WILDLIFE
REPORTS
30
May 2010
The
first grasshoppers of the year were
heard and then seen on the lower slopes of Mill
Hill. Two more notable firsts of the year were three Silver
Y Moths, Burnet
Companion Moths and a Purple
Bar (a carpet moth) on Mill Hill.
On
the transect 1.2 acres of the lower slopes the count in a timed 11 minutes
was 122 male Adonis Blues
and nine females,
including a mating pair. This count extrapolates
to about 350 Adonis Blues
on Mill Hill. Eleven species of butterfly
and three macro moths were seen in about an hour.
Full
Butterfly & Moth Report
Adur
Moth Report
25
May 2010
I
made an unplanned visit to Worthing Pier
as the tide was out. Under the many small rocks,
there were two adult Blennies,
Lipophrys
pholis,
and a few undersized Edible
Crabs, Cancer pagurus.
The most notable discovery on the underside of a rock was a tiny nudibranch
sea slug Facelina
auriculata. Its cerata and overall
appearance were bright crimson.
24
May 2010
A
surprising and unusual observation was the silvery rear and tail of a slender
freshwater fish in Annington Sewer, north of Botolphs. The fish (I only
see its rear under the weed) was estimated to be about 75 mm long. It hid
in the weed near the water surface and did not appear to be a bottom dweller.
I think it was almost certainly a Rudd.
On
the southern side of Buckingham Cutting, north Shoreham, two first of the
year Small Blue Butterflies
appeared after a few minutes waiting. Twelve
species of butterfly were seen on the day on the Adur
Levels and a visit to Anchor
Bottom where over thirty Adonis Blues
were in flight and the Green-winged Orchids
were flowering.
Full
Butterfly Report
Adur
Butterflies: First Dates
23
May 2010
With
the sun coming out, so were the butterflies.
From the southern steps leading down to the lower slopes of Mill
Hill, the Horseshoe Vetch,
Hippocrepis
comosa, was visible but a few days
away from its peak. Venturing down to the lower slopes, there were sufficient
butterflies around that I immediately knew there would be a problem counting
them unless I kept notes. Most of these were male Adonis
Blues and I kept my count to the 1.2 transect
area completed in 25 minutes. The transect tally recorded was exactly 100
males plus two females, including a mating pair. Later (after I had stopped
counting) four mating pairs were seen. Fourteen
species in a couple of hours was the most variety seen in a day this year.
1622.jpg) |
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Orange-tip
(female)
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Adonis
Blues
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The
tally included seven of my first Small
Heaths of the year, a Green Hairstreak
losing itself amongst The Horseshoe Vetch
and
a Wall Brown
(one of two) seen in the same area (near the copse at the top of Mill Hill)
for the last seven years. Over the Waterworks
Road, (Old Shoreham), the first female
Broad-bodied
Chaser (dragonfly),
Libellula
depressa, of
2010
cruised above my head, and the four white butterflies seen there were females
of the Orange-tip.
Two males were also seen. The other butterfly species seen about midday
were 16 Common Blues,
15 Dingy Skippers,
four Grizzled Skippers,
frequent
Holly Blues, at least one Small
White, Large White, and Green-veined
White, two Red
Admirals and one Speckled
Wood.
Full
Butterfly Report
21
May 2010
My
first shrimping
outing of the year using my smaller three foot wide shrimp net on the medium
tide
on Lancing Beach (Widewater West) yielded a rather poor 30 or so Brown
Shrimps,
Crangon crangon,
and a notable young Turbot,
Psetta
maxima.
Full
Shrimping Report
14
May 2010
At
this time of year the St. Mark's Flies,
Biblio,
make a bit of a nuisance of themselves and they were common on and around
the Buckingham Cutting (at the top of The
Drive, Shoreham) although not so common on Mill
Hill. Twelve species of butterfly were
seen in a couple of hours of weak sunshine
including my first
Wall Brown Butterfly
of the year, my first chocolate-brown female Adonis
Blue Butterfly,
my first Brown Argus,
and my first male Common Blue Butterflies
of the year, all on Mill Hill.
The
other species seen were a Small White,
frequent Large Whites,
a Green-veined White,
a male Orange-tip,
a Grizzled Skipper,
half a dozen Dingy Skippers,
occasional Holly Blues,
and frequent Speckled Woods.
Full
Butterfly Report
Brown
Argus and Female Common Blue ID page
Adur
Butterflies: First Dates
 12
May 2010
The
expanse of Horseshoe Vetch, Hippocrepis
comosa, was only just beginning on
the lower slopes of Mill Hill, visited
by 13 Dingy Skippers
and my first four male Adonis Blues
of the year.
Butterfly
Report 2010
10
May 2010
I
spotted my first Swallow
of the year flying over Victoria Road, Portslade. Later, in the early evening
a few more (at least two) Swallows
were seen over Middle Road in the residential part of Shoreham.
6 May
2010
Then
off across the bridge to Mill
Hill Nature Reserve
on the lower slope I spent two hours, 2.30
to 4.30 pm. I saw my first Adonis
Blue Butterfly
of the year, then I found three Green Hairstreaks,
three Small Coppers,
one Grizzled Skipper,
two Orange Tips,
one Speckled Wood,
two Small Heaths,
lots of Dingy Skippers,
male and female Brimstones,
and Small Whites.
Adur
Butterflies: First Dates
May
2009
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