dilettante

[dilettante]

03-May-2018

I recently bought a new (second-hand) camera with the intention of it being small enough to be a carry-everywhere camera. With the addition of a Raynox closeup adapter, I tried it out for butterflying at lunch time today. A half hour visit to Cherry Hinton LNR near Cambridge turned into an 10-species treat. A very active Peacock greeted me at the entrance, then one of a number of Commas:


Comma

When I got to a patch of Garlic Mustard I found myself surrounded by Orange Tips, a Green Hairstreak, several Holly Blues, a Green-veined White. A Brimstone flew past, and a Small Tortoiseshell and Large White made brief appearances.


Holly Blue


Green Hairstreak


Green-veined White

And on the way out and back to work, this Speckled Wood posed for a few seconds

Speckled Wood

A pretty good haul, and the camera performed nicely I think. There were quite a lot of missed shots, but with a bit more practice it should be a viable performer. Not bad for something this size:

[bugboy]

based on those results that looks like a sound investment!

[David M]

Absolutely! Nothing wrong with those, dilettante.

[dilettante]

Thanks David M and bugboy

Sat 5th May 2018

I went with my family to the lovely Dunstable Downs in full hot sunshine this afternoon. Nothing very interesting on the butterfly front unfortunately - just a little too early for the Dukes, Grizzzlies and Dingies I think, but the 'sunken path' is looking perfect for them. Another week perhaps.


Dunstable Downs sunken path with cowslips

The usual early Spring butterflies were around


Brimstone


Peacock

This Red Kite was flying over the car park


Red Kite

And I assume this is a leucistic Rook - it was very brown. I thought it was a buzzard at first

Leucistic Rook

[Wurzel]

That new camera is certainly producing the goods Dilettante That Brimstone is a peach of a shot whichever camera you used

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[dilettante]

I had both cameras yesterday so only the first one was with the new one. The others were with my big SLR and 180mm macro (and the birds in particular were heavily cropped). The new camera is good but has very little reach for distant subjects

[David M]

Stunning image of the Kite, Dilettante (and the butterflies aren’t bad either). Looks like you had a great day!

[dilettante]

Saturday 23-Jun-2018

Summer butterflies are well under way now, so I went down to Therfield Heath, Herts. Almost immediately saw a Dark Green Fritillary bombing past, one of several to be seen during the afternoon. Unfortunately none showed any inclination to stop for a photo, but great to see them again anyway.

Also, my other targets for the visit, plenty of Marbled Whites. I could watch and photograph these all day. Qunitessentially summer for me.


Marbled White

I was particularly pleased with this image


Marbled White pair

Also around, lots of Meadow Browns, but relatively fewer Ringlets.


Meadow Brown

A Brown Argus or two, and this Common Blue.


Common Blue

Others seen: Small Tortoiseshell, Small and Large Whites, Small Heath, Speckled Wood. Surprisingly no Large Skippers (or any other skippers).

[Wurzel]

Stunning Marbled White shots Dilettante, great to see the blue spots on the hind wings

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Lovely definition in those images, dilettante. You can even make out the red mite in your first picture.

[dilettante]

Thanks Wurzel and David.

Saturday 30-Jun-2018
For the first time in a few years I was able to make a trip to Fermyn Woods in emperor season. I parked at the gliding club entrance (parking very busy even at 9:30), and immediately could see a group of people clustered round a grounded emperor on the track. The recent clearing of the woods either side of the track didn't appear as destructive as I'd imagined, and several PEs were seen on that stretch. As in previous visits though, I carried on and spent most of my time in Lady Wood. Sightings here were very frequent, although the very dry ground seemed to mean the PEs didn't stay grounded for long in most cases. But there were enough times where one found something suitably odorous and attractive to stay put for long enough to be photographed. In the heat, they mostly seemed to prefer keeping wings shut, but with a bit of judicious shading we were able to entice them to open up and allow attempts at the all-wings-purple shot which has eluded me in the past.







Not prime specimens but a very lovely experience. I didn't keep close count, but there were certainly a lot of PEs about. I probably saw around 30 in my highly enjoyable three hours there.

Also seen:
- More Silver-washed Fritillaries than in remember seeing there in the past, all very active
- The usual browns: Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Speckled Wood.
- Skippers Large and Small
- Whites various
- Comma, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell. No White Admirals though, although others reported having seen them.
- A few Purple Hairstreaks



Despite the recent hot and dry weather there was standing water in the tyre ruts left by the forest management along the main track from the gliding club. These puddles attracted large numbers of Small Whites



Sunday 1-Jul-2018

I walked around Royston and Therfield Heath with a friend and my dog, so not primarily a butterflying trip, but was pleased to see a fair few Chalk-hill Blues out. Also several Dark Green Fritillaries as well as Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Small Skipper, Small Heath, Small Tortoiseshell, Small White, Large White, Green-veined White.

[Wurzel]

Fantastic shots Dilettante Those Emperors are brill and the mud puddling Whites is a brilliant shot, as I look at it in this sweltering heat it could almost be a scene 'from a day on safari'

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Fantastic shots of the Emperor dilettante so glad you saw them up that road, I've been worried that all that work with the trees being felled would have stopped them coming down or damaged them in some way, so great news Goldie

[Charles Nicol]

glad you enjoyed your day in the Woods ! thanks for sharing the lovely pics

[John W]

For the first time in a few years I was able to make a trip to Fermyn Woods in emperor season. I parked at the gliding club entrance (parking very busy even at 9:30), and immediately could see a group of people clustered round a grounded emperor on the track.

Hi Dilettante,

I must have been one of those people clustered round the Emperor as I have the same shot as your first one (though cropped differently).

I guess we were too busy with the Emperors to talk about UKB

Cheers
John W

[dilettante]

I must have been one of those people clustered round the Emperor as I have the same shot as your first one (though cropped differently).

I guess we were too busy with the Emperors to talk about UKB

I think I prefer your crop.
There should definitely be a ukb hat!

[Pauline]

Lovely PE shots and Dilettante but my favourite is the Whites mud-puddling

[David M]

Lovely PE shots and Dilettante but my favourite is the Whites mud-puddling

Yes, that's not a common sight at all in the UK. I think the only species I've seen doing this at home is Green Veined White.

[dilettante]

18-Jul-2018

I was in Dorset for a couple of days with family last week. Not primarily a butterflying trip, but it was great to see plenty of Walls on the top of Golden Cap. They were very flighty in the heat and seemed to have good hearing, so getting close enough with my little RX100 and Raynox adpapter took some patience. I love the underside markings on Walls.

[Wurzel]

That is a cracking shot Dilettante Did you have to elbow crawl to get that close to it When I see the underside of a Wall I'm always reminded of the Chaos Butterfly from Terry Pratchett's books

Have a goodun

Wurzel