Birdwatcher’s Diary No. 167

Published on: 5 Aug, 2018
Updated on: 17 Aug, 2018

By Malcolm Fincham

In spite of the wealth of wildlife just beyond my doorstep, I sometimes find it sad to think of how things have changed in Surrey over the past few decades.

None less so than with our butterflies brethren. Of our current 41 resident or regular migrant species, 24 have declined in abundance since 2000. And we have even lost a few that could once be seen in the Surrey countryside.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary, pictured in West Sussex.

Now lost to Surrey are pearl-bordered and small pearl-bordered fritillaries.

The Duke of Burgundy butterfly has undergone a major decline in Britain especially in woodlands.

My nearest sightings of Duke of Burgundy butterflies have been at Noar Hill, in Hampshire.

Wall brown butterfly at Anchor Bottom near Beeding Hill in West Sussex.

While wall brown butterflies can still be found in Sussex.

My light-hearted personal challenge again this year to see and photograph all 42 current ‘Surrey’ varieties had amounted to 35 by mid July. And I still on target to achieve my aim.

Grayling butterfly, Thursley Common.

Another trip to Thursley Common on July 21, added another species to my ‘year list’. Although grayling butterflies are mostly confined to coastal habitats in Britain, they can still be found on several inland heathlands.

Grayling populations have recently begun to decline nationally, and while they are not globally endangered, the species is now considered a priority for conservation efforts in the UK.

Grayling butterfly, taking a like to Dougal’s brightly coloured T-shirt.

The males tend to be territorial, sitting in wait for a female to pass by. Looking for movement, it will sometimes, mistakenly, chase another butterfly species, or in our case, Dougal’s brightly coloured T-shirt!

Holly blue, Thursley Common.

A butterfly that does seem to be doing well this year, even found in heathland areas, is the holly blue.

Small copper.

Not forgetting, small copper butterflies, also seen there.

Heath Bumblebee – Bombus jonellus.

The constant humming sounds of a variety of bees could be heard, coming from the heather still in blossom. These included what I found to be a few especially attractive heath bumble bees.

Female black darter.

A female black darter dragonfly also glistened in the sunlight, as it dashed back and forth over the heather, occasionally settling.

Brown hawker dragonfly. This one pictured along the River Wey.

While a brown hawker proved more difficult to photograph, as it constantly remained in flight, during my time there.

Pewley Down.

Just a few days later I visited the chalky hillside of Guildford’s Pewley Down.

Chalkhill blue on Pewley Down.

Chalkhill blue butterflies had just started to emerge, with both males and females out on the wing.

Small blue on Pewley Down.

A second brood of small blue butterflies could now be found there.

Brown argus on Pewley Down.

Brown Argus were also in good numbers, although sometimes confused with the female common blue.

The amount of blue present in a female common blue can be highly variable, with individuals ranging from almost completely blue through to completely brown.

The brown Argus normally has a prominent dark spot in the centre of the forewings.

Small heath butterfly.

A few small heath butterflies could also be found.

Essex skipper on Pewley Down.

As well as Essex skippers.

Gatekeeper at Clandon Wood.

However, gatekeeper butterflies were the most abundant throughout the countryside by the last week of July. On the chalk of the North Downs, chalkhill blues were now ample in number.

A lone marbled white on Pewley Down.

Coming to the end of their reign for the year were marbled white butterflies. Only spotting one lonely soul, during my time there.

On July 27 I visited Whitmoor Common, just north of Guildford. To some, it often gives the appearance of being just a baron stretch of heathland. Especially in late July, now that many of our birds had suppressed themselves from their mating songs.

Even our local blackbirds appeared to have denounced from their fluty song for the rest of the year.

The first rain for over five weeks, that afternoon, backed up by some thunder and lightening, was short lived.

However, it assisted the silence of my avian pals, a few contact calls could still be detected for a while as the rain eased off.

Green woodpecker on Whitmoor Common.

An adult green woodpecker, warning its young of my presence, was my first notable sound as I sauntered, slowly from the car park towards the open heathland.

Green woodpecker on Whitmoor Common.

Eventually, I spotted one. It was feeding in an area already regenerating itself from the fire just over a month ago.

Great spotted woodpecker.

Out of the silence, a great spotted woodpecker also announced Its presence by its loud call.

Dartford warbler on Whitmoor Common.

Flitting about in the silver birch saplings were several Dartford warblers, occasionally making their “scratchy” contact calls.

Young stonechat.

A constant sound like stones being clicked together alerted me to a family of stonechats conversing with each other.

Long-tailed tit.

Long-tailed tits appear to have had another good year in most areas around Guildford. This seemed very much the case on Whitmoor Common too. With families of adults with young passing through the silver birches in “pods” of a dozen or more.

Linnet, Whitmoor Common.

A few male linnets were also present, still colourful in their summer plumaged bright red tunics.

Kestrel on a telephone wire, Whitmoor Common.

Also spotting two kestrels. One of which perched on the wires overhead that run across the heathland.

Female blackcap.

And even capturing a few pictures of a female blackcap, still collecting food for its young.

The most secretive of the birds residing on Whitmoor Common during the summer months are nightjars.

A rather lucky photo of a nightjar sighting I had last year.

These ground-nesting birds remain incognito for the most part during daylight hours. But they are prone to disturbance from dogs, let to roam freely across the heather.

One of this year’s attempts to photograph a nightjar on Whitmoor Common.

Although having had the privilege of getting some “lucky” shots in previous years, the best I’ve acheived, this year, have been a few twilight photos.

By the following day the high temperatures had cooled to a comfortable low 20s centigrade. A much appreciated cool breeze, enriched by sunny periods, enticed Dougal and I to venture out for a couple of hours to investigate the previous day’s reported sighting of a white stork near St Catherine’s Lock, near Shalford.

White stork perched on the railway viaduct near St Catherine’s Lock, Shalford.

Although not a great rarity to see in the UK, the last pair to successfully bred in the wild in the UK nested on St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh in 1416. The Hundred Years War was raging and Henry V had just defeated the French at Agincourt!

Projects are currently under way seeking to bring storks back to southern England. This includes one at Knepp Estate, West Grinstead, near Horsham in West Sussex.                       https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/rewilding/rewilding-projects/knepp-estate  Every year a few are spotted over Britain – although none have yet stayed to breed.

White stork feeding in the field, near St Catherine’s Lock, Shalford.

They are perfectly suited to reintroduction, and the aims are to establish a self-sustaining population in Sussex by 2030. In hope of setting them to breed in the British countryside for the first time in more than 600 years.

The Saxon name for the village of Storrington, near Worthing, was originally “Estorchestone”, meaning “the village of the storks”. A pair of white storks still features on the village emblem.

White stork in flight, near St Catherine’s Lock, Shalford.

While other place names in the area, such as Storwood and Storgelond, evoke the stork’s historical presence there.

White stork. “Knepp” birds have single blue rings on them, with ‘GB’ and two digits. This one has a red ring. It is believed to be of the same scheme.

Storks make nests of towering piles of sticks built up year after year, some so big that many other bird species will nest within them: they can make a significant difference to the availability of sites for some species. Partly because they are happy nesting on buildings, the folklore and cultural traditions surrounding storks are among the richest involving any bird species.

My attempts to do my own little bit for nature in my small garden seems to have had some success in the past week or so – managing to entice a few critters by growing  additional insect-friendly plants.

Although rather vigorous in their growth, buddleia shrubs are ideal for attracting a variety of butterflies, as well as bee species.

Small white butterflies in my garden.

Among the butterflies, a pair of small whites could be seen in a mating ritual.

Hummingbird hawk moth, picture taken about this time last year, while on my travels.

Although still trying to capture a picture, I have twice had a hummingbird hawk moth come to visit the buddleia during the past few weeks. Running indoors to grab my camera only to find on my return it had gone! Leaving me to have to show a picture of one I took last year.

Bee on my Verbena Bonariensis.

Verbena plants have also done their bit to attract a variety of species. Especially in the way of bees.

Swifts gathering in the sky above my garden.

Looking up into the evening sky during the last week of July, our local swifts had begun to occasionally group-up, screaming in unison, in some kind of conversation with each other, before parting again in small groups.

Swift in the evening sky.

By the end of the month the skies had silenced to their sound. With just a few now seen passing though. It seems our local ones had already begun their return to Africa?

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