I haven't let myself forget the horrid and protracted Winter so recently endured. Thinking back to those freezing, dispiriting months is an inspiration to me to make the most of the current heat wave. So when the joint astrological influences of Family and Work came into favourable conjunction on Mo...

Hi Debbie: I walk my dogs every day in the field where I saw the Clouded Yellows and now I just stand there looking across it remembering! Thanks for the ID Wurzel - I'm always cautious about these Golden Skippers but I agree that one was indeed an Essex. On my morning walk today I saw no less than ...

Gorgeous weather,stunning scenery,wonderful butterflies and staying in a pub - Hoggers Heavenly Holiday at the Hunter's Inn,Heddon's Mouth! I'd originally planned to visit South Wales but "Things Happened" and I had to make different arrangements. I wanted to see Fritillaries so Heddon's M...

Hi David, many thanks for your comments. I'm lucky in that Orlestone is just a 15 minute drive from my home and so it's easy for me to get there to see the White Admirals. They are so graceful, I love to watch them fly through the green shadowed leafy branches and along the woodland rides. Good luck...

There's something incongruous about coating oneself in Insect Repellant before going on a Butterfly Hunt but if you visit Orlestone Forest near Ham Street in Kent, as I did this morning, some form of defence against the Mozzies is strongly recommended. The blood suckers in there give Vampires a bad ...

I'll be in front of the TV this afternoon watching the Men's Final at Wimbledon so took my daily dose of Butterflies early (another reason for going out early being the fact that it's boiling out there!) So on my morning stroll with the hounds I saw lots of Meadow Browns, two Small Tortoiseshells, t...

Brilliant!

Thanks Dave, much appreciated.

Hello All, I'd like to visit Fairmile Common to see Silver Studded Blues. I've never been before and having looked at both Google Earth and Ordnance Survey Map 187 I've ended up Dazed and Confused! I can see Fairmile Common on the map, just South of the A3. But when I Iooking at it on Google it appe...

I added two new butterflies to my Season's List today. On my walk with the dogs this morning a darting flash of gold in the grass caught my eye P1040664.JPG A Small Skipper P1040676.JPG P1040679.JPG Almost a fortnight later than in 2012. I want to watch the Women's Final at Wimbledon this afternoon ...

I had an early finish at Canterbury today so dropped in at East Blean Wood to see the Heath Fritillaries again IMG_4814.JPG IMG_4800.JPG I didn't stray much further than the car park IMG_4686.JPG It has become rather overgrown in places with thick entanglements of Bramble but the Fritillaries were e...

I was delighted to see a single Clouded Yellow as my train pulled into Ashford (Kent) this afternoon.

Thanks guys for your comments. Well, would you believe that I've just had another "Clouded Yellow Moment"? Just as my train from London was pulling into Ashford this afternoon I saw a Clouded Yellow flying around Brambles on the embankment!
Marvellous!

Let's hope 2013 turns out to be a Clouded Yellow Year, David. I hope all UKBers get to see them. Thursday last was my best Butterflying Day Ever. It was totally unexpected. I was walking my dogs on my usual Patch and suddenly, there they were! My heart was pounding, my hands were shaking (thank heav...

I found a couple of Orchids on my local Patch today IMG_4637.JPG Bee Orchid IMG_4648.JPG Common Spotted Orchid. The only butterflies that I saw were Common Blues, a Brown Argus and a Speckled Wood. Back home I came across this Old Campaigner in the garden IMG_4662.JPG I'm glad that the Wall Flowers ...

No Clouded Yellows for me today nor very much sunshine either. It's been a case of having to dodge the showers. But brightness came in a different form IMG_4623.JPG IMG_4627.JPG And contrasting with the new vitality of this Small Tortoiseshell, a gentle touch of faded elegance IMG_4633.JPG IMG_4634....

Thanks guys: I'm so familiar with these fields, and the "usual" butterflies there, that watching two Clouded Yellows flying around for nearly three hours has given me memories that I will treasure forever. From now on, the 27th June will go down in my diary as " Clouded Yellow Day&quo...

Two Clouded Yellows on a bit of waste ground in Ashford, Kent this morning More pictures in my Personal Diary.

Will 2013 be a "Clouded Yellow Year"?

Here's Hoping!

Hoggers

If you were passing through Ashford this fine morning and you happened to see a peculiar-looking man jumping up and down in a field Whooping for Joy, do not worry: it was only Hoggers. But he had his reasons IMG_4573.JPG He'd struck Gold! IMG_4587.JPG P1040601.JPG P1040616.JPG Twice! P1040619.JPG Ye...

I was very happy to bump into my first Large Skipper of 2013 this morning when taking the dogs for their walk P1040549.JPG Later than last year, so much so that I've felt a bit concerned at their failure to appear P1040559.JPG But I saw two today P1040564.JPG Their golden colour really catches the e...

Thanks David, it was the first warm day in awhile so I thought it was worth having a look. Hopefully they'll soon be out in their thousands