Neil Freeman

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel, the Bullfinches are regular visitors at the moment

Looking back at 2018 part 3 – Late Summer into Autumn.

By the middle of August things were getting back to more normal conditions for the time of year around here, that is a mix of sunny spells and cloudier days with some longer periods of rain at last which helped to revive the parched vegetation hereabouts.
Second brood Common Blues, Small Copper and Small Heath continued to fly around my local spots but Gatekeepers had already disappeared as had Meadow Browns which usually hang on a little longer here, albeit nowhere near as long as they do down south. Holly Blues were still about but not that many and most were looking past their best now.

Small Heath - Sheldon Country Park 06.08.2018

Holly Blue - Coverdale 06.08.2018

Speckled Woods were continuing to grow in numbers and on one particular day(19th August) I managed to identify - by comparing photos - 7 different males and 2 females in my garden.

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 13.08.2018

At the end of August and into the first week of September we went down to Dorset for one of our regular late summer visits, staying for a week at Durdle Door next to Lulworth Cove. I have said it before, and will say it again, that I believe this area to be amongst the best in the country for butterflies at that time of year. I must admit I was wondering what I would find following the hot, dry summer, and indeed the sites that I visited were all looking very brown and dry compared to visits in previous years. The weather during the week that we were there was a bit cooler and cloudier than it had been but still quite warm and we saw no rain until the last day.

The gully at Durlston CP looking very dry

As it turned out, there were plenty of most of the usual subjects to be seen, I say most because although I saw 19 species down there including good numbers of my main target for the week (Adonis Blues), there were some species that only showed up in low numbers, most notably the usual migrants. During the week I only saw 3 each of Red Admiral, Painted Lady and Clouded Yellow plus by a co-incidence of numbers also 3 Hummingbird Hawk Moths. These, along with lower than usual numbers of Large Whites showed that there was not much coming in from across the channel at that particular time. Small Tortoiseshells and Peacocks were also notable by their absence, a far cry from a few years ago down here when it seemed that every buddleia was covered with them.
Apart from the Adonis Blues already mentioned there were good numbers of Common Blues, Brown Argus, Small Copper and Small Heath to be found at most of the sites I visited. A few Chalk Hill Blues were still hanging on at Bindon Hill above Lulworth Cove, this being the only time I saw this species in 2018. Graylings were still flying at Durdle Door although Meadow Browns were definitely down in number from what I usually see in this area at this time of year.

Adonis Blue - Osmington 04.09.2018

Chalk Hill blue - Bindon Hill 02.09.2018

Grayling - Durdle Door 03.09.2018

Brown Argus - Durdle Door 05.09.2018

Small Copper - Durdle Door 05.09.2018

Common Blue - Portland 04.09.2018

A late second brood Small Blue surprised me at Durlston Country Park as I had never seen one of these down here at that time of year.

Small Blue - Durlston CP 05.09.2018

Less of a surprise was a late Marbled White seen at Durdle Door as I have seen occasional examples of these down here in the first few days of September before and they certainly seem to last longer on this stretch of coast than at most other locations.

Back home though the rest of September things were falling into that familiar pattern of decent warm and sunny days through the week when I was at work and then cloud or rain at the weekend. Looking back at my notes, the last two Saturdays in the month were particularly wet and both were followed by dull and gloomy Sundays.

Going into early October, Speckled Wood were still hanging on although most were now looking tired and faded. I saw reports of third brood Common Blues appearing at a few places around the midlands which is unusual for around here so I went out for a look around to see if I could find any. The conditions were far from ideal on the Saturday (Oct. 7th) that I went out with a cold wind blowing and I found just one butterfly which was indeed a single male third brood Common Blue.

Common Blue 07.10.2018

This actually turned out to be my last time out looking for butterflies in 2018 as things had just fizzled out locally plus I had used up all my floating holidays from work by now and also needed to catch up on some household jobs at the weekends. This was a shame really as I had seen reports of Clouded Yellows in unusually good numbers for the midlands (20+ including a number of helice) at Sywell Country Park in Northamptonshire which were believed to be the offspring of earlier migrants. Oh well, although I missed them myself, I did see some great photos of these posted by others on the usual social media. There had also been reports of Clouded Yellows sticking around a couple of sites in Warwickshire and Shropshire earlier in the summer so it appears that this species was seen a bit more often than usual in the midlands this year, unfortunately not by myself though... wrong place and time for me as usual.

My very last butterfly of 2018 was a tired Speckled Wood seen in my garden on October 20th.

My last butterfly of 2018

In the end it turned into a year which reminded me a bit of the weather that we used to have when I was a teenager growing up in the 1970s. That is, a proper winter followed by a changeable spring and then a hot dry summer. There was much talk of the summer being like that of 1976 but, at least around here, the really hot weather ended well before the drought became anywhere near as bad as in that year. That is not to say that it didn't become very dry and parched here which it certainly did and this seemed to adversely effected the summer grassland species in particular. As in most years there appeared to be losers (most Satyrids) as well as winners (Most Lycaenids) and it remains to be seen how the conditions this year have impacted on the numbers for 2019.

All in all I saw 38 species in 2018 which is the lowest final tally I have had for some years now. This was partially to do with decisions that I made before the season started on where and when to have our breaks/holidays around the country and also partially due to the fact that I have decided to try and cut down the miles that I clock up each year looking for butterflies. With this in mind I made a conscious decision to miss certain species this year, especially some of those that are a fair distance from me and I have seen many times before, and try and limit the longer distance journeys to those where we stayed for a few days and could make best use of our time in the area. This is all part of me trying to be a 'responsible butterfly enthusiast' and doing my bit to reduce my own carbon footprint.

With a couple of months of winter still to go I will be thinking of what I would like to see in 2019 and making plans for the forthcoming season, I already have some thoughts in my head so now need to check up on flight periods and look into possible locations and accommodation.

Here's hoping that everyone had a great New Year and is looking forward to a fantastic butterfly filled season ahead.

Neil.

[Wurzel]

A wonderfully illustrated (if that is the right word of photo?) and interesting account of 2018 Neil and I can certainly agree with a lot of your observations though I don't know if we'll have to wait and see how badly the dry summer affected the Meadow Browns they certainly seemed to be fewer in number Have a great 2019

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

That's a thoughtful and interesting review of the latter part of summer, Neil. I agree, it has been a peculiar year, cold to begin with then spectacularly warm and dry followed by a descent into damp and dreary through August and into September.

Like you, I was alarmed by the relative lack of adult overwinterers and whilst much of the south and south east saw additional broods, the effect in my part of the UK was to bring a premature end to the season with little in the way of fresh emergences resulting from the warmer weather earlier in the summer.

Now that we're part way into January, I fear that we are also going to see a poor spring showing unless we get a cold snap before the end of February.

It just proves that a hot summer isn't necessarily beneficial long term to butterflies, although I hope I will be proved wrong over the forthcoming few months.

[Goldie M]

Hi! Neil, I feel afraid for the Meadow Brown's this year, because of the hot Summer and the fact we had the Moors burning around our way, lots of them were disrupted, I even had some in my Garden which as never happened before, it's certainly going to be a Summer this year of surprises. Goldie

[Andrew555]

Very interesting year review Neil, and you took some fantastic shots. Love the double Tortoiseshell and of course the epic Swallowtail.

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks David, looks like we could be in for some cold weather later this week. Around these parts at least, February can often be the coldest month of the year so plenty of time for some hard frosts.

Hi Goldie, yes, I too am a bit apprehensive about what the coming season will be like after last year.

Cheers Andrew, the Swallowtails were definitely my highlight of the year.

Sunday 13th January

A mostly grey and gloomy weekend again with the sun breaking through late on Sunday afternoon just before it set to leave a clear and cold night.

The Bullfinches are visiting the feeders every day and this weekend they have been joined by a male Blackcap. I think I remember last year mentioning that I usually start seeing the Blackcaps in the garden a week or two after Christmas and so I had been keeping a look out recently and was pleased to see him back. In reality I have no way to know if he is one who has been here before or a new one to the garden but it would be nice to think that the same ones keep returning.

As usual, all these photos were taken though the window from the comfort of my back room whilst having a coffee and watching the activity around the feeders.

Male Bullfinch - Coverdale 13.01.2018

Male Bullfinch - Coverdale 13.01.2018

Female Bullfinch and male House Sparrow - Coverdale 13.01.2018

Male Blackcap - Coverdale 13.01.2018

Male Blackcap - Coverdale 13.01.2018

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Great set of shots Neil I was intrigued as to whether your Blackcap is the same one so I googled how long they live and the typical life expectancy is two years so it could well be the same one (the oldest was 13 years old ) - the only sure way though would be to ring it

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Lovely shots of the Bull Finches and Black cap Neil, I've had a Black Cap in the Garden once I think, well, I've only seen one once We don't see the Bull Finches in the Garden , I've only seen them at Penn Flash, more's the pity because I love to see their bright red chests and the cheeky looks they give you Goldie

[David M]

Loving those birds, Neil (especially the male Bullfinches). Is global warming responsible for Blackcaps remaining in the UK during winter?

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Wurzel, I was wondering how long they lived, I guess much depends on weather conditions and food supplies.

Thanks Goldie, I am lucky in that I see the Bullfinches in the garden regularly, more often in fact than I see them when out and about.

Thanks David, It looks like it is. Some interesting info at https://www.bto.org/about-birds/species-focus/blackcap

And now for some moths,

Garden Moths – 2018.

As with the butterflies, 2018 was a year of mixed fortunes regarding the moths in my garden with some species having a good year and others less so. In very general terms it appeared that some of the species that pupate underground and emerge in the summer months suffered somewhat from the dry conditions which had led to the ground being baked rock hard.
An example of this is the well known Large Yellow Underwing - the Bobowler of my childhood – which often enter houses through open windows on warm summer nights and fly around the lights. In 2018 I had 207 of these to my moth trap, down from the 311 that I had in 2017 and well down on the 599 I had in 2016.
This trend seemed to hold true for other summer species as well lending credence to the theory I saw being discussed on some Facebook moth groups that they were having difficulties emerging from under the baked hard ground. It was certainly true that there was a noticeable rise in numbers from late July after we had the first proper rain for some weeks.

On the other hand some of the spring species had a good year. One of my favourite early spring moths, the Oak Beauty, was being reported in good numbers from all over the place and I had 6 to my trap from mid February through to mid March compared to just 2 in both 2017 and 2016.

All in all, I had a total of 225 species in 2018 made up of 142 macro and 83 micro species. These included 29 new for the garden (NFG) of which 19 were macros and 10 micros. This brings my total garden list up to a total of 291 species made up of 189 macros and 102 micros. It can be seen from this that I have seen quite a few species in the past couple of years since I started running the trap that didn't turn up in 2018. Many of these are ones that I have only seen in ones and twos but there were some that usually turn up in reasonable numbers including both White and Buff Ermine Moths that were missing this year.

Anyway, a few photos below of some of my favourites, posted in order that they appeared in the trap through the year.

Oak Beauty 15.03.2018. One of the most attractive of the early spring moths.

Early Thorn 19.04.2018. A nice spring brood female, there is also a second brood later in the summer so you can also have a 'not so early' Early Thorn.

Clouded Silver 15.05.2018. A beautiful late spring /early summer species.

Lime Hawk Moth 15.05.2018. The first adult to my trap although I did raise one in 2017 from a larva.

Ruby Tiger 28.05.2018. Quite a few of this lovely little member of the Tiger Moth family, up to half a dozen a night sometimes.

Peppered Moth 28.05.2018. NFG this year.

Small Elephant Hawk Moth 31.05.2018. NFG and a highlight of the year. I was surprised to see this in my suburban garden but apparently expanding its range in Warwickshire.

Poplar Hawk Moth 03.06.2018. The most common Hawk Moth, I had half a dozen of these in 2018.

Common White Wave 07.06.2018. Always get a few of this attractive species.

Blood-vein 17.06.2018. NFG in 2018, I usually see these when disturbed by day when out and about at my local sites.

Small Ranunculus 04.07.218. Extinct in the UK by 1914, reappeared in 1997 and has since recolonised and is spreading across the country and is now regularly seen in parts of Warwickshire.

Dusky Thorn 08.07.2018. A late summer/autumn species really, this one was a little early.

Elephant Hawk Moth. 08.07.2018. Always good to see this lovely Hawk Moth in the trap, I had half a dozen this year.

Pale Prominent 19.07.2018. Just one of these before, in 2016.

Gold Spot 02.08.2018. NFG and just the one of this lovely close relative of the Silver-Y.

Barred Sallow 03.10.2018. I usually get small numbers of this attractive autumn species.

It has either been too cold or too windy to put the trap out so far this year and it looks to be getting colder for the foreseeable future so I guess I won't be seeing any more moths for a while yet.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

A veritable smorgasbord of Moffs Neil - having learnt and then taught about it the Peppered Moth is probably my most wanted Moff Interesting to read of the decline in those summer emerging species which may have had trouble of getting out of the ground - I'm sure that I've read about butterflies having the same problems

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Amazing colours in those Moths Neil, love the Clouded Silver Goldie

[David M]

Fabulous moth presentation, Neil. Your stats are pretty impressive too (225 species).

There is such a range of colours and shapes. It's easy to be drawn by the hawk moths, but the delectable Gold Spot is the one that most caught my eye.

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel, I remember when the Peppered Moth was used as an example of evolution in action with the melanic form becoming more common in towns due to industrial pollution. In fact the normal form has become more common again over recent years due to there being less heavy industry in towns these days.

Thanks Goldie, yes, the Clouded Silver has a lovely silvery sheen to it when fresh.

Thanks David, I was well chuffed with that Gold Spot, definitely one of my highlights of the year.

Cheers,

Neil

[Neil Freeman]

Friday 1st February.

Anyone watching the news earlier this evening might have got the impression that the whole of the country had been blanketed by snow. In fact it completely missed us here in my part of the midland with the heaviest snowfall appearing to have blown past us to the south. It has been cold though with temperatures down to -7 on Wednesday night with daytime temperatures barely rising above freezing, not helped by a biting cold wind.

Anyway, here's another look back to warmer times last year;

Day Flying Moths - 2018

I have mentioned a couple of times in my previous reports that I had a definite 'June Gap' early in the month around my immediate local area. This was mostly because my local sites are relatively species poor without any of the 'premium' species that can be enjoyed down south and where it appeared that everything was beginning to appear in quick succession.
Yes, there were a few spring butterflies hanging on and the first Large Skippers had appeared which always heralds the beginning of summer for me, but numbers of individual butterflies here were low and had not yet built up to the numbers that they would do later in June.

This was offset somewhat by the numbers of day flying moths that appeared from late May at a couple of local sites with some species such as Latticed Heath, Burnet Companion and Mother Shipton seeming to be having very good seasons.
Possibly due to a combination of the numbers that were around and also helped by the weather conditions which at this time tended to be quite warm but still cloudy, I managed to get some of my best photos of these moths which can often be very flighty and usually settle low down amongst vegetation making it difficult to get a decent shot.

Latticed Heath - Castle Hills 20.05.2018

Burnet Companion - Castle Hills 25.05.2018

Burnet Companion - Castle Hills 25.05.2018

Mother Shipton - Bickenhill 03.06.2018

It also seemed to be a good year for Small Yellow Underwings, a diminutive species that is classed as a macro but often overlooked due to its small size which is smaller than many micros. I saw more of these last year locally than I have ever seen before.

Small Yellow Underwing - Castle Hills 25.05.2018

Some of the species seen are not true day flyers but are so easily disturbed during the day that they will often be seen taking flight before settling again a short distance away, often low down in the vegetation or upside down underneath leaves.

Silver-ground Carpet - Bickenhill 03.06.2018

Blood-vein - Bickenhill 03.06.2018

My first couple of trips a bit further afield continued this theme...

Mother Shipton - Bishops Hill 19.05.2018

Silver-ground Carpet - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018

...and also included some species that I don't see locally.

Common Heath - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018.

Wood Tiger Moth - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018

Five-spot Burnet Moth ab. - Prestbury Hill 28.05.2018

I originally thought that the Burnet Moth ab. above was a Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet, loads of which I see locally. After posting the photo on a Facebook moth group it was confirmed to be the more scarce and local Five-spot Burnet which is known to occur at Prestbury Hill, a fact I was previously unaware of. Apparently this form of ab. with conjoined spots is also more common amongst Five-spots than it's more common relative.

As June progressed the numbers of these early summer day flying moths reduced and the numbers of summer butterflies increased but for a couple of short weeks they filled the gap nicely around here.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Great photos Neil - especially the Mother Shipton - whenever I see them they're generally peering out from among the grasses

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Beautiful selection of moths, Neil (as ever). Hopefully it's only a few short weeks before they (and butterflies) are visibly on the wing again.

Like you, we in Swansea missed the worst of the weather. A slight dusting is all that descended and today's wall to wall sunshine has seen almost all of it melt.

[Neil Freeman]

Indeed Wurzel, a common habit of many of these day flying moths and one which can be extremely frustrating at times.

Not even a slight dusting for us here David. Since then it has gone a lot milder but wet and very windy so no moth trapping until the winds die down a bit.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Neil Freeman]

Sunday 10th February

A very windy couple of days with bursts of heavy rain but the sun came out for a bit this morning and before the next band or rain came across this afternoon it actually felt almost pleasant.

A lot of the garden birds have been keeping themselves tucked up in the worst of the weather but many reappeared this morning to make the most of the respite from the wind and rain.

Amongst the usual visitors to the feeders, a Great Spotted Woodpecker was tucking into the suet block,

Woody enjoying the suet block - Coverdale 10.02.219

Last year I noticed that some of the male Blackbirds that often pick up bits of food from under the feeders had taken to flying up and knocking bits off for themselves instead of waiting for other birds to do this. I noticed a couple of them doing this again today and was entertained with their antics as they did this and then tried to get down again to their rewards before a couple of big fat Wood Pidgeons darted in and beat them to it.

Blackbird flying up to knock bits off the suet block.

I also noticed that I wasn't the only one watching them...

Fox watching from the long grass at the bottom of the garden.

...although it was far too wary (or lazy) to come out into the open.

Bye for now,

Neil

[Goldie M]

Love the Bird shots Neil, I put Suet Pellets out for the Birds and the Black Birds wait on my small Conifer for the Starlings to come and knock pieces off which they quickly pick up Goldie