Bugboys mission

[Chris L]

Great photos Bugboy.

[bugboy]

You were right Dave, it was a decent weekend although that was a double edged sword. Lots of butterflies but also lots of selfish, ignorant people potentially ruining things for the majority .
Thanks Wurzel Nearly all the Comma's I've seen this spring have been in good nick, along with the other hibernators, they must have fattened up quickly and gone straight into hibernation.
I think you're right David. The only Fritillaries I stand a chance of seeing in the flesh this year if we're lucky will be a tatty Silver-washed or a second brood SPBF. I reckon I'll be lucky to see more than 30 species this year . Still, there's always next year
Thanks Otep


April 2020
Saturday 4th. The promised warm spell arrived and for once I was glad to be at work to enjoy it without the worry of overstepping the line with regard to the current regulations. Lunchtime arrived so off I popped to the butterfly hotspot…. to find just a lone distant Brimstone. The only thing that sat was a curious Robin.

The current reduced working hours have us all currently finishing at 4, meaning there’s still a bit of time before everything goes to bed, and since my colleague who is helping me get to and from work without the need for using public transport drives past my local patch on the route to her home, it’s a convenient dropping of point for me. The short walk through the Marshes, avoiding the main paths enables me to get a nature fix without flouting the rules.

The sunny weather had certainly helped to wake up the butterflies which had all found sheltered sun traps to soak up the evening rays in. The spot I stopped at first is a fenced off pond in the middle of what is primarily a small Sallow copse. The far side faces south and it was here that I could see a trio of Peacock and a couple of Small Tortoiseshell in near constant battle. I didn’t have my big lens so I had to be content with just watching their aerial dog fights for the most part.

Spot the Small Tortoiseshell.

Around the corner I found a nice Comma.

A few more Comma were found before getting home including the one with the pale patches still defending the same territory as when I last saw him a week ago.

Stay safe

[Goldie M]

Hi! Bug Boy, great shots of the Comma's when I was in Kent last year I saw a similar Comma to the one with the Yellow spots you've shown, It's in my posts from last year. I thought at first it may have been pinned to some thing but got a way,( just fancy thinking on my part ) Goldie

[David M]

You're certainly using all your tricks to get your fix of nature, Paul. Well done.

I can't spot that Tortoiseshell though, try as I might.

edit - Ah, yes I can! I had been looking on the foliage.

[Neil Freeman]

I like the 'context' shot of the Small Tortoiseshell

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Great stuff Bugboy We're living in strange times indeed; looking forward to going to work to get your nature fix More cracking COmmas and I love the peek-a-boo Peacock

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[bugboy]

Thanks Goldie, given that the pale patches on my Comma are symmetrical it might be a genetic mutation?
I'm doing my best whilst staying within the regulations David.
There was a lot more 'context' in that picture before it was cropped Neil
Thanks Wurzel, we can only do what we can at the moment.

April 2020
5th April. My lunchtime wander at work today produce three butterflies although given the 21 degrees and cloudless skies getting any photos was going to be a longshot. A Peacock (I’m assuming the same individual) flew up unseen from under feet three times, a male Brimstone fluttered past and joining them today my first Orange-tip of the year. A male did several flybys, taunting me I’m sure but just the sight lifted my spirits. Still no Speckled Wood yet which I would have expected to be appearing now.

My walk home was a little more successful since I’d packed my long lens today. The butterfly playground next to the pond was still as active as the previous day but Comma’s had replaced the Small Tortoiseshell from yesterday and I managed a few passable shots as they sat between frolics in the evening sun.

context

Elsewhere some more Peacock were enjoying Blackthorn blossom and a new kid was on the block. Old pale patch Comma had been ousted by this fella who was now vigorously defending his newly acquired territory. Bees and Beeflies seemed to be of particular annoyance to him!

Stay safe.

[Wurzel]

Sorry to read about the usurping of Ole Pale Patch I'm with him though the bees are annoying at this time of year in that they're constantly spooking the butterfly I'm trying to get a shot of

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Surprising your Specklies aren't out yet, Paul. Mind you, if they were then I guess that'd just mean more irritating interlopers for the Commas & Peacocks to joust with!

Lovely shots of the Peacock on the blackthorn. I never tire of these.

[Goldie M]

I always love to see peacocks on Blossom, lovely shots Bugboy Goldie

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, yea I've not come accross ole pale patch since, maybe he came to a sticky end now all the summer avian visiters have started to arrive...
Thanks David, don't worry things have livened up in recent days . The Blackthorn has all practically gone over now though so those Peacock shots are soon to become a thing of memory for another year.
Thanks Goldie, I love those shots too, along with Orange-tips they are what spring is made from for me

April 2020
Monday 6th. This was a day off so I took a bit of extended exorcise on my local patch. The day started off with a layer of thick cloud which meant when the butterflies woke up they were immediately supercharged in the midday sun, so I had very little time to catch them warming up Peacocks were once again plentiful. I also had a few Small White and some non-stop Brimstone. The only chance of a Brimstone picture was a single egg I found on some Alder Buckthorn though.

With the butterflies mostly fluttering and gliding around I payed more attention to the local birdlife than I normally would at this time of year. Males of many species were busy proclaiming their territories with Chiffchaff’s, seemingly chiffchaffing from almost every tree and bush, by far the most noticeable.

Greenfinch with a damaged upper mandible

Blue Tit

preening Chiffchaff

chiffchaffing Chiffchaff

Near the end of my 2 hour walk it began to cloud over a bit more, calming a few Peacocks down enough for a few more snaps.

Surprisingly, still no Speckled Wood though…

[bugboy]

April 2020
Tuesday 7th. Another day off and with the sun out first thing I went out for a morning walk. Despite the warmth I didn’t see that much though. Peacocks were still around and Small Whites seemed to be increasing in numbers and I finally had a Brimstone settle for me.

Checking out one of my usual Speckled Wood hotspots I saw in the distance the familiar fluttering of a dark butterfly, at last. He only sat for a single rushed record shot but his appearance brought my yearly total to six species.

As with the previous day I spent a bit of time noting the local birds. The Chiffchaffs were once again outnumbering everything else, at least vocally, but other Warblers were also in fine voice.

First Whitethroat of the year

Male linnet just coming into his breeding plumage

A Wren lurking in the shadows

Long-tailed Tit with a feather for the nest

Blackcap in mid song

Oh and the super moon had me poking my big lens out the bathroom window in the evening

[Wurzel]

Great set of shots Bugboy - the Specklies do seem to be very flighty at this time of year - they're much more lackadaisical in the summer Good to see the Whitethroat I was wondering how long til they started turning up 8)Lovely shots

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Nice range of images there, Paul, especially the linnet - lovely birds.

Good to see your Specklies are out. I'm sure their numbers will explode these next few days.

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, I think everything's a bit flighty in the recent warm spell!
Thanks David, I think 'explode' is a bit of an exaggeration on my patch. Most species, even the common ones, generally potter along in low numbers here. At peak I'll expect to see not many more than a dozen Specklies in a day, I had just four this afternoon in bright sun in widely spaced spots.

April 2020
Wednesday 8th. Back to work and the continuing warm weather brought out a few butterflies during my lunchtime walk. I had a trio of male Brimstone fluttering around, one of whom stopped long enough for a few snaps. I also had another brief encounter with a Peacock. It really has been a good year for them so far. I’ve had more Peacock sightings at work this year than the previous five years combined.

At the end of my walk, passing a nectar border with its Bowles mauve Wallflower that had been planted last year at my suggestion, a female Brimstone was nectaring.

On my now traditional walk home through the Marshes it was much the same as my last evening wander. A few Peacock and Comma holding territories in the same sunlit spots plus another Speckled Wood.

I also found a Wren having a post bathe stretch & scratch and a couple of 7 spot Ladybird busily working on the next generation.

Safe butterflying everyone

[Wurzel]

Lovely shots of the female Brimstone Bugboy And the Wren action shot is a brilliant capture That looks like a cracking walk home from work
Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Love the Brimstone Bugboy I've yet to find one I find the Wren very hard to get shots of, they seem to be a shy Bird and very quick from one tree or bush to another, too quick for me, your shots of it are great. Goldie

[millerd]

You did well to get the Brimstones settled, Buggy - unless it's very early on or during that brief window before they head for bed, I find them nearly impossible. Good to see the female not on a dandelion too!

Cheers,

Dave

[David M]

...I also had another brief encounter with a Peacock. It really has been a good year for them so far. I’ve had more Peacock sightings at work this year than the previous five years combined.

Certainly has, Paul. I must have seen approaching 100 this spring, even though I haven't been out as often as usual.

Nice to see a female Brimstone in your gallery. Only had one myself so far, but they are always far more co-operative than the males when it comes to photographing them.

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, It certainly beats walking along a street which is the other option
Thanks Goldie, Brimstones seem to be down in numbers this year, certainly locally to me. I was lucky with that Wren, I had my big lens pointing at a Peacock when it popped out from the undergrowth near me
Thanks Dave, if memory serves it was a bit of an cool or overcast morning so they were still warming up
Thanks David, Peacock and Comma have both been good this spring but Brimstone's seem to be way down near me, that was the last sighting of one in fact!

April 2020
Thursday 9th. Todays lunchtime walk produced a single female Small White and a very fresh Speckled Wood which flew up from the grass under my feet. His wet look, weak flight and willingness to settle more than would be expected in the midday sun suggested this was his maiden voyage.

The first thing that caught my attention walking home was a white that from a distance looked smaller and somewhat more fluttery than any I’d seen so far this year. Her Identity was confirmed as I closed in and I watched as she laid a couple of eggs on some Garlic Mustard as I fumbled to get my camera out my bag. Luckily, she hung around to restock on fuel before fluttering off.

The rest of my walk turned out to be as equally as satisfying. Several Whites were around and everyone that I could Identify turned out to be of the Green-veined persuasion, the first of the year, including a mating pair halfway up a Blackthorn.

The sunlit glade which used to belong to ‘ole pale patch Comma’ has never been without an occupant so far. Today there were 3 battling for this prime bit of Comma real estate. I was curious to see if Ole patch himself had returned but pinning any of them down was near impossible due to the endless quarrels, added to by the addition of a couple of Peacock who regularly joined the aerial skirmishes. Watching them something else flew into view which turned out to be my first Red Admiral of the year. I kept an eye on it as it tried to find somewhere to bask unaccosted. That somewhere happened to be halfway up a Hazel but just as it settled something else fluttered into view, small and silvery-blue and showing an avid interest in the Dogwood buds. I focused on her but she didn’t settle and I lost track of her. The Red Admiral had also vanished, still that was three season firsts in the spate of 10 minutes .

I moved on to see if some more speckled Wood were about but was stopped by the sight of a couple of Comma engaged in some courtship behaviour, well the male was as far as I could tell. Unfortunately this was going on in a bit of a thoroughfare in-between a couple of my ‘off the between track’ patches so I wasn’t able to hang around long enough to watch in detail or get any decent shots. From what I did see it looked like the female was rejecting the male’s advances. She was content with basking but as soon as the male approached, she would snap her wings shut. Also if the male accosted her in flight, she would immediately land and keep her wings tightly closed. The male seemed to get the message straight away from this behaviour and there wasn’t the constant badgering you see with Whites. It was fascinating to watch even if I was forced to move on after a minute or so.

Female Comma sending the 'not interested' message

I returned to the quieter spot where all the butterfly action was going on and managed shots of two of the three Commas before focusing my attention on the return of the female Holly Blue. This time she behaved and I discovered she’d clearly had an eventful time since she’d emerged.