Smudger's Nature: Land of Hope and gloria...

This is a tale of two days.
Day one I drove around 8 miles to a favoured place in Whiteley Village. The word Village being a little misnomer. It's more of a shopping nirvana for those who love to partake in such pastimes.
Just over the tree line is Whiteley pastures which is a wildlife nirvana. No prizes for guessing the one I was indulging in today.

The area comprises woodland rides with bordering forest. Fragments left over from the building of the adjacent business park and shopping centre.
It always astounds and concerns me that people find more pleasure and flock in immeasurable numbers to a shopping centre than a beautiful nature reserve just next door.
Secretly I find solace in the solitude this place brings. If it were overrun with people maybe it wouldn't be so special?
The Bees were the first to draw my attention. The first was a Tree Bumble Bee. With ginger thorax and black abdomen finished with a white tail this species is unmistakable.
A similar species is the Common Carder Bee. It has the ginger thorax but lacks the black abdomen and prominent white tail. Both can be found in gardens with the Tree Bumble often nesting in bird boxes. They arrived in the UK in 2001 and have spread rapidly north. The first sightings in Scotland began in 2013.

This time of year, Whiteley is a butterfly hotspot. As the rides are full of flowers, so the Lepidoptera follow suit.

This is a Small Skipper. Much confusion is found between this and the Essex and even Large Skippers. Essex Skippers have jet black tips to the end of the antennae, especially on the underside of the clubs. From above it's easy to get mistaken. The Small and Large Skipper have black markings but not to the extent of the Essex. The Large is much larger (naturally) and has a much more defined mottled wing pattern.

The umbelifers were in full flower and many insects were taking advantage of the nectar source.

This Hoverfly took me a while to define in my insect books but I think it's a Syrphus Ribesii which is common throughout Britain.

The Ringlet is common along these rides and didn't disappoint. I do have a soft spot for this simply decorated insect. You don't need an extravagantly bedecked creature to exhort wonder. Those simple five stars with a halo edging to the wings stops me in admiration.

So does this Marsh Woundwort that was tucked away across the ditch from the main path. There was a mini forest of them there.

While I stood there my attention was drawn to a butterfly popping around the nearby canopy. It settled just above me to reveal a Meadow Brown. Not the sort of place I expected to encounter one, but then Butterflies have a tendency to shelter in places that they are not known for.

It peered at me from above as if to question my intrusion on it's privacy.....

I left it to it's own devices and made my way back to the main path.
Spotted Orchids still showed here but had seen better days.

My observations on Skippers bore more fruit as I encountered a Large Skipper this time. The Black tipped antennae obvious in this shot but the wings have a mottled affect on the underside and much more so on the upper side....

Next up and quite common when you take the time to observe is this pretty Black and Yellow Longhorn Beetle.

Those lovely Ringlets still flitted around like puppets on strings

The path ahead has a small bridge where I know I would have a good chance of spotting some Beautiful Demoiselles

At first I saw Long Tailed Tits intent on having a bath, they seemed to be everywhere as I walked...

Once they had finished, the Demoiselles took their place...

I took some time in their presence. They have a real ethereal aura about them and the colours are iridescent in the sunlight.
The next best insect to draw me away from them is the Silver Washed Fritillary. They arrive with a bang and leave in the same manner, nectaring in between....

This individual decided to imbibe the minerals by my feet....

Quite stunning butterflies.....

Carrying on, the main path curves left and heads uphill. At the top of the hill there is a crossroads. The left hand path takes you to a newly felled clearing where thistles grow tall and the undergrowth has regenerated due to the light pervading through to the forest floor.
I stepped gingerly through the undergrowth in search of more Butterflies but instead I disturbed two Roe Deer fawns asleep in the bracken.
Knowing they were staying hidden until their mother returned I rescinded and left them undisturbed. If I had troubled them further, and the adult was about, it would likely abandon them.

I retraced my steps passing what I thought was Black Horehound but I stand corrected on this if anyone can enlighten me?

Those Ringlets still danced around the rides as I plodded my way back to the van.

Then out of the blue an almost guaranteed sighting here, the White Admiral did just that before shooting off into the canopy.
I was rather hoping for a sighting of a Purple Emperor. This has been a hotspot for them in the past few years but their numbers have dwindled. There had been sightings but, alas, I was out of luck today.

Meadowsweet were flowering in numbers all along the rides as well as tufted vetch.

I'd reached the end of the path, Long Tailed Tits still regaled my every step it seemed.
A short but succinct walk, joyous sights to be had at every turn and not a shop in sight.

Day 2 : Myself, Sarah and her Mother Doreen had planned a trip to The Isle Of Wight. Specifically, Osborne House, once home to Queen Victoria who bought it in 1845 with then husband Prince Albert and used it for 50 years as a residence.
At first I wasn't too enamoured with a visit but it just goes to show how first impressions can be misleading.
I was expecting ultra manicured gardens with not a blade of grass out of place. Some were like this but a vast majority were planted for wildlife and left to their own devices.
The main entrance had a wildflower meadow so I was glad I had brought my camera.

There was a buzz of insects and the Butterflies were numerous. Meadow Browns the most profuse...
The more dowdy male...

and brighter more colourful female fed on the knapweed...

Hoverflies were abundant too...

We walked around to the back of the house which faced onto the Solent.
In front of the building there is a walled patio and gardens with many statues and raised flower beds. In front of these is a swathe of flower meadows that was alive with insects that leads down to the foreshore where Queen Victoria used to bathe. I was very impressed.

This female Marbled White was one of many taking full advantage of the bounty before it.

as did this female Meadow Brown

Sarah and Doreen had mooched ahead, I was lagging behind as usual completely engrossed in the natural smorgasbord before me.

I tried quickening my pace but another Ringlet delayed me further

Having reached the beach there is the sight of the Queens old bathing hut on wheels that greets you plus a cafe selling tea coffee and cakes.
Coffee and cake on the beach sat in deckchairs, not a bad way to spend the time whilst observing the comings and goings along the busy Solent.
As we relaxed, I spied The SS Shieldhall chugging along with some day trippers on board. This ship was my surprise birthday trip last year.
Although an old steamship and the largest working in Britain, lovingly preserved and operated by enthusiastic volunteers this used to transport effluent down the River Clyde for dumping out at sea.

On the shore I spied a Small Skipper feeding on the flowers

and a Mediterranean Gull gliding over the sea

We finished our coffee, made some typical groaning noises extricating ourselves from the deckchairs and began our walk along to Swiss Cottage and the fruit and vegetable gardens..

More Ringlets danced to us along the way

Halfway along the path I spied a Silver Washed Fritillary, a rather unusual one to boot. This is the Valesina form and quite rare. Only found in females, usually in the South. This olive green aberration in stark contrast to the usual iridescent orange that is usually seen.

And to prove the contrast a normal Fritillary kindly showed itself just around the corner...

The Swiss Cottage was rather ornate stood in the gardens but I was more taken with the Marbled Whites nectaring on the huge array of wild flowers surrounding the vegetable beds....

This stunning Hornet Hoverfly looked quite beautiful in the sunlight too.

These two male Marbled White were fighting over the best nectar source

There can be only one......

Six Spot Burnet Moths were everywhere too...

I do love their iridescence in the light...

Having my fill of Marbled White watching we retreated to the bus stop to help the tired legs back to Osborne House.
As we sat waiting, a very friendly Silver Washed Fritillary flitted around us and seemed to take a keen interest in the poster on the wall of the bus stop...

The butterfly is truly mightier than the sword!

It was trying to imbibe whatever it was from the poster, especially on the blue part. Blue seemed to be it's favourite colour. Every now and then it would land on my blue T shirt too!

Back at the main house we had a tour of the building. The history and artefacts were very enlightening and interesting. Coupled with the panoramic views from the top of the house it is easy to see how Victoria was so smitten with this place. I think I'd be happy living here!

We sat and had some food at the restaurant that bordered the fields.
A Buzzard drifted past whilst a Dunnock looked for scraps left by the public on the floor by our feet.