David M

[David M]

Thanks all. Still early days for the Dukes at this location. I'd recommend a visit in a fortnight's time as not only will there be many more of them, but Small Heaths, Brown Argus, Common & Adonis Blues should also be out in decent numbers.

[trevor]

Your female Pearl is a beautifully marked specimen, well found David.
Hope your trip goes well.

[David M]

The underside shots of the Pearls have been in very short supply due to the sudden increase of heat so you did really well to capture it!

Females are much more prone to settle than males, Wurzel. I knew I stood virtually nil chance of getting a close approach to the testosterone-fuelled males, but sooner or later (just like Orange Tips), you see one that is behaving very differently and you know you've caught up with a member of the fairer sex. Then you can get your close lens out!

[David M]

Sunday 15th May 2016 - Waiting for the next batch of emergees....

Here in south Wales, we're still seemingly awaiting the emergence in numbers of the likes of Small Heath, Common Blue, Brown Argus & Small Blue. Given that I only arrived back home from Abergavenny at 2pm, I thought I'd stay very local and visit Kittle Quarry a mile down the road where I have seen both Common Blues and Brown Argus several times before.

Not a sniff, sadly. In fact, during the first 20 minutes the only butterfly I saw was this basking Peacock, who probably only has a few days left:

The quarry itself had copious quantities of flowering bird's foot trefoil - here's a view from the highest point a human can safely reach:

There were, however, several of the other species that uses this LHP - Dingy Skippers:

The only other butterflies seen were a couple of Small Whites and a male Orange Tip.

[Goldie M]

Hi! David, you sound like your having the same problem down there has we are here, nothing much yet, Goldie

[David M]

Sunday 22nd May 2016 - Last chance.....

With my first French trip of 2016 looming, today presented one last chance to catch up on a few home-grown species I'd not yet seen so far this year.

I nipped over to Dan-y-Graig Cemetery near the docks this morning and was delighted that the first butterfly to greet me was a male Wall Brown:

The uppermost section of the cemetery is quite steep, meaning that the authorities struggle to cut the grassy slopes. This is heaven for Wall Browns, and probably explains why they are to be reliably found in this spot:

I expected Common Blues to be about too, and I wasn't disappointed, although I only saw three:

Other species seen were Large, Small & Green Veined Whites, a male Orange Tip and a faded female Holly Blue.

[kevling]

David, Nice Wall brown you have there. It's nice to have a reliable site to hand. In Suffolk, they are becoming rarer as each year passes.

Regards Kev

[jenks]

Hi David,

wish I`d known it was butterfly weather in Swansea. I was just the other side of Swansea, on the Loughor estuary, searching for a Gull billed Tern. Frequent heavy showers and a strong wind meant no self respecting butterflies were seen.....and no Gull billed Tern either ! Who was it who sang "Why does it always rain on me " ?


Jenks.

[David M]

wish I`d known it was butterfly weather in Swansea. I was just the other side of Swansea, on the Loughor estuary, searching for a Gull billed Tern. Frequent heavy showers and a strong wind meant no self respecting butterflies were seen

It wasn't all plain sailing, Jenks. I got caught in a hail storm just as I arrived at my second destination!

Sunday 22nd May 2016 - Last chance (Part 2).....

After leaving Dan-y-Graig Cemetery, I made the short journey down to Crymlyn Burrows on the sea-front.

It wasn't long before I saw my first Small Heath:

Small Blues were about too:

In between frequent cloudy periods, the grassy dunes came to life, with plenty of Orange Tips, a few Large Whites, the odd Green Veined/Small White and half a dozen or so Common Blues. Eventually, I located a Small Copper. This place is normally nailed on for them, but this faded individual was the only one seen in 90 minutes spent here:

A couple of Speckled Woods were seen, along with a female Brimstone. However, I didn't spot any Brown Argus, but given that Common Blues have only just emerged, perhaps that's not too much of a surprise.

To finish off, whilst walking back to my car, I encountered my first Red Admiral of 2016. It was basking on a bramble leaf but zoomed off before I could get my camera out.

[Pauline]

Well done on finding the mating pair of Small Blue David. I've only seen that once before and you've managed to get a great shot there

[Goldie M]

Lovely Mating pair of Blues David Goldie

[David M]

Thanks folks.

Friday 3rd June 2016 - Quick local recce.....

Having just returned from 11 days in the French Pyrenees, I was in no mood to drive anywhere today (1500+ miles covered in the last fortnight), so I simply stepped out of my cottage at 1pm and strolled over to Fairwood Common near the airport to check what was about.

I found 7 Marsh Fritillaries:

...and 4 Small Pearl Bordereds:

Here's an overview of the habitat:

It was a bit of a shock to see so few butterflies, and a reminder of how much of a paucity of species Britain has compared to our continental neighbours. The only other species seen were Green Hairstreak (2), Small Copper (1), Common Blue (1) and Green Veined White (1). One of the Green Hairstreaks happily posed on a leaf:

[bugboy]

Welcome back David, looking forward to seeing what you came across in the Pyrenees. I've been there once way back in the late 90's, absolutely stunning scenery

[trevor]

Treasure on your doorstep, David. I have to travel miles for Marsh and Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary.
I'm going on a Butterfly holiday to the South of France this month, we'll have to compare notes !.

All the best,
Trevor.

[kevling]

David, that's a beautiful shot of the Green Hairstreak.
Will look forward to hearing about your trip to the Pyrenees too.

Regards Kev

[David M]

Thanks, all.

Wednesday 8th June 2016 - Simple pleasures....

With it being the last of the forecast sunny days, I decided to spend a couple of hours at Crymlyn Burrows on the Swansea coast. Immediately prior to leaving, the Painted Lady that has spent 3 days now on my estate was eagerly nectaring on my Bowles Mauve:

Arriving at the coast at 10.30am, Small Blues were into the dozens, with Small Heaths and Common Blues not far behind.

I also managed to see my first Large Skipper of 2016:

I was equally delighted to see my first UK Brown Argus of the year (though it was far too scruffy to photograph), but compensation was soon provided with this immaculately behaved Small Copper:

A Speckled Wood also posed nicely with wings shut:

Species seen were: Small Blue, Small Heath, Common Blue, Large Skipper, Orange Tip, Speckled Wood, Large White, Small Copper, Painted Lady & Dingy Skipper.

[David M]

Thursday 9th June 2016 - Last warm, sunny day for a while.....

With cloud set to descend tomorrow and temperatures forecast to fall back to the mid sixties Fahrenheit, I resolved to spend most of today out in the field.

First stop was the other Marsh Fritillary hotspot I know about on Fairwood Common. This one is a 10 minute drive from me at the back of the airport, and is tough going, with pockets of bottomless marsh ready to swallow your boots if you're not careful!

In just less than an hour, I counted 19 Marsh Frits, 8 Small Pearl Bordereds, 2 Small Heaths and 2 Meadow Browns.

I found three Marshie females. This one was the most interesting:

I then took a 50 minute drive to Old Castle Down, which forms part of the High Brown Fritillary site here in south Wales. Before I'd got to the top of the entry slope, I'd already exceeded Fairwood's SPBF tally by racking up NINE:

Here's the bracken-covered slope in question:

After 50 minutes, I descended into the Alun Valley itself having racked up 27 SPBFs, as well as many Small Heaths, including this mating pair:

Whilst in the valley, the Fritillary-Fest continued, with a handful more SPBFs, along with half a dozen or so large Fritillaries, one of which looked suspiciously like a High Brown given its darker ground colour. All bar one were airborne though, and the only individual that nectared even for a moment was unambiguously a Dark Green Fritillary:

Other species seen at this latter site were: Speckled Wood, Large Skipper, Meadow Brown, Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady & Green Veined White. No Common Blues or Brown Argus, which was surprising.

[David M]

A Brexit fan David?

Not especially, Jack, although I think the whole institution is beginning to unravel irrespective of how the UK votes later this month. All I will say is that I earnestly hope that if we DO opt to remain, then the majority in favour is quite small, otherwise they will treat us with even greater disrespect than before.

Sunday 12th June 2016 - Quick local visit.....

Do you know what, there is a patch of terrain not far from me which has strong potential for both Large Heath AND Silver Studded Blue. Sadly, neither species will ever get here because the nearest colonies of either are more than 50 miles away!!! Such a shame.

The boggy heathland I checked out today is somewhere that I have 'clocked' every time I drive past it (which is almost daily). I spent 90 minutes there this afternoon after the sun eventually emerged, and the only common butterfly I found was Small Heath, with upwards of 30 seen. Meadow Browns just scraped into double figures and will probably become abundant within the next fortnight.

I don't usually take images of early males with their wings closed but the fact that this specimen was nectaring on a rather lovely orchid persuaded me to change my default instincts:

Talking of lovely orchids, take a look at this fine bunch of white ones I came across:

The only other butterflies that made an appearance were Green Hairstreak (2), Large White (1) and Painted Lady (1).

[essexbuzzard]

Heath spotted orchids there Dave. Wow,I've never seen them in a clump like that. Great work!

[David M]

Saturday 23rd July 2016 - Back to the grim reality.....

Aaah. The 'joys' of butterflying in the UK!

I've been back from France for a fortnight now and today was the first weekend day that was even remotely suitable for a trip out. There have been some gorgeous days midweek but all my annual leave has now been used so I just had to bite my lip and accept things. That said, I had seen precious little during my lunch breaks and in the early evenings, to the point where I'm almost forced to state that this summer has been the worst for butterfly numbers since my interest was re-awakened back in 2008.

A three hour trip to the Alun Valley site near Bridgend did little to change that assessment. Sure, there were a few late High Brown Frits about but general numbers were staggeringly low.

Female High Browns tend to find the northern side of this site very attractive for egg laying. Perhaps the violets here are more robust?

I saw a handful in the dips and hollows near the shrub line on the Down. Here is one basking after a bout of ovi-posturing:

I also saw my first Hedge Browns of 2016 (shows how bad things have been lately):

To my surprise, most of the Ringlets still looked quite fresh:

A handful of Silver Washed Fritillaries were observed too (again, my first of the year in the UK):

As is often the case, there were a few bonus 'cameos' to be had. This male Holly Blue spent a decent while nectaring on the brambles in a sheltered corner:

....and this Red Admiral paid a visit to the same location (I think this is only the fourth or fifth I've seen thus far in the UK in 2016):

A Purple Hairstreak spent a couple of minutes teasing me at the top of an ash tree, but I was able to grab an image of one of the three or four faded female Dark Green Frits that were still hanging on to their last vestiges of life:

Other species seen in low numbers were Meadow Brown, Green Veined White, Large White, Small Skipper, Speckled Wood, Small Heath & Common Blue.