June 2018
Re: June 2018
Having failed to find White Admiral , Silver-washed Fritillary or White-letter Hairstreak on transect at High Elms LNR last Monday , I went back today
for another try . Once again the first two species let me down and I only had a possible sighting of the third , high up in it's Wych Elm in the bottom glade .As usual , I checked the lower branches of the tree where signs of feeding were found , then spotted something a bit higher up . With the help of a branch from a dead hedge , I managed to lower the high branch , and found that what I had seen was the empty pupa case of a White-letter Hairstreak on the underside of an Elm leaf , the adult having emerged , giving more credence to my previous sighting . In the same glade , I also managed to photograph a very fresh 2nd.brood female Holly Blue , and when the sun came out , she obliged . Most noticeable on the visit was what could only described as an explosion of Ringlet , being found dancing in every sunny glade .
Two days ago , I didn't record a single one .
for another try . Once again the first two species let me down and I only had a possible sighting of the third , high up in it's Wych Elm in the bottom glade .As usual , I checked the lower branches of the tree where signs of feeding were found , then spotted something a bit higher up . With the help of a branch from a dead hedge , I managed to lower the high branch , and found that what I had seen was the empty pupa case of a White-letter Hairstreak on the underside of an Elm leaf , the adult having emerged , giving more credence to my previous sighting . In the same glade , I also managed to photograph a very fresh 2nd.brood female Holly Blue , and when the sun came out , she obliged . Most noticeable on the visit was what could only described as an explosion of Ringlet , being found dancing in every sunny glade .
Two days ago , I didn't record a single one .
- Charles Nicol
- Posts: 1614
- Joined: Mon May 14, 2007 12:57 pm
- Location: Cambridge
Re: June 2018
No Purple Emperors reported.
![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_confused.gif)
Re: June 2018
Spent three hours today wandering round the High Brown site in south Wales, and I'm pleased to report that they are on the wing.
I could only positively identify three amongst the 50-60 large Frits I saw:
Early in the flight season is the most difficult time as Dark Greens, which emerge some 7-10 days earlier, retain their lustre making identification tricky. Trust me, there were plenty of DGFs around today:
Small Pearl Bordereds are still about, albeit largely faded:
I also saw my first Ringlets of the year, albeit only around a dozen or so:
A couple of summer brood Small Tortoiseshells were seen too, including this immaculate individual:
The tally was:
Meadow Brown 60-80
DGF/HBF 50-60
Speckled Wood 30-40
Small Heath 30-40
Large Skipper 30-40
Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary 10-15
Ringlet 10-15
Small Tortoiseshell 2
Small/Green Veined White 2
Common Blue 1
I could only positively identify three amongst the 50-60 large Frits I saw:
Early in the flight season is the most difficult time as Dark Greens, which emerge some 7-10 days earlier, retain their lustre making identification tricky. Trust me, there were plenty of DGFs around today:
Small Pearl Bordereds are still about, albeit largely faded:
I also saw my first Ringlets of the year, albeit only around a dozen or so:
A couple of summer brood Small Tortoiseshells were seen too, including this immaculate individual:
The tally was:
Meadow Brown 60-80
DGF/HBF 50-60
Speckled Wood 30-40
Small Heath 30-40
Large Skipper 30-40
Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary 10-15
Ringlet 10-15
Small Tortoiseshell 2
Small/Green Veined White 2
Common Blue 1
Re: June 2018
Back in South Wales now after a 4 day sojourn up to East Anglia for birds, butterflies and Odonata. Good to meet Charles Nicol at Fermyn yesterday. I confirm I saw no Purple Emperors there either despite a good search in the favoured areas. My list was (in order of appearance), Marbled White (1), Ringlet (dozens),Purple Hairstreak (5), White Admiral (6), Red Admiral (4), Large Skipper (12), Silver washed Fritillary (1), Speckled Wood (dozens), Meadow Brown (20 +), White letter Hairstreak (4), Small Tortoiseshell (1), Small White (2), Peacock (1). Other highlights; at Glapthorn on 18th, I saw at least 25 Black Hairstreak ! And that was between 08.00 and 10.00 hours when they were just starting to get active. Strumpshaw Fen on 19th produced 3 Swallowtail. Westleton Heath and common produced good numbers of Silver studded Blues.
Travelled home via the A14, M6, M42, M5, M50. Thank God I didn`t do the M25 and M4. Traffic was queued 30 miles from Cardiff to the Severn Bridge due to an accident on the motorway which delayed punters travelling to see Ed Sheeran in Cardiff. My heart goes out to them (!!!). The Air ambulance had to land on the motorway to take away casualties.
Jenks.
Travelled home via the A14, M6, M42, M5, M50. Thank God I didn`t do the M25 and M4. Traffic was queued 30 miles from Cardiff to the Severn Bridge due to an accident on the motorway which delayed punters travelling to see Ed Sheeran in Cardiff. My heart goes out to them (!!!). The Air ambulance had to land on the motorway to take away casualties.
Jenks.
- Charles Nicol
- Posts: 1614
- Joined: Mon May 14, 2007 12:57 pm
- Location: Cambridge
Re: June 2018
I enjoyed our meeting Jenks ! i returned to Fermyn Woods today... someone saw an Emperor perched on a pile of logs in the Somme re-enactment areajenks wrote:Back in South Wales now after a 4 day sojourn up to East Anglia for birds, butterflies and Odonata. Good to meet Charles Nicol at Fermyn yesterday. I confirm I saw no Purple Emperors there either despite a good search in the favoured areas. My list was (in order of appearance), Marbled White (1), Ringlet (dozens),Purple Hairstreak (5), White Admiral (6), Red Admiral (4), Large Skipper (12), Silver washed Fritillary (1), Speckled Wood (dozens), Meadow Brown (20 +), White letter Hairstreak (4), Small Tortoiseshell (1), Small White (2), Peacock (1). Other highlights; at Glapthorn on 18th, I saw at least 25 Black Hairstreak ! And that was between 08.00 and 10.00 hours when they were just starting to get active. Strumpshaw Fen on 19th produced 3 Swallowtail. Westleton Heath and common produced good numbers of Silver studded Blues.
Travelled home via the A14, M6, M42, M5, M50. Thank God I didn`t do the M25 and M4. Traffic was queued 30 miles from Cardiff to the Severn Bridge due to an accident on the motorway which delayed punters travelling to see Ed Sheeran in Cardiff. My heart goes out to them (!!!). The Air ambulance had to land on the motorway to take away casualties.
Jenks.
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
Re: June 2018
Large Heath in good numbers at Fenn's and Whixall Moss. Devilishly difficult to photograph - rarely alighting and when they do they tend to bury themselves amongst the grass - usually with a bog between you and the insect!
![Image](https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1790/41159706290_89f747d98d_c.jpg)
![Image](https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1790/41159706290_89f747d98d_c.jpg)
Re: June 2018
Delightful morning spent on Saturday 23rd at St Govan's Head, Pembrokeshire.
Butterfly highlights were 30-35 of both Silver Studded Blue and Dark Green Fritillary:
Butterfly highlights were 30-35 of both Silver Studded Blue and Dark Green Fritillary:
Last edited by David M on Sun Jun 24, 2018 2:41 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: June 2018
Made a return visit to Ditchling Common yesterday with fellow enthusiast Keith , who had been working all week , in the faint hope of a Black Hairstreak sighting for him . But , it wasn't to be , but we did get White Admiral , Silver-washed Fritillary and just before leaving , several tree top sightings of Purple Emperor . No chance of it coming down given the amount of canine aquatics that was going on in the lake .
On our way back , we stopped off at Ashdown Forest to look for Silver-studded Blue , an found 6/8 very fresh specimens , including a mating pair , on the windy slope above Ellisons Ponds . Most interesting was a very dark individual male that could possibly be ab.purpurascens ? Also seen , 13 species of dragonfly and damselfly .
On our way back , we stopped off at Ashdown Forest to look for Silver-studded Blue , an found 6/8 very fresh specimens , including a mating pair , on the windy slope above Ellisons Ponds . Most interesting was a very dark individual male that could possibly be ab.purpurascens ? Also seen , 13 species of dragonfly and damselfly .
Re: June 2018
Lulworth for the same named Skipper saw lots of them as well as a few DGFs and my first Hedge Brown/Gatekeeper of 2018
Have a goodun
Wurzel
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
Have a goodun
Wurzel
Re: June 2018
Purple Emperor, silver washed fritillary, white admiral, comma, speckled wood, meadow brown, large skipper and ringlet at Chiddingfold today.
Re: June 2018
Sunday, 22nd June - Oversley Woods, Alcester
Hi all,
I had a really lovely at Oversley Woods Alcester this afternoon. This was probably the most butterflies I've seen this year. We arrived about 1.30 pm and soon found a Purple Hairstreak wandering across the main path. Soon after this was a White Admiral checking out the mud tracks beside the main path.
We went to the far side of the woods where there were plenty of wildflowers, particularly Thistle and Foxglove. There were plenty of fresh Silver-washed Fritillaries and probably the biggest number of Ringlets I've seen for a few years. There were also some Marbled Whites, Meadow Browns, Commas and Large Skippers. There were a good number of White Admirals around the woods (about 16). On the way back to the car, again along the main track, there turned out to be two fresh Purple Emperors and there could have been four along this track. They were all wandering along the mud track beside the path that the White Admiral had been on earlier. Walking back through the car-park we also had a Green Woodpecker fly straight past us. A fantastic afternoon - I hadn't seen the Emperors in such easy viewing at Oversley before - normally my views there have just been of the odd one flying over.
Best wishes to all - Michael
Hi all,
I had a really lovely at Oversley Woods Alcester this afternoon. This was probably the most butterflies I've seen this year. We arrived about 1.30 pm and soon found a Purple Hairstreak wandering across the main path. Soon after this was a White Admiral checking out the mud tracks beside the main path.
We went to the far side of the woods where there were plenty of wildflowers, particularly Thistle and Foxglove. There were plenty of fresh Silver-washed Fritillaries and probably the biggest number of Ringlets I've seen for a few years. There were also some Marbled Whites, Meadow Browns, Commas and Large Skippers. There were a good number of White Admirals around the woods (about 16). On the way back to the car, again along the main track, there turned out to be two fresh Purple Emperors and there could have been four along this track. They were all wandering along the mud track beside the path that the White Admiral had been on earlier. Walking back through the car-park we also had a Green Woodpecker fly straight past us. A fantastic afternoon - I hadn't seen the Emperors in such easy viewing at Oversley before - normally my views there have just been of the odd one flying over.
Best wishes to all - Michael
Re: June 2018
Good to see you back posting, Michael...and from an unusual location to boot! What prompted your visit to this site? Seems like it turned up good returns.
SPBF, LH, on NY Moors.
Went to Ella Beck bridge, next to Fen Bog, on NY Moors for Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary.
Plenty on display to the right of car-parking, including this female.... The males ….. were interested in any female; this poor Large Skipper had the misfortune to be pestered by numerous patrolling males.... .
Down at nearby Fen Bog, at least 10-15 Large Heath seen; spent 1 hr fruitlessly trying to get a shot, as they flopped down in grasses or settled and then took flight as I struggled to get into position. Best I could do... An early morning visit needed
Plenty on display to the right of car-parking, including this female.... The males ….. were interested in any female; this poor Large Skipper had the misfortune to be pestered by numerous patrolling males.... .
Down at nearby Fen Bog, at least 10-15 Large Heath seen; spent 1 hr fruitlessly trying to get a shot, as they flopped down in grasses or settled and then took flight as I struggled to get into position. Best I could do... An early morning visit needed
"Conservation starts in small places, close to home"
Re: SPBF, LH, on NY Moors.
I've tried that, Nick, and it doesn't work!!! I'm sure the bloody things fly at night too!NickHull wrote:...An early morning visit needed
Cool, cloudy conditions with occasional sunny intervals are best. That way, you can watch them flying and see where they alight when the sun disappears.
Re: SPBF, LH, on NY Moors.
Yes, all the above; but get there before they (and you) wake up, and you have a window of 30-40 minutes as they warm-up in the early morning, where you have a better chance. They remain the worst species to photograph, on a par with erabia…..David M wrote:I've tried that, Nick, and it doesn't work!!! I'm sure the bloody things fly at night too!NickHull wrote:...An early morning visit needed
Cool, cloudy conditions with occasional sunny intervals are best. That way, you can watch them flying and see where they alight when the sun disappears.
"Conservation starts in small places, close to home"
Re: June 2018
Hi David,David M wrote:Good to see you back posting, Michael...and from an unusual location to boot! What prompted your visit to this site? Seems like it turned up good returns.
I've been there before - originally because I'd heard there were good Emperor showings again a few years back. Bill Jones (RIP) had mentioned the site but it's been very nice each trip. This one was the best as the heat was making the butterflies do different things (!) and it looks like the site is managed perfectly for the wild-flowers in certain sections. Of course, the good weather is making a difference.
best wishes
Michael
p.s. I think I was in Alun Valley on the same day as you (Saturday) and didn't see hardly any large Frits. Some, but not many... lots of horseflies though.
- P.J.Underwood
- Posts: 366
- Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 5:04 pm
- Location: S.W.Surrey
Re: June 2018
It was one of those golden moments at Chiddingfold.P.E.'s seemed everywhere.We were worried that they might be on the way out. Never,they are back in greater numbers than ever.I saw about 15 on the ground in about half an hour.It was difficult to get a good photo as the light was so bright.It was nice to meet up with Trevor and others.
P.J.U.
P.J.U.
Re: June 2018
Just back from our break down in Cornwall ,posted a couple of my highlights , excellent numbers of Small Pearls about ,but unfortunately no Marshies ! (and I did try !) probably too late ,also found most of the plant species I was hoping for ,although some had finished flowering ,plenty of Silver-Studded Blues about ,but unfortunately the sun completely disappeared for us on our trip to Penhale Dunes ,where they were out in huge numbers ,a couple of days previously Lee Slaughter ,reckoned there were 2-3,000 on the wing ……..quite staggering !
That said we still found 20-30 hiding down in the grass .
Added Ringlet and Marbled White to the year list and on two whistle stop visits on the journey home we added Dark Green Frits , and at Collard Hill
Large Blue (6 in all ) but it was just too hot,and as expected they were very reluctant to land ,let alone open their wings ,but no matter just pleased to see them !
Our other stop was at Aish Tor in Devon ,a site we,ve visited before ,on that day we saw 3-4 large Frits ,in less than ideal conditions ,but didn,t like to claim High Browns . This time was a little different ,in all I reckon we saw 20 + large Frit …...much to active ,but one did settle on the low growing bramble ,for all of 5 seconds ,and I managed one shot ,and as luck would have it …….. A High Brown a lifer for me .Well pleased !!
Regards Allan .W.
That said we still found 20-30 hiding down in the grass .
Added Ringlet and Marbled White to the year list and on two whistle stop visits on the journey home we added Dark Green Frits , and at Collard Hill
Large Blue (6 in all ) but it was just too hot,and as expected they were very reluctant to land ,let alone open their wings ,but no matter just pleased to see them !
Our other stop was at Aish Tor in Devon ,a site we,ve visited before ,on that day we saw 3-4 large Frits ,in less than ideal conditions ,but didn,t like to claim High Browns . This time was a little different ,in all I reckon we saw 20 + large Frit …...much to active ,but one did settle on the low growing bramble ,for all of 5 seconds ,and I managed one shot ,and as luck would have it …….. A High Brown a lifer for me .Well pleased !!
Regards Allan .W.
Re: June 2018
Yesterday (Sunday ) after our week away , I managed a couple of visits to my local patch (Orlestone forest ) ,in the morning in about an hour I found 20 White Admirals ,they seem to be doing really well this year ,very few Common Blues as yet .
Also saw 2 immaculate Commas ,my first Purple Hairstreak of the season (pictured ) and 3 Silver Washed ,and 2 Marbled Whites .
Later in the afternoon ,I returned and foud 25 White Ads ,but no Silver -Washed. Regards Allan.W.
Also saw 2 immaculate Commas ,my first Purple Hairstreak of the season (pictured ) and 3 Silver Washed ,and 2 Marbled Whites .
Later in the afternoon ,I returned and foud 25 White Ads ,but no Silver -Washed. Regards Allan.W.
Re: June 2018
Before starting back-to-back transects this morning , I stopped off up on the Common and was pleased to find 5 Purple Hairstreak , 3 high flyers , but the
The first transect at High Elms LNR produced 49 Marbled White and an irregular species , a lone male Dark Green Fritillary . 4 White Admiral and 3 Silver- washed fritillary were added soon after , before finding a superb , freshly emerged White-letter Hairstreak . The second transect at Down House , produced another 39 Marbled White , including a mating pair .
other two did come down briefly onto low vegetation .The first transect at High Elms LNR produced 49 Marbled White and an irregular species , a lone male Dark Green Fritillary . 4 White Admiral and 3 Silver- washed fritillary were added soon after , before finding a superb , freshly emerged White-letter Hairstreak . The second transect at Down House , produced another 39 Marbled White , including a mating pair .