Neil Freeman

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel, the week started off a bit grim but I managed to get out today for a very pleasant session...see below

Thanks Trevor, we had a bit of a frost this morning and another one is forecast for tomorrow but apparently not quite down to -6 around here. Mind you it might drop to that a bit further out in the sticks. It looks like the south and south-east could cop for a frost tonight as well.

Tuesday 18th April

Easter Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday were both dull and cloudy days with a cool breeze blowing and some intermittent drizzle which meant I spent a good part of both days indoors doing family stuff...and earning bownie points

After a cold night and a frosty start to the morning, today (Tuesday) was much sunnier although it took until late morning for the sun to feel like it had any warmth to it.
With the forecast of a mixture of clouds and sunny spells this afternoon, I was keen to return to my local site at Castle Hills to see if I could get any better Orange-tip photos, my previous visit just over a week ago being when the temperature was a good 10 degrees higher than today and everything was flying round in turbo mode.
Arriving just after mid-day with the sun struggling to raise the temperature into double figures against the cold wind, I followed the footpath to a sheltered damp meadow where I had seen plenty of Orange-tips the other weekend. Sure enough I soon saw a couple and in the much cooler conditions they were much slower and settling frequently to soak up some warmth from the sun.

Orange-tip - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

The same one as above when the sun came back out

During the couple of hours that I spent wandering around the footpaths across this site, Orange-tips were again the most numerous species seen with easily a couple of dozen scattered around the site.

Orange-tip - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

Orange-tip - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

Orange-tips - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

Orange-tip - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

At least four females were also seen...

Orange-tip female - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

Orange-tip female - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

Orange-tip female - This one was quite small with slightly deformed right wings

At one point I also spotted a mating pair down in the grass...

Orange-tip pair - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

More Green-veined Whites had emerged since my last visit with maybe a dozen seen today...

Green-veined White male - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

Green-veined White male - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

Speckled Woods were again present in good numbers along the more wooded sections of path...

Speckled Wood - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

Speckled Wood - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

...including this male that almost looks to be like a darker summer brood example.

Speckled Wood - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

The three common Vanessids were still about with examples of Peacock(4), Comma(2) and Small Tortoiseshell(2) all seen during the afternoon, although all are looking past their best now,

Peacock - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

Peacock - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

Comma - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

Comma - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

Small Tortoiseshell - Castle Hills 18.04.2017

Curiously, No Holly Blues seen today despite there being a couple of usually reliable spots here, nor Small or Large Whites. Perhaps the cool breeze was keeping them tucked up. Nevertheless, a better than expected afternoon given the original forecast for the day and the persistent cool (cold even) breeze.

Bye for now,

Neil

[millerd]

Lovely selection of Orange Tips, Neil. Your damp meadow seems to have lots of cuckoo flower to tempt them down - it's not common round here. I particularly like the shot with two on the same flower head.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Stunning shots there Neil I especially like the first female OT with those crescent moon markings - that's lush that is

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[trevor]

Good things come to he who has to wait, Neil.
First rate set of images too. Two male OT's on one flower head, that's a new one!.

[Maximus]

Brilliant set of Orange-tip photos, Neil

Mike

[Neil Freeman]

Thank you Dave, Wurzel, Trevor and Mike for your comments, very much appreciated as always

Wednesday 19th April – Snitterfield Bushes

Another cold night but at least we were spared the hard frost that some other areas woke up to this morning with the overnight temperature here staying just above 0 degrees...just!

The cool breeze of the previous few days had dropped this morning and as the sun began to feel like it had a bit of warmth to it we decided to have a drive down to Snitterfield Bushes which is about 30 minutes away, a couple of miles outside of Stratford-upon-Avon. This is a Warwickshire Wildlife Trust reserve and SSSI which has good paths which Jane can manage with her limited mobility. There is usually a good display of wild primroses there at this time of year which Jane was keen to see.
We arrived just after 10.30 and began to take a slow wander around the paths on what had turned into a very pleasant morning with plenty of sun and some thin high level cloud. We soon found plenty of primroses along the sides of the paths and under the trees as well a some good drifts of bluebells which looked to be still early in their season and not yet fully out.

Snitterfield Bushes Warwickshire

Snitterfield Bushes Warwickshire

As it warmed up we began to see male Orange-tips patrolling the paths on the lookout for females. We also saw a number of 'whites' and as we got our eye in, we could see that they were mostly female Orange-tips with a few Green-veined Whites also flying. In fact it soon became apparent that male and female Orange-tips were flying in roughly equal numbers.

Orange-tip - Snitterfield Bushes 19.04.2017

Orange-tip - Snitterfield Bushes 19.04.2017

Orange-tip - Snitterfield Bushes 19.04.2017

Orange-tip - Snitterfield Bushes 19.04.2017

Orange-tip female - Snitterfield Bushes 19.04.2017

Orange-tip female - Snitterfield Bushes 19.04.2017

Orange-tip female - Snitterfield Bushes 19.04.2017

Orange-tip female - Snitterfield Bushes 19.04.2017

On a few occasions we saw a male OT pursue a female, upon which she would usually drop to earth and raise her abdomen in the rejection display showing that she was already mated.

Failed courtship attempt...

As well as the Orange-tips and Green-veined Whites we also saw a few Speckled Woods and a single Peacock that had seen better days.

Green-veined White - Snitterfield Bushes 19.04.2017

Peacock - Snitterfield Bushes 19.04.2017

Speckled Wood - Snitterfield Bushes 19.04.2017

By early afternoon some heavier cloud had built up and so we called it a day and headed home after what turned out to be a very pleasant morning.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[trevor]

Great Orange Tip images again, and lovely fresh specimens too.
They seem to be having one of their better years.

[bugboy]

Is it possible to overdose on Orange-tips? I do hope not, I can't imagine ever getting bored with them

[David M]

You’ve certainly made up for lost time there, Neil. An enviable array of spring species, of which I think the array of male and female Orange Tips are the most impressive and evocative.

Lots more to come, I’m sure. This time of year is possibly the best of all!

[Pauline]

Some great shots of Orange Tip's lately Neil - love the one of the 2 males together - very unusual

[Goldie M]

Fantastic shots of the Orange Tips Neil, can't pick one I like best they're all great. Goldie

[Wurzel]

Another set of cracking shots Neil, especially the OT's - you've really made the most of the opportunities with them. The second shot shows the markings to beautiful effect

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Trevor, the Orange-tips do seem to be having a pretty good year
Hi Bugboy, don't worry, it is absolutely impossible to overdose on Orange-tips
Hi David, not really lost time from my perspective though, I just need to remember that my season normally starts a couple of weeks behind the south-east and to learn to be patient.
Thanks Pauline, I was watching those two take turns circling around to that Cuckoo Flower and just managed the one shot as they both arrived together.
Cheers Goldie, they are all favourites in their own ways but the one I like best is probably the one with the Primrose, just sums the morning up nicely - Primroses and Orange-tips

Friday 21st April

A bit of a catch up post for the past couple of days in the garden.

Later on the Wednesday (19th) afternoon the clouds had built up into a thick grey blanket and I was pottering about in the garden when I spotted a Holly Blue go to ground. Sneaking up with my camera I found him settled on a dock leaf where he appeared to be taking moisture from the surface of the leaf. He opened his wings slightly - just enough to confirm he was a male - but then took off again and disappeared next door.

Holly Blue - Coverdale 19.04.2017

Holly Blue - Coverdale 19.04.2017

After a cloudy and fairly mild night, Thursday morning dawned with some intermittent rain showers and that set the scene for the rest of the day. With a few jobs to be done around the house I decided to stay home and get on with it apart from a brief spell in the garden in the early afternoon when the sun popped out for about 10 minutes.
This was just long enough for a couple of Speckled Woods to come out, closely followed by a female Orange-tip that swooped down and basked for a few minutes before warming up enough to carry on her wanderings. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly butterflies will respond to the briefest sunny spells at this time of year, I suppose the spring species have had to evolve to make the most of our usually unsettled spring weather.

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 19.04.2017

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 19.04.2017

Orange-tip female - Coverdale 19.04.2017

With the run of clear, cold frosty nights last weekend and earlier this week, I had not run the moth trap for a few nights but with the cloudy and milder conditions on Wednesday and Thursday nights I lit up and had a few nice moths come to it.

Waved Umber - love the way these look like a slice of bark.

Angle Shades - Coverdale 19.04.2017

Currant Pug - Coverdale 20.04.2017

White-spotted Pug - Coverdale 20.04.2017

The weekend is not looking too bad but I don't like the look of next weeks forecast when it appears we will be getting another cold spell.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Very envious of your Holly Blue Neil And I really like the Currant Pug for some reason, there's something about the markings

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Sometimes, Neil, cloudy weather plays into your hands, and Holly Blue is one species that becomes abnormally docile in such conditions.

It's great that you have them in your garden. This is a species I need to work hard at to observe although this spring, they seem to be everywhere and must surely be at the peak of their cycle vis-à-vis their known parasitic predator.

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks David, Holly Blues seem to be doing better this year around here than last year so far. I have wondered before if their parasite/host cycle runs the same all over the county as I have seen reports in previous years from other areas which don't seem to be in sync with what I see around here.

Cheers Wurzel, I know what you mean about the Currant Pug, an attractive combination of colour and markings.

Saturday 22nd April.

A beautiful sunny day with hardly a cloud in site although there was a bit of a cool breeze blowing most of the time which kept temperatures around a maximum of 15 or 16 degrees or so. I would have been tempted out but I had some work done on the house last week and still have a skip on the drive that I wanted to make the most of and have a bit of a clear out. Like a lot of blokes, I have accumulated a vast amount of 'stuff' in my garage which I thought might be useful at some vague time in the future, but the truth of the matter is some of it has been there gathering dust for years without being touched.
Anyway, for this reason my day was mostly spent clearing out a lot of this miscellaneous junk, but in my usual fashion I did take a few breaks in the garden.

As usual, the Speckled Woods were flying first, closely followed by Holly Blues, Orange-tips and GV whites. At one point I saw 2 male Specklies spiralling around the far end of the garden and at the same time another 2 males doing the same nearer the house which meant that there were at least 4 males contesting their favourite spots.

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 22.04.2017

For most of the day the butterflies were active in the sun with only the Speckled Woods settling regularly and then with their wings tightly closed and angled to the sun so that both sides were shaded. Later in the afternoon, they started to slow down and as the sun started to dip lower they would start basking to make the most of the reducing warmth.

The Orange-tips, GV whites and Holly Blues were actively mobile and I saw a regular procession of these species through the garden during the day. I have mentioned before that I suspect that I am actually seeing the same few individuals repeatedly coming around again on circuits, a fact that is supported by the two photos below, taken of the same individual male on two separate visits to the garden half an hour apart.

Orange-tip male - Coverdale 22.04.2017

The same individual as above taken later.

The same was seen with this slightly bedraggled female Holly Blue, again two photos taken about half an hour apart as she returned again to the garden.

Holly Blue female...note the damaged RH forewing

The same female as above, the damaged RH forewing can be seen

During a few 'coffee breaks' through the afternoon and counting only the butterflies I am sure are different individuals, I reckon I saw at least 5 Speckled Wood (4 males and 1 female), 3 Orange-tips ( 2 male, 1 female), 2 Green-veined Whites ( both males) and 4 Holly Blues (2 females, 2 males).

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 22.04.2017

Speckled Wood female trying to be unobtrusive

Holly Blue male...quite pleased with this shot

Holly Blue male - you can just make out by the black markings on his LH forewing that he is a different one to the one above.

With a lot more cloud building up today (Sunday) and feeling cooler I will be spending it at home again building up a few more brownie points to spend later.
Small Coppers and Green Hairstreaks are out in Warwickshire but it is still early days for these and I haven't seen any Grizzled or Dingy Skippers reported here yet so it will probably be another week or so before I venture out looking for any of these.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

I'd be happy with the Holly Blue shot too Neil You're not that far behind me in Wiltshire Neil, Dinghies and Grizzlies have only been out a week or so and they're only just starting

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel, it look like the further cold snap this week may hold things back a bit...just as I see the first PBFs have been reported from the Wyre Forest. Oh well! I am stuck in work all week anyway.

Sunday 23rd April

As mentioned in my last post I spent most of Sunday doing stuff around the house (otherwise known as earning brownie points for later in the season ). As it happened the early cloud gradually thinned out during the day to produce some good sunny spells later in the afternoon, although it was somewhat cooler than Saturday.

The Speckled Woods and Holly Blues were soon flying in the garden again but it was some time before the first Orange-tip showed up, not until the afternoon sun had warmed things up a bit more.
These were the only three species that I saw today, no other 'whites' were flying and given the amount of cloud cover they were all settling regularly, including the Holly Blues although they stubbornly refused to open their wings more than half way.

Holly Blue female - Coverdale 23.04.2017

The female HB with the damaged wing seen on Saturday was back again...

Holly Blue male - Coverdale 23.04.2017

Holly Blue male - Coverdale 23.04.2017

Speckled Woods are still emerging with new individuals seen...

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 23.04.2017

Speckled Wood female - Coverdale 23.04.2017

Later in the afternoon, one particular Orange-tip was passing through when a large cloud came over and he settled on a white (Spanish) bluebell which made for a nice looking pose,

Orange-tip - Coverdale 23.04.2017

As the sun briefly came out he opened his wings before moving off...

Orange-tip - Coverdale 23.04.2017

...but only reached the other end of the garden before the it went behind another lump of cloud and he came down again, this time on a dandelion seed head where he stayed for a good half an hour before the sun came out long enough to warm him up enough to take to the air again.

Orange-tip - Coverdale 23.04.2017

Orange-tip - Coverdale 23.04.2017

Orange-tip - Coverdale 23.04.2017

By this time it was gone 5.00pm and although the cloud thinned again it started to go quite chilly as the shadows lengthened across the garden.

It looks like we have some more frosty nights ahead of us this week, finger crossed that this cold snap doesn't last too long.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[bugboy]

Thanks for the pictures Neil, I've not seen an Orange-tip for a few days, I'm getting withdrawal symptoms

[millerd]

Some nice Holly Blues, there, Neil (speaking as a connoisseur... ), and the Orange Tips and Specklies. Looking forward to your expedition to Wyre Forest for PBF too.

Dave