millerd

[Goldie M]

Love the Sunset pictures Dave Goldie

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Dave, lovely images of the sunset and moon

Cheers,

Neil

[millerd]

Thank you all for the comments - I'd not tried photos of the moon recently, and was quite pleased with the result.

Well, no more butterflies since the December bedroom visitation, so the camera hasn't been out much. I did grab a snap of a rainbow on Christmas Day up in Yorkshire, which seemed quite unusual, and another moon photo in January.

I was amazed at how bright the moon actually is - the shutter needed to be set at its shortest (1/2000) to get anything at all.

On Saturday (28th), the weather was conducive to a local walk. The first thing of interest was this sundog - really quite a bright one, with the sun itself concealed in cloud to the left.

A few long-tailed tits flew through the bare trees all along the walk round the lake, but more interesting was a solitary cormorant. I didn't realise how low in the water they sit.

Another local avian visitor which I have seen every winter for at least five years is the little egret. I assume it's the same one each year as it frequents exactly the same short stretch of stream. It is generally alone, but can occasionally be found in the company of a grey heron (though in this case it's duck!). Is the little egret a winter visitor? It does seem to disappear when the weather warms up. Here are a couple of shots from successive Sundays in January.

Dave

[bugboy]

Hi Dave,

Little Egrets are now resident breeders in the UK, I think they first started in the '90s, I see them quite regularly on my local patch and there is apparently a breeding colony somewhere around here. Like most birds they probably disperse in winter when food becomes scarce and your one has obviously found a good regular source of winter food!

[Wurzel]

Alright Dave - I've not heard the term 'Sundogs' before but I'll use it now cheers When I was 14 I went on a twitch to Arne to see not just one but two Little Egrets And now they're a breeding species...if only Night and Squacco Herons would hurry up and get here they form a blank patch on my life list

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Today provided an opportunity to visit the Butterflies in the Glasshouse at Wisley. It turned out to be a very pleasant day, and it was a shame no native species put in an appearance in the gardens, where spring flowers were beginning to show under the trees.

There didn't seem to be so many butterflies flying in the glasshouse this year, or so many species, but there were one or two new ones. The sunshine made them very active and it was very warm in there, as you might expect. Here's a selection.

I also spotted a display in one of the areas set aside for children describing the lifecycle of butterflies, which included a sequence of shots of Orange Tips by our own Vince Massimo, and another of Marsh Fritillaries taken by none other than Wurzel.

Fame at last, chaps!

Dave

[millerd]

17th February: After yesterday's exotic curtain raiser, the weather continued fine and sunny - probably warmer than yesterday in fact. I was lucky enough to have a day off work and decided to look around my local patch to see if an old adage was right: one fine day to wake them up and a second fine day to make them fly.

It certainly seemed to be true and my season was quickly off to a cracking start with a nice Red Admiral basking on the brambles.

Shortly afterwards I spotted a Comma low down on some ivy - unusual for me to see a Comma before any Peacocks.

Further on again, two more butterflies: another Red Admiral on some metal piping, and behind it a female Brimstone fluttering around.

The latter came to ground a little way off, just within the range of the zoom. Unusual again to see a female before a male, especially so early in the year.

I carried on to the area I have dubbed Comma Corner, and appropriately at the apex of the eponymous spot sat another Comma. It didn't stay long as it soon set off after another of the species and I lost track of them both.

So - 2017 off to a brilliant and unprecedented start for me, with six butterflies of three species.

Dave

[bugboy]

That's a seriously good haul for the middle of february , hopefully we don't get another icy blast again!

[David M]

Fantastic tally, Dave.

A female Brimstone is quite notable. I don't think I've ever seen one prior to mid-March!

[trevor]

The species you found today are exactly what might be expected for an early sighting.
To see one is fortunate, two must be very lucky, three deserve a mrgreen or two .
I went looking along the old railway, in very favourable weather, but nothing.

Well done Dave,
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Thanks for the Glasshouse update - I didn't know that they'd used my photos for that - oh the fame (or is that notoriety? ) come the next Social I shall demand a red carpet and Doombar served in Champagne flutes

You had a cracking day, three species at this time of year is brill and both the Comma and Brimstone seem really early!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Fame at last Wurzel
Lovely to see the Butterflies so early Dave, Hope it 's not to soon for them although the weather forecast is good for the next few days. Goldie

[millerd]

Thank you all for the appreciative comments - it was an exceptional day. I certainly didn't expect to see more than one species - maybe two. Despite it continuing fairly warm, and even sunny on Saturday afternoon, I haven't seen another butterfly since. Unfortunately I am back at work tomorrow, when the forecast is again quite favourable, so I think I shall have to be patient for the time being!

Dave

[millerd]

Saturday 11th March: Having missed all the likely sunny days recently by being at work, it was great to see the clouds dissolve a bit today and some warm sunshine come through. A walk around my local patch produced just three Commas and a single male Brimstone, but they were most welcome. One of the Commas obliged me with a couple of close poses.

Dave

[Wurzel]

There must have been something about yesterday Dave as I too got three Commas Great shots BTW

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Having missed all the likely sunny days recently by being at work, it was great to see the clouds dissolve a bit today and some warm sunshine come through.

I wish south Wales could have been equally warm and sunny.

I noticed the south east was set to see 16-18 degrees so it's not surprising that you saw a few butterflies. I think I've read more reports of Commas than during any early spring spell for a while, which is surprising given how thin on the ground they were last year.

[bugboy]

Your Comma's not too shabby either Dave!

[millerd]

I think I've read more reports of Commas than during any early spring spell for a while, which is surprising given how thin on the ground they were last year.

I think they must have disappeared into hibernation early, David, so we didn't get to see many of them. They do seem to be quite widespread at the moment.

Thanks Buggy and Wurzel - yes, this one was a near-perfect specimen too. Annoyingly today's sunshine was observed through the office window: there's still not enough left by the time I escaped this afternoon.

Dave

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Dave,

Great Comma photos

After a dull and cloudy weekend up here I too was looking at today's sunshine through my office window

Cheers,

Neil.

[millerd]

Thanks, Neil. I've been trying to avoid looking at your beautiful moth photos - I can see that moth-fancying (?) would be a slippery slope to get onto! Some of them are stunning.

Wednesday 15th March: another glorious day and this time I was able to call it a day at work soon after lunchtime, and set off round a circuit of my local patch to see what had been enticed out.

Just around the corner from my house, a mirabelle plum was in full flower, and flitting from blossom to blossom was my first Small Tortoiseshell of the year.

A great start. Once onto the path next to the River Colne, the next sighting was a Brimstone, and then another, quickly followed by a Comma and what looked by its flight to be a Red Admiral. Whilst following the orange flash of another Comma, I disturbed a Peacock from the path in front of me - another first for the year.

Comma Corner lived up to its name again today, with three, possibly four, there or thereabouts, with another two not that far away. They were sharing the spot uneasily with two Peacocks and there were a number of aerial battles with two or three butterflies.

Heading back, I came across another Red Admiral and Commas and Peacocks in different spots to where I had seen them earlier.

Finally, nearing home, there is a small area where a few trees were felled in the autumn and piles of logs lie surrounded by burgeoning young nettles. Here I found three Small Tortoiseshells, two of which set off madly into the distance and didn't return. The third was constantly bothered by a Comma and eventually also disappeared.

I was out for 90 minutes this afternoon, and saw (conservatively) eleven Commas, six Peacocks, four Small Tortoiseshells, four Brimstones and two Red Admirals. The numbers of Commas really are impressive!

Dave