Thanks for your comments Wurzel, David, Dave and Trevor, appreciated as always
Thursday 15th April
After another cold night and a frosty start, today turned out similar to yesterday, that is not quite as nice as Tuesday with some reasonably pleasant sun but with lots of cloud and a cold wind.
With Orange-tips now being reported from all over the midlands I decided to walk down to my local spot by Wagon Lane to see if any were out here yet, this being where I saw the first one last year.
An hour spent wandering around the usual circuit turned up the same species in similar numbers as on Tuesday albeit with no whites at all seen today.
![Wagon Lane 15.04.2021 007 resize.JPG (725.66 KiB) Viewed 1251 times Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 15.04.2021](./files/thumb_10101_81897a80c78bac434c87433063593575)
- Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 15.04.2021
![Wagon Lane 15.04.2021 064 resize.JPG (572.33 KiB) Viewed 1251 times Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 15.04.2021](./files/thumb_10101_8c6f79ccc3a232c6a0e348089b480ef7)
- Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 15.04.2021
![Wagon Lane 15.04.2021 011 resize.JPG (608.83 KiB) Viewed 1251 times Comma - Wagon Lane 15.04.2021](./files/thumb_10101_8864dbcfe2fd776922b669936eac3246)
- Comma - Wagon Lane 15.04.2021
![Wagon Lane 15.04.2021 033 resize.JPG (630.89 KiB) Viewed 1251 times Peacock - Wagon Lane 15.04.2021](./files/thumb_10101_53a8920cd4ddaad013d1cbeb32b45a9c)
- Peacock - Wagon Lane 15.04.2021
I watched one pair of Small Tortoiseshells flying about when a cloud covered the sun and they went down. Creeping up to take a few photos, I noticed that the male had just the merest hint of the two spots in the centre of his forewing.
![Wagon Lane 15.04.2021 046 resize.JPG (671.96 KiB) Viewed 1251 times Small Tortoiseshell pair - Wagon Lane 15.04.2021](./files/thumb_10101_f0b4d48490cdf83e0b999fd3e83712c2)
- Small Tortoiseshell pair - Wagon Lane 15.04.2021
The female was having none of it and after taking off again she soon lost the male who landed again not far away.
![Wagon Lane 15.04.2021 050 resize.JPG (623.81 KiB) Viewed 1251 times Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 15.04.2021](./files/thumb_10101_d83f99ac3842f7f751db368bab8e4985)
- Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 15.04.2021
Some of the Tortoiseshells here are now beginning to look a bit tatty and worn and some are looking faded to the point where the yellow forewing markings now appear to be more white than yellow.
![Wagon Lane 15.04.2021 054 resize.JPG (534.89 KiB) Viewed 1251 times Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 15.04.2021](./files/thumb_10101_31d8a2c8c732336641d4a29edb07bae5)
- Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 15.04.2021
![Wagon Lane 15.04.2021 069 resize.JPG (630.75 KiB) Viewed 1251 times Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 15.04.2021](./files/thumb_10101_52ba95b923a8403566ff3ffd30dd3716)
- Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 15.04.2021
Still no Orange-tips here, in fact no whites of any kind today. I also looked for the Speckled Wood that I saw the other day but he was nowhere to be seen either.
First Sightings.
This year has been feeling like a slow start to the season but I had a feeling that this may be partly due to me now being retired plus the fact that we have had an early Easter this year which may have skewed perceptions a bit. With this in mind I have had a look back some of my first sightings over the past five years compared with this year.
To start with I looked at my first sightings of any species;
2021 – 26th February (Small Tortoiseshell). Then a gap until 24th March.
2020 – 21st March (Small Tortoiseshell).
2019 – 22nd February (Small Tortoiseshell). Then a gap until 24th March.
2018 – 25th March (Small Tortoiseshell/Comma).
2017 – 24th March (Small Tortoiseshell/Comma).
2016 – 25th March (Small Tortoiseshell/Peacock).
Apart from the February sightings this year and in 2019, which are unusual for me here, there is a remarkable consistency in the dates with sightings falling between 21st to 25th March.
I then looked at my first sightings of Orange-tip and Speckled Wood to see if there was a similar pattern with these two species.
Orange-tip.
2020 – 26th March
2019 – 29th March
2018 – 20th April
2017 – 2nd April
2016 – 5th May
Speckled Wood
2020 - 8th April
2019 - 29th March
2018 - 20th April
2017 - 7th April
2016 - 4th May.
I have yet to see an Orange-tip this year and I saw my first (and only one so far) Speckled Wood on Tuesday (13th April).
This shows more variation in dates between years but also shows that the two species were often first seen on similar dates in a particular year.
So then, for the re-wakening hibernators, this year has been pretty much in line with what I normally see around here. On the other hand, for the species that emerge from pupae after spending the winter in that state, this year does look to be a bit late but by no means the latest that I have seen.
Bye for now and stay safe,
Neil.