Neil Freeman

[Wurzel]

Really interesting markings on the last blue female Common Blue Neil Also love the pair in cop Good to see the next gen of Small Torts coming along nicely

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

...I haven't seen a spring Small Tortoiseshell for about a week now and the new brood are starting to emerge in numbers around here...

Same here, Neil. We're getting quite a few. I guess all the wet weather we had prior to mid-March followed by sustained sunshine did wonders for the nettle growth, meaning the early stages had something of a bonanza.

Love the elderly Peacock. Amazing to think it's probably 11 months old now and still going, in spite of showing its age!!

[Neil Freeman]

That Peacock really ought to retire!.
I had a real treat this morning ( for this area ) in the shape of TWO Small Tortoiseshells.
Yourself and Wurzel can be a bit matter of fact about them, but for me they are a desirable rarity!.

Getting ready for the silly season.
Stay well,
Trevor.

Glad to hear you had a couple of Small Tortoiseshells locally Trevor I'm still jealous of some of the species that some of you guys down south have easy access to that we simply don't get here.

Really interesting markings on the last blue female Common Blue Neil Also love the pair in cop Good to see the next gen of Small Torts coming along nicely

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. I've still not seen a brown female CB here yet this year.

...I haven't seen a spring Small Tortoiseshell for about a week now and the new brood are starting to emerge in numbers around here...

Same here, Neil. We're getting quite a few. I guess all the wet weather we had prior to mid-March followed by sustained sunshine did wonders for the nettle growth, meaning the early stages had something of a bonanza.

Love the elderly Peacock. Amazing to think it's probably 11 months old now and still going, in spite of showing its age!!

Thanks David. Yes, there was some really lush nettle growth around here a few weeks ago.
I wouldn't be surprised if there are still one or two elderly Peacocks hanging on when the new brood starts to emerge.

Sunday 31st May - Afternoon.

With yet another forecast for clear blue skies and temperatures up into the mid twenties, I hadn't originally intended to go out anywhere today and indeed spent the morning just pottering about in the garden where the only butterfly that I saw was the tired old Peacock previously posted.

By early afternoon however, despite the forecast, some big fluffy clouds started to build up and thinking that this would slow things down a bit I decided to pop around to my local site at Castle Hills.

Setting off down the usual path, I soon saw a couple of fresh Small Tortoiseshells bombing about at high speed. I lingered around this spot trying to keep one of them in view until one of the clouds moved over the sun and was rewarded when one of them behaved as hoped and settled to bask.

Small Tortoiseshell - Castle Hills 31.05.2020

I then carried on around my usual circuit and saw a few more Small Tortoiseshells, at least half a dozen all told but these were all very flighty.

In the various meadow areas I found a few male Common Blues...

Common blue - Castle Hills 31.05.2020

...and three male Brown Argus, two of which were well past their best but the third one was looking quite fresh.

Brown Argus - Castle Hills 31.05.2020

Brown Argus - Castle Hills 31.05.2020

The most numerous species here today was Small Heath with maybe 25 to 30 split mainly between two separate meadow areas with the odd one or two scattered about around the rest of the site.

Small Heath - Castle Hills 31.05.2020

Having seen Large Skippers reported recently, I was on the lookout to see if any were flying here yet. Indeed they were and I found half a dozen, all fresh males.

Large Skipper - Castle Hills 31.05.2020

Large Skipper - Castle Hills 31.05.2020

Four fresh Meadow Browns were also seen with these being their usual uncooperative selves for photos, although I did catch one with his wings open when another cloud briefly covered the sun again.

Meadow Brown - Castle Hills 31.05.2020

A couple of fresh new brood Speckled Wood were flying in the dappled shade along a path though a wooded section between two meadows.

Speckled Wood - Castle Hills 31.05.2020

A few whites were also spotted and at least one of them proved to be a Green-veined White when it landed on an early bramble blossom.

Green-veined White - Castle Hills 31.05.2020

Burnet Companion Moths and Mother Shiptons were seen again as were a couple of Cinnabar Moths but none of these settled in a suitable position to bother taking a photo. The only moth I pointed my camera at today was a Common Carpet, usually a night flyer but another of those that are easily disturbed during the day and often seen when out looking for butterflies.

Common Carpet - Castle Hills 31.05.2020

Despite the overall lowish numbers of butterflies I was glad I changed my mind and went out.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Lovely set of shots from Castle Hills Neil That Brown Argus under wing shot taken side-on is cracking Small Heaths do seem to be having a good year - they're doing well down here too from what I've seen

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

That's a beautiful, fresh Small Tortoiseshell, Neil. It's great to see so many right now and this cooler spell will probably suit them.

Quite a shock too to see an early season male Meadow Brown pose with open wings. They normally wait till they're battle weary before they do that.

[millerd]

Catching a Meadow Brown like that is a definite coup, Neil. Its wings have a mottled look to them, which can hardly be wear - I think someone explained to me once that very fresh dark-coloured butterflies can look like this very soon after emergence, before the scales "settle" properly and the wings fully dry off. I seem to recall that this explanation was offered in the context of a Purple Emperor which was looking a bit disappointing despite its obvious newness.

Cheers,

Dave

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel. Small Heaths have been on the decline in Warwickshire in recent years but they had a better season last year and so far this year seem to be doing well, at least around my local patch, I haven't been much further afield yet.

Thanks David, Yes, lots of fresh ones emerging here and great to see considering their varying fortunes in recent years.
The intermittent clouds definitly helped with that Meadow Brown.

Cheers Dave, I remember seeing fresh Purple Emperors at Fermyn Woods a few years ago with that mottled appearance. It was more noticeable from certain angles when the purple wasn't showing so possibly in a similar way the angle makes it show more with the Meadow Brown.


Tuesday 2nd June.

This morning we dropped some stuff off for our daughter Sarah and then on the way back pulled into Sheldon Country Park. Some thin high level cloud softened the sun a bit but with the temperature on the car display already showing 20 degrees at 10.30 it was shaping up to be another warm day.

We followed our usual route, with me zig-zagging back and forth into various likely looking areas as Jane stuck to the main paths which she could easily manage.

Butterfly numbers were again low but half a dozen nice fresh Small Tortoiseshells were a welcome sight.

Small Tortoiseshell - Sheldon Country Park 02.06.2020

Small Tortoiseshell - Sheldon Country Park 02.06.2020

Small Tortoiseshell - Sheldon Country Park 02.06.2020

Small Tortoiseshell - Sheldon Country Park 02.06.2020

Other butterflies seen on the way round were half a dozen Small Heath, a couple each of Common Blue and Meadow Brown and a single Large Skipper. The Common Blues were both males and looking a bit worn now but the Meadow Browns and Large Skipper looked fresh out of the tin and full of newly emerged vigour.

Small Heath - Sheldon Country Park 02.06.2020

Common Blue - Sheldon Country Park 02.06.2020

A few newly emerged Speckled Wood were also seen along the paths where they went through the wooded sections.

Speckled Wood - Sheldon Country Park 02.06.2020

I had also found a couple of Peacock larval nests the last time I was here and went to check on them today. Both nests had moved a few feet across their nettle beds and the larvae were now much bigger.

Peacock Larvae - Sheldon Country Park 02.06.2020

Peacock Larvae - Sheldon Country Park 02.06.2020

As with my other recent visits here, day flying moths greatly outnumbered the butterflies. Once again these were mostly Burnet Companions with some Mother Shiptons scattered around, many of which are now looking faded and worn.

Burnet Companion - Sheldon Country Park 02.06.2020

Mother Shipton - Sheldon Country Park 02.06.2020

Last time we came here I was pleased to find a colony of Grass Rivulets, a small day flying moth which is widespread but quite local in Warwickshire. Taking a slightly different route today I found a small colony of Chimney Sweeper, another day flyer which is quite widespread but tends to be more common further north.

Chimney Sweeper - Sheldon Country Park 02.06.2020

By the time we left just after midday, the thin cloud had completely vanished leaving clear blue skies and yet another very warm day.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

That is a cracking sequence of Small Tort shots Neil lush colours You've done brilliantly with the Moffs again Neil - adding another one of the awkward little blighters - Chimney Sweep

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel. Some of these day flying moths do indeed take being awkward to another level.

Garden Moths.

Since my last garden moths update, the nights through the latter part of May had continued to be clear with a breeze from the north or east which usually led to a drop in temperature from daytime highs of 24-25c down to overnight lows of 9-10c. This kind of temperature drop often gives poor results with most moths preferring cloudy and milder nights with little or no wind. Drizzle or even light rain is much better with some of my best catches being on drizzly but mild nights.

Even so, I lit up on the likelier looking nights and continued to get a steady dribble of new species for the year including Setaceous Hebrew Character, Clouded-bordered Brindle, Middle-barred Minor, Light Emerald, Common Carpet and Cinnabar.
The night of 25th May produced 41 moths of 19 species of which 30 of 13 were macros including a new species for the garden in Freyer's Pug.

Due to forecasts for partial cloud I also ran the trap on the nights of 26th and 27th of May but on both nights the cloud failed to appear, again leading to poor nights with the 26th producing a coincidental 26 of 19 (17 of 13 macros and 9 of 6 micros) and the 27th a slightly better 32 of 22 (26 of 18 macros and just 6 of 4 micros). I did however have another couple of Poplar Hawk Moths, one on each night. A close look at their markings confirmed them to be two different individuals and shows that it wasn't the same moth returning to the trap the following night.

Poplar Hawk Moth - Coverdale 26.05.2020

Poplar Hawk Moth - Coverdale 27.05.2020

Poplar Hawk Moth - Coverdale 27.05.2020

The night of 27th also produced another Peppered Moth and another Pale Prominent. With both of these species I have now seen as many this year as I have in the previous years since I started running the trap here in the spring of 2016.

Peppered Moth - Coverdale 27.05.2020

Pale Prominent - Coverdale 27.05.2020

I then gave it a rest for a few nights until June 1st when the breeze swung around to come more from the west which led to a slight rise in the overnight temperature despite it still being a clear night. This led to a rise in numbers to 51 moths of 26 species ( 37 of 19 macros and 14 of 7 micros) which included a NFG of Brown Silver-line. I see lots of these at my local spots when they are easily disturbed during the day, but surprisingly this was the first one that has turned up in my garden. NFY macros included Willow Beauty which I usually get a few of each year.

Willow Beauty - Coverdale 01.06.2020

One of the micros was Crambus lathoniellus, one of six species of 'grass moths' that I have so far recorded in my garden. These will be familiar to anyone who has seen them, often in their hundreds, in grassy meadows during the summer when they are out looking for butterflies. Despite their familiarity they are attractive little moths when fresh and given a closer look. Having said that, once I have identified a species, I usually get so many to the trap that I give up trying to count them all.

Crambus lathoniellus - Coverdale 01.06.2020

The night of 2nd of June finally produced cloud which persisted all night and the resulting milder overnight temperature led to my highest number of moths so far this year, 112 moths of 34 species made up of 90 of 25 macros and 22 of 9 micros. These were mostly the usual species that I have already had this year but they did include NFYs of Buff Ermine, Clouded Silver, Riband Wave, Small Dusty Wave, Grey Pug and Snout.

Buff Ermine - Coverdale 02.06.2020

I also had a nicely marked Coronet.

Coronet - Coverdale 01.06.2020

Since then, the weather has turned cool, wet and windy so the trap has not been out again. Things look to be settling down a bit next week so that will probably be the next time it is out.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

[David M]

I always look forward to your moth parades, Neil; there are frequently some real eye-opening specimens. The obvious pick is the poplar hawk moth but for me the buff ermine takes the award - absolutely beautiful.

[Pauline]

Wow! Neil, your moth photography is way better than I have seen in many published reference books. That Pale Prominent IS beautiful but that Buff Ermine ...... how do you get them to pose like that???? You really inspire me to push myself harder when photographing moths!

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks David. Glad you like the moths. I was particularly pleased with that Buff Ermine , I only get a few of these here and didn't get one at all last year.

Oh, I don't know about that Pauline but many thanks anyway. I was trying for that Buff Ermine shot on purpose to show the attractive abdomen. I got it by waiting for it to start vibrating it's wings as they do when warming up before take off and switching my camera to sports mode and firing of a couple of bursts, hoping to get one or two in focus. Must admit, I was chuffed with the result .


Friday 5th June.

Another visit to the other side of Solihull this morning (Friday 5th) gave me the opportunity to drop in to Blythe Valley Park again. After a cool and showery start to the morning, the clouds cleared a bit to give us some nice sunny spells although there was still a blustery wind blowing from the north and some dark grey clouds lurking on the horizon.

Things were much quieter this morning and it seems that the first brood Common Blues have now finished here, not surprising really as they would have been constantly active in the recent warm weather.

The first butterflies I saw this morning were a couple of Meadow Browns and during the hour or so I spent here I counted eight, all of which would settle low down in the grass out of the breeze.

A couple of fresh Small Tortoiseshells were also on the wing plus at least four male Large Skippers.

Small Tortoiseshell - Blythe Valley 05.06.2020

Large Skipper - Blythe Valley 05.06.2020

On the way back to my car the path passes though a nice wooded area where I came across a single male Speckled Wood

Speckled Wood - Blythe Valley 05.06.2020

The day flying moths that were seen here last week were all noticeable by their absence this time, whether they have also gone over now or were just hunkered down in the grass on what was still a mostly cool and breezy morning, I am not sure.

I timed my departure well as I had just got back to the car when another heavy shower came down.

Since then we had some horrible weather over the weekend. The rain was welcome if a bit heavy at times and I could have done without the wind and hail on Saturday. Sunday was a bit quieter but still cool and overcast with a dreary mizzle hanging in the air. Today (Monday 8th) has been cool and mostly overcast and the week ahead looks very unsettled but at least the temperature looks to be rising a bit as the week goes on.

Bye for now and stay safe.

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Cracking Moffs Neil - I love the subtle greys and moss green of the Coronet Good to see another Small Tort - they look quite dark - an effect of the very hot weather during the final days of their development?

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

...Things were much quieter this morning and it seems that the first brood Common Blues have now finished here, not surprising really as they would have been constantly active in the recent warm weather...

Same here, Neil. There were heaps of Common Blues a couple of weeks ago but on Monday and yesterday when I ventured out, I only saw one. Looks as though they literally burned themselves out in the hot weather.

That said, Small Tortoiseshells and Meadow Browns have emerged in significant numbers to fill the gap left behind.

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel. I quite like the Coronet myself. They were quite scarce and local in Warwickshire until a few years ago but have increased in both range and numbers recently. I

Thanks David. Yes, loads of Small Tortoiseshells and Meadow Browns here now plus one or two others as below.

Tuesday 9th June – part 1.

I had seen reports that Dark Green Fritillaries and Marbled Whites were starting to emerge around the midlands so I started thinking about getting to see these. I can usually see Marbled Whites at a couple of spots around Solihull but up until now I had never yet seen Dark Green Fritillaries in Warwickshire. I have seen plenty of DGFs previously and usually catch up with them on our various trips further afield around the country, but with a couple of our breaks away this year already cancelled and another couple hanging in the balance, my brain cogs started whirring.
A few years ago, the Dark Green Fritillary was restricted in Warwickshire to a few sites centred around Combrook in the south of the county but around 2011/2012 it began to be seen at Harbury Spoilbank and since then has colonised some other sites including Bishops Hill which is just a few miles from Harbury. I had seen DGFs reported from both of these sites over the past couple of days so I decided to pay a visit to Bishops Hill and then go on to Harbury, and looking at the weather forecast for this week (yes, I know) it looked like Tuesday would be the best bet with a mixture of cloud and sunny spells.

So it was that we left Solihull just before 10.00am for the forty minute drive down to Bishops Hill. We didn't bother leaving earlier as a thick overcast was still keeping the temperature down in the low teens at first but we were crossing our fingers that the cloud would break up a bit as per the forecast.
We arrived at Bishops Hill under similar conditions and at first all we saw were a few Meadow Browns which kept settling low down in the grass.

We also spotted a nice Bee Orchid in the grass at the side of the path.

Bee Orchid - Bishops Hill 09.06.2020

After a while the cloud did indeed begin to break up and allow the sun through which soon warmed things up a bit. Before long the numbers of Meadow Browns increased and we started seeing Small Tortoiseshells popping up regularly.

Small Tortoiseshell - Bishops Hill 09.06.2020

Small Tortoiseshell - Bishops Hill 09.06.2020

We followed the path around to the far side of the site where one particular large bank of brambles was facing the sun and found a nice fresh Dark Green Fritillary. As it happened, most of the time he kept his distance towards the far side of the brambles but came close enough a couple of times for me to get a shot or two. Not the best photos and cropped a fair bit to post below but my first DGF ones taken in Warwickshire.

Dark Green Fritillary - Bishops Hill 09.06.2020

Dark Green Fritillary - Bishops Hill 09.06.2020

During the hour and a half spent here, apart from the Meadow Browns and Small Tortoiseshells there were also a few Small Heath and Large Skippers...

Large Skipper -Bishops Hill 09.06.2020

Small Heath - Bishops Hill 09.06.2020

plus I was pleased to find a couple of fresh Marbled Whites.

Marbled White - Bishops Hill 09.06.2020

Marbled White - Bishops Hill 09.06.2020

At one point another Dark Green Fritillary did a high speed flypast but as this was during one of the periods when the sun was shining strongly, it just kept going.

A few faded Common Blues were also seen and a couple of Small Blues were still hanging in there.

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 09.06.2020

We then circled back to the entrance to the reserve and decided to move on to Harbury.

To be continued...

Neil.

[millerd]

It's always good to find a new species at a site you usually visit for something else. Very nice DGF shots, especially the underside. Unfortunately I no longer pass by Bishops Hill in the regular way I once did, but it's good to see it still thrives with a variety of species.

I shall be interested to see what Harbury came up with!

Cheers,

Dave

[Goldie M]

Lovely shots Neil your second Tort shot as unusual large dark spots hasn't it? That DGF is great to Goldie

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Dave. It was the first time I have been to Bishops Hill later in the year than mid May and it was interesting to see the differences.

Thanks Goldie. I find a surprising amount of variation in the size and shape of the spots on Small Tortoiseshells.

Cheers,

Neil

[Wurzel]

DGFs are a cracking butterfly - I love that they seem to e the least fussy Fritillary - I've seen them in woods, grasslands and sea cliffs - brilliant Tou did well with the underwing shot Looking forward to Harbury

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel. Like you I have seen DGFs in all sorts of habitats including woodland clearings, bracken covered slopes, cliff tops, dunes and grasslands but, like I mentioned above, strangely enough this was my first time in my home county.

I've been meaning to do the report from harbury for the last couple of days. I am still on furlough and the weather has been lousy so you would think I would have had plenty of time but I have got distracted by some jobs in the house, always useful for those brownie points of course
Hopefully I'll get it done tomorrow now.

Cheers,

Neil.