Neil Freeman

[Neil Freeman]

Back to Normal

After the early taste of summer that we had last week, things have returned to normal with a bit of a vengeance. The last day of February (Last Thursday) was significantly cooler and cloudier and by the weekend we were looking at typical conditions for the time of year. Saturday was not too bad with a few short sunny spells in the morning before some rain blew in during the afternoon but Sunday was wet all day with mostly drizzle and light rain with some heavier bursts every now and then. The winds built up through the afternoon as storm Freya approached until by early evening it was blowing a right hoolie.

Needless to say with these conditions, I haven't seen any more butterflies but I did put the moth trap out a few times last week before the nights got too windy.

The best moth I have had so far was a Pale Pinion on the night of Tuesday 26th Feb. This nationally local species was first recorded in Warwickshire (at Oversley Wood) in 1984 following an extension in range from the south-west and is now fairly widespread around the county but still a good record for my garden.

Pale Pinion - Coverdale 26.02.2019

The previous Friday night I had trapped another Dotted Border following the one from the week before and this one was a darker colour form, again showing the variation found within many moth species.

Dotted Border - Coverdale 22.02.2019

To illustrate this I put together a composite shot showing the darker one from last week with the lighter form from the week before.

Dotted Border colour forms.

I also had more Common Quakers last week and did another composite of four different variations caught the same night.

Common Quakers showing variation.

The only other moths caught last week were first of the years of Hebrew Character and Beautiful Plume Moth.

Hebrew Character - Coverdale 27.02.2019

Beautiful Plume Moth - Coverdale 27.02.2019

Over this past weekend, especially on Sunday, it seemed that even the birds were mostly keeping hidden away from the wind and rain but on Saturday afternoon I was pleased to see a pair of Greenfinches on the feeders, this being only the second time I have seen these in the garden with the first time being a male last year.

Greenfinches - Coverdale 02.03.2019

Greenfinches - Coverdale 02.03.2019

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Great sequence of shots Neil The variation seen in those moths is really something - and to think they have the 'boring' tag applied to them so often...The Greenfinch shots are also great - something of a rarity nowadays - I can't even remember the last time I saw them Hopefully the weather will start to improve again soon - or have we already had our summer ?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Back to normal indeed, Neil. Nice that you've got your moths to keep you occupied as well as your garden birds. Those greenfinches look beautiful.

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel, there is a fascinating variation within some moth species that can make even the 'boring brown jobs' worth a second look...at least when they are fresh that is.

Thanks David, unfortunately most nights this past week have been too windy for moths although I did put the trap out on Wednesday night when the wind dropped a bit and had my highest number of moths so far this year albeit not much variety...15 Common Quakers and a couple of Hebrew Characters

Sunday 10th March.

A proper wintry feel to today with a cold wind and showers of rain, sleet and hail on and off through the day.

The Greenfinches are still around but they spent most of the time further down the garden so I only managed a couple of shots of which the one below is a rather tight crop.

Greenfinch - Coverdale 10.03.2019

Other than that the usual suspects turned up at the feeders during the breaks in the weather, including the male Great Spotted Woodpecker that is around most days.

Great spotted Woodpecker - Coverdale 10.03.2019

Great spotted Woodpecker - Coverdale 10.03.2019

Looks like another week of cold weather ahead...that brief glimpse of spring the other week seems so long ago now.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Neil Freeman]

Friday 15th March.

The past week has mostly been a windy one with some heavy rain showers but the conditions have settled down enough a couple of times to tempt me into running the moth trap in the garden.

On Monday (11th March) a cloudy night with some rain showers produced 29 moths of which 28 were Common Quakers along with a single Hebrew Character. Rain in itself does not stop moths from flying, in fact light rain or drizzle on a mild night can often produce the best catches, it is wind that the moths don't like.

Last night was a much milder night with a gentle breeze although when I got up this morning just turned 05.00 it was quite blustery. Nevertheless, I had my best count so far this year with 41 moths of 6 species - Common Quaker (32) Hebrew Character (5) Twin-spotted Quaker (1) Small Quaker (1) Clouded Drab (1) March Moth (1), the last 4 all being firsts for the year.

Twin-spotted Quaker - Coverdale 14.03.2019

Clouded Drab - Coverdale 14.03.2019

March Moth _ Coverdale 14.03.2019

One of the Hebrew Characters was a much paler example than the usual form, I have seen this form before but only one or two each year.

Hebrew Characters - usual form on the left.

I also had an example with reduced forewing markings, once again illustrating the variation within some species.

Hebrew Characters - normal (top), reduced markings (middle) pale form (bottom)

And just because I couldn't resist it I put together another combination of Common Quaker variations, all from last night.

Common Quaker variations - Coverdale 14.03.2019

The weekend, particularly Saturday, is not looking good but indications are that things could be settling down a bit next week...fingers crossed.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

An interesting set of variations again Neil - the pale form really shows up the 'character' The March moth us quite unusual looking - not the roughly chunky triangular shape of the typical Moff - much more elongated - it reminds of a Rush Veneer? Does it always fold the right wing over the left? Looks like the jet stream is moving to a more favourable position this week so we could be back in the butterflies

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Nice selection again, Neil. I'm assuming moonlight-free, cloudy, still and mild nights provide best returns? If so, there may be a few of those over the next few days.

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel, the March Moth seems to be ambidextrous (if that is the right word in this case) regarding folding its's wings, I have seen them settled with right over left and left over right now.

Thanks David, yes, cloudy mild and still nights are the best and there were indeed a couple of these this week.

Friday 22nd March

Exactly one month to the day since I saw my first butterflies this year during that brief spell of warm weather in February, I saw a Brimstone passing through my Mom's garden during our regular Friday afternoon visit. It was mostly cloudy and cool but the sun was trying to break though occasionally so I went for a quick look around the park just down the road from her house but without any further success.

More Moths

Tuesday was actually a quite decent day whilst I was stuck in work and the clouds built up later in the afternoon and evening leading to a quite mild night with not too much of a breeze which tempted me to put the moth trap out in the garden. The results weren't particularly outstanding with Common Quaker (7) Hebrew Character (6) Clouded Drab (2) but they did included my first Pug Moth of the year, a Double-striped Pug. This group of small moths can easily be mistaken for micros and include a number of species that can be difficult to ID but at least the DS Pug is usually easy enough when fresh.

Double-striped Pug - Coverdale 19.03.2019

Thursday was another promising looking night with plenty of cloud and overnight temperatures not dropping lower than 9 or 10 degrees so I ran the trap again and had better results, 37 moths of 9 species including 4 new for the years (NFY), Oak Beauty, Early Grey, Red-green Carpet and Diurnea fagella (a micro). The Oak Beauty was over a month later than the first last year when I had a couple on the night of February 17th, just before the 'beast from the east' hit and gave us a few days of snow at the beginning on March. Just goes to show how things can differ year on year.
Other moths on the night were Common Quaker (22) Small Quaker (3) Hebrew Character (5) Clouded Drab (1) and Twenty-plume Moth (2)

Oak Beauty - Coverdale 21.03.2019

Red-green Carpet - Coverdale 21.03.2019

Early Grey - Coverdale 21.03.2019

Diurnea fagella - Coverdale 21.03.2019

Twenty-plume Moth - Coverdale 21.03.2019

The Hebrew Characters included another pale individual plus a nice reddish coloured example, once again showing interesting variation within a species.

Hebrew Characters showing variation - Coverdale 21.03.2019

Unfortunately it has gone cooler again for this weekend and as I write this there is a grey thick overcast outside and although some sun is forecast to break through later and tomorrow I am not sure if it will raise the temperature enough for any butterflies...fingers crossed.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

They've missed a trick naming that moth then Neil - the Ambidextrous sounds much more interesting The Oak Beauty certainly lives up to it's name-much more so than the Red Green Carpet - to my eyes much more like a 'Green with a tiniest bit of red Carpet' or even 'Red in there somewhere I promise Green Carpet'

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel, The Ambidextrous does sound like a great name for a Moth . In fact I have looked back through some of my photos of other species and it seems quite normal for wings to be crossed either way. The previous composite photos of Common Quakers and Hebrew characters show this nicely. I have never noticed this before and I reckon it is just the resting posture of the March Moth that makes it more obvious.

...Unfortunately it has gone cooler again for this weekend and as I write this there is a grey thick overcast outside and although some sun is forecast to break through later and tomorrow I am not sure if it will raise the temperature enough for any butterflies...

Well, happily it did

Saturday 23rd March

The grey overcast of the morning gradually thinned until by mid afternoon the sun was trying to burn through although a thin layer of high haze prevented any real warmth building up and kept temperatures down in low double figures at most.
Nevertheless, I reckoned that it might be enough to be worth a walk down the road to the patch of rough ground to the side of the local park where I had seen a couple of butterflies last month during that brief taste of good weather that we had.

On arrival, the most obvious difference was that the blackthorn was now in full blossom...

Blackthorn in blossom - Wagon Lane 23.03.2019

...and a close look produced a Small Tortoiseshell making the most of it.

Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 23.03.2019

Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 23.03.2019

After taking a few photos I left the ST in peace and carried on through a gap in the hedge to a sheltered spot where I often find a Small Tortoiseshell or Comma (or both) in residence at this time of year.

Sheltered south facing spot alongside hedgerow.

Sure enough there was one of each species in this spot,

Comma - Wagon Lane 23.03.2019

Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 23.03.2019

I then continued along the sheltered side of this hedge line and found another couple of Small Tortoiseshells and another Comma before turning round and heading back and retracing my steps before heading back home.

Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 23.03.2019

Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 23.03.2019

In total then I saw 4 Small Tortoiseshells and 2 Commas which, considering how cool and gloomy the morning had been were a nice bonus for the day.
Still no Peacocks here but Sunday was looking like it may be worth a look.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[David M]

That blackthorn blossom looks absolutely ravishing, Neil....the Torties are pretty good too, especially that one just beneath the Comma, which is a notably dark example.

Hopefully your next offering will include Specklies from your garden?

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks David. No Specklies here yet but I have seen a few reported so hopefully not too long.

Sunday 24th March.

A cold and frosty night here on Saturday gave way to a lovely bright sunny morning with not a cloud in sight although there was still a cold wind blowing. By the time I had some time spare in the afternoon a few clouds had bubbled up but not enough to spoil things so I decided to pop around to my local site at Bickenhill to see if I could do better than my last visit a during the early warm spell a month ago which had only produced one solitary Comma.
Well, it didn't take long to better that as within minutes I spotted a Small Tortoiseshell which was then joined by a second one and they spiraled high into the air and out of sight over some shrubs. Knowing that there was a good likelihood that one or other of them would return I stuck around for a bit but this time neither of them showed up again. I then carried on to circle around the site and soon saw another couple of Small Tortoiseshells along with a couple of Commas.

Small Tortoiseshell - Bickenhill 24.03.2019

Small Tortoiseshell - Bickenhill 24.03.2019

Comma - Bickenhill 24.03.2019

Comma - Bickenhill 24.03.2019

One of my reasons for trying here was that it was often my best early site for Peacocks although they have been a bit thin on the ground the past couple of years with the summer broods being even more scarce. I was pleased therefore to see a couple of Peacocks along one section of path and carrying on to a sheltered corner which was a 'hotspot' until a couple of years ago I was even more chuffed to find some more, at least four in this one corner. I know there were four individuals as I watched a couple of times as all four spiraled around each other, it has been a while since I have seen four Peacocks at once like this around here.

Peacock - Bickenhill 24.03.2019

Peacock - Bickenhill 24.03.2019

Peacock - Bickenhill 24.03.2019

Despite the cool breezy, they were very flighty and the only time I saw any of them slow down a bit was when they occasionally stopped to feed on blackthorn or wild cherry blossom. One particular Peacock spent some time at head height and gave me the chance to get some of my favourite type of spring photos, butterflies on blossom.

Peacock - Bickenhill 24.03.2019

Peacock - Bickenhill 24.03.2019

Peacock - Bickenhill 24.03.2019

In the end I spent a couple of hours here and reckon I saw between 8-10 Peacocks, half a dozen or so Small Tortoiseshells and 5 Commas. There may well have been one or two more of each species but they were mostly very active despite the cool wind which was still blowing and I know I saw the same individuals of all three species in spots quite far apart so I only counted those I was fairly sure were different individuals.

I remember last year, there was some debate on social media about whether the Peacocks and Small Tortoiseshells had gone into hibernation really early due to the warm and dry summer. It seems that there may have been something in this as I have already seen more of both species this year than I did of either's summer brood last year, In fact I saw more Peacocks this afternoon than I saw all season around my patch last year.

An enjoyable and encouraging couple of hours

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Goldie M]

Hi! Neil, I love to see shots of Peacocks on blossom , they certainly herald Spring Goldie

[Wurzel]

That's a cracking haul of Peacocks Neil Round my way the Small Torts are the dominant species, speaking of which amongst your cracking shots of this species there was a real stunner that really stood out - it was from the previous post, the third Small Tort shot - it looks stunning with the yellowy colour replaced with white and large white patches on the hind wing- an aberrant?
Specklies have been seen in Hampshire now so it won't be long til your fave is back

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

That blackthorn blossom provides wonderful photo opportunities, Neil. Such a shame it doesn't last very long.

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Goldie, Peacocks on blossom are one of my favourite sights of spring too

Cheers Wurzel, I think that Small Tort is within normal variation, for around here anyway. It is a nicely marked example though and I have seen a few similar ones over the years. They can be a surprisingly variable species.

Thanks David, yes, one of the quintessential sights of spring, there seems to be more than usual out around here this year.

Friday 29th March

The weather has gradually improved again this past week until yesterday (Thursday) was a fairly nice day. Today was even better and after a cold night and frosty start the sun shone from a cloudless blue sky until by the time I finished work for the day at midday the temperature was up around 17 degrees.
As usual we popped round to my Mom's for our regular Friday afternoon visit and as we pulled onto her drive I spotted a Peacock zipping back and forth along the front of her house. It landed on the drive in front of the car and I quickly grabbed my camera - which I usually bring with me in case I go for a look round the park just down the road - and got just one quick shot before it was off again.

Peacock - My Mom's front drive.

That put a smile on my face but even better was to quickly follow as before we had even got to the front door my first Orange-tip of the year came fluttering along and settled for a refueling stop on a small clump of aubretia growing on a low wall between my Mom's house and her neighbour. As I still had my camera in my hand I quickly took a few shots before it carried on its way. This was the first Orange-tip I have ever seen in March, my previous earliest record being April 2nd (2017) and more usually the second or third week of April.

Orange-tip. My earliest ever.

Orange-tip tucking into aubretia.

A little later I left Jane and my Mom chatting and went for my wander down to the park and was greeted by a flypast of a male Brimstone as soon as I walked though the entrance gate.
Having seen a few Speckled Wood sightings from around the midlands over the past few days I headed down to the sunny end of a small wooded area that often plays host to a few of these and sure enough I soon spotted a male dancing around a small sunny clearing. Even this early he looked like he had been out a few days going by the wear he was showing.

Speckled Wood - Langley Hall 29.03.2019

I then checked out some nearby cherry and blackthorn blossom and found a Peacock flitting between a number of these shrubs.

Peacock - Langley Hall 29.03.2019

Back home a bit later, I had planned on doing a bit of gardening but with it still being such a beautiful day I decided to walk down to the area of rough ground to the side of the local park not far from my house.
As soon as a arrived a flicker of movement drew my eye to a Small Tortoiseshell on some dandelions,

Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 29.03.2019

I then carried on to the same spots I had checked out last weekend and found an increased number of Small Tortoiseshells, maybe 8 or 9 and possibly just edging into double figure.

Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 29.03.2019

Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 29.03.2019

Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 29.03.2019

Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 29.03.2019

Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 29.03.2019

Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 29.03.2019

Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 29.03.2019

There were also at least three Commas flying here, as with the Small Torts they were very active and constantly taking off to intercept each other as they flew back and forth along the hedge lines.

Comma - Wagon Lane 29.03.2019

Comma - Wagon Lane 29.03.2019

I was also on the lookout for Peacocks here as I hadn't seen any at all at this spot last year, either in the spring or later in the summer, and was pleased to see at least three and maybe four mixing it up with the Small Tortoiseshells and Commas.

Peacock - Wagon Lane 29.03.2019

Peacock - Wagon Lane 29.03.2019

I also had a fleeting glimpse of a passing unidentified 'white'. My gut feeling was a Small White but I didn't see it clearly enough to be sure and it vanished over the hedges.

A cracking afternoon with six species of butterfly seen - seven if I count the unidentified white - before the end of March. That is quite something for around here.

Saturday is looking like it could be decent here as well before the colder weather descends on us again on Sunday.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[millerd]

What a splendid set of spring butterflies, Neil, especially those on the tree blossom - the essence of the season. The variety in colouring btween all those Tortoiseshells is amazing - one or two are very dark, and some have noticeable amounts of yellow in with the orange. The two Commas are also quite distinct.

Cheers,

Dave

[Wurzel]

I concur with what Dave said I fantastic array, almost a plethora of butterflies. Just wondering though were you more excited by the flashy and early OT or the re-acquaintance with the Specklie Either way as I've yet to see either

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

...The variety in colouring btween all those Tortoiseshells is amazing - one or two are very dark, and some have noticeable amounts of yellow in with the orange. The two Commas are also quite distinct....Dave

Thanks Dave. The more you look at some of our butterflies, you more you begin to appreciate just how variable they can be.

...Just wondering though were you more excited by the flashy and early OT or the re-acquaintance with the Specklie Either way as I've yet to see either ...Wurzel

A tough call Wurzel, I reckon the OT just edged it as it was more unexpected.

However...

Saturday 30th March - Welcome back

After doing the usual Saturday morning household stuff, I was pottering around in the garden on what was turning into a pleasant late morning when I saw a familiar shape flapping about - My first garden Speckled Wood of the season

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 30.03.2019

With the occasional cloud covering the sun I also took the shot below which nicely illustrates how different things can look under different lighting.

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 30.03.2019

Checking against my previous records show that this is only the second time I have seen a Speckled Wood in the garden before the end of March.

22.04.2018
07.04.2017
04.05.2016
09.04.2015
11.04.2014
07.05.2013
25.03.2012
06.04.2011

At one point I also saw a rather large and strange looking 'fly' buzzing about and wondered what it was. The mystery was resolved when 'it' settled and proved to be a pair of Bee flies in cop.

Bee Flies - Coverdale 30.03.2019

With the day turning out to be a reasonably warm one again with plenty of sun along with occasional clouds I reckoned it would be worth getting out for a couple of hours in the afternoon...

To be continued.

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Interesting observation about the difference lighting makes Neil - I was quite surprised at how much difference it made, from milk chocolate to 90% cocca dark chocolate Good to see the Specklies returning to the fold

Have a goodun

Wurzel