May 2021
4th May 2021 (Tuesday, Kedd)
Blue sky with occasional cloud, sunny, but with quite a strong wind. More and more plants and insects were evident. Butterflies recorded: Sooty Copper (male), Wood White, Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow, Grizzled Skipper, and a Southern Festoon that disappeared over the reeds before it could be photographed. The Coffee Pool still has enough water for it to be connected to the reedbed water, and at least two Fire-bellied Toads were piping from time to time. As I approached the Pool, a young Grass Snake swam off into cover. A pair of Blue Carpenter Bees were seen.
6th May 2021 - (Thursday, Csütörtök)
A short visit to check the site (the first Painted Lady was recorded), but my main task was to clear the top irrigation channel. Rain over the last few weeks had swept lots of soil and asphalt debris from the road into the channel. Unless cleared, excess rain water would be lost down the hill. The first few images show the channel before the work, and near the end, are the post-work images.
20th May 2021 - (Thursday, Csütörtök)
My first visit to the SQ since I cleared the top channel on 6th May. Since then, we have had quite a lot of rain in this area, so I went there to check the situation. I was pleased to see that the Coffee Pool had formed again and seemed to join up with the water in the reedbed area. A few Fire-bellied Toads were piping in the 'new' water. There was also a good amount of water in Rock Baths 1 and 2, and there were several buds on the Yellow Flag Iris in RB1. Not good weather for butterflies, but I found Common Blue and Silver-studded Blue males. A male Reverdin's Blue was seen at the airfield. As I walked around the top rim of the SQ, two or three Red Deer thundered off towards the airfield road, sounding like a herd of elephants as they crashed through the bushes. A Hare was seen at the airfield.
21st May 2021 - (Friday, Penték)
What a day ! As I was trying to photograph my first Southern Festoon butterfly of the year, I had an unexpected sighting. The Festoon flew to the middle of the large Bramble patch, next to Rock Bath 2. As I struggled to get some shots from the path, through the foliage, I was startled by a sudden loud rustling sound about 2 metres behind me. The animal crashed through the bushes, appearing at the HQ end of the reedbed. It was none other than a juvenile Red Deer which had been resting/sleeping in a bed just behind me: Luckily, it paused, looking confused, so I was able to shoot a sequence of images. A few minutes later, I heard it walking through the water within the reedbed. Then, as I walked away beside the reeds, I heard a sound and saw movement on the warm rocks beside the water. I had no time to react with the camera, which was a pity because it wasn't a snake or a lizard, but the first record of the European Pond Turtle at the SQ ! Previously, the only place we had seen these locally was in St. Anna Lake, at the other side of the airfield. The Turtle was about 20 cms long, and looked just like a soldier's tin hat as it slid into the water. About 20 minutes later, I carefully returned to that spot, but saw nothing. However, the turtle saw me ! It had come back out of the water to bask in the sun, but at a position about 3 metres nearer to the houses. Some bubbles came to the surface as it slid beneath the water. A little later I quietly and carefully climbed down the embankment about 5 metres away, made my way a little closer to the 'action area', and waited for about 30 minutes, hoping that our new reptile would come onto dry land again. But I wasn't lucky on this occasion. No photos of the new SQ species, for now. Birds singing within the SQ boundary: Nightingale and Golden Oriole, and a Raven flew over. Butterflies recorded were: Silver-studded Blue (several males and females), Hungarian Skipper, Grizzled Skipper, Sooty Copper (3 males), Common Blue (male), Southern Festoon, Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow, Wood White (about 6), Weaver's Fritillary, Glanville Fritillary, Queen of Spain Fritillary, Small Heath, and Brimstone = 13 species. Several Fire-bellied Toads were piping from the Coffee Pool area and the open water next to it. I also saw, and heard, a few Common Spadefoot Toads.
26th May 2021 - (Wednesday, Szerda)
I saw lots of species today, but not the one I wanted: the European Pond Turtle. After arrival, I even walked along the top rim in a bid to observe the turtle from above. But there was no sign, from ground level or 'in the air'. Birds heard: Golden Oriole and Nightingale. Butterflies recorded: Wood White, Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow, Glanville Fritillary, Lesser Spotted Fritillary, Silver-studded Blue, Reverdin's Blue, Large White, Sooty Copper, Small Heath, Dingy Skipper, and Grizzled Skipper = 11 species. I was able to photograph a courting couple of Green Lizard. These images show the male biting the tail of the female. She was also in the middle of sloughing her skin .... a full programme !