Nice work, Mike. Getting a shot of a settled male Brimstone in February is no easy feat. :mrgreen: Thank you David. I must confess that it was my wife who spotted this settled specimen, after I had been fruitlessly following others on the wing for ages. It was great to be out in the sunshine enjoyi...

What a difference a week makes! The deep blue sky and pine trees gave a Mediterranean feel to my walk around Nuneham Courtenay Arboretum yesterday, Camellias, Hamamelis, Pieris were all in flower, while the grass was carpeted with Snowdrops, Crocus, and Daffodils. One of the Peacocks was even giving...

Twin spots seem to becoming the norm for this species - it would be interesting to look back at photo records over recent years to see how this trend has developed. Mine was a 'lucky spot' during a walk at my local reserve of Dry Sandford Pit. It was on a steep slope, down the side of the path, and ...

I didn't make many trips from home during the lock-down year but, on an exercise-walk in Bernwood, I was pleased to find this Silver-washed Fritillary ready to pose for me, as it fed on brambles. This is a species that has been doing well in recent years. I can remember when it was hard to find but ...

On a rare break-out from self-isolation, I took some exercise in Bernwood Forest, not far from home.

A Marbled White displayed in characteristic pose on a thistle head.
Mike

A welcome visitor to my garden, where I have plenty of Ivy and Holly trees to meet its needs. They're always tricky to photograph - usually rapidly searching for mates and only resting briefly, usually high in the shrubs. I caught this one in characteristic pose, ready to sally forth again. Holly Bl...

A visitor to my garden, to which most of my butterfly watching was confined during the 2020 pandemic.
Mike

A welcome early visitor to my garden before any of us knew what 2020 was going to unleash .
Mike

Thank you Guy - I only noticed your annotated version after I'd been admiring your photo. I simply meant that Andromeda didn't stand out like the fuzzy blob that usually helps me with identification. Some time ago, I bought a Skywatcher tracking mount and it is great for longer exposures of a few mi...

Your 4π camera provides a really immersive image of the night sky, Guy. I was trying to see if I could spot the Andromeda Galaxy but it seems a bit blurry in that area. Other favourites like Orion and the Pleiades are showing well, though, and Betelgeuse is distinctly red.

Mike

Thank goodness 2020 is over! As part of a vulnerable group, I maintained lock-down throughout, so am looking forward to the possibility of actually seeing some butterflies again in 2021. Roll on those jabs!

Mike

Agree with your comments regarding 2020. We'll have to wait and see what sort of omni-shambles the politicians make of 2021 but, whatever they do, the natural world will continue to be wonderful

Mike

David M wrote: ↑Mon Dec 21, 2020 1:19 pm Those are excellent images, Mike. Is that Jupiter's atmosphere that can be seen when maximising the second image or is it distortion from our own?

Distortion from our own - there was a slight mistiness in the air and I grabbed the photos between rain showers!

As so often, the weather is doing its best to thwart attempts at viewing the Saturn/Jupiter conjunction. Fortunately, I found some breaks in the cloud on the 19th, when I took a few shots. Apart from the interest in watching the two planets moving closer together, it's also an opportunity to watch t...

Nice clothes pegs, Jack :) The RA obviously thought so, too. The colours reminded me of those feeding platforms, set up in butterfly houses, with brightly coloured patterns on them. The butterfly doesn't seem too miffed at having been fooled, as the extended proboscis shows that it's finding somethi...

Your Canon superzoom did an excellent job on Saturn, Guy. The result are very similar to ones I have taken with my Olympus with a 100-400mm zoom lens. Keep watching, as Saturn and Jupiter are due to come into 'super-conjunction' on December 21st, although unfortunately close to the setting sun. Mike

Hi Goldie. It seems as though Small Torts may be responding to climate change by moving northwwards. Peacocks are the dominant Vanessid here. In my garden, I have had more Red Admirals than usual. When the sun finally came through one afternoon, after rain, A Red Admiral was behaving rather strangel...

Have a look at pictures of the Garden Tiger and Jersey Tiger Moths - https://butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/is-there-a-tiger-in-your-garden The Garden Tiger used to be more common than know and the larvae are known as 'woolly bears'. On the other hand, the Jersey Tiger used to be rare but ...

Yesterday (23rd July), I visited my local reserve at Dry Sandford Pit, Cothill, Oxon. The place is usually my first outing of the year for the Spring emergence but this year has been different! There was a fair 'sprinkling' of species, including Brimstone, Whites, Red Admiral, Peacock, Gatekeeper, M...

After a very long period of self-isolation, I decided it was time to 'break cover' and so I drove out to Bernwood. On arrival, the car-park was very full and I began to have second thoughts but there was a space and, knowing it's a big place, decided to take a walk. A few people were on the track - ...