David M

[David M]

Sunday 10th June - Dark Green delight....

I had a hunch that Dark Green Fritillaries might be about today so I drove down to Crymlyn Burrows on the Swansea coast this morning and was delighted to find about half a dozen of them flying around powerfully and duelling with one another when they crossed paths amongst the grassy dunes:

They all looked freshly emerged:

Here's the habitat, and the warm weather with the odd wet day has made it grow prodigiously; certainly more lush and long than I've hitherto ever seen it:

There were plenty of other species flying - Common Blues & Small Heaths numbered several dozen, whilst Large Skippers are on the increase; I saw around 10:

Nice to see three Brown Argus as well, even though they were past their best:

Four Small Blues (fewer than I expected), but no Vanessids and only one Pierid - a female Large White. I was also surprised at the absence of Meadow Browns after seeing four last Thursday on the Gower coast.

[ernie f]

Dave - That fourth pic really has a VERY dark green colour. Its a beauty.

[trevor]

Gorgeous Dark Green Fritillaries, David. It's a great feeling when a hunch pays off.
I always look forward to the female DGF's, as they are often beautifully coloured and marked.
You've prompted me to check out my local site for them.

All the best,
Trevor.

[Pauline]

Oh David, what truly, lovely shots. Those DGF are certainly very fresh and you have captured their gorgeous colours perfectly. I'd be happy to swap you a few handfuls of SSB for a couple of them! I just can't seem to get anywhere near them.

[Andrew555]

Beautiful DGF's David, great shots.

[Gary.N]

Love those DGF's, David. Specially the one in amongst the leaves. It blends in so well. Haven't see a DGH yet this year. I'd better hope for some good luck there next.

Gary

[David M]

Thanks all. Hopefully this promising weather forecast for the next few days will see me able to get equally close to High Brown Fritillaries, which have been on the wing for a week or so now in south Wales.

[essexbuzzard]

You’ll have us all drooling then, David!

[trevor]

Hopefully we can rely on you, David, to sort out the Dark greens
from the High Browns when they are flying together.
You are lucky to have High Browns nearby.

All the best,
Trevor.

[David M]

Sorting these two species out can be tricky, Trevor, especially early in the flight season.

Thursday 21st June - Midsummer Madness.....

It was carnage on the slopes of Old Castle Down, Ewenny, today, with numerous large Fritillaries whizzing about the bracken covered hillside. Last year's hotspot seems to have been retained for 2018:

It was hard to put a count on them in this sheltered area with so many buzzing around, but around three dozen would be a decent estimate. The majority I saw settled were Dark Greens:

The DGFs seem to prefer the marsh thistles and the High Browns the bramble, so my senses were alerted when I saw one come down on the latter, and although I only got this one image, it was enough to confirm it as an HBF:

There wasn't anything like so much activity on the other side of this vast site, so I was grateful for being able to snatch a couple of images of one of just two other High Browns that I was able to definitively identify:

Small Pearl Bordered Frits are sill hanging on, with around a dozen seen, mostly faded females though this one looked in decent nick:

In even better nick was this stunning summer brood Small Tortoiseshell, one of the most beautiful specimens I've ever seen:

Plenty of Speckled Woods, Small Heaths, Large Skippers and Meadow Browns, but surprisingly few Ringlets - I reckon about a dozen or so:

One dilapidated Common Blue was also seen, along with a couple of Whites which were either Small or Green Veined.

[Maximus]

Great shots of the Dark Green Frits, David, and nice to see the High Browns among them in your latest post. That Small Tort is a real stunner

Mike

[essexbuzzard]

Good that you’ve managed to get a few High Browns in before you go to France. When you get there, you’ll be seeing them on the thistle patch next to the hotel. But that’s cheating!

[David M]

Thanks, folks. Yes, Mark, it's cheating a bit, I suppose, but when in Rome...

Saturday 23rd June 2018 - Just perfect....

It was a perfect day to go to the coast today, so I invited my neighbour to join me at St Govan's Head in Pembrokeshire, which is the only site in south Wales for Silver Studded Blue.

Arriving just after 9.30am, we didn't take long to see the first SSBs, but prior to that there was a bit of a surprise - this female Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, a species I've never seen here before:

In total, about 30-35 Silver Studded Blues were seen, with the overwhelming majority being males:

Females numbered around half a dozen:

One mating pair was seen:

The other eye-catching species was Dark Green Fritillary, with at least 30 seen, mostly males looking for females, and watching them go about their pursuit led me to finding this newly emerged female:

There were plenty of Meadow Browns about, and quite a few Small Heaths. The odd tatty Common Blue would turn up and Large Skippers seemed to be holding territory every 50 yards or so. A couple of new brood Small Tortoiseshells were about as were my first handful of Small Skippers of the year:

This is one location where butterflies are not the main attraction; the sheer cliffs, clear waters and general views are all absolutely stunning:

My neighbour was pointing out dozens of seabirds on one of the stacks - Razorbills, I believe:

There are plenty of choughs too:

All in all, a superb morning spent at a delightful place.

[ernie f]

Nice to see some birds making an entry, Dave. Especially when its seabirds and especially Choughs too!

[Pauline]

I'm so pleased you caught up with the SSB's David but that fresh FEMALE DGF is to die for . Where can I find one???????? It isn't for want of trying You'll be posting shots of mating pairs next

[David M]

Thanks, ernie. Pauline - I've just been lucky with DGFs this year. Of course, it helps if you visit a site where there are plenty of them, and I'm rather spoiled for choice round my way.

Sunday 24th June 2018 - Mustn't miss out.....

I toyed seriously with the idea of visiting Cors Caron for Large Heath today, but remembered that when I went there last year in similarly sultry weather I ended up just watching them bob about continually in the marshy grassland where I couldn't get to them.

So, with my sojourn to France imminent, I decided I'd go down to Whiteford Burrows on the Gower coast, which is a good site for Marbled Whites.

There were plenty about, but even at 9.15 in the morning they were hyperactive. I bided my time until I spotted a female and, eventually, she came down to rest in an opportune spot:

The dune system here was positively alive with butterflies, convincing me that unless we have a serious turn for the worse weatherwise, we are going to see serious numbers by late July. Meadow Browns were everywhere....hundreds of them. Surprisingly, this male basked briefly with wings open:

Even more surprisingly, he spent a good ten minutes trying to court this poor Ringlet, who just wanted to be left alone:

Still dozens and dozens of Small Heaths about, including this mating pair:

Small Skippers have eclipsed Large Skippers in numbers, although there was no sign of any Graylings, which are also recorded at this site.

At 10.50am I moved on to a site in Loughour, where there is a healthy elm copse with White Letter Hairstreaks. Within seconds, I spotted some activity although they remained resolutely at the top of the canopy, so distance shots were all I could manage:

They were strongly attracted to the tree in these images, but I don't know which species it is. If anyone does, I'd be interested to know:

I didn't see the Hairstreaks actually nectaring from the blossom, but this Comma was (one of three fresh specimens seen):

[ernie f]

Distance shots of WLH's maybe - but good distance shots David!
The ones I have seen so far this year just won't sit still.

[Andrew555]

Your DGF's continue to impress David, good to see your High Browns as well.
Great stuff from some lovely locations.

[David M]

Thanks, both. Shame I'll miss out on the 'acme' period for High Brown Frits but from what I've heard they are going to be around in serious numbers at the Welsh site.

[bugboy]

I can't be sure without a better look at the tree but it looks like some sort of Cotoneaster those WLH are sitting on David.