David M

[David M]

Sunday 7th April 2019 – Bonus butterfly morning….

Leaving Abergavenny this morning to leaden skies, I was somewhat surprised to see conditions clearing up once I was in the Vale of Neath, so I felt it was my duty to pop up the lower path on Kilvey Hill to see if I could catch up with my 2019 nemesis, Speckled Wood.

I saw one before I’d even got past the entrance, though it flew out to intercept a male Brimstone and went up into the canopy.
About half a dozen more were sighted, mainly along this strip:

…and this one basked for long enough to have its image taken:

The other pleasant moment was when I came across this male Large White, another first for the year, and he very graciously came down just 5 yards in front of me:

[David M]

Sunday 7th April 2019 - Bonus butterfly afternoon....

After stopping off at Kilvey Hill, I returned home but the sunny weather persisted (although with increasingly hazier skies) so I treated myself to a further visit to Cwm Ivy on the north Gower coast.

The woodland glade was now buzzing with Speckled Woods, although Holly Blue numbers were well down on the previous two years. I only saw four or five, including this mint fresh male:

Several Red Admirals were zooming around the cleared area. I wonder if they are the same ones I've seen on my last couple of visits:

A handful of Brimstones and Peacocks were about, and around half a dozen Orange Tips:

A Comma and a Green Veined White were also seen.

[Goldie M]

WOW! David, not a sign here yet of Orange Tips, White's or Holly Blues , those are lovely photos of all three Goldie

[essexbuzzard]

That’s a fantastic picture of a Holly Blue, David. The other Dave (millerd) will be jealous!

[Pauline]

For me it's the Speckled Wood. I can never achieve such a crisp image. The Holly Blue ain't bad either

[millerd]

That’s a fantastic picture of a Holly Blue, David. The other Dave (millerd) will be jealous!

Too right I am! Constant grey days for a week now chez moi, so the sight of a lovely male Holly Blue is most invoking. A lovely butterfly.

In fact, a great selection - South Wales is clearly the place to be at the moment.

Cheers,

Dave

[David M]

Thanks, all. We’ve been a bit fortunate in south Wales lately. Although cool, the sun has been out most days and, at this time of year, that can have a positive effect as normally skittish species remain relatively docile.

Speckled Woods will bask for longer periods and Brimstones and Orange Tips actually settle!

I daresay normal service will be resumed shortly with conditions in the SE far superior to those here in Wales!

[David M]

Thursday 18th April 2019 – Transformation….

Finally, today saw some real warmth meaning I was able to leave my fleece at home and head off for Cwm Ivy and Whiteford Burrows in a T-shirt.

The woodland glade was positively buzzing with butterflies, with Holly Blues again numerous, although all but one were males and the solitary female took to the air before I could get an image.

I’d say there were about two dozen in total, and yet again they were content to settle near ground level within easy reach of the camera:

Speckled Woods were even more ubiquitous, and I managed to spot this mating pair:

However, Orange Tips were undoubtedly the commonest species, with the better part of 100 seen, including several females:

I ventured onto the dunes, hoping to find my first Small Copper of the year. I didn’t manage to do that, but I got a real surprise when this Brown Argus turned up:

I wouldn’t normally expect this species till mid-May, so to see one in mid-April is highly abnormal. Furthermore, the left side was washed out, with no real discernable markings – a very strange specimen.

There were still plenty of Brimstones & Peacocks, whilst two Red Admirals, a Large White, a Comma and a handful of Green Veined Whites were also seen.

[Pauline]

That's a really interesting individual David, both the timing and the appearance. Well spotted.

[David M]

Thanks, Pauline. Fair gave me a shock, I can tell you!

Thursday 18th April 2019 - Welshmoor...

On the way back from the coast, I thought I'd pop into Welshmoor to see if any Green Hairstreaks had emerged.

I checked in the usual hotspots without success, and was ready to go when my neighbour suddenly spotted one in a sheltered corner:

This gleaming individual enchanted us for 5 minutes or so. I daresay numbers will skyrocket over this Easter Weekend.

[trevor]

Some stunning images recently, David. Your most recent open wing male Holly Blue fully deserves a WOW!
and those Green Hairstreaks several mrgreens .

South Wales is catching Sussex up!.
Trevor.

[kevling]

What a great start to Easter for you David. 1OO Orange Tips is amazing. I love the shots of the Holly Blue, I very rarely see them with their wings so wide open. As for the Brown Argus, what a surprise.

Kind Regards
Kev

[ernie f]

David

I've been going back through your last few weeks posts. You've been having a great time, haven't you? I have been trying to get fully open wing shots of the Holly Blue but without real success. You seem to have nailed that one fair and square though. Then you had the mating Speckled Woods. I have yet to see that let alone capture it in a pic. But the main wonder is that oddly marked and very early Brown Argus. That gets a from me.

[David M]

Thanks, all. The male Holly Blues have been tremendously obliging this year, frequently settling at convenient height for photography.

It helps that I have found a site with considerable numbers and have located their master tree which they spend most of their time on.

The last image posted was a male settled right at head height. I must have taken a dozen images with his wings cocked at the usual 75% angle so I figured I had nothing to lose by casting my shadow over him.

Amazingly, he immediately opened them to maximum extent, which is something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before myself.

If only the females were visible in such numbers and were so accommodating!

[bugboy]

Doing well there David, that Holly Blue deserves a few . still only a few fleeting glances of Holly Blue for me so far and 100 OT , that's a butterfliers Nirvana surely. I've seen a good few this weekend but it's been too hot and with zero cloud cover I've had to settle for being a mere spectator.
That BA is an oddity, could it be that the pupae was in such a postion so the aberrant side was caught in a sun ray, the extra warmth perhaps inducing it to emerge early

[Neil Freeman]

Some great reports David and excellent photos

It helps that I have found a site with considerable numbers and have located their master tree which they spend most of their time on.

I wasn't aware that Holly Blues used master trees, I always thought they were more of a wandering species.

I must have taken a dozen images with his wings cocked at the usual 75% angle so I figured I had nothing to lose by casting my shadow over him.

Amazingly, he immediately opened them to maximum extent, which is something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before myself.

Great reward for trying it I have never yet had this trick work with Holly Blues on the rare occasion that I have found them settled low enough to try.

Cheers,

Neil

[David M]

Thanks, BB/Neil.

The Brown Argus appeared to be abnormally early, but today I’ve seen two dozen at the same site which puts things into perspective.

Neil, both the sites near me where Holly Blues can be found in numbers have a distinct evergreen which seems to attract them in numbers. The one at Cwm Ivy can be peppered with them, in spite of there being others nearby which don’t seem to have the same appeal.

Friday 19th to Sunday 21st April – Perfect Easter….

This year is turning into something quite special. A record breaking second half of February followed by a week of mild, fine weather at the end of March followed by a uniquely glorious Easter weekend!

Friday saw me venture to Merthyr Mawr near Porthcawl to hunt down Grizzled Skippers. Unfortunately, there was hazy cloud upon my arrival, meaning I was only able to find two:

This specimen was unable to fly as the air temperature was very marginal. He willingly hopped onto my hand for a warm though:

On Saturday, a walk up Kilvey Hill failed to produce any Wall Browns, but I did see my first Small Copper of the year, although I only managed this record shot:

In the cemetery at the bottom of the hill, there were quite a few Whites flying. This was my first female Large White of 2019:

I was also able to grab my first image this year of a Small White on the same bluebell patch:

Sunday saw me return to Cwm Ivy and Whiteford Burrows, but the hot weather meant the sheltered glade wasn’t the ‘hotspot’ it usually is, as butterflies were happy to disperse onto the nearby Whiteford Dunes.

The most notable event came in the form of some two dozen or so fresh Brown Argus, all to be found in the same dip facing the sun on the slopes of the site’s highest hillock.

Clearly, the one I saw here last Thursday was just the precursor to a mass emergence, but it DOES seem strange to be surrounded by this species prior to the arrival of Dingy Skippers and Common Blues:

Yet again, Orange Tips were the most numerous companions. This one was irresistible on a bluebell:

[trevor]

You have earned another mrgreen, David. What a gorgeous Brown Argus.
Talk about chocolate-orange!

PS. I agree about Holly Blues having favourite trees, there are two along the old railway,
both Ivy clad, that are guaranteed to host HB's every year.

[CallumMac]

Fabulous Holly Blues, David. I've only had fly-pasts so far, but a trip to my reliable HB site may be in order! I will have to keep my eyes peeled for the appearance of Small Coppers up here as well.

[Goldie M]

I'M green with envy David fantastic Butterflies, that Grizzle is great, no open wing shots for me ,the White Butterflies I saw all kept their wings closed after landing so no open wing shots
You seem to have got loads of species, well done. Goldie