Dull Day Delivers the Goods |
| A dank November morning found
the intrepid Nick Bowles, in company with Tom Dunbar, at Laplands Farm in search of Brown
Hairstreak eggs. Nick had seen at least one egg on a visit in a previous year and Tom
reported a female adult ovipositing there last year. Nick found the first egg within minutes of arrival, but that's his normal pattern! A total of 10 eggs were found on the east facing hedge, 4 on the north and 7 on the east. A total find of 21 eggs is a splendid result for 2 hours work. Reports of finds on other sites would indeed be very welcome! Can you beat 21? |
December 1st saw Paul Bowyer and Tom Dunbar at Warren Farm in Oxfordshire in search of
Brown Hairstreak eggs. Three eggs were found on the south facing perimeter of Whitecross
Green Wood. A new hedge is currently being laid on the farm at right angles to this
perimeter. Two of the eggs were found within 4 metres of this new hedge which should offer
great encouragement to Paul O' Hagan and his team who are hoping that the new hedge will
be colonised by Brown and Black Hairstreaks in due course. The outlook for Brown
Hairstreak is very promising; Black Hairstreak less so (but not impossible) due to their
inability to easily colonise new habitat. En route to the carpark a further 9 eggs
were located in Whitecross Green Wood in a relatively short space of time. |
Bernwood Brown Hairstreak Bounty |
| The BBOWT Meadow at Bernwood
has a national reputation for both Black and Brown Hairstreak sightings. I have made at
least 20 visits to the site, during the flight season of these two species over the last
two seasons, without any results at the adult stage. I hit that hedge again today,
16.12.2001, in search of Brown Hairstreak eggs and certainly came up with the goods.
During a two hour session I managed to locate 50 eggs. The vast majority were on sucker
growth up to four feet from the hedge and growing in the meadow. Tom Dunbar |
