Wednesday 6 August 2014

Wintersett 06.08.14

Up to 20°C, hot and humid with sunny spells, a couple of very brief light showers and a light south westerly this morning.
Anglers CP: A Green Sandpiper left the shallows at 08.25hrs. A juvenile CUCKOO posed for photos in the south west corner from 10.30 - 10.40hrs.   Psycho the adult Yellow-legged Gull took a Mallard duckling and ate it this afternoon, reducing a brood to 3 vs..  Common Gull 1.   A Yellow Wagtail flew over.   A Curlew flew west. Common Sandpiper 2,  Gadwall 6 + 2 CHRes.  Goldeneye 2  + 1 female in wing moult CHRes.(A high number for August).   
Wintersett Res: Common Tern 2, 
Cold Hienldey Res: Pochard 1.
Butterflies: A Holly Blue was on the Woodland Walk, behind the Visitor Centre.
Col Denny spotted an unusual, but very worn butterfly, on Haw Park Lane at 13.30 hrs.  Many thanks to Phil Lowe who identified it as an escaped  Common Mormon - the cyrus form of Papilio polytesThis is a Swallowtail butterfly usually found in South Asia, and is a female form.    It flew off, and was picked up a little later  on ACP Woodland Walk.
This butterfly sparked a very long, but interesting, Twitter conversation regarding escapees. 

    Common Mormon   Cyrus form               ASmith

     Common Mormon Cyrus form - underwing        ASmith

Juv. Cuckoo                    ACP                  PMeredith

Juv. Cuckoo          ACP  PMeredith

1 comment:

ASmith said...

This interesing information came via Twitter from Butterfly Conservation.

BC Yorkshire Branch ‏
@Phil_Lowe_ @Wintersett1 We had a sighting (with photo) of same species on our Facebook page - 1st seen 21/7 at Walton Colliery Nature Park.

Walton Colliery NP is only 3 linear miles from Haw Park Lane, Anglers CP.