Neil Freeman

[Neil Freeman]

...Somewhere else to go? I'm wondering if that's for something Big and Blue? Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel...you were not far wrong, coming up next.

...Good Painted Lady shots Neil, the only ones I've seen so far have been like your first shot well worn. Goldie

Thanks Goldie, most of the ones I saw were like that first one too.

I'm thoroughly enjoying this report, Neil. Seems like a wonderful location.

Thanks David, it is indeed a cracking location although it covers a lot of ground hence I like to spend a couple of days there.

June 26th and 27th – Daneway Banks.

Whilst planning this years trips we had already decided on the Heddon Valley and I remembered that a few years ago we had stopped off at Collard Hill to see Large Blues and this still remained the only time that I had seen this species.
I started thinking about doing something similar this year but then started to look at Daneway Banks which is a site I had not yet visited. I then gave this a bit more thought which ended up with booking a couple of nights into a nearby Pub/Hotel just a couple of miles from Daneway Banks which looked to be ideally placed for visiting the reserve. Jane is always up for staying at a nice B&B, especially if it is somewhere where we can have a nice meal on the night as well.

After leaving Exmoor, we arrived just after 3.30pm and after checking in and getting settled into our room, Jane said she would chill out for a bit so I decided to go and have a look at Daneway Banks. I drove around to the reserve and thought I would try my luck with one of the parking spots by the main entrance that I had heard about and was quite surprised to find them empty, probably because it was now gone 4.00pm and it was quite overcast.
Walking through the gate I immediately noticed a cool wind blowing across the grassy slopes but this didn't seem to be deterring the Meadow Browns and Marbled Whites that were there in good numbers. The first 'Blues' that I saw were Common Blues, both males and female in varying condition and with at least one very blue female that seem to becoming more frequent these past few years.

Common Blue female - Daneway Banks 26.07.2019

Marbled White - Daneway Banks 26.07.2019

I soon found a few Large Blues with a couple of females that looked to be doing a lot of egg laying, or possibly 'oviposturing' on flowering thyme plants.

Large Blue - Daneway Banks 26.07.2019

With the coolish conditions I managed to get a couple of open wing shots although they were still very flighty and not posing for long.

Large Blue - Daneway Banks 26.07.2019

Large Blue - Daneway Banks 26.07.2019

Large Blue - Daneway Banks 26.07.2019

By around 5.30pm the clouds had become even thicker and everything looked to be settling down for the night so I made a move back to our digs.

With a much better weather forecast for the following day (Thursday 27th) I arrived back on site at 08.30am to find it already quite warm although there was again a fair breeze blowing across the slopes.
As with the previous afternoon, I immediately began to see Marbled Whites, Meadow Browns and Common Blues. These were soon followed by a nice Dark Green Fritillary which flitted from flower to flower for a while before taking off across the upper slopes at high speed.

Dark Green Fritillary - Daneway Banks 26.07.2019

Large Blues were flying but were already fully warmed up and when they did settle it was with wings closed and often low down in the vegetation to get out of the breeze. With full sun in a clear blue sky, it was rapidly heating up and I figured I had missed my chance for any further open wing shots.

I headed towards the far end of the site, which I had noticed the previous afternoon was more sheltered from the breeze and half way across spotted a small silvery butterfly that proved to be a Small Blue.

Small Blue - Daneway Banks 26.07.2019

As I made my way along one of the paths I bumped into Dave Williams from West Midlands BC who I seem to meet at random sites most years now. Dave said he had been on site since 06.30am and commented on the fact that although he had seen numerous Large Blues they had been settling with closed wings from the start. As we were discussing this, a male Large Blue came past us and promptly landed with wings open, albeit only for a few seconds before he was off again.

Large Blue - Daneway Banks 27.07.2019

He had not gone far when he went down again but this time it was to try and intrude on a mating pair he had spotted. The pair rebuffed him with some wing fluttering and he carried on his way whilst they settled down again.

Large Blue pair - Daneway Banks 27.07.2019

Large Blue pair - Daneway Banks 27.07.2019

By about 11.00am we had seen plenty of Large Blues flying and having said to Jane I would meet her back at our digs I began to make a move.

This shot taken just before I left at around 11.00. The sky was like that all day.

Before I left however, Dave and I came across a chap we had been talking to earlier who was photographing another mating pair. After taking a few shots I left to meet Jane with the intention of coming back for another look later in the afternoon.

Large Blue pair - Daneway Banks 27.07.2019

As it happened, a little later after having a nice cold drink, I drove back around to show Jane the site. With her limited mobility, she could not cope with the steep lane up to the entrance so I thought I would be cheeky and park by the reserve gate for a brief stop so that she could see the wild flowers on the slopes and as we would juts be standing by the gate I could always move if someone needed access to the gate. Whilst we were there a couple of Marbled Whites flew close by which pleased Jane as she particularly likes the contrast of their back and white markings. Even better, a Large Blue also flew past close enough for Jane to get a good view. Another car did arrive whilst we were there and squeeze in next to us and it transpired that the occupants were a couple of monitors who keep an eye on the site during the Large Blue flight period. We ended up having a nice chat with them and they explained that, ever since the incident a few years back with the infamous collector that Neil Hulme reported, that they are regularly on site to keep an eye on things.
We then left and had a little drive around to explore the area before going back to sit outside our pub with another nice cold drink.

Later in the afternoon, around 4.00pm, I headed back to the reserve hoping to maybe find some basking Large Blues as the sun got lower. I saw a few more but it was still very warm and they were still as active as earlier and only settling with closed wings. I was watching one fairly worn looking male flying about when he found himself a female and with very little 'courtship' mated with her. This was the third mating pair I had seen during the day.

Large Blue pair - Daneway Banks 27.07.2019

Large Blue pair - Daneway Banks 27.07.2019

The same pair as above but taken from the other side.

I am not sure how long the Large Blues had been flying here but I believe that Daneway is a later site than Collard Hill which was one of my reasons for choosing to come here. Many of the males were looking quite worn and faded although there were some nice condition females still about although sod's law meant that I only got underside shots of the best looking ones.

The next morning, after breakfast, we checked out and headed home. I did wonder about paying a last visit to the reserve but it was another warm morning and forecast to get hotter so the butterflies were probably already zooming about again. Also, I wanted to get back before the Friday afternoon traffic built up around Solihull.

Although I didn't get many decent Large Blue photos, especially topsides, I was very impressed with Daneway Banks and thought it was a lovely reserve, although I have to say it was one of the busiest sites that I have ever visited. As I was leaving to meet Jane on the Thursday morning there was a steady stream of people walking up the lane from The Daneway pub. Given that it was a week day I can only wonder what it gets like at the weekend.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

A great report from Daneways Neil I've been to both sites myself as well and prefer Daneways as it's a bit easier to work and I find that Collard I slip a fair bit on the slopes Another attraction of Daneways is the pub , although I'm always driving but they do a nice coke with ice and slice

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Another great report, Neil, and you've done ever so well to get so many open wing Large Blue shots, especially the mating pair.

[essexbuzzard]

I was wondering if anyone had been to see the Large Blues this year? You’ve answered my question! I’ve only been there once,a few years ago, but it was excellent. I’m glad you managed to show Jane one as well.

[Goldie M]

Love your Blues Neil, the Butterflies around here are few and far between at present, so it's great to see so many lovely shots
Goldie

[Neil Freeman]

A great report from Daneways Neil I've been to both sites myself as well and prefer Daneways as it's a bit easier to work and I find that Collard I slip a fair bit on the slopes Another attraction of Daneways is the pub , although I'm always driving but they do a nice coke with ice and slice

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel, yes I preferred Daneways myself. Although we didn't go in the Daneway Pub, as we were staying close by I did get the chance to sample some Stroud Brewery's OPA, very nice

Another great report, Neil, and you've done ever so well to get so many open wing Large Blue shots, especially the mating pair.

Thanks David, the open wing shots were hard to come by, especially on the Thursday with the breeze and hot sun.

I was wondering if anyone had been to see the Large Blues this year? You’ve answered my question! I’ve only been there once,a few years ago, but it was excellent. I’m glad you managed to show Jane one as well.

Thanks Mark, I am surprised I haven't seen more Large Blue photos posted, especially given how many people were on site. I suppose it just goes to show how many butterfly people are out there that don't post on UKB.

Love your Blues Neil, the Butterflies around here are few and far between at present, so it's great to see so many lovely shots
Goldie

Thanks Goldie, things have been picking up around here lately so I hope they do up your way too


Sunday 7th July – Oversley Wood.

Since returning from our last trip the other week, with stuff to catch up with around the house and being back at work, I did not have chance to get out again until last Sunday afternoon (7th July). I asked Jane if she fancied a run down to Oversley Wood which is a site that she likes and being just 40 minutes or so from our house is within easy reach for a couple of hours visit.
We arrived just after 2.00pm on what had turned into a pleasantly warm afternoon with some good sun and occasional clouds. Walking up the main path from the car park we soon saw loads of Ringlets bobbing about in the side verges and at the first junction where the path splits to circle around the wood there were three male Silver-washed Fritillaries chasing each other around a couple of bramble patches.

Continuing around the path to some more open areas, the number of Ringlets increased and were joined by Meadow Browns and Marbled Whites plus Large Skippers and a few Small Skippers, my first of the latter this year.

Ringlet pair - Oversley Wood 07.07.2019

Marbled White - Oversley Wood 07.07.2019

Small Skipper - Oversley Wood 07.07.2019

One particular Marbled White had one hind wing with darker markings, at first I thought that this wing was also undersized but looking again at the photos I think it is just the way the wings are held and the hind wings are actually the same size.

Marbled White - Oversley Wood 07.07.2019

A couple of Cinnabar Moths were flying in the same area and a Scarlet Tiger Moth also flew past us and settled in the grass to the side of the path. Scarlet Tigers have undergone a huge increase in distribution and numbers around Warwickshire recently and have been turning up all over the county, although not yet in my garden.

Scarlet Tiger Moth - Oversley Wood 07.07.2019

Scarlet Tiger Moth - Oversley Wood 07.07.2019

As we carried on around the wood we saw more Silver-washed Fritillaries, mostly very active males but we did see a couple of females including one incidence of the graceful courtship flight with the male spiralling around the female. A couple of spells of cloud slowed the males down a bit and enabled me to get a few photos.

Silver-washed Fritillary - Oversley Wood 07.07.2019

Silver-washed Fritillary - Oversley Wood 07.07.2019

Red Admirals were well scattered about about with at least half a dozen nice fresh looking examples seen.

Red Admiral - Oversley Wood 07.07.2019

A few White Admirals were also seen flitting and gliding about, mostly out of reach of photos but we saw one individual making its way along the path and settling every few yards to take in minerals.

White Admiral - Oversley Wood 07.07.2019

We saw quite a few Purple Hairstreaks around the wood fluttering around high up around various oak trees. At one point I saw something flutter down out of the corner of my eye and initially though it was a falling leaf, but something about it made me go over for a closer look where I found a male Purple Hairstreak hanging upside down on a blade of grass.

Purple Hairstreak - Oversley Wood 07.07.2019

I attempted to move the grass a bit to try and get a better angle for a photo but this disturbed him and he fluttered a few feet over to land on a leaf. After taking a few shots he crawled under the leaf where we left him in peace.

Purple Hairstreak - Oversley Wood 07.07.2019

Having seen, and been a bit jealous of, other peoples photos over the past couple of years of open wing Purple Hairstreaks, I was well chuffed with this sighting and even though his one forewing was not quite properly developed it made my day.

A few Purple Emperors have been reported from Oversley so far this year. I have seen them here before but not usually after midday and although I kept my eyes open I was not surprised that we didn't see any this afternoon.

After slowly walking around the full circuit which took us an enjoyable couple of hours we headed back to the car.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Pauline]

I'm not surprised you were chuffed at your PH sighting Neil. Great shots of it too - just love that wing colour and you have captured it well

[bugboy]

Well done with your open winged Purple Hairstreak. I only ever see them like that freshly emerged. You did well getting the colour too, I find it much harder picking that up than on an Emperor!

[Wurzel]

That is a cracking Purple Hairstreak shot Neil - a really purple one No more envy on your part

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

I just love that image of the Purple Hairstreak crawling up the grass blade showing its undersides, Neil. This species seems to be having another good year which is encouraging.

[Neil Freeman]

Many thanks for your comments Pauline, Bugboy, Wurzel and David

Friday 12th July.

A quick circuit of the park down the road from my moms' house on Friday afternoon produced reasonable numbers of Meadow Browns and Ringlets in the areas of grass that have been allowed to grow.
Large Skippers were zipping about with plenty of males chasing females, with all the instances that I saw ending with the female shaking off the male.

Large Skipper pair just before the female took off and lost the male - Langley Hall 12.07.2019

Small Skippers were also flying but no sign of any Essex yet.

Small Skipper male - Langley Hall 12.07.2019

Small Skipper pair in cop. - Langley Hall 12.07.2019

Also seen were a couple of Speckled Wood and a Red Admiral flew past without stopping.

Back home later in the afternoon I watched three male Speckled Wood chasing each other around the garden with one of them returning to a favourite perch between bouts.

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 12.07.2019

A male Green-veined White also stopped for a brief rest before carrying on his way.

Green-veined White - Coverdale 12.07.2019

The girl on the weather forecast on Friday night said that the weekend was going to be pleasant and settled. Well! she was half right, a blanket of cloud settled over us on Saturday and although it was quite warm it was really gloomy and we had a couple of spells of light rain.
Sunday was much the same but with a steady light drizzle for most of the morning. It finally cleared up in the evening to leave a clear night which went quite chilly.

Needless to say, back to work today and the sun came back out to taunt me whilst I was stuck indoors.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[trevor]

Great image of that male Purple Hairstreak, Neil.
An open wing shot of a male showing full purple is ' work in progress ' for me.
Also you have some enviable shots of Large Blues, they never opened up when I visited Collard Hill.

Great stuff,
Trevor.

[Pauline]

Unusual shot of the PH underside Neil. I had thought perhaps he had just emerged until I read he had fluttered down. Splendid images of the Large Blue also. I continue to follow your diary with interest and apologise that I don't comment as often as I should!

[Wurzel]

Lovely set of images Neil the Green-veined White is especially well caught I have experienced two weekends of incorrect weather forecasts now so I feel your pain

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

..The girl on the weather forecast on Friday night said that the weekend was going to be pleasant and settled. Well! she was half right, a blanket of cloud settled over us on Saturday and although it was quite warm it was really gloomy and we had a couple of spells of light rain.
Sunday was much the same but with a steady light drizzle for most of the morning. It finally cleared up in the evening to leave a clear night which went quite chilly.

Needless to say, back to work today and the sun came back out to taunt me whilst I was stuck indoors.

That's one of the great frustrations of summer, Neil.

My depression quotient reaches danger levels when I return to work on a glorious Monday having spent the weekend indoors!

[Goldie M]

Catching up Neil, i just think that PHS shot is fantastic I've tried to find them here, no luck yet though Goldie

[Neil Freeman]

Great image of that male Purple Hairstreak, Neil.
An open wing shot of a male showing full purple is ' work in progress ' for me.
Also you have some enviable shots of Large Blues, they never opened up when I visited Collard Hill.

Great stuff,
Trevor.

Thanks Trevor, that is the one and only open wing shot of a male PH I have managed to get to date.

Unusual shot of the PH underside Neil. I had thought perhaps he had just emerged until I read he had fluttered down. Splendid images of the Large Blue also. I continue to follow your diary with interest and apologise that I don't comment as often as I should!

No need to apologise Pauline, I stuggle to keep up with other diaries and don't always comment even when I get time to read them.

Lovely set of images Neil the Green-veined White is especially well caught I have experienced two weekends of incorrect weather forecasts now so I feel your pain

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel, given the forecast for tomorrow (Saturday) I am hoping it is wrong...but the bad ones are usually right

..The girl on the weather forecast on Friday night said that the weekend was going to be pleasant and settled. Well! she was half right, a blanket of cloud settled over us on Saturday and although it was quite warm it was really gloomy and we had a couple of spells of light rain.
Sunday was much the same but with a steady light drizzle for most of the morning. It finally cleared up in the evening to leave a clear night which went quite chilly.

Needless to say, back to work today and the sun came back out to taunt me whilst I was stuck indoors.

That's one of the great frustrations of summer, Neil.

My depression quotient reaches danger levels when I return to work on a glorious Monday having spent the weekend indoors!

Indeed David, often made worse when you see what others have been able to get out and see

Catching up Neil, i just think that PHS shot is fantastic I've tried to find them here, no luck yet though Goldie

Thanks Goldie, I usually manage to see them easily enough, high up around the tops of oak trees but catching them low down is another story.

Friday 19th July

Not much to report this week apart from the fact I have started to see a few more assorted Whites along the roadsides whilst travelling back from work. There have also been a few more whites seen passing through the garden back home later in the afternoon, mostly Green-veined and Small but with at least one definite Large White on Wednesday afternoon.
It has rained for most of the day today and with a forecast for more rain overnight and thunderstorms tomorrow it doesn't look like I will be getting out. Sunday is looking a bit better...maybe, we'll see.

With no butterfly photos to post from the week, here are a few recent moths from the garden trap.

Brimstone Moths are regular in the trap and I love their bright yellow colour but as they usually settle with their wings flat I don't often get the chance to photograph the underside.

Brimstone Moth - Coverdale 04.07.2019

I have commented before on the variation found in some moths and I think I posted a couple of shots of Coronets last year as examples of this. I have recently had another couple of nice examples of this species.

Coronet - Coverdale 28.06.2019

Coronet - Coverdale 09.07.2019

The Scalloped Oak is another species I get a few of each year.

Scalloped Oak - Coverdale 16.07.2019

The Phoenix is a large 'carpet' moth that is usually described in the literature as widespread and common but this week I had only the second one ever to my trap.

Pheonix - Coverdale 16.07.2019

Anania coronata is an attractive micro that is closley related to the slight larger Small Magpie Moth (Anania hortulata)

Anania coronata - Coverdale 07.07.2019

The curious little Honeysuckle Moth (Ypsolopha dentella) turns up in small numbers every year.

Honeysuckle Moth - Coverdale 04.07.2019

Lozotaeniodes formosana is an attractive micro that I have also had each year in small numbers.

Lozotaeniodes formosana - Coverdale 09.07.2019

That brings my garden tally so far this year up to a total of 124 species of moths made up of 79 macro and 45 micro species.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Cracking Moff images Neil - especially like the Honeysuckle Moth Really interesting to see the butterfly like pose of the Brimstone Moth, something I've not seen it doing - and begs the question "Why Brimstone?" as that underwing has a decidedly Clouded Yellow look to it
On another note - they actually got the weather forecast correct today - however forecasting 'sunny intervals' is a bit of a cop out as far as I'm concerned as it can mean one tiny cloud that covers the sun for 5 seconds or a 5 second break in wall to wall cloud cover

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Some lovely moths there, Neil, particularly the anania coronata.

I too have started noticing more roadside butterflies, including Whites. Hopefully they'll increase in number after what was a disappointing first brood.

[Neil Freeman]

- and begs the question "Why Brimstone?" as that underwing has a decidedly Clouded Yellow look to it ...Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel , as you probably know, Brimstone is the old name for Sulphur which is a yellow solid at room temperature so the moth is named after the element. Just to add to this there is also a relative of the Clouded Yellow in North America called the Clouded Sulphur, also named after the element.

Some lovely moths there, Neil, particularly the anania coronata.

I too have started noticing more roadside butterflies, including Whites. Hopefully they'll increase in number after what was a disappointing first brood.

Thanks David, there were even more whites about over the weekend


Saturday 20th July.

In the end we did not get the forecast thunderstorms on Saturday although it was a mostly wet day with some heavy showers in the afternoon. As it happened our youngest son Danny was up from Bristol to see one of his friends and stayed with us from Friday to Saturday (Mom & Dads B&B.) and then we popped round to our daughter Sarah’s in the afternoon which meant that I would not have had chance to get out even if the weather had been better.

Despite this however, there were a few, mostly short, sunny spells and I managed to see a few butterflies in the garden at random times during the day.
Most of these were various whites passing through and the plentiful cloud cover meant that they would settle fairly often although as often as not this would be in a sheltered position tucked away out of sight. All three common species were seen with most of them appearing to be Green-veined accompanied by a few Large and Small.

Green-veined White - Coverdale 20.07.2019

Large White sheltering from a shower of rain - Coverdale 20.07.2019

At least three different male Speckled Woods were squabbling over their usual spots and on one occasion I spotted a female that came wandering through and managed to avoid their attentions whilst they were chasing each other.

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 20.07.2019

Speckled Wood female - Coverdale 20.07.2019

A couple of male Gatekeepers showed up, my first of these in the garden this year plus a Ringlet was seen bobbing about above the areas of grass that I allow to grow long.

Gatekeeper - Coverdale 20.07.2019

Gatekeeper - Coverdale 20.07.2019

Sunday 21st July - Morning.

A much better morning and although there was still a lot of cloud about it was not so thick and the temperature was on the rise.
I spent a bit of time doing household stuff and pottering about in the garden during which I saw all the same species as the previous day, probably the same individuals in most cases.

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 21.07.2019

Ringlet - Coverdale 21.07.2019

Ringlet - Coverdale 21.07.2019

As the morning warmed up the whites increased in number and on a few occasions I had four or five in sight at the same time, mostly Green-veined and Small Whites chasing each other about but with a few Large Whites turning up occasionally as well.

Small White - Coverdale 21.07.2019

Green-veined White - Coverdale 21.07.2019

Given how scarce the first brood whites were around here (and elsewhere from what I saw reported), I am a little surprised by how many have appeared over the past few days. I can understand the numbers of Large and Small Whites being supplemented by migrants but as far as I am aware this would not account for the increase in numbers of Green-veined Whites.

Anyway, with the afternoon looking to stay reasonable, I was keen to pop out to check out one of my local spots.

To be continued…

Neil.