CLOUDED YELLOW

For a change this was an August bank holiday with lots of sunshine. For a change too, there were actually people out walking and enjoying the north side of the Island. However an hour's walk on the seawall between the Oyster Fishery and the Reeveshall pool was hard work finding birds as the tide was high.

The sunshine did bring out the buttterflies and the picture above shows one of several painted ladies feeding on the golden samphire growing just above the waterline. Elsewhere meadow browns and small heaths were seen amongst the grassy seawall.

I caught sight of this small brown butterfly pictured below, flying low amongst the grass which I eventually managed to get close enough to photograph. It is a very worn butterfly but I believe it showed enough features to be the brown argus, as opposed to the very similar female common blue butterfly. The small size, the line of orange spots along the hindwing appear quite bold, the lack of blue-ish from the base of the wings, whilst underneath I managed to see the very worn but distinctive pattern of spots, all characteristic of the brown argus.

Brown argus butterflies were first identified on Mersea about ten years ago on the Reeveshall seawall. There followed an expansion of the population for a few years as mirrored on the mainland. However the butterfly on Mersea in recent years appears to be just clinging on and it has often been hard to locate any individuals anywhere.

One very distinctive butterfly that flashed past that needed no second close inspection was an eyecatching clouded yellow. This is bright yellow with a black margin to the upperwings but with its quick and erratic flight, a close view proved elusive. This scarce migrant butterfly from the continent is often seen each summer on Mersea with one or two individuals seen near the seawalls.

I could only follow this butterfly through the binoculars as it flew further away from me. It eventually settled after 50 metres but before I could get closer than 5 metres, it was up again and fluttered away over the nearby field. The yellow of this butterfly seems to mirror the bright sunshine that always seem to accompany it on a late summer's day when it flashes past.

On the Reeveshall pool, there was little ringed plover, green sandpiper, 10 lapwing, 8 teal, 2 snipe and one black-tailed godwit. A whinchat perched in a nearby bush whilst a common sandpiper called loudly as it flew along the seawall and a yellow wagtail also called
Two grey partridge were having a dust-bath alongside Bromans Lane earlier in the morning.