Clouded Yellow - Favourite Photo of 2020

[Wurzel]

Clouded Yellow - Favourite Photo of 2020

Week 3

So we're into November - so only another 3-4 months until the next season kicks off

Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos as then it will be easier to keep track of things? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As in previous years details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome as would any accompanying stories and anecdotes or other observations of behaviour and interesting other points.

Final quick suggestion that it might be a good idea to select your Overall Favourite Butterfly Photo of 2020 first so that you’ve got something to post when the series of threads culminates in 20 weeks time…


Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Stevieb]

This year was a bumper year for Clouded Yellow on my favourite local patches Bewely Common and Beacon Hill, both Wiltshire.
I had ample opportunities to get my first UK photos of this species from 20th July through to 17th September.

[Goldie M]

It was the 12th of July when I saw the my first Clouded Yellow of the year, this was at Seasalter Kent, It looked so fresh and for once stayed on the plants for longer than usual which was was great Goldie

[Padfield]

My local 4-leaf clover patch, which is also the only place I used to be able to guarantee clouded yellows, has been ploughed up. No more clovers and no more yellows ... So the only ones I saw this year were in Spain in August. This male spread his wings just as I took the shot:



Guy

[David M]

...This male spread his wings just as I took the shot

That's a beauty, Guy. This is such an attractive butterfly. We'd probably appreciate it even more if it rested with its wings open.

[David M]

I only took one image in 2020...and not a very good one. While I was in Spain in early August, I spotted this female with her wings open. The male is out of shot but was not welcome.

[Vince Massimo]

Lovely shot of a male by Guy. I have added it to the Species album (together with the Lang's egg).

My shots of Clouded Yellow adults were not very good this year, despite seeing quite a few individuals on the Sussex coast. However, I was pleased to find some eggs on the beach in September.

Clouded Yellow egg - Lancing, Sussex 12-Sept-2020

Vince

[millerd]

Once again, a difficult choice. The first of the species I saw in 2020 was a helice female at Mill Hill in July, which naturally stands out as I hadn't seen this form since 2009! It was difficult to approach and particularly pale - to the extant that a fellow enthusiast I had encountered remained sceptical that it wasn't a Small White.

I didn't seen another helice, but did find Cloudies in several spots: I particularly like this female from LTB territory at Whitehawk Hill in Brighton on 28th September.

The following day I found that the species had appeared on my local patch as well, and I then saw them regularly here until mid-October. They were all males, and amongst the many photos accumulated was this very fortuitous snap of one of them in hot pursuit of another.

Dave

[Neil Freeman]

Another easy choice for me. I only saw two Clouded Yellows this year, both of them during our week on the Lizard in early August.
One of them was seen at Enys Head in the middle of a hot afternoon and wasn't stopping, but the other one seen at Kennack Sands on a slightly cooler but still warm late afternoon the day before dropped down for a brief refuel.

Clouded Yellow - Kennack Sands 02.08.2020

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Clouded Yellow

This was taken at Martin Down. I managed to see a few Cloudies over the course of the year – one at Shipton, a couple at Perham and two at Martin Down and this one was the second from that site. I chose this shot as despite seeing this range of Cloudies only this one behaved and sat still long enough for me to get any shots. Of those few shots that I got this one was my favourite as it the last one that I took and I liked the angular pose that it was throwing – also it didn’t have the annoying blade of grass protruding into the shot like the others – there’s always one eh?

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[bugboy]

A pretty decent showing from Cloudies this year, as long as you went south . I do love a backlit shot and this is probably the best I got this year plus it's a pretty fresh individual as well.

[Lee Hurrell]

Quite an easy choice for me, despite seeing quite a few Clouded Yellow this year. They had a good summer in Hampshire it seems.

This female was at Noar Hill in July; I was looking for Brown Hairstreak but was too late in the day. I watched her fly along a bank, stopping at each Scabious flower. This meant I was able to predict where she would land next. I was ready...

Clouded Yellow, female, Noar Hill, Hampshire, 30th July 2020