Red Letter Day

A red letter day is one of those days highlighted in red on the calendar, from the medieval practice of colouring saints days in red.

Today, despite the very strong north easterly wind, I embarked on my weekly butterfly transect.  I expected a few stray species not a bumper crop.

Beginning at the Bush Inn at Crosstown, I quickly notched up 5 Small Whites.

Small White

And so it continued through each of the ten sections with butterflies on each of them.

All week I have been noting many Large and Small Whites as well as Red Admirals so was expecting to see some of them.

Red Admiral

I was totally unprepared for the sheer numbers.  I recorded 40 Small and 14 Large whites but what made a real RED letter day was the 51 Red Admirals seen on 9 of the 10 sections.

Small Coppers and Small Tortoiseshells as well as the almost mandatory Speckled Wood and two rather late tattered Silver-washed Fritillaries made up the rest of the list. It was the second largest total of butterflies I have recorded this year.

Small Copper

For a September transect, I counted an unusually large total of 143 butterflies of 7 species.

To top it all off, deep in the woods on Bracken was an unusual sightiing for this area, a Hawthorn Shieldbug.

Hawthorn Shieldbug

Truly a butterfly transect to note on the calendar in red.

Blogs I follow

https://downgatebatman.blogspot.com/

https://maryatkinsonwildonline.blogspot.com/

Two Transects

For the first two weeks in July I was on Lundy.  While I was there I undertook two weekly butterfly transects for UKBMS.  I established this transect in 2019 to cover as diverse a selection of habitats as possible on the island.  

From the pond in Millcombe, the route ascends under trees and shrubs to Millcombe House then loops around the gorse covered slopes of Hangman's Hill and back under the trees to the head of the valley.  From here is follows a level route along the edge of the arable farm fields above the bracken covered sea cliffs to the beginning of the Quarries.

Towards the end of the Lundy Transect near Quarry Cottages

By contrast on Tuesday, I completed week 16 of my local butterfly transect - the Tidna Transet.  It begins and ends conveniently at my local, the Bush Inn and continues for half its length following the Tidna through its wooded valley and emerges at the edge of the Atlantic before climbing flowered covered cliff and returns along a Cornish hedged lane to complete the circuit.

Tidna Valley look inland from the Atlantic Clifftop

Both transects are within 20 miles of each other separated only by the Atlantic Ocean and Bristol Channel and cover broadly similar habitats.

I did my first Lundy transect on the 10th July on a really hot day only affected by a stiff North-west breeze although we were shielded from it by the field walls on the eastern side of the island.  Butterflies were recorded in each of the nine sectors with a total of 71 butterflies of seven species seen.  These were Small and Green-veined White, Red Admiral, Grayling, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Small Heath.  On the second transect on the 15th, the weather was poorer resulting in fewer butterflies and only five species.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Tidna Transect

By contrast, my local transect, on the 21st July was in very hot weather with clear skies and hardly any wind.  Here also, butterflies were recorded in all ten sectors with a total of 155 butterflies of 14 species.  The species recorded were; Large, Small and Green-veined White, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Small Pearl-bordered and Silver-washed Fritillaries, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Small Heath.

Silver-washed Fritillary - Tidna Transect

With a few exceptions, both transects resulted in very similar species.  It was a little early for Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood is rare on Lundy and the Fritillaries have never been recorded.

A Lundy Grayling

I am jealous of the sighting of the Grayling though.  I have not yet seen one here on the mainland, but continue to be hopeful.

Recommended blogs

Lundy Birds

Mary Atkinson Wild

"mock Tudor, half-timbered building"

After a week of poor weather, we were rewarding by another mini-heatwave.  I took the last opportunity to complete week 12 of the UKMBS butterfly survery yesterday (23rd June).  It was the hottest day of the year with a temperature of 26C.

But, half of the transect is along a delightful stream running through a maturely wooded valley.  

Tidna Valley main part of the transect

The temperature in the shade of the trees was much more reasonable.  Having seen a Meadow Brown on the first of the ten sections, I dared to anticipate a full house (https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2530752943335211299/3755956790555006431 ) that is, recording butterflies on every one of the ten sections.  Meadow Brown and Speckled Wood were common under the trees particulalry where the canopy is open allowing brambles to flourish and produce flowers attractive to all insects.

It was in one of these sunlit open areas that a New For Year (NFY) Silver-washed Fritillary appeared on section three.

Silver-washed Fritillary

Where the route emerges from the tree cover, at section six, it is more open with steep sided slopes covered in Gorse either side of a more open scrubby pathway.  It is here that the Large Blue Butterfly became extinct in Cornwall in 1979.  Despite efforts to reintroduce it, the ecology is still not yet suitable.  However Skippers and Small Heaths did appear here as well as Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries in season.  And it is here where another two more NFY appeared, a Small Skipper and a Ringlet.

Small Skipper

Ringlet

The best was yet to come.  Further along this valley, within sight of the Atlantic Ocean I spotted a large, dirty white flying insect.  I could not be sure if it was moth or butterfly, but the blurred, dirty white was similar to the colour moths present as they flap their wings.  However as it came nearer, it was apparent that it was a large black and white butterfly.  I could see that the black and white were in distinct panes not unlike a mock Tudor, half-timbered building - it was a Marbled White.  So, not only NFY, but also new to this site and an uncommon species in North Cornwall VC2.

Marbled White

I couldn't beat that, but did manage to complete the "full house" with a least one butterfly in each of the ten sections.  It was not the highest number seen so far this year, but 64 butterflies of ten species with four NFY and one new for the site was very satisfying.

UNLOCK!

No, it's not the sound of Mr Speaker, Sir Lyndsay Hoyle MP, announcing the end of a division in the House of Commons.  It is what has happened over the last week in the surveying world.
British Trust for Ornithology were the first to announce the lifting of surveying restrictions which had been in place since late March.  They were followed by Riverfly and UKBMS.  All them caveated the lifting of surveying restrictions with government advice on social distancing and a maximum of two people surveying.

I must admit to slightly preempting the Riverfly announcement by surveying my Tidna site on 14th May.  Water levels were falling and I didn't want to risk missing the opportunity to survey while there was still some water flowing in the stream.  Despite my misgivings, there was an abundance of invertebrates in the stream giving an abundance score of 12, 4 over the trigger level with Baetidae contributing an abundance score of 3 with over 250 individuals counted.

My Riverfly survey site on the Tidna - May 2020

On Sunday 17th I completed my first WeBS (Wetland Birds Survey) since March at Maer Lake.  Water was in very short supply here with this seasonal lake drying rapidly. 

Maer Lake drying out May 17th 2020

The lack of water and time of year limited the number of birds seen, but I was able to add Mute Swan and Whitethroat to my personal species list for this site as well as seeing a pair of Shelduck.  These bred last year, so with a little luck, and some rain, we may see more Shelduck chicks this year.

Maer Lake - Mallard, Mute Swan, Moorhen and Black-tailed Godwit.

Maer Lake - a pair of Shelduck

I followed this with my survey of Lower and Upper Tamar lakes on Monday 18th.  Again, water levels and species diversity was down.  But Mallard and Canada Geese have bred and young were seen as well as the spring migrants such as Chiffchaff and Willow and Sedge Warblers.

Canada Geese and Goslings at Upper Tamar Lake

Sedge Warbler at Upper Tamar Lake

All these synchronised BTO WeBS surveys were one week later than previously planned due to the length of the lockdown.

My most recent survey was today, the 20th, probably the hottest day of the year and ideal for my butterfly transect unlocked and now made possible by  UKBMS (United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring Scheme).  This is normally a weekly survey which I last undertook during the last week of March.  What an excellent survey, 73 butterflies of 12 species - Large Skipper; Brimstone; Large, Small and Green-veined Whites; Orange Tip; Green Hairstreak; Small Copper; Common Blue; Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary; Speckled Wood and Small Heath.  What a wonderful range of species.

Green Hairstreak Tidna Valley

Small Heath Tidna Valley

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary Tidna Valley

Common Blue Tidna Valley

I plan to complete my monthly suite of surveys with my two other Riverfly surveys in Coombe Valley and Duckpool/Stowe Woods Bee Walk (although this latter has only just been authorised by Bee Conservation Trust).
It the weather continues as it looks to be, sunny and dry, it is looking like and excellent year for invertebrates now we are unlocked.

Week Six – Full House?

Week six of my butterfly transect, the weather was perfect.  No clouds and 100% sun, virtually no wind, just a slight breath of air from the southwest and a temperature of 18C in the shade.

Green-veined White

Orange Tip

I began the survey on the first sector with three Green-veined Whites followed by two more and a Speckled Wood and my one and only Orange Tip on the second sector.

I began thinking that I might have sightings on all ten sectors after the first five very sparse weeks.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Speckled Wood

I continued to record Green-veined Whites and Speckled Woods until I emerged from the woods to where the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries appear.  And appear they did.  I saw one and photographed it and another appeared later in this sector (No 6).  Walking along the valley towards the sea I could see a bank of sea mist hugging the cliffs.

24-spot Ladybird on Sea Campion

Wall 

It was Sector Eight that let me down.  Here the footpath ascends the cliffs and the sun was hidden by the mist just overlapping the cliff edge.  So no full house although I did search for and found four 24-spot Ladybirds.  They were where they always are in season, on the Sea Campion that grows all the way up the cliff path.  So the sector was no a total loss although no full house this time.

Once at the top of the cliff I turned inland with the mist behind me and the sun fully blazing once again.  The last two sectors produced butterflies, notably three Wall Brown, another first species of the year.

Nine out of ten sectors produced 26 butterflies of 6 species giving me a target of a full house for next time.

The Last Post

27^th October was the last day of the last week for undertaking my butterfly transect survey. I had missed the previous week (week 29) as I was away from home on Lundy which meant I had missed the after effects of Hurricane Ophelia and Storm Brian. I didn’t anticipate seeing any butterflies except perhaps the odd Red Admiral.  So I was really surprised to find two very faded and bedraggled Speckled Woods in the wooded part of the transect.

The broken bridge

The fallen tree

What did come as a surprise was the broken bridge at the bottom of the footpath to Rectory Farm.  Cattle had trashed the boardwalk between this path and the Bush Inn steps some months earlier and perhaps weakened the bridge.  In any event it is badly broken.  A little further on my way was blocked by a fallen tree.  This was obviously the result of one or other of the storm events.  It was no great problem to bet by but both of these problems have been reported to the owners, the National Trust, who will no doubt address them in due course.

I was pleased to see both Peregrine and Buzzard in the open area between wood and sea.  Even better were the Ivy Bees colonising the northern edge of the new path section which climbs the cliff. 

A new colony of Ivy Bees

The last section from cliff top to Crosstown was most rewarding – a Small Tortoiseshell and four Red Admirals, one pair of which were engaged in a mating dance.

Pair of mating Red Admirals - one much the worse for wear

This final survey of the year enabled me to compare this year's survey  with last year's survey

2017       21 species totalling 845 individuals over 26 weeks of a possible 30 week season

2016       22 species totalling 977 individuals over 26 weeks of a possible 30 week season.

The numbers are down – one species fewer, I failed to see a Green Hairstreak this year.  The totals might just reflect a much wetter summer this year compared to last.

A new sighting in the valley on an Ash stump was Cobalt Crust – a rare and spectacularly coloured encrusting fungus. At first sight I thought someone had marked the stump with blue paint so vivid is the colouring.

Cobalt crust on an Ash stump

It might have been the last butterfly transect posting of the season but I can’t wait to see what species next year will bring.

Big Butterfly Count

Comma

Small Tortoiseshell

I have taken part in the event over the years.  It is an excellent way of involving people in nature and giving everyone who takes part some ownership in the decline of butterflies.


Bur, for the last couple of years I have undertaken a weekly butterfly transect - waling a set route on a day when conditions are good for seeing butterflies.

This occupies me for an hour and a half for 30 weeks of the year - spring to autumn - and as well as being good exercise, it has really honed my butterfly identification skills.

Red Admiral

Silver-washed Fritillary

Today (17th July) was challenging.  The temperature in the shade, that is, under my car, was 22͒C.  Half the walk is through the woods, in the welcome but humid, shade.  The rest is in the open with hardly a breeze today.  Near the start, section two takes me down 50 step to the the river valley.  At the end of next three sections, near to the sea, I have to climb about 100 meters to  the top of the cliffs on the South West Coast Path.

Peacock

Gatekeeper

But, this was not the most challenging part of the walk.  It was the sheer number of butterflies I counted; 127 butterflies of 12 species in all.  It's times like this that it takes at least two to survey, one to spot and identify, the other to log them all.  And, if you want pictures too, an additional cameraman would be useful.

I'm not complaining though, it was the best transect of the year - so far.

Oh, I didn't really miss the Big Butterfly Count.  I walked to a different cliff, at Stanbury for lunch on Friday and in the first 15 minutes recorded 27 butterflies of 7 species, plus a couple of day flying moths all of which have been submitted to BBC.

Snakes and Ladders

My Butterfly Transect takes me from the Bush Inn down into the Tidna Valley then follows the stream to the coast before climbing the cliffs of the South West Coast path then returning inland at this high level to Crosstown.

It is a wonderful walk in all weathers but there is almost always at least a breeze at the coast so butterflies dwindle to almost nothing.  The path upwards has steps but it feels like climbing a ladder it is so steep.

The cliff path is generally of great interest with all sorts of invertebrates to be found.  These range from tiny 14-spot Ladybirds, through Oil Beetles, Bloody-nosed beetles, Ivy Bees, Bee Flies and occasionally the odd Common Lizard.

In April I was disappointed to hear that there had been an avalanche along the steep stepped cliff that I climbed forcing closure of the path.  I investigated and heard that part of the fall had been filmed.  A huge amount of land had slid down into the sea closing the path for up to 6 months.

(Thanks Niki Olde for the smartphone video clip)

Adder

I managed to work my way around the closed path, but it was a very steep slope among quite a bit of rough vegetation.   However due to the path being closed and a diversion provided that avoided the cliff top for about 100 meters, there was little disturbance.  Later that month I was delighted to come across a basking Adder.   It moved as soon as it saw/felt my presence, but not before I managed to get
a picture.

The closure continued for a few weeks until the National Trust rangers got to work.  After a couple of weeks the new path was ready and I tried it out.  It has many fewer steps, and a long slow slope.  But it is a little bit further inland and a little more sheltered.  I now see more butterflies on this sector than I did before, so it's not all bad news.

Tidna Shute with cliff path and avalanche

The new path is a lot better - thanks National Trust.

Bee Flies

Large Bee Fly - Bombylius major

Is it just me or is everyone seeing more Bee Flies this year?

Last year was the first time I saw one of these enigmatic creatures. I had noted Facebook postings about them and was delighted when I saw my first one. No chance of a picture, but I was able to get a distant, and not too sharp, photograph of the second one.

And that was it for 2016 both were fairly close to the sea where I usually see other bee predators such as Oil Beetle, One at a woodland edge, the other almost on the cliff edge.

So this year I thought myself lucky to see anther one this month in a roadside verge. It was most obliging and settled so that I could easily see the black fore edge of its wings confirming Bombylius major. Then I saw my second one in a woodland ride in Coombe Valley Morwenstow, quite near to the old mill. This was less obliging but it was easily identified.

Then came the third one. As I was sitting eating my lunch, I spotted a Bee Fly from 5 metres hovering over bare soil in my garden. Yes again I managed a photograph, but in my garden? I would never have hoped to claim one on my home ground.

So, is it me getting my eye in or are there really more Bee Flies about?

A Whale of a Time

Sperm Whale at Perranporth

It felt like a pilgrimage. Hundreds of people were walking northwards from Perranporth along the shining pink road towards the beached whale.

We heard on the Sunday news that a female Sperm Whale was found beached near Perranporth and decided we just had to take the opportunity to see it in the flesh. We had underestimated how far from the nearest car park it was. Along with many others we walked 50 minutes to see the whale and another 50 minutes back to the car. The beach was covered in a pink tide by millions of Moon Jellyfish and the odd Blue Jellyfish. We judged we would have plenty of time to get there and back as the tide was ebbing from full. People of all ages were striding out with dogs and children. People who would normally just manage to walk a couple of yards from their parked car to empty the dog and get an ice-cream were making the journey.

The pink jellyfish path

Being two days after it had beached, the whale had been post mortemed on the beach with obvious incisions and jaw removed. The carcass was beginning to darken and bloat and the exposed entrails were bubbling and fizzing with the release of decomposition gasses.  

When the pilgrims arrived there were hushed conversations “Such a pity it had to die for us to see it.”, “They say some lads were trying to get souvenir teeth”, (in fact the autopsy team had removed the lower jaw with teeth to age the whale), “Well worth the walk to see it.”, “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

On our return there was still a continual stream of people walking northwards to pay homage.

Post-mortem team

The following day I has a call about another stranding. This time, a female juvenile Minke Whale much closer to home at Bude. I was unable to get to it until the evening due to tides and commitments. Arriving at 9pm, there was a team of people from the Marine Srandings Network, British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and of course James the volunteer veterinary who was beginning the post mortem.

James was assisted by both divers, one handling and wrapping the samples, the other listing what these were – Kidney, Liver, Ovaries, Eyes, Heart, Stomach contents (Krill) with Niki the Strandings officer taking record photographs. Duncan was the local Strandings callout with us other three local yokels provided guidance and porterage to get them, the samples and equipment back up the cliff in the dark at 10:30pm.

What a difference in the two experiences – Perranporth, a long walk along a sandy beach to see a Sperm Whale – 11 metres long with a long thin toothed jaw for feeding on octopus and small fish; Bude a stiff climb to a rocky beach to find a Minke Whale – 7 metres long with a large jaw with baleen filters to eat Krill and small fish.

Minke Whale at Bude

Both were judged to have been live strandings. The Sperm had died as her organs collapsed without the support that the sea gives to it; the Minke probably driven ashore by perhaps Dolphins had, judging by pre mortem lacerations and bruises, injured herself fatally whilst trying to squirm back to the sea.

They say things happen in threes – let’s hope this old adage is wrong. Nice as it is to experience the huge marine mammals at close range, I would rather there were no more such strandings.

Fritillaries on my Butterfly Transect

What a fantastic butterfly survey today. (10^th May).

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

The local weather forecast warned of a blanket of rain for the whole day over the southwest ruling out surveys of any kind. In the event, the day dawned clear with a heavy dew but fine, no wind and warm.

So we grasped the opportunity for a late morning survey expecting the weather to come in later and planned to have lunch in our local pub, the Bush Inn, which is conveniently situated at the start and finish of the transect.

Violet Oil Beetle

It was very muggy and close as we parked the car with a shade temperature of 19ºC – I leave a thermometer under the car in the shade.

It was a good walk in sheltered woodland followed by a steep climb up the southwest coast path with a refreshing on-shore breeze.

The survey increased our survey count of butterflies as is expected as the year progresses, but the number of invertebrates was very good too. The butterfly highlight has to be the three Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries in the valley. But we also added Small Copper, Wall and Meadow Brown bringing our species list from 6 to 10.

Additional invertebrate species recorded included two Violet Oil Beetles, three 24-spot Ladybirds, and shieldbugs. I was looking for and found Dock Bugs as well as chancing on a Sloe Bug and a new one, a Boat bug (Enoplops scapha) and a mating pair of nice bugs, Dicranocephalus agilis or Spurge Bugs.

The highlight of these highlights was a Bee fly. I have seen everyone posting pictures of these on Facebook so was delighted to see one even if I didn't manage a photograph; this time … …

Spurge Bug

The Tidna Valley continues to be a delightful are to survey coming up with unusual and interesting species each time we visit.

Boat Bug

Lunch at the Bush Inn was a shared Garden Platter and a pint of cider to round off an excellent survey.