Back In The Bracken

It's warm, it's the end of June*, it's time to go playing in the bracken with the big frits!

And hoping the Horrible Horseflies don't come to play with me...



Thus it was that a Sunday not so early morning [on Nights, dontcha know] I was over in the fresh wind, clouds and Sunshine - 24°, though! - of Aish Tor. High Brown, Dark Green, and Silver-washed Fritillaries were on the menu, but did I actually get any on record???

And, were the Horseflies out, and if so did I get bitten somewhere painful**??

Let us see....

::Milkshake sound effect::

High Brown Fritillary

Observe the sex brands along the second and third veins [going up] in the upperwing - diagnostic of male HBF - of strain your eyes at the underwing.

Unlike previous years, the little darlings were being very stingy with underwing views. It was, despite the fresh breeze and frequent clouds, warm enough for them to bomb about gleefully, rarely landing for more than 10 seconds, and yet almost invariably keeping wings open.

Only one shot of an underwing proper and that was out of focus

Clearly High Brown Fritillary
[Yes, the only 'clear' thing in that]

ID Challenge

ID Challenge 2

Always something in the way

::Milkshake noise::

Photobomb!

Sitting in the lee of a Gorse bush for some rations, I composed a nice location shot. See all the lovely layers? Hitting the button was when a male Brimstone got in on the fun!

More than once I have wondered when I'll actually get a Brimstone in focus and not blasted by sunshine [like that female earlier this year].

Hmm, how about now?

Brimstone

Of course, these things rarely behave

But look at the shape

Right, apply some stalking

Which is not easy amongst Bracken leavened with Gorse and Brambles. Blood was shed, I can tell you.

But then;

Nice.

A point of note; the green hue you see here is inherited from the surrounding foliage. In flight, she appeared quite creamy white.

:)

Also about;

Painted Lady

Lots still going from the influx.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth!

Not the usual green Shield Bug

Long-nosed Bee-fly!

Different [smaller] Bee-fly sp.

Wasp mimic hoverfly sp.?

Brown Silver-line

Showing off said line

Another bad fritillary shot

Maybe just look at last year's post?

I did meet a Horsefly, which dropped by for a 'chat' as I was putting my stuff away. The short sharp hand-to-mandible combat that ensued resolved into a decisive defeat for the would-be bloodsucker. :)

Having also been attacked at Emsworthy, I can safely say "They're heeeeere..."

Be 'ware.


Be Seeing You...


[[* Well, it was at the time]]
[[**Ie. anywhere... :( ]]
[[HB, DG, DG, HB and finally HB.]]

Yarner

An amble with the Folks and that Little Black Dog about Yarner last month was filled with the sound of birds - mostly unseen - and the lack of butterflies. But there were a few things worth pointing the camera at;

Trees!

Big hoverfly

Bumblebee sp. 1

Bumblebee sp. 2

Bee sp. 3

Bumblebee sp. 4

Bee sp. 5

Got to have a bird. Fortunately, one obliged;

Spotted Flycatcher

Artist's Bracket

Hoof Fungus

Just a meander around and abouts, with a relaxing sit with coffee and japflacks :) - enlivened when that Spot Fly popped up and posed.


Be Seeing You...

Recreational Masochism

There is a hill on Dartmoor that I have named the Green Death. I regularly walk down it, as it's on one of my pet routes. Once, long ago, I walked up it. It was a cold day and while I felt it in my legs, I got up with little more than an 'aaaargh'.

A very unfit Tom in blazing sunshine recently* tried the same thing, and has named said hill in response. Looking up [and up and up...], I was reminded of that bit in 'The Perfect Storm'; you know, at the end. Imagine that wave turned into green tussocky grass....

Now add a sadistic false crest and a very un-Dartmoor way of getting steeper the higher up you get.


But there were two good points.

1; I did not die.
[You can tell by how I'm typing this]

2; There were baby Wheatears. LOADS of them!

[You can tell by these!;]

CuteIckleBabyWheatearAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW..........

Ahem.

Love those Wheatears

At least ten fledglings on one wall line. Not bad :D


Let's see some non-Wheatear pictures;

Looking across Shovel Down

Teign

At the Pole Bridge

Wild Tor

[Sky by The Orb]

Robber Fly

lots present

June Bug

sparkly in the sunshine

Small Heath

Huge numbers present - every few steps seemed to flush another one!

Dung Roundhead

Blackening Waxcap

[Quite early]

Skylark

This was my second 10 miler in as many days, so perhaps my inability to climb steep hills in a respectable manner may have something to do with that, but it didn't make me feel any better. The walk - once I'd recovered the ability to actually do so - was very nice, as Wild Tor loops invariably are.

There were a lot of people about - more than I'd expect for a weekday still in the school year - but there you go. I'm trying not to mutter something like 'roll on winter', but the year has peaked and the dark is rising, so it is true.
Happy thoughts, eh? ;)


Be Seeing You...

[[*For a given value of 'recently'...]]

Yes, Really

Three posts in one day.. Sign of the Apocralypse??

More like 'sign of Tom actually getting some of his backlog caught up'.. :)


In more recent news, I shall be posting about a successful twitch for Red-veined Darter [as you may have guessed from that one down there] and yet another miserable butterfly failure, which followed on from a previous failure that also had some success. So go figure.

This will all make at least some sense when said posts materialise. [[What do you mean "If"?!?!?]]

And there's also the ever-growing Insects At Home thing, mostly delayed by trying to ID waves and pugs and carpets.. I suppose I ought to just throw them all up and edit when [if - a more reasonable if!] I find out what they are.


Anyways, I am on it and it shall be done.


Be Seeing You...




Really, it will be done. This month.


Stop laughing!

Red-veined Darters At Clennon

What's this? Factual, to the point posting about something in real recent history?

Who am I and what have I done with Tom??!?


Ahem.

It's very late, it's still too hot, I have a crick in my neck and I can't sleep.

Instead, I post this;

Red-veined Darter

Oh yes. That is almost good. :D

"I like this perch"

Azure Damselfly photobombs

R-v Darters ovipositing

That last not technically great, but what it shows..!!


At least 6 Red-veins present that I saw, [The Artist reckons 10+] and laying on two of the ponds, as well. Also shedloads of other odonata present, though the lone male Scarce Chaser defied all cameras, despite my giving it far too many hours...

EDIT: My Betters* have informed me that what I resignedly ID'd as a very old female BT Skimmer - abdomen spread to bask - was in fact a very old female Scarce Chaser; despite the olive thorax. I only discovered this when reunited with a fellow dragonfly chaser at the Blue-winged Teal in November... Oh dear. Well, if you're going to screw up, might as well do it properly, eh?


For those going 'huh?', Red-veined Darters are vagrants / very rare breeders in the UK. For a bird equivalent, think Great White Egrets nesting [in Devon], perhaps?



Yet another post in the queue, with ridiculous numbers of dragonfly pictures in it...


Be Seeing You...

[[*The Mighty Smallshire was Invoked and Judgement rendered.]]

Yet Another Bug Hunt

With a 'no sign of' for the Caspo on Friday morning* - but of course - I decided to try yet another go at Marsh Frit at Emsworthy. They'd been seen over the prior weekend, and there hadn't been the weather to kill them since, so surely...??


Ha. Ha. Ha-dee-blimmin'-ha.


The wind was a howling hoolie, but the Sun was toasty, so things should be cowering in defined areas, yes? Yes. This was true. Things did not include a single MF, however.
Instead...

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

Teneral male

Still inflating the wings! :)

Subbing for brightly patterened butterflies, there were some nice dragons. Like that one up there! :D

Here's some more;

Keeled Skimmer

And again

Four-spotted Chaser

Large Red Damselfly

Also Emperors [who probably ate all the MFs...] and Azure Damsels

Quite a few fritillaries were present, but all were these;

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Another

You get the idea

Large Skipper

::Empty milkshake noise::

I said there were lots of SPBF

Quite a few Painted Lady

Eventually one posed!

Let's have another view of that glorious Golden-ring, shall we?

Wow.

Almost consolation.


Be Seeing You...


[[*As it turned out, of course.....]]