Return to Ashdown Forest

 Ashdown Forest is a wonderful area of high heathland in the north-west corner of East Sussex. It is a landscape that I have walked over many years and know well.

It has been a few years since I last caught up with the Silver-studded Blue and the other heathland species to be found there but I have made good use of the fine June weather during the last couple of weeks.

Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus)

This attractive little butterfly is a heathland specialist and within East Sussex, it is only found on Ashdown Forest.

(males)

As with some other species of blue butterflies, the females are mainly brown but with varying amounts of blue pigment in their wings. The first image shows a fairly typical female. The female in the second image is displaying rather attractive sub-marginal blue markings in the form of  inward facing darts.

Several species of day-flying moths can be numerous but tricky to photograph, as they invariably drop into the heather and gorse to hide.

Clouded Buff (Diacrisia sannio) (male)

Grass Wave (Perconia strigillaria) (female)

Common Heath (Ematurga atomaria atomaria) (female)

Grass Emerald (Pseudoterpna pruinata atropunctaria)

Here are some plants that specialise in acid heath.

Early Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza incarnata ssp. pulchella)

Heath Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza maculata)

Common Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia)

Bog Asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum)

Common Cotton-grass (Eriophorum angustifolium)

 Camp Hill is one of the high points on Ashdown Forest, at 198 metres (643 feet) above sea level.

Breeding Toads

Despite having to scrape the windscreen yesterday morning, it was a bright and breezy day and I set off for a walk on the downs to check one of my favourite dewponds for any signs of toad activity. 

Usually by the first week of March, this pond is heaving with breeding toads but on my arrival it looked very much like the main event was nearly over. 

This should really be no surprise, as the winter has been unusually mild.

 I normally expect to see dozens of breeding toads but I only saw about five pairs. However, the pond side was absolutely clogged with spawn, signalling that many pairs had already been and gone.

Common Toad (Bufo bufo)

During the breeding season, the highly charged males will fight each other off in a frenzied attempt to grasp a female and she can disappear into a ball of writhing males. Occasionally, sadly, females are accidentally drowned. I think that this is what has happened to the female in the following image. There were no signs of her having been predated upon.

Back on 5th February, Bob and I saw our first Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) of the year whilst we were walking on Ashdown Forest.

Essentially a migrant to our shores, this species has only relatively recently been able to survive the winter in Britain. It is a continuously breeding species and does not have the ability to hibernate. Many fly south in the Autumn but some overwinter as adults or larvae. Adult butterflies need to roost during inclement weather and they must go in search of food during sunny and mild spells in order to stay alive.

The heathland of Ashdown Forest provides plenty of thick insulating layers of dead bracken in which to roost and plenty of winter-flowering gorse to nectar upon.

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

Southern Hawker Emergence

During the last week of June, whilst we were checking the acid pools of Ashdown Forest, Bob and I came across a female Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea) in the process of emerging from the nymph. The last photograph in the following sequence was of a different female cyanea found in another pool, with wings fully expanded.

 

 

Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea) (females emerging from nymph)

 

 

 

In May, I watched this male Hairy Dragonfly (Brachytron pratense) hawking along a hedgerow on Pevensey Levels. It caught a bee and then settled on an ivy bush to devour its prey.

 

 

Hairy Dragonfly (Brachytron pratense) (male devouring a bee)

 

 

The Small Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma viridulum) is a species that has rapidly colonised south-east England from the continent in recent years. Its smaller size and the blue 'saddle' under segment 8 of the abdomen are diagnostic in separating this species from the very similar Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas). Both species can be found in similar habitats and the male in the following image was photographed at a Wealden pond during the second week of August.

 

 

Small Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma viridulum) (male)



The Inhabitants of Ashdown Forest

When the Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus) starts to emerge on Ashdown Forest, I become a much more regular visitor to this special landscape, which is home to a variety of creatures and plants that are acid heathland specialists. Plants like the Common Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) and Bog Asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum) are easily found but the Early Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza incarnata) is a little harder to seek out.

 

 

Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus) (male)

 

 

 

Silver-studded Blue (P.argus) (female)

 

 

Early Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza incarnata) (ssp.pulchella)

 

 

Common Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) (an insectivorous plant)

 

 

Bog Asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum)

 

 

Last week, I was out walking the hedgerows when I watched a Hairy Dragonfly (Bachytron pratense) land on top of a hedge. I thought at first that it was under attack from a predatory insect but soon realised that it was lying on its back whilst devouring a Soldier Beetle sp. I had never seen this behaviour before.

 

 

Hairy Dragonfly (Bachytron pratense) (laid back female devouring prey)

 

 

Swallow-tailed Moth (Ourapteryx sambucaria) (attracted to the garden light trap)

 

Winter Pursuits

Winter is a quiet time for the amateur entomologist but it is a good time of year to search for eggs of the Brown Hairstreak (Thecla betulae). The adult butterfly can be rather elusive during its flight season but if you know where to look, its eggs can be much easier to find. This species is a late season emergent and it is the eggs that see out the winter months on blackthorn, its foodplant. The eggs are usually laid singly (but sometimes two or three in a group), generally in the fork of a branch, near where the current and previous year's growth meet.

 

 

Brown Hairstreak (Thecla betulae) (ova on blackthorn)

 

 

 

When the winter sun is shining, then for me, there is no better place to go for a walk than on Ashdown Forest. I met up with Bob on Wednesday for a walk around one of our regular routes. I had never seen a Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor) before, a scarce but regular winter visitor to UK shores. Whilst I could have seen one long before now, I just don't possess the "twitcher" gene and I have always been happy to wait for the moment when I would come across one when out for a walk. Well, that thrill happened for me yesterday when Bob spotted one sitting on top of a gorse bush. I managed to record the moment with this rather long distance shot.

 

 

Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor)  

 

Bird's-nest Orchid and Variation in Bee Orchid

I take many photographs during the course of a season. Trying to see different species of butterfly and dragonfly in their prime during their respective flight seasons can lead to a busy time for the amateur naturalist. Inevitably, some events are quickly overtaken by others and photographs get overlooked. Looking back at this time of year allows me to fill in some gaps.

 

 

Visiting Ashdown Forest back in May, I managed to observe a freshly emerging Bird's-nest Orchid (Neottia nidus-avis) over the course of three weeks. This strange orchid contains no chlorophyll and obtains its nutrients from fungi. It is generally found in the shade of long established beech trees.

 

 

Bird's-nest Orchid (Neottia nidus-avis)

 

On 17th May, the flower spike is just starting to emerge.

 

 

 

On 23rd May, one flower is starting to open.

 

 

 

On 2nd June, the plant is nearly in full flower.

 

 

 

The Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera) has several named varieties, some of which can be quite numerous in some colonies. Var. chlorantha has whitish sepals and a greenish-yellow lip and in some small colonies they can outnumber the typical form. Var. flavescens, which has a pale brown lip, is thought to be a less extreme version of chlorantha.

 

On the East Sussex Downs back in June, I photographed a Bee Orchid with one flower that I would describe as var. flavescens. I returned to the same plant a week later to find that the original flower was looking more like var. chlorantha. From my own observations, these two varieties appear to be subject to change with age and perhaps all flavescens change to chlorantha over time.

 

 

Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera) (var.flavescens) photographed on 8th June.

 

 

The same plant photographed on 15th June. The original (lower) flower is starting to look more like var. chlorantha.

 

 

(Reference; "The Orchids of Britain and Ireland" by Anne & Simon Harrap)



Winter Fare

On 26th November, I disturbed a Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata) from the woodland floor, as I was coppicing. As its name suggests, it is on the wing from November until January. The female is flightless and relies on being found by the male as she sits and waits on a tree trunk.

 

 

Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata) (male)

 

 

As I have said before on this site, the Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) is increasingly able to overwinter in southern England as a result of our changing climate. It does not enter true hibernation but will roost during inclement weather and come out to feed on mild and sunny days. Ashdown Forest offers plenty of insulating layers of dead bracken for roosting and gorse is always in flower as a source of nectar. The photograph is of one that I saw on the forest on 30th November.

 

 

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

 

 

Following a few frosty nights at the start of December, this last week has been mild and has provided a good opportunity to put the moth trap out on a couple of occasions. The appropriately named December Moth (Poecilocampa populi) is on the wing from November until January. Along with other members of the Lasiocampidae family, this species does not have any feeding mouthparts and their bodies contain enough stored energy for breeding. I suppose the main advantage to breeding at this time of year is probably a reduced risk of predation. Bats are a major predator of moths and they hibernate over winter.

 

 

December Moth (Poecilocampa populi) (male)  (7th December)

 

 

 

Male (photographed in 2011)

 

 

Female (photographed in 2013)

 

 

Sprawler (Asteroscopus sphinx) (7th December)

 

 

The Mottled Umber (Erannis defoliaria) is another species that is on the wing from October to January. Like the Winter Moth (O.brumata), Mottled Umber females are flightless.

 

 

Mottled Umber (Erannis defoliaria) (male) (10th December)

 

 

All of the following photographs are of Mottled Umber males that I have taken over the last few years. They show just how variable the markings of this species can be.