I’ve been using an iPhone 11 plus to record sightings for the last two years. It produces remarkably good quality images. The benefits of a good mobile camera, 11 plus upwards or equivalent Samsung, is they are at hand, in your pocket at all times, lightweight- practical. The downside is that you ne...

I am fortunate enough to have ideal habitats in the local area for Speckled Woods - and there were plenty of them, mostly males bombarding me from their perches while I was walking past. Despite this they always settle with wings wide showing off their beautiful markings. Too many to select from, it...

Plenty of Small Whites in the area, in the garden, and particularly along the River Chelmer. I managed to get some lovely images too. I reduced the choice to 4, but decided to add the following as they were a little different from the usual ones of bathing and nectaring. Firstly, a couple performing...

The big loser in Chelmsford with a significant drop in sightings, with the most seen on the day of my first sighting on the 17th of April. I have a couple of favourite images showing the start and finish of this beautiful butterfly. A newly emerged specimen from my trip to Hatfield Forest, and perha...

A good season on my local patch and throughout Essex, emerging on the 14th June with the last one sighted on the 26th July; although I did see a final one on the 13th August at Bevendeen Down LNR in Brighton. I managed to get numerous photographs including one nectaring on a thistle: Small Skipper 1...

More sightings of Small Coppers during 2023 than I have seen before. That doesn't necessarily mean there were more of them - just that I am more familiar with them and where I can find them. I find it particularly difficult to get a really sharp image of this species despite their friendliness and w...

Numbers of Small Heath were similar to previous years in Chelmsford, but they never appear in great numbers. I am not experienced enough to know about aberrations. These examples appear a little different then the majority I see. Firstly, one from the meadow at the Chelmer Road Bridge appears to be ...

Silver-washed Fritillary was a new species for me in 2023. I found it a very photogenic species. Because of this, and the excitement of seeing a new species, I managed to get some great shots. Although I did see them in a few places last summer, it was my successful visit to Hatfield Forest in mid-J...

overthepass wrote: ↑Wed Jan 17, 2024 12:05 pm Like the beautiful blue coloration on the forewing margins of you second one, Neil - that looks unusually bright and extensive.

Agreed, fantastic looking specimen!

The Ringlet was the biggest loser [along with Small Tortoiseshell] in Chelmsford with very few sightings during what felt like a very short season. Although I did manage to find good numbers in other butterfly sites in Essex where some of my favourite photographs were taken, starting with a fresh-lo...

The Red Admiral was the biggest winner this year in Chelmsford with a mass emergence from the nettles on the banks of the River Chelmer in Baddow Meads - 100 + seen on one visit in mid-July. Easy choice for my favourite of many photographs because of the detail and because of the experience of visit...

A pleasant surprise for me as Purple Hairstreaks are a new species for me in 2023, and I rarely see them come down from the canopy. This one allowed me to approach close enough with my iPhone 11 Plus to photograph it sucking on blackberry juices. Head buried in the fruit but I still like it. This mo...

My favourite photo of a Peacock is from April when I enjoyed this one nectaring on the early flowering bluebells carpeting the hornbeam woods here in Chelmsford. I had to chase the poor thing around to get a good shot: Peacock 13.04.2023.jpg Good numbers in April [first sighting on the 3rd] but lowe...

I did not see a Painted Lady until the 5th July when one of the few to visit the gardens arrived. A couple on one day was a rare event within the River Chelmer flood plain; Painted Lady 13.07.2023.jpg although numbers were better in Hatfield Forest: Painted Lady 18.07.2023.jpg with the last sighting...

It felt like a better season for Orange-tips within the Chelmer flood plain this year, although I remain disappointed by the numbers. The earliest sighting was on the 17th April and extended to the 31st May, peaking between the 14th to 20th along the river: Orange-tip White m 14.05.2023.jpg Orange-t...

bugboy wrote: ↑Sun Dec 31, 2023 2:31 pm To be honest I'd say there's enough of that second butterfly left to positively ID it as a Small Heath!

ooooops apologies - memory issues confused the story - obviously cute damaged Small Heath, counted as such at the time!

Meadow Browns were in good numbers in most of the local sites with numbers generally in the hundreds at peak times across the wet meadows of the River Chelmer flood plain. Also, further afield in places like Hatfield Forest: Meadow Brown f 18.07.2023.jpg My favourite photograph was not of a perfect ...

Reminds me a bit of this one I found in August 2019: Wow, she’s a beauty! She was quite similar, perhaps a little bit more mauve and ‘chalky’ - a stunner providing me with a few moment's of pleasure. I was lucky enough to come across quite a few ‘more blue than brown’ females this year around Essex...

That looks to be an exceedingly blue female, dlaz. :mrgreen: Did you get any other images of her? Hi David, I expect she was a superb blue when she was fresh. By the time she came to my attention she was already worn and tatty. It just so happened that the angle of the light created a lovely mauve ...

Not great numbers but a wider distribution over the flood plain of the River Chelmer. One male on the local patch nectaring on Tufted Vetch Vicia cracca : Common Blue m 23.07.2023.jpg and a very beautiful female that allowed me to follow her as she was egg-laying as well as nectaring on Bird's-foot ...