Hooray! First of the year - a Green Hairstreak on the Fleam Dyke today, one of 3 seen, with 4 Peacock and an ST Spring has officially started!
N

Same here Rob; still waiting to see my first Whites and more ST than Peacock for sure. That wind doesn't help out here on the edge of the Fens.... (Nice LTT pics Phil; found a couple of nests myself this year following pairs with feathers in their beaks for lining their little nests.....) LTT_nest_1...

dilettante wrote:

NickB wrote:...and a small and slightly tatty Comma in my local "Comma Corner"...

Lovely photo though!

Cheers; I'm lucky to be time rich/cash-poor at the moment, so I can get out and about.....

...and a small and slightly tatty Comma in my local "Comma Corner"...

Not expecting such a good day - the sun came out! Saw 5 Brimstone, 2 Peacock and an ST out and about today....

A few miles of trekking today revealed two Small Tortoiseshell on the Devil's and Fleam Dyke (one on each) and single Comma in my local cemetery. ST_1_low_DD_8th_April_2012.jpg The amount of dog s**t on the Devil's Dyke at Newmarket was disgusting; more like a dog toilet than a SSSI. So much for res...

Jack Harrison wrote:Finally from Mull.
Not my sighting - I am confined to my sick bed with some ridiculous lurgy - but wife proudly reported a Tortoiseshell in the garden.
Jack

Get well soon Jack - I'm missing my daily dose of life in Tobermory....

I fear that is its rival, the speckled wood. The outer margin of the forewing is convex in xiphia (Madeiran speckled wood) and slightly concave in aegeria (speckled wood). Sorry! Guy Yes - The specimen from sahikmet is the nominate form of P. aegeria aegeria (Collins p.319) which looks quite differ...

No - it is not a late April Fool joke....
I DID see a Comma this afternoon, my first butterfly for nearly a month!

This actually got a mention on the 7 o'clock news on Radio 2 as I drove to work this morning. Right now, things are looking even worse as this cold spell looks likely to last well into April. Another dreadful year could put some species beyond the point of no return. All thanks to global 'warming',...

David M wrote: Hopefully there'll be some 'payback'

Maybe all the parasites will be knocked-back; let us hope so.....
N

badgerbob wrote:In both 2011 and 2012 I saw my first Orange-tip on the 23rd March. Well, what a surprise, I didn't see one this year on that date!!!!

Unfortunately, this is a more "normal" year
....back to the old books for the real emergence times, eh?

A couple of examples from Strumpshaw....on the same day.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=612610668755832&set=a.305461522804083.93953.221229224560647&type=1&theater This Facebook link shows a Swallowtail pair; I saw that the male was more yellow than the female. She is much lighter in colour. And I got to thinking of my own shots from S...

Sounds good, Guy. I guess you will still get influenced by the Scandinavian high pressure area migrating north-east and get some of the cold blast that we get? (My old Victorian house doesn't like cold easterly winds). All those Brimstones will have to find somewhere safe again - snow forecast mid-w...

padfield wrote:It's all waking up then! Mike's tally of 5 species (and all photographed) on 5th March can't go unremarked - tremendous!

Guy

It sure is; how much snow have you still got over there, and when do you see your season starting?
(Jack up in Mull was on 5 species a month ago....)
N

Like a lizard luxuriating in the sun, I got out as soon as the day warmed up. Nothing early-on but on my bike ride to the Fleam Dyke I saw 3 male Brimstones, with another 4 on the Dyke plus 2 Peacock and a Comma. Shows what 2 days of sun can do! Also saw a muntjac in the Dyke, followed by several ma...

Indeed NO! :shock: Phew! That's a relief :) I would prefer to see smaller and lighter cameras, instead of trying to emulate an old film size. Mike Nikonians still rule, eh, Mike? :wink: The 4/3rds systems are getting better - Sony is my favourite with combination of APS-C sensor in ergonomic body w...

Indeed NO! :shock: I still believe that shooting in RAW with Nikon gives better JPEGs at the end... :mrgreen: (The Canon JPEG engine in-camera still seems soft at default settings ....) I just happen to be involved with flogging Canon cameras for a couple of days a week... (Before you ask, I get 0% ...

Have played with a 6D and a 50mm f1.8 prime lens and also a 5D MkII with L-series 17-40mm lens and took some shots out in Cambridge on a snowy day, which was quite challenging, with lots of high-contrast areas against the white snow and grey skies. IMG_9017_01.JPG I didn't really have time to do muc...