Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Hi! Wurzel It's the first time Iv'e seen an opened winged Wood White, they look fantastic even if your's was a little twisted it's one BF I've yet to see
You sound bit like I was with the Dukes and the PBF, now you see me now you don't Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Goldie Or should that be Scarlet Pimpernel

The Oracle…08-05-2016

One of the ways I’ve found to ensure that I don’t burn through all my Brownie points and ‘bonus’ days too early in the season is to take both the girls with me. Therefore my wife can have the day to focus on doing what she wants, I get to go butterflying and the girls get to ‘chill outdoors in beautiful surroundings or ‘hang’ with Philzoid’s daughters if it’s a joint trip. I fancied going to try for Pearls and Dukes so I suggested packing a picnic and taking the girls out all day. As we were getting ready to go I asked the Oracle (or my older daughter) about three key species that I was hoping to see Pearls, Dukes and Greenstreaks…an emphatic yes to all three meant that it looked like being a cracking day! So off to Bentley Wood…

It was cool but sunny when we arrived and when K checked the book it showed that the first two from Bentley had been found the day before. So there would be some Pearls but they may be tricky to locate. With this in mind we headed to the usual emergence hotspot, the path that runs parallel to the road on the far side of the clearing and I set up camp for the girls so that I could go off looking. A female Brimstone caught my eye almost immediately and as I turn to call the girls over something else appears, smaller and ginger…my first Pearl of the year, just like that. I manage a few shots and then it’s off!

Despite walking up and down the path several times with plenty of scanning I can’t relocate it so I zone out and try for shots of the usual ‘Pearl Visit Suspects’ (lizards, Oil Beetles, Tiger Beetle etc.). Having had success with all of these I move back to the girls and we move over to the main clearing. While the girls get comfortable on the bench under the tree I have a chat with Baitman and another Pearl puts in an appearance. However it still feels ‘early’ and finding more Pearls is hard work with very little reward for plenty of searching down at the lower end of the site and criss-crossing through the tracks around the centre of the site. In the end I check out the new cleared area which produces a further two Pearls so taking the tally to four.

Job done the girls want to move onto my Duke Site so instead of trying for a better underside shot we pack up and head off, noting a Specklie in the car park and a massive patch of Garlic Mustard on the way out which unsurprisingly has an OT patrolling it.
Once we’ve pulled off the dusty tank track and parked we head up the straight up the main track stopping for the odd view of a Dingy or Grizzlie along the way. When we reach the top of the path I bump into Rob Howe and he kindly puts me onto my first Greenie of 2016 (2 out of 3 Oracle) in the usual bush as well as pointing out some other of their other haunts, one in particular is pretty good as it’s out of the wind.

Nowhere near as good as Ronniethepoo

Unfortunately he’s not found any Dukes though. Could the Oracle be losing her touch? Not to be too pessimistic I slowly work my way up to where I found the Dukes last year and after a quick check of the spongy area behind the tree line which is covered in Grizzlies and Dinghies, I’m convinced that this is a late site for the Dukes. As I come back through the trees and there is a familiar orangey butterfly whizzing about…a Duke and fresh out of the box, resplendent even down to the ginger hairs. I call and wave but Rob’s car has already gone…so I settled down and enjoy the Duke. Three for three, the Oracle is on fire and the Duke is a little beaut!

I get back to the girls and they’re watching tadpoles in a flooded tank track. Little L is trying to shoo them into the deep end so they don’t dry up and K/the Oracle is trying to work out where they will go if they make it to froglets? Then we all go looking for Greenstreaks, both the girls love the bustling green one and much giggling ensues as we watch them scrapping it out. A Small Copper gate crashes the party and makes four firsts for the year in one visit.

Tired and chuffed off homewards we head, what a brilliant day!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

There are some great shots in there, Wurzel! I especially like the Duke underside - always a favourite, and you have it perfectly. You have your girls well-trained too!

Dave

[Goldie M]

Lovely shots of the Duke's Wurzel, I only got long shots I hope to go up to Gait Barrow again, so hope fully they'll move bit nearer for a better shot. Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Dave My girls are growing up fast - I don't know how much longer they'll want to go out butterflying with their old man
Cheers Goldie Good luck with the Dukes next time

Finally a working lunch…13-05-2016

After almost a week since my last outing, a week of extra teaching sessions before school, after school, boosters in ‘free’ lessons and during four lunchtimes and I was so relieved today when I checked the schedule and I was free at lunchtime!

As soon as my class were dismissed I was out of the door, camera in one hand and car keys in the other. Within 4 minutes I was running down the Down and trying to decide which way to work round the Vera reserve? I went right hoping to get my first shots of a Specklie but although I did see one it didn’t stop for a photo, neither did a male OT, Peacock nor a Brimstone and in fact the only butterfly that did stop long enough was a Green-vined White.

I made my way from the lush dappled lighting of the wood into the blaring sunshine of the open Fen and almost immediately a male OT hove into view, settling for just long enough for a distant shot.

There were many whites criss-crossing the Fen as I wandered across the causeway but none stopped long enough nor close enough for me to train my lens on them and then I was plunging back into the lush dappled lighting of the far side wood. As I traipsed the boardwalk another male OT flew alongside me for a while keeping me company and then in the small field three Green-veined Whites and a female Brimstone all made passes, flying low and then dipping down for a fraction of a second, teasing me. As I reached the turn of the path a Green-veined finally landed close enough for me to make an approach – another Green-veined White.

My trip had taken too long and so again I had to make a run for it! I got back just in time…just!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Hi! Wurzel, no Dukes today at GB so I'm not sure what's going wrong up there, did get my first Dingy of the year though Goldie

[bugboy]

Great stuff Wurzel, those PBF, Greenies and Dukes look stunning . Nice to see your reports are currently coming out in the same month as we are in....

[Neil Freeman]

Just catching up Wurzel, great reports and photos again recently

Keep 'em coming.

Neil.

[Philzoid]

Great reports and pictures Wurzel ....that first image of the duke is stunning

The blurred image is a Bee Hawk-moth by the looks of it but cannot make out which one

Phil

[bugboy]

The blurred image is a Bee Hawk-moth by the looks of it but cannot make out which one

Phil

I thought it was a Greenstreak

[Padfield]

Looks like a green hairstreak to me ...

Guy

[Philzoid]

Ooops.Think you're right chaps. Clubbed antennae for a start

[Wurzel]

Cheers Goldie Fingers crossed for Dukes
Cheers Bugboy Looks like you spoke to soon
Cheers Neil - will do!
Cheers Philzoid - sorry to have caught you out with my very poor shot of a Greenstreak - as I said it's certainly nowhere near as good as Ronniethepoo would have taken...
Cheers Bugboy and Guy for managing to work out what the mass of blur was

Bentley Wood and on… Part 1 14-05-2016

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I checked through the PDs one evening as there were some stunning photos of a magnificent aberrant Pearl-bordered Frit on Dave’s PD. So different it looked like a totally different species and I had to do a double take of the images and re-read the text in case I’d made a mistake – it looked more like a Heath Frit aberrant than a Pearl! As Bentley is one of my ‘local’ sites being less than 25 minutes away and as Philzoid and I were planning a meet for Pearls at the weekend looking for this seemed like a no brainer. And so for the next couple of evenings I watched with a mixture of mounting envy, as more people found the aberrant and trepidation, what a ‘pinner’ got there first? I needn’t have worried though as the Oracle had already said “yes, of course dad”

Finally Saturday dawned and so various family members dropped off at their respective activities I bombed over to Bentley, with Eurovision ‘classics’ playing on Radio 2, I do like a bit of fromage every now and again. As I pulled into the car park the day was warm and bright and there weren’t many places available and so I abandoned the car in the overflow, grabbed my camera and lucky hat and made for the Eastern Clearing.

There were several groups of people spread across the Clearing and so I set to looking, all the time hoping that I would find the little beauty or that the cry of ‘aberrant’ would echo across the site. While mooching around and watching the very active ‘normal’ Pearls I bumped into False Apollo and so we had a catch up.

I then headed down to the bottom end and spent some time with a lovely Pearl that kept posing here and there always looking nice but always keeping me at a distance. Eventually it posed nicely, sitting up on some turf and I had the closed wing shot that had eluded me previously in the bag. It seems that this year is again a more ‘orangey’ than ‘red’ year.

My strolling had brought me back to the top end of the Clearing near the newly cleared area when someone called out ‘Aberrant’ and a much darker butterfly flew across the stream and landed on the deck in amongst the dead bracken. I and several others watched it and photographed it for some time. Ordinarily I’d let it alone after it ‘flew’ for the third time but this one didn’t seem to mind us and when it flew it was because it had chosen to, not because it had been spooked or bothered. After I had a several shots and some reasonably alright underwings to compliment the more common topside images I stood back and just watched – keeping an eye on where it was waiting for Philzoid to arrive.

Once Philzoid had arrived and I’d put him onto the butterfly I stood back and let him get his shots and whilst doing so I got that rarity of Bentley – a text message. It informed me that I had missed a call from Mrs Wurzel and so I spent the next 40 minutes or so wandering round the Eastern Clearing holding my phone aloft and seeking the tiniest bit of signal. Luckily Philzoid and False Apollo were still on the Aberrant and so when I gave up on the mobile I set to. But a ‘normal’ Pearl had other ideas and flew before me and promptly started oviposturing/positing.

I then took to trying for a mobile signal again which took me all over the clearing and I would alternately check my phone and check a butterfly. In doing so I manged some more aberrant shots and my first Large Whites shots of the year as well as a shot of that most tricksy of species, the Speckled Yellow.

After this Philzoid and I dedcided to try our luck at my Duke site to see if it would produce Philzoid some first for the year and so off we headed, not stopping even for my first decent chance of a Specklie shot…to be continued.

Have a goodun

p.s the call I missed was not an emergency – just the standard ‘do you know where the…is?’

[Philzoid]

Brilliant day Wurzel and that aberrant was a little beaut .

Most of my calls follow the line of “where did you put the” ... “or have you remembered to” … it’s worth chancing your arm and leaving the phone behind in the car once in a while .

Great shot of the Speckled Yellow .. a hard one to get at the best of times .

[trevor]

Take a big dose of mrgreens , great stuff.

[Goldie M]

Great shots Wurzel of the ab, I thought I was lucky find the SPBF at GB I tell you what the ab has become famous Looks like your wife did you a favour sending you all over the Clearing Goldie

[MikeOxon]

It's quite a while since I last visited Bentley, so it's nice to know that the Pearls are still thriving there. Even better that the aberrant was around for plenty of people to see it, without it being pinned and vanishing into someone's cabinet. Like many people, I can remember being very puzzled by the Speckled Yellow moth in my early butterfling days, because I couldn't find it in my butterfly books

Mike

[millerd]

Good to see you got some great shots of that ab., Wurzel. It looks a lot more active during your visit than it was a couple of days before. I'm envious of your "normal" underside too - one of those things I always struggle with.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cheers Philzoid 'Phone in left in car' sound advice that!
Cheers Trevor I'm sure the Mr. Greens are only borrowed
Cheers Goldie I was't that appreciative at the time
Cheers Mike I don't know if the Pearls of Bentley are thriving - they seem to be decreasing in numbers - perhaps we need Neil to come and sort it out When I first went looking for Pearls I had no clue as to their size and so Speckled Yellows were my Pearls for about an hour until I saw my first proper Pearl
Cheers Dave It was great to catch up with the ab and it did like to give us the run around. My 'normal' underside was a chance moment after lot's of stalking and waiting and cussing

Bentley and on…Part 2 14-05-2016

And so eventually we arrived at my Duke Site. I say eventually as the journey took an age – I thought that with spiralling fuel and insurance costs the Sunday Driver was an extinct species but we encountered at least two of them on route as well as a foreign driver who had forgotten or was ignorant of the fact that our speed signs are in miles and not kilometres per hour! Still we were on site but the torturous journey had seriously depleted my time allowance and so for me it would be a case of find as many butterflies as possible and then leave Philzoid to enjoy them!

Off down the track we went heading towards the Cypress tree and the promise of some Greenstreaks. Actually we didn’t have to wait that long as on the incline there was a beautifully fresh Greenstreak down on the deck to greet us almost. It was very polite choosing not to land on the small scrapes of turf but on unfettered soil so there were no blades of grass protruding or getting between our lenses and subject. With a quick breakdancing move (I believe aptly named ‘the caterpillar’) I was flat on the deck and perfectly level with it.

Slightly further up amongst the Grizzlies and Dinghies that seem to line the path a Small Copper made an appearance in a very similar place to where I saw one last week. It was adopting a novel way of nectaring – holding itself completely upside as it drank! As it righted itself after the sun caught it and before our eyes it went from Small Copper to Small Golden Nugget! I think this was a first for the year for Philzoid and another was quickly to follow when he spotted something orange flitting around near the Cypress tree. It landed and perched for a short while so we were able to confirm that it was both of our first Small Heath of 2016.

Up by the springy turf along the margin of clearing Burnet Companion Moths pretended to be Dukes and Grizzlies and Dinghies vied for our attention and another Small Copper put in an appearance. Then we both found a Greenstreak at exactly the same time and mine (I don’t know about Philzoids) seemed to be laying.

We cut through to the hillside with the mix of stony ground and spongy turf and there seemed to be even more Dinghies and Grizzlies here than on the whole rest of the site put together – it was bewildering and in the end we just stood and chatted and watched as the butterflies went about their frenetic business. Time by now had almost run about for me and so I left Philzoid surrounded by butterflies and cut back through the trees with a promise to holler if I found a Duke.

As I brushed aside the final branch upon leaving the treeline a small Brown butterfly caught my eye…
“Duke!”

But as I was already late I could only fire off a few shots, put Philzoid onto the butterfly once he’d located my holler, and head on my way. A cracking outing despite the time constraints!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Also I'm only a teeny bit behind...

June 2016

[millerd]

That first Green Hairstreak is a terrific butterfly - so much better than all the green-against-green shots we all find ourselves stuck with most of the time... And a lovely row of white spots, too. Not that common at all.

Dave