A buff moth and other bits and bobs on the Isle of Wight

The last three days have been what I can only describe as pretty full on. Friday started with an early start and late finish on Friday. It continued with an early-ish start and a full day on Saturday and another full day on Sunday.

Friday 5th June - Today began with a 6am start in order to carry out a breeding bird survey on a nearby estate. The birds recorded during the survey were not particularly noteworthy, with Garden Warbler, Yellowhammer and Stock Dove the best species. The star was in fact a mammal, in the form of an adult Badger that was still out feeding in broad daylight. Earlier we had also found a dead badger cub, which was not such good news, and we did wonder whether the adult badger was searching for the cub, but can only speculate on that. Its fur was a bit ruffled but there was no obvious sign of injury, a shame to see that it had died at such an early age. After the survey I checked a Barn Owl box for any sign of breeding, it was full of pellets and some down feathers, but no chicks.

After the survey I headed back to the office until 3pm, and then a team of us headed off to the Isle of Wight ferry. We had been asked to help out with surveys to monitor the rare Reddish Buff moth, which now only occurs on the Isle of Wight. Rob, Ed, Megan and I packed our kit and set off to meet Jamie on the Island for what was likely to be a long night. We got to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trusts (HIWWT) Ningwood Nature Reserve at 8pm and set up ready for dusk. This reserve is one that I had not visited before and it was nice to be moth trapping whilst being serenaded by Common Nightingales and screeched at by a hunting Barn Owl. Unfortunately, the weather was not ideal, it was quite breezy and with a clear sky the temperature dropped fast, to a low of 5.2 centigrade by midnight. But it was worth the effort, as we recorded two male moths, one in a mercury vapour trap and one in an actinic.

Those of you that are into mothing will know that the Reddish Buff moth is not one of the most glamorous moth species, in fact it could be described as one of the dullest. But it is now an endangered, Red Data Book Species and protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended). Our work was covered under a Natural England licence and was part of a monitoring project to assess the success of the on-going conservation work. It was good to catch two, but further survey visits throughout its flight period will hopefully record more.

Reddish Buff Moth - Ningwood Common, Isle of Wight

As well as the Reddish Buff, we recorded 25 other species, the noteworthy ones being Bordered Straw, Dark Swordgrass, Silver Y, Orange Footman, White-pinion Spotted and Four-dotted Footman. We called it a night before 1am as the temperature had dropped too low by that point.

Saturday 6th June - Despite finishing at 1am we had left some traps running and so returned in the morning to check on our haul. As expected there was very little in the traps, the most noteworthy being another (or the same) Bordered Straw, Silver Y, Small Square Spot and a Mottled Beauty.

Bordered Straw - Ningwood Common, Isle of Wight

We had purposefully booked a later ferry home and spent the next hour wandering around the site looking for more Reddish Buff moths and other Lepidoptera. Obviously being daylight it was now the time of the butterfly but we did record Speckled Yellow, Mother Shipton and Straw Dot moths. Butterflies were not abundant, but what we did see were all quality species with Small Heath the commonest, followed by Grizzled Skipper, Common Blue and single Brimstone and Large Skipper. The Brimstone was in the throes of egg laying and would settle in to the vegetation between laying each one. Jamie and I did also get a glimpse of a fritillary that I thought was Glanville, but it was quickly lost from site in the windy conditions. I was convinced it was a Glanville but Jamie mentioned that Small Pearl-bordered had also previously been recorded on the site, so I guess it could have been one of those.

Small Heath - Ningwood Common, Isle of Wight

Large Skipper - Ningwood Common, Isle of Wight

Grizzled Skipper - Ningwood Common, Isle of Wight

Brimstone Butterfly (resting after egg-laying) - Ningwood Common, Isle of Wight

Brimstone Butterfly egg - Ningwood Common, Isle of Wight

Another of our target species for the trip was Glanville Fritillary so our next destination was Wheeler's Bay, near Ventnor. We stopped en-route at the Trust's offices at Bouldner to pick up some bits, and ticked off Red Squirrel, although I dipped on that, and then headed across the Island. By now the wind had really got up, but the sun was out and before long we had picked up our first Glanville Fritillaries. They were staying low sheltering in the vegetation but in the good light we were able to get some decent shots. The underwing of fritillaries can often be their best side, unfortunately where it was quite chilly whenever they landed they would always open their wings to bask so I didn't manage to get any shots.

Glanville Fritillary (Male) - Wheeler's Bay, Isle of Wight

Glanville Fritillary (male) - Wheeler's Bay, Isle of Wight

Glanville Fritillary (Female) - Wheeler's Bay, Isle of Wight

There were of course plenty of other bugs to see with Eurydema oratum being the most striking. There are several similar species of shieldbug like this but as I understand it the greyish coloured stripes down the sides of the wings are consistent in this species. Apparently this is a recent arrival to the UK, but is now established in  Dorset, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and other places along the south coast. It was first recorded in the UK in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight, I would imagine where we saw it.

Eurydema ornatum - Wheeler's Bay, Isle of Wight

As we were concentrating on insects it was easy to overlook the vegetation. But nestled among the dog turds, which were appallingly numerous, were a few Bee Orchids. They were just starting to go over but those that hadn't been trampled were still looking good.

Bee Orchid - Wheeler's Bay, Ventnor, Isle of Wight

Finally, no visit to the Island would be complete without the obligatory Wall Lizard photo. As usual they were common along Wheeler's Bay and as it was a popular walking location they were quite used to people, albeit keeping a watchful eye as this individual.

Wall Lizard - Wheeler's Bay, Ventnor, Isle of Wight

Sunday 7th June - We were pretty exhausted after the exploits of Friday and Saturday but all had to work on Sunday. Rob and I at the HIWWTs Woodfair, so no wildlife watching for for us, although we did get to go through the moth trap, where the highlight for me was a Fox Moth. Ed at HIWWT Blashford Lakes reserve, where he is a reserves officer and Megan had to do an event in Dorset for Butterfly Conservation.

Noar Hill, Revisited - July 2014

Around this time last year I visited the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trusts Noar Hill Nature Reserve in order to carry out a grasshopper survey. The visit was a success as we recorded the local Rufous Grasshopper, along with a variety of other species. The Trust is looking to set up a standardised monitoring programme for the species, so when I was asked to assist I jumped at the chance. We visited the site on 22nd July with the main purpose to survey for grasshoppers, and test the survey methodology that had been designed, but whilst I was there I took the opportunity to catch up with a few other species. 

As I have covered grasshoppers before I didn't take any photos, but during the survey we recorded Rufous, Common Green, Field, Stripe-winged and Meadow Grasshopper and Speckled, Dark and Roesel's Bush Crickets. Noar Hill is well know for its orchids too and there was plenty of evidence of them, but the only species in flower was the Pyramidal Orchid

Pyramidal Orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis

As would be expected at this time of year, butterflies were everywhere and making use of the abundance of nectar available. Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Gatekeeper and Red Admiral were the most numerous, the latter species making the most of the flowering Hemp Agrimony.

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta

Silver-washed Fritillary and Marbled White seemed to be just hanging on, with some very tatty individuals present, whereas the Brimstone's and Green-veined White's were immaculate and clearly evidence of a recent emergence.

Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni

Green-veined White Pieris napi

We also recorded Large and Small Skippers, but the only species of Blue recorded was Common Blue. This time last year their had been an abundance of Chalkhill Blues at the site, but we may have been a bit early this year.

Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris infected with the red mite Trombidium breei

Whilst photographing a Small Skipper and Common Blue I noticed that they were infected with a small red mite. I did a bit of research and it appears that this mite is Trombidium breei, which usually attaches itself to the legs or thorax of its host. Apparently there are no detectable negative impacts on the host butterfly, and the mites transfer from host to host via flower heads. For more information on butterfly parasites check out the following link enemies of butterflies.

Common Blue infected with Trombidium breei

Female Common Blue

Another species recorded was the Small Heath, but only in small numbers. In total we recorded 13 species of butterfly during our visit.

Small Heath Coenonympha pamphilus

Despite the orchids not being in flower there were plenty of other plant species on show, including bellflower, yellow-wort, Greater Knapweed and Harebell.

Greater Knapweed Centaurea scabiosa

Harebell Campanula rotundifolia

The Small Scabious flowers were proving very popular with the Six-spot Burnet moths, which were the most numerous moth species we recorded.

Six-spotted Burnet Zygaena filipendulae stephensi on Small Scabious

Orchids, Butterflies and Dragonflies in Botley Wood

My planned early morning ringing session had to be cancelled due to heavy rain on the south coast, which didn’t really seem fair as the rest of Britain seemed to be basking in glorious sun. That said the lie in was very welcome. After the rain had cleared I hung around the house for a while before heading over the Botley Wood for a stroll.

Bee Orchid

Several weeks ago I had seen the leaves of a bee orchid that had flowered two years ago, but last year it was devoured by rabbits. I had been covering parts of the plant up in the hope of hiding it from the little critters, but had forgotten about it since my return from Canada. I was pleased to see that it had escape the attention of the rabbits, since it was now in full bloom. Quite how it had escaped I do not know since it was surrounded by rabbit droppings, and the leaves and one of the flowers had been nibbled. Hopefully it will survive for a few more years yet.

Bee Orchid - Note the leaves and part of the lower
flower have been eaten by rabbits

The verges on either side of the substation road were in full bloom too, and Common Spotted Orchids were abundant in places. I noticed that my net rides will be in need of some trimming, which I will do before erecting the nets next time I go there.

Common Spotted Orchids

Bird wise it was fairly quiet, but that was hardly surprising as it was the middle of a hot sunny day. Several species were singing occasionally, but two species, Wren and Chiffchaff were singing almost continuously. I did hear a burst of Garden Warbler and also occasional Willow Warbler too, but not a sniff of any Common Nightingales. Butterflies and particularly dragonflies on the other hand were very active. During the course of my walk I recorded Large Skipper, Meadow Brown, Red Admiral, Brimstone and my first Marbled White of the year. Brimstone was the commonest species with seven recorded, the majority of which were females.

Brimstone on Marsh Thistle

At Toby’s Pond dragonfly activity was immense. There were at least 20 chasers hunting over the pond, and from what I could make out they were Broad-bodied Chasers and Black-tailed Skimmers. Damselflies were also abundant with Large Red, Blue-tailed and Common Blue the main species present.

Female Black-tailed Skimmer

There are several woodland streams running through the Botley Wood/Whiteley Pastures area and where sunny woodland glades are present so were Beautiful Demoiselles. The males were sparring over the stream and settling back onto a favoured perch, which was a fallen tree of an overhanging leaf. Beautiful Demoiselle is a locally common species that occurs on flowing waters in the south and west of Britain. 

Male Beautiful Demoiselle

They are apparently an indicator of unpolluted waters which is a good sign since I recorded them in three locations in Botley Wood.

What a difference a day makes....February 2014

Yesterday the south of England was being battered by hurricane force winds and heavy rain showers, but today was like a perfect spring day. Overnight the storm force winds had subsided, the sky had cleared and a light frost had carpeted the ground. During yesterdays poor weather the first Eurasian Siskins of the year turned up on the feeders in the garden, so in todays calm conditions I set a net in the hope of catching some. 

Pair of Siskins, the first in the garden this year

I opened the net just after dawn and before long had my first three birds, a Great Tit, a Blue Tit and a Eurasian Nuthatch. All three were retraps, the most notable being the Great Tit which was originally ringed on 25th June 2011, 2 years 236 days previously. The session was steady but mainly consisted of Blue Tits, with other occasional species namely Dunnock, Goldfinch, Long-tailed Tit and a new male House Sparrow. The House Sparrow had dark lores but still showed some yellow at the base of the lower mandible, suggesting that it was not in full breeding condition yet.

Male House Sparrow

In total I caught 33 birds, of seven species, 15 of which were retraps. The majority of retraps were of recently ringed birds, but three of the Blue Tits were originally ringed over three years previously, one on 5th December 2010 (3 years and 73 days previously), one on 30th October 2010 (3 years 109 days previously) and one on 10th August 2009 (4 years 190 days previously).

The spring like conditions and warmth from the sun proved popular with bumblebees, several buff-tailed’s were flying around the garden and a brimstone butterfly. The latter was sunning itself on bushes next too my ringing station, it took a while to get settled but eventually found somewhere  suitable for it to soak up the sun’s rays.