We have just got back from a few days at the caravan at Spurn.
Given that its a little bit quiet on the birding front I went with the hope of seeing some of the ‘other’ wildlife that Spurn has to offer.
A quick unpack and then out in the warm (maybe hot) sunshine with the camera.
First it was a wander round Sykes Field and the inevitable encounter with a meadow brown-the first of a few. Then gatekeeper quickly followed by common blue. There were all 3 common white butterflies on the wing Large white was the least abundant but there were lots of green-veined white and small white.
A cracking find was a couple of wall browns (interestingly near a wall!). I have a particular soft spot for wall brown-it was a photograph taken with my ancient Nikon Coolpix of a wall brown butterfly that got me into wildlife photography 20 odd years ago.
A small orangey flutter had me checking for Essex skipper but of the few small skippers that were about, none had the diagnostic black antenna tips of Essex skipper (hopefully thats for another day).
From Sykes field I had a wander down Beacon Lane. High hedgerows both sides always give protection from the wind and it creates a type of microclimate of what seems like artificially high temperatures. Seemingly ideal for the butterflies. A buddleia in full bloom held red admiral and peacock. Further down there were a couple of nice commas and a single ringlet.
More of the same on the return visit but pleasingly there seemed to be lots of butterflies around, it harked back to bygone days…
On Sunday it was a stronger wind blowing from the south-west and a little less sunny. We planned to walk an extended version of The Triangle taking in Sykes Field, the coastal path from canal scrape to the warren and looping back up the road and joining the canal bank, finishing at Church Field.
I used Butterfly Conservations App to record what we found. despite the windy conditions it was pretty much more of the same- a brilliant total of 36 gatekeepers, 20 small whites and 17 green-veined whites making up the majority of the numbers.
The undoubted highlight of the day was a brimstone in Church Field. Not rare nationally but quite scarce at Spurn. Speckled Wood back at the caravan and a couple of common blues later in Sykes field added to the day tally giving a total number of species seen as 16.
There is something extremely heartwarming about having a walk in the countryside on a warm summers day and seeing things as they are supposed to be. Habitat being sensitively managed, no use of pesticides and lo and behold the wildlife is thriving-its not rocket science.
Our natural world is under massive pressure and no doubt there will be historical records from the Spurn area that indicate bigger numbers in times gone by. However the here an now offers a beacon of hope-the butterflies at Spurn are there to be enjoyed-treat yourself to a trip out, you wont be disappointed.
Brimstone
Comma
Comma
Green-veined white
Small skipper
Meadow brown
Wall
Wall
Red Admiral
Peacock
Painted lady
Painted lady
Large white
Small tortoiseshell
Small tortoiseshell being chased off by gatekeeper
Gatekeeper
Common blue
Common blue
Common blue
Cinnabar moth caterpillar