Friday, 4 July 2025

A Headless Emperor

On Monday I braved the sweltering temperatures in the forlorn hope of catching up with Purple Emperors.  I was walking between the first car park and the closed off former second car park when my attention was attracted to a flapping motion on the right-hand side of the track.  At first I assumed it was a White Admiral, but then I caught a flash of blue.  It was a Purple Emperor.  It continued to flap,around for 5 minutes or so.  Most of the time its beautiful colour was veiled, but on a couple of occasions the full beauty caught the light.  

Purple Emperor 

Ditto

I carried on for some time with fleeting sightings of 2 or 3 more individuals - all of them male.  One of them even landed briefly on our banana skins, before taking to the air again.  Unfortunately, it displayed a lot more predilection for some dog droppings, luckily of a fairly small species.  It remained on these for at least a quarter of an hour, and it even gave time for one gent who had never seen one before, to walk away in boredom!


White Admirals and Silver-Washed Fritillaries continued to fly by, but I didn’t manage to see any Hairstreaks.  The heat began to be fairly oppressive, so I turned back.  I was nearly back at the second (closed) car park, when I noticed a large butterfly in the centre of the path with its wings nearly closed.  10 minutes later it was in the same position, so I approached closer.  I managed to get very close, and then began to wonder about its health.  Its wings eventually opened and I was able to walk around it to get the best available blue sheen on its wings - a memorable encounter.  Unfortunately, it was only later that I realised that it may have lacked a head.

Purple Emperor with head & Tongue Out
Ditto
Ditto
No Blue at all!
Slightly Different Angle - lo, some blue!
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Purple Emperor - is its head missing?
Ditto
Ditto
At the weekend we were in joined in the garden by a Hummingbird Hawk Moth, which was seen for 3 consecutive days.  We also had our first male Broad-bodied Chaser, which was seen for 2 days.
Hummingbird Hawk Moth
Ditto
Ditto
Hummingbird Hawk Moth in Beverley (c) 2025 Paul Green
Broad-Bodied Chaser
ditto
On Tuesday it was overcast, so hopeless for butterflies, so we switched to our number one standby location.  We encountered 50 species, meaning we reached 106 species for the term.
Record Shot of Bittern
Egyptian Goose
Record Shot of Hobby
Linnet
LRP
Record Shot of Otter (c) 2025 Tony Robinson
Black-tailed Skimmer
Ditto
Common Blue Damselfly
Gatekeeper
Ladies Bedstraw
Cinnabar Moth Caterpillars (c) 2025 Tony Robinson
Sedge Warbler

On Wednesday and Thursday we went to the same estuarine location as last Tuesday.  Each time we started at the hide with the best selection of waders, which usually featured Spotted Redshank, lovely coloured Black-tailed Godwits, Green Sandpipers, Snipe, Lapwing, and on one occasion a Dunlin.  On Wednesday a Great Egret was present, whilst on Thursday morning a Marsh Harrier attempted to deprive a female Unmentionable of her brood of fresh tasty ducklings.  

Black-tailed Godwit
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Dunlin & Godwits
Green Sandpiper
Immature Bearded Tit
Ditto
Immature Bearded Tits (c) 2025 Symon Fraser
Ditto
Immature Bearded Tit (2025) Tony Robinson
Dunnock (c) 2025 Symon Fraser
Heron
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Godwits & Spotted Redshank
Spotted Redshank 
Ditto
Great Egrets
Great Egret (c) 2025 Symon Fraser
Stock Dove
Female Bittern
ditto
Ditto
Marsh Harrier Food Pass
Ditto
Ditto
Marsh Harrier Attacking a Brood of Ducklings
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Victory!
Marsh Harrier
Ditto

Then we went to a newish hide, where most groups saw a female Bittern leaving on a fishing trip, and returning with hopefully a full crop for her remaining youngster.  The only group to miss out was the one with Ken attending, the former Bittern-scarer!


The other hides were much quieter, but we did see more Marsh Harriers, and on the cloudier Wednesday a few of the hides had immature Reed &/or Sedge Warblers directly in front of us.

Immature Reed Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Sedge Warbler (c) 2025 Symon Fraser
Ditto
Sedge Warbler (c) 2025 Tony Robinson
Ditto
Tree Sparrow
Wigeon
Fighting Little Egrets
Ditto
Little Egret (c) 2025 Symon Fraser
Mute Swans - Including 2 Curiously-Coloured Cygnets
At the end of this week’s sessions Wednesday am ended with 112 species for the term, and Weds pm with 105.
Black-tailed Godwit
Diving Beetle: Colymbetes Fuscus
On Friday we made our final visit to the seashore, where we saw Little  & Mediterranean Gulls - species not seen by the higher scoring Tuesday & Wednesday groups. The other classes have now ended for the summer hiatus, but there is still one Friday session to go.
House Sparrow

2 Little Gulls (2 front)
Mediterranean Gull (centre)
Oystercatchers
Sandwich Tern
Sandwich Tern (centre)
Dunlin
Record Shot of Little Owl
Ditto
Pied Wagtail 
Reed Bunting
Sand Martin & Swallow
Hirundines 
Roe Deer
Ditto
Silver-Y Moth
Ditto
Meadow Brown
Ditto
Ringlet
Gatekeeper (c) 2025 Angela Silcock
This week's moths

28 June

Bird-Cherry Ermine

Buff Arches
Ditto
The Clay
Crambus Pascuella
Crassa Unitella
Double Square-dot
Elephant Hawk Moths
Light Emerald
Marbled Minor
Mottled Rustic
The Shark
Ditto
The Uncertain
29 June
Brimstone

Codling Moth [& Elephant Hawk Moth]
Common Pug
Coronet
Crassa Unitella
Diamond Back Moth
Drinker
Epmeria Moth?
Mottled Rustic
The Uncertain
Ditto
30 June
Acrobasis Advenella

Barred Straw
Bird Cherry Ermine
Codling Moth
Donacela Forficella
Ditto
Eudonia Lacustrata 
The Flame
Grey Dagger
The Lackey
Lesser Yellow Underwing
Lozotaeniodes Formosana
Micro Moth
Mint Moth
  Mottled Rustic
Riband Wave
Rufous Minor
Scarce Silver-Lines
Short Cloaked Moth
Small Copper
Smoky Wainscot
White Plume-Moth
Willow Beauty
Garden Grass Veneer & Crambus Periella
1 July
The Uncertain
Ditto
The Sycamore
Small Angle Shades
September Thorn
Ditto
Scalloped Oak
Ringed China Mark
Pug sp.
Poplar Grey
Ditto
The Mouse
Marbled Beauty
?
Micro Moth
Mesapamea Secalis
Lesser Yellow Underwing
Least Carpet
Hawthorn Shield Bug
Grey Arches
Acleris Forskaleana
Ermine sp.
Elephant Hawk Moth
Dun-bar
Double Square-dot
Cnephasia sp.
Cnephas sp.
Celypha Striana
Catoptria Falsella
Brown-tailed Moth
3 July
August Thorn
Celypha Striata
Grey Arches
The Lackey
Pug sp.
Riband Wave
The Rustic
The Uncertain
Ypsolopha Scabrella
4 July
Agapeta Hamana
Box-Tree Moth
Buff Arches
Ditto

Dun-bar
Mottled Minor

Mottled Rustic
Ribband Wave
Ditto
Rosy Tabby
White Satin Moth
Record shot of a 10pm Tawny Owl (c) 2025 Hugh Wood