Garnock East

Mid-morning in hot sunshine:

1 Painted Lady
16 Peacocks
4 Small Tortoiseshells
1 Common Blue
1 Small Copper
1 Meadow Brown
11 Small Heath
2 Common Hawkers
Hundreds of Common Darters, including 20+ copulating pairs
1 male Black Darter

Bogside

A stroll round Bogside racecourse on Sunday afternoon produced 4 Meadow Brown, 3 Small White, 14 Small Heath, 18 Peacock and 3 Small Tortoiseshell, also 6 Common Darter.

Robert Kelly

Wall numbers climbing in the south

Inland on Friday looked grey so Scotch Argus counts were abandoned and I checked the southern coastal areas around Lendalfoot and Ballantrae. I managed a record number of Wall at Pinbain Burn with 35 counted along with 30+ Grayling. A Peacock here had a beak-shaped chunk of it's wing missing at the forewing eyespot. Further south conditions were less than ideal with wind and hazy sunshine providing only three Purple Hairstreak found on the scrubby, hillside oaks along Shallochwreck Burn. I was looking for impressive numbers of Wall on Donald Bowie in light of the Pinbain situation, though just 23 were counted here along with 50+ Grayling. Green-veined Whites were out in abundance in juncus marshes around Kilantringan Loch. Ringets appear to have finished on the coast. Single Red Admirals and Peacocks widespread elsewhere.

Pinbain Burn

Wall (35)

Grayling (30+)

Small Copper (3)

Peacock (4)

Red Admiral (1)

Meadow Brown (10+)

Green-veined White (3)

Small White (1)

Silver-Y (1)

Golden-ringed Dragonfly (1)

Shallochwreck Burn - Currarie Port

Purple Hairstreak (3)

Wall (23)

Grayling (50+)

Green-veined White (22)

Meadow Brown (3)

Peacock (3)

Large White (1)

Small Tortoiseshell (3)

Kilantringan Loch

Green-veined White (100+)

Kilantringan Loch - Currarie

Peacock (7)

Green-veined White (50+)

Scotch Argus at Stinchar Bridge

Near Stinchar Bridge this morning... butterfly activity was a bit limited but there were about a dozen Scotch Argus in the area, and the only dragonfly seen was a Common Hawker.

Angus Hogg

Scotch Argus in Changue

Surveyed Kirstie’s Trail and Devil’s Trail at Changue for Scotch Argus. While waiting for the weather to improve I checked Craigens Hill forestry near Kirkoswald without seeing much. Intermittent periods of warm sunshine in the glen at Changue provided some immaculate looking Scotch Argus and it looks like emergence wasn’t particularly early here this year. Numbers could be in the hundreds in a week or two. The bridge accessing the Fairy Knowe trail is still closed so I didn’t try for Black Darter which can be common here. The pool near Kirstie’s Stone had up to three Common Hawkers plus another pair in copula nearby. One individual attempted to take a worn Meadow Brown. The Water of Gregg and Changue Burn held territorial Golden-ringed Dragonflies but the most interesting sighting was of one patrolling a wee burn less than 35cm across which runs along the footpath between High Changue and the car park. Or at least it ‘runs’ when we have a wet summer like 2007! Surprisingly not many Peacocks around yet.

Changue Glen
Partly Cloudy, 16-17ºC
Scotch Argus (42)
Green-veined White (39)
Ringlet (13)
Meadow Brown (10)
Peacock (2)
Red Admiral (1)
Small Tortoiseshell (1)
Northern Eggar (1)
Common Hawker (13)
Golden-ringed Dragonfly (4)
Common Darter (1)
Emerald Damselfly (1)

Craigens Hill forestry
Cloudy, 15ºC
Meadow Brown (3)
Ringlet (2)
Peacock (1)
Common Darter (3)

Ardeer & Bogside

A Common Hawker along with many Common and Black Darters at Ardeer/Bogside today. Also Large Heath, Small Heath, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Peacock, Red Admiral, Common Blue, and Small Copper.

Mike Howes