Thanks Pauline and David. It was surprisingly easy to pick it up in flight being so pale, it was easy to follow but occasionally disappeared. We searched the area thoroughly in our search but did not find any more Small Coppers on site. I spoke to a lady doing the transect and no Small Coppers had b...

On 14th June I visited Cerne Abbas, Dorset as I had received a phone call the previous evening telling me a Small Copper schmidtii aberration had been seen. The area below the famous giant is pretty extensive and I did not think I had much hope of finding it even though I had a vague idea where it c...

I visited Blean Woods RSPB ON 15th June and was rather disappointed as I only found 3 Heath Fritillaries mid-PM. I then went on to East Blean Woods and what a difference, I saw at least 10 in one small area, some had been out a while, some were extremely fresh. It was late afternoon by this time but...

Caught up with a patrolling male Clouded Yellow early afternoon 22.3.21 at Southbourne Undercliff. It was in the same area as the first sighting on 19.3.21. The temperature was around 12c. Comparing photos, it seems to be the same individual. This was the only one I saw on a long coastal walk here. ...

Initially I saw the report on the Birguides Information Service, then I saw the record on the the BC Dorset website together with an article about the sighting. Did not expect one this early, but I believe we have had March records in the past here, probably seen by yourself. The finder has put the ...

Fabulous piece Vince on one of my favourite butterflies. Thought you would be interested to know that the first Clouded Yellow I have heard of was seen yesterday 19.3.21 at Southbourne Undercliff. A good chance it was a locally emerged individual.

Having seen Medard's lovely photos of Furry Blue it reminded me of a chance encounter in Aragon, Spain with Forster's Furry Blue. We were on a family holiday in 2004 and staying at camp site in the middle of nowhere. I went for a short walk and found a clearing which the sun was flooding down into. ...

A Long-tailed Blue was watched in a garden at Stanpit, near Christchurch Dorset on 27.8.19. It was seen on climbing beans, staying around and showing well to a very experienced observer. He has just let me know. He identified it as a male and from the locality could probably be a migrant passing thr...

There was a time when I would not venture out for Brown Hairstreaks until the first week of August, but now the end of July seems to be the norm. Having seen a male at Alners Gorse, Dorset on 23rd July I visited Shipton Bellinger in Hampshire on 29th July and found a male and female on creeping this...

Hi Pauline, I was very lucky to find the Brown Hairstreaks down as I could not see any others even though conditions were very good. My guess is that they are emerging slowly and could be easier to catch up with during the next fine weather spell. I spoke to someone who had seen some around a week a...

Visited Shipton Bellinger today for Brown Hairstreaks. After a long walk around the circuit amongst the blackthorns I was lucky to come across a female and a male down on creeping thistle around mid-day. I think this is the first time I have photographed both sexes nectaring in the same shot. Earlie...

Hi Pauline, after I saw you at Shipton Bellinger today I managed to see a male and female Brown Hairstreak down together (not on the same flower), which I have never seen before. They were nectaring on a sprig of creeping thistle from around mid-day. This was on the other side of the track from the ...

Hi Neil, there was a Duke of Burgundy ab. gracilans photographed at Cerne Abbas in Dorset recently. Photograph on the Dorset BC website.


Regards
Mike

I witnessed a Marsh Fritillary population explosion near Christchurch, Dorset where numbers literally went through the roof a few years ago. Indeed there were so many you had to be very careful where you put your feet as they were everywhere. They were even turning up in nearby gardens! Had one extr...

I was in the Costa Blanca last week and the weather was sunny every day bar one, and even on that day it brightened up later on. I managed to find Provence Hairstreaks which looked pretty fresh, so hopefully the weather will improve so they make an appearance.

Regards
Mike Gibbons

Glad you caught up with the Large Tortoiseshell Neil. I can imagine there were a lot of enthusiasts in Tout Quarry on Wednesday searching. When I first saw this butterfly sunning itself on the rocks late on Tuesday it really did hit me how beautiful it was, it was literally glowing colour, and boy w...

Lucky enough to get to Tout Quarry this afternoon to see Large Tortoiseshell. It had been seen earlier but had disappeared. It only gave itself up when flushed by a passing fly! It then settled down and sunned itself on a rock where it remained for over 30 minutes. Eventually it twitched a bit and f...

I do feel a bit guilty about feeding the birds when there is a Sparrowhawk about. The problem seems to be if they realise it is a place they can visit to get an easy meal. Overall I think I should carry on feeding them, especially when food is short. I am certainly doing well for species coming in w...

I've been feeding the birds since September and just like you I have had Sparrowhawks visiting the garden. This female took what I thought was a Collared Dove and proceeded to eat it on the lawn. She did not come back, but yesterday a male darted in and caught something in the blink of an eye. Today...

Hi Scott, I would agree with most of the plants mentioned. I especially like Hebe Great Orme and Midsummer Beauty. I always go for the paler buddlejas, in my garden the reds and dark purples are largely ignored. They love the pink delight, white profusion and pale lilac varieties including Loch Inch...