Black Hairstreaks

Black Hairstreaks have emerged some 2 weeks early this year. I've never managed to be free, in good weather for their emergence and have only really seen them past their best, towards the end of their flight period. So, having heard of them appearing during the week, I decided to head to north Northants on Sunday 11/06.

Joined by Em, we headed pretty much the length of Northants from Brackley, to Glapthorn Cow Pasture near Oundle, the premier Black Hairstreak site. The weather was warm and a mix of cloud and sun and proved to be about spot on. We were treated to an awesome show, with certainly double figures coming down to nectar. At one point I had 4 all there in front of me nectaring away...brilliant! A Nightingale was also singing really nicely closeby... the cherry on the top of a well worthwhile visit!

The Portlandica conundrum

On a drizzly and windy Tuesday 06/06, I headed up to Grimsbury Reservoir, Banbury for my regular lunchtime circuit to get myself out of the office for a bit.

I soon clapped eyes on a tern flying around the reservoir. Commons are regular throughout the summer but are not a regular fixture and so, even if a Common, it was a mildly notable bird.

Closer inspection of the bird showed that this was in fact a Portlandica type 1st-summer Common/Arctic, a very much more unusual sighting. 1st-summer birds, though increasingly encountered in the UK are still pretty rare, with the majority of 1st-summer Arctic & Commons spending their time in the southern hemisphere. By chance, myself, Gareth & Dan had in fact seen a 1st-summer, what we believed was Common, just a week previously on a day trip to Minsmere. Based on structure and plumage tones, we went with Common, however now in hindsight, I wish I had studied it far closer. 

Getting a good grasp of all the Grimsbury bird's features wasn't easy due to the inclement conditions, as well as the fact that it spent much of it's time actively feeding over the centre of the water. Still, things that were clear were relatively uniform grey across the wings, with a thin, dark trailing edge to the primaries, clean underwing and slightly darker edged carpal area. The bill appeared all dark, while the bird had a small, white forehead, with white speckled feathering into the bird's dark cap and a largely white breast/belly with a few greyer feathers coming through. I have to say my knowledge of 1st-summer terns is pretty limited, however the relative uniform colour of the wings was bugging me a bit. Would Common show that? Due to the poor weather, I didn't bother bringing my SLR with me, however did manage a distant shot of the bird below with my bridge camera. 

I had a chat with fellow local birder Steve Holiday who was also present while I was there. He was also a little unsure on the birds ID, without some more detailed literature to refer to. We tentatively went with Common for now.

The next day (07/06), I again paid the reservoir a visit and was pleasantly surprised to see that the tern was still present, again actively feeding over the water. This time I had my SLR with me and was able to obtain some far better photos. I spent quite a bit of time watching the bird, trying to take in all the features. I must've watched the bird for a good 45 minutes and not once did it rest, doing an almost figure of 8 route of the reservoir over and over again.

Back home I had a good look online for more literature on 1st-summer Common/Arctics but found it really hard to find anything clear and definitive to assist in the ID of the bird. The Collins for example, only gives only a very brief nod to 1st-summers and not really enough for conclusive ID

Looking at the photos, to me, the overall structure didn't particularly portray that pot-bellied appearance that you would associate with Arctic. The bill in the photos also appeared relatively long

I put images of the bird on Twitter as a Common, however based on feedback, the bird in fact appears to be a 1st-summer Arctic Tern! This is based on the following:

• The amount of black around the eye is beyond what a Common Tern would show
• Most importantly, all the primaries are of the same age. A Common Tern would have two generations of primaries at this time of year, having moulted the inners and retained the worn outers

So a really educational bird and a good ID challenge! Also, a cracking little record for little old Grimbo by the way!

Minsmere

For the Sunday of the Bank Holiday (28/05), myself, Dan & Gareth plotted another day out. We decided on a full day at Minsmere. There was nothing particularly outrageous reported, however Minsmere delivers such a variety of habitat and species that whatever was about, it was sure to be a worthwhile visit.

We set off at 6am and had a good 3 hour run over. We started off at Westleton Heath to have a stab at Dartford Warbler, Woodlark etc. This turned out to be a cracking little wander in the scorching morning sun, with a good scattering of Dartford Warbler, at least 3 Woodlark (can you spot one below?!), a couple of Turtle Dove at least & several Med Gulls overhead.

After a fair old stint on the heath, we moved on to the reserve. Over the next few hours, we enjoyed a slow circuit of the reserve, taking in Island Mere & Bittern Hides, and the various viewpoints around the scrapes. It was particularly cool to take in the number of Med Gulls of varying ages around the reserve and the sound of their distinctive calls could be heard everywhere throughout the day.

Wader passage had largely come to an end by the time of our visit, however there was still singles of both Sanderling & Knot, as well as 3 Black Tailed Godwit later on in the day. The resident Avocets appeared to be in plentiful supply, as were the raucous cacophony of the Black Headed Gull colony. Terns weren't too numerous. There was a decent scattering of Commons, however only 2-3 Little Terns and a similar number of Sandwich. A 2cy Common Tern was a nice thing to see, a plumage rarely seen in the UK (below).

Having done a full circuit of the reserve, we took a short break at the visitor centre for a coffee. The local Pheasants clearly knew which side their bread was buttered, lingering close to the cafe, looking for scraps!

Afterwards, we were super chuffed to have both Water Vole AND Water Shrew pointed out to us, showing from the dragonfly pond boardwalk, close to the visitor centre. Both were mammal ticks for me and a real highlight of the day!

We spent the last part of the day again at both Bittern & Island Mere hides, now far quieter. Close to Island Mere, Gareth headed a little further along the path, while Dan & I paused to look at something. We heard a distinctive 'ticking' call. Both our instincts were confirmed as a Hawfinch flew over our heads and away towards the oak woodlands. A real unexpected bonus!

The reedbeds both during the evening and throughout the day, produced quite a few Bearded Tits, with small family parties seen on a couple of occasions. Bittern booming was heard sporadically throughout the day too. Bittern sightings were at a premium, however we did get lovely fly-by views of one late in the day from Island Mere. This was while listening for the male Savi's Warbler which, after a bit of a wait, began tuning up at some point just before 8pm. It then sang well on and off until we left the hide some 20 minutes later. Despite our best efforts though, we failed to see it!

We did plan on finishing the day, back at the heath to enjoy some Nightjars and Nightingale, however almost as soon as we got back to the car and readied ourselves to drive down to the heath, the heavens opened! A quick check of the forecast and it appeared it was likely to be game over. Rubbish luck! Nevermind, it had been a very decent day indeed. We then wended our way back to the Midlands.

Marsh Frit & friends

I had earmarked the weekend of 20/05 & 21/05 to pay, my now annual homage to several of my favourite butterfly sites to connect with five of the scarcer species. Gareth Blockley was to join me this year. We both had an element of flexibility for the whole weekend and with the forecast for the Saturday a bit showery, we decided to use Sunday as the day to go.

The plan was to connect with Pearl-Bordered & Marsh Fritillary, Duke of Burgundy, Adonis & Small Blues. At this point in the calendar, it is a bit of a cross over with all these species and so there was no guarantee we would see all five but we would certainly give it a bash!

First stop was the sun-kissed Cirencester Park Woods. The hope here was to locate some Pearl Bordered Fritillaries that usually frequent a few key areas here. Unfortunately, despite a prolonged search, we just couldn't find one despite a few decent patches of sun. This was an area I saw several in last year so it was pretty disappointing we couldn't locate one. Perhaps the previous day's heavy showers had delayed their activity a touch? Who knows!

Anyways, with time pressing, we moved onto Strawberry Banks, a short drive along the Stroud road. Well I say a short drive, however the windy, single track road to the site was closed, meaning an even more convoluted route than usual! Anyways, eventually we arrived and the search for Marsh Fritillaries began...surely we wouldn't miss out here!

No we wouldn't and in fact, they were easy to find. Not quite the numbers I've seen from previous years, however there were definitely some emerging while we were there, so they were certainly not at their peak as yet.

I just have to see these every year. They are just stunning! We spent quite a bit of time here enjoying them floating about. We also found a single Small Blue, plenty of Dingy Skippers and a few very nice Lesser Butterfly Orchids.

After a good while at Strawberry Banks, we moved onto Stroud for our last site, the picturesque Rodborough Common. We walked down to the steep, sheltered slopes, towards the southern end of the common.

A good scour of the area produced at least two Duke of Burgundy, several Small Blues, a good scattering of Brown Argus & at least 2 Common Blue. Despite our best efforts, we couldn't find any Adonis Blue but it was touch and go as to whether any would be out yet. 

That concluded a great day out. Three out of five wasn't too bad, plus all three were new butterflies for Gareth. I make that a successful mission!