Peacock - Favourite Photo of 2015

[Wurzel]

Peacock - Favourite Photo of 2015

Week 12

I hope everyone had a great Christmas/seasonal holiday of their choice! Here continues sequence of posts giving one and all the opportunity to showcase their favourite shots of 2015!

Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As like last year details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome as would any accompanying stories and anecdotes or other observations of behaviour and interesting other points.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Lots and lots of Peacocks again in 2015....except in the French Alps, where they were again absent!!

My first of the year came earlier than usual for this normally sleepy hibernator...6th March:

This courting couple were seen in April:

In August, whilst studying Brown Hairstreaks in Pembrokeshire, there was a buddleia in the main field which at one point had ten Peacocks on it! Best I could manage was three in the same shot:

[MikeOxon]

My first 'butterfly walks' of the year are usually to Dry Sandford Pit, a small BBOWT reserve near my home. Seeing Peacocks on the Catkins is always an uplifting start to the season:

Dry Sandford Pit, Oxon - 8th April 2015
Nikon D300s with 70-300 mm lens - 1/1000s@f/6.7 ISO400

Mike

[Chris Jackson]

This species does not fly near Marseilles, so when I was lucky enough to spend a week in the Pyrenees last June, this individual counted as one of my "exotic" finds.

Chris

[bugboy]

Peacocks are by a long way the commonest Vanessid in my part of the world so I have plenty of pictures to choose from.

I got this shot on my first visit to Box Hill of the year. I found 4 feeding from some dry feaces early in the day when it was still rather cool so they allowed me to get nice and close and give me a chance to practise with my new lense.

[Goldie M]

Once again I had ,( in spite of the weather) some Peacocks in the garden One in April and one in September , I saw quite a few but these two were my favourite Photos, I thought I'd include a photo from HLB because I like the Back Ground and I just love Peacock Butterflies Goldie

[David M]

Only 12 weeks before Peacocks will be on the catkins again, Goldie!!

[Neil Freeman]

Good numbers of Peacocks were around in early April after awakening from their winter slumber and it is always a joy to see them on the early blossoms.

Peacock - Bickenhill 06.04.2015

Peacock - Bickenhill 06.04.2015

Unfortunately, the summer brood seemed to suffer due to the cool and cloudy conditions with a late emergence locally and numbers that were well down on the previous couple of seasons.

Peacock - Bickenhill 08.08.2015

A few were still hanging around in late September,

Peacock - Castle Hills 26.09.2015

Cheers,

Neil

[ayjay]

A summer Peacock for me - July 31st. Holmsley Inclosure, New Forest.

[Wurzel]

Peacock

This was my fave because it was one of those interesting flukey shots. I was walking down the street when I noticed a Peacock fluttering around the other parked cars. While I watched it landed on the boot ledge of one of the parked cars and so I took a few shots. Due to the shape of the back of the car it reflected the light in unusual angle a lot like a concave mirror producing this totally flukey shot with Peacock images all around the actual object. At the time I didn’t even notice the reflections it was only later that I became aware of the nature of the image.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[celery]

An early spring Peacock soaking up the morning rays in my garden.

Peacock (Inachis io) - Flintham, Notts. - 10th April, 2015

And one at rest on sedum from the Piet Oudolf designed garden at Trentham, near Stoke. The plant here reminds of those on the Magic Roundabout - something about the stalk looking like a miniature tree.

Peacock (Inachis io) - Trentham Gardens, Trentham, Staffs. - 2nd September, 2015

[dilettante]

That last image is beautiful, celery!

[millerd]

The new brood of these beautiful creatures doesn't always last long before they disappear into hibernation. They appeared at home in the third week of July, but were a good month later further north so a visit to York towards the end of August provided a second showing. One from each:

I also love to find the seething masses of spiny black caterpillars earlier in the year (15th June):

Dave