August 2016 - part 3
22nd August 2016 - (Monday, Hétfő)
In the early hours of this morning, there was a thunderstorm, accompanied by torrential rain which lasted a long time. After the monsoon, steady light rain continued until almost lunchtime. So, I went to see how much water had accumulated inside The Bowl. I'd expected that the Coffee Pool, at least, had re-formed. Upon arrival, I saw a small but steady flow of water running down the airfield road and into the top irrigation channel. Further investigation showed that a small waterfall was in action, but there was no vast intake of rain water. There was no Coffee Pool. Some water was in Rock Baths 2 and 3, but there was no discernible rise in water level in The Bowl itself. Again, I think the surrounding ground is so dry that most water is soaked up before it can surge into the SQ.
23rd August 2016 - (Tuesday, Kedd)
A new day, and a complete contrast to yesterday. We are back with blue sky, sunshine, and much heat. The high temperature ensured that the butterflies were very active. There seemed to be more than our fair share of Clouded Yellows on the site today, and it took about 10 'fly pasts' before any of them settled for photos ! I am almost sure that we had more than one species of them today, and I suspect that Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow (erate) and Clouded Yellow (colias) were involved. These need to be confirmed, though. Apart from those, we had: Woodland Grayling, Short-tailed Blue, Silver-studded Blue, Small Heath, False Grayling, Wood White, Chalkhill Blue, Common Blue, Small White, Brown Argus, Meadow Brown, Lesser Fiery Copper, Small Copper, Large Copper, and Chestnut Heath. A Large White and a Dryad escaped the camera, but I make that a total of 17 species, plus the one or two Clouded Yellows to be identified.
24th August 2016 - (Wednesday, Szerda)
Today was another 'yellow day' at the SQ, but although a Clouded Yellow (of sorts) put in an appearance, today's 'star yellow' was the Brimstone. However, it was closely followed in the starring role by a magnificent Peacock. There was also an impressive supporting cast, including: Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Lesser Fiery Copper, Chalkhill Blue (mating pair), Small White (mating pair), Wood White, Silver-studded Blue, Common Blue, Brown Argus, False Grayling, and a 'mini colony' of 3 x Short-tailed Blue. One missed by the camera was a Dryad, making it 15 species recorded. It was another hot and sunny day, but there is still water among the reeds, and the reedbed channel is still supporting the Spadefoot Toad tadpoles ….. for now !
25th August 2016 - (Thursday, Csütörtök)
The Yellow Blue-stem Grass (Botrochloa ischaemum - Fenyérfű) is becoming a bit of a problem, in two ways. Firstly, it is very invasive, and secondly, it is now a safety problem. Today, just after I arrived, I went to look at The Bowl from the waterfall area. Upon exiting the boundary fence, in error, I stepped on the very edge of the top irrigation channel, and my foot slipped ... causing me to fall forwards and land very heavily on my right knee. It hurt a lot at the time, but there seems to be no lasting damage. The channel was almost completely obscured by the tall grass. In addition, when I walked around the top rim later, I stepped on a sizeable rock (again obscured by the grass) and came quite close to falling over the edge ! So, next week, I will start a grass cutting programme. On the invasive side of things, this grass has become dominant in the wild flower 'meadow' next to the SQHQ. Therefore, this area will also need to be worked on. During my visit, I also pulled up lots of Ambrosia (Parlagfű) ... another invasive species that also causes allergy problems. Apart from that, it was another good day for butterflies: Short-tailed Blue, Chalkhill Blue, Lesser Grayling, Small Heath, Clouded Yellow (exact species to be confirmed), Brimstone, Peacock, Small White, Lesser Fiery Copper, Common Blue, Wall Brown, and Meadow Brown ... 12 species. The water in The Bowl is still 'hanging on' ... but for how much longer? Hopefully, the tadpoles will soon leave their watery domain.
26th-27th August 2016 - (Friday, Péntek and Saturday, Szombat) .... overnight moth-trapping session
I feel a little weary as I write this on Saturday lunchtime as, last night, I joined 'Friend of the Small Quarry' Levente Szőcs and his girlfriend Lilla at the Small Quarry at 2145 for the 2016 moth-trapping session. We finally left the site at about 0130, and I finally got to bed at 0230 ! But, it was a very good session, with several species recorded, some of them new for our records. For now, I'm just posting the photos, as Levente will need a little time to identify the species. When that's happened, I'll add the relevant captions. Levente is amazingly adept at identifying moths. The night was ideal, with no moon showing until towards the end, and the temperature was quite mild. A strong breeze carried the moths towards our lighted sheet.
27th August 2016 - (Saturday, Szombat)
An evening visit (1830-1900) as I wanted to check all was well at the site, and also to check that no equipment had been left there from when we packed up, in torch light, last night (or, more accurately .. this morning !). All was well on both counts, but otherwise, there was not too much to photograph. It was too late in the day. The only butterfly seen was a Clouded Yellow (of sorts), but three birds species were observed: Black Redstart, Whitethroat, and Great Tit.
29th August 2016 - (Monday, Hétfő)
Another afternoon of 30 degs for my visit. On arrival I noticed a skipper butterfly egg-laying, and on closer examination, I found it was none other than Oberthur's Grizzled Skipper ... a very nice start to the visit. After photographing that, I spent the next 30 minutes cutting the Yellow Blue-stem Grass that had caused me a nasty fall a few days ago. I don't like doing the practical work on such good recording days but this was a priority as the waterfall area and channel had become dangerous. Inside, there was quite a good collection of butterflies, although some were too lively to capture 'on film'. These were captured: Short-tailed Blue, Common Blue, Reverdin's Blue, Silver-studded Blue, False Grayling, Chestnut Heath, and Clouded Yellow (of some sort). These species were missed by the camera: Meadow Brown, Chalkhill Blue, and Eastern Bath White. So, 11 species in total. The water in The Bowl has now reached a critical stage. There was still some water in parts of the reedbed, and also in the reedbed channel, but not much. A few Pond Skaters were treading the surface, and I think I saw some tadpole movement, but it was very difficult to see. I'm still hoping for some rain as these high temperatures should soon bring some thunderstorms. Another welcome return was from a little 'pointy friend': the green bug Epiptera europaea .... a delightful and unusual creature.
31st August 2016 - (Wednesday, Szerda)
Although it was once again rather hot, practical conservation work was the order of the day for the first part of my visit. I brought the Stihl brushcutter and its associated equipment with me to mow the area of Yellow Blue-stem Grass next to the SQHQ. It only took me 10 minutes to complete the mowing, but I still need to remove the cuttings, and this will be done on my next visit. After that, it was a change of hat (literally) as I set off to record species. The biggest surprise today was the appearance of a spectacular Adonis Blue male. I hadn't expected to see this species any more this year, and its colour was dazzling. There were also several Clouded Yellow (maybe more than one species), plus Small Heath, Meadow Brown, False Grayling, Great Banded Grayling, Common Blue, Reverdin's Blue, Brown Argus, Queen of Spain Fritillary, Wood White, and Small Copper … making it a total of 12 species (unless we uncover another Clouded Yellow species ! On a few occasions this afternoon, I was attacked by a Forest-fly. We've had these at the SQ before, but it hasn't been added to the official web site, mainly because they attack so vigorously that it's difficult to photograph them. This one was particularly irritating, flying at my face and eyes, my ears, and landing on my arms, neck, and forehead. Finally I managed to transfer it from my right arm to my left so that I could take its 'mug shot'. Once they're still, one can observe their intricate markings. The water has almost disappeared from the reedbed section of The Bowl, and the only place with a 'reasonable' amount of water now is Rock Bath 1.