture of a butterfly. It was their hospitality and warmth that gained at least one new member today. In my recent return to more serious butterfly-spotting and recording I realise I have forgotten so much about habits of flying, display, territorial behaviours. I will definitely come out on these Suffolk Branch excursions, not only to see what I can spot but also to learn.
I also spent some time trudging off-piste, crossing from one path to another, attempting to kick up some reluctant blues, or maybe a Small Copper or Brown Argus. I was looking for roosting butterflies, and was actually trying to move quite carefully across known territories. Tracey had organised a visual butterfly identity treasure hunt as a child-friendly activity, with hidden pictures of the butterflies around the meadow. It was good how that overlapped with visiting public using the BC identification leaflets to name the few flying beasties. We were able to see Meadow Brown (m&f), Small White, Gatekeeper (m&f), and male and female not-so-common Common Blues, and Ringlet along the hedge. I also saw three
Common Blue by Douglas Hammersley
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Autumn 2010
Dunwich Forest Saturday 7th August 2010 Peter Maddison Gatekeepers and a number of whites, mostly Small White were observed. Sheltered rides, along which bays acting as suntraps have been cut into the adjoining forest, are where honeysuckle and bramble thrive and White Admirals were found. A White-letter Hairstreak was observed atop a bramble, but it was soon realised that our close view was owed to the butterfly’s ensnarement in a spider’s web. This butterfly is a BAP species, a rare butterfly in the country and particularly so in Suffolk. It was extracted from the web, examined, admired and released…..but the spider went without its meal. Ah well, on this occasion that was our answer to the question posed in the poem ‘Decisions’ by Richard Stewart, The Suffolk Argus, Summer 2010.
In 2008 the Forestry Commission, together with the RSPB and Suffolk Wildlife Trust, started work on an ambitious, long-term project to change the landscape of Dunwich Forest. Pine trees, when felled, will not be replaced with conifers, and a network of habitats more appropriate to the Sandlings landscape will be created. Nigel Cumming, the leader for the day, greeted our group of ten members on arrival at the car park, and outlined details of the walk. Butterflies would be a priority, naturally, but with the county heteroptera recorder as leader, other insects would feature highly on the list of species counted, obviously! And this made for fascinating excursions into the undergrowth, into the world of beetles and bugs.
Several Clouded Magpie moths were observed. Don’t pass them by, give them time and observe their intricate beauty in close up. And then there was a Vapourer Moth that posed as a Purple Hairstreak, and numerous Six-spot Burnet moths on knapweed and thistle. An end-of-season Large Skipper (a species recorded on the event at Eyke on the 9th June) was noted and a brilliant, newly emerged Holly Blue. Eventually a Red Admiral put in an appearance, but not before five White Admirals had been seen. Croizus hyoscyami, a geometrically patterned red and black bug, new to Suffolk within the last 3 years, was found on thistles. It was time for lunch
True to form, before leaving the car park Nigel found on one of the silver birches a Parent Bug Elasmucha grisea, a fascinating shieldbug that cares for its young by guiding them within the leaves of the tree. Once photographs had been taken we left the car park and immediately an initial change to the forest was noted: stock-proof fencing. Several kilometres of posts and netting have been erected to keep the herd of Dartmoor ponies, introduced to aid scrub management, within the confines of the forest. Sunny periods encouraged butterflies to take to the wing and Meadow Browns,
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The Suffolk Argus neared the car park and the pedestrian gate in the stock proof fence, half a dozen Dartmoor ponies were seen grazing along the ride.
and a stop was made at the Westwood bird hide. Here a Little Egret, a Mallard and Moorhens entertained us, but with cloud cover increasing we moved on. A Brown Hawker and several more Migrant Hawker dragonflies were counted. Ringlet, Purple Hairstreak, Grayling and a Small Copper, the caeruleopunctata form, were added to the list. Gorse Shield Bug, Sloe Bug and a longhorn beetle Rutpela maculata were found, and a superb example of the fungus Polyporus tuberaster growing on dead gorse was much photographed. Later, Common Blue and Comma were noted, but by then the weather was deteriorating and as we
Kerkini, Greece
We were grateful for having so many insects in addition to butterflies identified and discussed. It was good to see widely spread White Admirals, probably ten different individuals, but where were the Red Admirals? Only two were counted, and no Peacock or Small Tortoiseshell was observed. Perhaps a sunny late-August will bring them forth.
6th to the 13th June 2010
Highlights from David Tomlinson’s diary. (Part 1) This holiday was organised for members of the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation. Though the main target of the trip was to find butterflies, other aspects of the area’s rich natural history were not ignored. The weather during our week started thundery, but became hotter and more humid by the day, reaching around 90°F on our last two days. Participants were Rob and Alex Parker, Geoff and Pat Hayes, Richard and Marie Stewart, Peter Maddison and Sheila Keeley. Sunday 6 June There was a skylark singing as I left home at 3.20 in the morning, with the first hint of light in the eastern sky. By the time we reached Bury it was starting to get light, and the blackbirds were singing. Trevor, our chauffeur, arrived on time, and we had an easy run down to Gatwick, arriving two and half hours before our scheduled take off.
The flight was only 80% full and we arrived on schedule. In Thessalonica it was raining slightly and was rather warm and humid, but the first part of the minibus journey to Ano Poroia was dry, until we drove through a heavy storm (no thunder). The outside temperature plunged to 61°F, but was soon back in the high 70s. Traffic was heavy on the ring road, but soon eased off as we drove towards Serres. Apart from a few kestrels it wasn’t until we got to Kerkini that we started to see any birds, and our lakeside drive revealed the usual species – night, grey and squacco herons, little egret, great crested grebe, Dalmatian pelican, pygmy cormorant, etc. Our first butterfly stop was shortly before reaching the hotel: it produced several nettle-tree butterflies, comma, marbled fritillary, small and large skipper, small copper, clouded yellow, large and small white. There were also a number of crickets, and several of the strikingly
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Autumn 2010 attractive spoonwing lacewings Nemoptera sinuata with the long tail streamers on the rear wings. We were to see many more of these beautiful lacewings. A nightingale sang close by. We arrived at the Hotel Viglatoras during a short, sharp shower. When all the rooms were sorted out we had dinner which was vegetarian, with vegetables from Stelios’s mother’s garden. Everyone, I think, enjoyed it. Monday 7th June At 6.30 on a bright sunny morning Peter, Rob and Alex joined me for the drive down to Mandraki Harbour. The temperature was a cool 55°F, but it soon warmed up. At the harbour great reed warblers were singing loudly, along with Cetti’s warblers, cuckoos and golden orioles. We admired squacco and night herons at close range and had great views of a pair of little bitterns that chased each other around across the reeds. Good numbers of common terns were nesting on the new tern raft provided by Birdwing (see www.birdwing.eu), while most of the great crested grebes had chicks. There were several mallard to be seen, while I also found a single drake garganey and a pair of gadwall. We scoped the distant platform with its nesting Dalmatian pelicans. After breakfast we drove back down the hill, enjoying the numerous congregations of nettle-tree butterflies that were abundant everywhere. Our first stop was at the drinking trough, and we soon started seeing a good variety of butterflies, including eastern pale clouded yellow (here on the edge of its range), black-veined white, brimstone, common blue. Peter spotted a distant pair of short-toed eagles high against the mountain, and most members of the group saw a soaring Levant sparrowhawk. Unseen nightingales and cirl buntings sang, and it was already hot. One of the most
interesting sightings was a fine specimen of Drancunculus vulgaris, also known as the snake lily or dragon arum. It’s a Greek native, and is best known for its smell that is reminiscent of a decaying carcass. Flies that are attracted to the nasty smell and pollinate it. We didn’t notice a pong with this particular flower, but we did when we found another specimen a day later. Apparently the smelly period is brief. We continued to Vironia, where I bought our lunch in the supermarket. It’s not the most exciting supermarket in the world, but it provided all the basics that we needed. We then continued to the northern flood plain of the Striminos river, where we added several more additions to the butterfly list, including knapweed fritillary and a very worn and tatty second-generation map. A white-letter hairstreak was co-operative for photography. Birds seen included a pair of lesser grey shrikes, hoopoe and golden oriole, while eastern olivaceous (now isabelline) warblers sang and chased each other around. We had our picnic lunch at Megalahori, parking at the picnic area close to the eastern embankment. It was pleasantly shaded under the trees. Before eating we watched several whiskered terns hawking over the nearby flooded field, where squacco herons, cormorants and spoonbills were also feeding. After lunch we had a birding interlude, seeing a good variety of Kerkini specials, including a couple of great white egrets, five glossy ibises, a pair of blacknecked grebes and a few pelicans. Both purple heron and pygmy cormorants showed well. A peregrine flew over, but not many people saw it. Marsh frogs offered a diversion, as did the numerous scarlet dragonflies Crocothemis erythraea. We didn’t leave the lake until 4pm, driving north of the river for a walk where, in previous years, I had seen a good variety of
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The Suffolk Argus butterflies. There were no festoons this time, but we did see two new fritillaries, spotted and Queen of Spain, while one or two of us also thought we saw silver-washed. Mallow skippers were also seen. I photographed red-rumped swallows collecting mud for their nests here, and also photographed a masked shrike and saw both penduline tit and a long-legged buzzard. As we walked back a lesser spotted eagle showed well, mobbed by a hooded crow. We heard a Syrian woodpecker, and I also saw a green. The temperature was still close to 80°F as we drove home after a satisfying and enjoyable day, with 30 butterflies and 70 birds in the bag. Tuesday 8 June After breakfast we set off up the mountain behind the hotel, taking nearly three hours to cover the first section. Our first stop produced lots of butterflies, with lesser spotted fritillary, Balkan marbled white and southern white admiral all new for the list. Intriguingly, the Balkan marbled white has a quite different jizz to our own marbled white, and its rather stately flight is not dissimilar to a swallowtail. As we drove up the track we saw astonishing numbers of nettle-tree butterflies, rising in clouds in front of the vehicle. Cirl buntings rattled, nightingales and orioles sang, and we saw both woodchat and red-backed shrikes. I saw an orphean warbler, but failed to show it to anyone. We found another of the impressive lilies, this one smelling strongly of decaying flesh. At one stop, where we paused to refill our water bottles, Rob netted our first wood white of the trip and Geoff caught an ilex hairstreak. A Berger’s clouded yellow was also caught and identified. Large tortoiseshells were common and brown argus seen. We continued up to the pastures, driving on to the alder wood where I set up lunch on a
picnic table. Two dogs joined us for lunch, one a rather mangy but very submissive bitch who wagged her tail whenever we looked in her direction. The hillside on the other side of the road proved to be a productive butterfly site, as purple-shot copper was added to the list here, while we also saw small copper, mountain white, Cleopatra (Richard only), Queen of Spain fritillary, and eventually our first Camberwell beauty. This was a very cooperative butterfly, as it flew past everyone, and Peter even managed to get a photograph of it despite the fact it only paused for a fraction of a second. The flora of the hillside was rich and diverse. Birds here were the northern European selection expected, including nuthatch, treecreeper, blue and marsh tits, blackcap, chaffinch and robin. A spotted woodpecker called but wasn’t seen. It was delightfully quiet up here: during the entire day we only saw two vehicles, each with a single driver. The nearby pasture, grazed by bell-clanging cattle and dotted with isolated hawthorn and dog rose bushes, was a little disappointing, but it produced our first mazarine blue, a species lost from England, just like the red-backed shrikes which we also saw here. Cuckoos called, and once I heard a black woodpecker. Though the sun was shining strongly, the temperature was a modest 68°F. Our last stop, before dropping back down the mountain, added Idas blue to the list, a tricky species to separate from silverstudded blue. It was now well past 5pm, and the majority of nettle-tree butterflies had gone off to roost. We paused on our descent for a good view of a cock woodchat shrike. When we retired to bed a least two scops owls were calling persistently. Wednesday 9 June As Marie joined us for the 6.30am departure
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Autumn 2010 I decided to go back down to Mandraki. The only addition to the bird list was sand martin, perched on the wires with crowds of young swallows, but we also found a juvenile Dalmatian pelican looking decidedly unhappy with its head under its wing. After breakfast we drove to the Jumbo shopping centre, pausing first at the quarry. Here we saw our first swallowtail of the trip, together with great banded grayling. I also found and scoped a little owl and our first black-headed bunting, but there was no sign of any rollers. The woodpecker wood was our next stop. Here the butterflies were plentiful, with fritillaries and hairstreaks entertaining us before entering the wood. Silver-washed fritillary was new for the list here, and we also saw several speckled woods. I moved the vehicle into the shade of the wood, and as I parked it a magnificent roebuck appeared on the path, just 20yards away. He had excellent antlers and was in his foxy-red summer coat. He stood there for a few seconds: I fumbled for my camera, but then he wheeled and disappeared into the wood, barking in alarm. The wood was pleasantly cool and mosquitoes didn’t prove to be a problem, but outside the wood the temperature was around 82°F. Time was already pressing hard, so we left the wood at 12.45pm and drove back south, stopping at the huge supermarket, full of produce but empty of people, where I did a big buy, stocking up for the next few days. We drove up the valley from Sidirokastro, through a handsome rocky gorge, then stopping by the side of the river for our picnic. It was an idyllic spot, only marred by a scattering of litter left by previous picnickers. Banded demoiselles were common on the river, and a grey wagtail flew up and down a few times. Here the best birds were found by Sheila, who spotted them on telegraph wires: a blue rock thrush and a rock sparrow. Several
butterflies entertained us, ranging from large tortoiseshell to our first marbled whites, while another new species was eastern wood white. After eating we continued up the valley, stopping near the crest of one of the ridges where the flora suggested the butterflies could be good. They were. Ilex hairstreaks were abundant, and we also saw more great banded graylings, along with spotted and lesser spotted fritillaries. A swallowtail flew past, and I found a spur-thighed tortoise. Rob was busy with his net, catching both marbled skipper and an exquisite little tiger blue, a Balkan special. I was delighted to find a new species for Rob when I spotted a yellow-striped skipper that I photographed successfully before it was netted. There were a few birds here. Black-headed buntings sang, I saw several woodchat shrikes and once an orphean warbler, while a pair of short-toed eagles hunted a distant ridge. Cirl buntings rattled continually. We made one last stop. We were on the edge of a thunderstorm, and though the rain hardly touched us it did cloud over. When we got out of the bus there was hardly a butterfly to be seen, but as soon as the sun came out again there was lots of butterfly activity. Knapweed fritillaries caused an identification challenge at first – Glanville is the confusion species – but they were netted and checked carefully. I caught an eastern Bath white, but it had to be checked against the possibility of small Bath white. A buzzard soared overhead, while nightingales, golden orioles and a cuckoo all sang. Our final stop before returning to the hotel was in the town of Sidirokastro, where the ice cream shop produced the expected ice creams, but the rock-face opposite failed on both crag martins and rock nuthatches, though we did see the latter’s mudplastered nest. To be continued.
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The Suffolk Argus
Lake Kerkini in June 2011 David Tomlinson outlines his proposed tour Lake Kerkini in north-east Greece is a tempting year-round destination for the naturalist, offering an exceptionally interesting flora and fauna throughout the year. It’s easy to get to – just a 90-minute drive from Thessalonica airport, which is served by direct flights from London Gatwick with both easyJet and British Airways. The Hotel Viglatoras, which we use when we visit Kerkini, is a delightful small, family-run hotel with interesting and individual rooms and excellent food. The hotel is in the small hillside town of Ano Poroia, overlooking the lake, with the mountains and Bulgarian border behind. I ran my first birdwatching holiday at Kerkini in 2008, since when I have taken four more groups there, including last June’s holiday for the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation. This week produced sightings of 75 species of butterflies, including such sought-after insects as Mazarine Blue, Large Blue, Large Copper, Camberwell Beauty, Nettle-tree Butterfly and Clouded Apollo. In addition we recorded nearly 120 species of birds, including Balkan specialities like Dalmatian Pelican, Pygmy Cormorant, Levant Sparrowhawk and Black-headed bunting. The constant song of nightingales, cuckoos and golden orioles add to the pleasure of visiting this quiet and attractive corner of Greece. The success of the 2010 SBBC holiday allowed me to donate £350 to Butterfly Conservation.
Kerkini. This will be a holiday with equal emphasis given to both birds and butterflies. We plan to fly out on Thursday 2 June, using British Airways, returning on the following Thursday, 9 June. The inclusive cost of the holiday, excluding the flight, is £825 (no single room supplement). This includes all meals, wine with dinner and transport by minibus. The maximum group size is eight, plus leader. David Tomlinson has been organising and leading birdwatching holidays for his company Gourmet Birds for over 25 years. He is the author of the WildGuides Britain’s Butterflies. For further details of this holiday please contact David on 01359 269 657, or by email at davidtom@aol.com.
For 2011 I’m planning a return visit to
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Camberwell Beauty by Mervyn Crawford
Autumn 2010
North of the Border - In search of Swallowtails Matt Berry With an interest in both photography and wildlife and being keen BC members, we arranged a photographic tour of the Broads in search of the majestic Swallowtail. Saturday June 5th dawned bright and sunny and our party of thirteen met at Strumpshaw Fen RSPB reserve car park. We’d attracted members from Suffolk, Norfolk and Sussex branches and from Norfolk Wildlife Trust, as well as a few ‘non-aligned’ individuals from across the UK. The tour was promoted by advertising in Ephotozine, Flickr and UK Butterflies websites. At 9.30 am we set off over the level crossing towards the reserve. Those that know Strumpshaw will recall the small circular flower garden just outside the reception/hide. Some of the group had never seen a Swallowtail before, but suddenly there right on cue, a beautiful male Swallowtail dashed in and began ‘nectovering’ on the flowering Dame’s Violet. This highly aromatic plant proved very attractive since other butterflies including two Brimstones, various whites, Comma and Orange-tip, soon joined it. A crowd gathered and with the sun still relatively low in the sky most people managed to get some quite pleasing views and photos. The nearby pond also proved attractive to those in our group who had a penchant for damselflies and dragonflies, and good shots were taken of these insects alighting on the aquatic vegetation. A moth trap running the night before enabled great views of docile Privet and Poplar
Hawkmoths which were subsequently released. In the wildflower meadow we were again fortunate to see two Swallowtails nectaring on thistles and the small track leading in enabled a handful of our party to get quite close. Over the Water-soldier filled ditches, we spotted the day’s first Norfolk Hawker dragonfly, a local speciality like the Swallowtail. The path at the western side of the reserve bordering the Yare, afforded good views of Marsh Harriers quartering over the reed bed and also glimpses of a Cetti’s Warbler along with their loud rattling song. There was also good showing of male and female Banded Demoiselle. These were particularly pleasing with their iridescent blues and greens. Turning the corner onto the northern perimeter path we saw three in-flight Swallowtails chasing each other. Some far off shots were taken. One or two got ’keepers’ but for most, the sightings were enough. Ironically, the ‘Swallowtail boardwalk’, an area specially managed to display the Swallowtail larval food plant, Milk Parsley, was devoid of Swallowtails at any stage in their life cycle. The herbaceous border of Dr Martin George, just over the railway, was full of nectar rich flowers, but alas, no Swallowtails were seen. Returning up Tinker’s Lane towards the car parks in Low Rd, and our picnic, some of us went back to the flower garden at the reserve entrance and were rewarded with more cracking views of female Swallowtails and
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The Suffolk Argus Brimstones. After lunch, we set off towards How Hill. Sherrie New, a member joining us from Sussex Branch, had already spent a week in Norfolk and tipped us off that the river walk with its Marsh Thistles, was far better at this time than the well known meadow. This pretty much proved to be correct. Planning the weekend in advance after the protracted winter had proved difficult, not knowing when the Meadow Thistle would be flowering. Along the river walk virtually every clump of Marsh Thistle was visited and gave some excellent views of Swallowtails. We also saw what appeared to be courtship display of male following female high up into the sky. It was also a very good spot for Norfolk Hawkers, Hairy Dragonfly, Black-tailed Skimmer and Redeyed Blues. By performing what can only be described as ‘Twister-style’ moves, a Norfolk Hawker exuvia was retrieved from one of the ditches. We recorded 17 Swallowtail sightings there and then traced our steps back to the meadow. ‘Only’ two Swallowtails were seen there: one that landed on the path and the other on the first of the Meadow Thistles to bloom on the site. The area also provided Four-spotted Chaser, Broad-bodied Chaser and Hairy Dragonfly. After tea we moved off to Hickling where we took our private boat trip around the Broad. Our Skipper regaled us with a potted history of the Broads, whilst our environmentally friendly electric craft, glided silently along the dykes and out into the open water where we mixed with the sailing boats that were racing that day. Crossing the broad we disembarked to go up ‘The Tower’, where we were shown nesting Common Cranes. Rose, Adrian and Nikki were by now quite tired and opted to stay with the boat. They were rewarded
with a close up view of two Bearded Tits. The following day we met at Wheatfen for the Swallowtail Day event. David Nobbs, the enthusiastic and friendly warden led us around the reserve on a guided tour, explaining site management, i.e. works that had been done to control water levels. He also delighted in showing us special plants found at the reserve such as Adder’s– tongue Fern, Cowbane and Marsh Pea, Milk Parsley and of course Flag Iris, which David explained was one of the Swallowtail’s favoured nectar plants on the reserve. He also explained that he knew when it had been a good year when most of the white umbels or flower heads of the Milk Parsley had been eaten by the greedy caterpillars. We also found our first Swallowtail ova, which soon had us clicking away with our cameras. After the walk we enjoyed a sumptuous home made picnic provided by Rose and Julian Walker and this provided the perfect opportunity to relax and get to know each other. The Norfolk Branch Catfield Fen reserve was our last port of call. Mandy Gluth, reserve manager gave us a splendid guided tour of this part of the Ant Valley. Despite the inclement weather and unfortunate lack of Swallowtails, Mandy pointed out the impressive Royal Fern found there and also explained the management techniques which had resulted in an increase in the number of Swallowtails breeding at Catfield. Indeed, management for Swallowtails throughout the Broads would seem to be working well as we discovered with our own Swallowtail sightings over this thoroughly pleasing weekend.
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Autumn 2010
Swallowtail at Strumshaw Fen on Dame’s Violet photo by Matt Berry
Kerkini, Greece June 2010
Near Mt. Kerkini
Yellow-banded Skipper
Little Tiger Blue
Balkan Marbled White
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The Suffolk Argus
Autumn 2010
Suffolk Branch Contacts President
Programme Secretary and Newsletter Editor
Howard Mendel c/o The Natural History Museum Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD
Peter Maddison Barnmead, Fishpond Rd Waldringfield, Woodbridge IP12 4QX
0207 938 8782
01473 736607
Chairman
prmaddison@yahoo.co.uk
Mike Dean Coach House, Ixworth Bury St Edmunds IP31 2HL
Conservation Officer (Butterflies) and County Recorder
Michael.Dean2@virginmedia.com
Rob Parker 66 Cornfield Road Bury St Edmunds IP33 3BN
Membership Secretary
01284 705476
Susan Sidle Five Gables, The Ling Wortham, Diss, Norfolk IP22 1ST
robparker@waitrose.com
01359 230292
Tel 01379 643665 ssidle@btinternet.com Treasurer Graham Simister The Old Bank House Wickhambrook Newmarket CB8 8XG 01440 820471 Committee Members Matt Berry Julian Dowding Stella Wolfe
Conservation Officer (Moths) and Branch Secretary Tony Prichard 3 Powling Road, Ipswich IP3 9JR 01473 270047 tony.prichard@btinternet.com Regional Officer, Eastern England Sharon Hearle 216 The Street Kirtling Newmarket CB8 9PD 01638 731648 shearle@butterfly-conservation.org
The Suffolk Argus is published by the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation. The opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of Butterfly Conservation or the Branch. © 2010 All rights reserved. For more information, see: www.suffolkbutterflies.org.uk Butterfly Conservation Company limited by guarantee, registered in England (2206468) Registered Office: Manor Yard, East Lulworth, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 5QP Charity registered in England & Wales (254937) and in Scotland (SCO39268)
