17th April 2021
Spring at the Hendre
A lovely spring day at the Hendre complex of woods today with some good amounts of sunshine bathing the area. I was hoping to see some spring butterflies on the wing and was not disappointed in the relatively calm air, pretty much ideal conditions. I managed to cover a very large significant area but not all as the woods are quite vast. A count of 55 of 7 species was spotted. Peacock was the butterfly most encountered with 27, then Orange-tip 10, Brimstone 7, Red Admiral and Small White 4, Comma 2 and a freshly emerged Large White sampling the fresh air.
I came prepared today bringing a sweep net as I had an idea I could encounter a few day-flying moths. Firstly a find of Psyche Casta (Common Sweep) on an out building around Caxton Tower took me by surprise in that, not that it was present in this wood, but the amount found. I came up with 10 larval cases attached mostly at a height of 2-3 above the ground I noticed. It's by far the most I've seen at a site, normally singles is the normal.
The best was to come as I disturbed a moth off the track. I knew what type of moth it was straight away. I was glad I brought my net along and was excited about the prospect of getting a close up. After being very patient, sweeping on several attempts, I eventually caught my goal- an Orange Underwing. I have photographed them from afar before but this opportunity would enable closer inspection and appreciation of the moth.
I saw three other Orange Underwing's on way around the woods so a healthy population exits here from what I could work out.
Love reading your posts Nick- especially at this time of year when it's pretty quiet and your posts take us back to the busy days of spring and summer and help us look forward to the new year ahead. It's a shame there isn't a "Like" button so people can show their appreciation.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kevin, that's very kind of you.
ReplyDeleteI like many, have had an awkward testing year and I do wish I could have posted sightings up as I recorded them, without time restraints etc. However, as you said, back to the more busier days plus it's nice to go back over them- it reminds me also of what I saw, a re-cap if you like.
I'm going to post plenty more to keep the interest going.