John had been unavailable for our semi-regular Thursday afternoon out on 4th, due to one of his dogs being unwell. We'd tentatively postponed our excursion until the following day but, in the event, John didn't feel confident enough to leave the dog on the Friday either, so I set off late-morning for Ketton Quarry in Rutland in the hope of finding some butterflies, snakes and lizards to photograph. However, the weather looked questionable as, although it was sunny, there was a stiff breeze blowing.I took the usual countrified route and, stopping at one of my Little Owl sites, found a Red-legged Partridge to photograph.
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| Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa) |
Due to the windy conditions I was not surprised that the only Little Owl I saw was tucked well in at my Site No.34.
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| Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.34 |
Further up the road a Meadow Pipit was on a roadside post.
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| Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) |
I arrived at Ketton Quarry just before mid-day, and took the decision to have half my picnic lunch before setting off into the site.
Suitably refreshed, as I entered the site I noticed that the leaves of the Twayblade Orchids were showing well. As I was hoping for some close-up work on butterflies, I took a shot of a dandelion head to check my settings. I found that I rather liked the results, so I kept one of the photos.
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| Dandelion sp. - Ketton Quarry |
I spent some time in the area which can be good for lizards and snakes, and also butterflies at times. In spite of it being nicely sheltered from the wind, it came up with nothing, so I headed up to an area which is a good place for Green Hairstreak butterfly at the right time of year. I found one almost immediately at the start of the usual hedgeline (also nicely sheltered and in the sun) but it stayed high in a bush and I couldn't get closer than around 3 metres.
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| Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) - Ketton Quarry |
I continued along the hedgeline and, near the far end, found an extremely obliging specimen.
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| Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) - Ketton Quarry |
For those of you unfamiliar with this tiny, but beautiful, butterfly, it is the only green butterfly found in UK . It is only just over half an inch (1.5 cm) from head to wing-tip. I've yet to find one settle with its wings open, but the upper side of the wings is a milk-chocolate brown.
Also in this area were a couple of Holly Blue butterflies. These are a bit bigger than the Green Hairstreak, but still very small. This one represents the female of the species, with its dark wing-tips. Sadly, this one also kept its distance.
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| Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) (female) - Ketton Quarry |
Having spent some time here, I set off down into the adjacent hollow. Nothing of note was found here, but I did manage some shots of a female Brimstone butterfly and a Bee-fly.
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| Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) (female) - Ketton Quarry |
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| Dark-edged Bee-fly (Bombylius major) - Ketton Quarry |
On my way out of this area, I stopped at the hedge again, and took more shots of the Green Hairstreak and a Holly Blue (this time a male) which was a little more obliging. I tried getting a head-on image of the Green Hairstreak, but it had a very strange behavioural pattern - as I approached, it quickly turned from head-on to side-on. When I backed off it switched back again. I tried this many times - each time with the same result! In the second hairstreak image, you can just detect the brown of the upper wing surface.
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| Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) - Ketton Quarry |
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| Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) (male) - Ketton Quarry |
I next set off into an area which can be good for skipper butterflies, but none were seen. I only took some shots of a day-flying moth - the Common Heath.
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| Common Heath (Ematurga atomaria) - Ketton Quarry |
On my way back towards the entrance, I stopped to shoot a male Brimstone.
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| Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) (male) - Ketton Quarry |
As my return journey took me past the hedge that had been so rewarding, I had a quick look once more, and took some more shots. The first was of a wasp!
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| Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris) - Ketton Quarry |
The second was of the male Holly Blue as, so far that day, I'd not managed to capture the underside of this butterfly.
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| Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) (male) - Ketton Quarry |
I headed back to the area that I'd started in, which I believe is known as 'The Barbecue' to local enthusiasts. I'd almost given up when I found my first Dingy Skipper of the year. This butterfly is even smaller than the Green Hairstreak.
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| Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages) (male) - Ketton Quarry |
Thus ended another rather rewarding, and highly enjoyable, day
Thank you for dropping by.
