April 2017 - part 2
16th April 2017 - (Sunday, Vasárnap)
Another 100 litres of water was brought to RB1. Although the level didn't rise much, at least this work is stopping the level dropping to catastrophic proportions. In RB1 this year, we have the young of Smooth Newts, Agile Frogs, and, hopefully, those of the Fire-bellied Toads too. Worth saving? We think so ! Six Fire-bellied Toads sat on the surface, and no doubt more were hidden behind the Great Reedmace stems. As it was quite windy, cool, and overcast, I didn't expect to see any Green Lizards, but I found one juvenile beside the wall in the reedbed area. With regard to butterflies, only Dingy Skipper and Wood White were seen. The two caterpillars of the Nine-spotted Moth were still on the pathway, but I moved them out of harm's way.
17th April 2017 - (Monday, Hétfő)
A short visit to deliver another 100 litres of water to RB1. Fairly overcast with some dark clouds approaching, and a strong, cool wind blowing across the site. No butterflies were seen at all, just 2 or 3 Common Heath moths. In RB1, 4 Fire-bellied Toads were sitting on the surface, awaiting my delivery job, and some Agile Frog tadpoles were free-swimming. I hope we can keep enough water in RB1 in order for all the amphibian young to complete their development. Just as I was leaving the site near the houses, I noticed something dark near the perimeter fence, and immediately knew what it was: the first Green-veined Orchid of 2017 ! As I write these words, I notice dark clouds moving in from the North, and rain may be falling from them, but I doubt very much whether it will be enough.
18th April 2017 - (Tuesday, Kedd)
A fairly short, late-afternoon visit for me, to bring another 100 litre load of water to RB1. We'd had steady rain overnight, coupled with plummeting temperatures, which meant that Hungary's highest point (just up the hill), Kékes mountain, received a covering of snow ! Rather a shock after the recent high temperatures. No butterflies, moths, or lizards were seen today, but a lone Fire-bellied Toad welcomed me as I added the water to its RB1 home. At one point, a Common Buzzard was about to land on an electricity pole inside the site, but saw me at the last moment, and therefore, aborted its visit. A single Whitethroat was hopping about in the roadside bushes. A new plant species was seen today .... well, we'd seen it before, but not added it to the web site species list: Lilac ! It was in flower near the houses, and was growing inside the SQ itself ! As there was little movement at the site, I decided to document the new growth of trees and shrubs.
19th April 2017 - (Wednesday, Szerda)
I paid a short visit to the SQ this afternoon as we'd had quite heavy rain since last night, and I expected a reasonable amount of water in The Bowl. But ... as I drove up to the top irrigation channel I saw that 'Achim the Terrible' had been there again to cut 'his' channels to stop the water going inside the site. I felt so deflated as I walked around the site. It was raining hard, there was a really icy wind, and the battle has become too much. The only good news is that nature has added much more water to Rock Bath 1 than I could carry, and the 'indicator rock' is well below the water level. There is also water in RB2 and RB3. So, what now? Teréz and I cannot keep waging this 'irrigation war' ... it is much too tiring. We had no water in The Bowl a few weeks ago when we needed it for the main amphibian breeding period, so we'll just leave things as they are for now. We'll just concentrate on keeping RB1 'wet'. I don't expect too many Dragonfly records for the site in 2017.
20th April 2017 - (Thursday, Csütörtök)
Hungary has reverted to Winter ! It is icy cold, with winds that go through you, instead of around. In addition, snow has fallen on the highest points of the Mátra area, causing at least one bus to slide off a mountain road and into a ditch. By the time I visited the SQ this afternoon, the rain had stopped, after almost 48 hours, and as I drove up the hill, I could see the stream of water flowing wastefully down the road. Upon investigation, I found that, even so, there was quite a lot of water in The Bowl, with the Coffee Pool re-forming, and water had also spread throughout the reedbed. Obviously, if 'Achim the Terrible' had not intervened, there would have been much more water in there, probably to a depth of 70 cms at the deepest point. My biggest frustration is that I couldn't collect the water that we have now lost and store it ready to top-up RB1 when the dry period begins again. I feel like I have run out of ideas regarding this irrigation project, apart from excavating part of The Bowl, lining it with a waterproof liner, restricting water retention to this area alone, thereby healing this 'war zone'. Anyway, no insects were seen due to the cold, but the Green-winged Orchid was 'putting on a brave face' as it struggled against the icy gale-force wind.
21st April 2017 - (Friday, Péntek)
The rain has gone and the airfield road was 'bone dry'. It irritated me greatly that so much precious rain water had been lost due to the actions of 'Achim the Terrible'. As I visited the Rock Bath complex I noticed that RB2 still had quite a lot of water in it ... covering the large rock, in fact. It was then that I decided to sacrifice RB2 for the sake of RB1 (and all its inhabitants). I walked back up to the car, rescuing a young male Green Lizard from its sunbathing spot on the road on the way, and collected 2 of our water containers. After that I extracted 200 litres of water from RB2 and poured it into RB1, but at the back section so as not to disturb the toads and tadpoles. By the time I'd filled container No. 20 it was becoming very difficult to collect water as I couldn't get the container far enough into the water due to underlying rocks. So, I decided to collect a couple of buckets so that I could top-up one of them with about 4 scoops from the other. This worked well, and I estimate that I had transferred about 400 litres of water by the end of my work. This seemed the most logical solution to me, as RB2 had been dry until the recent rain, and so, had no amphibian life in it. Certainly the gathering of Fire-bellied Toads in RB1 seemed to appreciate my hard work: a few times, they uttered their piping calls. Butterflies seen were: 4 Grizzled Skipper, Orange Tip male, Short-tailed Blue male (rather worn), and a fresh male Sooty Copper. Two Oil Beetles scuttled about on the pathways, perhaps not the safest location !
Sunday 23rd April 2017 - (Sunday, Vasárnap)
An hour-long afternoon visit to check that all was well ... and it was ! The biggest surprise of the day was finding a Fire-bellied Toad calling from Rock Bath 2 ... the same RB2 that I removed 400 litres of water from yesterday! He needs to get himself quickly into the deep water of Rock Bath 1. With such an icy wind, no lizards were recorded, and only two butterflies: Queen of Spain Fritillary and Dingy Skipper.
24th April 2017 - (Monday, Hétfő)
Today I decided that 'enough was enough'. I was tired of seeing the top irrigation channel looking like a war zone, so i used the two buckets to clear all the large lumps of concrete, asphalt, and rocks that had been used to block 'our' channel. It took 6 bucket loads and I dumped the 'spoil' at a nearby, existing rocky, bricky pile. I also took the opportunity to block off 'his' channels so that things are back in our favour again. If he wishes to block our channel again, he'll have to work for it, by importing his own material. After that, a study walk took place, and I've possibly discovered 2 new micro moth species, and also a new caterpillar for the macro moth list. So far, only one of these three has been identified. A vigorous mix of sunshine and cloud today, coupled with a strong, icy wind. Only a Wood White and an Orange Tip male were seen, and a juvenile Green Lizard scuttled into cover.
26th April 2017 - (Wednesday, Szerda)
28th April 2017 - (Friday, Péntek)
Quite a long visit, as many things were seen, despite the ever-changing sun-cloud conditions. It was very much a 'bird day', with the following being either seen or heard: Golden Oriole, Cuckoo, Black Redstart, Greenfinches, Nightingale, Whitethroat, Tree Sparrows, Pheasant, Yellowhammer, a Jay being chased by a Blackbird, and a sizeable flock of Starling. A poor day for butterflies, with only Wood White, Grizzled Skipper, and Clouded Yellow being seen.
30th April 2017 - (Sunday, Vasárnap)
A short, morning visit on a rather changeable day weather-wise. One minute, sun, the next, cloud, coupled with a cool wind. A single male Green Lizard was seen, but he looked 'unhappy' with the cool wind. Butterflies seen were: Hungarian Skipper (1st this year), Grizzled Skipper, Dingy Skipper, Wood White, Short-tailed Blue (male), Lesser Fiery Copper, Orange Tip (male), and Peacock. The last-named three were not photographed. The water level in Rock Bath 1 has dropped again, but soon, a week of rainy conditions is expected ... as is another 'irrigation battle' with 'Achim the Terrible'.