The Mountain Ringlet in Cumbria (map refs) (1 Viewer)

[gillean55]

Hello

I've just found the following link on the Butterfly Conservation site (Cumbria Branch) giving the map refs for Mountain Ringlet sightings in Cumbria:

http://www.cumbria-butterflies.org.uk/distribution_mountain_ringlet_cumbria.pdf

This opens up all sorts of possibilities for the hillwalking butterfly enthusiast!

Paul

 

[Davebutterflyman]

Hi Paul.

Thats a very interesting document and worth taking down details from.Honister pass is a site i have been lucky with in the past along with a colony at the foot of the Langdale pikes in the late seventies...a few years ago now!

Thanks for the useful link Paul.

Dave.

 

[gillean55]

Hello Dave

It's some of the more peripheral colonies that took me by surprise - Bowscale Fell near Mungrisdale and Place Fell by Ullswater for example.

Hoping to get out tomorrow if the weather holds up!

Paul

 

[Davebutterflyman]

Hi Paul.

I was just wondering if you ever get to Whitbarrow Scar and if it's status is good for the likes of High brown fritillary,Pearl bordered fritillary,Duke of burgundy and Northern brown argus?

Dave.

 

[gillean55]

Dave, my only problem with Whitbarrow is that there is just so much of it!

UKBMS divide it into 5 different areas for monitoring purposes, and so far I've only managed to visit 2: Township (to the north) and Hervey (to the west). I last visited Township on 24 May earlier this year when Dukes were abundant and Pearl-bordered Frits were in reasonable number as well. I'm hoping to go back later this month for HB and SW Frits (although it may be necessary to move down into Wakebarrow for the latter).

According to the UKBMS data, Township is also a good area for NBAs - certainly better than Arnside Knott most years.

Incidentally, I met the woman carrying out the UKBMS survey when I was in Township last year, and she was very downbeat about the status of HB Frits in this locality. However, the numbers still seemed to be reasonable from the reported counts.

Hope that helps.

Paul

 

[Davebutterflyman]

Thanks very much Paul for the info.

Dave.

 

[gillean55]

Hello

Just thought I'd mention that I visited the Seathwaite Fell Mountain Ringlet colony earlier today and saw about 10 specimens within an hour or so. They were all pretty close to the specified map ref, ie a few hundred metres to the south of the cairn at the northern end of the summit plateau.

Paul

 

[Bowland Birders]

Dave, my only problem with Whitbarrow is that there is just so much of it!

UKBMS divide it into 5 different areas for monitoring purposes, and so far I've only managed to visit 2: Township (to the north) and Hervey (to the west). I last visited Township on 24 May earlier this year when Dukes were abundant and Pearl-bordered Frits were in reasonable number as well. I'm hoping to go back later this month for HB and SW Frits (although it may be necessary to move down into Wakebarrow for the latter).

According to the UKBMS data, Township is also a good area for NBAs - certainly better than Arnside Knott most years.

Incidentally, I met the woman carrying out the UKBMS survey when I was in Township last year, and she was very downbeat about the status of HB Frits in this locality. However, the numbers still seemed to be reasonable from the reported counts.

Hope that helps.

Paul

Thanks for the Mountain Ringlet help Paul! Irton Fell was good last weekend. Some photos on my blog.

Also Whitbarrow was wonderful yesterday in hot and sunny weather, we walked in from The Howe (CARE - only parking space for 2-3 cars here), through Township Plantation to T/ship Allotment and back. Plenty of High Browns and NBAs. More photos on my blog.

Glad I wiped the dust off my macro lens, I'd forgotten what great fun butterfly photography is!

BR, Mike

 

[gillean55]

Hello Mike

Great to hear you had some luck with the Mountain Ringlets. Much better photos than I managed to get yesterday on Seathwaite Fell as well! (They were very frisky and it was just too hot to go chasing after them!)

Thanks for the info on HBFs at Township. I'll be down there the first chance I get!

Paul

 

[ColinD]

By coincidence I've just returned from Honister Pass today. When we arrived at the site at about 11am it was cloudy and quiet dull, but there were a lot of breaks in the cloud, and a few of the mountains were in sunlight.

Two other guys had got there before us and located one Mountain Ringlet in the grass, but there was no other butterfly activity. Then at last, after about a 45 minute wait, the sun finally broke through over us. The area was transformed, and Mountain Ringlets emerged from everywhere! We easliy got into double figures, and there were probabaly about 20 in the small area we covered. Everytime the cloud came back they disappeared again!

 

[Davebutterflyman]

Great images both and that is typical Mountain ringlet behaviour,soon as the sun goes in thats it! they bury themselves as if they were never there in the first place.Same i have noted for Chequered skipper and it took three days to view them at the Spean bridge site.We had literally half an hour of sunshine in the three days and six individuals were on the wing!.

Dave.

 

[gillean55]

Hello

For what it's worth, I visited the Bowscale Fell site (NY323302) earlier today but without any luck.

This is by far the most isolated of the Mountain Ringlet colonies (if that's what it is) identified in the compilation, being about 13km from the next nearest site. Although there's only a single record to date (4 specimens seen on 9 July 1998) the area is well off the beaten track in a relatively quiet part of the Lake District, and so I don't think it's necessarily significant that there haven't been more sightings here over the years.

Unfortunately, despite a reasonable forecast, conditions were far from ideal (pretty chilly and generally overcast) and I gave up after about 90 minutes. I might have another go here next year on a better day - although Place Fell also looks pretty interesting!


Paul