June 2020 - part 1
2nd June 2020 - (Tuesday, Kedd)
This was my first visit since Friday 22nd May .... mainly due to the poor weather conditions. There were a few butterfly species on display, although most of them were Silver-studded Blues. Those recorded: Silver-studded Blue (30+), Small Heath, Chestnut Heath, Pearly Heath, Meadow Brown, Hungarian Skipper, Grizzled Skipper, Common Blue, Wall Brown, Large Copper (male), Adonis Blue (2 males), and Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow = 12 species. Birds recorded: Green Woodpecker, Blackbird, Yellowhammer, and Jay.
8th June 2020 - (Monday, Hétfő)
On the evening of Sunday 7th June, the first in a series of quite violent thunderstorms rolled into the area from the west. This was followed by others that arrived around midnight. A substantial amount of heavy rain fell, and I was hopeful that we'd have a reasonable amount of water in The Bowl. However, although I found water throughout the reedbed area, and water in Rock Bath 1 and 2, even the Coffee Pool hadn't formed. As usual, we suspect that the long dry spell has meant that the ground above the SQ is soaking-up a large proportion of any rainfall. My morning visit was very productive, with first appearances in 2020 for several species. Butterflies recorded were: Large White, Silver-studded Blue, Reverdin's Blue, Common Blue, Adonis Blue (female), Small Heath, Pearly Heath, Meadow Brown, Sooty Copper, Small Copper, Purple-shot Copper, Large Copper (2 males), Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow, Wood White, Essex Skipper, Marbled Fritillary, Twin-spot Fritillary (3 seen) = 17 species. I photographed a female Green Lizard that climbed up the Bramble stems in front of me. Before I moved away, the lizard quickly snapped some food item off a leaf. When checking my photos on-screen I noticed another Southern Festoon caterpillar on a leaf just beside the lizard. I hope that THIS wasn't her afternoon snack ! Towards the end of my visit, I wandered up the 'red light' track, and heard the calls of a Golden Oriole. Moving closer. I saw both male and female flying into and out of a tall tree situated quite near to the Lady Orchid area. I had a good but fleeting view of the yellow male and the green female as they surged past, but my attempts at photography were totally lacking. I was surprised to hear a chorus of about 6 Green Tree Frogs as no rain was 'in the air'. The calls came from various parts of the SQ, including the reedbed, the bushy area near the top gate, and the trees near to the main gates and houses. As usual, it was impossible to actually see the 'singers'. I also heard the strange whirring sound from within the reedbed that I've heard many times over the years. I feel that it emanates from an insect, not a bird, but it remains a mystery.
10th June 2020 - (Wednesday, Szerda)
This morning was quite dull and overcast so I decided to clear road debris that had been washed into the top irrigation channel by yesterday's heavy rainfall. When I realised that the Coffee Pool had re-formed, and was, in fact, connected to the reedbed water I was sorry that I didn't do this job yesterday. Had I done so, even more water would have gone into The Bowl. I could hear Fire-bellied Toads piping in the 'new' water, and found that two of them had taken up residence in the Coffee Pool itself. A little later, some Green Tree Frogs called, and the next time they started I was ready with the camera on the video setting. A good thing I was because a big chorus of at least 20 GTFs called from all around The Bowl and its surroundings. I tried to locate some of them by eye, but it was mission impossible. I even tried the technique of playing-back my recording of their calls, but they were not impressed! Several Green Lizards were exploring the new wet areas. Another good day for butterflies: Large White, Marbled White (2), Reverdin's Blue, Silver-studded Blue (10), Large Copper (pristine male, damaged female), Small Heath, Pearly Heath, Twin-spot Fritillary (8), Meadow Brown (6), Safflower Skipper, Marbled Fritillary (2), Adonis Blue (a fresh male), Purple-shot Copper, and Essex Skipper = 14 species. As for birdlife, a flock of about 12 Long-tailed Tits noisily invaded the bushes around the top rim. Earlier, when I was on the top rim I could hear the calls of the Fire-bellied Toads in The Bowl below. But as I listened, I heard some extra notes being inserted. After a few moments I realised that was listeining to a Hoopoe, and it seemed to be replying to the Toads! Well, the notes are surprisingly similar in tone. So, I investigated, and found the Hoopoe hunting insects on the roof of Imre's house!
12th June 2020 - (Friday, Péntek)
An afternoon of sunshine and cloud, causing me to change my camera settings an incredible number of times, and even having to use flash in some darker places. The butterflies didn't help matters as they were amazingly lively, causing me to miss some species photos. Butterflies recorded: Large White, Silver-studded Blue (at least 20, and mainly females), Reverdin's Blue (1 male), Small Heath, Adonis Blue (a damaged male), Safflower Skipper, Small Skipper (2 seen), Pearly Heath, Wood White, Meadow Brown, Twin-spot Fritillary, Marbled Fritillary, and Marbled White = 13 species. The water level had gone down a little since my last visit, but the Coffee Pool is still connected to the reedbed by a wet and marshy area. Not too many Fire-bellied Toads were calling today, although there was still one in the Coffee Pool. No Tree Frogs were heard today. A Yellowhammer was singing from a variety of bushes.
15th June 2020 - (Monday, Hétfő)
I kept looking at the weather for most of the day. It wasn't going to improve but at 1500 I decided that I would use the dull weather time to undertake some clean-up work at the SQ. Firstly, I removed the cut branches from the areas near to the main gates. These had been dumped on the Small Scabious and Birthwort areas, and the poor plants had been valiantly growing through them. After that I went inside the site to tackle the large stems of the Plum tree which had been cut from inside the front fence of old Janos' house. They obviously came from that property as there were loose unripe plums lying outside the fence ! In the past I have carried/dragged dumped branches along the internal pathways and to the side gap that we like to keep blocked. However, as this is the main season, I didn't wish to cause damage to flowering plants, or disturbance to insects. Therefore, I threw each branch over the perimeter fence and onto the road/track outside. Then I had to walk round, bundle-up the branches under each arm, and drag them up the airfield road to the side gap. This work meant 3 trips, but all is now clear. After that, I started studying the site, and found an unexpected amount of super species! Butterflies recorded: Large White, Marbled White, Small Heath (3), Chestnut Heath, Pearly Heath, Meadow Brown, Silver-studded Blue, Sloe Hairstreak, Adonis Blue (male and female), Essex Skipper, Large Copper (female), Twin-spot Fritillary (2), Marbled Fritillary (2), Reverdin's Blue (male), and Wood White = 15 species. I found amother Southern Festoon caterpillar, so I estimate that we've had around 10 of them this year.