Bugboys mission

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, she was very much past her best. You'll find one soon, especially if you keep having nice summer holidays on the continent like this years effort in France
Thanks Katrina, and thanks again for the lift. Here's part 2
Thanks David. These last posts could very well be it for the season now winter has arrived right on queue with the clocks changing! It had to happen at some point Fingers crossed for a good few months of cold weather to set 2019 of to a good start . I'm sure I'll find something to point my camera at in the meantime

24th October Part 2, the last butterflies of the year?

Finally Katrina and I got our fill of various Clouded Yellow stages, and with no sign of ‘Bob’ the antisocial comedy Egret for further entertainment, we decided to move on to Mill Hill. Trevor had wandered off but we tried to get his attention, waving wildly in his direction until he appeared behind us . We don’t know who we were inadvertently waving at but they were walking away from us, so any awkward moments were thankfully avoided .

Katrina drove us to the top car park. On the way to the Hemp Agrimony we found a nice female Common Blue who, after a period of basking, started looking for somewhere to lay.

The Agrimony had mostly gone over now but still enough to tempt any passing nymphalid should it need a quick pit stop. Today though, there were no such butterflies so we moved onto the ever reliable bottom corner. Here we found the usual selection of suspects we have come to expect in this tiny corner of Sussex. Cloudies patrolled, only stopping very briefly to feed here and there, but attention was immediately drawn to a glittering Copper, flitting around.

There were quite a few other butterflies flitting around making it seem a lot earlier in the season than the end of October. You could be forgiven for presuming the next few photo’s were taken in mid June!

A single Brown Argus added to the slowly growing species list for the day.

A few Walls were also active but unapproachable in the bright sun and the odd Speckled Wood was seen Lurking in the shadier paths. Katrina had left earlier so I wandered around the Horse fields on my return to the train station, finding a few Red Admirals, one of whom had had a very close call with something rather unfriendly!

I ended the day with nine species and if these were the last butterflies I was going to see this year, then I couldn’t have asked for a better send off from a fantastic season

[millerd]

A very good way to close off the season (if is turns out to be the end of course... ). A shame I didn't get down there again.

That Red Admiral with the missing chunk of its wing is amazing - it still manages to hold what's left in perfect symmetry with the other wing.

Cheers,

Dave

[Maximus]

An excellent way to finish the season, with some really fresh looking butterflies

[trevor]

Bob the Egret did make an appearance on Thursday, but played hard to get.
Not a bad haul from Mill Hill !.

[Wurzel]

A great haul from the last trip Bugboy I'm amazed that that Red Admirals was able to hold it's wing in such a fashion - you'd think that with that much missing the trailing edge would be a bit floppy but it looks as rigid as always

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Amazed that the Red Admiral could still fly, BB.

Things are going to get tricky now, what with this cooler weather descending upon us.

I reckon birds will outnumber butterflies on the 'sightings' pages from now on.

Hopefully you and a handful of others will be able to buck the trend?

[bugboy]

Thanks for all the comments . I never witnessed the Red Admiral actually fly but given it was above head height it would seem it's flight wasn't badly effected. The saving grace I think was the stiff leading edge of the wing was narrowly missed by whatever attacked it.

Good to see Bob still looking as miserable and unapproachable as ever Trevor

Of course I never actually said that last report would be my last of the year ...

31st October, Halloween Butterflies

I didn't really have any specific plans today, and hadn't really been keeping an eye on the forecast, but the blue sky and relative warmth tempted me out to Essex for a few hours in the afternoon. In 3 hours of wandering I came across four butterflies of three species in total. First was a male Cloudie, flying weekly but persistently along the usual path into a stiff easterly. No upper sides were achieved from him today.

Whilst following him I disturbed a Small Copper. No pictures though and the last I saw of it was the glinting wings as it vanished down the path.

Next up was a female Cloudie on the way to Two Tree Island. She was also battling with the breeze but did look like a very fresh emergent.

On Two Tree Island I headed for the flowering Ivy that had been so fruitful on my previous visits, finding it empty, but nearby another fresh emergent was busy looking for moisture on the path.

I would have hung around a bit longer but high cloud put an early end to play. Still, not bad for the last day of October

[millerd]

I knew the Cloudies would still be around somewhere... I'm waiting for a bulletin from Trevor on the situation down in Sussex!

Good to see them still, Buggy.

Dave

[Wurzel]

That Cloudy is certainly well coloured Bugboy, not just the brightness of the yellow but also the pink fluffy head, I knew a girl in Camden that used to rock that shade

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Paul Harfield]

Hi Bugboy
Like you, I love finding butterflies at this time of year. As the chances of seeing a butterfly diminish by the day each one seems to mean so much more than those seen in the summer. You seem to be have been doing better than most especially with those Clouded Yellows . You have certainly been doing a better job than me at capturing those 'Yellow' moments

[David M]

That's excellent for the last day of October, BB, especially that female Cloudie, who does indeed look very fresh.

[bugboy]

Still flying Dave, still flying
Maybe I'm missing a trick then Wurzel, all the Cloudies in north London are blending in with the locals
I'm being very persistant with the Cloudies this year Paul . Seems to be paying off!
Thanks David, off course, 2018 being what it is, it ain't finished yet!

3rd November, Once more unto Sussex!

Another day out on the south coast for another ‘final’ butterfly trip of the season. A warm sunny day was promised but so was a strong southerly breeze. Both predictions came true so I decided to give Southwick a miss this time, figuring the wind would make a mockery of any photo attempts, and instead made my way to Lancing beach front and a search for Vince's Large Whites. First I walked along the edge of the lagoon, hoping it's steep bank would provide a little shelter from the wind. It didn't really and there was no sign of butterfly life, so I crossed the road to look for caterpillars and pupa. 2 fully grown larvae were discovered looking for somewhere to Pupate but I couldn't recognize the wooden pillar where Vince found his pupae. As luck would have it I found my own though!

That's another species where I now have the full set of eggs, larvae, pupae and adult

Satisfied with that result it was off to Mill Hill see if any of Vince's findings from yesterday were still active. On the way a Red Admiral whizzed past me, late for something!

As is often the way at this time of year here, it was a Clouded Yellow who welcomed me to the site, flying low and hunting for what every male butterfly is always after. In the distance I could see a huddle of figures down in the bottom corner which gave me confidence it wasn't a wasted trip. It was Katrina with family and friends and a few Common Blues. Four or five Blues were active here, a couple of the males being freshly minted. I found a single female who did look rather weak, either exhausted from egg laying or nearing the end of her life, I suspect a combination of both.

Along with them at least two Cloudies were active, patrolling males, and a single fresh Meadow Brown. Neither Katrina or I could find any sign of Vince's Brown Argus. The place was alive with Common Darter Dragonflies though, perhaps they've succumbed to their hungry jaws?

A wander up to the top car park and the Agrimony proved fruitless, probably far to exposed and windy today, and upon returning to the bottom corner at around 2 I found that was too now empty, the low sun presumably sending everything to roost early. I did manage to catch up with a couple of Cloudies as I was leaving, soaking up the weakening rays and looking for roosting spots, I don't think it's coincidence they gravitate towards yellowing leaves. Looking at my pictures, neither of these two were the one who welcomed me so there were at least three here today.

Spot the butterfly

Five species (If I include Large White) and only 8 weeks from the winter solstice !

[Wurzel]

That is a fantastic November Haul Minted Common Blues seem very unseasonal but not so much as the Meadow Brown to my mind

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Katrina]

Fantastic Cloudie photos and lovely to see you again yesterday.

[millerd]

That Meadow Brown does look fresh - the fringes are quite prominent. Most unusual. The last Cloudie looks really yellow - they are definitely designed to blend in with autumn leaves. And a nice new Common Blue too.

Cheers,

Dave

[David M]

We seem to have become desensitised to these kind of returns this year, BB, but I have to say, for early November, that's quite a collection, and one that would have probably been unthinkable even 15 years ago!

[Neil Freeman]

A great selection of species and photos for the time of year Bugboy
Those must be some really sheltered spots down there, it almost seems like a different country to me compared with my area here in the midlands.

Cheers,

Neil.

[bugboy]

Thanks for the comments , It's been a long season but I sense it may finally be over

14th November

I went back to Essex and Two Tree Island for the day, for the first time since the spring more for birds rather than butterflies. That didn’t stop me having a quick wander along the main path at Hadleigh Country Park first, where I found the bulk of the clouded Yellows in this part of the world this year, and was rewarded within 5 mins of another male feeding and basking. He was the first of the one butterfly I was to see today, perhaps the last one of 2018 but I’m certainly not going to put any money on that!

On all my previous trips here this autumn high tide has been at unsociable early morning and/or late at night times so wader watching hasn’t been possible. Today was a little earlier although not as early as I had initially thought, I’d misread the times. I thought it was at 3pm but it was at 4.30, just at sunset so in the end I missed the bulk of the wader murmuration action. Nevertheless there was still enough stuff going on to keep me occupied. Curlew seemed to be relatively common although not as common as they should be, holding as they do the unenviable label of Britain’s fastest declining wader .

Wigeon have arrived in decent flocks

And the Avocet were also present in good numbers, around 30 or so.

No idea what this Wigeon found so scary about the Avocet!

The ever present Redshank were around and Black-tailed Godwits were being the usual antisocial sods to each other whilst a few other odds and ends avoided all the kafuffle.

As the sun was setting I could make out large flocks of Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Ringed Plover amongst others being forced up the channel but only distant shots could be grabbed before the light was lost. It was a wonderful sunset though.

[Goldie M]

Hi! Bugboy, I love your shots of the Sun sets and especially the birds in flight , Great! Goldie

[Wurzel]

Great set of shots Bugboy especially the Blackwits and the Lapwing coming into land is sublime This time next week we should be well into the fat chewing - bought my ticket the other night, good old Great Western much better than South Western

Have a goodun

Wurzel