April 2019 - part 1
7th April 2019 - (Sunday, Varsárnap)
My visit for April, and it was a real Spring day. On several previous days, the sun was soon interrupted by cloud and some strong, cold winds. But today, conditions seemed much better. To confirm this, I found 3 adult Green Lizards, and 3 juveniles, and there was a fine line-up of butterflies, too: Swallowtail, Scarce Swallowtail, Orange Tip (male), Peacock (not photographed), Small Copper, Grizzled Skipper (3 or 4 seen), and a male Short-tailed Blue = 7 species. Moths were represented by Common Heath (female), Hummingbird Hawkmoth, and a Drinker caterpillar. Beetles seen were: Longhorn Beetle - Musaria argus - Árgusszemű cincér, Blue Carpenter Beetle, and a pack of Dung Beetles - Sisyphus schaefferi - Hosszúlőcslábű ganajtúró that were very excited as they fought to gather fresh dung from the pathway ! Despite the almost all-day rain of Saturday, most of The Bowl was dry, the only exception being the deepest reedbed area. Rock Bath 1 had a good amount of water, and it also contianed 3 clumps of Agile Frog spawn, and an adult male was resting on the surface. I didn't notice any newt activity, but there are probably some in there somewhere.
8th April 2019 - (Monday, Hétfő)
As I was busy in the morning, I decided to continue my SQ studies after lunch. However, as I started to drive to the site, a big sheet of black cloud appeared from the north and seemed to be heading for the SQ. As I reached the site, rain started and became quite heavy, meaning that I stayed in the car for several minutes. Although the rain stopped, the conditions were a complete contrast to those of the morning. I briefly saw 2 butterflies go past, probably Peacock, but my hopes for studying sun-loving creatures were dashed. To salvage something from my visit, I extracted my rubbish-collecting equipment from the car, and proceeded to fill 2 carrier bags with the usual assortment of discards: plastic bottles, beer cans, broken glass, and items from those who had enjoyed some moments of alfresco passion. My work sites included the track opposite to my parking place, and the lower corner, near to the main metal gates. Things look much better now. After that job, I had a brief walk around the site, before another rain shower drove me back to the car.