Hoggers

[Allan.W.]

Hi Hoggers ,
Funny that ,I don,t live too far away from your good self ,and a few years back I also had a single Wall in the back garden,and as I remember that was also during a prolonged warm spell . The oddest record locally was (believe it or not ) a Chalkhill Blue ,well seen by a very competent butterflyman
in Birchett Wood !! And there is also a record a few years back of a Wood White (again seen by a competent observer ) along the road at Shadoxhurst.
I reckon some species must wander in times of Drought which may explain the Chalkhill ,but not so sure about the Woodwhite !
Regards Allan.W.

[Goldie M]

Hi! Hogger's, I couldn't get the family to travel to your spot Whilst in Kent, now it looks like I've missed out on the Coppers may be one will come into my Garden but I doubt it, I'll have to wait for next year now.
Great you found a wall in your Garden, I like to chalk up the different Butterflies I see as well in my Garden Goldie

[Allan.W.]

Hello again Hoggers,
Nipped out after posting the above ,on arriving back was amazed to see a Small Heath tootling about my neighbours front garden ,a first for me
from the gardens !
Regards Allan.W.

[Hoggers]

I do think something unusual is going on. During this heat wave I've seen one Common Blue and two Brown Argus in the garden. Not unheard of but rare. Then a Small Copper (rare again) and to top it all there was yesterday's Wall.

The nearest Wall colony (as far as I know) is on top of Wye Downs, so finding one in my garden was a great surprise!

Dungeness this morning was very warm indeed

I counted 39 Coppers

They're mostly worn and dented

I saw just a couple that looked in fair nick

Very faint blue on this one (typical of this year's second brood)

Good numbers of Common Blue and Brown Argus ( and of the latter, one was unusually small) and a Painted Lady.

They had some rain a week ago so I did look at the Sorrel : still mostly brown and parched, but I saw a few clumps with green leaves.

So more in the way of Phantom Coppers at the moment, ghosts of their former selves

I'll be very interested to see what lies on store for the rest of the season!

[David M]

The rest of the season will be very interesting, Hoggers. In spite of the glorious weather lately, I'm not seeing huge numbers of butterflies. However, conditions are now improving markedly for early stages and one hopes we may be in for a late season bonanza with additional broods complementing the usual adult hibernators.

You may well record a November phlaeas if things continue as they are.

[Hoggers]

I am delighted to introduce to you the newest recruit to Team Copper

Pip

After the loss of our beloved Springer, Monty, earlier this year we though it was time to let another little life into our home and our hearts.

Today was his first visit to Dungeness and he loved it!

I am training him to sniff out Small Coppers, and in particular those cracking abs that we get down here

Sadly, there was little for Pip to do today : we saw only 3 Small Coppers.

One was fresh

A third brood Copper.

The other two were worn second brood

How different to past years! 25th August 2016 : 146 Coppers. 26th August 2017 : 91 Coppers.

We also saw 4 Brown Argus, a few Common Blues and 3 Painted Lady

Still, I've a feeling that Pip will make a great addition to the Team

[Allan.W.]

Hello Hoggers ,
We must have just missed you today ! We found 4 Small Coppers (at Dungeness ) 3 second brood and one glorious 3rd brood male ,
and in keeping with everyones findings ………….Very small . Also 5 Painted Ladies ,3 Hummingbird Hawks a few Meadow Browns and Commojn blues.
Later in Orlestone ,I found 3 Coppers ,all 3rd brood …..2 males and 1 female,all normal size.
Regards Allan.W.

[Wurzel]

The third brood Copper is a real beaut Hoggers Is the lack of Coppers because they've been and gone early due to the heatwave that we had? Good luck training Pip the Copper Sniffer

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Old Wolf]

Well I haven't seen any more since last I posted to take a closer look! They appear to have vanished from my neck of the woods. Maybe next year.

Pip is a beauty. I wish him all the best in his training

[David M]

I love the Springer, Hoggers. I've a feeling that dog's going to have a very happy life!

Regarding the Coppers, those statistics are quite revealing. Is the disparity due to timing given how early the season is this year or was the long, dry spell a few weeks back to blame, with suitable foodplant in short supply leading to fewer emergees?

[Hoggers]

Hi All, I thought I'd turn a wet and windy afternoon to good use so I dug out some of my old butterfly notebooks from storage (I moved home a few months ago, still in Ashford but also still unpacking ! )

Here are a few Small Copper counts from Dungeness and all relate to the third brood :

22nd August 2012 : "numerous" ( that's what appears in the notebook - not very scientific but it gives an idea )

24th August 2013 : "many" (ditto!)

27th August 2014 : 34 ( I'd started to make the effort to count them!)

28th August 2015 : 68

25th August 2016 : 146

26th August 2017 : 91

25th August 2018 : 3

I saw only one third brood Copper yesterday so it does appear that things are running late. I am very interested to see how the brood develops this year. I have mentioned before that the Sorrel crop really suffered through lack of rain and I expressed my concerns about how this might impact upon the third brood. Maybe this late start is the first sign?

Thanks for welcoming Pip - He looks like a born Copper Detector to me!

All the best,

Hoggers

[David M]

Some amazing fluctuations there, Hoggers, given that they are only a few days apart each year. I guess Dungeness is a fairly dry site anyway so it probably suffered more than most other sites during that long, dry spell.

Hopefully things will recover in due course, especially since the usual ‘cool and wet’ has returned, with the promise of better things to come in early September.

[Hoggers]

A return to lovely warm sunny weather on the last day of August so I went to see how the third brood of Coppers is getting on at Dungeness

I counted 7 in all

One was a bit off colour

But this one (with just a touch of blue) absolutely glowed

A gorgeous sight

With the fine weather set to last it will be interesting to see how the third brood develops

[Allan.W.]

Hello Hoggers ,
I had a couple of hours there as well this afternoon ,I managed 4 Coppers , all 3rd brood and two of them already showing a bit of wear !
I also saw several very small meadow Browns (fresh !) including a pair ,high numbers of Large White,many egg-laying females (Sea Kale )
A Painted Lady ,and several Common Blue and Brown Argus ghosts ! mind you I did see one fresh male Common Blue .(3rd brood ?)
Regards Allan.W.

[ernie f]

Hi, Hoggers. Great pics yet again. I think the Small Copper must be my favourite UK butterfly. My book gives the flight times of each brood and has a gap between the third week of August and the second week of September. Around here this has until now been approximately correct but not so this year. I have been seeing what appear to be fresh third brooders flying during the last week of August and yesterday at my prime site at Broxhead Heath I counted 22 individuals! It sure is a strange year. I expected the long, hot summer to have decimated these fellows but they seem unharmed by it and yet...

... where are all the Brimstones? I have not seen a single one for about a month now.

[David M]

Things are looking up already, Hoggers. I've seen more Small Coppers than normal in my area recently so hopefully your counts will be back in the high dozens very soon.

[Hoggers]

Hi All, it's a curious thing but I too am seeing more Coppers than usual : I counted 4 yesterday where I walk Pip close to home.

Today Pip and I popped back to Dungeness

The Coppers now emerging are stunning : I mean, look at this beautiful creature

Simply glorious!

Pip sniffed out 11

Including this one with wing marks that look so perfect it could be an illustration from an identification book

And this one with lighter colour and slightly embellished spotting

It is very exciting to watch a brood begin its emergence

And how lovely to see true Blue Badgers once more after a virtual absence during the second brood

I wonder what the explanation for this variation is?

[Goldie M]

Hi! Hogger's, I'd a great time at Fleetwood last Thursday I counted 15 coppers on the front there, that's the most I've ever seen in one go and they looked so fresh, let's hope they come every year. Goldie

[Wurzel]

Looks like Pip is coming into his own Hoggers He sniffed out some cracking looking Coppers. Could the Blue badgers in the the later brood be something to do with 'dazzling' as a protection? At this time of year the Copper can really stand out against the straw coloured background so perhaps the flash of blue badges confuses a predator to strike at the hind wing rather than the main part of the body? Just an idea...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Hoggers]

Hi Wurzel, I'd never have though of that in a million years! What an imaginative and insightful suggestion! I've often wondered how Small Coppers look to other Small Coppers, but never thought to consider how Small Coppers look to hungry birds!

We normally see more Blue Badgers in the second and third broods than in the first. This year was very odd in that there were hardly any of them in the second but from what I've seen of this emerging third brood Blue Badges are making a come back.

Here are a few photos of my local Coppers (I moved home a few months ago and have recently discovered a small colony of them where I walk young Pip )

I've counted 4 so far (of which two are pictured)

Heartening to see them doing well and so close to home