Wurzel

[Goldie M]

I'm still following your posts Wurzel, and I'm It's so good to see all the Brown Hair Streaks because other's have seen a decrease this year, roll on the Vaccine for next year and normal life. I'll be out looking for them Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Trevor I was even more chuffed with those shots as I hadn't expected to see anything due to the cloud cover Just goes to show butterflies don't read the rule book Although I reckon Little L's shot is one of the best of the bunch
Cheers Goldie Glad I could help out by giving you a virtual Brostreak fix Hopefully things work out with the vaccine roll out and 2021 will be a much better year for everyone!

December 2020

A little bit late but got there in the end...finally 2020 is almost over, stroll on 2021

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Some definite for the open-winged male Brown Hairstreaks, Wurzel! I saw more of the males this year than ever before, but not showing off to that extent. Not that they have much to show off compared to the ladies... I suppose you could say it's more subtle. Great shots as ever.

It occurs to me that last weekend had something significant missing from it - a meeting of sociable like-minded souls in a certain Hampshire hostelry. Hopefully we can have a spring gathering in 2021 as was tentatively planned for this year.

Cheers,

Dave

[bugboy]

Crazy amounts of Brown Hairstreaks, I'm just glad the Bookham ones showed as well or I might overdose in little green men. Still a few for those open wing male shots though

[Neil Freeman]

Really Jealous of those Brown Hairstreaks Wurzel

By all accounts the males had a good showing at Grafton Wood this year but I was down in Cornwall at the time and by the time I got back the weather had turned and I missed them. I did eventually make one trip over there but only managed a couple of glimpses of individuals high up.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Dave The males did put in a good showing this year and the females did alright eventually as well. A spring gathering would be nice and some compensation for missing the end of year bash
Cheers Bugboy I was a bit worried as the Local Collector did the rounds again, picking em off and they still haven't gotten back to the numbers after the collector took a bucket load a few years back But it came good in the end as I don;t think he bothers to try the more remote parts of the site
Cheers Neil Shipton Bellinger is a great site for them - if you're ever passing through a feel like a detour then just give me a holler and I can show the hotspots

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Shipton Bellinger 08-08-2020

Part 1

It was with some trepidation that I set out towards Shipton Bellinger. The weather report had mentioned strong sun and plus 30 temperatures which would make things extremely hard work – the butterflies would be all over the place and we’d be baking. Also the target species, if they behaved as in other years when it was really hot, would be up and about well before the renowned Golden Hours. Factoring all this in I met Trevor by the Hotspot Hedge at 9ish so we’d hopefully catch the Brostreaks before they disappeared and stayed in the treetops.

We set off from the cars avidly following the Hedge to the end of its length. There were Hedge and Meadow Browns all over the place, plenty of Whites as well as Holly Blues, Brown Argus, a single Small Copper and for Trevor’s benefit a fresh male Adonis and second brood Dingy Skipper. A little further on there was a lovely female Common Blue, a rather brown one for once. All very nice but no Brostreaks…Round the corner in the little enclosure of hedges there was more of the same with the addition of some well-behaved Brimstones which for once were being particularly pliant for photography…still no Brostreaks though. Round at the Nettle Patch there were even more Whites but apart from them occasionally taking to the air like dislodged feathers it was all pretty quiet. We ended up back at the cars having completed a Brostreak free circuit of almost all of the spots that I’d seen them on my last three visits. Had they moved on? Had we reckoned wrong and arrived too early? Was it already too hot?

We set out on a second circuit with a fresh intake of coffee boosting our morale however the Hedge was still bereft of betulae, the enclosure was in terms of Thecla was tenebrific and then we reached the Nettle Patch. A quick walk around in the now well-worn pathways in amid the nettles didn’t throw up any either so we carry on along the main trackway. I checked my watch it was a fraction off 11. I looked up and there is a male Brostreak, that marvellous sight of an orange shark fin atop a purple thistle head. I check my watch again as I still can’t believe what happened but yes it’s a fraction past 11 now and despite the heat the Brostreaks have arrived bang on time. They’re certainly acting in a well-trained manner at Shipton this year, almost as if they’ve actually read and followed the rule book for once! I call Trevor over and let him get onto something of a rarity for him – a male Brostreak. A Meadow Brown is also in shot and keeps hassling the Brostreak so it flutters from one Thistle head to another and back again each time it’s disturbed by its larger distant cousin.

Might seem a familiar shot...

After a few shots I leave the Brostreak with Trevor so the two can get better acquainted and start following the little trackways around the Nettle Patch where I bump into the same bloke from my visit before last and put him onto the Brostreak before carrying on my recce. A Comma and a Small Tort are feeding just at the edge of the bed and two Small Coppers are tussling down on the deck zipping around like the tiny trackways like boy racers. After this I walk down the tiny trackway towards the Maple trees with the Ash Master behind it and as I’m working my way back another Brostreak pops up, another male. It’s joined by a second which starts to open up so I call Trevor over. A this point a Silver-washed flies across our lines of sight but we’re too enthralled by the Borstreaks which have started showing well and are now performing as expected.

What a cracking start
Brostreak bang on eleven
One opens up too…

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[trevor]

The intense heat of the day before our visit nearly put me off going at all.
But to say I'm glad I did attend is an understatement. What a day!.
Even the journey to Shipton B was full of anticipation, a new site known
for Brown Hairstreaks, a guided tour, and the weather behaved, what's not to like!.

That first male you found is familiar in your shots, complete with the pesky Meadow Brown.
The day also produced a lifetime first for me, seeing male and female BH on the same day.

I've always thought of the BH as the gentleman's butterfly, ( usually ) time enough for a leisurely
breakfast, and home in time for tea. Indeed I arrived home, after 110 miles, at 4.50pm.

Thanks once again for a great day,
stay safe and well,
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Trevor It was a brilliant day at Shipton - the site was certainly easier to work this year than last despite the intense heat the day before. I saw a fair few females ovi-positing so next year should be good too Speaking of the females...

Shipton Bellinger 08-08-2020

Part 2

Time was pressing on and so we work our way back along the main Hedge so that we can get back to the cars and pick up some lunch. As we walked I scanned through the Blackthorn seeking out a honeyed or bright orange shape and all my effort was paid off when we were only about a quarter of the way along as there nestled atop a leaf was a female Brostreak. She was a lovely looking thing but also awkwardly placed – what with being at just above head height. However she wasn’t totally out of reach and by holding my camera out at arm’s length and peering through the viewfinder I was able to get a few shots as she started to open up. She then fluttered a short distance and plonked herself down not quite as high but this time slightly further back which meant a few shots were only possible so long as you accepted a spearing by the thorns and a scratching by the Bramble. As we’re enjoying the Brostreak I spot two things which eventually turn out to not be what I thought they were. The first is what I think is a Purple Hairstreak but as I get closer I realise that it’s the same mark on a leaf that has caught me out on my last couple of visits! I take a few shots of it hoping to break its spell so I don’t get caught out next time I wander this bit of hedge. The second was what I initially took to be a feather and so as all good butterfliers should I went to remove it so others weren’t embarrassed by mistaking it for a White. However this was actually a moth – either a Yellow or Browntail and so I stopped short of touching it luckily as both species can release a noxious or irritating secretion!

After lunch and coffee we worked our way back down the shady side of the Hedge which I think is still in Wiltshire but what with being shaded for most of the day didn’t hold any more Brostreaks and only the occasional Holly Blue or Meadow Brown flew in the shade. There was a clear demarcation between the shaded zone and where the sun had managed to reach and along the strip of wild flowers bordering the path Wild Parsnip and Marjoram pulled in all sorts of butterflies all over the place with Common Blues, including a few females, Brimstones, aged Gatekeepers and ubiquitous Meadow Browns. We pressed on straight to the Nettle Bed as that’s where the Brostreaks were so why not?

On the corner of the little track there were a few other observers who were watching a male. We managed to spot a second and then the two males were still sitting together in one view again…at least I thought they were the original duo, a bit of a closer look proved that one was a new individual as there was a chunk missing from the hind wing. While we were watching the closer of the two started to open up, twitching his wings coyly to start with and then opening up fully but he was a bit worn and so after a few shots I reverted to trying for one of the two Silver-washed that were about and left him to Trevor and the others who were a bit more appreciative of him.

After this we made our way back round to the main Hedge discussing this and that and generally talking about how good a day it had been and how the weather wasn’t exactly (luckily) as forecast and how the butterflies were playing by the rule book. The Brostreaks continued to follow the rules as now we were entering into the early afternoon which is when the females should start appearing and sure enough midway along the hedge we encountered another female. She was feasting on Blackberries – or at least the water/juice that was between the dooplets. It’s great to capture them like this as they often sit still for an age the only problem this time was the breeze which kept pulling at her wings like wind gathering in a sail. It meant that I had to take a multitude of shots to make sure that I got something…oh well never mind . She was a little beauty this one and much more engaging than the first wandering about and supping from various Blackberries.

Once we’d had our fill of photographing her and she’d had her fill of Blackberry she took to the wing and landed up high to bask and so warm up a little after her frays in the shade and we took this as our cue to stroll along the final length of the Hedge. The usual butterflies accompanied us on the way and I spotted a male Brostreak further back in the hedge through a little ‘window’ between two spikes of Bramble but with my mind still alive from the encounter with the female things passed in a slight blur and I found that it was difficult to focus on the other species. Right at the end just as we turned the corner there was another Brostreak in the dip of the Bramble patch, She flew closer in landing down low right at the edge of the patch almost overhanging the path but she was very flighty and neither Trevor nor myself could get in to get the classic side on profile shot. She abruptly took off and then landed much further in, almost beyond the reach of my lens but I gave it a go anyway just so that I had a record of lady number three. To be honest she was the only Brostreak of the day that didn’t behave so I can’t grumble – there’s always one! So ended a fantastic day with brilliant company, the 5-6 males and 3 females a cracking justification for the visit which we almost didn’t make!

Brostreaks a plenty
Males and females showing off
Slurp on Blackberries…

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

An absolutely lovely female Brown Hairstreak tucking into the blackberries, Wurzel. It's only when you see both in proximity that you appreciate just how much more orange the females are compared to the males. Also the orange contrasting with the white of the underside of the body always makes me think of the colours of a fox...

Cheers,

Dave

[trevor]

Great shots of the female on the blackberry.
And you managed a shot of that BH as we were leaving, very uncooperative that one!.

And so ended a great day!.

All the best,
Trevor.

[Goldie M]

Absolutely fantastic shots Wurzel roll on 2021 Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Dave I see what you mean about the 'Fox' but with the stripy socks I'm reminded of the Holland kit (even though they don't have the aforementioned socks ) The difference is quite apparent especially when they sit, wings closed
Cheers Trevor It was a cracking day - subsequent visits saw several females egg-laying so next year should still be good despite the 'Collector'
Cheers Goldie Yes indeed, the sooner that we can forget 2020 the better! Although to be fair I did get to see some cracking butterflies so I'll have to be selective over my memories

Martin Down 10-08-2020

The wonder of the summer break is that there are so many opportunities to get out butterflying just as on this particular day. Instead of kicking my heels round the house and wondering what to do I loaded my camera into the car and set off to Martin Down for a quick hour walk around…
I followed the hedge along from the Sillen’s Lane end picking up the full complement of the usual species. The highlights of this part were a fly-by male Adonis Blue, cutting through the air like a horizontal lightning bolt and a male Common Blue which looked a little washed out as it sat atop a dried grass head. At first I thought that the muted colours were down to it being an aged individual but when I looked a little more closely I could see this wasn’t the case. All of the markings were immaculate, there were no signs of scales that had been rubbed off, there wasn’t a single tear of nick anywhere to be seen and the fringes were still full and luscious. So it was a new male but instead of the bright orange lunules they were instead so pale that they were almost lemon which would make it an ab.flavescens.

Chuffed with this slightly different blue I continue on along the path joined by Chalkhills and more Common Blues. These flew across the grass tops in the sun whilst the Smessex, Meadow Browns and various Whites favoured the slightly shaded margins of the hedge – possibly as some were getting on a bit and so had already had their time in the sun as it were. As I reached the bit of the path which forks off towards the tunnel another Adonis Blue plonked itself down right at the edge of the path, almost as if it was inviting me to take its photos and so I dutifully did.

I forewent the tunnel again and took the left-hand tine of the fork along to the flat fields that were filled with Marjoram and Thyme and other floral delights. Remembering the trick from my previous visit I picked my way round various clumps of flowers, snaking my feet where possibly so as to disturb as little as possible. While I sought out the likeliest looking nectar source which to set up shop butterflies flew all around me. It was a magnificent sight with Meadow Browns everywhere, Small Heath popping up here and there, violet Common and electrically charged Adonis Blues with the odd female among them indistinguishable from each other whilst in flight. I found a good looking bush, stood back and awaited the butterflies. It worked a treat again and within a matter of seconds I was joined by all those species that had accompanied me to my photo spot as well as the odd Chalkhill.

The butterflies were by now flying at full throttle and so I did my best to ignore them when they toyed with me by landing and then taking off again the moment I turned my lens towards them, and instead concentrated on getting to the large clump of wild flowers just past the Hotspot Hollow where the Dyke starts up again before winding its way the hill. Once here I again stood back and let the butterflies come to me. I got a reasonable count of 4 Meadow Browns, 2 Common Blues as well as a DGF and a Brown Argus – all clinging and jostling atop the one bush. Further on the Hotspot was living up to its name and my biggest problem was working out what to try and photograph first so I settled back down and just watched and counted. Buzzing around the were 5 Adonis Blues, a couple each of Common Blues and Brown Argus, the odd Small Heath and Chalkhill Blues. There were also a number of Meadow Browns about too. When they were feeding they seemed happy to share their perch with any of the other species except the Chalkhill Blues: “Hey come on over Mr Common Blue…I’ll shuffle up a little bit Mrs Brown Argus…Hey Chalkhill bu$$er off!”…and then they would chase the ‘oh so offensive’ butterfly off! Also here was a second brood Dingy showing off the underside nicely and closing up in a less than normal fashion for a Skipper.

As I work round to the other side of the hedge the Cloudy that I’d hoped for doesn’t materialise but instead there’s another Dingy and a worn DGF among the usual collection of butterflies. Looking the most resplendent of them all was a really fresh male Adonis which would have looked even better if it had decided to open up. In the end my time was ticking away fast and so I put my head down and hit the high road home…well back to the car park at any rate. I did make one brief stop for a pair of Common Blues. It looked a little like they’d had an argument as they were both facing away from each other intent on not making eye contact!

Blues and a Dingy
Rather stroppy Meadow Brown
Chases Chalkhills off!

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Yet another splendidly productive visit to Martin Down, Wurzel. I grow increasingly that you are within "popping down" distance of this spot: variety and numbers as well. A nice selection of Blues to deal with the other (seasonal) kind...

Cheers,

Dave

[j-d welch]

Good day Wurzel, i have just read through your diary for your Shipton Bellinger trip that you told me about when we met at Alners Gorse... I am pleased that your visit was so productive & it sounded like a perfect day in the field. Your BH photos were brilliant and the female on the Blackberries was a Beautiful series...kudos to you!!
I also went back to read your Alners Gorse episode just to bring back memories of a wonderful Summer visit...in the end I visited Alners 3 times in 5 days but I did not see a BH. On my last visit I photographed PH & WLH and was hoping for a BH but the closest I got was speaking with a couple who arrived late morning and they photographed a fresh female on the bramble, very close to where we first met !! So I believe your Daughters predictions were not far wrong.
Anyway I went on to see BH at Otmoor , Asham Mead, Netherclay reserve (Taunton), Ryton Wood ...the Netherclay reserve was a first for me . Whilst wondering around Thurlbear Quarrylands, I had a chat with a young couple who work in Conservation and they recommended that i visit Netherclay because they had seen plenty of BH caterpillars . So I was able to visit the reserve quite a few times over August / September and saw BH's every visit and then in Oct I saw lots of eggs.
But I also had an amazing experience by chance when I met a couple of friends, that had been rearing BH eggs (saved before the Blackthorn hedge was flailed), that were releasing several female BH on the 24th July. So I was able to get some amazing shots, open wing etc... It was such a cool experience that I was inspired and I have decided to attempt to rear some BH eggs from blackthorn hedges that will be flailed. This is part of a re-release project run by The Warwickshire branch of Butterfly Conservation. Therefore I have a couple of large clay pots with 2 & 3 year old blackthorn planted and waiting for BH eggs. Obviously lockdown has interfered with getting the eggs from Warwick but I have identified several blackthorn hedges close to Thurlbear quarrylands which have eggs, i'm just hoping the farmer has not flailed those hedges.
So I will update you in the new year as to my BH progress but in the meantime I wish you & your family Best wishes over the festive season and all the best for 2021 ...
Kindest regards, john

[Wurzel]

Cheers Dave Martin Down certainly came into it's own for me this year - and I reckon it was better for Marshies than Cotley - just don't tell anyone that I said that
Cheers John I'm glad that my musings managed to evoke happy memories of summer - particularly at this butterfly bereft time of year You did well to get the White-letter as well I've seen two out of three myself but never the complete trio - gotta leave something for another day Good luck with the Brostreaks - sounds like you'e all ready I hope you and yours have a cracking Chrimbo and a brilliant new year - hopefully catch up with you again in the new season - and hopefully it'll be a bit more 'normal'. Stay safe

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

All the best for Christmas and the New Year Wurzel, hope it's a much better Year for every one Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Goldie I hope you have a cracking Chrimbo too!

Mottisfont 11-08-2020

It had been a while since we’d visited any National Trust Gardens for obvious reasons at first and then because phoning up and having to book a slot felt kinda wrong after over a decade of just turning up but today we bit the bullet and went to Mottisfont. Well I guess we’d really bit the bullet last Friday when we woke at 6m to be first in the queue and get the admission slot that we wanted but that doesn’t quite fit the narrative, anyhoo…
It was going to be a scorcher so once in we hugged the shady side of the path as we made our way round the one way system towards the Walled Gardens where there was yet another one way system in place. It seems the that the butterflies were revelling in their privacy and they’d worked out which spots of the gardens were roped off an inaccessible as that’s where they seemed to head when disturbed by the people in front of us or where they could be seen hanging to various Buddleia florets. Several Whites and a few Brimstones as well as a Red Admiral were all out of range of my lens by virtue of this behaviour so I had to console myself with the more dopey Meadow Browns that seemed a bit zonked out from the heady mixture of heat and Lavender fumes and the more daring Whites.

After we had successfully Social Distanced/shuffled our way we exited to the main parts of the grounds once again we were able to walk from shady spot to shady spot. Booking the first ‘time slot’ was proving to be a great idea as if was so quiet that we felt like we pretty much had the place to ourselves and so we carried on the ‘circular route’ cutting across the recently mown fields, through the gate and along the river path. As we walked the odd couple of Specklies sparred or courted (I couldn’t work out which) sometimes spiralling across and almost skimming the top of the chalk stream. Banded Demioselles and the odd dragonfly zipped about and below the water Rainbow and Brown Trout swung their tails lazily from side to side so as to remain stationary against the brisk current. All too soon we left the riverside path and the wonderful light show from the sun stealing through the trees and playing on the tops of the ripples.

By way of compensation though we found a shady spot at the edge of the lawn and had lunch. Just prior to lunch and directly after I was able to walk up and down the single strip of Lavender which bordered the lower and upper Lawns. There were numerous Meadow Browns – including the occasional odd looking one with double pupils or an almost double pupil. The Whites proved really tricky as they would almost tip-toe fly from one head of Lavender to the next, take the briefest of sups and then move on – I don’t know if this is because Lavender only has a little nectar or whether they were just playing hard to get? Judging by the behaviour of all three of the Commas and the Small Tort probably the latter as the Vanessids spent much more time on each purple floret. However they weren’t much easier to photograph as even though they remained in the same location they pirouetted constantly. In the end I lined my shot up and waited for them to work back to me. The Commas were great and were easily identifiable from each other as one was entirely normal and complete, another was an ‘o-album’ and the final one of the trio had a portion of its hind wings missing – it looked a little like a Julia to be honest. Three Blues also graced the Lavender with their presence – two males and a lovely little female.

It was good to get back to the Trust properties and enjoy a little ‘light butterflying’ again after the recent punishing trips in the heat! However this wasn’t the end as when we arrived home and I was packing things away Little L called down that a butterfly had landed on her Horse Chestnut sapling in our concrete courtyard. I quickly grabbed my camera, opened the back door and got a couple of shots before it realised that it had made a mistake by landing in an almost barren space. A garden tick no less…well if you can call an old butler sink a garden…

Mottisfont reprise
On the Lavender they flew
In the scorching sun

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Dyrham Park 16-08-2020

After a week of ‘weather’ I was finally getting out this time for a bit of a walk round Dyrham Park an National Trust property at the of the Cotswolds, all sweeping vistas and rolling hills with the House nestled snuggly in the ‘V’ between two hills. We’ve been here many times…well we’ve used the facilities and had lunch in the car park many times as we use it as a stop off point on our way back from visiting the Outlaws. Today was actually our first ever ‘proper visit’ and we promptly set off across the hill top, through the avenue of trees and onto the wide, open park land. With the sun hidden behind the cloud and the near constant threat of rain I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t see a butterfly for a good long while. Instead I watched the herd of Fallow Deer run by. Once they regrouped I practised my stalking skills; keeping downwind and using the side of the hill to hide my silhouette I managed to get reasonably close but my autofocus kept wanting to focus on the nearer grass – I need to get a proper telephoto.

We carried on down the path and the trees started to thicken and as we round a corner the house appeared in front of us wedged in the gap between the hills – it made me think that they must have a set of culverts under the building as all the water flowing downhill would run straight through the front door! Still it was very impressive and surprisingly as we left the stylised wilds behind us and ventured into a more urbane and (even more) artificial habitat I started seeing butterflies with a Red Admiral flying along the line of citrus trees on the terrace at one side of the house. There were also whites as we wandered through small sections of garden which culminated by a brief coffee stop overlooking the pond. Representatives of all three White species were flying about but each time I got close they’d take off from their prominent position and land further back and masked by the foliage. Still the Dragonfly kept me occupied for a bit while others supped at scalding coffee/tea and a few steps away a Small Tortoiseshell looked resplendent.

We then took to wandering from garden to garden the best one of which was a fantastic rectangle with lines of bedding plants. Unfortunately we were restricted in where we could wander here but it was great to see so many whites bimbling about and at one pint a Peacock bombed by. Up through the wood and it clouded over again so even though we were walking in their prime habitat not even a single Specklie flew. Luckily as we came down the terraced hill the sun peeked out from behind the curtains warming those butterflies up just enough that they could take to the wing – there were a few Gatekeepers flying amid the Meadow Browns in between the tombstones of the church/grave yard.

We ate lunch on the lawn at the font of the house with a few more whites weaving in and out of the potted citrus trees on the terrace and a Bank Vole scurried and hid under various pots of the aforementioned citrus fruits. We were nearly reaching our allotted time slot and so we packed up and started on the return leg of our journey – unfortunately up the massive hill we’d walked down. This path was lined with trees and at one point there was a sign indicating that the closely mown filed was a wild flower meadow even though it looked like a bit of grass. I was still surprised that on the return walk I saw only three butterflies – 2 Meadow Browns and a single Specklie which sat for only a few seconds.
Finally slightly puffed out we said our goodbyes and with the phrase “we should do this again” still floating on the air we started the drive home. I certainly would like to go here again as this place certainly has some interesting little spots and potential – just go to get the timing right.

Rolling green parkland
And ornamental borders
Butterfly boycott?

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Lovely shots of the white's and Deer Wurzel also the Dragon Flies, I always find Dragon Flies hard to photograph especially when their over water

My plans have gone out the window, no Christmas in Kent this year, like lots of others ,it's a stay at home this year, What a Year!!!!!Goldie