Late Autumn Sunshine

All the time the sun continues to shine and the air temperature hovers around 10 degrees, there is still a chance of seeing some late season insects but a recent change in the weather to more blustery conditions has largely put paid to any lingering butterfly and dragonfly populations on Pevensey Levels.

 

My last sightings of the Wall (Lasiommata megera) were of two males flying together on 2nd November. This is the latest date that I have ever seen them on the wing.

 

Wall (Lasiommata megera) (male)

 

 

 

Common Darters (Sympetrum striolatum) (basking in the sunshine)

 

 

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) (nectaring on ivy)

 

 

 

My garden moth-trap is still attracting some seasonal species.

 

 

Feathered Thorn (Colotois pennaria)

 

 

Autumnal Moth (Epirrita autumnata)

 

 

Rye Harbour, East Sussex.

Basking Marsh Frogs

I am a regular visitor to Rye Levels during the summer months where I am always on the look-out for any insects that may have arrived from across the channel. Nothing of interest to report for this year but another foreigner has been resident on Romney Marsh since the 1930's and is a particular favourite of mine. The Marsh Frog (Rana ridibunda) is abundant on Rye Levels and they can often be seen basking on the banks of ditches or amongst the water foliage on the water surface. They are very quick to dive into the water as you approach and in order to get close, the trick is to see them before they see you. 

 

 

Marsh Frog (Rana ridibunda)

 

The first two images are of two different adults and the third image is of a sub-adult.

 

It's in the Post

As I was walking through a gateway on Rye Levels earlier this week I heard the sound of nestlings close by. I stopped by the gate post to peer into the adjacent hedge and when they started calling again I realised that the sound was coming from right under my nose. Looking down into the tubular metal post, about a metre from the top, I could see a nest of well developed Great Tit nestlings.

 

 

Great Tit (Parus major) (nestlings)

 

 

Carol had yet to see the Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria euphrosyne) on the wing this year. By lunchtime today, the grey cloud was starting to show signs of breaking up and so we set off to see what we could find. We were fortunate to find a few males on the wing before the cloud returned for the rest of the afternoon.

 

Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria euphrosyne) (males)

Still on the Amphibian Trail

The mild and sunny weather this last week has encouraged our hibernating butterfly species to emerge in good numbers but the new butterfly season is still very much in its infancy. This week, I have concentrated my efforts in continuing to seek out amphibian activity.

 

Many of the ditches on Pevensey Levels are now echoing to the sound of breeding Common Toads (Bufo bufo) and they often share the same ditches with breeding Common Frogs (Rana temporaria). Inevitably, confusion sometimes occurs with male frogs attempting to mate with female toads. Since first observing this behaviour in 2015, I have come to realise that this is quite a regular occurrence.

 

The following photographs are of two such pairings occurring a few yards apart in the same ditch.

 

  

Two different male Common Frogs (R.temporaria) in mating clasps with female Common Toads (B.bufo)

 

 

 

 

I have also visited another of my favourite downland dew ponds where I know that I will see good numbers of Great Crested Newts (Triturus cristatus). I enjoy watching their courtship behaviour through my binoculars and occasionally they will venture close to the surface to offer a brief photographic opportunity. 

 

 

Great Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus) (female)

 

 

 

On this particular occasion, the males were spending much of their time in the murky waters at the bottom of the pond but the next photograph is of a male taken in 2015.

 

 

Great Crested Newt (T.cristatus) (male)

 

 

 

On Rye Levels, Marsh Frogs (Rana ridibunda) can be found sunning themselves on the banks of ditches or on floating water weed. Their breeding season doesn't get underway until May.

 

 

Marsh Frog (Rana ridibunda) (sub-adults)

 

 

 

There will be better photo opportunities to be had when the summer broods of Comma (Polygonia c-album) and Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) emerge but it is difficult to resist a bit of early season stalking and target practice!

 

 

Comma (P. c-album)

 

 

Small Tortoiseshell (A. urticae)

 

 

The pick of the moths attracted to my garden light trap this week was this Small Brindled Beauty (Apocheima hispidaria). Athough this species is locally widespread in Sussex, it was the first time that I had recorded it in my garden.

 

 

Small Brindled Beauty (A. hispidaria) (male)

 

 

 

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been watching a pair of Long-tailed Tits (Aegithalos caudatus) constructing their nest on Pevensey Levels. Now more or less complete, it is one of the most beautiful natural structures, made from lichens and spider webs. Plenty of zoom and some cropping suggest that I was closer than I actually was and I watched the pair return after I left.   

A Dragonfly Oddity

Last week, I managed to enjoy a couple of sunny mild days on Rye Levels before temperatures started to tumble. Although there were still two or three butterflies about, my attention was drawn to a very different looking Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) that was flying in a sunny corner with several others. When it landed, I could see that it was an over-mature female whose wings differed from the norm.

 

The wings of freshly emerged dragonflies are generally cloudy in appearance before they have fully hardened and the wings of mature specimens can also take on a slightly cloudy appearance as part of the ageing process.

 

The wings of this individual were translucent rather than transparent, with a cloudiness covering the wings in their entirety. They were also symmetrically patterned in two or three different shades of beige. I don't know whether this specimen is an aberration or whether it is just normal ageing but I have not seen it's like before. I've no doubt that I shall be paying close attention to Common Darter wings for evermore!

 

 

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (over-mature female)   

 

 

 

Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

Marvel of the Day

The moth catch on Friday morning reflected the season with autumnal species becoming more prevalent. The best of the bunch was the stunning and aptly named Merveille du Jour (Dichonia aprilina), one of the most attractive of the Noctuid moths.

Merveille du Jour (Dichonia aprilina)

Rosy Rustic (Hydraecia micacea)

The butterfly of the moment is certainly the Red Admiral which is currently appearing in good numbers on Pevensey Levels as they start to head south.

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

On Wednesday, Bob and I headed to Rye Levels to see whether we could find any interesting Odonata such as Red-veined Darters and Willow Emerald Damselflies, both recent colonists to Southern England from the continental mainland...no such luck. I found a late season female Wasp Spider (Argiope bruennichi) and a little later an egg sac for this species, secreted in the undergrowth. I also took some photographs of what I thought were two different species of spider but on later checking my books I realised that they were different colour forms of the same species; Araneus quadratus.


Wasp Spider (Argiope bruennichi) (female)
 

 

 

Wasp Spider (A. bruennichi) (egg sac)

Araneus quadratus (red form)

Araneus quadratus (green form)

Gravel Scrapes and Acid Pool Margins

At the start of the week, Carol and I set off for Rye Levels to check on life in the gravel scrapes and ditches. I knew that we were probably a little late to see Marsh Helleborines at their best and so it proved to be the case with only one plant still sporting a few fading flowers. Star species of the day was the Marsh Frog (Rana ridibunda) several of which were basking amongst the weed in the ditches.

 

 

Marsh Frog (Rana ridibunda)     

 

On Wednesday, I met up with Bob on Ashdown Forest to search some of the acid pool margins that are hidden away in the heathland, to see what might be emerging. These pools rarely disappoint.

 

Raft Spider (Dolomedes fimbriatus).

 

 This seven-legged individual is displaying what I consider to be fairly typical fimbriatus markings (in comparison to D. plantarius) with a pronounced orange cardiac mark down the centre of the abdomen and with broad, well defined white bands along the abdomen sides. However, you can get quite similarly marked individuals of plantarius and less well marked specimens of fimbriatus which can be very confusing!

 

Black Darter (Sympetrum danae) (male)

Black Darter (S.danae) (teneral female)

Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea) (freshly emerged female) 

 

Brown China-mark (Elophila nymphaeata)

Marsh Frog and Marsh Helleborine

At the western end of Romney Marsh lie the Rye levels and some interesting wildlife can be found in the ditches, pools and scrapes of the shingle flats. The Marsh Frog (Rana ridibunda) is a non-native species which was introduced onto Romney Marsh in the 1930's. It is now common in the area and is one of my favourite amphibians; its raucous croaking sounding a bit like laughter from the underworld.

 Marsh Frog (Rana ridibunda) (adult)

 

 Marsh Frog (R. ridibunda) (sub-adult)

 

The beautiful Marsh Helleborine (Epipactis palustris) is rare in East Sussex but can be found in some shingle scrapes