5 Jun 18 - Northern Triathlon: Part Three

This Post covers the third part of my Northern Triathlon. The first part of the Triathlon was seeing my first Mountain Ringlets at Irton Fell & the second part of the Triathlon was seeing my first White-faced Darters at Foulshaw Moss. The final part of the Triathlon was to try & see my first Lady's Slipper Orchids. A few days earlier, I had seen a Post from fellow blogger & mate Ewan Urquhart who had recently seen Lady Slipper Orchids at Gait Barrows National Nature Reserve, on a stop over on the way back from twitching a Walrus in Scotland. As usual, Ewan's Post was full of enthusiasm & nice photos. Looking at the location, I confirmed it was in Southern Cumbria, so there was a chance of being able to combine it with a trip to look for Mountain Ringlet. The only problem was would they be over. Ewan had seen them in late May & the Mountain Ringlets are early June at their first site at Irton Fell. Once I decided on the date to head off for the Mountain Ringlets, I double-checked the Lady's Slipper Orchid directions & confirmed I was likely to go right past the site. So all I needed to do was to find the time in a fairly busy day & hope they were still in good condition. This was more complicated as I was now planning to visit Foulshaw Moss to look for their White-faced Darters.

Gait Barrows National Nature Reserve

Gait Barrows NNR looks to be an interesting reserve & one that the flying visit that I was planning was far too short. However, I am fortunate that many of the other Spring Butterflies, that the reserve is home to, also occur in Dorset. It took a bit of driving up & down country lanes to find the reserve as I hadn't prepared a complete set of directions. But after a bit of searching I spotted the subtly marked entrance to one of the car parks. My timing was perfect as there were a couple of locals who had been taking visiting friends to see the Lady's Slipper Orchids, so I could double-check my directions. Fortunately, this confirmed my onsite directions were accurate & they said there were still two plants that were in good condition. It was less than a 15 minute gentle walk to the exact site.

Gait Barrows: There are a number of areas of open limestone clearings within the wood

They were easy to find once I reached the clearing: the roped off area helped to pick out the plants.

Lady's Slipper Orchid: The roped off area meant I didn't have to spend too much time looking

Lady's Slipper Orchid: Although roped off to avoid accidental disturbance, the rope is high enough so not to cause a big problem for photographers

Lady's Slipper Orchid: Unfortunately, most of the plants had already gone over, but two were still in good condition

Lady's Slipper Orchid: They are great looking Orchids

Lady's Slipper Orchid: The flowers are stunning

Lady's Slipper Orchids occur in temperate locations from Europe all the way across to Asia, although they are becoming scarcer in Europe. Their status in the UK has been even more precarious. Victorian collectors wiped it out in the UK & it was declared extinct in 1917. Then in 1930, a single plant was discovered at a private site in Yorkshire. There were also two known plants in captivity that had been taken from the wild before the plant had been declared extinct. After a lot of work with the surviving plants by Kew Gardens, Kew succeeded in cultivating seedlings. In 1989, Kew were able to start reintroducing seedlings back into the wild. The seedlings had been re-established at a number of suitable sites in the UK. However, only Gait Burrows has been publicly disclosed to allow ongoing protection to the remaining locations. Sadly, there are a number of maverick individuals who still think it's better for them to dig up plants for their own private collections.

5 Jun 18 - Northern Triathlon: Part Two

This Post covers the second part of my Northern Triathlon to try to see my first White-faced Darters at Foulshaw Moss. The first part of the Triathlon was seeing my first Mountain Ringlets at Irton Fell. When I was doing the final planning for the trip, I was considering whether it would be possible to combine the Mountain Ringlet trip with looking for White-faced Darters at Whixall Moss in Shropshire. However, one of the first responses I saw on google was for White-faced Darters at Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria. This blog confirmed they had been flying since late May. I had forgotten there were Cumbrian sites. A bit of further searching online confirmed the site details & the White-faced Darters at Foulshaw Moss were the result of a successful re-introduction to the reserve. I am happy to consider looking at successful re-introductions into documented recent native range. Therefore, combining Foulshaw Moss into the Triathlon looked to be the obvious option. Even better I would be driving right past the entrance road to Foulshaw Moss.

Foulshaw Moss: Foulshaw Moss is an excellent looking Cumbria Wildlife Trust reserve

Foulshaw Moss: The reserve covers a large area of lowland peat bog which is a rare English habitat

Foulshaw Moss: The peat bog is fairly extensive

Foulshaw Moss

Foulshaw Moss: This drier part of the peat bog had patches of Cotton Grass

Foulshaw Moss: There were also areas of trees that had become established on the peat bog

The reserve has several hundred metres of boardwalks which allows access to the Northern part of the reserve. The boardwalk passes past a number of excellent small & medium sized ponds amongst the trees, all of which were very busy with Dragonflies. This included several hundred Four-spotted Chasers, as well as, a few hundred Azure Damselflies.

Four-spotted Chaser: This one shows the top of its-white facial pattern

Four Spotted Chaser

Four-spotted Chaser: The pools within the woodland had plenty of these atmospheric perches for the Dragonflies

Four-spotted Chaser: The numbers of Four-spotted Chasers on the reserve was the highest I've seen

Four-spotted Chaser

Four-spotted Chaser: Showing its white face which was why more than one person present misidentified the commoner Four-spotted Chasers as White-faced Darters

Blue-tailed Damselfly: This was the only one I saw

Azure Damselfly: I saw at least a couple of hundred

Azure Damselfly: There were good numbers egg laying

Round-leaved Sundew

Round-leaved Sundew: This Large Red Damselfly's luck has run out

After an hour of looking, I hadn't seen any White-faced Darters. All I knew was that they had been photographed somewhere on the boardwalk. Knowing that they are only on a limited number of pools at Whixall Moss that they like, I assumed that I still needed to keep walking along the boardwalk to find the correct micro habitat. After several hundred metres the boardwalk emerged from the flooded forest across more open peat bog. There were a couple of viewpoints, one of which was raised, from which it was possible to see the distant trees in the bog where there was a pair of nesting Ospreys. This was the main highlight for the reserve. However, I was looking for something with six legs, not six legs spread over three baby Ospreys. I did have brief look though a volunteer's telescope, but the nest was distant & the female was sitting low in the nest. The volunteer didn't know a lot about the White-faced Darters, but he did say that they had been seen around his lower viewpoint. This was reinforced by some locals who arrived & were also looking for the White-faced Darters. The lady promptly walked off the boardwalk to look at the pool beyond. She was quickly stopped by the volunteer as the Wildlife Trust quite rightly do not want people walking around off the boardwalk. It's quite amazing that some people just don't know how to behave on a nature reserve. But this did at least confirm the place I should be looking. I did see a probable White-faced Darter soon after quite a way out onto the bog, but quickly lost it & it didn't reappear.

Large Heath: I saw at least 8 here, but they were all active in the sunshine. This was the only photo I managed to get when one briefly landed

I thought I would have a quick look at the raised viewpoint to see it that looked promising for White-faced Darters as it was only 50 metres away. This was surrounded by another pond, but didn't have the Cotton Grass that the lower viewpoint pond had. A White-faced Darter was claimed by another visitor, but when I checked it, it was a Four-spotted Chaser. Four-spotted Chasers have an off-whitish front to the face, which can be confusing when you initially see one flying towards you. However, checking the rest of the markings on the abdomen & wings, then there is no confusion between Four-spotted Chasers & White-faced Darters. Four-spotted Chasers are also a different shape with a distinctive wide, flat abdomen, rather than the narrow, rounded abdomen of White-faced Darters. So it was time to head back to the Cotton Grass pond by the lower viewpoint. Fortunately, another guy had now appeared who also knew his local Dragonflies. He said he had seen several White-faced Darters flying around & occasionally landing on the distant pond. He borrowed another guy's telescope & after a couple of minutes, pointed out one that was perched up. A bit too far for a photo, but it was clearly a male White-faced Darter when it was my turn to take a look through the scope. All that was needed now was a bit of patience. About 15 minutes later, I picked up a White-faced Darter that flew over the boardwalk. It was  close to where we were standing, but didn't stop for a photo. Ten minutes later, another male White-faced Darter appeared & this time it landed on the boardwalk allowing some photos. It hung around the boardwalk & eventually became a bit more approachable. Finally, it settled on some natural vegetation for a better looking photo. It was now late afternoon & I needed to head off for the final part of my Northern Triathlon.

White-faced Darter: Male. My penultimate breeding English Dragonfly Tick. I just need to see Southern Emerald, as well as, the four Scottish speciality Dragonflies

White-faced Darter: Male. The white face is very distinctive when seen properly

White-faced Darter: Male. Males are the only black & red Darter. Bright yellow replaces the red in females with additional yellow at the base of the abdomen

White-faced Darter: Male. The nearest they get to Dorset is Whixall Moss in Shropshire

White-faced Darter: Male. Finally a natural background photo

Artificial Osprey nest: Almost the nearest I got to actually seeing the Osprey's was this artificial Osprey nest close to the car park (although I also saw the nest in use). The reserve has cameras on the real nest so visitors can see the latest action. I walked past the visitors hut, in my hurry to looked for the Dragonflies. I intended to stop on the way back. However, it was all shut up when I reached the car park at 17:00

5 Jun 18 - Northern Triathlon: Part One

In 2012, I visited Irton Fell in the Southern Lakes of Cumbria looking for Mountain Ringlets which were the only British breeding Butterfly I hadn't seen. Additionally, there is Cryptic Wood White in Northern Ireland, but that till have to wait till I have another reason to head across the water. They had been flying a week or two before & the forecast looked OK. The weather had been glorious in Yorkshire that morning as I looked for my first Large Heaths & I quickly saw at least four.

Large Heath: Crowle Moors, Yorkshire (1 July 12)

Large Heath: Crowle Moors, Yorkshire (1 July 12)

I carried on across the Pennines to Irton Fell in the Southern Lake District only to find the sunshine that was promised for that afternoon hadn't materialised & as I arrived steady rain set in. After a couple of hours kipping in the car, the rain had stopped. However, it was now late afternoon, completely overcast & windier than I would have liked. I had a quick walk up the hill onto the start of the moors anyway to stretch my legs before the long journey home. At least I would at least get a feeling for the site. Needless to say, I didn't see any Mountain Ringlets. Mountain Ringlets have a reputation of only wanting to fly when the sun is out & disappearing deep into the long grass when the weather isn't favourable.

Irton Fell: The views looking West over Sellafield weren't so inspiring on my first visit & I remember it being a lot more overcast than this photo suggests (1 July 12)

Since that first visit, I've been looking for suitable weather to try again. However, in previous years, I've struggled to find confirmation when Mountain Ringlets have been flying at Irton Fell & secondly to find good sunny conditions that fall on a weekend. This year I saw that the Mountain Ringlets had been flying from late May & secondly there was a sunny day on the forecast for the 5 June. Admittedly, this isn't a weekend day, but I've still got a little bit of time before I start looking for a new contract. After a very early alarm call, I made good time & arrived at Irton Fell just after 11. The weather had been improving as I was heading North. However, it was still mainly cloudy, but with the sun breaking through for a few minutes at a time.

Irton Fell: The moors looking East. A lot more blue sky on the second visit & the amount of blue sky got better as the day progressed (5 June 18)

I reached the start of the moor after about 15 minutes. There was another guy scanning for Mountain Ringlets. I checked with him, but he hadn't seen any: although he hadn't been looking for too long. I started to walk around & after about five minutes I saw a small dark Butterfly flying over the moorland grass. It was only slightly larger than the Small Heaths that were also flying. It was smaller than I had expected, but then I hadn't checked how large they were & had naively assumed it would be closer to the size of a Meadow Brown. The dark Butterfly finally landed & I quickly confirmed it was my first Mountain Ringlet. There was time to grab a few quick photos, before it was on the wing again. It flew for about 40 metres before landing again & fast enough that I could only just keep up over the rough ground. It only spent about a minute or so each time it landed, before it was back on the wing. After a few flights, I was briefly distracted & lost it.

Mountain Ringlet: Male. While it's not going to win any photographic prizes, it was good to see my first Mountain Ringlet given it's a 750 mile round journey from Dorset

It wasn't long before I had picked up a second individual in flight & this one, briefly crossed paths with another.

Mountain Ringlet: The second individual I saw was much better marked

After that I kept finding individuals within a few minutes of stopping following the previous individual. On a couple of occasions, I saw three in the air at the same time. It was difficult to be sure of numbers, however, I saw a minimum six in about 100 metres of moorland. All were males & very equally active, although they did generally stop flying every time it clouded over. But within a few minutes the sun & the Mountain Ringlets reappeared.

 Mountain Ringlet: Male. As soon as they landed they spread their wings, so trying to get an underwing shot was always difficult

Mountain Ringlet: Male

Generally, the Mountain Ringlets were either landed on small yellow flowers to feed or on one of the many dried cowpats, perhaps they were marginally warmer than the grass. I found the best approach was to try walking to keep up with them when they flew, as they didn't stay put on the ground for long when they landed. Also they were easy to lose on some of the longer flights, as they kept low to the ground. If they flew behind a patch of long grass they were tricky to relocate if you were not close to them.

Mountain Ringlet: Male. Females have the orangy colour covering most of the under forewing

Mountain Ringlet: Male

Mountain Ringlet: Male. A final upperwing shot for this well marked individual

I didn't see any females. However, it sounds like they are not as active or showy as the males & tend to wait in the longer grass for the males to find them. After an hour or so, I decided that I was happy with the views & photos and that I needed to move on (after all Triathlons have three legs, are run against the clock & this was only the first leg).

Small Heath: This Small Heath had clearly seen better days

28 May 18 - Bank Holiday Clubbing

Around the Bank Holiday weekend, my thoughts turned to looking at the weather for suitable sunny conditions to have another attempt to see Club-tailed Dragonflies. I had looked in June 2014 at the Goring-on-Thames site, but had been unsuccessful. I've tried to find another date in subsequent years to head back, but I've not been able to find good looking conditions on a free weekend. So I was interested when I saw one of the Dorset Birders had successfully seen Club-tailed Dragonflies at a site in Sussex on the Bank Holiday Sunday. A quick chat on social media & I had some directions. The weather looked good on the Bank Holiday Monday, so I left early hoping the traffic would be light: fortunately, it was. I arrived just before 11 & the weather forecast was spot on: sunny & still conditions. First problem was having to get past a number of young, inquisitive cattle on the riverbank. About ten minutes later, I saw my first Club-tailed Dragonfly, but it quickly disappeared out of view. Five minutes later, the next was happy to sit around for photos.

Club-tailed Dragonfly: Male. Club-tailed Dragonflies are initially tricky to see once the adults hatch as the teneral phase quickly head off to nearby treetops to mature

Club-tailed Dragonfly: Male. After a couple of weeks in the treetops, the mature adults return to the riverbank to mate

Club-tailed Dragonfly: Male. They range from Sussex to the Thames in Oxfordshire & across to the Severn on clean, slow-moving rivers

Club-tailed Dragonfly: Male

Club-tailed Dragonfly: Male. This one landed on the grass by the riverbank for a few minutes, before returning to patrolling the river

Club-tailed Dragonfly: Male. A couple of the males were patrolling the river over a 50 metre stretch

Club-tailed Dragonfly: Male

Club-tailed Dragonfly: Male. I didn't see any females so perhaps they were still to return to the river

Club-tailed Dragonfly: Male. The males were sitting around close to the river to look for the females as they returned from the treetops

There were also large numbers of Banded Demoiselles & smaller numbers of Large Red Damselflies along the river bank.

Banded Demoiselle: Male. They were very common along the riverbank, but I only took a few photos of them as I've taken a lot of photos in previous years

Banded Demoiselle: Male. They are even more stunning when seen close up

Banded Demoiselle: Female

Banded Demoiselle: Female

Banded Demoiselle: Males. I really like this photo

Large Red Damselfly

I also saw a Shieldbug which I wasn't sure which one it was at the time, but it looked familiar. But the beauty of having a decent camera meant I could photograph it & work it out later, when I had the book handy.

Coreus marginatus: This widespread Shieldbug occurs as an adult from August to July & prefers dense vegetation along hedgerows, wasteland & damper areas. I was right, I had seen it before

Coreus marginatus: I saw several without any real searching

I also saw this presumed pair of Beetles, which I've not managed to identifying yet.

Beetle sp.: Any thoughts about the identification?