Burnets galore and plenty of heat.

I havent been up to Collard recently as I have been looking after some of the other sites we manage. The woolly thistles are just starting to come out into flower so there’s Marbled whites everywhere; it’s looking great. With the ragwort there are lots of burnet moths, in fact, we don’t have lots, there are loads of them – they really are a pretty moth.

unfortunately, I am guessing down to the heat, I didn’t see any large blue butterflies today – in direct sunlight, the thermometer was reading 48’c!

Both me and Steve headed for the big oak tree to get shade and still under there, the thermometer was reading 30’c.

I would suggest that if you plan to visit Collard over the next few days, an early morning visit might be better; when temperatures are lower – you may have a chance of seeing a blue then.

I did notice how noisy the hill actually was (in a good way) today. The place was chirring with the sound of crickets and grasshoppers.

If you visit and have some photos you would like to share with us then please send them to collard.hill@gmail.com

Hayley – Ranger for the Mendip and Polden Hills

Butterflies and Pole Cats

Well what a couple of days it has been! We started the weekend off with a bumblebee eating spider and the last couple of days we have been joined on the hill by a Pole Cat! Yes, you heard correctly, a Pole Cat.

Having chatted to Roger (Transect volunteer) this morning, it would seem that a pole cat has made its way on to the hill. One of the visitors even managed to get within feet of the cat, making rabbit noises and took a few pictures.

There is however a sad ending to this story. Later on today, Barry (Transect volunteer) phoned me to say that the pole cat had actually died this morning and was found at the bottom of the field. It would seem it was quite a young cat and as the visitor managed to get reasonably close, it could indicated that it was also slightly domesticated.

On a plus note, numbers of the large blue appearences seemed to have increased a little today. (Seven sightings – this doesnt mean that there are seven large blues;  just numbers of times it has been seen today.)

Other sightings include: A newly emerged marbled white, a clouded yellow, some painted ladies and common blues.

If you have any pictures you would like to share with us from the past few days, then please send us an email and we shall put them on the blog.

Collard.hill@gmail.com

Hayley Dorrington – Ranger for the Mendip and Polden Hills

 

Large Blues have their own open day!

What a really great day!

I have had my fingers crossed all week for decent weather today; it was our annual open day at Collard Hill.

Turning up first thing, three Blues had already made their appearance with eager photographers taking piccys in the morning sun. Myself and Ian firstly had to pass the few ponies on the hill. For some reason, one of the ponies had taken a liking to Ian (Head Ranger) and decided that he was going to use Ian as a scratching post. Now, I understand cats use people sometimes as scratching posts but PONIES! Ian soon found himself between a gate and the pony – it really was quite funny!

We had the pleasure today of being joined by Matthew Oates who has been heavily involved with the project. To begin with, we both had a wander down the eastern Glade and he took a pair of nail scissors – yep, nail scissors. I did wonder at the time why but very soon found out.

Turns out, a Marbled White had just emerged; and Matthew used the scissors to cut away the grass from where it had emerged to find the pupa it had just come from. Disappointingly, we didn’t find it but in the mean time, we had a mating pair of Large Blues who mated for a record time of 56 minutes! They usually only mate for around 40 minutes (ish).

I think I saw about 15 Blues in total during the day which was great and I saw my First Marbled White – they are so pretty. I even had the chance to have a look at the Large Blues Eggs, they really are tiny, and to begin with, I thought it was just a tiny rain drop.

Early Afternoon, I went around with Matthew to remove the tall grass from around the Thyme as this gets in the way of the Large Blue female who will be laying her eggs their during the season. There are now posters around the site explaining this small but very important job. Take a look at one next time your over at Collard.

Hayley – Ranger for the Mendip and Polden Hills

 

Not such a good day for those that Fly.

As always, the British weather certainly does stir things up a bit! Today I joined Lottie on the Hill. I was really looking forward to it as I was hoping to get a glimpse of a)A Large Blue and b)the Small elephant Hawksmoth that Lottie saw yesterday.

Over in the distance, the clouds began to lower but it stayed reasonably dry and not windy all morning. I did my first survey with Lottie at 11am and saw a couple of small heaths and plenty of Meadow Browns – but know Blues 😦

In the afternoon, I managed to get the second survey complete before the weather really did set in and the rain began.

A really nice day getting to know the ins and outs of Collard Hill. I will be on the hill again on the 17th June for the Open Day.

Hayley – Ranger for the Mendip and Polden Hills

 

A good day for those that fly!

Small elephant hawkmoth found at Collard today.

It has been a very successful day at Collard Hill for both people and butterflies due to the much improved weather conditions. There were many Large Blues in flight and nearly everyone I spoke to had managed to see one. Other butterflies making an appearance were Grizzled Skippers, Large Skippers and a Large White.  This morning a group from the Somerset Earth Science Centre came to visit Collard and the highlight for them I think was an Small Elephant Hawkmoth found in the Eastern Glade.

The best areas to see the blues today were around here and also in the quarry area by the pines where I glimpsed a mating pair! On this mornings survey I saw 8 Large blues  but I would estimate that there were at least 15 on site.

At the end of today, Sarah Meredith and Christine Tansey, the rangers for the last two years stopped by and managed to find a Large Blue female laying an egg, which is brilliant news after this weeks wind and rain.

Three generations (Sarah Meredith, Christine Tansey and Lottie Faulkner) of Large Blue butterfly ranger on the hill.

Do blue skys mean appearence of the Large Blue?

Yay! The sun is out and the skys are Blue. It certainly feels like everyone is walking around with a sunny grin on their faces today.

As for the appearence of the Large Blue on Collard Hill?

It was this time last year that one of the first sightings for the season of 2011 was made by Dave Simcox. The weather has been that bad recently, it certainly makes me wonder if the large blue will make its early apperance again. If your out and about on Collard, keep a look out and let us know if you see any signs of this wonderful blue butterfly.

Hayley – Ranger