a pleasant trip to Barton Hills this morning. there are copious amounts of Chalkhill Blues i saw 1 battered fritillary on the wing ( probably DGF ) 52245352760_9242db55e6_c.jpg 52245150359_555e390acf_c.jpg i saw this pretty white flower... any ideas what it could be ? 52245358545_e6247d68f1_c.jpg

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/ ... ountryside

Mr Fiennes worked at the Knepp estate and is now at the Holkham estate in Norfolk showing farmers how to work with wildlife.

David M wrote: ↑Fri Jul 15, 2022 4:27 pm Nice moment, Charles. I've still never knowingly seen an Empress

it is strange being all alone with these beautiful creatures. in previous years i have been to Fermyn Woods which is a real social event !

good luck with your quest David !

Charles

thanks for those stunning pics Pete !

i am looking forward to further instalments

a lovely hot day in the Chilterns

i saw this handsome Chalk Hill Blue

Peacocks are becoming abundant.

Neil Hulme wrote: ↑Tue Jul 12, 2022 7:30 pm Empress. Very nice!
BWs, Neil

thanks so much Neil ! i was able to get quite close to her, and she seemed to like opening her wings

i am not sure if this is a gentleman or a lady PE...

i did not see any blue flashes during several minutes of observation
thanks for your help

i spent the afternoon in the Bedfordshire Chilterns. i saw my first Chalkhill Blue of the season

and the first confirmed Silver Washed Fritillary ( thanks bugboy ! ) as well as several Emperors.

bugboy wrote: ↑Mon Jul 11, 2022 9:45 pm it is, a female

thank you bugboy ! i have been overwhelmed with Dark Greens so far this season, and i had forgotten what Silver Washed looked like

i saw this Fritillary today in the Chilterns. Is it a Silver Washed ?
thanks for helping

i went to see the Emperors again today.

at 11:53 am one came down to the track to have its photo taken.

this is the same time of day that i saw the first one a few days ago.

An exciting day in the Chilterns ! I stumbled across a Purple Emperor colony Exciting indeed, Charles. :mrgreen: Did you have any idea they were there? i had been looking out for Emperors at this large site; although there are very few oak trees [EDIT none at all] there are plenty of sallows for th...

i went back to the Emperor site today... none of them came down to the track. i was so lucky yesterday to see one on the ground. i managed to take a photo of some treetop activity: 52198000856_41e5e2c34e_c.jpg i left various treats on the ground... i shall pop over tomorrow to see if they work :wink:

An exciting day in the Chilterns ! I stumbled across a Purple Emperor colony :D there were about 6 in the treetops. one had come down to the track to visit some damp mud ( otherwise i would not have looked up to see the others ). as you can see this one has been munched by a bird, but was still flyi...

went to Sharpenhoe today, hoping to see Chalkhill Blues... none yet

i did find these Ringlets

Hi Charles, The first skipper is a male Large Skipper, and the second looks to me like a Small Skipper (rather than Essex) as there seems to be a hint of orange at the antenna tips. No idea at all about the caterpillar, except I don't think it's any kind of butterfly. Cheers, Dave thanks for the Sk...

i went to Totternhoe today. there was heavy rain for half an hour at midday, but otherwise quite pleasant with sunny intervals. i saw these Skippers & also the green caterpillar. Are the Skippers the same type ? Do you know what kind of caterpillar it is ? thank you for your assistance Charles :...

I haven't posted on here for some time but just wanted to confirm my observations. Small Tortoiseshell seems to be having an ok year, I have seen more than I would typically expect, better than the last 15 or so years. A poor year for Small copper so far. Is this what others have noticed? Small Tor...

i went back to Totternhoe today. i visited an ancient spring then explored Sewell cutting. this was not as interesting as i anticipated, being mainly inhabited by Ringlets, Meadow Browns & Marbled Whites :roll: i did see a spectacular Painted Lady on some thistles before entering the cutting. un...

i love reading these accounts of foreign butterfly hunts