July 2017 - part 3
21st July 2017 - (Friday, Péntek)
Only one visit today, and the relentless sun has caused the RB1 water level to drop a little lower. My 100 litres of water helped, but didn't solve the problem. At least the remaining tadpoles looked healthy as they grazed on underwater vegetation. Again, I had my hands full as a Dryad flew past me. My subsequent stalking was unsuccessful. During my visit, I saw about 3 more Dryads, but all proved too difficult to photograph, as did the Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow. Other butterflies seen were: some newly-emerged Chequered Blues, Silver-studded Blue, Reverdin's Blue, Common Blue, Marbled White, Short-tailed Blue, Meadow Brown, Small Heath, and Sooty Copper, making it 11 species for the day. A gruesome find was the empty 'shell' of (I believe) an Italian Locust. It had obviously been parasitised, perhaps by the larva of a Hairworm, as it ended its days at the top of a Knapweed plant. Lots of Dog Rose bushes are dropping their leaves at an alarming rate, due to the drought conditions.
22nd July 2017 - (Saturday, Szombat)
I visited the SQ twice today, which meant a double delivery of water: 200 litres, at least. As I arrived with the first load, just before 1100, I heard a rumble of thunder, and saw that dark clouds were approaching. Eventually some rain fell, but it was hardly enough to water the plants. It seems that our water containers are the only way forward at the moment. Several butterfly species were on show: Short-tailed Blue, Lesser Spotted Fritillary, Reverdin's Blue, Silver-studded Blue, Common Blue, Chalkhill Blue (male), Sooty Copper (both sexes), Grizzled Skipper, Brown Argus, Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow, Meadow Brown, Small Heath, Small White, Scarce Swallowtail, and ... at last .... a Dryad ! This made 15 species for the day. Not only did I photograph the Dryad after two days of disappointment, but it actually sat there with its wings open, which doesn't happen often ! In the reedbed area I noticed at least three stems of the Lesser Reedmace that carried 2 'clumps' of female flowers (the 'bullrush'). I wonder how common this is.
23rd July 2017 - (Sunday, Vasárnap)
When I arrived I saw that our friends had positioned one of their 'don't dump your rubbish here' signs on the fence where, recently, someone HAD dumped garden rubbish. It's nice to have a little help sometimes. Although still quite elusive, I managed to take some shots of the outside of a Dryad, after putting down the first two containers and extracting the camera. When I reached RB1, a small Grass Snake made a hasty departure from the shallows at the front. I hope some tadploes will survive. This morning there was steady rain at Gyöngyös, but, just 7 kilometres 'up the road', there was nothing at the SQ. Several Large White had obviously emerged at the same time, and they were sampling the Purple Loosestrife flowers in a 'possee'. I managed to photograph one of three Scarce Swallowtails. Other butterflies seen were: Grizzled Skipper, Chequered Blue, Sooty Copper, Reverdin's Blue, Silver-studded Blue, Large Blue, Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Marbled White, Small Copper, Brown Argus, Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow, and Short-tailed Blue: 15 species.
24th July 2017 - (Monday, Hétfő)
Arriving at RB1 with the first two containers of water, I was surprised to see how much the water level had dropped since yesterday. Yes, it's been very hot, but no more than in recent days, so I'm wondering if we're getting too many deer and Wild Boar in there, drinking the precious water at night. I was able to make two trips today, so over 200 litres of water went in, but still the pyramid top of the original indicator rock protruded from the water surface. However, as I write these notes at 1845, there is a very big thunderstorm passing through from the west, and lots of rain has fallen. Hopefully, a lot of this has gone into the SQ. I saw some Dryads, and an Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow, but I felt too tired in the heat to chase anything. Luckily, some excitement came to me at RB1, namely a Hummingbird Hawkmoth. Not the greatest photos due to the poor light, but at least the moth is recorded.
25th July 2017 - (Tuesday, Kedd)
Last night we had a storm so big and so bad that Air Traffic Control in Budapest diverted incoming aircraft almost to the eastern border of Hungary before bringing them back along the southern border. From there they flew north-west before turning over the capital to land. The storm came over the Mátra, so I was hopeful that the heavy rain would have helped my bid to keep Rock Bath 1 topped-up. When I got there this morning, I saw that the airfield road was partially wet, and that we'd had a waterfall at some point. However, there was little change at the reedbed channel. RB1's water level had increased, with only the tip of the 2nd indicator rock showing above the water surface. Even so, I was disappointed, as I'd expected a more dramatic improvement. There was some water in RB2, but not as much as expected. I went away for lunch before returning with a single delivery of 100 litres, and this consignment was enough to 'almost' cover the new indicator rock. Returning the empty containers to the car, I returned with the two buckets and proceeded to transfer 6 bucket-loads of milky water from RB2 to RB1. By the end of that job the indicator rock was covered by water. Butterflies seen were: Chalkhill Blue (male), Silver-studded Blue, Reverdin's Blue, Common Blue, Short-tailed Blue, Meadow Brown, Brown Argus, Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow, Grizzled Skipper, and a superb, new Large Copper (male) .. which I unfortunately made a mess of, photography-wise, by having the camera on the wrong setting. I went back for another attempt, but it had gone. Maybe the highlight of the day was discovering a new spider species, the Yellow Sac Spider (Cheircanthium punctorium) in The Bowl. I'd often wondered which species had made its web nest inside the curled-over leaves of grasses, etc. It seems that my specimen is a male, and was equipped with some amazing weaponry. This species carries a strong venom, supposedly worse than a wasp sting, and they tend to defend the nest very aggressively. Thank goodness for my new 300 mm lens!
26th July 2017 - (Wednesday, Szerda)
When I arrived at the SQ at 1520 today, dark clouds were approaching from the west. It all looked very promising, but we've been fooled like this before. I carried my 100 litres down to RB1, finding the first adult Praying Mantis of 2017 in the process. Yesterday I found a 1 cm juvenile on a water container. Before coming to the site, I visited OBI (Hungary's version of B&Q) to buy a small shovel with which to clear rocks and other debris from the top drainage channel. After pouring the water into RB1 I returned the empty containers to the car and then made my way to the top channel to commence the clearance work. I timed it just right as, as soon as I completed the work, the first heavy rain spots started to fall. I made for the car, parked as usual near the houses, via the top rim of the site. The rain was now coming down quite steadily, and I drove round to the airfield road parking spot, turning the car around so that I could observe the road to see how much water was running down. After about 30 minutes I ventured out and saw that almost all of the water was going into the channel, and it was flowing through beautifully due to my debris clearance work. Further investigation revealed that a small waterfall had developed, but as I departed, the rainy spell was near to ending, and as I write these notes almost an hour later, we are back to a mainly blue sky.
27th July 2017 - (Thursday, Csütörtök)
I was only at the site for just over an hour, but there were many interesting things seen during that time. I missed photographing a Silver Y moth, plus a Dryad and an Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow, as I was carrying water at the time ! Just the tip of the new indicator rock was visible above the water line when I arrived, so last night's rain had done some good. After today's 100 litres, that tip was covered by water. However, when I took a final look before leaving, that rock tip was visible again ! How frustrating ! I found a Crab Spider species with a very strange capture. I finally discovered that it was an early instar of the Rhombic Leather Bug. At this stage it has very thick antennae, and I initially thought these looked like spider legs. Later, it was a case of: having a bad day? I found some unfortunate insect (maybe a hoverfly) being sucked dry by a Crab Spider at one end, and being eaten alive at the other by a wasp. The SQ is like Africa in miniature ... this was our version of hyenas stealing part of the lion's kill. I checked the nest of the Yellow Sac Spider that I'd discovered two days ago. The only occupant appeared to be a very yellow-green example, and I believe that this is the female. The gaudily-coloured male was not seen.
28th July 2017 - (Friday, Péntek)
A fairly short visit to deliver another 100 litres, coupled with a little study time. The top part of the new indicator rock was showing above the water level, but my latest delivery reduced the protrusion to the minimum. My white containers and bags always seem to attract a variety of insect life. Today, a container attracted a Broad-headed Bug, while a bag attracted a Ruby-tailed Wasp and an unknown insect. Several blue butterflies were in evidence, including Silver-studded Blue, Common Blue, Chalkhill Blue, and a male Meleager's Blue. At last, some decent photos of a Dryad, as it fed on Purple Loosestrife. Other butterflies seen were: Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow and Sooty Copper (male).
29th July 2017 - (Saturday, Szombat)
I left today's visit until after 1900, as I thought it might be a bit cooler by then. It was a little cooler, but not by much. My 100 litres of water wasn't enough to cover the top of the new indicator rock, but at least we have a fairly full 'pond' for the young amphibians to explore and enjoy. Most butterflies were resting on plant stems at this fairly late hour, and I saw lots of Silver-studded Blue, a few Reverdin's Blue, Common Blue, and an Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow. The sun was starting to go down, so it was difficult to see in the shadows, but I managed to photograph a few small creatures ... mainly moths, but also two bush-cricket species.
30th July 2017 - (Sunday, Vasárnap)
I arrived at the site just before 1830, but the heat was still very noticeable. The water level in RB1 had dropped a little lower, but my 100 litres helped somewhat. A nice selection of small creatures was again on display. An Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow escaped my camera, but at least I captured a nice fresh Weaver's Fritillary.
31st July 2017 - (Monday, Hétfő)
I reached the SQ just before 1630 today, and as soon as I exited the car, the heat 'hit' me. Air-conditioned cars are very good, but what a contrast when you need to get out! My mobile told me that it was 33 degs in Gyöngyös itself, so it must have been around 36 degs inside the SQ. My water delivery did some good, but after emptying the containers I noticed that the very tip of the original indicator rock was just peeping above the water surface. I checked again before I left the site, and it had dropped even further ... in just one hour. Please, young amphibians ... complete your development and leave the water, as this water-carrying saga cannot continue much longer. On another topic, there were some 'different' butterflies at the site today, alongside some of the regular species. I recorded False Grayling, Large Wall Brown, Green-veined White, Chalkhill Blue (male), Common Blue (male), Silver-studded Blue, Small Heath, Grizzled Skipper, Dryad, and Meadow Brown, whilst an Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow escaped the camera : 11 species. A 'mystery' Fritillary also defied me ... maybe it was the Weaver's from yesterday. I was, however, able to get some nice close-up shots of a female Wasp Spider on her web.