Catchup Time Pt.4 - 18th June to 6th July

Header image (while this post is current) - Comma in our garden on 6th July, 2023  

I pick up my Catchup series with a post that starts with observations after my return from my Norfolk trip, which has previously been reported on.

Sunday, 18th June          Garden

Meadow Brown is a common butterfly, but far from common in our garden - without checking my records, I'm not sure if we have actually seen one in the garden before this year. 

Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) (male)  - our garden

I let a number of plants of Garlic Mustard grow each year, although I am aware that they are particularly invasive. However, they are the favoured food plant of the larvae of the Orange-tip butterfly. This year, I only found around eight Orange-tip caterpillars. This one was a little different in that it had dark lines round its body instead of being monotone green. I am reasonably certain that it is still an Orange-tip, however.

Orange-tip (Maniola jurtina) (larva) - our garden

Monday, 19th June          Ashby Canal, Snarestone

I was booked to lead a walk for the Blackfordby Wildlife Group, on Tuesday 20th June, to look for wildlife on the Ashby Canal by Snarestone, the key target being the very localised White-legged Damselfly. This is my favourite damselfly species. Having not been there for a long while, I thought that I should check it out with a brief visit the day before the walk. The day was not ideal as it was quite windy and there was only occasional sunshine. Photography was challenging.

The first damselfly I found was the target species!

White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes) (male) -  Ashby Canal, near Snarestone

Nearby was a Blue-tailed Damselfly.

Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (male) - Ashby Canal, near Snarestone

I saw a few of these as I walked down the towpath. As expected, Banded Demoiselle were also present.

Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) (male) - Ashby Canal, near Snarestone

There were also a few butterflies around.

Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) (male) - Ashby Canal, near Snarestone

It was good to see that, in spite of the less than ideal weather, White-legged Damselfly was the most numerous species that I found. The second image, below, shows just how 'hammer-headed' this species is.

White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes) (male) -  Ashby Canal, near Snarestone

As I headed back along the towpath, a juvenile rabbit came scurrying towards me. I stood still and it came quite close before spotting me and bounding away.

Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) (juvenile) - Ashby Canal, near Snarestone

I watched it go down the towpath until it stopped, looked around for a while, and then approached me once more. This time it stopped briefly in front of me before heading away again and disappearing into the hedge on the landward side of the towpath.

Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) (juvenile) - Ashby Canal, near Snarestone

I continued back towards the car park, keeping my eyes open on the base of the hedge as I went along, and found the young rabbit skulking right beside the path. It didn't move when I stopped to photograph it. 

Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) (juvenile) - Ashby Canal, near Snarestone

As the canal towpath is popular with dog-walkers, I don't fancy this young rabbit's chances of a long life.

In the event, the poor weather forecast for the following day turned into a dire one, with strong winds and heavy rain, and the walk was cancelled, but I'd had an interesting time checking it out.

Wednesday, 21st June          Garden

The opportunities to photograph dragonflies in our garden are few and far between and, as I write this, this day was the only opportunity I had for such an activity this year.  A female Common Darter came and sat on the dead flower head of a California Poppy in an awkward position for photography, and these are the best that I could manage.

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (female) - our garden

Friday, 23rd June          Garden

We were now seeing good numbers of recently fledged birds visiting the garden and this is always a fascinating time. Immature Blue Tits have a much greyer appearance than the adults.

Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus

) (immature) - our garden

Sunday, 25th June          Garden

The Jackdaw that visited this day, for a change, stopped somewhere where I could get a shot through the glass of my study window.

Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) - our garden

Monday, 26th June          Garden

Happily, for our regular garden avian visitors, it had been many weeks since we had last seen a Sparrowhawk in our garden. However, one visited this day, although it went away empty-taloned. I can't see enough detail in my photo to determine the sex of this bird, but I think it was a male by the orange visible on the neck.

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) - our garden

That evening, I put out the moth trap.

A few weeks back (in mid-August), I commented on the blog of a young Canadian lad that I was concerned at him netting dragonflies and holding them by the legs as I feared that it would damage their legs - which are essential to a dragonfly's ability to catch prey. My good friend, David Gascoigne, noted my comment and responded with the words ("I saw your comment and I share your concern about handling dragonflies, or anything else for that matter. We miss lots of stuff since it never lands, but we will never go out with the intention of capturing odenates, butterflies or other small creatures.") that got me thinking long and hard about my own activities, specifically relating to moth-trapping. This involves attracting moths to light by an apparatus that causes them to fall into an area where there are egg-boxes that they can tuck themselves into until the following morning. In the morning, after being recorded, they are then released into a quiet area where they can rest until the following evening. Interesting specimens, however, are potted and placed in the fridge for a while until I can photograph them. 

Very occasionally there are casualties. On two occasions I have had hornets in the trap and they took their toll on the occupants. Loss of a limb sometimes happens, but it is extremely rare for a moth not to survive and fly away to freedom after its release. Following David's comment, I feel a little uncomfortable about continuing with this activity, although I find it very interesting - and how else does one get to see creatures that, for the most part, are nocturnal and masters at hiding themselves away in the daytime.

My current thoughts are that I will continue, but on a far less frequent basis, and with even more caution for the creatures' wellbeing.

Having said my piece, here are a few of what I found to be the more interesting moths this night - none of them rare, but all delightful and infrequent to our garden.

Burnished Brass (Diachrysia chrysitis) - from garden moth trap

Miller (Acronicta leporina) - from garden moth trap

Elephant Hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor) - from garden moth trap

Wednesday, 28th June          Garden

We have been fortunate enough to have been getting fairly frequent visits by Bullfinch this year, with often a pair showing up. We were hopeful of seeing youngsters and on this day our wish came true, although the photos obtained were not the best.

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (juvenile + male) - our garden

Friday, 30th June          Garden

Carrying on with the juvenile birds theme, this juvenile Goldfinch posed nicely outside my study. Currently, Goldfinch is the most numerous bird visiting our garden with most of them being juveniles, some of which are just beginning to show traces of adult plumage. 

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) (juvenile) - our garden

Saturday, 1st July          Garden

From my study window this day, I spotted the strangest juvenile bird that I have ever observed. It was a Woodpigeon and, to my mind, it didn't look as if it was developed enough to fly - but it was! That bill looks very odd!

Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus) (juvenile) - our garden

Monday, 3rd July          Garden

 

This day I managed a slightly better shot of a juvenile Bullfinch, although still not on a natural perch.

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (juvenile) - our garden

The Jackdaw chose a rather more natural-looking place to pose, however.

Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) - our garden

Wednesday, 5th July          Garden

Relaxing in the conservatory after lunch, Lindsay spotted a lacewing on the outside of the glass. I went out and took some shots with my camera. I'm rather pleased with the result and will be keeping my eyes open for reflection-shot opportunities like this in future.

 

Lacewing (Chrysoperla carnea agg.) - our garden

Thursday, 6th July          Garden and House

This year has been a good year for Comma butterflies in our garden, and I can never resist trying for photos.

 

Comma (Polygonia c-album) - our garden

Lindsay found a small ladybird on the wardrobe in our bedroom. She commented that it had cows on its back! This was one of the forms of the Harlequin Ladybird. At one time there was great consternation about the presence of this invader from the continent, but I get the impression that it is of less concern these days. I certainly was happy to set it free, unharmed. When I looked at my photos I could see what she meant by the 'cows'. Given that this ladybird was probably less than 6mm long, I am amazed by Lindsay's eyesight.

Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis f. spectabilis) - our garden

Earlier in the year, a pair of Stock Doves had been regular visitors to our garden. However, we had not seen one for rather a long time so I was pleased when this one arrived.

Stock Dove (Columba oenas) - our garden

 

This brings me to the end of this post. The following day we headed off to Hampshire for a week in the New Forest - a wonderful stay that I have already reported on .

My next post will probably be another Catchup, and feature the second half of July and a chunk of August, as I did not get out much for a long time after our return from the New Forest.

In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature.

Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard