Cheers Wurzel, most of the Orange-tips round here are well past their best now...it only seems like yesterday that we were looking forward to their appearance.
Hi Dave, glad you like the 'honorary butterflies'. Some of my mothing acquaintances would have it that butterflies are a type of day flying moth anyway
Hi Goldie, I would be tempted to think that CallumMac is right about the moth in your garden, Mint moths are very similar and far more likely to be seen in gardens.
Thanks David, glad you like that one
Cheers Bugboy, I took those photos at full zoom with my Lumix FZ200, even then I had to move very slowly to sneak up on them.
Hi Callum, yes, I agree...I have had a few Mint Moths in my garden but never seen a Small Yellow Underwing there.
Monday 28th May.
The band of storms that moved north across the midlands on Sunday certainly dumped some rain on us with apparently a months worth falling overnight which resulted in some quite severe local flooding in some parts of the Birmingham area.
Having spent most of Sunday doing some painting in the house I had earmarked the Bank Holiday Monday to go out somewhere but had not decided where. After weighing up a few options I decided on having a drive down to Prestbury Hill by Cheltenham where hopefully Duke of Burgundy would still be flying. I had realised that I had not seen this species for the past three years and although I had seen that they had been on the wing there for a few weeks I was hoping that there would still be some around. Also, being a Bank Holiday, I was keen to stay away from any motorways and I could do this by going cross country down past Eversham to Cheltenham.
After the heavy rain on Sunday night, Monday morning started off dull and drizzly but the forecast for the Cheltanham area showed it starting to brighten up after midday. Also, Duke of Burgundy tends to be a late rising species with little activity in the mornings so I thought there was no point in rushing out too early and left home just before 09.30 and after a leisurely drive down arrived at 11.00.
As I approached Cheltenham I could see that the line of hills which include the Bill Smyllie and Masts reserves up on Prestbury Hill itself were still ominously shrouded in mist or low cloud and driving round the single track lanes to the parking spot at the top of the hill was an eerie experience with visibility down to just a few yards in front of my car. On a good day the views from up here are fabulous and you can see right across the Severn Valley to the Malvern Hills but today I couldn’t even see the start of the first path down the hill.
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 001 resize.JPG (503.82 KiB) Viewed 1317 times The mist that greeted me on arrival at Prestbury Hill](./files/thumb_10101_1d94141f0678102293f8e2e7fba0058f)
- The mist that greeted me on arrival at Prestbury Hill
Nevertheless, I headed off to have a wander around in the hope that the forecast was correct and that it would clear up later. The path down the hill links up with part of the Cotswold Way and leads through some woodland from the Bill Smyllie reserve to the Masts Reserve. Walking through this stretch of woodland in these conditions felt quite spooky with the light and silence giving the impression that something could appear from out of the mist at any moment.
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 007 resize.JPG (797.91 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Your imagination could run wild in here.](./files/thumb_10101_86848daf0a5cf73b173ed8e256824deb)
- Your imagination could run wild in here.
Even in these conditions I was surprised to see a good number of moths flying on the grassy hillsides…but then again maybe not so surprising as many moths will happily fly in rain at night as long as the temperature is warm enough and there is no wind. These were mostly Common Heath but also some others which would always settle underneath a leaf where I could not see them. The Common Heath is not as common as its name suggests and I have yet to see any around my local patch where the Latticed Heath seems to take its place.
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 024 resize.JPG (541.51 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Common Heath - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018](./files/thumb_10101_9ca3b56e81f459ea5d9a20bd5b10f31f)
- Common Heath - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018
I was also on the lookout for roosting butterflies and managed to find a couple of Small Blues and Small Heath tucked away in the wet vegetation.
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 015 resize.JPG (540.87 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Small Blue sitting in the mist.](./files/thumb_10101_a1c7da3f9297910c4ac6386cdd2579c6)
- Small Blue sitting in the mist.
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 046 resize.JPG (559.27 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Small Heath half way up a small hawthorn.](./files/thumb_10101_baf8e7ff6dd0471c72778616ba1730f7)
- Small Heath half way up a small hawthorn.
After an hour or so the mist began to lift and whilst it was still overcast the air temperature rose a bit and a few butterflies began to stir with Dingy Skippers, Small Heath and Small Blues taking to the air or basking in the wet grass.
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 049 resize.JPG (686.91 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Dingy Skipper in the wet grass.](./files/thumb_10101_6697bbf0a5f572c6810f3dc4b7af0329)
- Dingy Skipper in the wet grass.
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 067 resize.JPG (662.12 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Dingy Skipper - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018](./files/thumb_10101_a0ff1907e00a4a39fe40e615909372fb)
- Dingy Skipper - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 127 resize.JPG (631.76 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Small Blue - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018](./files/thumb_10101_db4c52d5ba6d6113dea87f316e8b6161)
- Small Blue - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 271 resize.JPG (519.22 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Small Blue - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018](./files/thumb_10101_6b25fae1bf0a27f522dd927f27b5c228)
- Small Blue - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018
Later in the afternoon I also found a mating pair of Small Blues.
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 203 resize.JPG (512.36 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Small Blue pair - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018](./files/thumb_10101_4083ca70c05a34fd8524a5fafcf65d8f)
- Small Blue pair - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018
By early afternoon the mist had mostly lifted and the sun was starting to break through occasionally making it feel quite pleasant. Common Blues and Brown Argus were now also flying along with more species of day flying moth with Five-Spot Burnet and Burnet Companions in good numbers plus half a dozen or so Silver Y Moths and singles of Mother Shipton and Fox Moth also seen.
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 104 resize.JPG (539.57 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Common Blue - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018](./files/thumb_10101_0dbd6e01846940c3ab44f676b8a5b81a)
- Common Blue - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 354 resize.JPG (559.03 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Brown Argus - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018](./files/thumb_10101_56f3c7690ee40cf16734695cb6a96c22)
- Brown Argus - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 225 resize.JPG (1003.7 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Brown Argus - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018](./files/thumb_10101_4c200673533b06ef3ab098536e65c0c5)
- Brown Argus - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018
The best moths of the day for me were a Wood Tiger Moth and a Five -Spot Burnet ab. With conjoined spots.
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 177 resize.JPG (713.2 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Wood Tiger Moth - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018](./files/thumb_10101_6acc11c4fee91c086db0b70fdb19dfe5)
- Wood Tiger Moth - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 245 resize.JPG (553.2 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Five-Spot Burnet with conjoined spots](./files/thumb_10101_7a38be195010c5ecc888922ec003be1b)
- Five-Spot Burnet with conjoined spots
A single Small Copper was my first of these this year plus a female Wall Brown surprised me by settling in front of me on one of the paths. I have read that Wall Browns can be seen here but this was the first one I had actually seen here.
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 320 resize.JPG (716.5 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Small Copper - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018](./files/thumb_10101_38a99f2419234c5a1eee9412de418120)
- Small Copper - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 300 resize.JPG (1013.66 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Wall Brown - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018](./files/thumb_10101_a68d8eaf5f1e94b90d8b51d4741a96c7)
- Wall Brown - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018
So then, did I see any Dukes? In the end I saw about half a dozen all well into the afternoon once it had warmed up. They were mostly well-worn and faded indicating that they are near the end of their flight period here this year which as I mentioned earlier, I thought they might be. As is often the case I met a couple of chaps who came out with the ‘you should have been here last weekend, they were all over the place’ line.
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 162 resize.JPG (586.45 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Duke of Burgundy - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018](./files/thumb_10101_e41df45e7726ca541d4a831f77151785)
- Duke of Burgundy - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 315 resize.JPG (585.52 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Duchess - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018](./files/thumb_10101_58605cbb522de7284fe884a16af26a43)
- Duchess - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018
![Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018 374 resize.JPG (555.06 KiB) Viewed 1317 times Duke of Burgundy - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018](./files/thumb_10101_438fb909bf1ea632e6c3caeec7b7125f)
- Duke of Burgundy - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018
Also seen but not photographed were a couple of Green Hairstreaks flitting about out of reach and flypasts of a few Large and small whites, and my first Red Admiral this year.
All in All it was a great day despite the cool and misty start which did have a strange attraction of its own and I ended up seeing a good number of butterflies along with some nice day flying moths.
Bye for now,
Neil