Trevor

[trevor]

Many thanks Wurzel. It's not often the opportunity arises to get a shot like that,
without a long lens. Hence most of my Bird images are rubbish.
But we all deserve a break !.

All the best,
Trevor.

[trevor]

On this damp, drizzly, dreary Monday morning, I have been looking through some memory
cards from this year. It's amazing how looking at a certain images the memory comes to
the fore, and that moment is instantly relived ( It's nice to be back at Chiddingfold forest,
on a sunny July day, when the Emperor's came out to play !. )
One card contains many images of one particular Purple Emperor, and this morning I discovered
that I had taken a sequence that shows a handsome brown and white Butterfly gradually turning
purple, with very little movement of camera or Butterfly.

Trevor,

PS. Images taken on 4th July.

[Goldie M]

Great shots Trevor, Goldie

[David M]

Nice sequence, Trevor. Just shows how a male Emperor can change its appearance dependent on one's perspective.

[trevor]

After reading reports of several Butterfly sightings at Shoreham Harbour yesterday,
I thought I would take a look today.
Unfortunately a keen steady breeze was blowing, and despite a temperature of 15c
nothing was flying. I did however find a very worn Clouded Yellow braving the elements.
Remarkable for November 16th.
Also a Red Admiral fluttered over my garage roof this morning.

Trevor.

[Wurzel]

They're certainly clinging on Trevor - not for much longer though surely?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

...I did however find a very worn Clouded Yellow braving the elements. Remarkable for November 16th.

I doubt it'll be here after the storms arrive on Saturday night!

[trevor]

Many thanks David and Wurzel,
Quite right David, I think tonight's storm ( now named Angus ) will finally polish things off around here.
I did however beat last seasons final Butterfly sighting by a full fortnight, unless the odd Red Admiral
makes an appearance.

So that's it for this year, here's to next Spring !.
Trevor.

[trevor]

CEVENNES GRIZZLIES.

Now the ' closed ' season is upon us, I thought perhaps now is the time to post some more
images from that trip, back in June.

One species that gave many of us trouble with identification, were the various Grizzled Skipper
lookalikes we encountered.
Possibly some on UKB are more familiar with the genre, and could maybe name them.

Trevor.

[bugboy]

Hi Trevor, I wouldn't even dare to try and suggest what species they are but what I have learned from watching the experts on here do their stuff on here is knowing whether any images are of the same animal, in particular an upperside and underside of the same one seems to be of great assistance in getting it down to species.

[trevor]

The Cevennes region of France is absolutely brilliant for Fritillaries.
Unfortunately only one of the species we found can be seen in the UK, the Pearl Bordered Fritillary.
And yet most of them would not look out of place in our countryside. One species that did breed
over here one year, and caused a sensation at the time, was the Queen of Spain Fritillary, at a site
near Chichester. As I only found out about this after the event, I became very keen to see a QoS
for myself. Just two were seen on one of our excursions, I found the first one by almost stepping on it !.

The prize for the brightest Fritillary must go to the Spotted Fritillary, all those we saw were very fresh
and looked particularly spectacular when basking on Orchids.

Trevor.

[Chris Jackson]

Hi Trevor,
I don't have any reference books with me at work, but out of your 7 photos of Skippers posted on 24th Nov., photo No. 6 is definitely not of the Pyrgus genus and to me is a male Red-underwing Skipper (Spialia sertorius).
For the others, which are Pyrgus, I reckon that simply knowing the flight period and distribution (and given that in the Cevennes there is a relatively low altitude ceiling), we can whittle the ID possibilities down to no more than 4 Pyrgus species.
Cheers, Chris

[trevor]

Many thanks Buggy and Chris.

Our trip to the Cevennes was in mid June, and yes we did see some Red Underwing Skippers.
With so many Skipper variants observed over the week it was difficult to keep track of their names.
Baring in mind that for myself I was seeing up to 10 ' lifers ' per day , it's no wonder that I suffered from
mental indigestion frequently over the week !.
I have many more images from the Cevennes to post, and hope if any are wrongly named I will be forgiven.

Many thanks, once again.
Trevor.
'

[trevor]

The Cevennes is also an excellent destination for the Botanist.
At virtually every site visited Orchids abounded, and for me, all were seen for the first time.
They even made Butterfly photography difficult because to get ' that shot ' would mean
treading on an Orchid. Even in France some were incredibly rare.
The whole area is sparsely populated, ie. there is not the pressure on the land that there is over here.
In such a rocky area, there is no intensive farming, no huge fields of Corn etc.
We did find several fields of Barley with bright red Poppies and ( not seen here any more ) blue Corn Flowers.
Although not on our itinerary , we did persuade our tour leader to stop so we could admire one of the
flower rich Corn fields.

[trevor]

Wonders never cease. Dave Cook, a Guy I have often met at Shoreham Harbour, photographed
a Small Tortoiseshell and a Brimstone there today. I would have gone there if I'd known.

Images on the Sussex BC sightings page.
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Great shots from France Trevor - especially the Spotted Frit - what a cracking looking butterfly Wouldn't have a clue about those Grizzlies though...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Beautiful flower images, Trevor. I haven't been to the Cevennes since 2011 but I would very much like to do so again.

[Catriona]

What gorgeous photographs, Trevor.

[trevor]

Many thanks Wurzel, David and Catriona.

As we seem to be in the midst of Winter here right now ( to some Winter starts tomorrow )
I hope some more images of my Butterfly year will cheer things up, while we wait out
the next three months.
It is noticeable how quiet these diaries have become recently. Surely now is the time to
sort through those files and memory cards and show off the best of 2016.

Trevor.

[trevor]

Another lovely little Butterfly from the Cevennes, the Mazarine Blue.
These were often found near water, or on damp ground, mud puddling.

Hope you enjoy.
Trevor.