It was gloriously warm and sunny at Dungeness. I took my usual walk, accompanied today by my brother. We both felt that the 2016 Small Copper season has moved into its Autumnal stage IMG_3116.JPG Most were tired-looking third brood Coppers with just a few from the fourth brood as yet IMG_3084.JPG IM...

A pal of mine currently working on the Isle of Orkney saw this Painted Lady there today

Yet more Coppers! They are suddenly taking over the website! I'm in seventh heaven!

Beautiful photos, Katrina - I love photos that show the butterfly in its environment

Congratulations and best wishes,

Hoggers.

Cheers, Allan - I could watch Small Coppers all day long and never get bored!

With such a good weather forecast, James, I prescribe you a visit to Dungeness!

All the best

Hoggers.

The Coppers are coming! They must be enjoying this hot weather ( my car dashboard said 33C in Maidstone this afternoon! ) The individual populations of Coppers that you are finding Allan would make for a fascinating study (particularly as they're producing such spectacular aberrations! ) I'm sure I'...

I'm so glad you managed to find plenty of Coppers, Trevor! Lovely photos, as always! Did you also visit the central part of the estate, i.e., near the old lighthouse? From that location you can walk along the power station fence and down to the Observatory moat. I counted 11 fresh Coppers there on s...

Stunning location, Neil and fabulous Coppers!

I also have a memory of Neil Hulme's diary and I think he also commented that the Small Coppers there were noticeably bigger than usual.

A delight to read you report as always,

Hoggers

Thanks Goldie, I know what you mean about stocking up on butterfly images to help get through Winter! I try to cram in as many Small Copper photos as I can! It was glorious at Dungeness today : unbroken warm sunshine and dead calm. I was delighted to see that the fourth brood of Small Coppers is now...

Hi Goldie, you are very kind : Thank You! It's always marvellous to see an interesting aberration ( I still haven't got over the extraordinary Small Copper I found that looked like the right half of one Copper stuck to the left half of a different one!) But finding them is pure chance and I've just ...

My mother was delighted to have a Red Admiral land on her for a rest this afternoon It was one of six, all slightly tipsy on the juice from rotting plums.

When I looked more closely I saw it was one of the white spotted aberrations - What an honour!

Thanks for the comments, guys : I once found a Small Copper there which had a distinctly greenish hue to it and I wondered (but not seriously!) if a Geiger Counter might be called for..

I may pay Dungeness a nocturnal visit to check if the Coppers glow in the dark!

Hoggers

The third brood of Small Coppers at Dungeness has passed its best IMG_2288.JPG IMG_2396.JPG Numbers are still quite high IMG_2296.JPG IMG_2304.JPG But are nonetheless falling IMG_2508.JPG Just as available sources of nectar too are diminishing IMG_2284.JPG IMG_2293.JPG Still much to admire though IM...

BBC 4 at 7.30pm on Bank Holiday Monday : Born to be Wild " a glimpse into the lives of amateur naturalists who devote their time to studying butterflies and moths ".

Sounds interesting!

Hoggers.

Hi Allan, good to see you at Dungeness this morning : that radiata is stunning! As far as I know it's the fourth radiata found there this week. Take into account other usually very rare aberrations that have also been appearing recently ( like extensa and that weird one that you identified for me ) ...

I popped down to Dungeness to have a look at the radiata found yesterday by David Walker IMG_2165.JPG A real beauty IMG_2182.JPG It's interesting how there's been a sudden surge of radiata sightings over the last week IMG_2134.JPG And that all have been females IMG_2127.JPG I counted 74 Small Copper...

David Walker ( the warden at Dungeness Nature Reserve ) sent me an email this afternoon with photos of two lovely Small Coppers that he found there today: an extensa Small Copper var extensa Dungeness 260816e 5603.jpg and a radiata Small Copper var radiata Dungeness 260816e 5466.jpg Conditions for p...

It's all part of the fascinating and often baffling World of Small Coppers, Pauline! Ive only seen a few pairs right from the start and they've got the job done in about 15 minutes. If you look at your first photo you'll see the female pushing against the male with her leg - that's something I see a...

Hi Pauline, every pair I've ever come upon I've timed from the moment of finding until separation. I'd say I've seen around 15 to 20 in total and 22 minutes is the longest I've ever recorded, so your pair beat all that I've ever seen! They're so vulnerable when mating ( I remember once having to cha...

Another radiata at Dungeness today This one had a nice set of blue badges too: Best wishes,

Hoggers.

That's my Copper! Thanks for doing the research, Allan: "sinus peroneural" ! It doesn't exactly trip off the tongue does it? I think I'll just call him " Odd Bod "..! I counted 146 Small Coppers at Dungeness today IMG_2011.JPG IMG_2009.JPG IMG_2055.JPG IMG_2018.JPG Good numbers o...