I've been studying your recent images, particularly those of Downland species. You certainly
found some chilled out Chalkhills,they don't keep still for me!.Excellent shots.
TREVOR.
Neil Freeman
Re: Neil Freeman
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Re: Neil Freeman
Thank you Pauline, Mike, Bugboy, David, Mark, Goldie, Wurzel and Trevor for all your comments, they are very much appreciated as always 
The past couple of days have been absolutely awful, quite cold as well as very wet, more like November than August. I hope it bucks up a bit for next week, I will be down in Dorset again for another late summer family break during which I usually manage to get in some good butterflying.
Cheers,
Neil.
The past couple of days have been absolutely awful, quite cold as well as very wet, more like November than August. I hope it bucks up a bit for next week, I will be down in Dorset again for another late summer family break during which I usually manage to get in some good butterflying.
Cheers,
Neil.
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Re: Neil Freeman
Wednesday 26th August
After a truly wet and miserable first half of the week the sun finally peeked out for a bit on Wednesday afternoon. Getting in from work I noticed that the garden was full of 'whites' that had come out to make the most of the lull in the rain, with all three of the common species chasing each other around.
Friday 28th August
After some more rain showers yesterday and today, this afternoon turned out quite pleasant for a few hours and I spent some time in the later part just pottering out in the garden. All three common whites were again flying with many of them looking a bit worse for wear after all the recent rain.
A couple of Holly Blues were circling around the gardens, at least two different individuals that kept coming back every tem minutes or so.
There were also two or three little Mint Moths flittering about,
The resident Speckled Woods were out again with a female and at least three males identified by slight differences in their markings.
I was quite surprised at one point to see two of the males basking quite close to each other, they don't usually tolerate each other presence and in fact seconds after I took the shot below the one on the right spotted the other one and the usual tussle followed.
I was just about to go back into the house when a large and darker butterfly dropped down close beside me and turned out to be a nice fresh looking Red Admiral, only the second one of these that I have seen in the garden this year.
Right then, I'm off to finish some packing for tomorrow. We are heading down to Dorset in the morning for what has become our usual late August/early September family break down there
Bye for now,
Neil.
After a truly wet and miserable first half of the week the sun finally peeked out for a bit on Wednesday afternoon. Getting in from work I noticed that the garden was full of 'whites' that had come out to make the most of the lull in the rain, with all three of the common species chasing each other around.
- Green-veined White - Coverdale 26.08.2015
- Small White - Coverdale 26.08.2015
After some more rain showers yesterday and today, this afternoon turned out quite pleasant for a few hours and I spent some time in the later part just pottering out in the garden. All three common whites were again flying with many of them looking a bit worse for wear after all the recent rain.
- Green-veined White - Coverdale 28.08.2015
- Green-veined White - Coverdale 28.08.2015
- Large White looking a bity bedraggled after all the recent rain.
- Holly Blue - Coverdale 28.08.2015
- Mint Moth - Coverdale 26.08.2015
- Speckled Wood female - Coverdale 28.08.2015
- Speckled Wood male 1 - Coverdale 28.08.2015
- Speckled Wood male 2 - Coverdale 28.08.2015
- Speckled Wood male 3 - Coverdale 28.08.2015
- A couple of male Specklies just before they started the usual scrapping.
- Red Admiral - Coverdale 26.08.2015
- Red Admiral - Coverdale 26.08.2015
Bye for now,
Neil.
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Re: Neil Freeman
Stunning fresh Red Admirals Neil 
Have a great time in Dorset
Have a goodun
Wurzel
Have a great time in Dorset Have a goodun
Wurzel
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Re: Neil Freeman
Cheers Wurzel, we had a great time .
Dorset part 1.
We returned yesterday (Saturday 5th Sept.) from a week staying at Durdle Door holiday Park for what was primarily a family holiday with our daughter Sarah and 5 year old grandson Frankie. Our week in Dorset in early September has become a regular thing over the past few years and this was our second time at Durdle Door having also stayed there last year when we took my Mom with us.
We had arrived late on the previous Saturday afternoon and by the time we had settled in and then had something to eat it had started to rain. We ended up having heavy rain on both Saturday and Sunday nights but apart from a little light rain on Bank Holiday Monday morning it remained dry for the rest of the week, albeit often dull and overcast with a cool northerly wind. Nevertheless there were enough sunny spells during the week for me to squeeze in some good butterflying between the usual family stuff.
Durdle Door, August 30th - 31st.
On both the Sunday and Monday afternoons, after going out for the mornings and returning to our caravan after lunch, I had the chance to have a walk along the paths across the downs between Durdle Door and the wonderfully named little valley of Scratchy Bottom
just to the west of the holiday park. On both days there was a heavy overcast but with enough warmth in the sheltered dips for plenty of butterflies to be flying.
Most numerous were Meadow Browns with hundreds fluttering across the grassy slopes, closely followed in numbers by Graylings, plus a few Marbled Whites and a single tatty looking Wall Brown that shot off across the slope. One particular sheltered slope above the Durdle Door rock arch where I had seen loads of butterflies last year was equally productive this time with 20+ Adonis Blues and half a dozen each of Chalkhill Blue, Common Blue, Brown Argus and Small Heath plus a couple of Small Coppers.
There were also some Buddleias around the back of the holiday park which I checked out on both days and saw a few Red Admirals and Small Tortoiseshells plus a couple each of Painted Lady, Peacock, Large and Small Whites and Brimstone.
On the Sunday, three or four Hummingbird Hawks Moths were flitting around the buddleias, I saw three in view at once a couple of times but an accurate count was made difficult by the presence of a couple of Silver-Y Moths buzzing about as well which can look similar in flight at a quick glance.
With a better day forecast for the following day (Tuesday) I was hopeful of getting the chance of visiting another site (or two) in the area 
To be continued...
Neil.
.Dorset part 1.
We returned yesterday (Saturday 5th Sept.) from a week staying at Durdle Door holiday Park for what was primarily a family holiday with our daughter Sarah and 5 year old grandson Frankie. Our week in Dorset in early September has become a regular thing over the past few years and this was our second time at Durdle Door having also stayed there last year when we took my Mom with us.
We had arrived late on the previous Saturday afternoon and by the time we had settled in and then had something to eat it had started to rain. We ended up having heavy rain on both Saturday and Sunday nights but apart from a little light rain on Bank Holiday Monday morning it remained dry for the rest of the week, albeit often dull and overcast with a cool northerly wind. Nevertheless there were enough sunny spells during the week for me to squeeze in some good butterflying between the usual family stuff.
Durdle Door, August 30th - 31st.
On both the Sunday and Monday afternoons, after going out for the mornings and returning to our caravan after lunch, I had the chance to have a walk along the paths across the downs between Durdle Door and the wonderfully named little valley of Scratchy Bottom
just to the west of the holiday park. On both days there was a heavy overcast but with enough warmth in the sheltered dips for plenty of butterflies to be flying. Most numerous were Meadow Browns with hundreds fluttering across the grassy slopes, closely followed in numbers by Graylings, plus a few Marbled Whites and a single tatty looking Wall Brown that shot off across the slope. One particular sheltered slope above the Durdle Door rock arch where I had seen loads of butterflies last year was equally productive this time with 20+ Adonis Blues and half a dozen each of Chalkhill Blue, Common Blue, Brown Argus and Small Heath plus a couple of Small Coppers.
- Slope above Durdle Door rock arch, this was a very productive area all week.
- Grayling - Durdle Door 30.08.2015
- Graylings, unsuccessful courtship attempt - Durdle Door 30.08.2015
- Marbled White - Durdle Door 30.08.2015
- Meadow Brown - Durdle Door 30.08.2015
- Small Heath - Durdle Door 30.08.2015
- Adonis Blue - Durdle Door 30.08.2015
- Adonis Blue - Durdle Door 30.08.2015
- Common Blue - Durdle Door 30.08.2015
- Common Blue female - Durdle Door 30.08.2015
- Chalkhill Blue - Durdle Door 31.08.2015
- Brown Argus - Durdle Door 30.08.2015
- Small Copper & Meadow Brown - Durdle Door 31.08.2015
- Peacock - Durdle Door 30.08.2015
- Red Admiral - Durdle Door 30.08.2015
- Red Admiral - Durdle Door 31.08.2015
- Small Tortoiseshell - Durdle Door 31.08.2015
- Small Tortoiseshell - Durdle Door 31.08.2015
- Painted Lady - Durdle Door 30.08.2015
- Painted Lady - Durdle Door 30.08.2015
- Hummingbird Hawk Moth - Durdle Door 30.08.2015
- Hummingbird Hawk Moth - Durdle Door 30.08.2015
To be continued...
Neil.
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Re: Neil Freeman
Dorset, part 2 – Tuesday September 1st.
On Tuesday we got up to a beautiful if slightly chilly morning with clear blue skies and with the forecast looking good for the rest of the day. Jane and Sarah wanted to take Frankie to Monkey World which is near Wool and it was agreed that I could drop them off and go off somewhere for a couple of hours.
I decided to head for Swanage and Durlston Country Park and so it was that I arrived there at around 11.00am having arranged to go back and collect the others at 1.30pm. With just a couple of hours here, rather than try and cover the whole site, I decided to concentrate on the gully area and so went straight along the cliff path towards the lighthouse in order to work my way up the slopes of the gully from the bottom end.
By now it was late morning and had warmed up nicely although there was still a cool breeze which made its presence felt when the occasional cloud covered the sun. Along the cliff path I had seen a few Large and Small Whites and reaching the lower slopes of the gully I soon saw some little splashes of bright blue fluttering about which proved to be male Adonis Blues. A further look soon turned up Meadow Browns, a couple of female Gatekeepers, Common Blues, Small Heaths, Brown Argus and a Small Copper. Working my way along the slopes there were a good number of Adonis Blues scattered all the way up past the tarmac path which goes to the lighthouse, easily the most numerous species seen here today. Most were fresh looking males although there were a few that showed a bit more wear indicating that they had been out for a week or so. I also saw a couple of Fresh looking females, the first that I had seen so far this week, the Adonis at Durdle Door on Sunday & Monday all being fresh males so far.
One of my reasons for coming to Durlston was to look for late Lulworth Skippers which I have seen here in early September before. This is a known late site for this species, although I did wonder if the generally wet and cool August and the heavy overnight rain at the weekend may have finished them for this year. Around half way up the gully, at exactly the same spot where I have found them in previous years I found a worn and faded female.
A little further along I found another couple of Lulworths, both females in worse condition than the first one, but they were all that I found…still, better than none and given the conditions they have endured this year I was only half expecting to find any at all at this time this year.
I also saw a Clouded Yellow heading up the gully from the sea in a determined manner, stopping just briefly to top up from some flowers along the way. A little later I saw another one, this one going at high speed and not bothering to stop. They could well have been the same individual circling around but I had the distinct impression that they were two different ones.
With the time getting close to me having to make a move back to collect the others I made my way back down the gully and along the cliff path, briefly stopping to take some photos of a couple of Common Lizards basking on the stone wall.
A very pleasant morning and with a bit of luck I would still have time for another session somewhere later in the afternoon
To be continued…
Neil.
On Tuesday we got up to a beautiful if slightly chilly morning with clear blue skies and with the forecast looking good for the rest of the day. Jane and Sarah wanted to take Frankie to Monkey World which is near Wool and it was agreed that I could drop them off and go off somewhere for a couple of hours.
I decided to head for Swanage and Durlston Country Park and so it was that I arrived there at around 11.00am having arranged to go back and collect the others at 1.30pm. With just a couple of hours here, rather than try and cover the whole site, I decided to concentrate on the gully area and so went straight along the cliff path towards the lighthouse in order to work my way up the slopes of the gully from the bottom end.
By now it was late morning and had warmed up nicely although there was still a cool breeze which made its presence felt when the occasional cloud covered the sun. Along the cliff path I had seen a few Large and Small Whites and reaching the lower slopes of the gully I soon saw some little splashes of bright blue fluttering about which proved to be male Adonis Blues. A further look soon turned up Meadow Browns, a couple of female Gatekeepers, Common Blues, Small Heaths, Brown Argus and a Small Copper. Working my way along the slopes there were a good number of Adonis Blues scattered all the way up past the tarmac path which goes to the lighthouse, easily the most numerous species seen here today. Most were fresh looking males although there were a few that showed a bit more wear indicating that they had been out for a week or so. I also saw a couple of Fresh looking females, the first that I had seen so far this week, the Adonis at Durdle Door on Sunday & Monday all being fresh males so far.
- Small White - Durlston 01.09.2015
- Small Copper - Durlston 01.09.2015
- Common Blue - Durlston 01.09.2015
- Adonis Blue - Durlston 01.09.2015
- Adonis Blue - Durlston 01.09.2015
- Adonis Blue - Durlston 01.09.2015
- Adonis Blue - Durlston 01.09.2015
- Adonis Blue - Durlston 01.09.2015
- Lulworth Skipper - Durlston 01.09.2015
I also saw a Clouded Yellow heading up the gully from the sea in a determined manner, stopping just briefly to top up from some flowers along the way. A little later I saw another one, this one going at high speed and not bothering to stop. They could well have been the same individual circling around but I had the distinct impression that they were two different ones.
With the time getting close to me having to make a move back to collect the others I made my way back down the gully and along the cliff path, briefly stopping to take some photos of a couple of Common Lizards basking on the stone wall.
- Common Lizard - Durlston 01.09.2015
- Common Lizard - Durlston 01.09.2015
To be continued…
Neil.
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Re: Neil Freeman
Lulworth Skippers have a really odd flight period. They can be found from June to September along a very restricted area.
I'd love to know why this is.
I'd love to know why this is.
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Re: Neil Freeman
Splendid photos from my favourite stretch of coastline and of some lovely butterflies. 
I'm glad there were Lulworths still to see there, Neil, and like David, I find it puzzling that (like the Meadow Brown) they have a protracted emergence over three months or so - I believe they are often out in May (this year it was May 21st).
Dave
I'm glad there were Lulworths still to see there, Neil, and like David, I find it puzzling that (like the Meadow Brown) they have a protracted emergence over three months or so - I believe they are often out in May (this year it was May 21st).Dave
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Re: Neil Freeman
Lovely Butterfly photos Neil you sound like you had a great time Goldie
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Re: Neil Freeman
Thanks Goldie, a great combination of family time and good butterflying made for a very enjoyable holiday .
Thanks for the comments David and Dave . The protracted emergence of Lulworth Skippers is certainly interesting although it must be noted that they are not flying this long at all sites, Durlston is a known late site for them. I guess it is down to local microclimates. Having said that I also found a Lulworth Skipper at Durdle Door later in the week, details in a forthcoming report.
Regarding Meadow Browns, Jeremy Thomas notes in ‘The Butterflies of Britain & Ireland’ that they disappear at most sites by the end of august but that emergence is greatly prolonged on warm southern chalk downs although the actual reason is not known.
Marbled White is another species that is regularly seen here long after they have ceased flying elsewhere.
Dorset part 3 - Tuesday 1st September continued.
After collecting Jane, Sarah and little Frankie from Monkey World we went off to have a bit of lunch and then returned to Durdle Door. Sarah was usually keen for Frankie to have an afternoon nap, or at least rest for bit, so that he could stop up a bit later than he usually would at home. He is at that age (5) when having a mid-afternoon nap can make all the difference to whether he is tired and whingy later on in the early evening when we would usually go out somewhere for a meal. This meant that I could take advantage of a couple of hours to go off for a walk somewhere and today I had decided that I would drive round to Osmington and have a walk up the path to White Horse Hill.
I have visited this site a number of times over the past few years and it has become one of my favourite spots in the area with beautiful views from the top of the hill. The south facing slopes have also reliably produced good numbers of Adonis Blues plus I have never yet failed to see a few Clouded Yellows here.
I parked up in Osmington village by the start of the bridleway that leads towards the hill and in the first stretch that is lined with trees saw a few Speckled Woods fluttering about. After a few hundred yards the path opens out and I started to see plenty of Adonis Blues, many of them basking on the path or taking up minerals around the damp patches that were left from the rain we had during the night on Saturday and Sunday.
There must have been something like 30 or 40 Adonis Blues along this stretch and as I reached the corner where the path turns left and goes diagonally up the down I saw even more, absolutely loads of them all the way along the slopes. Most of those I saw were fresh looking males with few showing signs of wear but I did find a few nice fresh females in amongst them.
As well as the Adonis there were Meadow Browns in good numbers and around a dozen or so each of Small Heath, Common Blues and Brown Argus. True to form for this site there were a couple of Clouded Yellows speedily flying up and down along the slopes, one of which settled briefly in front of me where I managed to get a couple of quick photos. I saw two in the air together a couple of times and I think that I saw a third one further along the path but the speed with which this species can fly along the hillsides means I am not absolutely sure it was not one of the ones already seen.
Also seen were a couple of faded Marbled Whites and a couple of even more faded Gatekeepers. Three or Four Painted Ladies were flying about the lower slopes and flitting from flower to flower, usually just that bit too quickly to grab a photo although I did manage a few record shots.
Three different Small Coppers were also seen, meaning that so far I had seen them everywhere visited down here.
Around 5.00pm the clouds had started to build up again and a cool breeze was making itself felt so I headed back down the path towards the car and back to Durdle Door.
About an hour later, back at the holiday park, the sun popped out again and whilst the girls were with Frankie at one of the play areas I went for a quick look at the Buddleias at the back of the park. By this time most of them were in shade but to one side there was a bit of discarded plastic decking and I spotted some splashes of colour that turned out to be five Small Tortoiseshells soaking up the last bit of sun for the day.
A nice little touch to what had been a splendid day with a couple of great sites visited and plenty of butterflies seen.
And I still hadn’t walked across the hill to Lulworth Cove and Bindon Hill yet, maybe tomorrow…
Neil.
.Thanks for the comments David and Dave
. The protracted emergence of Lulworth Skippers is certainly interesting although it must be noted that they are not flying this long at all sites, Durlston is a known late site for them. I guess it is down to local microclimates. Having said that I also found a Lulworth Skipper at Durdle Door later in the week, details in a forthcoming report.Regarding Meadow Browns, Jeremy Thomas notes in ‘The Butterflies of Britain & Ireland’ that they disappear at most sites by the end of august but that emergence is greatly prolonged on warm southern chalk downs although the actual reason is not known.
Marbled White is another species that is regularly seen here long after they have ceased flying elsewhere.
Dorset part 3 - Tuesday 1st September continued.
After collecting Jane, Sarah and little Frankie from Monkey World we went off to have a bit of lunch and then returned to Durdle Door. Sarah was usually keen for Frankie to have an afternoon nap, or at least rest for bit, so that he could stop up a bit later than he usually would at home. He is at that age (5) when having a mid-afternoon nap can make all the difference to whether he is tired and whingy later on in the early evening when we would usually go out somewhere for a meal. This meant that I could take advantage of a couple of hours to go off for a walk somewhere and today I had decided that I would drive round to Osmington and have a walk up the path to White Horse Hill.
I have visited this site a number of times over the past few years and it has become one of my favourite spots in the area with beautiful views from the top of the hill. The south facing slopes have also reliably produced good numbers of Adonis Blues plus I have never yet failed to see a few Clouded Yellows here.
I parked up in Osmington village by the start of the bridleway that leads towards the hill and in the first stretch that is lined with trees saw a few Speckled Woods fluttering about. After a few hundred yards the path opens out and I started to see plenty of Adonis Blues, many of them basking on the path or taking up minerals around the damp patches that were left from the rain we had during the night on Saturday and Sunday.
- Loads of Adonis on the path along here.
- Adonis Blue - Osmington 01.09.2015
- Adonis Blue - Osmington 01.09.2015
- Adonis Blue - Osmington 01.09.2015
- Looking back down the path acoss the slopes.
- Adonis Blues - Osmington 01.09.2015
- Adonis Blue - Osmington 01.09.2015
- Adonis Blue - Osmington 01.09.2015
- Adonis Blue - Osmington 01.09.2015
- Adonis Blue - Osmington 01.09.2015
- Clouded Yellow - Osmington 01.09.2015
- Clouded Yellow - Osmington 01.09.2015
- Painted Lady - Osmington 01.09.2015
- Small Copper - Osmington 01.09.2015
- Small Copper - Osmington 01.09.2015
About an hour later, back at the holiday park, the sun popped out again and whilst the girls were with Frankie at one of the play areas I went for a quick look at the Buddleias at the back of the park. By this time most of them were in shade but to one side there was a bit of discarded plastic decking and I spotted some splashes of colour that turned out to be five Small Tortoiseshells soaking up the last bit of sun for the day.
- Small Tortoiseshells - Durdle Door 01.09.2015
- Small Tortoiseshells - Durdle Door 01.09.2015
And I still hadn’t walked across the hill to Lulworth Cove and Bindon Hill yet, maybe tomorrow…
Neil.
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Re: Neil Freeman
Lovely images, Neil. I'm particularly envious of the Clouded Yellow as I'm yet to see one this year in the UK.
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Re: Neil Freeman
Beautiful Adonis and I love the Small Tort gathering . Hoping to get some Clouded Yellows for myself tomorrow!
. Hoping to get some Clouded Yellows for myself tomorrow!Diary entries for 2015 have been archived. If there are missing images in this post, then they can be found in this archive if one exists. All archives can be found here.
Some addictions are good for the soul!
Re: Neil Freeman
Another lovely bit of Dorset coast - and some wonderful Adonis Blues. I also like the Tortoiseshell gathering - not something you'd see very often these days.
Dave
Dave
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Re: Neil Freeman
Lovely Clouded Yellow and 10 points for capturing the sheen in your first female Adonis image.
Trevor.
Trevor.
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Re: Neil Freeman
Many thanks for all your comments David, Bugboy, Dave and Trevor
Dorset part 4 - Wednesday 2nd September.
We got up to another pleasant morning on Wednesday with plenty of blue sky and as Frankie had been promised a boat ride we went into Weymouth so that Sarah could take him out on one. As Sarah took him out on one of the boat trips around Portland Harbour, Jane and I took the chance to have a quiet wander around the shops before meeting them on their return at the harbour. We then took a slow wander back through Weymouth and enjoyed a late morning Dorset Cream Tea before heading back to the car.
Back at Durdle Door later in the afternoon, whilst the others were having a lazy couple of hours, I took the opportunity for a walk across the hill and into Lulworth Cove and then up onto Bindon Hill.
By this time a fair bit of cloud had built up but there was still some good sunny spells during which I started seeing good numbers of Chalkhill Blues, some of which looked to be still quite fresh. I had seen a few Chalkhills at Durdle Door over the previous few days, and have seen them here around this time in previous years but I was a bit surprised by the numbers here today.
There were plenty of females about although these were less obvious with their brown colouring and way they spend a lot of their time crawling around low down in the vegetation. Some of these showed some interesting variation as shown in the examples below.
Adonis Blues were also present although in lower numbers than expected. All those seen were fresh looking males and I do not believe that I saw any females which seemed to indicate that they were only just getting going here.
Brown Argus were well scattered about along the more sheltered lower paths and some of these looked in better condition than the worn and faded examples I had seen so far this week.
As well as the usual Meadow Browns, other species seen were Small Heath, Common Blue, a few faded Marbled Whites, a couple each of Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell and a single Small Copper.
With some darker clouds heading over I made my way down the hill and then up the path back towards Durdle Door, stopping for a few minutes at the top to admire the view back into the cove before the clouds covered the sun.
An interesting afternoon which felt a bit like I had gone back in time a couple of weeks compared to the previous afternoon at Osmington where Adonis Blues had easily been the most numerous species. With the Adonis seeming to be just starting here and the Chalkhills still outnumbering them by at least 4 to 1, it shows how the season can vary at different sites in the same area.
Now to get back to sorting through the photos from the rest of the week...
Neil.
Dorset part 4 - Wednesday 2nd September.
We got up to another pleasant morning on Wednesday with plenty of blue sky and as Frankie had been promised a boat ride we went into Weymouth so that Sarah could take him out on one. As Sarah took him out on one of the boat trips around Portland Harbour, Jane and I took the chance to have a quiet wander around the shops before meeting them on their return at the harbour. We then took a slow wander back through Weymouth and enjoyed a late morning Dorset Cream Tea before heading back to the car.
Back at Durdle Door later in the afternoon, whilst the others were having a lazy couple of hours, I took the opportunity for a walk across the hill and into Lulworth Cove and then up onto Bindon Hill.
- Looking down on West Lulworth from Bindon Hill
- Chalkhill Blue - Bindon Hill 02.09.2015
- Chalkhill Blue - Bindon Hill 02.09.2015
- Chalkhill Blue - Bindon Hill 02.09.2015
- Chalkhill Blue - Bindon Hill 02.09.2015
- Chalkhill Blue - Bindon Hill 02.09.2015
- Chalkhill Blues - Bindon Hill 02.09.2015
- Chalkhill Blue - Bindon Hill 02.09.2015
- Chalkhill Blue - Bindon Hill 02.09.2015
- Chalkhill Blue - Bindon Hill 02.09.2015
- Chalkhill Blue - Bindon Hill 02.09.2015
- Chalkhill Blue - Bindon Hill 02.09.2015
- Chalkhill Blue - Bindon Hill 02.09.2015
- Adonis Blue - Bindon Hill 02.09.2015
- Adonis Blue - Bindon Hill 02.09.2015
- Adonis Blue - Bindon Hill 02.09.2015
- Brown Argus - Bindon Hill 02.09.2015
With some darker clouds heading over I made my way down the hill and then up the path back towards Durdle Door, stopping for a few minutes at the top to admire the view back into the cove before the clouds covered the sun.
- Looking back down into Lulworth Cove on the way back to Durdle Door.
Now to get back to sorting through the photos from the rest of the week...
Neil.
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Re: Neil Freeman
Another interesting report with some lovely pictures to accompany, I particularly like those female Chalkhills, nice variety of markings
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Some addictions are good for the soul!
Re: Neil Freeman
Fantastic reports from the best place in the world (well to me anyway )! I'm really envious of the Cloudy shots as I still haven't seen them this year The Chalkhills and Adonis do seem to be later this year - could that be due to the cooler, wetter 'summer'? 
Have a goodun
Wurzel
ps - how did you get up to Bindon Hill? I path I used a couple of years back collapsed.
)! I'm really envious of the Cloudy shots as I still haven't seen them this year The Chalkhills and Adonis do seem to be later this year - could that be due to the cooler, wetter 'summer'? Have a goodun
Wurzel
ps - how did you get up to Bindon Hill? I path I used a couple of years back collapsed.
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Re: Neil Freeman
Wow! I'm quite surprised at how fresh some of those Adonis/Chalkhills are.
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essexbuzzard
- Posts: 2485
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Re: Neil Freeman
Loving your Dorset reports,Neil. As you know,i was there myself just a couple of weeks ago. When i went to the white horse, it was so foggy i couldn't see a thing,so a bit envious of your adonis blues there!
I have always found chalkhill blues to be dominant over adonis at bindon hill,though this may be because i go a little earlier than you. Saw one adonis last year,none in 2015. Great pictures,keep them coming.
I have always found chalkhill blues to be dominant over adonis at bindon hill,though this may be because i go a little earlier than you. Saw one adonis last year,none in 2015. Great pictures,keep them coming.
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Neil Freeman
- Posts: 4443
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- Location: Solihull, West Midlands
Re: Neil Freeman
Thanks Bugboy, glad you like the female Chalkhills
Cheers David, I usually see fresh Adonis when I visit this area in early September but the number of Chalkhill Blues on Bindon Hill surprised me as well.
Thanks Mark, we are usually there for the first week in September and in previous years it has been Adonis Blues that are dominant, which they were at the other sites I visited this year. It was just Bindon Hill that seemed to be running a bit later in comparison, as also indicated by the condition of some of the Brown Argus compared with the other sites. Sorry to hear it was foggy for you at The White Horse, I reckon this is the best site in the area on the right day.
Hi Wurzel, the whole season has been running a bit late in general this year but it would seem that different parts of the country have been affected to different degrees, as have different species.
Re.the path up Bindon Hill, I have marked it with a red arrow on the photo below. The path starts next to the end cottage which is just out of view and has a wooden 'Public Footpath' sign.
Cheers,
Neil
Cheers David, I usually see fresh Adonis when I visit this area in early September but the number of Chalkhill Blues on Bindon Hill surprised me as well.
Thanks Mark, we are usually there for the first week in September and in previous years it has been Adonis Blues that are dominant, which they were at the other sites I visited this year. It was just Bindon Hill that seemed to be running a bit later in comparison, as also indicated by the condition of some of the Brown Argus compared with the other sites. Sorry to hear it was foggy for you at The White Horse, I reckon this is the best site in the area on the right day.
Hi Wurzel, the whole season has been running a bit late in general this year but it would seem that different parts of the country have been affected to different degrees, as have different species.
Re.the path up Bindon Hill, I have marked it with a red arrow on the photo below. The path starts next to the end cottage which is just out of view and has a wooden 'Public Footpath' sign.
- View of Bindon Hill showing path
Neil
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