The Two Tunnels Nature Blog

Butterfly species: Small White (2) Silver-washed Fritillary (4) Gatekeeper (2) Large White (1) Red Admiral (1) Painted Lady (3) Brimstone (1) Comma (1) Peacock (1) Male Silver-washed Fritillary - Midford 08-08-2019 The weather was already on the change when I emerged from the Tunnel near Tucking Mill. The sun was disappearing behind a veil of cloud, but the temperature was still hovering around 21c. I wasn’t hopeful of seeing a large number of butterflies on this trip, and so it was. Large White Butterfly - Midford 08-08-2019 The buddleia bushes that line the path near Tucking Mill were attracting several butterflies. A male Brimstone, a Peacock and a Small White among them. Red Admiral - Midford 08-08-2019 Interestingly the most numerous butterfly this trip was the Silver-washed Fritillary. Once again, these butterflies could be seen at several points along the path all the way through to the start of the ‘permissive’ path the other side of Midford.

Butterfly species: Small White (4) Holly Blue (1) Silver-washed Fritillary (9) Gatekeeper (3) Green-veined White (4) Meadow Brown (5) Small Skipper (1) Large White (3) Red Admiral (4) Common Blue (1) Small Copper (1) Painted Lady (1) Small Copper - Tucking Mill 02-08-2019 A much later start for my trip along the path this week. For various reasons I ended up beginning my survey at 4.14pm on a humid and slightly cloudy August afternoon (23c). This had some benefits. The butterflies were not as numerous, but were much more approachable. Common Blue (Female) Tucking Mill 02-08-2019 It was nice to see two, fresh summer brood butterflies, a Small Copper and a Female Common Blue at my usual stopping off point at Tucking Mill. They were lazily fluttering around on the embankment there, and easily approachable with the camera. Silver-washed Fritillary (Var. Valezina) Midford (August 2018) The highlight species of this trip was less obliging for the camera. I managed to cou...

Butterfly species: Small White (3) Holly Blue (1) Silver-washed Fritillary (4) Peacock (5) Gatekeeper (6) Green-veined White (4) Meadow Brown (9) Marbled White (5) Small Skipper (2) Comma (2) Large White (2) Red Admiral (2) Brimstone (1) Peacock Butterfly - Tucking Mill 23-07-2019 It was one of the warmest days of the year when I set off down the path last Tuesday. The ambient temperature when I got to Tucking Mill was approximately 27c. The temperature that day had been as high as 30 degrees. Elm 'Die Back' - Tucking Mill 23-07-2019 My first stop along the cycleway was just before the Tucking Mill viaduct where a large Wych Elm tree sits back from the path. It was here last year where I spotted several White-letter Hairstreak butterflies and I was hopeful to see the same this year. On a previous visit I had noticed just two flying around the tree, fewer than last year. What was noticeable was the first signs of Dutch Elm disease appearing in this otherwise h...

Butterfly Species:   (Estimated) Meadow Brown (9) Ringlet (5) Silver-washed Fritillary (3) Gatekeeper (17) Red Admiral (2) Green-veined White (4) Large White (1) Red Admiral - Midford 15-07-2019 On all my butterfly trips to date I've always recorded the butterflies I see via the iRecord Butterfly Conservation app. Today was no exception, however for the first time I somehow managed to delete records before sending them. Consequently, today's count is not likely to be accurate, however I have listed above all the species I did see plus an approximate number… And I will try not to make the same mistake again! Gatekeeper Butterfly - Tucking Mill 15-07-2019  What I do remember from the trip is that one of my favourite butterflies is now to be seen in large numbers. The Gatekeeper butterfly is one of the country's most common butterflies and can be seen in large numbers at this time of year, however it's something about the delicate markings and the coloration t...

Butterfly Species: Small White (3) Silver-washed Fritillary (1) Meadow Brown (17) Ringlet (19) Marbled White (8) Small Skipper (6) Green Veined White (1) Six-spot Burnet Moth - Tucking Mill 07-07-2019 I have made 2 trips along the path this week the first on the 5th and the second on the 7th. The weather was similar in both instances. On Friday 5th the temperature was hitting a high of 22 degrees Celsius On Sunday 7th I set out in the evening when the weather was cooler and the butterflies calmer and easier to photograph. I would have estimated the temperature to be around 16 degrees Celsius. Small Skippers - Tucking Mill 07-07-2019 I think I could sum up these 2 trips simply by saying it was the week of the Skippers. The Small Skipper butterflies were abundant along good stretches of a cycle path. There are two species that I see regularly along the cycle path the Small Skipper and the Essex Skipper. On these two days I only saw the small skipper, although I have seen...

Butterfly Species: Marbled White (15) Meadow Brown (30) White-letter Hairstreak (2) Ringlet (8) Large Skipper (1) Speckled Wood (3) Small Tortoiseshell (1) Painted Lady (1) White Admiral (1) White Admiral Butterfly - Midford/Wellow Path - 28-06-2019 The weather was much improved this Thursday when I set off down the path. The temperature was maxing out at 26 degrees C and it was almost unbroken sunshine. Just before I entered for Combe Down tunnel, I paused to look at the Wych Elm that hangs over the parapet near the tunnel entrance. It was here last year where I saw a single White-letter Hairstreak butterfly darting round the top of the tree. I was pleasantly surprised to see two Hairstreak like butterflies chasing each other around the Ash tree next to the Wych Elm. I believe these to be the first two White-letter Hairstreak butterflies of my year. Marbled White - Tucking Mill 28-06-2019 At the other end of the tunnel at Tucking Mill, there were many more butterflies on...

Butterfly Species: Small Tortoiseshell (1) Red Admiral (1) Marbled White (3) Meadow Brown (4) Ringlet (3) Damselfly - Tucking Mill 21-06-2019 It has been almost three weeks since I last took a walk along the cycle path between Tucking Mill and Midford. The weather has been bad and other things have kept me away for a week or two. However, it was a warm sunny day and the temperatures were about 19 degrees C and the weather was fine, so I was anticipating seeing quite a few butterflies on this trip. Damselfly - Tucking Mill 21-06-2019 My first encounter was not actually a butterfly but damselflies. There were several on the embankment near Tucking Mill. They appear to be Azure damselflies, although I can't be sure. It was on this stretch of path I found the first Ringlet butterflies of the season. They were flapping about lazily in the shade as they normally do. They were accompanied by several Meadow Browns. These I expected to see as I'd seen them in other locations...

Butterfly Species: Red Admiral (1) Small White (1) Peacock (1) Brimstone (2) Holly Blue (1) Peacock Butterfly - Midford 01-06-2019 It's the 1st of June and the temperature was around 24 degrees C as I set off down the path. I was hopeful of seeing a good number of butterflies. I was surprised therefore that I got all the way to the Midford viaduct before seeing any butterflies at all. Here I managed to see an ageing Peacock butterfly which was nectaring on the Valerian flowers that were growing there in great profusion. This butterfly would have emerged sometime around July/August last year. Definitely a veteran! This lack of butterflies reminds me that I was I need to do is to compare the actual numbers of butterflies recorded this year against the numbers recorded in the same week last year. My impression so far is that although I'm seeing the same species this year that I saw last year the numbers of each are lower this year than last. Once I've done this...

Butterfly Species: Holly Blue (1) Speckled Wood (1) Female Holly Blue - Tucking Mill 28-05-2019 Sometimes you can't win. I set off expecting to see plenty of butterflies given that the sun was out, and the temperature was around 16 degrees C. However, once I emerged from the tunnel at Tucking Mill the clouds had formed over the cycle path and there they stayed for my entire trip. Female Holly Blue (Underside) - Tucking Mill 28-05-2019 I saw just two butterflies on this trip. An ageing Holly blue and a speckled wood. The Holly blue is an interesting species. It has two broods a year, in spring and in later summer.  It can be seen almost anywhere in parks, gardens and in the countryside. It's easy to spot as it flies around shrubs and over trees unlike many other ‘blue’ species which are mainly grassland specialists that fly much lower to the ground. It’s caterpillar feeds on Holly blooms in the spring and Ivy blossom in the autumn. It's also known for its great ...

Butterfly Species: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Small White In addition to monitoring the butterfly populations along the cycle path near Tucking Mill and Midford, other volunteers are looking for butterflies along another stretch of the cycle path that runs between Radstock and Kilmersdon. 11th May 2019 In Rob's absence this count was carried out by Shona on the 11th of May. The temperature was quite cool at 16 degrees and it was both sunny and cloudy. However, she did manage to see several butterflies. Two male brimstones, three Orange Tips and one Small White. The Orange Tips consisted of two males and one female. 22nd May 2019 Rob Ladd was out on the cycle path between Radstock and Kilmersdon again today. The weather was rather cloudy with some sunny intervals and there was light breeze with the temperature around 19 degrees. Rob manage to see two Small White one Orange tip and two Brimstones. Intriguingly he also mentioned seeing one small, brown/orange butterfly on ...

Butterfly Species: Grizzled Skipper (1) Dingy Skipper (1) Common Blue (2) Speckled Wood (1) Brimstone (2) Speckled Wood - Midford 21-05-2019 It was a reasonably warm, bright, sunny day as I set off down the cycle path for my weekly butterfly count. The cloud was broken, and the sun was out, although for early May it was still quite cool. The temperature was hovering around 18 degrees Celsius. At the Tucking Mill section of the cycle path I once again saw the two ‘Skipper’ butterfly species I had seen on my previous this trip. The Grizzled Skipper I first saw on my last trip along the cycle path. This is a new species for me this year. I have seen a number of these butterflies on and around the cycle path in the area around the path, but this is only the second time I have seen it on the embankments here. Alas, they were too quick to photograph this time! As I cycled further along the path, I note that the brambles growing along the edge are now starting to come into bloom...

Butterfly Species: Brimstone (5) Grizzled Skipper (1) Dingy Skipper (2) Orange Tip (1) Holly Blue (2) Speckled Wood (1) Green-veined White (1) Dingy Skipper - Tucking Mill - 13-05-2019 A nice sunny day, temperatures reaching 17c and plenty of butterflies in flight! A much better day than my last trip. Today, I took the Two Tunnels route as usual, and cycled (and walked) out to the Wellow Trekking Centre. On returning, I paused at the Tucking Mill viaduct and took a walk along the footpaths away from the cycle-path. More of that later. Grizzled Skipper - Tucking Mill 13-05-2019 All the usual species were to be seen, plus one new one, The Grizzled Skipper! I have seen this species already this year close to the cycle-path, but not actually on the cycle-path. It was busying itself at the top of the embankment at Tucking Mill along with two Dingy Skippers. Both these species seem much more abundant this year. I have seen them both in several locations around the Tucking Mi...

Butterfly Species: Orange Tip (3) Speckled Wood (2) A quiet trip along the cycle-way today with only two species identified. The weather, although sunny, came with a brisk northerly breeze which kept the temperature down to around 12c. This is 'marginal' temperature wise for butterflies to fly. This time last year I recorded 38 butterflies and eight different species. The temperature then was 19c which explains much of the difference! Towards the Wellow end of the path I came across a patch of flowering Garlic Mustard. This is the principal foodplant of the Orange Tip Butterflies. Their (usually orange) eggs are easy to find just below the flower heads. Sadly I could not find a single one which is a little puzzling given the species has been flying in this location for at least a couple of weeks.