Fermyn Patrol Monday July 2nd

The hot NE wind continued at Fermyn on Monday and these conditions, coupled with the harsh light from the moment we arrived at the Glider club entrance at 08:00 proved to affect the behaviour of Iris to the detriment of all those hoping for groundings and the opportunity to obtain "double purple" photographs. There were a fair number of people already on their way to Ladywood by this time, and we travelled on further to an area much further down the track, meeting an acquaintance who had already seen three males, and commented on the activity at tree-top level of that inveterate squabbler, Quercus, at this early hour. We immediately became aware of Iris taking flight, clearing the great tit from his airspace before commencing sallow searching, and this type of behaviour was mirrored throughout the morning at all the known hot spots. Talking to others, on the only occasions of groundings the males would not open their wings due to the heat, and did not stay long on the dry tracks. A feature encountered throughout the woods was the amount of sap that appeared to rain down, it was markedly visible in certain light and could be felt too. I do wonder if this sap rain is a feature of Fermyn that encourages Iris to come down each year? Or perhaps it is just this season that these conditions are causing stress in the trees? (I would welcome comments.) The wind was also making it uncomfortable for grounded individuals who were being blown around on the tracks.

As the morning drifted by, the woods appeared to empty of people, but the count of Emperors went on (we eventually reached 40 at the end of our stay). The majority were in great shape, and I believe that there must still be more to come, for I was informed that it was only on Friday 22nd June that the first sightings were made here. We entered the grassy rides at 13:30 and immediately were rewarded with sightings and activity. examples of rejection drops, females in the sallows and males on patrol were all made, and included in this was the sort of  behaviour described by observers at Knepp, where individuals were seen to enter the hedges and take cover in the shade. From 13:30, we managed to see a lot more males on the ground too, searching for sustenance, (also in the shade) but hardly ever opening their wings. We even found a female in shade on the ground, and suspect this girl was resting from a bout of egg laying. Later we were treated to a three-ship of males and then a four-ship, twice, of three males chasing a female. The activity was still much in evidence at 16:00, as we left the scene, with water bottles almost empty. Seven Females out of the conservative estimate of forty individuals, made for a memorable day of Emperor watching, Unfortunately, this activity was only watched by three of us, and on reaching the car park, two cars one of which was mine, were all that were evident.