Wurzel

[Butterflysaurus rex]

I agree with the others, you're really doing the business this year Wurzel. If you're diary weren't so epic I might be able to catch up more often! Of course I wouldn't want it any other way.

Hopefully one of these days we'll finally meet up.

Until that fine day keep up the great work.

ATB

James

[Wurzel]

No worries Trevor What goes around comes around
Cheers Dave Skippers and their cuteness are my secret weapon for getting my younger daughter out butterflying - I just mention that we're gong to see the Teddy Butterflies and she'll be in the cahir in 12 seconds flat!
Cheers Willrow It was one of those days when everything came together
Cheers Rex It would be good to finally meet in the field cheers for keeping up the reading, it is developing into something of a saga

Bentley Wood 28-06-2015

Weather reports recently have been overly pessimistic and so I hoped it would be today as I was without the girls and heading to Bentley to try and help Philzoid catch-up. It certainly seemed that indeed the weather was following the usual pattern as when I pulled into the car park I had about 20 minutes to spare before Philzoid arrived and it felt warm, there were bright spells and little or no wind. A brief check of the cleared area of the EC threw up Ringlet, Marbled Whites, Meadow Browns and a couple of Small Skippers. “Brill” I thought...And then the clouds rolled in and it started to rain so I retreated back to the car and had an early lunch – mature cheese with extra hot Lime Pickle.

When Philzoid arrived he joined me and we sat in my car, trapped by the rain, for about an hour. It seemed to ease off so we ventured forth to the EC. It was surprisingly damp even accounting for the recent shower and almost bereft of butterflies apart from the occasional rain flying Ringlet. We carried on chewing the fat and mooching around.

Suddenly and despite there being no apparent change n the conditions we started seeing butterflies, all concentrated in one small area. I can’t remember the exact order but a Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Small Skipper and Small Tortoiseshell were all spotted as well as one or three Ringlets. A further walk back along the edge of the recently cleared field saw even more Ringlets, Marbled Whites and Ringlets before we ended up back at the car park for lunch take 2.

The original plan was to head over to Martin Down for possible DGFs but I had a feeling that we still might find Phizloid a SPBF and so we set off back to the EC minus the girls and plus lures for Burnet Moths. The lure definitely worked for 5 Spot and they were crawling all over the nearby foliage, the lid and in the pot. As we headed off for another foray we could watch them fly-in from round and about zeroing in on the scent.

Eventually Philzoid spotted something and there was his SPBF. After the briefest of flights it landed and closed its wings in a fashion which I wish my fresher ones had adopted.

Job done we checked the lures, emptied the copious amounts of moths and I bade farewell to Philzoid until the next meet up.

Have a goodun

Wurzel
ps – I did pull over very briefly on the way home for a Small Tort. Once I’d saved it from the road I noticed the forewings where much smaller than they should be?

[Goldie M]

Great shots Wurzel, I love all the Burnetts, how do you manage to keep getting the Butterflies to stay on your finger Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Goldie The hypothesis I'm working on at the moment is that it's down to eating a lot of Extra Hot Lime Pickle which casues some sweating and so a higher salt content than usual

Laverstock 29-06-2015

Only a couple more drop-offs of K at her tutor time to do so I’ll to try and make the most of it (and hope for good weather during the holiday sessions). I did the usual drop-off and then headed out the backdoor, over the fence and away up the Down with a couple of Meadow Brown and Small Tortoiseshell on the path. I put my foot down and made it to the top stopping only a few times when I mainly saw more Meadow Browns, Marbled Whites, Ringlets and the occasional Small Heath, Common Blue with plenty of the tiny blurs that were Small Skippers.

I carried on over and round the other side of the Down and in doing so added a couple of Small Whites, Large Skippers and a single Large White to the tally. Once at the bottom I walked back along the foot of the Down and the Bramble bushes seemed alive with butterflies and I realised I’d taken hardly any shots so cracked on. There were Brimstones and Green-veined Whites but no Dark Green Fritillaries despite finding some good growth of Knapweed. I also found specimens of my first Fragrant Orchids a lot like the Spotted but without the spots and with ‘arms’ held out straight from the ‘body’

Instead of walking round and following the same track back I used the cut-across the edge of the farmers field as this was a much more direct route. I don’t know why I thought this would be a good idea as the track is hard and there is little vegetation of interest – a school playing field, a low scraggy bit of hedge and then monoculture. However I was a third of the way along bemoaning to myself the lack of butterflies when a Golden Skipper flew across the path and landed in a very picturesque fashion right on the edge of field. It seemed more rounded and ‘fluffier’ than the Small Skippers and so I moved round and dropped onto my knees so that I could if it possessed ink dabs which it did – my first Essex Skipper of 2015. With the rarer species the first sighting in a year is normally at the ‘usual’ site; one which you visit every year at a particular time to see the particular species (e.g. Duke site, Marshie site, Bentley for Pearls and then Small Pearls, Slop Bog for Silver Studs and Godshill for Grayling etc). With the commoner the joy comes from the fact that you can never guess where you will see your first one of the year, which was the case now.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Lovely Skipper Wurzel Hope I meet up with one in Kent, I'm hoping for loads of Butterflies, I should really be hoping the weather is good Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Goldie Good luck in Kent with your Essex...if you know what I mean

WB Larkhill 29-06-2015

29-06
Today saw a change in the guard with the blues being replaced by plenty of the summer browns. Brown Argus and Common Blues are still about but in much reduced numbers now whereas Marbled Whites, Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Small Skippers are all over the site!

30-06 AM
More of the same this morning but I headed down the Westbound Path for a change. I’m tempted to say that all the Smessex that I encountered were Smalls as that’s what some proved to be on closer examination. Plus only saw my first Essex yesterday so I’ll have to keep knackering my knees, risking Tick bites and checking for those ‘dabs’. It was already noticeably warmer than any time so far this year and this was at only 8!
I must send out a big ‘Thank you’ to two sets of people – those that didn’t bother to set the temporary traffic lights at Larkhill up properly and second to the phallus head that refused to move even though 8 minutes is a bit long to be waiting at traffic lights!

01-07 PM
Quick stop off and set off down the Eastbound path. I’d barely crossed the threshold from the car park into the grasses when I saw a Small Tort being harassed by something much bigger, faster and bright ginger in colour – my first DGF of 2015 and possibly ever for Larkhill. The only drawback was that due to almost 30°C heat and the glaring sun it was so super charged it didn’t stop at all. Still great to see!
A further walk down the path meant I also added all the usual summer specialities as well as an aged couple of Common Blues plus a trip of Small Torts (making it four if the original harassed one was a different individual) and a lonesome male Brimstone. I still couldn’t get the DGF out of my head, hopefully I’ll be able to get out at the weekend, and so I struggled to do anything more than watch the butterflies as one would set of a couple and then another couple and so on in a lepidopteral chain reaction.

02-07 AM
A very brief stop this morning with a decidedly damp feel; I thought the mornings of having to drive to work with wet trousers legs had passed for another year? I concentrated my efforts up the Northbound path this morning as that was where the DGF was last seen yesterday and I was hoping to catch it roosting – well we can but dream. As I wandered up the freshly grazed path the odd Ringlet would fly but it wasn’t until I got to the first large bush that I started seeing Marbled Whites, clustered together amongst the long grasses. There were a few Meadow Browns here but as it was cooler and much damper than yesterday not a sniff of a Skipper. I made my way back accompanied by Marbled Whites, Ringlets and Meadow Browns flitting up from the grasses nearby like little clouds of smoke.

PM
As I pulled into the car park the cloud cleared and the sun came out – I’m not used to the weather being on my side! I set off down the Eastbound path determined to make it to the ‘dip’ and checking every Knapweed that I saw on the way. Butterflies were flying everywhere this afternoon; in fact it was almost impossible to count the Marbled Whites, Ringlets and Meadow Browns. I did see two Small Tortoiseshells, a few lingering Large Skippers and also at one point a (possibly the?) DGF but again it was tearing by at full throttle. However for me today the real stars of the show were the Small Skippers, they seemed to be everywhere and I couldn’t take more than a few steps before golden blurs whizzed past me in all directions it was a joy to behold!

03-07 AM
Despite the grass being wet it was already hot and humid first thing. I checked out the Eastbound path and a few paces into the long grass I started putting up Ringlets. As I got further in Marbled Whites joined them along with Meadow Browns and the occasional blur of a Smessex Skipper. They’re usually easier to approach during my morning visits but the heat this morning meant that they were still pretty flighty. Even so I was able to approach a couple and they turned out to be Essex Skippers! And now the knee and back busting work of trying to ID and count Smalls and Essex separately as opposed to lumping them all as Smessex!

PM
By the afternoon visit the heat had really risen and it was baking. I wandered down the path in something of a daze, bewildered by the masses of butterflies that surrounded me. The Browns must be having a fantastic year as the main three species are in fantastic numbers. The golden Skippers aren’t that far behind either! Additional species this afternoon came in the form of 2 Small Torts, 8 Small Heaths and the rascally DGF that keeps flitting by at breakneck speed, never stopping just taunting me!
I had to call in at my sister in-laws on the way home and while she was collecting up the bits to pass onto my wife I got called into the garden by my niece. Apparently there was a butterfly that didn’t fly away but just moved its wing when she touched it. It turned out not to be a butterfly at all but a monstrous Privet Hawk Moth, as big as my hand it was, and I know as I helped it first onto the table for some shots and then onto the fence so it could seek some shelter.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Wow! That's one hell of a hawk moth, Wurzel.

[Goldie M]

That's a beautiful moth wurzel, I've never seen one but would like to.
your shots of the Marble White's are great too, I hope I'm not too late to see some in Kent Goldie

[bugboy]

Thundering through your reports I see , I do like that double Marbled White shot

[Pauline]

Fabulous Privet Hawk moth Wurzel. Have yet to see one of those. Great shots

[Wurzel]

Cheers David It was a bit of a beast that one, over a handspan in size
Cheers Goldie The Marbs are looking pretty faded round our way but you might get onto some nice ones, I hope that you do
Cheers Bugboy I was posting so frequently I had to have a couple of days off to recuperate!
Cheers Pauline I'd always wanted to photograph this species as it's my "Bradley Birthyear Moth", 1976

Slop Bog 30-06-2015

Having witnessed some fantastic SSB shots from others a while back I felt that it was time for me to try my luck at my regular site – Slop Bog – surely one of the best named sites in the country. All day there had been wall to wall sunshine and it had been gloriously hot so it came as no surprise that having been on site for three minutes and seen my first Silver Studs of the year the sun disappeared behind a cloud. Seriously? I’ve joked about the weather and my bad luck with it before but it’s now starting to go beyond amusing.

Still I persevered and just adapted my field-craft accordingly. I’d slowly wade through the heather seeking out little silvery white or creamy flags. Once found I’d crouch down and take a few shots of the closed wing variety. Then I’d wait for the sun to peek out from the clouds. The slightest brightening was enough it seemed to make the roosting butterflies open their wings. As the sun went in again they’d shut up shop and I’d move off searching for the next set of flags.

In this way I eventually managed to get shots of both males and females; wings open and closed. The time spent waiting for the sun wasn’t wasted. It allowed me to muse and reminisce. The reminiscence was of hours spent on the heaths around Poole when I was a nipper. The musings were obviously related to Silver Studs; how they seem to arrange themselves in small groups around the taller heather crowns, that I must be slightly later this year as there was an almost 50:50 ratio of males to females and some of the males were decidedly worn and finally how the colours, almost purple in some cases didn’t seem to come across in my shots?

Unfortunately this tactic of sitting and waiting meant that I was a prime target for all the neighbourhood Ticks! Ticks seen and intercepted: 2 on leg, massive one on arm 4 flicked from jeans – regular checks meant I caught all before they’d settled down and latched on so a quick flick and they were gone – horrible little things!

Eventually I headed home as the sun went behind a large mass of cloud which field the sky in a single solid mass. Another lively evening on a Dorset Heath but only one species of butterfly seen all evening.

Have a goodun

Wurzel
PS I must have missed one as it had managed to latch on to my hip hidden by the waist band of my Boxer shorts – I shall be keeping an eye on the area for any redness and hoping that any symptoms are down to end of year exhaustion .

[bugboy]

Nice SSB with some really vivid studs! All mine this year had only the mearest whisper of studs

[Katrina]

Amazing Privet Hawk Moth - I have never seen anything like it!

[trevor]

HI Wurzel.
Your Hawk Moth is something else !. The tactic you used for open wing SSB shots also works for
Holly Blues, i managed more open wings on Weds.
Fabulous MW images too .

TREVOR.

[Willrow]

I think we're all mighty impressed with your Privet Hawkmoth shot Wurz, excellent capture ...as are so many of your others!!!

BW's

Bill

When in doubt - venture out"

[Wurzel]

Cheers Bugboy The females are more marked than the males but there also seems o be a wide variation between sites too
Cheers Katrina They're cracking beasties
Cheers Trevor I'll give it a go the next time I find a Holly Blue
Cheers Willrow One of the few times I've been glad to have had to have stopped off on the way home to 'just pick up something'

The Barons...or Not quite Independence Day 04-07-2015

As my wife had to travel to London for work (she is now a ‘Not on the High Street’ partner ) I had both the girls...all day ! Normally this would mean lots of butterflying but I’d previously promised the girls that we would visit all the Barons. So that’s what we did, ticking off a couple on the way back from swimming and the food shopping. After lunch we headed out to pick off the remaining 21 of 25. At each Baron I’d get photos of the front, the sign, possibly back and also the girls posing next to it.

On the way we managed at stop-off at the market, saw some Owls, visited the Arts Centre where there was live entertainment and also saw the stage I once played on plus we fitted in a trip to the Park for a play. A pretty busy time really, which was also interspersed with the occasional butterflies. There were Small Tortoiseshells along the river, a Meadow Brown right in the centre of the town – so more of a ‘Concrete Brown’, as well as the odd White.

The best sighting of all however was of my first H.Comma of 2015. It was quite near the end of the quest and we’d found the Spaceman Baron. While the girls were parking their scooters I found a Scarlet Tiger and was just showing K when the H.Comma flew in and promptly landed on L’s head. It didn’t just stop there but also took salts from the handle of the scooter, my shoulder and also K’s arm. I think it liked something in the sun-cream.

L's head

Scooter handle

Where's Wurzel?

K's arm

More natural pose

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

I like the Comma photos, Wurzel. Sometimes once a butterfly gets a taste for you, it's hard to get it to leave you alone! Trev's methodology for the Holly Blues does work, especially in cooler weather. And a lot of patience...

Dave

[Pauline]

Lovely SSB Wurzel (great studs) - interesting how the different backgrounds either compliment or contrast with the butterfly. I'm probably the only one who doesn't know what the Barons are but looks great fun

[Maximus]

That female SSB has brilliant silver studs Wurzel I've also noticed that in general the females tend to have better silver studs than the males, at Least on the sites I visit

Mike

[Wurzel]

Cheers Dave If only it had been a Purple Emperor
Cheers Pauline The Barons were 25 statues scattered round the city to celebrate Magna Carta, couldn't publish my favourite one becasue of copywrite as it had the face of the brilliant Terry Pratchett and Paul Kidby paintings all over it
Cheers Mike Those ladies really do love their bling

Grovely Wood 05-07-2015

I managed a couple of hours out over the lunchtime today and so I was wondering where to go? Bentley was my first choice but I like to spend more than a few hours at the site so I headed West and not East and ended up at Grovely Wood. This time I risked the bumpy drive up to the Lodge knocking 10 minutes walking time off which proved useful later in my visit. Once in the wood proper I found the same track that had proved so fruitful for White Admirals last year and almost immediately I found my quarry; a silvery white glider, cutting and arcing through the air and then landing frustratingly high in the canopy. This seemed to be the way with most things including my first Silver-washed Frit of 2015 and my second H.Comma as well as 3 representatives of the Whites – all busy fighting, nectaring for the briefest second and landing only in the uppermost reaches of the canopy.

I persevered here and managed a few shots of bits and bobs before carrying on further along the track deciding that the butterflies weren’t coming to me so I would go to them. But again each time I’d stop to try and get some shots everything was in such a rush. Despite this I did manage to pick up my first Hedge Brown of the year.

By following the track I was getting deeper into the wood but the trees were thinning with larger and more mature trees rather than those packed in rows. Eventually I reached a freshly forested/coppiced area, a field almost, right in the centre of the wood. I’ve read reports of PBF and DGFs from this site so perhaps this is where they’re found? Hence I tarried a while here to check it out.

The number of Marbled Whites and Meadow Browns increased dramatically and I also started seeing much higher numbers of Smessex plus my first Small Torts of the visit. Then along the track, flying towards me at breakneck speed was a DGF, really bright and ginger it seemed. Further along there was another which cut along the edge of the field and dived down into the Bracken that was covering the coppice stools and tree stumps. There was nothing for it but to risk further Tick bites (four so far this year) and wade into the Bracken. It was easier than I thought as there were furrows for drainage on either side of the stumps so I walked down these, brushing the fronds aside. Unfortunately I lost my DGF so made my way back to the main track and carried on down to the corner. Here there was more open ground and Thistles growing so I worked my way in and there was a big ginger beauty, a lovely buxom DGF. I managed a few shots of her on the thistles before the wind caught her and off she shot. A largish Skipper caught my eye due to its size. As I knelt and focused in I worked out why it seemed to big. It wasn’t one but two Skippers – a pair in cop. Chuffed with my first pair of mating Smalls I swung round and cut diagonally across the field to get back to the main track. I found and photographed a second DGF on the way as well as seeing a Small Tort, Peacock and Red Admiral. So my tally was ticking along nicely.

On the return journey I stopped occasionally at likely looking Bramble patches in an effort to get some shots of SWFs and White Admirals and I did manage a few distant shots and the odd backlit SWF but it all felt a bit like hard work as despite there being only being sunny intervals everything was pretty much on the go non-stop.

As I mooched back something fluttered down from the treetops. It was difficult to work out what it was in the dappled light and amongst the branches until it landed and then it became immediately obvious that it was a White Admiral. What had thrown me was the different flight pattern – less gliding and more falling. I’d almost given up hope of getting any shots until this one came down to the ground and started mud-puddling/taking salts. I couldn’t believe my flukiness!

All in all a cracking couple of hours which allowed me to notch up three firsts for the year, a ‘first shot’ for the year and also my first ever Small Skippers in cop!
Have a goodun

Wurzel