millerd

[trevor]

Holly Blues soon, Dave. We are both fortunate to have a productive ' local patch '.

Best wishes,
Trevor.

[trevor]

HI Dave,
First Holly Blue seen today, but not stopping for it's portrait.

All the best ,
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

There's definitely a West/East divide at the moment Dave - I just can't seem to catch a break over here and the localised Salisbury weather is doing it's usual trick of being bad pretty much all of the time - apart from the last couple of days that is.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

No Holly Blues here yet that I've seen, though I've missed the last two sunny mornings by being at work. Walks locally on both days after work were quite pleasantly warm though blighted by cloud, so all I saw were singles of both Comma and Peacock. Tomorrow looks similar and then it all goes wrong again at the weekend! A bit depressing to be honest. I think I'm sharing your weather and frustration, Wurzel.

Dave

[millerd]

Third day lucky! This afternoon may not have been quite so warm, but there was more sunshine, and I was able to get onto my local patch an hour or so earlier too.

What a difference from yesterday - within a few minutes, there was the first Holly Blue of the year, one that had obviously been out a day or two.

This was swiftly followed by another, and then a Green-veined White.

A bit further on, the path was really quite wet and muddy, and there on the ground, slurping up the mineral soup, was another Holly Blue.

It was particularly taken with a bird dropping that was gently blending with the mud.

Over the next hour or so, I came across half a dozen Peacocks and eight or nine Commas to add to the tally, plus another GVW and a pristine Speckled Wood (which sadly evaded the camera).

It's a pity the weather goes downhill again for the weekend.

Dave

[Butterflysaurus rex]

It doesn't seem very long since I last saw some Holly Blues Dave, they did spectacularly well in this part of the world last year. Hopefully we'll see another bumper year this year too. Nice Peacock photos as well.

ATB

James

[millerd]

It would be great to have another good year for Holly Blues, James. The last few have all been good ones, so unfortunately I'm expecting them to dip a bit this year because of their natural cycle in tandem with their parasite. Who knows? It may not happen.

After a very chilly night, Sunday 17th started sunny, and stayed mostly that way for much of the day. However the temperature probably didn't reach more than 12 degrees at best. Nevertheless, I found a bit of interest walking around my local patch. - foremost in this were the first Orange Tips of the year. I came across a patrolling male first, in the same place that the first one usually appears, but the sun going in did not coincide with it passing by as I had hoped, and it carried on flying. Several other white butterflies appeared, but the first trio of these turned out to be Green-veined Whites, one male and two females.

The second female did go to ground during a cloudy interlude, which allowed for some closer photos.

Another white, flying much higher and more powerfully, was identified as a Small White when it passed within reach. Finally, another one appeared, feebler than the Small White, but stopping frequently to nectar. This was a female Orange Tip. It is very unusual for me to photograph a female before the male in a given year.

I also saw three or four Peacocks and a couple of tussling Commas.

I also spotted a Brimstone shuffling around in a bit of ivy. I had seen none flying, so I assume it was insufficiently sunny and/or warm enough to entice them out. This one was resolutely staying where it was.

Dave

[trevor]

Nice one(s) Dave, as for the female Orange Tip .

[bugboy]

Lovely GVW's Dave

[Goldie M]

All your photos are great Dave, Goldie

[Wurzel]

Fantastic photos Dave - and the season has really begun in earnest now you've started holly Blue Whispering

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Lovely GVW underside shots, Dave. I must try to get some myself this year - I normally pay scant attention to this species.

[millerd]

Thank you everyone. As David says, the GVW is always worth a look. The spring and summer broods vary quite a bit, and the "green" veins are really a subtle blend of yellow and black. Some spring males can be almost pure dazzling white on the upperside - striking in the spring sun. As for whispering to Holly Blues, Wurzel - I'm afraid I had to shout at the only one I saw this afternoon, as it stayed resolutely high up...

In fact, that was largely the story of this afternoon's ramble around my local patch. I was out between 4 and half past 5, in clear sunshine and reasonable temperatures. Altogether I saw one Holly Blue, two Speckled Woods, four Brimstones, one Small White, five Green-veined Whites, three that could have been either and four Orange Tips (3m & 1f)) plus numerous Commas and Peacocks. Almost all (except the latter two species) were seen well above head height, and not close enough for decent photos. Even the Orange Tips stayed mostly in the trees. A selection...

Commas do like to perch and pose delightfully

Peacocks are nearly as good at it, but prefer less prominent perches

Both Speckled Woods remained high up, probably a prelude to roosting for the night

One nice female GVW up in a tree...

...and what appears to be at least two butterflies indulging in what was probably courtship, but looked pretty rough

A Brimstone, also probably thinking about settling down for the night

A female Orange Tip...

...and a male. Both were at a distance

Not a bad afternoon. Good to see the Orange Tips at last - hopefully there will be some more. With luck the female will have encountered one of the males as they were patrolling the same piece of woodland edge only minutes apart.

Dave

[millerd]

With a day of sunshine in prospect and scant chance of anything remotely like it in the near future, I took the day off work for my first expedition of the year.

The initial target was Noar Hill in Hampshire, and some early Dukes. For the first couple of hours, there was not much to be seen - a few Peacocks, rather more Brimstones, and just the one (female) Orange Tip. (In fact, the scarcity of Orange Tips this year is becoming a bit worrying. I didn't see any along the roadside all day today in continuous sunshine.)

A false alarm with a small dark butterfly turned out to be a Green Hairstreak.

By noon there were quite a few folk out on the hill looking for Dukes, and two or three were found. Two were quite close to each other, one male and one female.

Before long, they encountered each other and with the most perfunctory courtship, settled down to mate. They stayed coupled for half an hour or so, with many photos taken from all angles in a not particularly photogenic location.

After all that excitement, I decided to head across country to Denbies for the first visit of the year. One of the people at Noar Hill had been at Mill Hill earlier in the day and had seen Grizzled Skippers, so I hoped Denbies might have hatched one or two as well. The path at the top of the main slopes, along the treeline, was warm in the sun, and several Peacocks and Small Tortoiseshells were basking and chasing each other. I headed for the steep set of steps, and as I went down I caught sight of a Green Hairstreak. This little spot is a reliable location for this species, and I'm glad to say this individual posed beautifully. I only saw the one.

I walked all the way along the bottom of the slope and then back across the middle. At the far end, I disturbed a Grizzled Skipper from the path in front of me. It settled again, but disappeared behind me as I tried to take its photo. A bit further along, another appeared, nectaring on the violets that dotted the grass. This one was a bit more worn.

A really good day - three new species for the year and the most made of some rare sunshine. The weather ahead looks thoroughly unpleasant.

Dave

[trevor]

A fabulous haul there, Dave. The sunshine today certainly brought out the Butterflies.
My next targets are Green Hairstreak, and Duke. I hope I can obtain images as good as yours.
No need to worry about Holly Blue numbers, many were flying this afternoon.

All the best,
Trevor.

[Pete Eeles]

Excellent sequence showing the act of ... er ... mating! Well done, Dave. I've only seen this half a dozen times myself, but never captured it ... it all happens so quickly!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Wurzel]

Ahhhhh I hate having to work all week Lovely Dukes, Grizzlies and Greenstreaks And to cap it all the weather has gone down hill just in time for the weekend

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Susie]

It has been lovely catching up with your diary, I didn't realise that there was so much going on already!

[millerd]

Thanks, Trevor - it was a great day out.

Thanks, Pete. Yes it was very quick - only a minute or two from encounter to settling down on the bramble. It was not very private, mind - there were six or seven spectators with cameras big and small.

I was lucky with that day off, Wurzel. However, the Brownie point system applies at work too, so unfortunately I'm in deficit at a very early point in the season...

Nice to hear from you, Susie! Yes, there seems to be a bit going on despite the chilliness of the weather, though it seems all wrong going out to look for butterflies still in my winter coat.

Which is what I did today. I went out round my local patch in a sunny spell around the middle of the day. With the temperature no more than 12 degrees at best, I was surprised to see much at all, but there were in fact quite a few white butterflies around. The first I saw was a female Small White, and very soon afterwards a female Green-veined.

Small White (f)

The latter was barely getting off the ground before settling again to bask.

Green-veined White (f)

Next to be seen was a Comma, which I took to be a female as it flew low back and forth over the nettle beds before settling low down to bask for a bit.

I reached sheltered stretch of path where the garlic mustard is just coming into flower - this plant is about to have an excellent year (it was hardly seen at all in 2015). Flying weakly around these plants were two more white butterflies - both turned out to be female Orange Tips. A bit further on, I found another of the same, and then at last I spotted a male which immediately attempted to accost this female. No success here - she displayed typical rejection behaviour and the male gave up. There followed a succession of various whites, and several more Orange Tips, including one very small male. None of these paused for more that a moment, and I started hoping for the sun to go in so one or two might go to ground. Eventually it did, and I managed to track a female Orange Tip to a perch on a bramble.

Overall, more Orange Tips than there have been, but still more females than males: 4 to 3. Very much a ladies' day, with all the species photographed being females.

Dave

[millerd]

The last week has been quite sunny, but very cold, and spent entirely in the office at the best part of each day. I had an errand to run on Saturday 30th that took me across London, and it was only on the walk back from the T5 Underground station in the afternoon that I saw anything: a couple of Small Whites and a Peacock enjoying a clump of bluebells.

There was also a single Green-veined White a bit nearer home.

May dawned sunny, but a bit warmer and much less cloud built up during the day. A couple of walks around my local patch produced lots of Brimstones (including several females), Small and GV Whites, and female Orange Tips. There were a handful of males too, and the garlic mustard is shooting up well in parallel. As noted before, this plant is good in alternate years, and 2016 is going to be a very good one round here. Also seen on the earlier walk were a scattering of Peacocks, and in the same spot of dappled shade, two Speckled Woods and a Holly Blue. Visiting the same spot later in the day, I found my first Red Admiral of the year. It was a fairly tatty specimen, and I have to wonder whether it is a resilient overwinterer or an intrepid voyager from points south. Either way, it was good to see.

Finally I spotted another Small White, which took off at the same moment as I pressed the shutter. For once I captured the motion.

Things are looking up at last.

Dave