A Hebridean adventure

A partially-baked plan for a family holiday on North Uist this half-term sort of fell apart when competing demands for a camping trip at nearby Burnbake emerged a few months ago. Fortunately, as we've established over the years, I am generally regarded as surplus to requirements on family camping trips these days on account of my irrational dislike of sleep deprivation, insect bites and punctured airbeds. I was therefore delighted when my wife informed me that I could go and get lost on the Outer Hebrides on my own for a few days. At least I think that's what she said.

Black-billed Cuckoo - the red eye-ring indicates this is an adult bird

My desire to go was strong, but my plans to do so remained, as ever, slightly half-baked. The arrival of a Black-billed Cuckoo on North Uist last Monday, a rare vagrant from the Americas, helped solidify them, however, as, first it gave me the extra incentive to get my act together and, second, a couple of birding friends were keen to make the long pilgrimage north to see it. Some compromise was required as, while I was planning to go for four days to photograph the breeding birds on the Outer Hebs, my potential travelling companions didn't have the same flexibility and could only make the long weekend. Ultimately I concluded that the opportunity to share the company of friends, not to mention the driving, and the costs of the journey, was worth sacrificing the additional day on the islands.

The best flight shot I was able to get of this mobile bird

Having made the commitment to travel together, plans came together remarkably smoothly, with accommodation, hire car, and ferry times all sussed out by the impeccably organised David Bradnum. All I had to do was pack a bag, sort out car insurance so we could share the driving as far as Uig, and detour via Surrey to pick up Paul Welling, before meeting Dave in Stafford. With his car ditched in a suburban side-street, we rotated the driving through the night to take advantage of the empty roads, arriving in Uig in good time to make the 1400 ferry.

The buffy throat can be seen here

We had already seen Golden Eagle and White-tailed Eagle before leaving Uig, and Black Guillemot, Puffin, Great Skua and Harbour Porpoise were added to the trip list on the crossing to Lochmaddy. Remembering that the last time I had teamed up with Paul we had dipped on the closely related Yellow-billed Cuckoo in Cornwall, I wasn't wholly convinced that the Black-billed Cuckoo would still be present. So I kept telling myself that I was going for a few days premeditated birding and photography with the Hebridean specialities, not for the mega-rarity. By the time we disembarked at around 1600, I had almost convinced myself!

My first view of the Cuckoo was obscured, but showed the striking tail pattern very clearly

Disembarking and collecting the hire car we headed straight for Bayhead, hoping to see the Cuckoo quickly to take the pressure off and be able to enjoy the islands at leisure. After a bit of aimless wandering about, the Cuckoo was rediscovered by one of the 50 or so twitchers who had come across on the ferry, and after a breathless scamper enabling us to catch up with it, we enjoyed extended views as it perched up in bushes, on wires and on fence-posts around the local gardens.

The silky white underparts made the Cuckoo easy to pick up from distance

Most islanders seemed to embrace the influx of visitors who had come to see the Cuckoo, and the ferry crew said it had been a welcome boost to the local economy. We chatted to several residents who seemed quite amused by the whole thing, one of whom was casually mowing a lawn from which a Corncrake was calling (judging by the rasping calls before and after, it survived the ordeal just fine!). Others invited birders into their gardens to get better views of the Cuckoo, bearing out my own experience on my last visit.

The more familiar Common Cuckoo seemed abundant on North Uist - no doubt due to the large numbers of breeding Meadow Pipit in whose nests they lay their eggs

There have been only fourteen previous records of Black-billed Cuckoo in Britain, all of which have occurred in the period August-October, and most of them were found dead or dying on arrival. So it was a truly exceptional experience to see a spring adult thriving, apparently thanks to the abundance of caterpillars it was finding in the gardens of Bayhead. A special start to our stay on North Uist, and with the rarest island resident seen on our first afternoon, we could look forward to a few more days birding the rest of the island chain. More on that in my next post.

And the third Cuckoo of the day - Cuckooflower, adorned by a nectaring Green-veined White

Something green, and a giant

Sunshine, warmth and opportunity combined on Saturday, encouraging me to make the trip to Cerne Abbas, one of the finest sites in Dorset for butterflies where a range of species flourish in the shadow of the celebrated giant. After a surprisingly chilly morning with patchy cloud, the afternoon warmed up enough to bring out a range of species, including a stunning Green Hairstreak.

Green Hairstreak - more often 'stumbled upon' than 'found', in my experience

This individual was rubbing its wings together in a rotating motion, revealing a glimpse of the brown upperwing

Perhaps the most sought after butterfly at Cerne Abbas is the Duke of Burgundy - a rare species for which conservation efforts are helping to halt a precipitous decline

This male perched up during an overcast period - the forelegs of the male are stunted giving it a four-legged look (compared to six visible legs on the female)

The Marsh Fritillary has been in long-term decline in its wetland habitats, but is bucking the trend on Dorset downland sites. A single individual was spotted during my visit - hopefully more will be emerging soon

Small Heath - another species which has seen a steep decline, although it remains widespread

Grizzled Skipper - a very dapper individual

Dingy Skipper outnumbered Grizzled by about 5 to 1 - the opposite ratio compared to a visit to Fontmell Down a few weeks ago

This Green-veined White served as the warm-up act on the way to the flower-rich downland at Cerne Abbas

And representing the day-flying moths, this attractive Green Carpet was disturbed from vegetation

A fine show of Orchids and Cowslips on Cerne Giant Hill

Green Hairstreak - our only green butterfly

 

Grizzled and Dingy on the Downs

The words 'Grizzled' and 'Dingy' may not conjure up the most cheerful of images but the recent sunshine and warmth have seen an emergence of the Skippers which go by these names - enough, I would suggest, to lift any spirits. I was able to spend some time this week with both species, along with other butterflies and day-flying moths, on Fontmell and Melbury Downs, two of Dorset's finest.

Grizzled Skipper on Fontmell Down

A lot prettier than the name suggests

Dingy Skipper - a little more understated, I grant you, but 'Dingy' still seems a bit harsh

Who doesn't love an Orange Tip?



Commoner than the Skippers but no less welcome was this Green-veined White



The battered wing suggests that this Peacock has had a close shave with a would-be predator

Day-flying moths were also in evidence on the Downs, including some attractive micros. I wasn't carrying the scholarly works of Messrs Sterling, Parsons and Lewington to help with the ID, though I took the precaution of having the first one of them with me in person, which made the task a little easier!

Small Purple-barred - a day-flying macro-moth

Another Small Purple-barred - though much easier to see how it gets its name from this one

A very striking micro - Pyrausta purpuralis

The closely related Pyrausta nigrata

Ancylis unculana

There was too much to look at on the ground to look up much, but when I did this Red Kite was a handsome reward

A fine show of Bluebells in many Dorset woodlands at the moment

While I try to avoid being a camera gear-bore on these pages, a few people have asked me how I am getting on with my newish Canon 100-400mm Mk II zoom lens, so if you don't want to know, look away now. I bought it largely because I figured the closer focus (about 3 feet compared to about 10 for the 400mm f5.6) and zoom range would give me more versatility for a wider range of subjects, particularly smaller subjects, compared to my old 400mm. I like to travel reasonably light so having the flexibility to shoot distant and close subjects, of all sizes, without the need to carry around a second lens or a macro, was an important consideration.

I was already pleased with the results I was getting for bird photography with it over the autumn and winter, but this is its first spring, and after a bit of a poor summer last year which restricted the scope for insect photography, I have now been able to start putting it through its paces on a wider range of subjects than was possible with my old lens. Compared to that, I have to say it's quicker, just as sharp and the Image Stabiliser does seem to give the equivalent of a few extra stops of light, especially in darker conditions.

I have also been quite pleased with how it performs as an alternative to a macro lens, the closer focus compared to the 400mm being the key to this. Being a long zoom lens, good sized images of smaller subjects are possible without getting too close or disturbing them. Clearly, as you can see from some of these images, it was never going to be as good as a proper macro, and it's also a lot heavier (the Canon guarantee could have included neckache!). But if you like to photograph a variety of subjects, and only want to carry one lens around over your shoulder without a tripod, my conclusion is that you could do a lot worse than this. So if anyone is out there with their finger hovering over the 'Buy now' button of a consumer electronics website, I hope this helps!

 

 

 

In the footsteps of giants

Now summer's over (last week, you blinked, you missed it) it's time to reminisce about sunshine and butterflies. Between blinks last week, I managed a trip to Cerne Abbas, whose Giant is famous for his butterflies among other things. The chalk figure is thought by some to be a fertility symbol, and it seems to be working for the Lepidoptera this year at least. Good job too - they had an appalling year in 2012 which was ranked by Butterfly Conservation as 'officially the worst since records began'. The wet weather contributed to declines in 52 of out 56 species with moths faring just as badly - not just a problem for them but all the other critters that rely on them for food. Hopefully, the range of species and good numbers of each on show last week is a sign that they can bounce back quickly.

This Marsh Fritillary was freshly emerged - blood was still being pumped into the wings



Marsh Fritillary underwing - one of the most attractive of all the butterflies

Another view of the underwing

Marsh Fritillary - numbers fell by 71% last year...

...but reasonable numbers seem to be getting reported so far this year

Common Blue - another species suffering a big decline in 2012 (60%)

Common Blue underside

Duke of Burgundy - already one of our rarest butterflies, this suffered a 47% decline last year

A surprisingly small butterfly if you've not seen one before

This was one of at least half a dozen seen in a short visit

Duke of Burgundy - a stunning underwing pattern

Another Duke of Burgundy underwing

Brown Argus was also on the wing...

...as were Dingy Skipper...

...Green-veined White...

...Grizzled Skipper...

...and Small Heath



The view from Giant's Hill