June 2018 - part 2
11th June 2018 - (Monday, Hétfő)
Upon arrival, I was so distracted by the edges of the airfield road that had been cut back 'quite severely' by tractor, that I didn't even check the upper irrigation channel. As I walked into the site via the upper gate, I heard at least two Fire-bellied Toads 'piping' from the reedbed area. I was surprised as the road was completely dry. As I gazed across The Bowl, there was no sign of water in the Coffee Pool. Once I arrived at the reedbed area I was amazed to see quite a lot of water in RB1 and RB2, and a little in RB3. When I approached the reedbed itself I found water filling the side channel, and further exploration revealed that water was about three-quarters across The Bowl, although, obviously, not too deep. However, wellies would be needed to explore the reedy area. Throughout the visit, the toads exchanged calls, and I saw a few water beetles already in place. At about 4 in the morning, there had been a massive and loud thunder storm, but despite being woken, I hadn't expected such heavy rainfall in the local area. The number of butterfly species seemed a little less today, although the numbers of Marbled White and Meadow Brown were as high as in the previous few days. I was joined on-site by Teréz and Robika, and during the final part of our exploration we flushed a Roe Deer from cover. Despite it running across an open area in front of us, neither camera could focus on the fast-running animal in time. Before departure, I cleared a small section of the top channel with my shoe. This section had become partially blocked by road debris, indicating the force of water involved.
12th June 2018 - (Tuesday, Kedd)
Today I came armed with a pair of shears as some of the paths near the reedbed area had become overgrown with Bramble and Dog Rose. I then cut out some of the Great Reedmace stems from Rock Bath 1 so that the water doesn't disappear too soon. We decided that the plants take more water than is lost by evaporation. Once the work was finished, the species studies commenced. We found 2 or 3 female Adonis Blue, but it was difficult to photograph their superb top sides. Teréz found a very large nest of the Paper Wasp, which had several guardians in attendance. Other butterflies seen were: Weaver's Fritillary, Meadow Brown, Marbled White (many), Small Heath, Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Peacock, Blue-spot Hairstreak, Holly Blue, and Hungarian Glider : 11 species. The Fire-bellied Toads were still calling from the watery reedbed, and spiders were waiting to ambush unsuspecting insects.
14th June 2018 - (Thursday, Csütörtök)
We'd had rain for most of the night and this morning so I went to the SQ to see the state of play. Before I got to examine the water situation I passed two gangs of MAV road workers, with their orange-coloured trucks. They had cut back the roadside bushes and trees even more, and maybe too much. Either this severe cut-back is so that the roadsides will stay clear longer, or the plan is to resurface the whole road up to the airfield. If it's the latter, we need to ensure that our irrigation channel is not compromised. In fact, it could be a good opportunity to improve the catchment and water flow into the site. I moved some of the cuttings to the perimeter dump, but there is much more to clear ... maybe a job for tomorrow. I saw around 20 Marbled White, about 10 Meadow Brown, and a single Small Skipper. I also flushed a Great Banded Grayling from cover on two occasions, but no photos. A few Heath Fritillaries were seen. A Great Mullein is flowering impressively inside the top section, maybe a new species for the site. A Golden Oriole was heard calling from the trees beside the largest building in the adjacent area, and some Fire-bellied Toad calls were heard from the reedbed. The recent rainfall had not changed anything at the site, despite the top channel being in 'our favour'.
15th June 2018 - (Friday, Péntek)
16th June 2018 - (Saturday, Szombat)
19th June 2018 - (Tuesday, Kedd)
Heavy rain at Gyöngyös as I made my way to the SQ., but the rain stopped halfway up the road, and from the Farkasmaly wine region to the SQ the road was completly dry! Later, during the study period, some quite heavy showers arrived, but still not enough to start the waterfall. Teréz and I sought shelter in some of the old building, discovering a female Stag Beetle that had probably had the same idea. Due to the conditions, there was not too much to see, but we recorded: Silver-studded Blue, Pearly Heath, Essex Skipper, Meadow Brown, Holly Blue, Heath Fritillary, Marbled White, and Painted Lady.
20th June 2018 - (Wednesday, Szerda)
As I arrived at the site, I found that the 'orange men' of the road company were again cutting back the sides of the airfield road. In fact, it was impossible to get past their orange vehicle, so I parked outside the main gates. Why the roadsides need to be so wide, I don't know. Maybe it's so they don't have to return to cut for a longer time, or, is this road to be completely re-surfaced? Anyway, inside the SQ I found many interesting things but was only on-site from 1300 until 1500 as the temperature was so high.
Butterflies recorded were: Marbled White, Scarce Swallowtail, Silver-studded Blue, Meadow Brown, Weaver's Fritillary, Small Skipper, Blue-spot Hairstreak, Sloe Hairstreak, Pearly Heath, Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow, Chequered Blue, Eastern Baton Blue (female), Queen of Spain Fritillary, Short-tailed Blue (female), Small Copper, Wood White, Hungarian Skipper, Small Heath, and Great Banded Grayling (no photo) = 19 species.
Butterflies recorded were: Marbled White, Scarce Swallowtail, Silver-studded Blue, Meadow Brown, Weaver's Fritillary, Small Skipper, Blue-spot Hairstreak, Sloe Hairstreak, Pearly Heath, Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow, Chequered Blue, Eastern Baton Blue (female), Queen of Spain Fritillary, Short-tailed Blue (female), Small Copper, Wood White, Hungarian Skipper, Small Heath, and Great Banded Grayling (no photo) = 19 species.