It may still be August (just!), but there was a distinct autumn tinge to the butterflies on my local patch today. I found (as I had yesterday as well) several newly emerged Commas, resplendent in their deep orange/rich brown hibernation colours. Comma4 290823.JPG Next to the tail end of the followin...

Bookham, 1st August (continued)... There was now a Small Copper interlude. Bookham is always good for the species and today provided a varied selection of largely fresh examples. SC1 010823.JPG SC5 010823.JPG SC4 010823.JPG SC3 010823.JPG SC2 010823.JPG There was also a rather nice ne Small Heath, a...

Thank you, Goldie - I had to get down very low to get those skipper shots, but it was worth the effort! :) Yes, They are definitely the cutest of the bunch, Wurzel, though I suspect we will have to agree to differ on no. 2... :) That Holly Blue was very stripy - though their local dialect around her...

More cloud and wet conditions, plus only 20 degrees scraped as a maximum, hampered butterfly activity on 31st July . It was possible to find a few hopefuls here and there, plus some roosting individuals just sitting it out. In retrospect, this day seems to have been the trigger for the large numbers...

That's a pretty good trio of sightings, Allan! A radiata Small Copper (tatty or not), a "blind" Small Heath (which looks really odd) and a SH pairing (which despite good numbers on some sites you rarely see). Even as the season winds down now, there's always something of interest out there...

30th July was the start of the period when summer wasn't playing the game properly at all. Sunshine was at a premium, it was often wet for part of the day and temperatures were subdued. Nevertheless, on that particular day I saw a few things on my local walk. BA1 300723.JPG BA3 300723.JPG CB1 30072...

This afternoon, in a weirdly persistent pool of sunshine, I walked through the woodland and heathland at Allerthorpe Common in East Yorkshire. Along one ride, I counted not far off 50 Brimstones avidly nectaring. There was a good mix of males and females, behaving so differently compared with how th...

Out for just over 3 hours and i counted 304 Small Coppers .......................A proper "return to form " at Dungeness ! Allan.W. It is very reassuring to hear that, Allan. Clearly the heat of last summer did no damage that a more temperate season couldn't put right. It's just amazing h...

Wow - quite a selection of butterflies across those posts, Wurzel. Alner's Gorse sounds amazing - but annoying convoluted to get to for me! And I know how good Lulworth is! Some terrific shots there...

Cheers,

Dave

I think I've seen more Jersey Tigers locally this year than before - as well as at new sites. They appear to be on the increase. Cheers, Wurzel - I was quite taken with that GVW, but it was very difficult to get a decent shot of, as it was constantly on the move. Another windy day on 29th July , and...

An extraordinary butterfly, Guy - she really does look thoroughly baked! I wonder how many more heat-induced forms there are around Europe at the moment?

Cheers,

Dave

I popped down to Denbies again on 28th July , mainly to seek out Silver-spots here, having failed at Aston Rowant. I was no more successful, and the wind made getting anything to stay still fairly tricky. The fresh Chalkhills did their best. ChB6 280723.JPG ChB5 280723.JPG ChB4 280723.JPG ChB3 28072...

They certainly were impressive, David, though in fact six days earlier (on 17th) the numbers for those three were 118, 113 and 42. The second half of July may have had changeable weather, but numbers for some species were encouragingly high. Very mixed weather on 27th July too: warm, but mostly clou...

Cheers, Wurzel - yes, quite a butterfly (and as I said, just imagine what it looked like freshly emerged :) ). From what I remember, and looking at some of the photos I had to delete, 26th July was rather windy, despite some warmish sunshine. I headed for Aston Rowant again, stepping up the search f...

Yes, I saw a couple at Box Hill, which is a first for me, and I've seen a photo of one seen up the road from me close to Bedfont Lakes. They do appear to be doing well.

Cheers,

Dave

At a guess, Pauline, those are male (outside) and female (bedroom) speckled bush crickets.

However, I am happy to be corrected!

Cheers,

Dave

Well done on reconnecting with the Skippers, Trevor. :) Very charismatic little things if you can get close to them. Following them in the air is a forlorn hope as you say, though if you find a female out egg-laying you may find she doesn't whizz about so much. That female Common Blue is an extraord...

24th July was even worse than 22nd had been, to the extent that it wasn't really worth going out. 25th July was an improvement, and the same roster of butterflies appeared locally as I'd seen on 23rd, though in smaller numbers. A different Small Copper appeared (though I did later see the dusky one ...

23rd July was a complete contrast to the previous day, with eight sunny hours and 24 degree temperatures. I set out to make the most of it and count the local butterflies again, reaching a total of nearly 400 with 16 species represented. Looking back, numbers have not reached those heights again th...

Thank you, Pauline. :) It's a pity you were unlucky and didn't track that Chalkhill down again today - not easy considering how many butterflies are out on that hillside at the moment. Thank you too, Katrina - I was very pleased with the sighting as you can imagine. :) Cheers, Trevor - yes, pretty w...