Maximus

[trevor]

Superb stuff, Mike. A very pleasing sequence from Noar Hill.
I will miss the Dukes this year, so it's good to see your images.
And a mrgreen for the mating pair. .

Stay well,
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Fantastic Dukes Mike I reckon you're well within the limits for travelling for exercise with that number of steps

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

What a brilliant set of images from Noar Hill, Mike. Your ratio of travel to exercise was certainly within the guidelines as stated ! I've been tempted to go there myself, as that site is reachable in 45 minutes from me especially with the reduction in traffic at the moment, but I suspect if officially questioned I'd find it hard to justify...

Cheers,

Dave

[David M]

Quite uplifting to see that, Mike, and thanks for the habitat images which help give a sense of context.

Definitely one of the best sites to have locally right now I'd say.

[Neil Freeman]

Some superb DoB images there Mike.

If I had a Duke sight within 30 minutes drive I reckon I would probably be tempted too. The thing is here, I won't see anything 30 minutes away that I can't see within 10 minutes, all the special stuff is 45 minutes or more and that is further than I am comfortable going under the current circumstances.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Maximus]

Its been quite a while since I last posted in my personal diary. My last post was during the first lockdown in May, when we decided that a trip to Noar Hill would not breach the lockdown rules, as the gov. had relaxed them to a certain extent, relating to travel time verses time spent at your destination.
That was to be the only trip we made outside our local neighbourhood, and then subsequent events limited our field trips anyway.
So a couple more pics from that trip to Noar.

Holly Blue ovipositing on dogwood.

Female Orange-tip harassed by a male, but to no avail.

So she settled down to roost.

The old gate at Noar Hill.

[Wurzel]

Sorry to hear that subsequent trips were curtailed - I hope you can make the most of next season Great shots of the Orange-tips

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[trevor]

Good to hear from you again Mike.
Like you the first lockdown restricted travel, and several species were missed as a result.
But, most of us had access to Orange Tips close to home, and were photographed whilst on ' excercise '.

Keep safe and well,
Trevor.

[David M]

Spring was made exceedingly tricky due to Covid restrictions, Mike, but at least most of the desirable species can be seen fairly commonly without the need to travel far.

Glad you managed to venture further at least once. With any luck next spring won't be quite so difficult.

[Maximus]

Thanks, Wurzel, I really do intend making the most of next season, lockdowns etc permitting

Good to hear from you too, Trevor, the first lockdown was very grim. It was great though as you say, that we had the Orange-tips closer to home to keep us sane

It was tricky, David, but fortunately we found an unexpected species, much closer to home


Following our trip to Noar Hill we looked for locations closer to home to visit, both to get our exercise and to hopefully find some butterflies. One place that we had been to before, looking for post- hibernators with some success, was the historic Brookwood Cemetery, about a ten minute drive from us. During our visits we parked in the layby at nearby Dawneys Hill and walked across to Brookwood. In June we would be back at Dawneys to pay a visit to the colony of Silver-studded Blues to be found here, although their numbers have been much reduced in recent years following the ‘improvement’ work carried out a few years ago.

On this particular visit to Brookwood, having drawn a blank in the usual places, and as we really needed the exercise, we decided to take a much longer walk, and after a mile or so we decided to cross over the road (Cemetery Pales) from the north side into the southern part of the cemetery. Once through the gate we could see that this was very different to the rather manicured north side, consisting of a much more open environment of grassland containing plenty of wild flowers, and in particular much wild strawberry in evidence. Walking along an unmade track we suddenly became aware of several fast moving blurs darting from side to side along the edge of the track. keeping our eyes on one of these we followed 'it' until 'it' eventually stopped. Making our way slowly across to where 'it' had settled in the grass, much to our amazement 'it' then revealed itself to be a male Grizzled Skipper!

Male Grizzled Skipper.

We had no idea that they were here, so close to home. Our usual go-to site for these was at Butser Hill, an hours drive for us.

Numbers were not high, with about a dozen seen over two visits, mostly fresh looking and a mix of male and female, perhaps we were late and peak emergence had already passed?

Female Grizzled Skipper.

This shot shows just how small these butterflies are. Fem. Grizzled Skipper.

Fem. Grizzled Skipper on Buttercup.

Male Grizzled Skipper.

Grizzled Skipper on wild strawberry.

Grizzled Skipper about to alight on Green winged Orchid.

Worn Grizzled Skipper, but happily nectaring on Green winged Orchid.

Plus we found some other bonus butterflies too...

[millerd]

That's a great find, Mike! Nothing like turning up something unexpected in an unexplored spot. I may have to check that out next year as it's not all that far from me either. Great shots of the Grizzlies too.

Cheers,

Dave

[Wurzel]

Brilliant set of shots Mike I miss the Grizzlies, can't wait for spring and this season has only just ended They do seem to turn up in unexpected places as I found a couple at Middle Street this year where I wouldn't have expected them to be either - just another reason they're such a great species

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Serendipity is a wonderful word, and an even greater feeling.

Grizzled Skipper isn't a species that can be found casually over the wider countryside so that's a good one to stumble upon unexpectedly so close to home, Mike.

I reckon there must be colonies on the Gower but I've yet to find any. Nearest place is Pembrey Sands which is on the other side of the estuary near Llanelli.

[Maximus]

Thanks, Dave, finding the Grizzled Skippers there was a real surprise. We also stumbled across a large area of heath which looked to be in much better condition than Dawneys. Might be worth a look next year, during the Silver-studded Blue flight period

Thanks, Wurzel, I also can't wait for spring. It is surprising what can turn up unexpectedly, and can really make your day As you say Grizzlies are a great species, and they're also around at a lovely time of year

Yes, David, serendipity describes finding them perfectly, a joyous occurrence in such dire times Hope you manage to locate some on the Gower next year.




The areas of meadow we visited at Brookwood were also home to many Meadow Browns, which unfortunately remained deep in the grass until disturbed, and then wasted no time in getting back in again. This was down to the poor weather conditions which coincided with our visits, butterflies just don’t seem to like cool and windy conditions! Small Heaths were also abundant but were equally ‘jumpy’, and were difficult to photograph on the wind blown grass stems. We also found some Common Blues, both male and female and some fresh looking Small Coppers to round off our Brookwood visits.

Given the current unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in, I sincerely hope that alI at UKB have a good Christmas and that the 2021 butterfly season will be a great one.

[Wurzel]

More lovely shots Mike - especially like the female Common Blue I hope you and yours have a great Christmas and an even better New Year

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

That's an unusual female Common Blue, Mike - brown in the middle but blue round the edges. They never cease to surprise.

Hope you have more of the same (and a bit more besides) in 2021.

All the best.

[Maximus]

Thanks, Wurzel, I will never tire of Uncommon Blues Hope you and your family had a great Christmas too, and that you all have a much better 21

Yes, David, so much variety in the females, well worth spending time seeking them out.
Hope that 2021 allows you to enjoy your continental (and other) butterfly trips again





A trip to Alice Holt straits inclosure on 18th June, was notable in that we saw our first Large Skippers of the year, along the grassy margins of the ride.

Large Skipper male, Alice Holt.

Small Skippers were also abundant as were Ringlets.

Small Skipper male, Alice Holt.

Ringlet, Alice Holt.

Ringlet with deformed wing, Alice Holt.

There were many well marked Meadow Browns seen and photographed, but so as not to risk cluttering this post, I will post just the one shot, to illustrate this.

Meadow Brown, Alice Holt.

We found a few White Admirals, but not as many as we have seen here in some previous years.

White Admiral, Alice Holt.

White Admiral, Alice Holt.

The real surprise was finding a female Purple Hairstreak perched on a wind-blown grass stem, which made getting an image hard work. At one point when the sun emerged she opened her wings, but once again it was a struggle getting a half decent shot.

Purple Hairstreak, Alice Holt.

Purple Hairstreak, Alice Holt.

Alice Holt Forest.

Just nice to get out again.

[Wurzel]

Happy New Year Mike Interesting looking Meadow Brown you caught on 'film' there I reckon Bugboy will have a name for it You did really well with the tricky Purple Hairstreak I love the inky grey-ness of the topside in that type of light

Have a goodun (2021 that is as well ) and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

..Just nice to get out again.

Very much the motto of 2020, Mike. If a few unexpected butterfly species make their presence felt, then all the better.

That surprise Purple Hairstreak certainly fell into that category.

[Maximus]

This male Brimstone really made our day today, spotted this afternoon flying around our Normandy garden, before finally settling in the sun for about a minute, allowing some photos. A nice way to start 2021 after moving to France at the end of July 2020.