Hoggers

[Hoggers]

Thanks Goldie, I hope you get some Coppers soon. I'm lucky in having Dungeness close to home. They have a seven month season down here ( although numbers vary month to month ) so plenty of opportunities to see them.

Hi David - I use a Skyris camera ( Google them ) which fits into the eyepiece of my telescope. It records short video footage directly onto my laptop. I then process what I've recorded using a free software program called Registax : it produces a single composite image from the video.

Good luck!

Hoggers

[Hoggers]

What a magnificent display the Hawthorns are putting on this year! I've really noticed them, lining the roadsides as I drive to work, or as today, down to Dungeness. Absolutely beautiful. I must get one for my garden!

It was like November at Dungeness when I arrived this morning:thick cloud and a bitingly cold wind.

I found some very cold Coppers

Now and again there'd be a break in the clouds

Coppers don't need much in the way of sunshine to warm up

I've found an unusually high number of Blue Badgers this year

I've also noticed other Coppers displaying the "ray" pattern to the hindwings

I've seen it only in females

It is certainly a feature of the Dungeness Coppers

If anyone has seen this variation amongst other Copper colonies I'd be interested to hear from them

Some Coppers looking frayed were seen today but most still in beautiful condition

I'm convinced that there's more going on inside the head of a Small Copper than in other butterflies

They size you up

If only it hadn't been so cold today

Thank goodness for the bright spells!

[Goldie M]

Just fantastic Coppers Hogger's, I just missed one yesterday, we're very short on Butterflies here at present. Goldie

[Hoggers]

Hi Goldie, sorry you missed one yesterday! Some Coppers can be very unsociable!

Much better today at Dungeness than yesterday: it was warmer, and I bumped into our own AllanW, who had been on an early morning Copper and rare flower hunt!

I didn't manage to find the unusual Copper that you mentioned, Allan but there were plenty of Coppers about

Including this gorgeous female

You can see she has normal hind-wing colour but her fore-wings are pale

Beautiful!

I also met David Walker, the Reserve Warden

Earlier this week he emailed me photos of a lovely Copper that he found

Almost a radiata, but not quite!

It really pays to look closely at every Copper you find

I counted 53 today.

PS. I also saw several Coppers with the "ray" pattern on the hind-wings and I'm beginning to wonder whether it is a Dungeness speciality!

All the best,

Hoggers.

[Allan.W.]

Hi Hoggers,

Good to have a quick chat this morning ,I managed 41 Coppers this morning,and found the first roosting individuals in the moat at 6.15 am,but didn,t see one on the wing till 7.30.your Radiata type individual appears to be a male,the one I told you about was a female,i'll try to post a shot on May sightings later,also found one of your heavily rayed individuals,and found a male doing the stalk dance ,and watched him for a few minutes,most odd ! + my two "lifer" plants and 3 Grizzlies . well pleased !! Regards Allan.W.

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Hoggers,

Some great series of Small Coppers there I had a look at one of my local spots yesterday to see if any were out yet but no luck. Not surprising really, it is usually mid May before they show up around here in a good year and this year has been a late one around her so far.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Hoggers]

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated. I hope the Copper season gets started for you soon, Neil!

An unexpected day off work. The sun was shining so I took myself down to Dungeness for a Copper Hunt!

I'm not complaining of course: there are good numbers of Small Coppers to be seen at Dungeness

Today I counted 63

But at this time last year I was easily counting 100+

So numbers this year are, as yet, down on 2015

I met David, the reserve warden, who admitted to showing symptoms of the "Small Copper Bug" ( a highly contagious and incurable condition). He has begun to look at them more closely and is amazed by the degree of variation amongst them

I liked this 6 Spotter

And this dusky chap

I saw a female do the Turkey Strut

And males in aerobatic display

I saw Common Blues for the first time this year

But the day belonged to the Small Coppers

[Hoggers]

As a post script to my last entry - I've just received and email from David Walker - he found a radiata at Dungeness today!

He'll have Small Copperitis for the rest of his life!

[Hoggers]

And here's the radiata found by David Walker at Dungeness today!

[David M]

A glorious specimen, Hoggers! You really do have a veritable smorgasbord of unusual forms of phlaeas down at Dungeness.

Keep the images coming!

[Hoggers]

I went down to Dungeness this morning. It was cloudy and spitting rain almost all of the time. On occasions the cloud would lighten enough for the sun to make itself felt but even then it continued to spit, sometimes to rain fairly heavily.

Given the fact that for most of my visit it did not stop raining I was surprised by the number of Small Coppers that were sitting it out with wings open

All of these Coppers were exposed to the falling rain but nonetheless had their wings open to it

I watched one:

he only closed his wings when the spitting rain became heavy

Unlike the other butterflies which were tightly shut up

I disturbed one Copper that had been roosting deep in the nettles: she came out into the spitting rain then sat on an exposed leaf with wings open (rather than seek cover ) I think there was just enough warmth getting through the clouds from the sun to make it worth her while.

Nor did the Coppers seem reluctant to fly through the rain.

But numbers were low until (happily for me) it eventually stopped raining for a time and became very warm. I then witnessed another aspect of Small Copper behaviour: the aerial punch-up!

I noticed how the number of frayed individuals has increased

Those in best condition are nearly all females.

There are fine looking Coppers still to be found

The percentage of Blue Badgers in this year's first brood has been very high

I've no idea why this is so.

My favourite Copper today was this beautifully marked individual

[Pete Eeles]

My favourite Copper today was this beautifully marked individual

Looks like an aberration to me!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Hoggers]

Cheers Pete, I agree. Any idea if it has a name?

[Mark Colvin]

Hi Hoggers.

I think you'll find your your aberration can be referred to ab. extensa (Tutt, 1906).

Good hunting.

Kind regards. Mark

[Goldie M]

Great photos Hogger's, lovely ab you found I'm still looking for my first Copper Goldie

[William]

That lemony female Small Copper is jaw-dropping, Hoggers - superb stuff

BWs,

William

[Hoggers]

Thanks for the ID on the ab extensa, Mark, much appreciated.

Hi Goldie,I'm keeping everything crossed for you!

She was a real stunner, William, she almost glowed (not that I'm holding the nuclear power station responsible for her condition!)

Anyone who invents a portable gadget that can get rid of clouds will get their first order from me! This morning at Dungeness was grey, dull and cool with spitting rain yet again!

So I spent most of my time cursing the weather. It never really warmed up and I didn't have long before needing to run some family errands. The only butterflies on show were Small Coppers

But as you may know, I'm rather partial to them!

I'd occasionally disturb a Common Blue or Small Heath but given the weather they were mostly inactive.

But Coppers are made of stronger stuff!

They sit with wings open in the rain bright and beautiful

And even visit flowers to nectar when all the other butterflies are hiding away

So I got my daily fill of bright Small Coppers

[kevling]

Hoggers;
Enjoying the photos of the Small Coppers in your previous posts (especially the ab).
I can't believe this species is still on my 'to see' list for the year

Regards Kev

[Goldie M]

Mine to Kev, lovely shots Hogger's Goldie

[Hoggers]

Hi guys, I'm lucky to live fairly close to Dungeness where there's a thriving colony of Small Coppers. I don't know of any other location that can match Dungeness for Coppers!

We've had some very butterfly unfriendly weather recently with dull conditions and some torrential rain. My last few visits to Dungeness indicated that the first brood of Coppers was on the wain: after all, they've been going since 14th April and the recent rain fall couldn't have helped.

My vist there today confirmed my impression: the first brood is petering out. Here are some males:

He was in good condition

but others were not so fortunate

Every year I find battered Old Campaigners like this one

I always feel a mixture of emotions when I come across them: sadness that a once beautiful Copper is in such a condition, but also admiration that they nonetheless keep going

This one was highly active - I saw him buzzing about and even doing combat with another male

As is usual with the tail end of a brood, it's the females that are in best condition

The " ray " pattern on the hind wing is especially noticeable amongst these Dungeness Coppers

( If anybody out there has seen it on Coppers from other locations I'd be delighted to hear from them )

Yet again I noticed the high number of Blue Badgers in this year's first brood

I counted 37 Small Coppers today.

I also saw 2 Grizzled Skippers

, 8 male Common Blues and this

Now when I saw this butterfly I had no doubt that it was a female Common Blue

But once I got home and looked at the photos I began to question my identification and wonder if it was in fact my first Brown Argus of the year!

Can anyone help?

I really thought I'd got the hang of distinguishing between them but perhaps it's too early in the season for me to have got my eye in, or ( more likely ) I've spent too much time looking at All Things Copper!