millerd

[millerd]

29th June: A very warm and sunny evening, so I had a stroll around some of my local patch, with a final detour to the unlikely spot where Essex Skippers fly every year. I found a couple of Commas in one of their usual haunts, restlessly chasing Large Skippers (or was it the other way round?), and in the same area there were several Meadow Browns skulking in and out of the brambles to get out of the heat a bit.

I noticed that a couple of these were bit darker, flew differently and didn't chase the female Meadow Browns - these turned out to be Ringlets, their first appearance here this year. I followed a three-way tussle involving a Comma, a Skipper and something intermediate in size, but also quite orange. The last of these detached itself and tried to hide amongst the brambles. This one was a Gatekeeper - another first for 2015.

I ventured into the meadow area near the motorway, and found the heat had sent most butterflies into the shade or semi-shade around the edges. Lots of Meadow Browns and Small Heaths, a handful of Common Blues were involved. I decided to head off now to the Terminal Four roundabout (A3113/A3044) where there is a reliable Essex Skipper colony on the south-east corner. En route I disturbed two Red Admirals from their squabbling along a shady bit of path, and saw at least one of each type of White.

Sure enough, once at my target area next to the busy road, there were at least eight or nine Essex Skippers in evidence, plus one more Comma nearby on some brambles.

The Skippers were the main attraction and posed nicely - clearly the year-round pollution from the traffic and the airport has little effect on their numbers.

Dave

[Goldie M]

Lovely shots of the Skippers, Millerd only got the Large here at present Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cracking shots Dave, lovely Skippers and a first Hedge Brown - and a 4 u spot too

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Willrow]

What a great range of skipper shots Dave

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[millerd]

Thank you all - if it wasn't for the traffic only inches away and the aircraft thundering overhead, it would be an ideal location to observe Essex Skippers. There are no Small Skippers for confusion and the colony occupies a two-metre wide strip by the road which cannot be more than 15-20 metres long at most. You can't lose!

It's been a hot week. Too hot really to venture out after work living as I do so close to Heathrow, so I didn't have a look anywhere until Friday.

Friday 3rd July: I popped into Bedfont Lakes Country Park after work in the slightly less hot sunshine this afternoon. There were good numbers of Skippers, with Large, Small and Essex all represented. The latter two overlapped in places and I have shots in which I struggle to decide which they are. First, some Essex:

Now a few Small:

And finally a couple of undecided:

I found also Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers and a few Ringlets along the hedge by the railway line, all generally trying to keep in the shade as far as possible - unless the sun went in.

There were a few Small Whites appearing again, and a couple of Small Tortoiseshells.

Saturday 4th July: Today was one of my periodic visits up to Rugby to see my older boys. With a decent day in prospect, we went to Ryton Country Park. After the storms of the previous night, it was still a bit damp and a bit cloudy. The first thing of interest we saw was this rather splendid frog.

We headed for the woods and in a half-hour or so wandering, saw Speckled Woods, Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Large Skippers.

However, the highlight was when bursts of sunlight came through and White Admirals appeared. They settled but rarely, and even then at a distance away.

The woodland has been opened out a bit in places, and straggly honeysuckle left to grow in quite widespread fashion, so this should suit the butterfly. Returning to the country park proper, there were more of the same (no White Admirals, though), plus good numbers of Marbled Whites.

There was even a single Common Blue, left over from the first brood.

Lots of orchids blooming at the moment as well.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Great stuff Dave, especially the Hedge Browns Saw my first today but they didn't lay ball as well as yours did

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Thanks, Wurzel - I didn't see a single one today... However, I'm sure there'll be more locally soon.

5th July: It was cloudy and quite cool, but the forecast promised better, so I headed off to Denbies. Marbled Whites, Ringlets, Meadow Browns, Small Heaths and Small Skippers were everywhere, battling the breeze and flying even when the sun was in - which it was a lot of the time.

Every other scabious sported a Marbled White, and at one point, the wind died enough to allow some reasonable photos.

I also saw a couple of Dark Green Fritillaries and a Small Tortoiseshell or two, plus a few Small Whites being chased Marbled Whites with poor eyesight. However, I was hoping that the Chalkhills would be just starting... On my first transit across the slopes, I saw nothing, but on the return walk lower down the hillside, the first one appeared. Over the three hours spent there, I saw around seven or eight, with the majority later on. As I have noticed before, at this stage of the season, they rarely open up at all, so most photos today were undersides.

Fingers crossed for another bumper crop here this year, though the dryness of the weather during their larval period may reduce numbers because of the effect on the foodplant.

After Denbies, where better than Box Hill. Here was the same mixture of species, minus Chalkhill Blues, but plus many more Dark Green Fritillaries (including several females). The females were hiding in the grass, including this one which I very nearly stood on. It appears to have a deformed antenna.

I disturbed another, which took off vertically high into the sky, flew along a little and then tumbled back out of the air nearly to ground level before selecting another spot in the grass to hide. The third one I came across was very new - it had been accosted by a male very early in life and the two were in flagrante. Their position in amongst the tangled stems made photos nearly impossible, but here they are.

As the sun lowered, the males stopped searching for females and came to nectar on brambles.

Their favoured choice of knapweed was monopolised by the Marbled Whites, and DGFs are far to timid to displace anything else. I saw them chased by Meadow Browns, Large Skippers, Ringlets and Marbled Whites - not a brave butterfly, but fast. None of these would ever catch a DGF.

Dave

[bugboy]

Box Hill and Denbies, a visit or two over the coming days is in store for me I think now the Chalk Hills are appearing

[Goldie M]

Cracking shots Dave, hope I don't miss the MW's this year, no Gate Keepers here yet Goldie

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Dave,

Just catching up on your recent reports, great stuff with lots of cracking photos

Cheers,

Neil.

[kevling]

Dave,

Loving your recent sequence of DGF at Box Hill. Weather permitting I shall be going there in a couple of weeks on my way to Gatwick for the family holiday. You've certainly wetted my appetite.

Keep em coming

Regards Kev

[millerd]

Thank you all - very kind. I do hope you get to see the Marbled Whites, Goldie - they are lovely at the moment with new ones still appearing.

I think sometimes that Box Hill is a better site for a visit than Denbies, with more to see in a more compact area. You can also walk out away from the main attractions into different areas of habitat and stand a chance of seeing even more. However, if you can do both locations on the same day, it's well worth the extra effort.

6th July: An after-work stroll around my local patch. Today was the day of new broods, with three species contributing their latest round of adults. First of all, as soon as I was over the stile near home and into the partly shaded area where the Red Admiral landed on me a few weeks back, there were Holly Blues. I counted five separate individuals, all male and very active in the sun, avidly searching the hedgerow for females. One paused to nectar on a wild rose quite high up, so this was the best shot my camera could get.

Hopefully their numbers will increase and dare I say that an early July appearance of the second brood bodes well for a repeat of last year's strong third brood here. In the same area were a couple of Small Whites, a Comma and of course a Red Admiral. As I continued along the shaded path by the river, a few Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns appeared, flying more inside the bushes than over them (there seems to be a temporary absence of Speckled Woods at the moment), and a few Small and Green-veined Whites.

Into a more open bit of path, and more Commas appeared, chasing each other and everything else, including a monster dragonfly perfectly capable of chewing up a Comma should it have chosen to do so. The Commas were all the hutchinsoni form, but were quite variable.

One in particular was strikingly pale, with subdued dark markings, and also large - looking very similar to its close cousin from the Med, the Southern Comma.

Talking of chewing up butterflies, at around the same spot I spotted a Small Tortoiseshell that had clearly met with a dire accident happily nectaring on a thistle. A bird strike? a car? Whatever it was I have no idea how this insect remained alive and so active.

I carried on into the meadow area by the motorway, seeing more Commas and some worn Large Skippers en route, plus another Red Admiral. It was a beauty, but wouldn't open up while at rest.

The field itself had Meadow Browns and Small Heaths as usual, and my other colony of Essex Skippers were now out.

Then something else caught my eye on a large bank of brambles - a new season Peacock. Unfortunately I could not get close enough to record the event. I turned around and headed for home, but was stopped in my tracks by a flash of silver. Flitting along in front of me was a brand new second brood Brown Argus.

This seems rather early, and like the Holly Blues may presage a third brood. It was a lovely finale to the walk.

Dave

[bugboy]

Thats an impressive Brown Argus. I had lots of Hutchinsoni Commas today and like yours, they were quite variable. I got a nice pale one like you that I shall post when time permits as well as an exceptionally heavily marked one. Unlike you all I saw were first gen Holly Blues though

[Goldie M]

Fantastic shots of the Brown Argus Dave. Goldie

[Wurzel]

Fantastic stuff Dave You're about a week/week and a half ahead of us over your way I reckon so I better get out onto the Downs for my Chalkhills soon! I see you're back at the Holly Blue whispering Is the pale Comma a named aberrant becasue it's a cracker

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Maximus]

Lovely and prolific butterfly shots in your recent posts Dave and an interesting Comma

[millerd]

Thank you all again - your comments are very much appreciated! The Brown Argus was unexpected and the Comma really striking. The photos being posted by everyone at the moment show just how variable the hutchinsoni brood can be. In this part of the world, this is when Commas are at their most numerous, too.

7th July (yesterday): In a 20-30 minute window this afternoon, I visited the nearest bit of my local patch in the hope a Holly Blue would oblige with a nice low-down settled open-wing pose. Things started well, with one down on the shady side of my neighbour's box hedge (they like this hedge for some reason).

After that, I saw another five or six, but all were flying fast and high in the ivy-entwined ash and holly trees along the hedgerow. Once or twice one would come down and have a quick slurp of nectar from a bramble, but I didn't get near any of them. One individual was incredibly small - half the size of most of the others and probably smaller than the average Small Blue. In the same area I saw at least one of all the White butterflies, including a Large White which paused to nectar.

There were several Gatekeepers, skulking in the undergrowth again, including one (not very obliging) individual with no less than six spots underneath. Wurzel will know how that scores...

Finally, endlessly patrolling the whole area, was the resident Red Admiral.

Dave

[bugboy]

A good tally there for a 30 minute window Dave and some lovely pics to go with it

[millerd]

9th July: An even shorter window today - having to go into London for work on a tube-strike day was not my idea of fun, especially with glorious sunshine all day. My short foray locally at around half past six produced a few Whites, of which this GVW stopped for a while.

Other than that - the usual Red Admiral. A little later, my ten-year-old son and I released a dozen Peacocks we had rescued from a dried up nettle bed as large caterpillars. An equal number had succumbed to parasites that emerged before the larvae pupated. A few more chrysalids remain: I hope they hatch at a time I can get a few photos. Those today were fully dried and ready to go when I returned home, and flew off the moment they were outdoors.

Dave

[millerd]

10th July: Another nine Peacocks released today. This is the last of them this afternoon waiting for its wings to dry completely.

After seeing to the Peacocks, I set off for Black Park, next to Pinewood Studios. It was a bit late in the day, but I hoped I might see White Admirals and Silver-washed Fritillaries. Typically, cloud moved in as soon as I arrived, but it was not thick enough to subdue the butterflies very much. I saw reasonable numbers of Small Skippers, Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers and Ringlets - though not as numerously as in previous years, perhaps because it is so dry here.

I spotted one Holly Blue, one Red Admiral and a couple of Large Skippers, and one species I'd not come across here before, a lone Marbled White. I searched the tops of the many oaks in vain for Purple Hairstreaks, which was disappointing. I had alsmost given up on the main targets when I spotted something orange swooping around. However, this was nothing but a Comma - but interestingly it was a new one which was not hutchinsoni but was a standard Comma of the hibernating sort.

After the false start, I then saw the real thing - a female Silver-washed Fritillary.

In the end I came across a couple of males as well, and all were nectaring on the brambles and unusually ignoring the thistle plants.

The female preferred the shade and frequently sought out shaded sprays of flowers. I disturbed her at one point and she did exactly the same thing as the female DGF I disturbed at Box Hill - a soaring climb high into the sky, followed by an equally sudden plummet to earth and into hiding.

After around 90 minutes I had failed to see any White Admirals at all.

Dave