The Two Tunnels Nature Blog

Butterfly species: Silver-washed Fritillary (1) Common Blue (1) Painted Lady (1) Peacock (1) Speckled Wood  Painted Lady - Midford 20-07-2021 Ready to venture out once more following my badly timed ankle injury back in May, I took a walk down to the railway path from Combe Down. The weather was rather warmer than the last time I saw this area, and the flora and fauna had moved on from spring to high summer. It was sunny and hot, the temperature was racing past 25c by 10.30am when I arrived. Beautiful Demoiselle damselfly - Tucking Mill 20-07-2021 My first encounter wasn't a butterfly, but nonetheless one of my favourite insects. A Beautiful Demoiselle damselfly fluttered by to perch high on a Sycamore leaf overhanging the path. Nice start! Six-spot Burnet moth - Tucking Mill 20-007-2021 Further along the path, a single Common Blue butterfly was nectaring on a flower at the top of the embankment.  At the same location there were a number of day-flying Burnet moths. These appea...

  Butterfly Species: Dingy Skipper, Brimstone, Grizzled Skipper Brimstone - Tucking Mill 14-05-2021 My afternoon trip on the 14th May was later in the day than I would normally set out. The weather, although sunny was still cool for the time of year at 14c. The average for a sunny May day for this part of the UK is around 17c.  Still, a number of butterflies were active and which made the trip worthwhile. Not far along the path from Tucking Mill I spotted a Brimstone nectaring on a Dandelion flower. These remarkable butterflies are the longest lived, in the adult state, of any UK butterfly. This individual most likely emerged during the preceding summer in July or August, and having survived the winter was still going strong five months into the new year. Brimstone eggs - Midford 14-05-2021 The larval foodplant of the Brimstone is Buckthorn and Alder Buckthorn. This is an uncommon shrub along this stretch of railway path. I know of a couple of straggly specimens near the Midf...

 Butterfly Species: Holly Blue (1) Dingy Skipper (1) Orange Tip (1) Ramsons (Wild Garlic) Another cool and cloudy May day. My trip started about 11am and again, I was not that optimistic about seeing many butterflies. The three I did see made the trip worthwhile.  Dingy Skipper - Tucking Mill 11-05-2021 The cycle path was looking near it's best with the woodland understorey a carpet of white Ransom flowers, peppered with Bluebells and the yellow Lesser Celandine. The first butterfly was a Dingy Skipper. This was seen at the top of an embankment where the cycle path runs alongside a meadow. This is one of three locations in fairly close proximity, where you can expect to see these uncommon butterflies. Further along the path a single male Orange Tip flew past me, busily checking out a variety of flora without pausing and a single Holly Blue fluttered higher up in the shrubbery. Wild Strawberry - Tucking Mill 11-05-2021 Diverting off the cycle-path and following a footpath acro...

Butterfly Species: Dingy Skipper The beginning of May brought some fine weather, albeit cool. At around midday I made a short dog walking trip to Tucking Mill. Rather than going along the cycle path I walked down a footpath from Combe down village and across the fields where I would expect to see Grizzled Skipper butterflies at this time of year. With the temperature struggling to reach the heady heights of 11c, I was not expecting to see many butterflies on the wing. It was a nice surprise then to see this Dingy Skipper basking in the weak sunshine. This small butterfly is often hard to follow as it darts rapidly around over it's grassland habitat. This one was much more approachable given the cool weak sunshine. Sadly this is a species has declined greatly over the decades but showing a modest improvement in the last ten years. It remains a priority species for Butterfly Conservation.

Female Orange Tip - April 2021 I made a couple of trips along the cycle path in late April. This can be a difficult time for butterflies weather wise with varying temperatures and sunshine hours. Tuesday 20th April  Butterfly species:  Orange Tip (3) Brimstone (1) Speckled Wood (1) Some sunny spells and temperature hovering around 14c for my morning cycle ride. Nevertheless, there were a few butterflies on the wing. Nice to see the Orange Tips, as these really do represent the start of spring.... for me at least. As usual the males, with their distinctive orange tips, patrol the cycle way continuously flying and rarely pausing. A lone Speckled Wood was spotted basking in the weak sunshine, already looking a little faded. Meanwhile the familiar sight of a male Brimstone flew along the edge of a wooded section of the path. Saturday 24th April Butterfly species:  Speckled Wood (2) Holly Blue (1) Orange-tip (3) Brimstone (6) A better day for butterflies. The weather was fine ...

  The early part of April continued the trend from March with frequent night frosts and daytime temperatures struggling to exceed 10c most days.  The sheltered valley to the south of Bath can be counted on to be slightly warmer than the hills. Even so, I was surprised to see this early Grizzled Skipper on a woodland path some distance from the cycle-path and the fields where I would normally expect to see them The path leads along the edge of a wood between a brook and a grassy bank that rises up the side of the hill. It is a slightly odd place to find a Grizzled Skipper, but I have seen one there before.  The books will tell you it can be found in woodland rides, as well as grassland habitats. I'm not sure which of these this sighting would fall into. Anyway, a very welcome sight!

In most years I would expect to see the early butterflies begin to appear around the start of  March. In some years February would bring with it an occasional Brimstone or Small Tortoiseshell. The start of 2021 however has been marked with bright, but particularly cool weather, brought to us on a cold north or north-easterly wind.  Peacock Butterfly - Tucking Mill 31-03-2021 I managed several trips along the cycle-path between Tucking Mill and Wellow during February and March, during which I also explored the footpaths that crisscross the area. During these excursions I saw very few butterflies. On the 31st March I managed to see and photograph this lone Peacock warming itself in the grass. I planned these trips to coincide with fine sunny weather. It was the cold that was keeping the butterflies away. In Bath, the first half of February was very cool, warming a little towards the end of the month when 'peak' daytime temperatures typically reached 10-13c. March brought little ...

It is hard to summarise the 2020 butterfly year. Much of the year was dominated by lockdowns and for me, family matters. My last survey along the cycle path was on the 2nd of August . I recorded 11 species and a total of 43 individuals.  There was still a good showing of Silver-washed Fritillary, with a total of eight recorded. This species, residing along the path interests me. In some respects it is surprising, as this is a butterfly I mostly associate with larger woods and forests. The fact it happily makes its home along this section of cycle path, is down to the fact that the path provides a shady conduit between wooded valleys and small copses as it winds its way across the landscape.  Silver-washed Fritillary - Midford, July 2020 The White-letter Hairstreak is another butterfly to be found along this section of the path. Elusive and sedentary, it spends most of its adult life in the tree canopies, fluttering occasionally between perches. I was fortunate enough to have s...

Species: Red Admiral (8) Holly Blue (2) Peacock (16) Comma (11) Meadow Brown (22) Large White (3) Small White (1) Ringlet (6) Silver-washed Fritillary (8) Gatekeeper (5) Marbled White (5) Small Skipper (9) Small Tortoiseshell (1) Green-veined White (2) Comma - Tucking Mill 12-07-2020 108 butterflies counted today against just 39 last time out. The temperature was lower this time at around 20c, but we are coming on for 3 weeks later into the season.   Holly Blue - Horsecombe Vale, Tucking Mill 12-07-2020 As is usual this year, I also wandered the footpaths around the cycle-path counting butterflies as I go. The terrain around this section of path is both hilly and wooded. There are also several west facing, unimproved meadows.  My first encounter came as I followed a footpath between a wood and a field. I spotted a Holly Blue settled on the path ahead of me. It was feeding off a patch of dried bird droppings. More about this later!   Paired Silver-washed Fritillaries ...

Species: Large Skipper (1) Red Admiral (1) Comma (2) Ringlet (2) Meadow Brown (12) Marbled White (21) Meadow Brown - Tucking Mill 24-06-2020 Can it be too hot for butterflies? This is the question I was asking myself as I headed back from this trip down the cycle-path. I had headed off out in the mid-morning sunshine, with the temperature already above 24c.  There were plenty of butterflies about, but I sort of expected to see more given the conditions. I know from previous experience that different butterfly species like to fly at different times of the day, and can become more sedentary at other times. It may also be that we are at an 'in-between' stage for butterflies in late June ,while we wait for the summer species to emerge.  Marbled White - Tucking Mill 24-06-2020 However the Marbled Whites and Meadow Browns were flying in good numbers and interspersed with the odd Red Admiral and Comma. Comma (hutchinsoni) - Tucking Mill 24-06-2020 The Comma seen on this trip was of...

Butterfly Species: Meadow Brown (25) Small White (1) Green-veined White (1) Small Skipper (2) Marbled White (8) Small Tortoiseshell (1) Red Admiral (3) Marbled White - Tucking Mill 14-06-2020 Fine weather greeted me as I headed out of the Combe Down tunnel near Tucking Mill this Sunday. The temperature was hovering around 21c and it was my first visit there in nearly three weeks. On my last visit I saw my first Meadow Brown of the year and, as predicted, they were now numerous.  Marbled White - Tucking Mill 14-06-2020   June is a great time for butterflies. It is the month I look forward to, as the grassy meadows and hedgerows are in full bloom and one of my favourite butterflies start to appear. The Marbled White is a wonderful grassland species and very photogenic. It's intricate black and white markings are particularly striking when freshly emerged. Despite it's appearance it is in fact a closer relative of the Meadow Brown than of the Large and Small Whites and live along...

Butterfly Species: Holly Blue (1), Speckled Wood (1), Common Blue (6), Grizzled Skipper (4), Meadow Brown (1), Dingy Skipper (1) Grizzled Skipper - Tucking Mill 27-05-2020 A morning trip today taking in the section of cycle-path between Tucking Mill and Midford as well as the surrounding footpaths. The weather was fine with the temperature around 20c.  Two species were particularly evident, Common Blue and Grizzled Skipper. These occupy the grassy west facing hillsides adjoining the cycle-path. I first discovered them last year, so it's good to see them again this year. Grizzled Skippers have declined significantly in recent years and is now a 'High Priority' species for Butterfly Conservation.  Grizzled Skipper - Tucking Mill 27-05-2020 Flying alongside the Grizzled Skipper, and equally scarce is the Dingy Skipper. These can be seen flying alongside the aforementioned Grizzled Skipper and have a liking for the same type of habitat. It was also nice to see the first Meadow...

Orange Tip - Tucking Mill 09-05-2020 At the time of writing it is June and the butterfly season is coming to a head. My trips to the Tucking Mill section of the cycle-path have been few and far between owing to the Coronavirus outbreak and resulting lockdowns. Because of this, for the rest of the season, I have decided to concentrate my efforts on surveying for known species on the cycle path and the surrounding area for the rest of the year. May 9th 2020 Species: Dingy Skipper, Grizzled Skipper, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Speckled Wood, Orange Tip. My first visit to the area was on the 9th May. The weather was fine and sunny with the temperature reaching 22c. I was pleasantly surprised to find both Grizzled and Dingy Skippers flying in the field alongside the path.  Grizzled Skipper - Tucking Mill 09-05-2020 This sunny, dry, gently sloping hillside seems to provide a good habitat for these two species. However, I have yet to discover which food-plant the Grizzled Skippers are using...

Grizzled Skippers, Near Tucking Mill - 21st April 2019 Well, it's been a long time in the making but finally I have managed to collate the numbers and reflect on the butterfly year 2019. I started my observations along the cycle-path between Tucking Mill and Midford (near Bath) in the spring of 2018. I didn't know back then, that 2018 was destined to be an exceptionally good one for butterflies generally. However, I know from experience that no two years are alike when it comes to butterflies and every year has its surprises. I decided at the start of the 2019 season that I would concentrate my efforts on the stretch of path between the Midford viaduct and the start of the tunnel near Tucking Mill. This was due to a couple of factors. Firstly, I knew I would have less time to devote to the count in 2019, and I also wanted time to explore the footpaths around this area to contextualise the observations on the path. I was really pleased to be joined by several oth...