The Two Tunnels Nature Blog

Butterfly Species: Brimstone (2) Brown Argus (5) Comma (3) Common Blue (6) Gatekeeper (5) Green-veined White (2) Meadow Brown (10) Red Admiral (5) Silver-washed Fritillary (7) Small Copper (2) Small Tortoiseshell (1) Small White (2) Speckled Wood (5) Silver-washed Fritillary - Horsecombe Vale - 22-08-2023 The weather on the 22nd August was warm (20c) with broken cloud and sunshine. Silver-washed Fritillaries were still on the wing with a total of seven seen. These were in two distinctive locations, Horsecombe Vale and the start of the 'permissive' section of cycle-path near Midford.  Small Tortoiseshell - Midford 22-08-2023 The Midford viaduct is a good place to pause and look for butterflies during the spring and summer months. It is open, sunny and has a variety of flowering plants growing along the verges. The walls both sides add to the 'sun trap' effect.  Here I recorded a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly nectaring on the Valerian that grows here. Shockingly, this wa...

Species: Large White (1) Green-veined White (1) Small Skipper (1) Brown Argus (5) Common Blue (6) Gatekeeper (11) Small White (1) Comma (3) Silver-washed Fritillary (6) Meadow Brown (8) Speckled Wood (4) Red Admiral (10) Brimstone (8) Peacock (4) Holly Blue (2) Brown Argus - Tucking Mill 11-08-2023 The 11th August was a mostly cloudy but warm day. The temperature was cooling slightly from a high of around 23c when I arrived at Tucking Mill just before 3pm. My first butterfly was a Red Admiral which I glimpsed as I approached the Viaduct.  Holly Blue  - Tucking Mill 11-08-2023 A Holly Blue was feeding on flowers growing along the edge of the viaduct. These little butterflies with their powdery blue undersides have been doing well over the past couple of years, and have been a fairly common sight in both the countryside and urban areas. Silver-washed Fritillary - Midford 11-08-2023 After a short pause on the Tucking Mill viaduct, I cycled directly to Midford and on to the o...

Species: Silver-washed Fritillary (2) Green-veined White (1) Gatekeeper (4) Meadow Brown (4) Comma (4) Red Admiral (2) White-legged Damselfly - Tucking Mill 21-07-2023 The weather on the 21st was cloudy and cool and I was not expecting to see many butterflies on the wing. The weather had changed to an unsettled pattern over the previous couple of weeks and this was my first chance to visit since the ninth of the month. Gatekeeper butterfly - Tucking Mill 21-07-2023 A few butterflies were seen during my walk around the Tucking Mill valley, including Gatekeeper, Comma and Red Admiral.  Black and yellow longhorn beetle - Horsecombe Vale 21-07-2023 Among the other insects I saw was a Black and yellow longhorn beetle. These large and colourful beetles are seen quite frequently in the shadier, wooded areas. Hoverflies were also present in the more flowery areas. These were mainly of the 'Eristalis' family of species. 'Eristalis' Hoverfly - Horsecombe Vale 21-07-2023 The gra...

Species: Ringlet (1) Red Admiral (2) Peacock (2) Small White (1) Gatekeeper (10) Large White (2) Green-Veined White(2) Silver-washed Fritillary (4) Comma (10) Brimstone (2) Meadow Brown (14) Small Tortoiseshell (1) Small Skipper (2) Common Blue (1) Marbled White (6) Silhouette of Comma Butterfly - Horsecombe Vale 09-07-2023 The 9th July was a sunny day in Bath with the temperature hovering around 20c when I arrived on the Tucking Mill viaduct at about 2.30pm. Silver-washed Fritillary - Midford 07-09-2023 I headed to a point around 200 metres from the far end of the Midford viaduct. Here, just past where the cycle track enters the 'permissive path' section is normally a good spot to see a variety of butterflies at this time of year. Today there were a couple of Silver-washed Fritillary and a Brimstone or two.  Slow worm - Tucking Mill 09-07-2023 The grassy embankment near the Tucking Mill Viaduct was relatively quiet, but I did check the reptile mat. There were several Slow Wor...

Species: Common Blue (4) Ringlet (1) Comma (8) Silver-washed Fritillary (1) Meadow Brown (7) Small Skipper (6) Marbled White (9) Black-tailed Skimmer - Tucking Mill Viaduct 24-06-2023 A late afternoon visit on a warm (26c) but cloudy day led to few butterflies being about, but some interesting sightings nonetheless. A Black-tailed Skimmer was basking on the path that traverses the Viaduct. Not a species I have seen before in this location.  Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly - Tucking Mill 24-06-2023 Also near the path was another Odonata species, this time a Damselfly. A Beautiful Demoiselle flew past and perched on a tree. Comma - Horsecombe Vale 24-06-2023 In Horsecombe Vale I had just a brief glimpse of a Silver-washed Fritillary but there were a number of Comma butterflies still flying. Variimorda villosa  'Tumbling flower beetle' - Horsecombe Vale  24-06-2023 It was in the valley I saw an unusual looking beetle feeding of a Bramble blossom. After some online research I...

Species: Grizzled Skipper (1) Meadow Brown (2) Dingy Skipper (3) Speckled Wood (2) Common Blue (3) Pyramidal Orchid - Tucking Mill 10-06-2023 The 10th June was a warm but cloudy day. I arrived at Tucking Mill for a short visit at around 11.00am. There were few butterflies around but the trip proved worthwhile. There was a wonderful array of orchids and other flora growing in the dry grassland, including Pyramidal Orchids (Photo above). Common Spotted-orchid   - Tucking Mill 10-06-2023 Alongside the Pyramidal Orchids , Common Spotted-orchids could be seen in a number of areas, including the section of the embankment which was racked to remove dead grasses earlier in the year. Red-tailed Mason Bee Nest - Tucking Mill 10-06-2023 Also on the embankment the grassy nests of the Red-tailed Mason Bee I had identified on a previous visit, could still be seen. Common Rock-rose - Tucking Mill 10-06-2023 The field where I spotted what I believe to be Cistus Forester moths was ablaze with t...

Species: Small Copper (1) Dingy Skipper (6) Common Blue (3) Comma (1) Orange Tip (1) Grizzled Skipper (10) 'Forester' or 'Cistus Forester' moth - Tucking Mill - 27-05-2023 On Saturday 27th May I made a late afternoon visit to Tucking Mill, arriving at about 4:45pm. It had been a warm and sunny day and the temperature was still around 20c. Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly - Horsecombe Vale 27-05-2023 The Beautiful Demoiselle damselflies that appear in the valley during summer were showing in small numbers, flying upwards into the trees when disturbed. Grizzled Skippers - Tucking Mill - 27-05-2023 The main purpose of my visit was to check up on the Grizzled Skippers. I had been wandering how numerous they would be this year following the hot conditions last year which desiccated their grassland habitat. Grizzled Skipper - Tucking Mill - 27-05-2023 I shouldn't have worried. I managed to identify ten individuals basking in the field and many more 'probable' Grizzl...

Species: Small Copper (2) Brown Argus (1) Common Blue (3) Grizzled Skipper (7) Dingy Skipper (11) Brimstone (3) Orange Tip (3) Holly Blue (1) Black-headed Cardinal Beetle (Pyrochroa coccinea) - Horsecombe Vale 20-05-2023 The weather was fine on the 20th May and I arrived at around 3pm. The conditions were sunny with broken cloud and the temperature of 18c. In Horsecombe Vale there were several beetles flying around. One was a bright red Black-headed Cardinal Beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis) .  Red-tailed Mason Bee Nest- Tucking Mill 20-05-2023 I was keen to visit the grassy embankment where I spotted a Red-tailed Mason Bee camouflaging its snail-shell nest during my last visit a week ago.  Red-tailed Mason Bee - Tucking Mill 20-05-2023 I was  surprised to see how large the heap of dry grass had got. Very impressive. I also managed to find a second nest close by.  Grizzled Skipper - Tucking Mill 20-05-2023 At the Grassland slopes that rise above the Combe Down Tu...