millerd

[bugboy]

Bookham Common's good for WA, saw plenty there today and more SWF than you can point a camera at, I reckon I saw approaching 50 today

[Goldie M]

Lovely SWF Millerd Hope I see some next week Goldie

[millerd]

Thanks, Buggy - I may have to pay a visit to Bookham...

I hope you have some luck with the SWF, Goldie - lovely butterflies.

July 11th Part One: Today dawned sunny, so it had to be the annual pilgrimage to Botany Bay to seek out the Purple Emperor. I arrived before nine, and made my way down the path (which is much more shaded now than it used to be). Ringlets and Skippers darted around the verges, and every now and again Silver-washed Fritillaries came down briefly to nectar on brambles.

Climbing up the hill after the bridge, I was distracted by a splendid Painted Lady.

I turned right down the path towards the Tugley Wood entrance, and was soon rewarded by the sight of a Purple Emperor swooping and soaring over the uppermost branches of the trees. I then came across Mark and Paul, and between us along this path we saw a probable five individuals. The path had been baited the day before, so we planted ourselves at regular intervals to see if one would come down. It was close once or twice, but no luck. We separated, and almost immediately I spotted one at the junction of the paths, circling ever lower until, after a last distraction of a particularly huge Large White, it finally landed. With a few breaks to perch in nearby trees, it was down for 20 minutes or so. It was a nice specimen, its sole blemish a small hole in the middle of one wing.

Mark and I walked up to the high point, and were discussing Holly Blues and their habits. Right on cue, one appeared and proceeded to spend some time indulging in sucking up the noxious substances laid down for the Emperor.

At one point it rested on a bit of foliage and opened up.

Having suitably primed his finger, Mark persuaded it to crawl onto it for a while.

There being no further Emperors, I turned around and detoured through the meadow, where I had seen White Admirals last year. No luck today (though there were a few around in the wood as a whole), but there were large numbers of Ringlets and quite a few Marbled Whites (which weren't here last year).

At this point, it clouded over and cooled down, so I headed back to the car.

Part Two: I decided that a side trip to Dawneys Hill near Pirbright on the way back would be not too far out of the way. I was hoping Graylings might have started to appear, and I was not to be disappointed. The sun re-emerged shortly after I arrived, which was also fortuitous, Near the entrance to the site, I saw Ringlets, Gatekeepers, Large Skippers (including several females laying) and one or two Meadow Browns. Out amongst the heather and gorse, there were still Silver-studded Blues to be seen, rather worn now and seeming so tiny in relation to the large butterflies seen earlier.

Once out in the more open areas with lots of bare ground, I started to disturb Graylings. Every one I saw was a male - no doubt the rather larger females will be out before long. As usual, if I stood still, the butterflies would approach nearer and nearer until they started briefly settling on my boots and trousers. Altogether, I must have seen at least a dozen.

Dave

[millerd]

July 11th Part Three: After a bit of shopping and a late lunch, I did a tour of part of my local patch. First to be seen were (of course) a series of Holly Blues, patrolling the bramble hedgerows and rarely stopping at all. One stayed long enough for a quick photo, but had chosen a bright patch of sun and is very washed out. I saw six or seven in all.

Gatekeepers were now everywhere, the most numerous species here today - and the first females were out too.

I saw all three species of White, with Large Whites commonest - definitely a better year than last year. There were plenty of Commas, all hutchinsoni and some strikingly dark, plus at least three Red Admirals in various places.

I also managed to spot three separate new brood Peacocks nectaring on shaded brambles. A scattering of Essex Skippers, one Large Skipper and a few tatty Small Heaths completed the picture.

Dave

[bugboy]

Good stuff Dave, you may be jealous of my WLH but I bet my jealousy of your Emperors out trumps that!

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Dave,

A great selection of species in your last reports and great photos of them too

Cheers,

Neil

[Butterflysaurus rex]

An amazing tally of species and wonderful photos Dave! I love your Purple Emperors, and the Holly Blue on the finger hah! You don't see that very often.

All the best

James

[Willrow]

Great stuff Dave...your early compared to my part of the country with Grayling...looks time for me to check out their local 'hot-spots'

BW's

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[Wurzel]

Fantastic PE shots Dave and the HBs are pretty awesome too
Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Thank you all for the great comments - it was an especially good day out! It was my only real opportunity to see an Emperor this year, and it all came together. The Holly Blue was a bonus... I was surprised by the Graylings, Bill, this being a bit of a late season. There was only one at the same spot on 13th July last year, and other years have been later than that.

12th July: A bit of a change in the weather. Overcast, though still quite warm, and I had a walk around the meadows at Runnymede. In the area near Langham Ponds, the grass was alive with tiny frogs, taking advantage of some rare damp weather to head away from their spawning areas.

A few Meadow Browns flew, along with some Ringlets and Gatekeepers, both of which tolerate cloudier skies. There were also both Small and Essex Skippers in the uncut grass near the river.

Small

Small

Essex

Essex

Essex

I also managed to disturbed a nice fresh Small Tortoiseshell.

A short excursion at home followed, with more Gatekeepers, a few Commas and not a great deal else.

I found a Gatekeeper in a manic tussle with a darker butterfly, which when finally left alone turned out to be a Ringlet, some way from where I have seen them before. Interestingly, the underside spotting was a little irregular - but the two sides did not match.

Inevitably, there was also one Holly Blue flying up and down over the damp path, settling briefly to take minerals. On one stop, it opened up a bit, but was unfortunately soon disturbed by a passing dog, and did not return.

Dave

[Pauline]

Great Emperor shots Dave - a lot of folk have spent a lot of time at that venue without any success so very well done

[millerd]

Thank you Pauline. I didn't realise Botany Bay was proving difficult this year. The obliging Emperor came down in precisely the same spot as others have in previous years, and several others flying higher up.

16th July: A mostly cloudy week, though it has been very warm. I had my first chance late this afternoon since Sunday to have a look around part of my local patch. Three species dominated the walk - Commas (perhaps a dozen), Holly Blues (the same sort of numbers) and Gatekeepers (probably a couple of dozen). The last of these three had many more females out now than a few days back.

The Holly Blues were mostly flying high and fast along the hedgerows, but occasionally paused to nectar on the brambles. I saw several high around the ivy entwining a sizeable oak tree, and their silvery shapes could almost be mistaken for Purple Hairstreaks - but all came closer to the ground at some point and all could be readily identified as Blues.

I spotted at least one female among them - all of the second brood I'd seen so far had been males.

And then there were the Commas. What an amazing variety of colour, pattern, shape and size - here are a selection. What a glorious butterfly it is in its summer form.

The also-rans today were some Large and Small Whites, plus three-quarters of a Speckled Wood (which was otherwise quite new).

Finally came the customary Red Admiral in the glade near to home. This butterfly settled mostly on the ground, but periodically on me as its predecessors have done. However, it was a bit shyer and never stayed long enough for a selfie pose.

However, it was the Commas that stole the show.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Carcking shots of a nice range of species Dave That final Comma shot is a blinder and earns a spot in my "I wish I'd taken that" collection

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Hi! Dave, I love the close up shot of the Essex Skipper Goldie

[Willrow]

Another great report Dave, your image selection is cracking, your having some super butterflying adventures this summer

BW's

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[millerd]

Thank you all once again. I knew you'd like that one, Wurzel, the moment the Comma settled at head height! Those little skippers are very cute, Goldie - I can't wait to see the Silver-spotted ones as they are the cutest of all. Not quite as many adventures as I'd hoped this year, Bill, but good nonetheless...

July 17th: Another after work wander locally. Lots more Gatekeepers, and the obligatory Holly Blues of course. I managed to get a bit closer to a couple of these as they nectared on the brambles.

The Commas continue to abound, with many tussles and squabbles - I saw five in a spiralling chase at one point.

There were several Red Admirals, and a couple of new Peacocks.

Out in the large meadow area, I found the first of the new brood of Common Blues, sharing grass stems with a few new Brown Argus and some Essex Skippers.

Dave

[millerd]

18th July: Firstly a trip to Box Hill, accompanied by all my boys. This was one of those days when the photos just didn't happen, though we saw a scattering of Chalkhill and Common Blues, Marbled Whites, Dark Green Fritillaries and even a brand new male Brimstone. The last visit here was on 5th, and in the intervening couple of weeks the number of Marbled Whites and Ringlets has dropped significantly. The DGF were looking a bit worn too. Summer is moving on...

After Box Hill, Denbies. The boys elected to stay in the car, and I set off down the slope. Almost down to the gate onto the hillside proper, I was hailed by a familiar figure festooned with moth traps - none other than Philzoid. He was in search of five-spot Burnets in particular (I think all those encountered were six-spots...), as well as the usual butterfly suspects. We saw fair numbers of Chalkhill Blues, mostly roosting with wings shut, despite warm hazy sunshine. However, there were nothing like the abundance of recent summers.

There seemed to be rather more Marbled Whites than I'd seen at Box Hill, though.

There were Brown Argus and Common Blues, too, and countless Small Skippers.

It was good to see you, Phil.

As cloud thickened in the west, I managed to get home in time for another local walk. More Peacocks were around with the Red Admirals today, enjoying the teazels.

Brown Argus, Common Blues and Essex Skippers were roosting in the grass.

Gatekeepers were heading into the brambles to roost, and I noticed quite a few new Meadow Browns - a second flush it would seem.

Dave

[Goldie M]

A lovely selection Dave, I hope i'm not too late to see the MW's when I get to Kent, Goldie

[Wurzel]

Great selection of Chalkhills Dave I tried for some yesterday but I don't know if they've emerged yet over this way

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

More great reports and photos recently Dave

You are definitely a week or so ahead of us up here at our end of the M40.

As if its not bad enough with Hoggers...errr...hogging all the Small Coppers, it looks like all the Holly Blues have migrated to you again

Cheers,

Neil