Ilkley Moor

On the edges of Ilkley Moor I found my first Small Heath of the year, the diminuitive butterfly featured on the Friends of Ilkley Moor banner graphic .

There was an abundance of Ringlets (30+) amongst the grasses and heather, this one perched obligingly to show off the white wing margin to best effect. And another nectaring on thistle, easily the most popular butterfly on the lower slopes of the moors.

Here's the view from the foot of Ilkley Moor near Wells Road, looking up towards White Wells.

The second most popular butterfly of the day, Small Skippers nectaring on thistles

Brockadale Nature Reserve (II)

In addition to the virtually monochromatic Marbled Whites at Brockadale Nature Reserve we saw a variety of more colourful butterflies. Ten Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) first sightings of the year, the underside of the forewing an orangey-russet colour, its head and thorax look as furry as a fox.

30+ Six-Spot Burnets, this one feeding on nectar rich Centaurea which along with Red Clover appeared to be the popular dishes of the day. In a similar fashion to last year's visit, Yellowhammer called out from the treetops around the reserve, and a Buzzard circled skyward for a few minutes before soaring out of view. 

A friendly chap pointed us in the direction of previously sighted Dark Green Fritillary (Argynnis aglaja) and it wasn't long before a couple appeared, then another, where they tirelessly dashed above the grassland, occasionally stopping to feed on Red Clover. Disappointingly this was the least blurred photo I managed to get, but good enough for a record pic. This is the second time Ive seen one, the first being two years ago at Druridge Pools Nature Reserve in early August. 

A faded Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus), one of four spotted in shorter grass.

A good excuse for yet another Marbled White pic, this male sharing space with a Six-Spot Burnet.

A Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina), one of twenty+ on the reserve, often in groups of two and three, this one of the few to remain still just long enough to grab a pic. 

Askham Bog

On a recent visit to Askham Bog, there were 10 Four Spotted Chase Dragonflies zipping around the pond, occasionally coming to rest on the surrounding vegetation. I counted 5 at rest on a grassy bank.

There was an abundance of Small Skippers (I'm now rethinking this because Dean has kindly pointed out that the following two pics are of a Large Skipper and not a Small Skipper, so thanks to Dean for his help). On the wing a couple of Orange Tip, 3 Brimstone, a Common Blue, a Green Veined White, suprisingly no Speckled Woods today.

A Longhorn Moth, Nemophora degeerella. I didn't quite realise how long the antennae are until I edited the second pic and realised I hadn't managed to include all of the antennae.

By the pond these small black shiny caterpillars feeding on what looked like birch, could they be the caterpillar of the Argent and Sable moth?

Fairburn Ings RSPB (1)

This weekend we paid a visit to Fairburn Ings RSPB. Immediately on joining the path leading to the visitors centre this butterfly settled for little more than a few seconds, just long enough to grab a quick pick and for me to thank her kindly. A female Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) methinks, with its hooked tip forewing, greenish white ground colour that is significantly more subdued than the vivid-yellow of the male.

We followed the path past the Kingfisher screen and up the slope where the bordering vegetation included patches of birds foot trefoil, thistles and vetch and which provided lucrative sightings. One of the delights was this brown butterfly, but on consulting the guides the brown upperwing and underwing marksings lead me to think this is a female Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus).

And here's a male Common Blue, 15 or so metres away from where I spotted the female not a great pic but good enough to illustrate the difference in upperwing colour between the sexes.

A field of ox eye daisy, buttercups and grasses near the spot where we spotted the Common Blues.

A couple of metres away, my first Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) of the year, the black mark on its upper forewing indicate a male, the mark are the glandular scent scales or androconia that produce an odour to attract females.

Thanks to Pete for confirming the ID of this one. A daytime flying moth, a Silver Y (Autographa gamma) with the distinctive Y on the upperside of the forewing, which feeding here on a clover flower.

Striking clumps of purple orchids grew at intervals between the path and the stream. Not knowing one orchid from another I won't even hazard a guess but I would guess that they're a popular source of nectar for the many insects in the area.

Goldenacre Park, Small Skippers

Over at Goldenacre Park, Bramhope, Leeds we headed towards the demonstration garden where we found eight Small Skippers (Thymelicus sylvestris) settled on Lavender. They went almost unnoticed until a slight movement from one of them caught my eye. The park is a riot of colour at the moment, the flower borders are brimming with bold summer colour & is worth a visit if you're nearby.


With this pic I tried to capture three Small Skippers in close proximity to each other. But from this angle the light was actually really low and I admit I had to do a little bit of work to lighten the pic. I took a number of pics but this was the only one that was usable.



A male Small Skipper. The male can be distinguished from the female by the black mark (sex brand) on the forewings which is a curved line of specialised scent scales. You can see it clearly here on the left wing.
I think this is eryngium yuccifolium. I attended the Wellcome Collection exhibition From Atoms to Patterns in 2008 & the morphology of this plant reminded of the atomic structure designs that that featured in this exhibition. From nature to science to design & back to nature!

Warkworth

We stopped off at Warkworth for a cuppa and a stroll to the beach, within minutes of our walk we spotted a Roe Deer in a field adjacent to the beach road. It made its way slowly through the field & paused to feed in the hedgerow. Its coat matched the colour of the dock weeds dotted throughout the field.
Here its is to the far right of the pic almost hidden within the first patch of foliage and Coquet Island in the background (I like a bit of context now and again).

On the approach to the dunes this eye catching male Stonechat (thanks to Rambling Rob for very graciously alerting me to my initial bloomer)settled in a tree & then kindly perched atop the Public Footpath signpost.

As we walked up a steep North West facing dune the sun broke through and transformed the area into Butterfly central. Dotted with 12 or 14 Burnets a number of them in pairs, Small Whites fluttered around, a small blue butterfly flew at a distance, a couple of Small Skippers.

Small Skipper

6 Spot Burnet moth, Zygaena fillipendulae. Its a daytime flier, identified by 3 pairs of red spots on each wing. Caterpillars feed on trefoil and vetch which contain traces of cyanide, a nifty strategy to deter predators. The club shaped antennae can be seen clearly.

A patch of dainty Harebells

Large White, Pieris brassicae

A weather worn Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta on a flowering Teasel

On the borders of the marshland a Spinach moth Eulithus mellinata. The moth holds its wings at an angle to its body, with the hindwings virtually hidden behind the forewings.

On the banks of the River Coquet near the bridge. A mandarin duck Aix galericulata which I didn't notice it at first. What a pretty duck!