Time and the White Hare

 Crikey where does the time go?

In late March I mentioned we had lost a close friend in sudden circumstances. What with various investigations taking place, the funeral only took place on Monday so it has been difficult trying to keep business as usual. There is nothing like this kind of shock to the system to get you thinking about mortality and life in general. Its all too easy to complain about trivia when really we should be grateful when we wake up each morning.

Since my last post, I've been out around the doors, not going too far ( I rarely do these days). In light of recent events, I would like to be able to take a more free and relaxed approach to natural history observations. There is no need to fixate on stuff, whether it is about staying local to the exclusion of all else or having to twitch the latest mega 300 miles away. None of it matters you know. Just take a breath and follow your instincts without pressure, just enjoy the time you have left and do what ever it is you want to do. Feel free to change your mind and approach at a whim, just to gain personal enjoyment on any day. We all have fixed commitments, work, family etc, but in your free time, be free!

Spring has been very slow in coming to my corner of Northumberland, as it always is. I can only think it is the close proximity to a winter retaining North Sea that removes our spring from the equation. As with most recent Aprils the wind has been a cool northerly for weeks now, blocking newly emerging nature of all sorts. Spring bird migrants have been delayed in arriving, butterflies almost non existant and the moth trap has lain redundant for weeks. Still there is no stopping the change in the air.

My first signs of a few migrants came on 21st April with ironically, early for here, Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat while Grasshopper Warbler and Redstart was more fitting.

A leucistic Brown Hare ( creamy white all over) crossed our path at that time too. I must check out the mythology around these, surely there will be some tales of ghostly white hares, no doubt bringing a curse on all who's path she crosses...

The White Hare.

A wander around the dunes at Warkworth had a nice display of just emerging Early Purple Orchids too. I must try and get back this week to see them at full opened glory.

In our garden, Holly Blues are out at the slightest hint of sun and a lovely big Hoverfly, Criorhina floccosa was easy to photograph in the chill air.  

The bee mimic hoverfly Criorhina floccosa complete with its diagnostic white flank tufts.

For such a common bird along our coast I had never seen a Stonechat's nest until the other week. While looking for a Grasshopper Warbler a small bird flushed from a clump of marram near my path. I was over the moon to find a nice small, flattened, tunnel leading to a small cup containing 5 eggs. I took one photo with my phone and left her to it.

Stonechat nest.

Whimbrel arrived on the patch on 22nd April witha single bird on the rocky shore beside us.

So with Orange Tips now on the wing and a seemingly drier break in the weather lets hope this Bank Holiday marks the start of a good spell of wether for wildlife / birding!

Early Purple Orchid, one of 200+ at Warkworth.

'Gropper'

Willow Warbler

 

Its all down hill..

A day of two halves today. Out birding with John this morning under heavy rain filled skies, seeing very little then out to Craster this afternoon in much sunnier conditions.

But first, one of the years highlights for me, came not by staking out a mining subsidence pond in the Northumberland coalfields, no, but just by having a five minute sit in the garden.

I remembered at about 6pm last night that this weekend is Garden Bioblitz time, so armed with a bottle of 'Sol' and a notebook, we took a wander around our acreage. Now, its not the hanging gardens of Babylon so the said stroll took no more than half an hour in total. During that time 83 species were recorded! Mainly plants, but also birds, insects and moths from the trap.

However, a little mystery appeared to be struggling amongst our non-native bluebells. It was a Bumblebee with a  huge rusty red rear end and a yellow stripe at the front of the thorax.

Mystery Bee...

I could see it has too much red to be red tailed so the field guide was brought into play. This didn't really help either, as this patterning just didn't fit for any likely garden species of bumbler. I consulted with John this morning and after some 'chimping' on the phone during a particularly heavy shower, he suggested Bombus monticola, the Mountain Bumblebee? The habitat in my garden isn't right, we are right on the coast not up a mountain. But see here...

So this evening I have consulted some experts on Social Media ( no, real ones!). Ryan Clarke on Twitter said monticola and called me lucky, while on FB the Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Soc said exactly the same! Everyone concurs so it must be right.

Amazing. Cant be many coastal records surely....

Mountain Bumblebee Bombus monticola but not up a mountain...

 So if I can get Mountian Bumblebee here, can I have Wallcreeper next please?

Right, back to today.

Highlight of our intermittent forays away from the car and flask this morning was a nice patch of Early Purple Orchid in the dunes at Warkworth. With 100+ spikes it was a pity they were all but over. I'll try earlier next year...

Early Purple Orchid

This afternoon I fancied my luck seawatching at Craster to try and end May with a flurry, and what a good decision that was. An hour or so gazing east had only a few birds but 4 of them were patch year ticks. 3 Little Tern, 2 Arctic Tern,  1 Roseate Tern and 8 Sanderling were all appreciated. In particular the Little Terns and Sanderling both not annual here...

Nearby the Craster rock edge was a vision in blue with loads of Spring Squill in flower. This is a rare plant in Northumberland, and it favours right down to the rock edges on the whin sill rock. Very nice...

Spring Squill at Craster

119. Little Tern
120. Arctic Tern
121. Sanderling
122. Roseate Tern 

Dukes and Pearls.

A day off work today to head of to the west on a butterfly mission. I met Roger at his house before heading off to Gait Barrows, a woodland / limestone pavement reserve in North Lancs near Morcambe Bay.

Two special targets were on offer for me, Pearl bordered Fritillary and Duke of Burgundy butterflies. The Duke in particular is a very rare and declining species that needed to be looked for before its too late...

Our first stop was a wood on the other side of the hill to Gait Barrows above Leighton Moss, where we found our first Pearl bordered Fritillaries. We had about 5+ pristine individuals including a mating pair that allowed a very close approach.





Above - Pearl Bordered Fritillaries.

Also here were 1 Speckled Wood, 4 Orange Tip, 1 Small Heath and 1 Large White. A cool easterly breeze kept the butterflies into sheltered sunny corners. 6+ Speckled Yellow Moths defied photography attempts.

From here it was only a very short drive around the hill to Gait Barrows for our second and main target of the day - the Duke of Burgundy. A tiny butterfly with a wing span of no more than an inch, it proved more of a challenge to locate. With the help of some local knowledge we were soon in the right spots and found at least 4+ individuals defending tiny territories in the wood.






Above - Duke of Burgundy.

There was a good selection of butterflies here including 2 Brimstones, 1 Green Hairstreak, 2 Dingy Skippers and 2 Speckled Woods with a few more Pearl bordereds thrown in for good measure.

Another highlight in here was a large Slow Worm that made off too quickly for a photo!



Above - Dingy Skipper.



Above - One or two of these tiny micro moths were flitting around too, I think I've seen them on Dean's blog? Dean can you help with the i.d? [Its Pyrausta purpuralis - Thanks to Skev for the i.d...]



Above - We had a few Early Purple Orchids in the wood and at Silverdale...



Above - And about 50+ Green winged Orchids that were just past their best in the Silverdale meadows, a new plant for me.

A successful day then and all in beautiful scenery and bright sunshine. Nowt finer!