millerd

[millerd]

Hopefully you're right, Buggy - there seems to be a reasonable amount of sun in the forecast and it won't be too chilly in the South East at least.

Thanks, Wurzel. I've had a look at the "blue" you pointed out and there is no spot at all - and that's the crucial one to tell if it's a Common Blue or a Brown Argus. However, I've just noticed it's also missing a spot on the forewing which the books say makes it a Brown Argus for sure. The beauty of instant photography - you could never work all that out in the middle of a field.

Thank, Goldie - I was really chuffed to get such a good selection of mostly fresh butterflies at this stage of the year.

Saturday 24th September. A good forecast and a free day - a chance to set out on probably the last major expedition of the year and also a good chance to clock up species no.49 for the season. I always struggle to see Walls - there are none anywhere near me, and the sites I visit elsewhere either don't have them at all or they hide when I'm around. So, I drove down to High & Over where others had seen the species earlier in the week.

It was getting quite windy when I arrived late morning, but it was a warm wind and the sun shone. Along the path from the car park were Red Admirals and Speckled Woods, but as I came out into the open at the top of the scarp, the Walls appeared. Over an hour or so, I probably saw at least half a dozen - they were all males, quite worn or very worn for the most part, and compared to previous experience were amazingly obliging.

Given the right background, they are almost as well camouflaged as a Grayling.

Since the weather remained good, I decided to take a walk inland through Frog Firle and onto the ancient trackway known as the Comp. Passing through the car park, I found another Wall nectaring on a dandelion.

Along the sheltered (and mostly shaded too) path along the top of the slope down to a massive vineyard, I found frequent Speckled Woods, a few Red Admirals and a single Holly Blue.

However, there were also more Walls: I counted four altogether in different spots, all males once again.

A successful day. It will be worth returning in spring when the first brood are fresh and the downland has other interesting species to offer.

Dave

[trevor]

Glad you found the Walls, Dave. Well worth the trip I should think.
As far as Walls go this brood is quite accommodating, allowing at least one shot before escaping.

Trevor.

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Glad to see you had a good day in my neck of the woods Dave, it can be quite good for Wall Browns down this way thankfully. I hope this good third brood means we'll get a nice big first brood next spring.

BW's

James

[millerd]

Thank you both - it was very much worth the trip down to see what seems to have been a good showing of the third brood Walls. One or two allowed a whole series of shots, Trevor: not like them at all. No doubt if I come back next spring they'll behave entirely differently!

Sunday 25th September: A completely different kind of sunny day today - fresh, breezy, cool almost when the cloud came over. Luckily, there was not too much of that and a wander around my local patch benefited from lots of sunshine, as did the many Red Admirals. Interestingly, though lots of them were nectaring as usual on the ivy, quite a few were seen flying at speed along the paths, or sitting perched up in shrubs. As before, the majority looked very new indeed.

with a Comma fortuitously in the background

Having seen none the last time I went out here (Friday), I saw a few Commas today. The hibernators seem to prefer fresher conditions than their summer forebears and completely disappeared during the recent hot weather. Cool sunny spring days are when they come into their own of course.

Several Speckled Woods were seen, starting to look a bit faded now...

...and there are far fewer whites around than there were last week.

I came across a Holly Blue close to home, but it annoyingly flew into a neighbour's back garden and settled on a privet hedge out of camera range. However, along the edge of the path, a flash of silver caught my eye down on a clump of nettles. This turned out to be a tiny Holly Blue, which was unfortunately suffering from slightly deformed wings and I suspect had been blown into its unusual resting place.

I moved it from the shade to a better position, where it opened up a little showing the extent of the damage.

I'm pleased to say it could fly, though rather feebly. It was definitely a recently emerged individual and the timing suggests a third brood as is not that unusual around here. Continuing sunny weather may bring out a few more.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Nice to see that you still have the Holly Blue Whispering down pat Dave I wonder if the BA counts as an aberrant?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

There's lot of luck with those Holly Blues, Wurzel - right place and right time! I suspect that BA is just "within normal variation" - not enough spots missing to be unusual enough. Still, I have seen a few abs this year, which hasn't had a great deal else to stand out unfortunately.

Friday 30th September: Finally enough time after work to look around my local patch today. Sunny, but cooling down now, and late in the day too, but there were still nine or ten Red Admirals around and two or three Commas. One feeble GVW male was the only other butterfly seen. All the butterflies were higher up today, so the shots I managed were all with a bit (or a lot) of zoom, giving a slightly different perspective.

Dave

[millerd]

Saturday 1st October: Not much opportunity today between hefty showers, but I did spot a couple of Red Admirals making the most of a sunny interval. One was high up on ivy, but the other was basking lower down on the hedgerow vegetation.

Dave

[millerd]

THIRD BROODS

Sunday 2nd October: A much better day with a lot of sunshine, though it felt quite cool when the sun went in, even in the middle of the day when I went out locally on an extended walk. Initially, there were no surprises, with the banks of ivy flowers adorned with a selection of beautiful Red Admirals and one or two Commas.

If Red Admirals are moving south, there must be constant stream of new emergences to fill the gaps because the numbers are undiminished and there are very new examples to be seen every day.

One bank of ivy had a little extra - a Holly Blue was sitting there feeding as well.

A few Speckled Woods were around under the trees, looking rather faded and worn now.

I moved on into the open meadow/field area between the M25 and the River Colne and up the bank to where the Small Coppers have provided a good showing in the last couple of months. Almost immediately I spotted one...

It was tussling with another butterfly - which turned out to be a brand new male Brown Argus.

Also flying in this area were at least three male Common Blues, also pretty bright and fairly new.

A little further along the slope, another glint of orange turned into a much newer Copper, flying back and forth between perching spots and stops to bask on the dry grass on the ground.

I extended the walk as far as the bridge across to Terminal Five, and saw another two or three Common Blues, again mostly new specimens.

I disturbed from the ground what I took to be another - brilliant blue in the sun - and waited for it to settle on a flower. However, it behaved most uncharacteristically and zoomed off to rest on a large bank of bramble. The reason why became obvious - it was actually another Holly Blue. It sat in an inaccessible spot and refused to open up, but it was a beautiful silver-white and also clearly very new.

Wandering back, one of only two white butterflies seen today crossed my path and stopped briefly - a male GVW.

I tried to go straight back, but was inevitably sidetracked by the Red Admirals. Considering the date, I found it astonishing that I had taken over 300 photos of eight different species. Choosing the most representative has been tricky to say the least. It is noteworthy that at least five of the eight seen were likely to be third brood individuals: GVW, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Brown Argus and Small Copper. For the first and last of these, it isn't particularly unusual; for the two blues, I've seen it fairly often round here. For the Brown Argus, the last time I noted it here was in 2009 (on 3rd October), so it has to be quite uncommon.

Overall a splendid day with lovely new butterflies - not quite what you'd expect for 2nd October.

Dave

[Katrina]

Well done on finding such a variety especially the Brown Argus!

[bugboy]

Impressive selection Dave. I hope those third brooders haven't put all their eggs in one basket though, if the weathermen are to be believed this is the last week of nice weather...

[trevor]

The Clouded Yellows kept me going until Nov.2nd last year. But I am envious of the variety at your disposal
at the moment. Great images as always.

Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Beautiful images Dave especially the first BA As Bugboy says I hope the third brood is a wise investment, I suppose we'll see if it pays off next year Still butterflies are always more robust than we give them credit for

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Thank you all for your comments - it was a great day for any time of year, especially October. I hope a few third brood individuals won't hurt - certainly the numbers of Holly Blues in particular here haven't suffered for it in the past.

Monday 3rd October: A very chilly morning (only 6 degrees at 0830), but a glorious day afterwards, spent largely at work... After an early morning snap of one of the eponymous bits of water, I had a brief lunchtime walk at Bedfont Lakes Country Park, seeing nothing except a Red Admiral flying fast towards the sun, and a distant White of some sort.

After work it was very late really (approaching half past five), with the sun very low and my local patch largely shaded. However, it remained warm and there were half a dozen Red Admirals taking advantage of every last photon.

One looked particularly new.

Dave

[Wurzel]

That final shot is great Dave - it's almost bursting through the screen!
Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Thank you Wurzel. There are some lovely fresh Red Admirals around and that one posed perfectly.

Saturday 8th October: a 20-minute burst of sun this afternoon on an otherwise cloudy day. It was enough to mobilise a few Red Admirals and I saw three altogether. There were two on the ivy and one other flying freely across the path.

Wandering further I discovered that the area by the motorway slip road, including the patch where I had rediscovered the Small Coppers, has been given a haircut.

To be fair it's not an unreasonable time of year to do this if it has to be done: the grass was long (but dead) and the flowers have largely finished.

Dave

[millerd]

Looking out of the office window today, I watched a white butterfly potter across the manicured grass - probably a Small White, but I can't say for certain. It was barely 13 degrees out there, quite breezy and not even very sunny, so it was a bit of a surprise.

Dave

[millerd]

Saturday 15th October. I had hoped to head for Trevor's Clouded Yellow spot down at Shoreham, but left it too late to set off: with a forecast of rain later and such short days now, it scuppered the outing really. However, there was some sunshine at home for a couple of hours after lunch, and I toured my local patch instead. I only saw two species, both of which might be guessed from accounts of previous visits: Red Admirals and Holly Blues. I saw over a dozen Red Admirals, including as always one or two new ones.

Though most were nectaring on ivy and late-flowering wild buddleia...

...one dogged and rather worn individual had set up a territory as if it was April, chasing all comers and buzzing me repeatedly.

The Holly Blues were more of a surprise. I came across six at least, quite widely spread along the walk though most were seen in and around one ivy-covered ash tree.

In fact this tree was a major centre of butterfly activity, and high up in a kind of sheltered sunny basin formed between the branches, I could see several of both today's species flying and tussling together. The Holly Blues were almost all high up today - the low angle of the sun warms higher branches leaving lower ones shaded. However, I managed a few shots, including both sexes opening up a little.

Dave

[David M]

Those Holly Blue encounters would be welcome at any time, Dave, but in mid-October they're particularly special.

[Wurzel]

Seriously Dave you'll have to let us into the secrets - I can't ever seem to find Holly Blues willing to open up like they do for you - and to find them this late in the season is an added bonus

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Thanks both of you.

As you probably realise, David, this spot is blessed with more than the average quota of Holly Blues, and they have appeared in nine out of twelve months since I've been watching them here. They are indeed special and as you say Wurzel, a nice late season bonus. As the the secret around opening up - at the moment, when they are not nectaring and decide to sit on a leaf, it appears that almost any amount of sun will get them to open. However, it's like anything - patience pays dividends. I have stood immobile for ten or more minutes halfway into a bramble thicket waiting for the sun to shine on a little silver triangle on a leaf. You do get some funny looks!

Sunday 16th October. After torrential rain early this morning, sunshine returned after midday and it felt pretty warm. I wandered over to the nearest (within a couple of hundred metres of home) part of my local patch where I had spent most of yesterday afternoon and had a look around. Within fifteen minutes of the sun appearing, Red Admirals did likewise, and there were once again a dozen or so including both new and old.

There was the odd shower, but this did not deter them one jot - I saw several flying in the rain. One new one had prominent extra white spots (v. bialbata). I was also struck by the blue/lilac borders to the forewings, which seemed particularly intense on this individual.

Today, they were joined by a Comma. I had wondered why I hadn't seen any lately as there are usually one or two in among the autumn Red Admirals, and it was good to see one.

A single Small White also wandered through, stopping very briefly on a dandelion, but nowhere near enough to be photographed. I was interrupted today by a family curious to know what I was doing. While explaining to them, several Red Admirals came quite close, settling on the grass and even briefly on a shoe, and a Holly Blue came down onto a buddleia leaf as well. A splendid advert, but the family were nature enthusiasts already - though not expecting butterflies in mid-October. Yes, there were several Holly Blues again, though mostly high up. The one on the buddleia did open up, revealing it to be a fresh-looking male.

I also stretched the zoom to the limit and picked out another high up in the trees. This one turned out to be sucking juice from ripe Holly berries, which has to be the most appropriate thing it could ever do, and only possible so late in the year.

Almost a Christmas butterfly!

Dave