Last Of The Season?

While at Beeding Cement Works (near Shoreham) on Friday 27th September, along with a small crowd which had gathered to watch a Long-tailed Blue, Pete Varkala spotted a female Brown Hairstreak. With most eyes now watching out for rare, late season migrants, she might be the last seen in Sussex this year.

Read More

Noar Hill

Unfortunately I haven't seen BH this year but I thought I might get my last chance today. There have been reports of reasonable numbers from Noar Hill in Hampshire in the last couple of weeks and the forecast for this morning was not bad. I set off about nine thirty but during the course of my half hour journey the cloud came over ensuring that adults were off the menu.

So I decided an egg hunt was in order. 

In the last couple of years my success at Noar Hill has been variable including last year when I found none at all in two visits.

However this time was much better finding 42 in about two hours searching from all over the site plus five old egg shells from this years hatch. A good number 10+  were outside the reserve itself along the lane to the north but it was disappointing to to see the hedgerow severely flailed on both sides up to the reserve which must have destroyed numbers of eggs.

It will be good to return in the winter, after the leaves have dropped, which will make it easier to count the eggs.

Read More

Hairstreak Butterfly Trail

The Brown Hairstreak in Worcs now has its own waymarked trail thanks to a partnership between Worcestershire County Council's Countryside Service and West Midlands Butterfly Conservation.  The 6.5 mile walk starts at Grafton Flyford church, passes through Grafton Wood and takes in part of the long distance Wychavon Way before returning to Grafton Flyford via Earl's Common and Himbleton.  The route passes through some very attractive Worcestershire countryside with distant views of Bredon Hill and the Malvern Hills.  Much of the route passes through farmland where hedgerows are being especially managed for the benefit of the Brown Hairstreak. There is a pub in Himbleton approximately halfway which should appeal to real ale fans.

 

The route is fully waymarked with signs which feature the Butterfly Conservation and Wildlife Trust logos and can be walked in either direction.  I have already walked a short section of the route earlier this month and spotted a female Brown Hairstreak so, as a change from Grafton Wood and the opportunity to record Brown Hairstreaks in new areas, the trail is highly recommended.  Our Thurs Streakers group have already committed themselves to searching for eggs along the full length of the trail over the winter.  A leaflet providing a route map and further details will be available shortly and can be downloaded from www.worcestershire.gov.uk/countryside

 

One final plea, however, and this also applies to visitors to Grafton Wood, is to please ensure you keep to public rights of way.  Straying from footpaths (which are clearly marked on the map above) can lead to problems with local landowners which we are keen to avoid.  As a butterfly of the wider countryside, much of our success in conserving the Brown Hairstreak is about working with local landowners and retaining their goodwill. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read More

Doings at Shipton Bellinger

Shipton Bellinger Roughs consists of a large area of mixed scrub, with a high sloe content, rough grazing and arable fields on chalk and Clay-with-Flints near Tidworth on the Hants / Wilts border.  It is MOD land, part of Salisbury Plain Training Area but outside the red flag area.  It is criss-crossed by rights of way and is well used by locals. 

There is a scatter of prominent ash trees along the scrub edge, and a 200m row of tall ash along an old lane between two rough grazing fields.  Both sexes gather on these ashes, especially the ash row.  I have seen mating pairs on the ash row (mid morning, no courtship, smash & grab, 45 mins duration).  The grid ref for this ash row is SU 222456.  Park in village hall car park at SU 228456 and walk up Burford Road byway. 

Brown Hairstreak was 'discovered' here in the 1984-85 winter, when I surveyed the Andover area for eggs.  Recently the site has become well known as a top BH area, and is well visited by Hants BC members.  A BH transect has been set up. 

I try to visit for a morning during the peak season period each year, to count BH around the ash trees.  Recent counts are:-

30 in 5 hours on 15/8/08
44 (record) in 4 hrs on 9/8/09
26 in 1 hr (only) on 18/8/09
30 in 4 hrs on 15/8/10
24 in 2hrs 30mins on 19/8/12

On Sun Sept 1st 2013 I saw a probable 26 individuals, including 8 females.  The males were very worn.  The morning started cool, and no butterflies appeared before 9.30 when the Speckled Woods started.  The first BH was seen at 9.45, sitting in an ash tree.  From 10.15-11.30 they were nicely active around the ash trees. 

I saw males flush females out of ash trees on three occasions, but the females must have been mated for they rejected the males.  Males quietened down around 11.30 and the females started to get into egg-laying mode. 

One thing that bugs me about BH is why do mated females visit ash trees infested by males in mid morning if they're not in need of male services?  They don't seem to be feeding - ash-budding - and just get pestered.  Are they merely keeping the males in situ in case they need a second mating?  NB Purple Emperor females do not behave like this. 

Note that both sexes descend from the ash row to sit on nettles and docks on the south side of the row in mid morning.  I've no idea why but it's a good place to photograph them.

Here's a couple of photos, starting with the ash row -

Here's a map.  Blue = ash, pink = scrub + sloe, orange = fields -

Read More

Butterfly Visit to Ireland 17th to 26th August 2013

Brown Hairstreak

Visits to a wide range of butterfly sites across the isle included four with specific Brown Hairstreak targets where success was achieved. The BrH stronghold is in the west - counties Clare, Galway and the most easterly location across the Shannon in Tipperary.

Dromore Nature Reserve and Gortlecka are two known BrH sites. Dromore NR  is a well-managed lakeside habitat of suitable blackthorn, ash and nectar sources on the edge of Dromore Wood. We were fortunate to locate one female briefly showing itself at ground level before disappearing into the hedgerow.

Gortlecka is typical Burren location on limestone pavement. The literature states that BrH behaviour here is not similar to their UK cousins in that sightings of males are more frequently seen on the ground. Our late visit, 5 to 6.30pm, didn't provide time to fully test this idea but our three sightings were indeed all at ground level including two males with none visible on the one or two ashes.

Carney Commons is the Tipperary easterly site and has regular BrH sightings. The management here is excellent providing many likely spots for Brown Hairstreak brethren. Soon after arrival we found an ash with at least three resident and highly active males competing for the territory. A joy to behold!

We returned to this area, Clare on the west coast, the following day despite less favourable weather with hopes of further BrH action. En route to Lake Bunny, a known BrH site, I was inspired to stop off at a side road I spied from the journeying car. It proved to hold magical Brown Hairstreak hedgerows accompanied by an initial half hour burst of warm sunshine. The resulting female sighting was quickly joined by a second some inches away. Disappearance of the sunshine enabled us to survey for suitable habitat for a mile or so down this quiet road before making a turn-about-heel (u-turn?). The Little People must have been our Guardian Angels for on return to our earlier sightings spot the sun broke out again highlighting a perfect female ovipositing in camera range on the blackthorn hedgerow, presumably one of the earlier individuals.

My visit to Ireland exceeded expectations in managing to see BrH on four sites leaving me feeling confident that this could be built on should I make further Brown Hairstreak visits to the Emerald Isle.

Should you wish to visit the Little People some recommendations:

 

Websites:

http://www.irishbutterflies.com/index.html

http://www.butterflyireland.com/

http://www.butterflyconservation.ie/wordpress/

Publications:

Ireland's Butterflies - a review

Nash, Boyd and Hardiman

Discovering Irish Butterflies & their Habitats

Jesmond Harding

ISBN979-9560546-0-9

Read More

First Of The Month

Having seen a couple of Brown Hairstreak in perfect condition yesterday, I couldn't resist another bash at Steyning Rifle Range this morning (1st September). The weather was much better than forecast and I was surprised to have the place to myself, with the exception of
BC Sussex member Leigh Prevost. Two visitors from Rochester appeared later in the day, just in time for Leigh to locate a Brownie for them; their first ever! Of the 7 females I saw at close range, 4 were in very good condition, and 2 were completely unmarked - a great result for September!

Read More

Hairstreaks Making Hay

Visitor numbers are now decreasing at Steyning Rifle Range, but not the number of Brown Hairstreaks on view. Nine females were active this morning (31st August) in the warm harvest sunshine, including two which remained just above head-height. Both of these were in perfect condition and probably haven't started egg-laying yet. The others varied in condition, from battered to quite reasonable, with the specimen below being at the better end of the scale.

Read More

A Brown Letter Day!

Having never seen Brown Hairstreak before, and being inspired by reading the Ash Brownies Blog all summer, I (Paul Brewster) and my wife Carys decided that when news of emergence came through we would attempt to catch up with this enigmatic species. Once Gill had posted that emergence was underway at Grafton Wood, Worcestershire, we started to plan, but just at that time the good weather and our days off started to go out of sync. I emailed Gill whose response was fantastic, providing me with lots of info regarding where to park, access details and the best areas to search in Grafton Wood, and even sending maps with highlighted areas for parking, footpaths and prime locations.

Eventually one of our days off coincided with a warm, sunny day and our plan swung into action on 20th August to be precise! We headed down the M6 from mid-Cheshire, onto the M5 and then off towards Grafton Flyford as directed by Gill. The 98 mile journey flew by and we soon pulled up at the church, parked and took the path through the farm down over the fields towards Grafton Wood. As directed by Gill, our search began along the old orchard hedges, full of blackthorn bushes and bramble flowers, both a good sign. A short distance on we came across two other brownie hunters with their camera lenses stuck into the hedge – this had got to be a good sign. On approaching them, sure enough, they were watching an egg-laying female Brown Hairstreak; success, we had seen our lifer butterfly. For the next hour at least she gave us a fantastic show, egg-laying and then basking, allowing brilliant photographic opportunities for all, even for my digiscoping set-up

Gatekeepers and Small Coppers also showed in the same hedge but soon we decided to reluctantly leave them all to have our lunch. After lunch we returned to the wood to explore further. At the pond we found a nectaring female Brown Hairstreak on the hemp agrimony, our second brownie and our first self-found one. Nearby we saw the first of many Silver-washed Fritillaries whizzing around as is their wont with several vanessid and white species also present. On the pond margins was a smart male Ruddy Darter Dragonfly and nearby several Southern Hawkers, both ‘lions’ to the Brown Hairstreaks’ ‘gazelles’ in this miniature world of predator and prey. We carried on through the wood, impressed at how it is being managed for butterflies and ended the day by finding the scarce and unobtrusive violet helleborine tucked away on the woodland floor.

We reluctantly left Grafton Wood and headed home northwards to Cheshire, certain that we would be back many times in the future. Again, I would like to say a big thank-you to Gill for all her assistance and for helping us see our first ever Brown Hairstreaks, in the same year as we had seen our first Black Hairstreaks and coincidentally had also seen Green, Purple and White-letter Hairstreaks – 2013 what a great butterfly year it has been.

Read More

Only here for the beer

August Bank Holiday Monday saw the local Worcs Streakers manning an information stall at the Pershore Plum Fayre.  This was our second visit to this event which celebrates Pershore and the surrounding area's historical and cultural links with all things plummy.  We reckon the Brown Hairstreak qualifies because of its associations with various members of the Plum family and, in any event, it is a great opportunity to raise awareness of one of our plummiest butterflies with the wider community.  This year, we shared our stall with Colin and Graham of fromthenotebook who were launching the new Brown Hairstreak Ale.



Offering free samples of beer certainly helped to attract interest in our stall and we had an incredibly busy but productive day.  The improved weather this summer and generally more butterflies around seems to have made the public more butterfly conscious and we sold many ID leaflets together with lots of beer!  The Hairstreak Ale particularly was well received and we are hoping that we can now persuade a few of our local pubs and off licenses to stock it.  In the meantime, for Hairstreakers a little further afield, the beer can be ordered at www.fromthenotebook.co.uk  A donation from every bottle sold goes to Butterfly Conservation.

 

 

 



Read More

Hairstreak Peak

The Brown Hairstreak now appears to be at peak in Sussex, based on results at the well-watched Steyning Rifle Range site. Large numbers of hairstreak fans continue to visit and yesterday (28th August) saw about half a dozen females at work in the blackthorn, with nearly as many staying up high. Some of the females are still in surprisingly good condition. The butterfly was very obliging (unlike the previous day), so everyone went away with some pleasing images.

Sometimes it's nice to find peace and solitude while out butterflying, but Steyning provides the goods at the opposite end of the scale; there's often a real party atmosphere here as we celebrate the last few weeks of another season. When the scores on the doors are counted, this will prove to have been a rather average betulae season locally, and I believe some parts of the country have fared significantly better. If you want to see a Brownie in good condition this year, the coming weekend might be your last chance.

Read More