• ABOUT
  • BIRDING 2018
  • Birding 2019
  • BLOG POSTS
  • Butterflies 2018
  • READING
  • Resources

earthstar

~ a celebration of nature

earthstar

Tag Archives: Small tortoiseshell

Birding at Peterston & Pendoylan Moors

12 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by sconzani in animals, birds, insects, nature, walks

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, British butterflies, butterflies, Cinnabar caterpillars, Comma, Cows, Glamorgan Bird Club, Green-veined white, Meadow Brown, Peacock, Red fox, Red kite, River Ely, Sand martin, Small tortoiseshell, Stock dove

Yesterday I enjoyed another wonderful, if rather hot day’s birding with my friends from the Glamorgan Bird Club, this time wandering a trail alongside the River Ely near Peterston-super-Ely and Pendoylan.

180711 2 red kites

On the way there, my friend John and I had incredibly close views of three Red kites and more of these magnificent birds of prey were gliding overhead during our walk.

180711 1 stock dove

We saw Stock doves (one pictured above) sitting obligingly close to Woodpigeons so we could see the differences in the two species.

180711 2 red fox

A Red fox was spotted trotting along in a distant field, its lunch in its mouth.

180711 4 meeting the locals

A large herd of large cows moved reluctantly away from the river so we could pass by. You’d have to be crazy to mess with this lady, who was keeping a steady eye on us in case we ventured too close to her calves.

180711 5 participants

The fifteen participants … well, fourteen really, as I was taking the photo.

180711 6 river ely

The meandering River Ely was running low due to the recent drought conditions here in south Wales.

180711 b cinnabar caterpillars
180711 b comma
180711 b green-veined white
180711 b meadow brown
180711 b peacock
180711 b small tortoiseshell

As well as birds, we also saw lots of butterflies, including these: Cinnabar caterpillars, Comma, Green-veined white, Meadow brown, Peacock, and more Small tortoiseshell than I’ve ever seen in one day before.

180711 7 sandmartins

The highlight of the day for me was watching these Sand martins hawking for food over the fields and then returning to their burrows in the river bank to feed their hungry young. Magic!

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google

Like this:

Like Loading...

Birding at Rhossili and Mewslade

02 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, insects, nature, walks

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Glamorgan Bird Club, Grayling, Great black-backed gull, Kestrel, Linnet, Rhossili, Small tortoiseshell, The Worm

Yesterday was my second visit to Rhossili with my friends from the Glamorgan Bird Club, though I still haven’t walked along this magnificent beach.

180702 1 Rhossili beach

Our group of 15 met in the National Trust car park at Rhossili, then slowly meandered along the cliff tops towards the point, birding as we walked.

180702 2 Heading towards the worm

I saw my first Choughs, Fulmars were spotted gliding majestically below us, and a Great black-backed gull flew in and landed on a headland.

180702 3 Great black-backed gull
180702 4 Great black-backed gull

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, here I also saw my first Grayling butterflies. The first, pictured here on a discarded Coke bottle, was spotted by eagle-eyed Tate, and the second by another birder, Rob.

180702 5 Grayling
180702 6 Grayling

At the point, we enjoyed superb views, and the last of the bright sunny weather, while eating our lunch. Then, despite the rain starting, 11 of our intrepid team headed across the causeway to The Worm, where their scrambling and climbing and drenching were rewarded with views of Guillemots, Razorbills, Puffins and Manx shearwaters.

180702 7 Crossing to The Worm

Three of us chose, instead, to do the circular walk around the headland, seeing lots of Linnets and Meadow pipits in the fields, a Kestrel hovering in search of prey, and two lovely fresh-looking Small tortoiseshell butterflies.

180702 8 Linnet

180702 9 Small tortoiseshell
180702 10 Small tortoiseshell

After some of the team returned from The Worm, four of us went for a brief visit to nearby Mewslade, a beautiful little valley that runs down to a sheltered cove. Here we had incredibly close views of a Lesser whitethroat feeding young, spotted two very yellow-faced Great tit fledglings in an area of burnt gorse, and watched more Choughs and another Kestrel flying through. It was yet another superb field trip with my bird club friends.

180702 11 Kestrel

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google

Like this:

Like Loading...

Ely embankment revisited

15 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, flowers, nature, walks, wildflowers

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Cardiff Bay, Carrion crow, Coot, Ely embankment, feral pigeon, Linnet, Mallard, Mute swan, Pied wagtail, River Ely, Small tortoiseshell

My regular followers will remember that, over the winter months, when there were more birds around, I posted a regular monthly roundup of the action along the embankment where the River Ely flows in to Cardiff Bay. Today, for day 15 of #30DaysWild, I thought I’d take another look. Here’s what I found …

180615 1 Ely embankment

The embankment is a riot of colour, with both native wildflowers and garden escapees in full bloom.

180615 2 linnet

Two Linnets were foraging on flower seeds but were very skittish.

180615 3 wildflowers

Loving these Oxeye daisies.

180615 4 pied wagtail

A juvenile Pied wagtail was feeding near the waterline.

180615 5 feral pigeons

A flock of 7 Feral pigeons was also foraging amongst the flowers

180615 6 mallard

This Mallard had found a sunny spot for a snooze.

180615 7 mute swan

23 Mute swans were floating up the river, many taking the opportunity to preen as they went.

180615 8 coots

9 Coots were congregating at the water’s edge.

180615 9 small tortoiseshell

I saw my first Small tortoiseshell butterfly of the year.

180615 10 colourful embankment

Looking back up the river as an Aquabus shows sightseers the river. The black hulk is a new apartment block.

180615 11 carrion crow

And finally, a Carrion crow was prospecting for tasty morsels.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google

Like this:

Like Loading...

What’s on the scabious?

16 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by sconzani in flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

bumblebee, Comma, Devil's-bit scabious, hoverflies, insects on scabious, scabious, Six-spot burnet, Small tortoiseshell, Small white

Perhaps it would be easier to ask ‘What’s not on the scabious?’ because it seems that almost every type of fly, bee, butterfly and beetle loves this plant, though that may also be because the Devil’s-bit scabious flowers in late summer – early autumn, when most wildflowers have finished flowering, and so it provides a last delicious taste of summer’s sweetness.

170916 6-spot burnet
170916 beetle
170916 Bumble bee
170916 comma
170916 Common carder & hoverfly
170916 helophilus pendulus
170916 Meadow brown
170916 Melanostoma scalare
170916 Sericomyia silentis
170916 Small tortoiseshell
170916 Small white
170916 unidentified bee
170916 unidentified hoverfly (2)
170916 unidentified hoverfly (3)
170916 unidentified hoverfly (4)
170916 unidentified hoverfly (5)
170916 unidentified hoverfly
170916 Volucella zonaria

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google

Like this:

Like Loading...

Small tortoiseshells

13 Wednesday Sep 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Aglais urticae, British butterflies, butterflies, butterfly, Small tortoiseshell

I’ve just realised that I haven’t shared any photos of Small tortoiseshells (Aglais urticae) this year – how very remiss of me!

170913 Small tortoiseshell (3)

My excuse is that I’ve hardly seen any and, now that I’ve checked my photos, I’ve also realised that I’ve only seen them on three occasions this summer, the first on 21 August and the most recent on the 27th (though on that last date, at Aberthaw, when I was out with my bird group, a total of fifteen were seen).

170913 Small tortoiseshell (1)

It’s still a worry though, as the population of Small tortoiseshells has plummeted in recent years, down 73% since the 1970s according to the Butterfly Conservation website. Speculation about the reasons for such a severe decline vary from pollution and climate change to predation by the grubs of a parasitic fly that’s popped over from Europe and made itself at home, especially in southern Britain. I hope my few sightings this year are not the norm but somehow I doubt it.

170913 Small tortoiseshell (2)

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google

Like this:

Like Loading...

Butterflies!

09 Sunday Apr 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, spring

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

British butterflies, butterflies, Comma, Painted Lady, Peacock, Small tortoiseshell, Speckled wood

Yesterday I was celebrating the return of the Sand Martins, today it’s the turn of the butterflies. We’ve had 4 days of wall-to-wall sunshine and daily high temperatures in the mid teens which has encouraged all the small critters we share our world with to emerge and get active. And it’s a wondrous sight to behold!

170409 Peacock & Small tortoisehell

These two, a Peacock (Aglais io) (top) and a Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) (below) were in one of my local parks. They flew in together and sat very close like this for at least ten minutes, after which time I walked on. It’s unusual to see them like this and one of my knowledgeable friends speculated that the Small tortoiseshell might me a confused male, showing an ‘interest’ in the Peacock.

170409 Comma
170409 Speckled Wood
170409 Painted Lady

I saw these three, plus another Peacock and some Small whites that were too fast to photograph, on a walk along the local coastal path on Friday. They’re a Comma (Polygonia c-album) on the left, a Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria) in the centre – one of eight I saw on this walk, and a Painted lady (Vanessa cardui) on the right. The Painted Lady is a long-distance migrant, flying back to Britain at this time of year from the desert fringes of North Africa, the Middle East, and central Asia so it’s no wonder it’s looking rather battered.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google

Like this:

Like Loading...

About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder. And I am living proof that Kiwis really can fly.

View Full Profile →

Follow earthstar on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent blog posts

  • Birding at Dryslwyn and Kidwelly Quay February 18, 2019
  • 49/365 With laser-sharp chants February 18, 2019
  • 48/365 Prints in the mud February 17, 2019
  • 47/365 Cherry blossom February 16, 2019
  • 46/365 Barry Fox February 15, 2019

From the archives

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

COPYRIGHT

Unless otherwise acknowledged, the text and photographs on this blog are my own and are subject to international copyright. Nothing may be downloaded or copied without my permission.

Click on the category

'Dedicated Naturalist' Project 365DaysWildin2019 amphibian animals autumn birds coastal fauna flowers fungi geology insects ladybird leaves lichen mammal molluscs nature nature photography parks plants reptiles seaside seasons slugs spring trees walks weather wildflowers winter

Fellow Earth Stars!

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
%d bloggers like this: