Date: 17th July 2020
Time: from 6:45 a.m.
Weather: dry, sunny, light wind, 17°C to 20°C
This was my first early morning visit to the site since 7th July 2020 …. although not as early as some!
I arrived on site by the Larkins Tyres entrance and around the eastern end of the cemetery I heard a singing male Blackcap, the soft whistled contact call of a Chiffchaff and a calling Great Spotted Woodpecker.
On my way to my usual Red Fox watching location, I stopped by the small buddleia bushes in the central area of the cemetery which had held c.15 feeding Peacocks on my last visit on 13th July 2020. This morning there were none at all but I did see a single Marbled White there.
As I continued past St. Nicholas Church, I saw a Grey Heron flying overhead in a southerly direction. I have seen this species flying over the site before but only rarely.
As on all my early morning visits, I spent some time watching the Red Foxes at the usual location. I have written a separate dedicated blog post here.
Whilst at the Red Fox watching location, I saw a male Greenfinch perched calling in the usual high conifer tree. In this area I also saw a male Blackcap feeding on blackberries (which have now developed in some profusion) and the occasional song of 1 or possibly 2 males. Whilst in this area I additionally heard a briefly calling Great Spotted Woodpecker and at least one “screaming” Swift several times.
I did not visit the site this morning with the specific intention of finding and photographing butterflies and in fact I did not take my macro lens with me. However, after watching the Red Foxes, I did move the short distance to an area of bramble bushes and other vegetation that is usually productive for butterflies and so it proved again this morning. The photos that I managed to take were with my 150-500mm lens that I use for bird and mammal photography so they were taken at some distance to enable focus.
I recorded 9 species of butterfly in this small area: Small Copper (1 or possibly 2), Marbled White (1 or possibly 2), Comma (3), Gatekeeper (c.5), Ringlet (c.5), Large Skipper (2), Meadow Brown (c.10), Large White (c.5), Small White (c.5)
I also saw a butterfly that I was totally unfamiliar with and had not seen before. I managed to get a rather poor record photo ....
Having consulted my butterfly books and the Butterfly Conservation website, I did hazard a guess at a very pale Brown Hairstreak although range and distribution maps did not suggest a presence in Essex.
However, thanks to the help of the discussion forum on UK Butterflies, my mystery butterfly was confirmed as a Purple Hairstreak. I was therefore 50% correct in my identification 😀.
Needless to say, Purple Hairstreak is a not just a new record for the site for me, bringing my site total for butterfly species to 20, but a new record entirely.
My record of Small Copper was my first for the site for the year.
I submitted these records to the Big Butterfly Count organised by Butterfly Conservation .... see here.
Along the grassy track approaching my home, I additionally saw a single Red Admiral.
Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):
Swift
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Robin
Wren
Dunnock
Blackbird
Greenfinch
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Jay
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Grey Heron
Red Fox
Purple Hairstreak
Small Copper
Marbled White
Comma
Gatekeeper
Ringlet
Large Skipper
Meadow Brown
Large White
Small White
Here are some photos from my visit:
Time: from 6:45 a.m.
Weather: dry, sunny, light wind, 17°C to 20°C
This was my first early morning visit to the site since 7th July 2020 …. although not as early as some!
I arrived on site by the Larkins Tyres entrance and around the eastern end of the cemetery I heard a singing male Blackcap, the soft whistled contact call of a Chiffchaff and a calling Great Spotted Woodpecker.
On my way to my usual Red Fox watching location, I stopped by the small buddleia bushes in the central area of the cemetery which had held c.15 feeding Peacocks on my last visit on 13th July 2020. This morning there were none at all but I did see a single Marbled White there.
As I continued past St. Nicholas Church, I saw a Grey Heron flying overhead in a southerly direction. I have seen this species flying over the site before but only rarely.
As on all my early morning visits, I spent some time watching the Red Foxes at the usual location. I have written a separate dedicated blog post here.
Whilst at the Red Fox watching location, I saw a male Greenfinch perched calling in the usual high conifer tree. In this area I also saw a male Blackcap feeding on blackberries (which have now developed in some profusion) and the occasional song of 1 or possibly 2 males. Whilst in this area I additionally heard a briefly calling Great Spotted Woodpecker and at least one “screaming” Swift several times.
I did not visit the site this morning with the specific intention of finding and photographing butterflies and in fact I did not take my macro lens with me. However, after watching the Red Foxes, I did move the short distance to an area of bramble bushes and other vegetation that is usually productive for butterflies and so it proved again this morning. The photos that I managed to take were with my 150-500mm lens that I use for bird and mammal photography so they were taken at some distance to enable focus.
I recorded 9 species of butterfly in this small area: Small Copper (1 or possibly 2), Marbled White (1 or possibly 2), Comma (3), Gatekeeper (c.5), Ringlet (c.5), Large Skipper (2), Meadow Brown (c.10), Large White (c.5), Small White (c.5)
I also saw a butterfly that I was totally unfamiliar with and had not seen before. I managed to get a rather poor record photo ....
Having consulted my butterfly books and the Butterfly Conservation website, I did hazard a guess at a very pale Brown Hairstreak although range and distribution maps did not suggest a presence in Essex.
However, thanks to the help of the discussion forum on UK Butterflies, my mystery butterfly was confirmed as a Purple Hairstreak. I was therefore 50% correct in my identification 😀.
Needless to say, Purple Hairstreak is a not just a new record for the site for me, bringing my site total for butterfly species to 20, but a new record entirely.
My record of Small Copper was my first for the site for the year.
I submitted these records to the Big Butterfly Count organised by Butterfly Conservation .... see here.
Along the grassy track approaching my home, I additionally saw a single Red Admiral.
Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):
Swift
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Robin
Wren
Dunnock
Blackbird
Greenfinch
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Jay
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Grey Heron
Red Fox
Purple Hairstreak
Small Copper
Marbled White
Comma
Gatekeeper
Ringlet
Large Skipper
Meadow Brown
Large White
Small White
Here are some photos from my visit:
Photo: Small Copper
Photo: Marbled White
Photo: Marbled White
Site totals to date:
Birds = 48
Mammals = 4
Butterflies = 20
Dragonflies and damselflies = 6
Reptiles = 1
Amphibians = 0
💚🦆 🦉 🌼 🌳💚
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature
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