Wurzel

[bugboy]

I had an ok afternoon over this side of the country, nowhere near as good as yesterday but no washout by any means, and half day tomorrow and off Tuesday means I wont completely miss out on this warm spell, things are looking up a bit for me at least

[millerd]

Looks like a mere youngster to me (speaking from the realms of true old codgerdom)...

I hope you can fit in some of those brilliant side trips you manage to squeeze in during the sunshine this week, Wurzel - and even next weekend looks fine as well. How long before Bentley Wood comes alive do you think?

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cheers Bugboy It's getting to that time of the year when I'm wishing for good weekend weather, I can be quite nerve racking at times
Cheers Dave I'll be doing my best with the side trips and maybe if the weather holds until the weekend maybe my second 'proper' trip of the season. Things are quite quiet over this way but I reckon maybe a fortnight until Bentley comes alive...normally about a week after Abbots/Rewell I'll keep you posted

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Andrew555]

I'm curious Wurzel, do any of your pupils or colleagues know of your interest ? And if so what do they make of it ?

[Wurzel]

The members of my Department definitely know about my past time and I guess other members of staff have a general idea. As for the pupils they also know about my pastime - as I'm a Zoologist by trade most just view it as an extension of this, as if it was my specialist subject at Uni and I also have one or two other things on my CV that negate any negative views of 'butterflying'

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Work 21-03-2018

Three days ago there had been snow, two days ago there had been ice, so much in fact that work had been closed. Yet here I was on a Wednesday lunchtime back out with my camera! This has got to have been the oddest Spring for a good few years. Still one thing I’ve learnt is to always take advantage of any reasonable weather and get out whenever possible! Again I forewent the coat which is another thing I’ve learnt – warm and dry enough to not need a coat means an increased likelihood of seeing butterflies. And so it was today as I hadn’t even left the playing fields before I came across my first butterfly. I was scanning around looking for movement etc. and this time one of the gliding leaves was actually a butterfly. There is a small hedge bordering the local primary school which is still holding last year’s dead and orange leaves. One of these listlessly dropped down to the ground and I watched it as it fell. It looked slightly more orange and jagged than the others so I moved towards it. Brill! It was my first 2018 Comma down on the deck and doing its best to blend in with its surroundings.

Chuffed from here I decided to take a slightly different route reasoning that any recently activated butterflies would probably be looking for a source of nectar and so would head to the gardens of the local residents hence I cut through the local estate. As I followed the footpath round the first bend something caught my eye fluttering around beneath the front window of one of the houses. I walked up the path and knocked on the front door to ask for permission all the while watching the butterfly out of the corner of my eye. It took off and landed on the recycling bin back at the gate. No-one answered so I walked back up the path and took a few shots when the owner appeared. He didn’t mind me hanging around on his garden path once I’d pointed out the Small Tort to him but it did remind me of my youth reading Bill Oddie and his story of “Oi get off my land!”.

I carried on and made it to the path at the back of the estate without seeing any other butterflies but once here the Small Torts seemed to being emerging all at once. As I re-joined the path there were a couple of Small Torts almost immediately along with another at the very end. In order to not double count I reset my mental counter and walked the length of the path back towards the playing fields and then on to work. If a butterfly was spooked I watched to see which way it headed again to try and avoid double counting. There was one and then a pair tussling and spiralling upwards. I quickly moved on from these so that when they finally broke apart one couldn’t overtake me. It went quiet as I walked past the concrete steps but about three quarters along I noticed a pair in mid courtship just into the field and my final Small Tort was in the penultimate garden.

So a total of 1 Comma and 7 Small Torts none too shabby but not exactly the double digits that some sites have logged recently. Mind you this is only one thin strip of path so six Small Torts along here isn’t too bad, doubly so when you consider their drop off in numbers at the end of last season. When I got home it felt like Spring and so my wife and I took a quick stroll across the Town path and back to enjoy the golden late afternoon light.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Some lovely Small Torts there, still only seen the odd one on my travels this year

[Wurzel]

Cheers Bugboy Small Torts seem to be doing okay over this way, I'm sure you'll get onto more than a few soon , especially as the Eastern side of the country always seems to have better weather

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Working Lunch 26-03-2018

Having endured more bad weather and with the long range forecast looking pretty bleak (and they’re always really accurate when it comes to dire weather) I took the opportunity to get out at lunchtime and do a quick patrol.
I took my usual route round the edges of the playing fields and spooked a Small Tort when half way across. Normally I wouldn’t have been concerned by this but things have been so dire this year I felt a slight pang of anxiety that one had got away. What if it was the only one? I carried on regardless and rounded the corner and took the path behind the gardens. About 10 gardens in I breathed a sigh of relief as there was another Small Tort flitting about up against the fence. To get a shot I had to get in close to the chicken wire fence and focus through the diamonds. When it worked it produced a nice vignette effect (which will probably be lost in the crop); when it didn’t the butterfly was blurry in places.

The next garden along held a Comma but it was too far away a shot. Nevertheless I was buoyed up by butterflies so I pressed on to the half way stage of the path when it intersects with various ‘in-roads’ to the estate; a grassed area like a valley in miniature and a stepped footpath. Here a couple of Small Torts were having a tussle, one chasing the other out across the field before both spiralled upwards and dived down disappearing. At the far end of the path a final Small Tort tried to disguise itself in amongst the dross before I reached the turn-back point. So far a maximum of 5 Small Torts and a Comma.

On the return journey a Peacock landed momentarily on the path and promptly took off again. I didn’t mind though as I had a few distant shots and time was fast ticking (one of the drawbacks to the change in the timing of the school day). Along the path there were two Small Torts and at the start of the playing fields a final, and possibly the first (?), Small Tort posed nicely. So nicely in fact that I spent a bit of time with it and so had to sprint back in time for afternoon lessons.

Who knows when I’ll be able to get out next?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Hi! Wurzel, you saw your small Torts much sooner in the South, having said that I was down South and didn't see any until I got back home, my first on the 9th April Since then each time I've visited HLB I've seen them, today although the weather here in the afternoon was great they were the only Butterfly to appear, disappointing when you think the Sun will usually bring others out, hope fully tomorrow will.
Hope you get more in your lunch breaks Goldie

[trevor]

Excellent use of your lunch break, and productive too.
As for the weather it's good to be back home, where the season is beginning to pick up.
Hopefully the weather will be kind when the Marsh Frits. are due to show.

Keep well,
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Goldie I'm glad you got your Small Tort, things should be starting to pick right up now, fingers crossed you'll be up to your armpits in butterflies soon
Cheers Trevor It's picked up during my working lunches but whilst the numbers are on the rise the species count is stuck at 3. Hopefully I'll pick up an OT or Small White soon

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Waitrose 05-04-2018

I woke to beautiful blue skies with a slight chill in the air which I felt sure would disappear quickly enough. In fact once I’d gotten back from Little L’s holiday class it was almost warm enough for wearing my coat unzipped.

As we were looking after my nieces for the day we decided to take advantage of the beautiful sunny weather and took a stroll to Waitrose to pick up some bread for lunch and the usual ‘free’ coffee. I took my camera thinking that I might cross paths with a least one butterfly. We’d only gotten as far as St Pauls when a flash of bright yellow announced my first Brimstone of 2018. This was quickly followed by a Small Tort which perched itself on the wall. I got a few shots and it flew along landing slightly further ahead and this process was repeated twice more.

After one underpass the second was flooded so my wife and the girls doubled back to take the alternative route. I however climbed over the fence for a second Small Tort. As I climbed the bank after successfully getting some shots to cut back across the petrol station to re-join the others a Brimstone took flight. It flew off and I thought I’d missed any chance of a photo but eventually it returned and landed about 2 metres away from its original resting place. A few shots and it would take off seeming to disappear before pulling a ‘U-y’ and landing a very short distance away from where it had landed before. After a couple more shots in this way I left the Brimstone and caught up with the others and we picked up our bits before heading home for lunch. As I munched I thought to myself “I really need to get out to make the most of this weather”…

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Andrew555]

Cheers Wurzel, nice one.

A great read as always, and great pics. Sadly I still remain 'Tort-less' so far this year.

Cheers

[Neil Freeman]

Great reports and photos from your recent(...ish ) adventures Wurzel.

I love that shot of the - Egret I think? - in the evening light...very atmospheric

Cheers,

Neil.

[millerd]

Some great Tortoiseshell photos there, Wurzel. I love your ability to conjure a butterfly out of a visit to the shops... And what's this? That was only a fortnight ago!

Cheers,

Dave

[ernie f]

Wurzel

Your post made me sit up and think. It seems everyone is posting shots of Small Torts and recording them in some numbers. Is it like this every year at the start of the season or do you think it is a better start for them than usual?

Cheers
Ern

[Goldie M]

Lovely shots Wurzel, I bet you regularly volunteer to go to the shops don't you Goldie

[essexbuzzard]

I’m glad you are seeing Torts, Wurzel. Yes, they seem to be having a good start to the season, having hibernated well.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Andrew Hopefully you'll pick one up soon, if not there's always the later brood that is one of the good things about Small Torts I'll have a word with some of the ones at work and send them your way
Cheers Neil Spot on with the small heron ID At least of posting within the same month now though how much longer that lasts I don't know
Cheers Dave I know I'm posting about April in April I need a lie down The problem is that just as I come close to catching-up I go out again - it's a lovely problem to have

Have a goodun

Wurzel