Bugboys mission

[Wurzel]

Cracking Peacock Bugboy It feels like you've got to grab every opportunity at the moment as only the occasional day is any use for butterflying Unfortunately March came in like a Lamb... End of the month should be good though things are normally settling down by then

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Lovely images of the birds, Paul, especially those flycatching Blue Tits, a sight I am used to where I live as they indulge themselves in the same activity around the gutters of the building opposite my cottage.

Great that you stumbled upon a surprise Peacock too. Precious little has been flying since that mild spell at the back end of February.

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, Still nothing else seen since that one. Judging by the recent weeks weather it looks like you've almost certainly had better luck than me! I'm keeping many digits crossed that the weather sorts itself out for my week off, it's got 3 days to get all this cloud and rain out of its system!!!
Thanks David, it's certainly a slow start so far, I've a feeling when it does arrive everything will appear in a matter of a couple of weeks!

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March 2021

The 12th was quite a sunny day, if a little breezy. The air temperature only just peaked into double figures but a few of the sheltered sun traps on my local patch offered warmer microclimates, these were however once again sadly lacking in butterflies. The only thing I found feasting on the Sallow catkins were Grey Squirrels. The local birdlife kept me occupied again.

[trevor]

Exactly the same here, nothing in March.z

[Wurzel]

Love the Teals Bugboy It's still been hard work over this way as it's been warm enough but too cloudy, warm enough or too windy or just grey, cold and windy - still waiting for some of those perfect weather for butterflies days - and could be waiting for a while yet Still when it finally does kick off again it'll be all the sweeter

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[bugboy]

If the weather for you was the same as for me today I'm hopeful you saw something Trevor
Thanks Wurzel, my week off starts tomorrow, I'm not hopeful...

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March 2021
The 19th was a surprisingly sunny day (considering the recent weather and the forecast for the next few days). Had I been off I’m relatively confident I’d have been able to add a few more butterflies to the years tally, as it was I was left with a lunch time wander where, just as I was about to give up, I spotted a familiar splodge of orange basking on a bramble leaf. So that’s three butterflies for the year so far. Judging by the weak fluttering when it left my company I suspect this was it’s first flight for quite a few months.

I’m going to look for a silver lining of these persistent clouds and hope they lead to a late season, which might mean travel restrictions are relaxed enough to be able to catch up with some of the spring species I missed out on last year .

[Wurzel]

You did well with the Comma Bugboy The weather has seemed to put everything hung in hold at the moment I hope your time off proves fruitful

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

...I’m going to look for a silver lining of these persistent clouds and hope they lead to a late season, which might mean travel restrictions are relaxed enough to be able to catch up with some of the spring species I missed out on last year

That's one way of looking at it, Paul. A 'normal' season would actually be quite welcome given the vagaries of the last few years.

Nice to see you managed to find a Comma in this relatively barren spell. This could well end up being the first year when I've seen more butterflies in February than in March!!

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel. My week off is going better than expected, mainly thanks to the inaccurate weather forecasts for once going in my favour
Thanks David , Thankfully my personal barren period recently ended, whether that will continue remains to be seen!

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March 2021

Well my week off started on Saturday the 20th, a day with dull grey skies as far as the eye could see, I didn’t leave the flat…
Sunday the 21st was slightly better, a few breaks in the coudy blanket tempted me out to Epping Forest. No butterflies were seen but I did spend a bit of time stalking a pair of Muntjac, from the looks on their faces I’m confident I was spotted! Most of the birds remained out of sight but I managed a very quick record shot of a Green Woodpecker before it buggered off as they always do. The Crow was flying of with the remains of a frog for Sunday lunch whilst in a nearby pond, hoards of Toads were busy making thousands of baby Toads.

The following day, Monday the 22nd was forecast to be similar, mostly cloud with patches of blue sky. It was woefully inaccurate but for once it was in my favour. It was still a bit early to see anything on Walthamstow Marshes but couldn’t resist a Robin posing for me.

It was Tottenham Marshes I was heading for though and with the forecast predicting the blanket of cloud to return by noon, I kept one eye on the sky all the way along the canal. I needn’t have worried though, instead of the cloud returning, it had pretty much vanished by mid-afternoon and with the sun, the butterflies responded . The first was a Peacock taking moisture from the damp ground, probably re-hydrating after its long winter sleep. Some more searching found a few more taking sustenance from more traditional fare.

Comma’s started to turn up after this, staking out the usual sheltered sun traps I regularly find them.

During my ramblings I also disturbed a couple of Small Tortoiseshells but neither wanted to settle for a picture and I had flybys from at least three Brimstone. All in all I managed 15 butterflies here .

I returned to Walthamstow Marshes high on expectation that they would be similarly abounding (relatively speaking) with butterflies but only managed to scrape up to nine, mostly flybys. No Small Tortoiseshells were seen but there was a surprise Small White appearance. Sadly he didn’t settle and there were to many people around to try for an in flight record shot.

Whilst taking pics of one of the Peacocks I noticed some Long-tailed Tits fussing around in the hedge in front of me, closer examination found one of their incredible nests and standing back a bit I was able to watch them flying back and forth as they added bits and pieces to it. City birds are quite accustomed to humans, as long as you don't go poking around. In the countryside I would never have attempted to stick around to try and get photos at such close range.

Cormorant, Long-tailed Tit, Long-tailed Tit at nest, Chiffchaff

After a bit of a stop start spring, I’m glad to have finally got a decent day from 2021 .

[Chris L]

Those photos are, quite frankly, too good for words Bugboy. I stared at them in awe. Such colour and clarity. So much wildlife too. Thank you for sharing all of those.

[trevor]

Great stuff Paul. I saw plenty of Commas and Peacocks at the weekend,
in both cases they were the first of the year for me.
With my Large Tort sighting I was able to experience the thrill you must
have felt when you saw and photographed that one at North Stoke.

They do make a great start to the new season!.

All the best,
Trevor.

[Neil Freeman]

Looks like a great day you had there Buggy .
I wondered what had happened to the brighter spells we were supposed to have on Monday, the clouds seemed to stick stubbornly overhead here for most of the day.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Looks like you planned it just right Bugboy - great shots there one and all! It does make a nice change for the forecast to be inaccurate but in your favour - it's normally the other way round

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

...After a bit of a stop start spring, I’m glad to have finally got a decent day from 2021

I'm glad for you too, Paul. 'Stop-start' is the perfect expression thus far - we've had the odd day here and there where a few butterflies will turn up but up to now we haven't had that cathartic, season-starting bonanza, although with you racking up double figures you may disagree.

Nice selection of other wildlife as ever, but you can't beat Peacocks on blackthorn blossom, and I can't wait till Easter when it should be in full bloom round my way.

[bugboy]

Thanks Otep, you flatter me, I'm sure once the season gets underway properly there'll be plenty of awe inspiring images
Thanks Trevor, yes I can still remember the thrill and excitement of finding my Large Tortoiseshell, particularly since it was otherwise such a dire day. I can imagine how excited you must have been when you saw that image on your camera screen
Thanks Neil. The weather has been a bit hit and miss this week hasn't it . To be fair typical March weather though.
Thanks Wurzel although not sure I planned it just right, just the one day out of seven filled with butterflies, next week promises to be an improvement
Thanks David, I think next week will be better for anyone who's season has yet to get started...fingers crossed

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March 2021

The 23rd was forecast to be another cloudy day so I’d pencilled in a recce at a new site for me, Wanstead Flats. I’m not sure why I’ve never been there before, it’s as close to me as the parts of Epping Forest I normally wander round, indeed it’s technically the southern most part of the complex of woods and open spaces that make up Epping Forest. Anyway, I’d been reliable informed that there’s a population of Green Hairstreaks here last year so I figured I’d look round to see if I could see anywhere suitable where they might be in a few weeks’ time.
Predictably the weather forecast was as inaccurate as the rest of this week has been and the blanket of cloud vanished leading to a very sunny afternoon. Despite this I only found a single butterfly, another Small Tortoiseshell that flew up from under my feet and vanished across a road. The habitat I found though did seem rather suitable for Green Hairstreaks with large areas of sandy, heathy soil dominated mainly by Broom with patches of Gorze and the occasional lightly wooded area. It seemed odd not to see any Heather, but other than that it didn’t seem too dissimilar to the Surrey heaths I visit for Silver-studded Blue and Grayling.

There was a fair amount of birdlife and some large areas had recently been fenced off to protect the local Skylark population from disturbance. I say population, I got chatting to a local birder and there’s probably no more 3 pairs here now (I heard 2 males singing) which are the only ones inside the M25 north of the Thames, so the fence is probably too little too late. It may well keep dogs and people away from the nest sites but there was in excess of fifty crows (not to mention other Corvids) loitering around so it will be a very lucky Skylark that makes it to fledging.

Skylark, Greenfinch, Great-spotted Woodpecker

Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Wheatear

The 24th was meant to be a bit more sunny than it turned out. The plan was for another visit to Tottenham Marshes for a repeat performance of Monday, mainly to find some Tortoiseshells. Unfortunately, the cloud cover and impending rain ruined this plan. Yet again I disturbed a Tortoiseshell without being able to get its picture (I’m starting to take it personally!). I did manage to find a couple of Comma but that was it on the butterfly front for the day.

Bird wise I found a mini war going on. At least two pairs of Blue Tit and a pair of Great Tit were arguing for possession over this nestbox.

Looks like the weather is warming up next week, when I’m back at work…..

[Wurzel]

It was going so well Bugboy - sorry for celebrating too soon If it's any consolation it looks like I'll be experiencing that myself with the glorious weather ending on the very day that I start the Easter break Brilliant shots of the birds especially the Skylark and well done with the Comma - I've only managed one so far

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[bugboy]

That's ok Wurzel, things panned out quite well this week in the end

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March 2021

Two things of note happened at the beginning of this week, firstly the weather forecast was spot on and secondly, the best days coincided with my rostered half day and day off, a perfect storm of early spring butterflies beckoned surely!

With it being my half day on the 29th it was a few hours at Tottenham Marshes that occupied my time and I was not disappointed.

A head count at the end of my stroll totted up to 52 individuals split over a probable five species. Brimstones (6) and Whites (3) were mostly flybys as you would expect with temperatures nudging into the twenties. It’s possible there could have been a GVW about but from the glimpses I got they all looked like Smalls. Only the one male Small White settled long enough for a snap but a distant record shot proved females were out as well.

It was the nymphalids that made up the bulk of sightings. Comma’s numbered 10 individuals and proved to be the flightiest of the three species and only started settling down to make my life easier later in the day.

Top of the pile numbers wise were Peacock with at least 19 seen in various states of disrepair. Its clear some were partying right into September and October last year whilst others were good and went straight into hibernation in August (or perhaps were the result of a partial second brood last year).

A courting pair were fun to watch, fun because the courtship seemed very one sided, the female doing a remarkably good job of pretending the male didn’t exist!

gif. (sorry its a bit jittery, might hurt your eyes if stare at it too long!)

The real target for the day though were Small Tortoiseshell which had so far escaped my lens this year. This afternoon I was spoilt for choice with a conservative head count of 14. It’s always good to know this population are still holding their own in this part of the UK.

[Wurzel]

Cracking set of shots Bugboy and a cracking set of numbers as well - looks like Small Torts are doing well in North London as well as over here in the West

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Good to see those Torties, Buggy. There are increasingly few over here on the other side of London. You appear to have more Commas too.

Cheers,

Dave

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, this site does seem to be very much a local hotspot for Small Torts, I don't see them in these numbers anywhere else locally
Thanks Dave, I would ship some over but I think they'll all be returning to hibernation soon!

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March 2021

The spot-on weather forecast continued with what became the hottest day of the year so far on the 30th. It did start off rather chilly but that gave me the chance to nip to the bank and shops before setting out for the day’s adventures. I wanted to spend just a few hours on Walthamstow Marshes before the inevitable human sun worshippers descended. Because of the cool start of the day it took a while for the butterflies to start appearing, the first being a Peacock having breakfast.

In all likelihood much of the butterfly life here had only emerged from hibernation in recent days and there was much licking of damp soil and morning dew, either re-hydrating or imbibing minerals for the coming weeks duties.

Of course nectar was also on the menu for breakfast. In the end I totted up a modest total 14 individuals, 3 Brimstone, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 2 ‘Whites’, 5 Peacock & 3 Comma. I’m sure had I stayed for the afternoon the total would have been significantly higher but I had Epping Forest penciled in for the afternoon.

Spot the Brimstone.

Finally a cacophony of raucous Jays alerted me to a passing Sparrow hawk and to illustrate the unseasonable heat of the day, a Magpie enjoying the sun. I also found a rather early female Common Blue Damselfly, my first Odonata of the year .