Posts Tagged ‘Speckled Wood’

Walk around the Tarn

Posted: September 14, 2021 in Birds, Butterflies and Moths, Landscape, London, Natural History, UK
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My weekly wildlife walk takes me across the grounds of the estate where I live to the Tarn, a local park around a small lake. I am very fortunate to live on an estate with really nice grounds adjacent to a golf course and a park and so we see lots of wildlife.

  • Looking across to the golf course

After leaving the estate a short stretch of road leads to the entrance to the Tarn, descending from street level past the old ice well of Eltham House (now the clubhouse of the golf course).

The Tarn

I do this walk once a week and record all the wildlife I can see and hear. The results are then reported back to a number of different schemes set up to monitor the wildlife in the UK.

This week it is rather quiet. The Canada and Greylag Geese flocks are absent, they use a number of different sites in the area. There are good numbers of Mallard, Coot and Moorhens, so they have had good breeding seasons. The resident pair of Egyptian Geese still have 3 young but these are now indistinguishable from their parents. No dragonflies were seen, which is surprising as we usually have Common Darter present during August and only one butterfly, a single Speckled Wood was seen on the whole walk. It seems to have been a poor year for butterflies locally.

  • Carrion Crow
  • Grey Squirrel
  • Woodpigeon
  • Coot
  • Moorhen
  • Egyptian Goose
  • Speckled Wood

British Butterflies: Speckled Wood

Posted: August 27, 2019 in Butterflies and Moths, Natural History
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This butterfly is found in gardens and woodlands throughout the summer.

Roll on Spring

Posted: February 11, 2019 in Butterflies and Moths, Dragonflies, Insects, Natural History, UK
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It may be cold outside but before long spring will be here, with all the delights it brings.

Comma
Buff-tailed Bumblebee
Orange-Tip
Speckled Wood
Blue-tailed Damselfly

Naturelog: 26th June

Posted: June 27, 2017 in Butterflies and Moths, Dragonflies, Natural History
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Having been away from home for a while it was good to be able to do the Butterfly and Dragonfly survey on my patch today. It was a lovely sunny day although thankfully the temperature had dropped some degrees from the previous week, which made it more pleasant to be outside.

There were a number of Butterfly species to be seen with a good number of Commas and Meadow Browns, my first records of these on the patch this year, along with large White and Speckled Wood. the star undoubtedly was a Large Skipper. This is only the second record for the patch since I started recording here.

Large Skipper

Comma

Speckled Wood

On the Dragonfly front, there were good numbers of Azure Damselflies and a single Large Red Damselfly. Most of these were well away from the pond where they breed. I did check as many as possible to see if there were any Common Blue Damselfly, of which we occasionally get a few, but I couldn’t see any. On the main lake an Emperor Dragonfly was patrolling the margins.

Azure damselfly

Naturelog: 30th March

Posted: March 31, 2017 in Birds, Butterflies and Moths, London, Natural History, Reptiles and Amphibians, UK
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The Tarn

Spring is here and so a new recording season begins. Having had a break over the winter from any formalised recording it is time to begin again for Butterflies, Dragonflies and Bumblebees on my patch and for Birds at Eltham Park. So a bright March day saw me doing the first of my weekly walks around the Tarn.

An early surprise was a Stock Dove in the Garden as I set out to walk down to the Tarn. This is the first record for me on the patch and although I didn’t disturb it, the bird had disappeared by the time I returned. On the walk down to the Tarn, I recorded my first Butterfly of 2017 a Speckled Wood.

Arriving at the Tarn the usual residents were in evidence but as I walked around the lake there was little evidence of Butterfly activity. Apart from the overwintering species, the first emergers are usually the Orange-Tips and eventually, a pair flew past me at the east end of the lake.

Orange Tip (m). Photo by Tim Hodson (https://www.flickr.com/photos/informationtakesover/)

Tracking back up the south side and doing the wildfowl count whilst also looking out for butterflies I reached the sluice gate at the south-western end when a flash of iridescent blue sped away from me across the Lake – a Common Kingfisher – the first of the year – it must have been perched somewhere nearby in the bushes and took flight at my approach. As I left to make my way back home, a female Brimstone butterfly flew lazily across the path.

It’s been a while since I saw a Terrapin here, but this one was taking the opportunity to sun itself.

Egyptian Goose

Coot trying out a potential nest site

The Tarn

 

Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)
Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk [sp] (Accipiter nisus)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
Stock Dove [sp] (Columba oenas)
Rose-ringed Parakeet [sp] (Psittacula krameri)
Common Kingfisher [sp] (Alcedo atthis)
Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
Great Tit [sp] (Parus major)
Eurasian Blue Tit [sp] (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)

Butterflies

Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)

Speckled Wood [sp] (Pararge aegeria)

Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines)

Speckled Wood

Posted: September 7, 2016 in Butterflies and Moths, Natural History
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Speckled wood

Speckled wood

This common butterfly of gardens and parks is perhaps one of the most recognised as it has two broods a year, one in the spring and another in the summer. This ensures that individual adults are on the wing for most of the summer.

Speckled Wood

Speckled Wood

There are a number of sub-species with colour variations ranging from  white spots (more common in the north of its range) to orange spots (more common in the south of range).

Speckled Wood

Speckled Wood

Speckled Wood

Speckled Wood

 

 

Naturelog: 10th June

Posted: June 11, 2015 in Birds, Butterflies and Moths, Insects, Natural History
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This weeks butterfly and dragonfly survey looked like turning up a big fat double zero despite reasonable weather conditiond. Thankfully a single Speckled Wood at the end of the walk was a relief to see.

Speckled Wood

Speckled Wood

After the promise of last week, the small pond was deserted and no damselflies were to be seen either on the pond or on the surrounding vegetation. Still it is rare that I dont turn up something of interest and along with White-tailed and Common Carder bees there were a number of Tree bumblebees (Bombus hypnorum) at the western end of the Tarn. First record this year of a species which may be the only bumble bee species that is currently increasing in the UK. It first began to colonise the southern counties of UK 13 years ago and now is commonly found in much of England and parts of Wales.

Tree Bee . Bombus hypnorum
Tree Bumblebee
Photo by Gail Hampshire (https://www.flickr.com/photos/gails_pictures/)

Male bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum), Sandy, Bedfordshire
Tree Bumblebee
photo by Orange Aurouchs (https://www.flickr.com/photos/orangeaurochs/)

The Greylag geese are developing fast and will soon be indistinguishable from their parents.

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I found one active Moorhen nest

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and a family of Coot.

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Naturelog: 1st June

Posted: June 1, 2015 in Birds, Butterflies and Moths, Dragonflies, Natural History
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The weekly butterfly and dragonfly survey on my local patch. The weather is not ideal as there is a good breeze blowing but the weather forecast doesn’t look much better tomorrow.

On the walk down to the small pond there is not much activity but there are a few Large Red Damselflies on the pond and the vegetation surrounding it.

Large Red Damselfly

Large Red Damselfly

A pair of Blackbirds are gathering nesting material from the edge of the pond.

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Whilst photographing Large Red’s a  blue butterfly briefly alights on the bush and its brown underwing identifies it as my year’s first Common Blue butterfly for the site.

Common Blue

A female Brimstone passes by as I approach the lake. Contrary to what I wrote last week, a pair of Canada Geese have bred although it is surprising to see that they only have one gosling.

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Our mixed Canada/Greylag pair have also bred (4th year) and have a small family.

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The main Greylag nursery still numbers 8 and they are beginning to look like much more like their parents.

Greylag Geese

Greylag Geese

Butterfly-wise it is pretty quiet. I locate another Common Blue and 2 Speckled Woods

Speckled Wood

Speckled Wood

But there is quiet a lot of Bee activity and Red-tailed and White-tailed workers are busily collect nectar.

Red-tailed Bumblebee

Red-tailed Bumblebee

Returning to the small pond, I am photographing Large Red’s again when a blue damselfly puts in a brief appearance before disappearing round a bush. Location and date suggest Azure Damselfly but I cant rule out Common Blue Damselfly (ironically not the commonest blue damselfly on the site). I spent some time trying to re-locate it but without success. Hopefully this is the first of many and they will be more evident next week.

Large Red Damselfly

Large Red Damselfly

Naturelog: 23rd May

Posted: May 29, 2015 in Birds, Butterflies and Moths, Dorset, Natural History, UK
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RSPB Radipole

RSPB Radipole

Our final morning in Dorset before heading back to London is spent at the RSPB Radipole reserve in the heart of Weymouth.

RSPB Radipole

RSPB Radipole

As we make our way around the reserve we are serenaded by the song of Reed Warblers and Cetti’s Warblers and are fortunate to get some views of these elusive birds in the the reed-beds. We hear the call of Beaded Tits on a couple of occasions but they remain out of sight. A single Long-tailed Tit is another addition to the species seen on this trip. The most unusual bird of the morning is a Hooded Merganser (an American species). This bird was first seen in June 2008 and has stayed at Radipole ever since apart from occasional trips to other spots along the south coast. It is officially regarded as an escape from a bird collection but there is never certainty. Regardless it is a very attractive bird.

Hooded Merganser

Hooded Merganser

Hooded Merganser

Hooded Merganser

The joy of our morning walk is the host of Butterflies particularly Brimstones, but we also see Common Blue; Holly Blue; Small White; Green-veined White; Speckled Wood and Large White.

Speckled Wood

Speckled Wood

Common Blue

Common Blue

Its been an excellent few days with over 100 species of bird seen, but not just seen; but great views as well.

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Gadwall (Anas strepera)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)
Great Crested Grebe [sp] (Podiceps cristatus)
Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Western Marsh Harrier [sp] (Circus aeruginosus)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
European Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)
Common Pigeon [sp] (Columba livia)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Common Swift [sp] (Apus apus)
Rook [sp] (Corvus frugilegus)
Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
Great Tit [sp] (Parus major)
Eurasian Blue Tit [sp] (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Bearded Reedling [sp] (Panurus biarmicus)
Barn Swallow [sp] (Hirundo rustica)
Common House Martin [sp] (Delichon urbicum)
Cetti’s Warbler [sp] (Cettia cetti)
Long-tailed Tit [sp] (Aegithalos caudatus)
Common Chiffchaff [sp] (Phylloscopus collybita)
Eurasian Reed Warbler [sp] (Acrocephalus scirpaceus)
Eurasian Blackcap [sp] (Sylvia atricapilla)
Lesser Whitethroat [sp] (Sylvia curruca)
Common Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)

Large White (Pieris brassicae)
Green-veined White [sp] (Artogeia napi)
Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)
Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)
Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)
Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

Naturelog: 23rd April (2)

Posted: April 24, 2015 in Birds, Butterflies and Moths, London, Natural History, UK
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DSCN6778

As I am off for 10 days in Northumbria on Saturday I have been trying to get round my survey sites before I go. This afternoon I did the weeks butterfly and dragonfly walk on my patch. It started well with a female Brimstone in the garden as I was leaving the house. Another couple of males were present by the Tarn together with Orange Tip; Holly Blue and the years first speckled Wood.

Speckled Wood

Speckled Wood

Searching along the edges of the Tarn i came across another creature watching the Tarn. In this case i would imagine looking for something to stray too close. He or she sat there for quite sometime hardly moving at all and was still there when I moved on from that section.

Red Fox

Red Fox

The first water-bird young have arrived. Eleven young Greylag geese accompanied by 4 adults so I presume this is two broods. At least one other is still on a nest on the islands.

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Parent keeps an eye on me whilst I photograph the goslings

Parent keeps an eye on me whilst I photograph the goslings

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Also the first Mallard chicks

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I couldn’t find any Canada Geese nests but these may be hidden on the islands. But the coots still seem to be building nests.

Coot

Coot

The Egyptian Geese which arrived a couple of weeks ago are still present.

Egyptian Goose

Egyptian Goose

Disappointing is that the damselfly pool looks in very poor condition. There is almost no live vegetation and I am worried that there is nothing left alive in it. It is connected to the main lake by a pipe so it is likely affected by the woes that have troubled the main lake and it may be they have hit hardest here, because of the lack of drainage and water movement. This will be a major loss as 4 out of the 10 dragonfly species found in the area are located solely on this pond.

Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)
Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Grey Heron [sp] (Ardea cinerea)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
Common Pigeon [sp] (Columba livia)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Rose-ringed Parakeet [sp] (Psittacula krameri)
Eurasian Magpie [sp] (Pica pica)
Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
Great Tit [sp] (Parus major)
Eurasian Blue Tit [sp] (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Eurasian Wren [sp] (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
Dunnock [sp] (Prunella modularis)

Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines)
Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)
Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)
Speckled Wood [sp] (Pararge aegeria)

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