Hungary beckoned but as it required a drive south I opted to
divert to Ranscombe for a walk around my old stomping grounds. It was actually warm and sunny after the last
few dismal days and I was encouraged as I headed out from the top of Razorbill
Close. The ground was still amazingly wet and churned up in places –
especially where the off road bikes had been through but I was undeterred and set about looking
for Orchids alongside the CTRL.
I found a couple of Twayblade and many spikes of gone over
Early Purple before discovering several that were still in relatively good nick. However I could not find one Bee Orchid in
any of the regular places and one year I had nearly 300 behind the fence!
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| Early Purple Orchid |
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| Early Purple Orchid |
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| Common Twayblade |
The Man Orchids and White Helleborines at the top of Kitchen
Field were already looking good and one of the latter was quite open and
looking all tropical but I was upset to see that the solitary clump of Lady
Orchids had been dug up since my last visit in Marsh when a large rosette of
leaves was present. The Fly Orchid
enclosure is still fenced but had been let go and is no longer visible from the
path. I found just one spike inside but
the Privet and Sycamore saplings are taking over and it needs urgent attention
by Plant Life.
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| White Helleborine with Heliophanus Jumping Spider |
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| White Helleborine |
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| Man Orchid |
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| Man Orchid |
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| Fly Orchid |
There were plenty of other flowers too with Sanicle, Narrow-fruited
Corn Salad, Scarlet Pimpernel, Salad Burnet, Bluebells, Spindle, Milkwort, Wood
Spurges, Bugle, Heath, Field and Germander Speedwells, Columbines and Stinking
Iris.
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| Wood Spurge |
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| Dog Rose |
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| Salad Burnet |
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| Spindle |
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| Heath Speedwell |
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| Common Cudweed |
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| Stinking Iris |
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| Black Bryony |
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| Meadow Clary |
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| Wild Liquorice |
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| Milkwort |
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Milkwort
|
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Common Gromwell
|
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| Columbine |
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| Columbine |
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| Narrow-fruited Corn Salad |
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| Sanicle |
I was hoping that the Small Blues would be on the wing and I
found 16 in their usual spot although some of the best habitat right alongside
the CTRL fencline had been sprayed each side with a herbicide. Burnet
Companions danced around them and I also saw a couple of Red Admirals, Peacocks,
Speckled Woods and a Small Heath while I kicked up 19 Silver-Y as I walked
along – part of the large east coast migrant arrival.
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| Burnet Companion |
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| Small Blue |
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| Small Blue |
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| Silver-Y |
There were lots of micro moths zipping around including Pyrausta
aurata but it was the lekking Alabonia geoffrella that stole the show. I have only ever seen the odd single before
but I had 14 over three leks! Geoff is sexy
and he knows it! A much tinier shiny
Longhorn - Cauchas rufimitrella was keeping lower to the ground with the males
battling over Strawberry flowers.
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| Alabonia geoffrella |
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| Cauchas rufimitrella |
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| Cauchas rufimitrella |
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| Crambus lathoniellus |
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| Dichrorampus sp |
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| Pyrausta aurata |
I found several each of Pyrochroa serraticornis and
Cantharis rustica and the first Oedemera nobilis and heaps of a largely orange
sawfly that I have yet to identify. Woundwort and Hairy Shieldbugs were plentiful.
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| Pyrochroa serraticornis |
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| Dock Bug |
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| Cantharis rustica |
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| Woundwort Shieldbug |
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| A very abundant Sawfly |
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| Also Sawflies I believe |
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| Shieldbug |
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| Pisaura mirabilis |
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| Oedemera nobilis |
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| Azure Damselfly I think |
There were plenty of Flies with Pipiza austriaca being the pick of the
Hoverflies and Buff-tailed, Early and Common Carder represented the Bumblebees
while several imposing Hornets were seen.
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| Helophilus pendulus |
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| Lucilia sp |
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| Myathropa florea |
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| Pipiza austriaca |
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Pipiza austriaca
|
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| Hornet |
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| Common Carder Bee |
I was surprised what I squeezed into three hours but it was
good to be back and surrounded by insects and flowers once again. I have no regrets about moving to Suffolk; it
is quiet and chilled and has equally wonderful wildlife for me to discover but
I still have no idea how I lived with the constant roar of traffic on the M2 that followed me around this green haven.
However, I said that I would not abandon it
and promised to drop in when I can if only to remind me of the place that literally
gave the confidence during that long year of Furlough and Lockdown to strike
out and do something new.
I really should get some sleep – off to guide in Hungary in
a few hours time.
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