April 2017 - part 1
2nd April 2017 - (Sunday, Vasárnap)
A late afternoon visit on a rather warm day. No snakes seen, but one adult female and one juvenile Green Lizard were seen. Two or three Fire-bellied Toads were at Rock Bath 1, and one of them started calling. It really felt like the start of 'the season' today, as many insects were seen, and lots of trees and shrubs were either in leaf or flower, or both. Butterflies recorded were: Peacock, Queen of Spain Fritillary, Wood White, Holly Blue, (I believe) Green-veined White, and at least 4 male Orange Tip. Only the first three species could be photographed, unfortunately. Three species of Ladybird were recorded, and three Blue Carpenter Bees were seen.
3rd April 2017 - (Monday, Hétfő)
Another very productive afternoon, with several butterfly species recorded: Peacock, Brimstone (female), Queen of Spain Fritillary, Wood White, Orange Tip (several males, and a photographed female), Dingy Skipper, Grizzled Skipper (photographed by Teréz), and the first male Short-tailed Blue of the year. Just one Green Lizard was seen, but what a stunner this male was! At least three Fire-bellied Toads were in Rock Bath 1. We rescued 2 clumps of Agile Frog spawn from a rapidly drying Bowl path, and these were released into the garden pond at Mátrafüred. Much against my better judgement, and against my protesting knees, I intend to re-start the bringing of water to RB1. I'm determined that the site will not be completely devoid of water.
6th April 2017 - (Thursday, Csütörtök)
A short visit during the morning to see whether the recent rain had made any significant difference to the water levels. It hadn't! It looks like I will soon have to start ferrying water to RB1. One beneficiary of the rainfall was a Roman Snail, who was enjoying the wet path. Several pink petals had been knocked from the Almond tree by the rain drops.
10th April 2017 - (Monday, Hétfő)
Even though I declared that I wouldn't carry any more water to the SQ ..... I brought 40 litres there today. This time I parked near to the houses and carried the containers, two at a time, down the steep slope, as this was the shortest route. My 40 litres didn't appear to make any difference, but at least this top-up must have helped the water level of Rock Bath 1 to maintain its 'status quo'. Three Fire-bellied Toads were resting on the surface, and they didn't move, despite my 'splashing' activity. Perhaps they are now used to our work. Once the water job was finished I could concentrate on the natural history side. It was very much 'butterfly day', as I saw: Peacock, Short-tailed Blue (male and female), Orange Tip (a male actually sat down for me!), Wood White (egg-laying), Scarce Swallowtail, Swallowtail, and Queen of Spain Fritillary. Only the latter two could not be photographed. There is now very little water left in The Bowl, but we cannot rectify this situation ...... only several days of rain can do this. I found three dried clumps of Agile Frog spawn as I walked on the barely damp reedbed paths. The awful thing is that it is only 10th April today ... we are nowhere near the hot Summer yet!
11th April 2017 - (Tuesday, Kedd)
Today, I delivered 60 litres of water ... and then went back to collect 60 more ! Yes, 120 litres went into Rock Bath 1, as I try to keep water in there until the rains come. Again, the Fire-bellied Toads were not frightened, as they 'rode the waves' on the surface ! As a final sign of my commitment to this project, I bought 5 more 10-litre containers, so I now have a set of 10, meaning that I can deliver 100 litres, without having to make a second trip. Regarding the nature of the site, more and more plant species are coming into flower: Common Storksbill, Tufted Milkwort, and Germander Speedwell. Butterflies seen were: Dingy Skipper, Orange tip male, Short-tailed Blue (M + F), Wood White (egg-laying), Scarce Swallowtail, and Grizzled Skipper (my first of the year, although Teréz photographed one a few days ago). The brightly-coloured Green Lizard male was back and basking, although not at first, and I wondered if he'd been caught by one of those wretched local cats. What a beauty he is ! Two species of Beefly were recorded.
12th April 2017 - (Wednesday, Szerda)
At lunchtime I transported 100 litres of water to Rock Bath 1. According to my rough calculation, this raised the water level by 4 cms. It doesn't sound much, but if can keep the water at this level for a few days, hopefully we'll get the rain which is forecast for next Monday and Tuesday. It was a mixture of sunshine and cloud today, accompanied by blustery wind, as yesterday. At first, I couldn't find my Green Lizard friend, but after he appeared, I found two other males. Not too many butterflies today, but I photographed Dingy Skipper, Queen of Spain Fritillary, and Short-tailed Blue, and also saw Wood White and a superb Swallowtail. Sadly, the latter flew past at great speed and disappeared over the fence ! Two new species were recorded today: a spider, and a hoverfly ... the latter to be identified.
13th April 2017 - (Thursday, Csütörtök)
We only paid a short visit this afternoon, as the main purpose was to deliver another 100 litres of water to Rock Bath 1. The before and after shots of the indicator rock don't really show much difference, maybe only a water level rise of about 4 cms., but at least we are not letting the level drop to critical status. All three male Green Lizards were basking in the same spots as yesterday. Wood White, Orange Tip (male), and Grizzled Skipper were seen, but only the latter was photographed.
15th April 2017 - (Saturday, Szombat)
Again, my main aim for this visit was to bring another 100 litres of water to RB1 ... I had missed my delivery on the previous day. As I carried the first two containers, I noticed a caterpillar of the Nine-spotted Moth on the pathway, returning quickly to photograph it. As I crouched to pour water into RB1 I was suddenly joined by a Chiffchaff, looking for a drink. It didn't seem at all frightened, so I carefully reached for the camera. The resulting photos are not too good, but good enough for identification purposes. As it was a mixture of cloud and sun, accompanied by a cool, gusty wind, there were not many butterflies about, but I did see: Orange Tip (male), Dingy Skipper, and Wood White. Later, I found a second Nine-spotted Moth caterpillar, again, on the pathway. No Green Lizards were seen, due to the cooler temperature.