It was far cloudier and cooler at Dungeness this morning than yesterday and so the Coppers were more subdued IMG_9004.JPG When the sun did get thorough from time to time, an apparently deserted grassy verge would instantly come to life with a thronging crowd of Meadow Browns and Small Skippers IMG_8...

Hi Richard and Jackie, I don't know if you can easily return to Dungeness or not but if you can (and it's not raining! ) I give you my Copper- Backed guaranteed that you'll see a Small Copper (or two!) Last sunday (when we bumped into each other just as I was on my way home ) the second brood had be...

If your garden is anything like mine then you'll have noticed that everything has been growing like mad this summer. We've had just about perfect conditions for it. What's true for my garden is, I discovered today, also true for Dungeness: not only has the whole estate bloomed like the Chelsea Flowe...

Thanks for the caterpillar ID, Allan : I looked it up and it seems that the caterpillar is far more colourful than the adult! The Coppers just out were thinly spread ( but evidently not so far apart as to prevent Boy meeting Girl ! ) I met another Copper Enthusiast and pointed him in the right direc...

The second brood of Small Coppers at Dungeness began to emerge today And judging by this, the third brood is well in hand!

Hoggers.

The second brood of Small Coppers at Dungeness has started to emerge IMG_8680.JPG I found eight freshly minted Coppers this morning IMG_8671.JPG And what a stroke of luck to find a mating pair IMG_8577.JPG They were already coupled when by pure chance I happened to notice them IMG_8591.JPG In the pa...

Small Coppers once again grabbing the headlines ( in my local paper at least ):

I managed to fit in an hour's butterflying at Dungeness this morning. Conditions were dull, cloudy, cool and very windy. I wasn't expecting much but wanted to check to see if the male Small Copper I'd noted on 8th June was still there. Soon after starting my walk I disturbed a Large Skipper (my firs...

Hi Maximus, that Copper is just drop dead gorgeous!

Congratulations on a fantastic find!

Best wishes,

Hoggers

I went down to Dungeness this morning to see what butterflies I could find. It was cloudy but very calm, warm and muggy. There were good numbers of Small Heath and Common Blue IMG_8470.JPG Brown Argus IMG_8388.JPG (I saw 5 ) A clump of Small Tortoiseshell caterpillars IMG_8380.JPG And one adult IMG_...

Don't come down for the Coppers just yet, Goldie! I managed to squeeze in a quick visit to Dungeness today where I saw about 12 Painted Ladies IMG_8342.JPG Re-fuelling after their long journey IMG_8346.JPG Small Heaths a-plenty IMG_8350.JPG Two Brown Argus, not as many Common Blues as I'd expected (...

Hi, Thanks for the messages - I think Dungeness must be one of the premier sites in the UK for Small Coppers and I'm lucky to live fairly close to it.

I expect the second brood there to really get going in about three weeks time

Best wishes

Hoggers

I was going through my notes today when I realised that the long staying Copper (featured in yesterday's report) had in fact been seen on 24th May, not 27th. Here he is on 24th May when I first saw him, nectaring on his patch IMG_0394.JPG As to his age, any guesses? 4 or 5 days old? Now another phot...

I saw 15 Painted Ladies at Dungeness this morning ( and 4 Small Coppers..! )

Hoggers

Hi Goldie, it's good to hear that you've been having some decent weather for a change! Up until today it has been quite the opposite down here: day after day of wind, rain and thick cloud. The Blue Tit chicks left their cosy nest box the very next day and it couldn't have been easy for them. An old ...

The Blue Tit chicks in my nest box look ready to go Six chicks from eight eggs.

Here's mum squashed up against the side on a visit to her brood I think they'll be gone any day now.

Hope the weather improves for them!

I've been keeping an eye on a few male Small Coppers in the moat at Dungeness all of which have been holding territories for a number of days IMG_8185.JPG One is very prominent. He lives by the Hoary Cress IMG_8002.JPG He's a handsome chap The other males are generally not so trim IMG_8035.JPG I sat...

A Common Rosefinch dropped into Dungeness for a visit today and drew a large crowd of admirers. I was counting Small Coppers IMG_7944.JPG My Copper-O-Meter reached only 9 IMG_7940.JPG So there were more Twitchers than Coppers (Which is a shame because Coppers are so much better to look at) IMG_7968....

"Copper Jumping Spider", Pauline?

I don't like the sound of that!

Best wishes from a rather worried Hoggers!

Hi Allan, thanks for the grass identification - I can't remember ever having seen it before. It's a beautiful species - I must see if I can get some for my garden!

Best wishes,

Hoggers