Wednesday July 21 - Counting butterflies

This morning, with the heat still firmly in the high 20s, I  decided to log all the butterflies I saw. I should do this more often, but it takes a lot of concentration and the birding suffers.

In fact a species of bird tried to elbow the butterfly plan out of the way as soon as I arrived. A Grasshopper Warbler was reeling from somewhere behind the dragonfly pools. This presumably implies a successful outcome of his first breeding attempt, and time to re-establish his credentials as a good bet to father a second brood.

Anyway I would not be distracted and amassed the following insects (butterflies and day-flying macro-moths) from the visit:

Small Skipper 98,    Essex Skipper 2,    Large Skipper 2,     Gatekeeper 85,    Meadow Brown 160,    Ringlet 77,    Speckled Wood 2,    Small Heath 4,    Large White 1,    Small White 26,    Green-veined White 1,    Brimstone 1,    Small Tortoiseshell 1,    Marbled White 24,    Shaded Broad-bar 9,    Silver Y 1.    

So lots of browns, a few whites, lots of Skippers, and nothing rare. The last two mentioned above are moths. Here is one of the Shaded Broad-bars.

Shaded Broad-bar

I have submitted my records onto the Warwickshire Butterfly Conservation website as you are supposed to, and as I rarely do (to my shame). 

I reached the flash pool and was pleased to see that there is now a lot of exposed mud which means it is possible to count all the Green Sandpipers present. There were eight of them. 

Five of the Green Sandpipers

My attempt to submit my bird records to the BTO's Birdtrack website is being hampered by their latest software update. Hopefully I will eventually succeed.

Having got that moan off my chest I'll carry on with the narrative. I often think that nearly every visit to Morton Bagot allows me to see something different. Today it was a strangely patterned wasp (or soldierfly) which got away before I could photograph it, and a newly pupated (if that's the right term) ladybird. 

Something you don't often see

The husk of the grub is back-on, while the new and as yet unspotted ladybird is next to it. I don't know what species it is, and it hadn't occurred to me that ladybirds take a few hours to gain their spots. I've googled it, and apparently that is the case.

The final twist to the day came as I was driving off past Bannam's Wood. A large orange butterfly caused an emergency stop, and after a few minutes I confirmed what I had suspected. It was a pair of Silver-washed Fritilleries caught in the act, as it were.

Silver-washed Fritilleries

A cyclist pedalled up in full gear, the only person I'd seen all morning. "Anything interesting?" he asked. "Silver-washed Fritilleries" I shouted back. "Great" - he pedalled on. Perhaps I should have said a dinosaur or Bradley Wiggins.