Painted lady on knapweed Heavy rain at breakfast, thunder at tea-time. The morning was humid and still, with rain drops lingering on vegetation. There was time to appreciate different aspects of Smardale Gill National Nature Reserve as we walked the dismantled railway track. Vistas opened up toward Scandal Beck and Smardale packhorse bridge and the sun grew brighter. There are diverse flowers and with the sun came butterflies. We had a range of species, with good sightings of Scotch Argus and painted ladies.
Overwintering in Chad, Benin and Niger, the painted lady can cross the Sahara Desert, the mountains of North Africa and the Mediterranean, in a single generation. En route for Britain, they fly low. And high on their return, reaching an altitude of 3,000 feet. An awesome migration.
Painted ladies showed well at Smardale. Knapweed and scabious were the nectaring plants for most species we saw today: small copper, peacock, tortoiseshell, green-veined white, small heath and hummingbird hawkmoths. And numbers of Scotch Argus.
Scotch Argus: Erebia Aethiops its latin name evokes the rich dark colour of the upper-wings. A large and thriving population of Scotch Argus at Smardale is dependent on blue moor grass which flowers late April on limestone grassland grazed only in winter. In Scotland, the Scotch Argus favours the taller purple moor grass of acid moorland. Once we reached the zone of blue moor grass we began to find them. Chris Winnick showed us their core habitat where Scotch Argus breed in profusion. Our best sightings occur on the stretch of dismantled railway overlooking Smardale packhorse bridge, past the double limekiln and as we reach Smardalegill viaduct. Scotch Argus is a Smardale special, high on our list of target-species.
Painted ladies showed well at Smardale. Knapweed and scabious were the nectaring plants for most species we saw today: small copper, peacock, tortoiseshell, green-veined white, small heath and hummingbird hawkmoths. And numbers of Scotch Argus.
Scotch Argus: Erebia Aethiops its latin name evokes the rich dark colour of the upper-wings. A large and thriving population of Scotch Argus at Smardale is dependent on blue moor grass which flowers late April on limestone grassland grazed only in winter. In Scotland, the Scotch Argus favours the taller purple moor grass of acid moorland. Once we reached the zone of blue moor grass we began to find them. Chris Winnick showed us their core habitat where Scotch Argus breed in profusion. Our best sightings occur on the stretch of dismantled railway overlooking Smardale packhorse bridge, past the double limekiln and as we reach Smardalegill viaduct. Scotch Argus is a Smardale special, high on our list of target-species.
Flowers of the railway embankment rose in drifts of devil’s bit scabious and field scabious, of knapweed, with melancholy thistle, harebell, great burnet, rosebay willowherb and greater willowherb. Abundant rose hips, berries of guelder rose and seed- heads of angelica and hogweed. At first glance Valerian looked browned-off and ragged but its parachute seed dispersal mechanisms are intricate and beautiful. Bloody cranesbill, another speciality of Smardale, had gone to seed and from each scarlet calyx emerged a long black cranesbill- the seed-capsule for which the plant is named.
There are yellow rattle seed-heads and flowers of eyebright, hemi-parasitic plants which tap into grasses, seeking their nutrients, sapping their vigour and so increasing the diversity of the Smardale flora.
An abundance of seeds on embankment and hedgerow attracted flocks of linnet and goldfinch. Willow warbler were audible with contact calls as they prepare to migrate. Swallows wove above our track all day. A twittering hawthorn stopped us in our tracks.
There are yellow rattle seed-heads and flowers of eyebright, hemi-parasitic plants which tap into grasses, seeking their nutrients, sapping their vigour and so increasing the diversity of the Smardale flora.
An abundance of seeds on embankment and hedgerow attracted flocks of linnet and goldfinch. Willow warbler were audible with contact calls as they prepare to migrate. Swallows wove above our track all day. A twittering hawthorn stopped us in our tracks.
With perfect timing, rain held off until the drive home. Thanks to Chris Winnick for a rewarding and informative trip and a butterfly focus on Smardale.
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