I love to see them perched on the blackberries too, Goldie, they look like something out of 'A Midsummer's Night Dream"!
Glorious sunrise today
Once the temperature had risen I headed down to Dungeness. Firstly I checked on the young male that I watched evicting an older Copper from his patch
Still there after 7 days
I then ventured out into "The Desert". I wanted to see whether a male Copper I found on 20th September was still on his patch. I had my fingers crossed! The longest I've recorded a male keep to a set territory is 7 days, so I really had my hopes up for this one.
And when I got there
I found him!!!!
He may not look very special
But he's special to me!
He's been at this same site for at least 14 days. His favourite roosting place is next to my hat (in the photo!) and unlike other males that I've watched this year his patch is large, I've seen him range about the whole area in the photo.
I read in Frohawk that a Small Copper adult is expected to live for 3 week, so this chap has spent at least 2/3rds of his life on the same patch.
I hope I'm not giving a false impression. Although some male Coppers do stick to a single territory for many days, lots do not. All seem to be territorial but there are males that move on ( perhaps due to their disposition or to outside factors).
I saw quite a few punch-ups today. These two were unhappy neighbours
Constantly in dispute
As were others that I watched today
I don't know if they do much damage to each other in these contests, I doubt it unless it's accidental.
They have their quieter moments
Males seem to be active before females in the mornings. As the morning went on I saw females appear. This one came out from within the bush and began to bask in the sun
I was delighted to find this beauty
So it's still very Coppery
I did find one NCCFO ( Non Copper Coloured Flying Object)
Very Late!
But still plenty of Coppers to keep me entertained