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Because I took a trip on the same day of the summary, this entry encompasses both the field trip and the summary for this month.
Single logs from this month:
18 April - Missing Butterfly Species
With very sunny conditions, little winds and temperatures of 18°C at 11 AM, this day was originally planned to not include one last field trip for this month. However, this spontaneous decision proved to be a very wise decision.
+-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+ | Species | Location | Status | +-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+ | Aglais io | Mixed Field | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Anthocharis cardamines | Mixed Field / Zone I / II / III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Gonepteryx rhamni | Zone II | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Nymphalis polychloros | Zone III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Papilio machaon | gardens right between Mixed | Adult | | | Field and Zone I / Zone II | | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Pieris brassicae | Zone II / III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Pieris napi | Mixed Field / Zone I / II / III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Pieris rapae | Mixed Field / Zone I / II / III | Adult | +-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+
Whilst walking through the accessible parts of Zone I, a pheasant was heard calling just less than 50 meters away from me, yet I failed at spotting it. Whilst returnung to the bike path, dozens of moth from various species were disturbed and I was unable to determine all of them due to the sheer amount of individual moths.
Just a few meters into Zone II, I was able to spot a male A. cardamines that was unusually large. Because of the distance, I estimate its size to be equal to that of the largest possible P. rapae. After a few minutes, a large, yellow butterfly flew over my head and followed the path to the Meisel forest. Despite its fast movement, its "tails" easily gave it away that it was a P. machaon. Sadly, it did not return and running after it was a waste of energy. Waiting a little longer within Zone II, on the other hand, granted me an observation of my first female G. rhamni resting on a dandelion.
Zone III was not without its surprises, either. A large, rather orange/brown-ish butterfly flew into the crown of a pear tree and hid from me. Due to its choice of tree and this individual having resided in the center of the crown where attempting to find it is impossible, I'm quite certain that it was a female of N. polychloros searching for a spot to lay her eggs on.
Right in front of the backdoor to my home, I took a look at the sheep in the garden right across the door, which, funny enough, used to be leased by us until a few years ago. Another large and yellow butterfly was flying just centimeters above the soil and approached me after roughly ten seconds. Another P. machaon with just slightly more intense colors flew through my parents' former garden, then moved a bit above my head and, at least, flew to a different garden hosting a handful of common lilac bushes on the other side of it. Despite the impossibility of capturing any P. machaon with my camera, the latter was even easier to determine this time around. Due to the weird location of the gardens, which separate the mixed field, Zone I and Zone III from each other, I will include this observation in "Mixed Field" due to a previous observation of the same species closer to this particular location in my 2024 summary and my list of all butterflies.
It seems that I should take spontaneous walks much more often.
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It should not be all to surprising that the weather can be chaotic throughout April, however this April was marked by fast and drastic changes. While the 6th of the month was unusually warm and "summer-like", the 22nd and 23rd saw freezing temperatures at night and mixed weather with occasional rain, overcase and few sunny hours at day, with average temperatures below 10°C. The weather only started to improve again on the 26th and began to reach summer-like temperatures from the 28th onwards.
Species that already were seen in March and returned:
Species making their first appearances:
What is beginning to worry me is the lack of any observations of A. urticae. While reports from across the continent noticed a sharp decline that has been seen for a few years now, my study area was unaffected by it until May, 2023. It thus appears that the unexplainable decline of A. urticae has finally reached my area.
On a side note, this year really looks like a remarkable season for water birds in particular. Next to a small lake approximately seven kilometers southwest of my village, dozens of swans have claimed a single field as their new breeding spot. Geese and ducks, meanwhile, started to claim fields on the other side of the street.