September 2017 - part 2
11th September 2017
A fairly short, late afternoon visit. Butterflies seen were: Short-tailed Blue (male), Small Heath, Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow, Wall Brown, female Reverdin's Blue OR Silver-studded Blue, and Brown Argus. The water in RB1 is beginning to shrink, so I'll keep monitoring the situation. I may have to catch the last two tadpoles, but the Fire-bellied Toad and Edible Frog will have to send for themselves.
14th September 2017 - (Thursday, Csütörtök)
My mission this afternoon was to rescue the last two Common Spadefoot Toad tadpoles from RB1 and take them to join their friends in the garden pond at Mátrafüred. When I returned from the car with the collecting equipment and started work, I actually caught THREE tadpoles ! Surely this must be the end of this project now. The water in RB1 is getting smaller and smaller. I heard the 'plop' of the Edible Frog as it jumped into the pool as I approached, but I saw no sign of the adult Fire-bellied Toad. Hopefully, it has decided to leave RB1 and find some moist place to rest until the rains come again. The only three butterfly species I could photograph and identify today were: Common Blue (male), Wood White, and Small Heath. Two or three small blue species flew past me, but didn't settle.
15th September 2017 - (Friday, Péntek)
A short visit this afternoon. The weather was a mixture of sunshine and cloud, accompanied by wind that was strong at times. I checked Rock Bath 1 carefully, but found no more tadpoles. However, I saw a baby frog or toad jump into the water as I approached. It may have been the baby Fire-bellied Toad that I photographed several days ago, but it rapidly disappeared under a submerged rock. The only butterfly I identified was a Great Banded Grayling, as it flew past me on the the top rim of the SQ. A fairly small female blue also flew past, but did not stop. A variety of bugs and beetles were in evidence on the Hog's Fennel plants on the top rim.
17th September 2017 - (Sunday, Vasárnap)
A quick visit on a Sunday morning to check the site after the overnight thunder storms and quite heavy rain. As can be seen, all three Rock Baths had water in them, and there were even signs of small pools forming in the reedbed section of The Bowl, too. However, this is all too little, too late, as I have already removed the amphibian young from these areas. There is no question of returning some of them as there is little or no food present at the site, and the accumulated water will soon disappear once the Sun gets to play again. It's a strange situation for me, as my first thought is to collect water from RB2 and pour it into RB1 ... but ... of course, this is not needed now. The Parasol mushroom is now in 'full bloom' at the base of the Black Spleenwort rocky outcrop. Before leaving, I checked the airfield road area to find that water was still running into the channel and feeding a small waterfall.
21st September 2017 - (Thursday, Csütörtök)
Last night, and for quite a lot of today, we had some prolonged and heavy rain. However, this information does not give a complete picture of the week as Monday 18th September was very warm and sunny. Unfortunately, neither Teréz nor myself had time to visit the SQ then. This was a pity as, no doubt, the butterflies would have been active. Anyway, returning to today's report: the substantial amount of rain had raised the water level in RB1 so much that the water touched the front rock wall. It has been probably 3 months since we've had that scenario. Quite a lot of water was also in RB2 and RB3. Water was found in the deepest part of The Bowl, in the reedbed area, and the Coffee Pool also had a fair quota. As I was wearing my wellies I explored the 'new wetland'. Whilst standing adjacent to the SQHQ I heard a sound behind me, and up near the head of the waterfall. Swinging round, I expected to see a person up there, but it was actually an adult Roe Deer climbing up and out of the site. This very orange example perhaps didn't hear me approaching due to the strong cold wind that was shaking the leaf-laden trees and bushes. Sadly, no chance of a photo ... it all happened so quickly - as they say in news reports!
22nd September 2017 - (Friday, Péntek)
A solo visit by Teréz. Here are her photos:
23rd September 2017 - (Saturday, Szombat)
A short visit that began in sunshine and warmth, but soon changed to overcast and quite chilly conditions. Butterflies, trying to make some sense of it all were: Small Heath and Common Blue, and I was surprised to find a late brood Queen of Spain Fritillary that was more interested in basking in the Sun, than being worried about my presence. I found three Praying Mantis females, one in The Bowl, and the other two, rather worryingly, on the pathways. In the 'nicely full' Rock Bath 1 I found an adult Fire-bellied Toad, but it wasn't my recently-found 'friend' as it had four undamaged legs. Several plants were still in flower, and I undertook a brief photographic survey of them. Especially dazzling were the Water-pepper plants in RB1, with their vivid red leaves and stems.
25th September 2017 - (Monday, Hétfő)
A solo visit by Teréz. Here are her photos:
26th September 2017 - (Tuesday, Kedd)
Here are the photos from Teréz's morning visit:
A late afternoon visit rewarded me with: 3 Praying Mantis, 3 butterfly species (Small Heath, Wall Brown, Common Blue), 3 bird species (Jay, Great Tit, Black Redstart), and my 'orange' Roe Deer ! Again, the deer scrambled up from within the large Dog Rose bushes that are growing at the base of the waterfall. It never seems to hear me approaching, perhaps due to a combination of it being within thick scrub, and the wind blowing the noisy leaves of the Black Poplar, nearby. The deer would find these lush green leaves attractive as these Dog Rose bushes have been the direct recipients of any waterfall rain, unlike those bushes elsewhere at the site, which have been subjected to drought conditions for most of the Summer. There is still quite a lot of water in RB1 and also the reedbed area of The Bowl. The Coffee Pool, however, will soon be dry again.
27th September 2017 - (Wednesday, Szerda)
A late afternoon visit provided me with a new bird species for the site: Sedge Warbler (Foltos nádiposzata). There was actually a small flock of about 4 individuals, and they were not worried about my presence as they explored the Dog Rose bushes near RB1. Butterflies seen were: Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow, Weaver's Fritillary, and Small Heath. A 'blue' passed me, but didn't set down to be identified. Despite the stiff wind, the temperature was high ... almost back to where it was a few weeks ago.
28th September 2017 - (Thursday, Csütörtök)
There weren't too many butterflies about during this afternoon's vist (1600-1730), but I'm quite enjoying capturing images of birds at the moment. Perhaps they visit the SQ at this time for a drink before bedtime. Seen today were: Great Tit, Marsh Tit, Chiffchaff, and Green Woodpecker, and a Raven was heard calling from a tree, just outside the SQ. Parasol toadstools seem to be popping-up everywhere! The Wild Hop has again grown up near the reedbed area, and is bearing hops. I wonder why I hadn't noticed it until today. I also saw: Crab Spider - Misumenops tricuspidatus - Alakokodó karolópók, but it dropped off my arm ... and disappeared into the grass, before I could photograph it !
29th September 2017 - (Friday, Péntek)
A few butterflies were seen during my late afternoon visit: Common Blue, Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow, Small Heath, and Sooty Copper. I also saw a few 'whites', but none of them landed or came close to me. One of two Praying Mantis DID come close to me .... in fact, it was on my back ! However, once I managed to collect it from my shoulder I found that the end of its abdomen was damaged. Amongst the mess were possibly eggs and, err .... poo ! At RB1 I surprisingly found one Common Spadefoot Toad tadpole, which had obviously escaped my recent rescue operation. A Hawker dragonfly was hunting in The Bowl, but couldn't be identified or photographed. As I was about to leave the site a Great Spotted Woodpecker called from one the of the electricity poles, and a Chiffchaff was also photographed, from a distance.