Our first viewing of a Pearl-bordered Fritillary this year was at the rocket test centre, part of the Wyre Forest on 11th May 2019. I also had my first viewing of the year of a dingy skipper that same weekend at Severn Country Park.
Duke of Burgundy
The camping season was upon us so we decided to take a trip to Cirencester where we camped on a lovely site called ‘Mayfield.’ The following morning we took a trip to Rodborough Common in Stroud in search of the Duke of Burgundy. Another walk up a hill was necessary but we were rewarded with excellent views of two Dukes.
Grizzled Skipper at Cerne Giant Hill
Walking on the Cerne Giant Hill in Dorset we were in search of Grizzled Skipper. A small butterfly that enjoys wild strawberry and can be tricky to spot. We were reaching the end of our walk and although we had seen orange-tips and green-veined whites, there were no signs of the grizzled skipper.
Then we had a breakthrough, a small colony on a bank that sat quite happily for their photo shoot. At 3 months pregnant, my husband told me to avoid walking up the bank; he would take the photographs. But I couldn’t resist, I wanted to see the grizzled skipper and when it comes to taking photographs of wildlife, my husband and I are very competitive! I was very cautious of course and one grizzled skipper in particular made my life easier and sat very nicely for his photograph.
On the way back, we came across an Easter bunny on the path…
A Dead Grass Snake???
When it comes to wildlife you think you have seen it all, but there is always something new to discover.
Walking through a heathland in Dorset, we encountered a young grass snake. Grass snakes are harmless and we can never pass one by without catching it. In the past they have emitted an awful smelling liquid, a form of defence to protect themselves from predators. As we approached, this individual began by quickly trying to slither away. Once caught it began to hiss and then inevitably release the foul smelling fluid. Once it realised none of these tactics were working, it played its final card, playing dead. We had read about this form of defence but had never witnessed it. It was amazing to see. It remained perfectly still, mouth agape; I couldn’t resist touching his little black tongue that was hanging out so limply. Once we placed it back on the ground, it stayed in this position for a several seconds before slithering quickly away.
Cannock Chase Adders
Each year my husband and I can’t wait for the spring months to arrive so that we can go in search of adders.
Experience is everything when it comes to wildlife watching. Many books say that snakes come out on a sunny day or a day with sun and breaks of cloud and if you want to see a snake you must go early in the morning.
From experience, we have learnt that these ‘facts’ are not always true. Adders are found on south-facing banks, this is true, but on two separate weekends in March we encountered several adders on a very overcast day at around 4 o’clock in the afternoon at a place we like to call ‘Adder Alley.’
Kidderminster Adders
One of our favourite places to see adders is at a nature reserve near Kidderminster. Last year we encountered many. After numerous visits we realised that each adder was seen in the same location each time which is when we decided to name each of the 5 adders; Adam (the first male adder we spotted), Blondie (as she was very pale in colour), Eve (the first female adder we spotted), Yellow (as her territory was underneath a bright yellow gorse bush) and Holly (her territory was near to a holly bush.) A few weeks later we encountered a male adder, which we named Buddy, near to Holly’s territory, however, this male turned out to be Holly! We had mistaken him for a her and the reason we knew is because each adder has a unique pattern on the top of their head; Holly and Adam’s matched perfectly from the photos we had taken.
A Good Start to a New Year
Unfortunately, the stresses of day to day life can sometimes tear you away from the things you love the most and actually these are the things that can lessen the stresses of everyday life.
After a particularly stressful time at work which also coincided with selling and buying a house which also coincided with the stresses of Christmas, I had lost touch with one of the things that helped me to escape stress and anxiety many years ago; nature.
Through the persistence of my husband and the start of a new year I embraced it again and realised just how much I had missed it. But, wildlife never judges and it’s always there to call on when you need it.
We started our new year’s day with amazing viewings of 4 long eared owls in Cheshire (01.01.19), a cheeky little owl stumbling across a rooftop and a short eared owl soaring across a meadow in Liverpool (02.01.19) and a huge gathering of starlings at Blackpool pier (05.01.19).
Although the end of Christmas and the start of a new year can make many people feel blue, I know that the days are slowly getting longer and camping trips, reptiles and butterflies are just around the corner.
Hand-feeding a Nuthatch
Working a bit of overtime entitles me to a day off and what better way to spend it than hand-feeding wild birds with my Mum at RSPB Middleton Lakes in Tamworth. Last time I visited Middleton Lakes with my husband I was surprised when a Blue Tit and Great Tit fed from my hand, so imagine mine and my Mum’s surprise when a nuthatch came down to feast on a handful of mealworms!
We also had amazing views of a water rail…
The White-letter Hairstreak
The White-letter Hairstreak has eluded us for quite some time. We were either too early or late in the year or too early or late in the day. But, our patience and perseverance finally paid off at Fermyn Woods. We were rewarded with close up views of several white-letter hairstreaks, our fifth and final species of hairstreak.
H.I.M The Purple Emperor
Fermyn Woods is one of my favourite places to visit in the UK. This weekend was when I truly realised I had ‘bitten the bug’ when it came to butterflies and I couldn’t wait to go in pursuit of His Imperial Majesty (H.I.M) the Purple Emperor.
Arriving at the car park we were greeted by a fleet of caravans; travelers had taken over the entire car park leaving the staff no choice but to close the toilets and café. We turned around and headed to another entrance to the woods where we had no choice but to park on the road side. But despite this, we knew it was going to be a good day after seeing 3 Purple Emperors on the path within ten minutes of arriving. They were undeterred by our presence and two men were sitting on the path photographing one that had been sitting quite happily in the same spot for 30 minutes. We slowly approached, so as not to scare it, and knelt down to take photographs. At that moment a lady walked past, pointed her walking stick at the Emperor and said ‘Is that what everyone is looking for?’ At which point, due to such an intrusion into his personal space, the Emperor lifted, never to be seen again. ‘Oops,’ said the lady ‘I wonder if that was my fault?’ there was no wondering about it, it most certainly was!
However, we were lucky to see several more over the weekend. The weather was hot and it was a struggle to see one with its wings open. We discovered that creating a shadow over the Emperor forced them to open the wings so that we were able to see the incredible purple sheen that they are so famous for. We are certain we saw a female too that weekend as she lacked any sign of purple. We spotted her in the shade, perched on a bramble leaf, but as the purple is only visible in light we couldn’t be too sure.
We saw more, floating across the tops of oak trees before gliding down to inspect us, after all, we had encroached on their territory. At 5.00pm on Sunday, after a walk through the woods to see the White-letter Hairstreak, we took one last visit to the path near the entrance. We were lucky to have a moment alone with a Purple Emperor, by this time everyone had left. He sat on the ground for quite some time and we were able to get very close to take our last few photographs. Eventually, he flew up into the air and that was our cue to leave. As we reached the entrance, I turned to see him glide to the ground once more. The Purple Emperor had cast its spell on me; I was finding it very difficult to leave and on the journey home was already counting down the days to when we would visit Fermyn Woods once more.
Tails of Wildlife 