Wurzel

[trevor]

HI Wurzel,

If by HB you mean Hutchinsons bank, then yes, you could do Chiddingfold on the way home.
Especially as Wood Whites are easier to get near in late afternoon.
My suggestion would be more brownie points coupled with some old fashioned grovelling.

PS. I should be visiting CH. in the next week or so.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Dave I don't know where that one had been hiding...
Cheers Emma Spring indeed, finally!
Cheers Goldie The Holly Blues are still playing hard to get for me
Excellent news Ronnie I got some shots as well
Cheers Trevor I'll give it a go...but if it doesn't work there's always the second brood

Vera 29-04

Another lunchtime trip and another race against the weather…This time though my sprint across the Down wasn’t really necessary because as soon as I got into the fen/wood the sun broke cover and burnt the cloud away for a spell…but it was all that I needed. This time I went round the rectangle in the reverse direction and about half way in a male OT fluttered on the other side of a stream. I thought at first that it was going not play nicely, doing that thing where they patrol, stop for a microsecond and just as you’re getting the shot lined up off they go for a dizzying further five minutes.

However this one had fallen foul of the temperature as even though the sun was shining there was still a nip in the air and a thermometer would barely show double figures. I approached and hoped that it would stay relatively still. It seemed fine with my close approach but occasionally it would move to a new position. I don’t think this was anything to do with me as I’d finished taking some photos and was just watching it each time it moved on. The temperature started to rise and it set off for a further flight and I let it go just watching and enjoying the site; dappled woodland with an Orange-tip doing what it does so well.

It then settled down again as the sun went in for a minute or two and it closed its wings. I couldn’t resist moving in for one final time to try for a few closed wing shots. After which I left it and headed on my way.

Further along there was nothing and as the sun remained in I thought that would be it so I turned back with the view of retracing my steps but as I started back something fluttered weakly on the boardwalk – a GVW, my first ‘definite’ for the season. It seemed to really be struggling to fly in the cool temperature and a little warmth from my finger meant that it could eventually flutter off to hopefully find shelter elsewhere.

So only two butterflies to show for my 20 minutes but more than worth the effort for the time spent with the OT.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Lovely photos Wurzel, such clarity in the Butterflies , mine never seem to look so clear Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Goldie It's a combination of getting close enough, good light, a great lens and mostly ...a total fluke!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Philzoid]

Love the detail on that Green-veined White Wurzel, not to mention the Orange-tip shots The in-flight shot of the male OT from distance is superbly sharp

Phil

[Wurzel]

Cheers Philzoid Just chucked it in Sports Mode and away I went Hoping that the weather improves this weekend...

Duke Site – First Visit 30-04-2016

I was still very, very early for a visit to my Duke site but with both daughters fully occupied, paint drying between coats and all the ‘chores’ done what else could I do? So I bombed over reckoning on one, maybe two Skippers for the Yearly Tally.

Once there I stared towards the base of the hill and watched as the hillside went from lush green to darkness as clouds drifted under the sun. With the cool wind whipping up it looked like it was going to be a tricky session. One of those where you wait for the 2-3 minutes of stillness with sun in amongst the ‘dross’. I set off up the path and before I knew it I was at the Cyprus tree which was bereft of Greensteaks.

I reached the ‘Springy’ bank before I encountered anything remotely butterfly like. There were plenty of Mint Moths about here, flitting about, catching my eye and distracting me from looking for Skippers though eventually something larger and beiger appeared on the scene. It buzzed me a couple of times and flew in typical Skipper fashion; fast, low and veering suddenly. It did land in time and I crept up on it and was surprised to see that it was a Dingy. I know that Grizzlies appear much smaller and greyer but I usually see them first and the Dingy second. Either way a little cloud cover was welcome as it enabled me to actually get some shots of the frenetic beastie.

I left the Dingy among the stones and made my way across the track and up the tiny ‘valley’. As I hopped over the stile the sun broke again and all around me was minute action. It was like the Star Wars battle scene but in miniature and in daylight. At least 3 Grizzlies were hassling/being hassled by 2 further Dingy’s (the Tie Fighters and X-wings). The odd GVW, Brimstone and a single Peacock made occasional forays into the fry before moving back to the edges of the battle (like the Battle Cruisers picking off the occasional fighter). I kneeled down and watched in rapt fascination. It was utterly brilliant and even salved my memories of Han’s death!

The Dark Side...

...or is it a Jedi?

The sun went back in and what had been a bustling little battleground became silent so I used the time between the sunbursts to move back to the Springy bank. When the sun came out again there Skippers of both species, another Peacock, another Brimstone and a male OT did a few patrol passes.

By now time was eeking on and the sunbursts were becoming lass and lass frequent and shorter in duration. As I reached the Cyprus tree having retraced my steps a large, solid mass of cloud, uniform in it’s greyness blocked the sun and showed no signs of shifting. I was treated to a short sharp shower to see me on my way and so on my way I went to pick K up.
Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

I presume that's a mint moth, Wurzel?

You've caught the colours really well.

[Maximus]

Nice shots of the Skippers, Wurzel, the Grizzled Skipper on the Oxeye Daisy especially Have a goodun at HB

[bugboy]

Gorgeous Grizzled underside, I've yet to capture it as well as you got it there

I hope the weather improves for you at the weekend, maybe time to start worshipping some Gods! All you need is half an hours worth of warm sun and you'll get something as long as you're in the right place.

[MrSp0ck]

I hope the weather improves for you at the weekend, maybe time to start worshipping some Gods! All you need is half an hours worth of warm sun and you'll get something as long as you're in the right place.

Yes with a bit of luck Sunday might be sunny, but at the moment Saturday looks a washout. No sun = no butterflies in the cutting, unless you find a few roosting ones.
Saturday Patchy Rain. Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Fleeting Showers.
Wednesday we have a Butterfly Conservation Walk so hopefully the dull weather forecast will change by then

[Pauline]

That's a lovely shot of the Grizzled on the daisy Wurzle but my favourite is that moth. What a great shot- for me colours, composition, everything just works. I would frame that one

[Goldie M]

Lovely shot of the Grizzed Skipper on the Daisy Wurzel, nothing doing here at present. Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers David It is indeed one, well one of the two species anyway, not sure which yet as I need to consult with my Moth Man, Philzoid
Cheers Mike Just relying on the weather
Cheers Bugboy So far I have joined The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and I am now a practicing Pastafarian, Ramen :lol:I hope it works!
Cheers MrSpock I hope Sunday will turn out okay, fingers crossed
Cheers Pauline I would like to frame it along with a few of my other shots, but Mrs Wurzel is in charge of the interior design and is into monochrome at the moment - maybe I could get away with a Marbled White?
Cheers Goldie I hope it picks up soon!

Lunch at Vera 03-05-2016

Another quick lunchtime trip to Vera’s place. I’m sure if my wife sees me typing this I’ll get into a whole heap of trouble!

The Spring conditions continue pretty much as before, fleeting sun and when it’s gone cool. I made my way across the field which is still a riot of yellow clothed as it is in Dandelions as far as the eye can see. Hopefully this will be conducive to the Blues when they finally arrive on the scene. Today I cut into the wood and headed left and managed to get all the way round to where I saw my first GVW of 2016 before encountering a butterfly. When I did it looked to be a GVW and so I crept towards it camera at the ready. As I peered over the grasses to locate my quarry the white blur resolved itself into two GVWs.

Eventually they broke off each in the opposite direction. I tried to follow one, lose it and so head back for the second only for a third to fly by – then all three were on the wing! Honestly you wait ages for one and then there are loads.

Out on Boardwalk a Painted Lady does a flyby almost as soon as I step through the gate and out of the wood. Another GVW and a male OT patrol by as well. I can’t get over what a difference there is today – from two butterflies previously to 5 already. On the other side of the fen another male OT and Brimstone are about but very active. I consider following them further across the Fen on the boardwalk but a Small White (or what appears to be) appears behind me so I work back across the boardwalk. I walk along feeling my way with my feet so as not to drop off the side and into a mire and at the same following the butterfly. It comes nearer and nearer and something isn’t right; it’s too fluttery and not white enough. It comes even nearer and lands on a Cuckoo Flower and reveals itself as a female OT, this time with evenly sized wings.

Luckily I’ve remembered how to run up Downs; small steps and don’t look up just keep staring at your feet and before you know it you’re at the top, as I was dangerously near to being late back at work.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Lovely shots of the Female OT's Wurzel, have you got your Speckies yet :?:they're every where you go here I wish the other Butterflies were as plentiful, Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Goldie I've seen the odd one here and there but nowhere have they been in real numbers apart from Hutchinson's Bank today where there were four or five down the entrance path

This is totally out of sync with my PD but whilst at Botany Bay today Philzoid found a Wood White behaving oddly. It was seemingly roosting with it's wings wide open. There was a few strands of spider web behind it so at first we thought that it was dead but after a few record shots I placed my finger under it's abdomen and it tried to shrug off my finger so was clearly still alive. What was going on is a bit of a mystery to me - any ideas? There does seem to be a dark swelling in the middle of it's head cold this have something to do with it's unusual behaviour or was it because the wings were a bit tattered and it couldn't fly or it had got caught out as the cloud had thickened blocking the sun and lowering the temperature?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Padfield]

This is something I have seen before in wood white. I photographed this one last year:



That wasn't a chance moment or action photo - it was sitting like that. But the butterfly seemed unharmed, if a little dopy:



Guy

[millerd]

I've never seen a Wood White like that, Wurzel - as you say it looks as if its head is damaged in some way, and the wings are a bit wonky. I wonder if it had been subject to the attentions of a bird which let go (nasty taste?) before actually killing the butterfly. Other white butterflies taste unpleasant because of what the caterpillars eat, so Wood Whites may be no exception.

Your earlier Skipper shots are terrific, by the way, and I await with bated breath your report from the weekend just past... sometime soon anyway

Dave

[bugboy]

Given that it has spider web stuck to it we can presume its had a recent encounter with a spider so I wonder whether it got bitten but managed to free itself before enough spider venom entered its body to kill it outright. Perhaps the open wings were due to 'mild' effects of the venom (relaxing/spasming muscles in some way?) all just speculation

[kevling]

Wurzel,

Lovely photos of the female OT. I saw plenty in my local park today including one that was much bigger than any I have ever seen before. I think it had been eating it's Spinach . Seriously though, it would be worth knowing what makes them fluctuate so much in size.
Also very interested in the Wood White photo. Perhaps with the proximity of the web, it was a would be target for the spider, but managed to fend it off.

Regards Kev

[Wurzel]

Cheers Guy So could it could be torpor - Philzoid and I have seen something similar before with a male Brimstone
Cheers Dave That's another possibly then - bird strike, I wonder if butterflies experience 'shock' - possibly a surge in certain hormones similar to adrenaline?
Cheers Bugboy and Kev another plausible theory - still not sure which but it was interesting to see

Doings...05-05-2016

After a very busy day at work I made a quick stop-off on the way home at my early site at Enford. Over the five minutes I was there I saw one Small White a male Brimstone and four male Orange-tips. It was great to watch them interact; patrolling from opposite directions, meeting in the middle in a mass of cream tangerine, spiralling upwards in a dizzying ascent before breaking apart and jinking off in opposite directions. Occasionally they’d break only to buzz straight back into each other to start round 2. Whilst it was fantastic entertainment it meant getting photos was tricky and I managed only 3 shots before my quarry disappeared off on patrol again.

06-05-2016 Jones

After not being able to escape the building yesterday I was glad today when I checked the Revision timetable and I wasn’t down. Doubly so when at break 2 Holly Blues flew through the Quad without stopping…my first for 2016 and possibly an positive omen?

So at lunch it was off to Vera’s again, I cut down the Down, right through the wood and straight to the Fen/Meadow. There were plenty of Whites flying, nipping this way and that, fluttering just out of reach. Here there was a single Peacock 3 each of male and female Orange-tip, 2 definite male Brimstones, what looked like 3 Small Whites but I was only able to confirm one GVW. All the butterflies were playing hard ball and those that landed close enough to the boardwalk to be within range of my camera either landed for the briefest of seconds or held themselves at awkward angles so my shots didn’t come off. There was only one decent one amongst the lot.

I carried on through the wood not adding much else to the tally apart from 3 GVWs but then right round and just on my way out a medium sized brown jobby fluttered by – my first Specklie of 2016 finally! Unfortunately it didn’t stop for a photo so I was forced to carry on up and into the field with yet another GVW and a Brimstone.

I almost made it back to the car but got waylaid right at the top of the hill by another male Orange-tip which appeared to be roosting on a Dandelion clock. It then set off on patrol but stopped frequently for nectar at a range of different plants including Daisies which is something I’ve not seen before.

Have a goodun

Wurzel