Birdwatcher’s Diary No.115

Published on: 31 Jul, 2016
Updated on: 30 Jul, 2016

By Malcolm Fincham

A sudden blast of hot air from the Continent by the middle of July brought with it temperatures touching 30 degrees centigrade. Perhaps a ‘tad’ too warm for my liking, although I wasn’t going to grumble.

The dry spell of weather that came with it gave me a long awaited taste of summer. And a chance for me to ‘wield’ my camera and take some up-to-date photos, especially of various butterfly species that had been tempted out by the hot sun.

Silver-studded blue on Thursley Common. Click on all pictures to enlarge in a new window.

On Thursley Common, silver-studded blues had now passed their peak. They were starting to look rather tatty as they came to the end of their life-cycle.

The silver-studded blue has suffered severe reduction in the UK, mainly due to habitat loss. Its favoured habitat is heathland, where it is found in the southern strongholds.

Thursley Common.

On Thursley Common it can still be found in good numbers.

Gatekeepers now out on the wing.

With the heather now out in full bloom, I saw my first gatekeepers of the year, sunbathing on the heather blossom.

Parish Field, Thursley Common, with ragwort.

At the Parish Field, where I photographed the cuckoo earlier this year, I was surprised to see it covered in a sea of ragwort.

Memories of a cuckoo earlier this year at the Parish field, Thursley Common. Now hopefully making a safe journey back to Africa.

As pretty as it looked, cattle and horses are particularly susceptible to poisoning from eating it. 

Cinnabar moth caterpillars.

Cinnabar moth caterpillars are resistant to its poisons, as they will happily feed on it, making them unpalatable to most bird species (apart from the cuckoo).

Cinnabar moth.

The common cuckoo’s diet consists of hairy caterpillars which are distasteful to many birds, being a speciality of preference.

Skylark in the Parish Field.

Feeding on the edge of the field, I spotted two skylarks, scratching around in the undergrowth. 

Woodlark on Thursley Common.

As well as a woodlark, perched on a dead branch.

Common buzzard on Thursley Common.

As I left the Parish Field, while still sheltered by the trees that surround it, I noticed a common buzzard, circling just above me. Managing to get several photos of him before he became aware of my presence. 

Close encounters of the buzzard kind on Thursley Common.

Then glaring into my eyes, he made an exit, drifting up high in the sky and out of sight. 

Dragonfly.

Back out across the heath, several type of dragonfly could be seen. 

Hobby hunting dragonflies on Thursley Common.

As ever their ‘nemesis’ – the hobby wasn’t too far away, looking for a meal. 

Young, newley fledged redstart.

Walking one of the many sandy tracks there, I noticed some movement close by in the heather. A small bird could be half viewed as it skulked in undergrowth. Unsure at first, I realised that it was a young redstart, as I recognised its ‘quivering’ orange-red tail.

Adult female redstart with food.

I soon noticed an adult female, perched not far away with a mouthful of food. Putting two and two together, I got the hint it was time to move on and leave her to her duties of feeding her fledgling in peace.

Male redstart.

Not far from the scene, I was also able to catch a photo of a male redstart, to complete the trilogy of family pictures.

Tree pipit singing.

A short way along the track, a tree pipit could be seen and heard singing. 

Stonechat.

While stonechats could be seen around in good number as I walked the breadth of the common.

Full moon rising over field near Thursley Common.

A few evenings later on July 19, on a personal invite, I returned to a secluded location on some private land that backs onto Thursley Common. After a pleasant sunny day, the sun began to set. Looking to the east, as we relaxed, the three of us chatted quietly, in a cloistered corner, on comfortable chairs, while watching a full moon rise over the open field before us. 

Barn owl.

An inspiriting setting as it was, an added bonus was to see what I was hoping for – my first barn owl of the year. Although just a brief encounter on this occasion, I hope for another invite later in the year to such a peaceful setting.

Although spreading myself somewhat thinly around a number of locations in the Surrey countryside, I found myself quite pleased with some of the pictures I managed to take.

Sun setting over Pewley Down.

A couple of evening visits to Pewley Down, before the sun had the chance to set, gave me the opportunity to catch up with a few butterfly shots. 

Chalkhill blue.

On July 19, I got my first male chalkhill blue pictures of the year there. Increasing in number as the week continued, as I also noticed a few females starting to emerge.

Chalkhill blues – male and female.

With mating evident by the end of the week.

Small copper.

I also managed to spot my first small copper of the year.

Marbled white.

Meanwhile, marbled whites were in good numbers.

Yellowhammer in flight.

A few yellowhammers could be heard singing and I was personally ‘chuffed’ at managing to snatch a picture of one as it flew past. 

Rowdy rabble of covids.

A rowdy rabble of jackdaws and rooks took to the air at the sound of a shotgun from the fields below. 

Green woodpecker.

While a green woodpecker stayed unperturbed by it all, as it remained hidden in a tree. 

Field of wild flowers at Sheepleas.

On July 22 I visited Sheepleas and was immediately impressed with the sight of the wild flower meadows there at this time of the year.

Although butterflies there weren’t in as great a number that day as the blooms there suggested, several common ones could be seen.

Peacock butterfly.

These included the delightful peacock butterfly. 

Red admiral.

With gatekeepers and red admirals too. 

Common blue.

And even a few sightings of my first common blues of the year, now starting to come out on the wing.

Having neglected my local ‘patch’ for a few weeks, I also made a point of a visit there, walking my usual set route along the towpath between Stoke and Bowers Locks.

Gulls and grey herons on the scrape by Stoke Lock.

On the flooded field near Stoke Lock, gulls had gathered. Mostly ‘black-headed’ I muttered to myself, while in the hope of picking out a ‘Med-gull’, as I scanned with my binoculars. Apart, that was, from a few herring gulls and two grey herons.

Egyptian geese on Stoke Lake.

On Stoke Lake were five Egyptian geese.

Great crested grebe with chick.

A great crested grebe tended to its one remaining chick. 

Swans with cygnets on Stoke Lake.

While a swan kept a keen eye on its cygnets.

Shoals of small fish in the River Wey by Bowers Lock.

In the still, deep waters by Bowers Lock shoals of fish could be seen close to the surface. These included bleak, minnows and roach, to name a few.

Rudd.

While a few red-finned rudd showed the river to be in good enough health to sustain them all. 

Adult male banded demoiselle.

Along the water’s edge banded demoiselle, lit up and glistening in the sunlight, males looking very attractive, with their banded blue wings.

Female banded demoiselle.

As the females displayed in their shiny green outfits.

Beautiful demoiselle.

A few days later while on a family visit to the old Gunpowder Mills in Chilworth, I was able to compare them with their cousins, the beautiful demoiselle. 

Small skipper.

Finally, I am determined to correct the ‘error of my ways’ of submitting the wrong pictures of those ‘pesky skippers’ in my last report. 

Large skipper.

In the knowledge of keen eyes hoping ‘muse’ at my expense, (and rightly so).

Essex skipper.

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