millerd

[millerd]

The weather had improved on Wednesday 12th June, though it remained pretty cool. I decided to do one of my regular counts on my local patch this morning in case it rained yet again later:

Common Blue 33

Meadow Brown 24

Small Heath 23

Brown Argus 9

Red Admiral 2

Small Tortoiseshell 2

Speckled Wood 2

Large Skipper 2

Finally, Cinnabar moths seem to be unusually common this year, turning up in good numbers everywhere and in all weathers.

97 butterflies of eight species, and not a Holly Blue amongst them...

Dave

[millerd]

Friday 14th June was a better day, with more warmth and more sunshine. Oddly enough, on a shortish lunchtime amble around my local patch I saw only around 50 butterflies, but there were nine species today including four I hadn't seen a couple of days earlier: Large White, Painted Lady, Comma and Holly Blue. A selection...

Of course there is always the obligatory moth - in this case, two.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Where to begin Dave? Great X-wing shot (Large Skipper) Your last moth is a Yellow Shell, not sure about the spotty one That looks like a very sneaky Painted Lady, hiding away in amongst the foliage - that's just not playing fair High pressures building so summer might (very briefly) return

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Hi! Dave, you seem to be seeing all the Butterflies I've not seen any since the 6th Of June , let's hope this weather picks up in the next few days Goldie

[kevling]

Hi Dave,

I think Wurzel's description of X wing cannot be bettered, so I'll just add what an excellent profile of that Large Skipper. Never seen one like that before.

Regards
Kev

[trevor]

Glad to see that you are seeing Small Tortoiseshells, Dave.
They seem to be all but extinct here in my part East Sussex at the moment.
I've seen just one locally this year. By now they should be visiting every garden.
Last year I saw more Purple Emperors than Small Torts., what's gone wrong!.

Great report, as usual.
Trevor.

[David M]

Nice to see a hutchinsoni Comma, Dave, as well as Small Tortoiseshell. You're going to have your hands full with this warm spell of weather, I'm sure.

[millerd]

Thank you once again, everyone - the local patch continues to thrive and to throw up interest. I do like that unusual view of the skipper too - it makes me think of Space Invaders more than anything...

I've been away again, and have got rather behind with the diary, and the trip away is going to add a bit to the problem. Oh well...

Saturday 15th June: I decided on a visit to Fairmile Common between Cobham and Esher, as there was a bit of sunshine and Silver-studded Bues should be making an appearance. They were, but not yet in big numbers - I saw perhaps half a dozen or so, including a couple of females.

As ever, the oily sheen on the wings of fresh females fascinates me.

One of the latter was set upon and mated by a male right in front of me.

In amongst the Blues was a single new Small Tortiseshell, settling on the carpet of Sheep's Sorrel that supports good numbers of Small Coppers.

Hopefully, SSB numbers will build shortly.

Dave

[millerd]

With sunshine again in short supply, I stayed local again on Sunday 16th June. I managed to see around 40 butterflies, mostly Meadow Browns, Small Heaths and Common Blues, but there were also several Large Skippers...

...including some new females.

There was an aging Comma...

...and a couple of rather newer Red Admirals.

The lack of sun also made this large blue dragonfly more approachable than usual.

Dave

[ernie f]

Nice to see the SSBs are out round your way and also interesting to note that just like near me - the numbers are still low.
Great pics by the way. The in-cop 90-degree pivot shot is notable.

[Wurzel]

"I've been away again, and have got rather behind with the diary, and the trip away is going to add a bit to the problem. Oh well... "...Don't worry about it Dave it's one of the enjoyable problems that comes from too much butterflying
Cracking set of Silver-studs - the oily sheen is becoming something of a 'must see' when it comes to female Silver-studs - at least it is in my book

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Local isn't always bad, Dave, although it's tricky to find the rare, specialised stuff unless you're fortunate enough to live on the doorstep of colonies of scarce species.

Taking a breather can be a good thing. Few if any of us have time to go chasing the iconic UK species long term.

Occasionally it's good just to see a few Meadow Browns, Ringlets, Large Skippers, et al, without breaking sweat.

[millerd]

Cheers, Ernie - complete luck to find that pairing. The male found the female at the same moment I did, and wasted no time.

You're right Wurzel - the more behind I am means the more and varied the butterflies have been that I've seen! This must be a good thing...

Absolutely, David - local trips out are the staple, and the variety round here provides constant interest - sometimes within ten minutes of leaving the house. My local tally is up to 20 species this year, 14 of which I saw today - not bad at all.

However, on Monday 17th June, the sun shone, and the forecast for the Thames Estuary area was particularly promising. A perfect day to head along the good old M25 to see the White-letter Hairstreaks at Hadleigh Country Park in Essex, plus the rest of what this excellent site has to offer. The journey was easy and as I went east, the sunnier it became. I parked as usual at Leigh-on-Sea station, and walked along the short piece of path bounded by brambles, and behind those the stands of elm trees. The bramble flowers were alive with Hairstreaks, as many as I've ever seen here and numbering in dozens. In amongst them were quite a few Holly Blues, behaving very similarly and today at least earning the title of honorary Hairstreak.

After getting a few photos, I carried on into the park, and walked up to Hadleigh Castle itself. There were lots of skippers flying, and aside from a handful of Large ones, all those I was able to positively identify turned out to be Essex.

There were also a selection of new Marbled Whites and Meadow Browns, and a total of 13 different species altogether.

The selection included this particularly dark Small Tortoiseshell.

I'll add the WLH selection in a separate post, but here's a taster...

Dave

[trevor]

You've had some very productive trips out recently, Dave.
Especially your trip to Essex for the White letters, but three in one shot is plain greedy!.

Trevor.

[Pauline]

I was interested in your comment re mating SSB Dave. I have seen countless pairs over the years but only twice have I seen the act initiated and both times it by the female who flew to the male. I saw this again recently when a fresh female flew to the male but he rejected her advances and flew off

[Maximus]

Just doing some catching up on your diary, Dave, you've certainly done some travelling around

Fantastic Swallowtails and Heath Fritillaries, among many others Hard to believe that it's five years since we visited Strumpshaw Fen

Mike.

[essexbuzzard]

Looking foreword to more Essex pictures, Dave!

If you park a bit further on, a Two Tree Island, you don’t have to pay.

[millerd]

Cheers, Trevor - more trips out to come, but first the rest of the White-letters!

That's very interesting, Pauline. My observations have always been of male SSBs seeking out females that are hiding in the heather clumps - in fact, this has been a reliable way of finding females early in the season when they are more elusive. In this particular case, I had just found the female, and a male spotted her at the same time and leapt in right in front of me with no preamble at all.

Thank you, Mike - after this year I am resolved to make Stumpshaw (or Norfolk at least) an annual visit. The Swallowtails were magnificent.

Thanks for the tip, Mark! I did consider heading further on along the road, but there were sounds of noisily revving engines from down that way and I wondered whether there might be some kind of event going on. £3 for the day isn't bad at the station.

Now, as promised, a small selection of the many photos taken of the WLH at Hadleigh CP.

My day in Essex was not over yet, however...

Dave

[trevor]

Beautiful shots of those WLH, Dave. Looks as though you filled up a memory card!.
I must catch up with the Brighton WLH soon.

I did have some luck with another Hairstreak species today though!.

All the best,
Trevor.

[millerd]

You're right, Trevor, I did take quite a few photos - but I had to leave room for the next part of the day.

Just seen your other Hairstreak shots...

As it isn't far from Hadleigh to Hockley Woods, before going home on 17th I decided to visit again in much sunnier conditions than my previous look a week or so earlier. In fact, the sunshine made it far harder to get decent photos, especially as the Heath Fritillaries (of which there were probably into three figures) were quite happy to sit in shade or partial shade. I made my way down to one of the hotspots, and as I emerged from the trees, the first bramble bush was covered in butterflies, flying up in a cloud as I approached - wonderful. A bit further on, I was hailed by a familiar figure sitting on a bench taking in the spectacle - Dave Cook. He pointed out a mating pair he had been watching, and I have to say we then spent more time in chatting than actually getting close to the Fritillaries. There wasn't much else flying, though we did encounter an ageing but energetic Comma

- and I found another a bit later.

Here are the Heath Fritillaries. First, the pairing:

A selection of others showing just how variable the species is, especially the females of which there were quite a few today. Contrasting these with the much darker males I saw on my previous visit is interesting.

Finally, a couple of shots of a particularly unusual-looking female

Dave