millerd

[Katrina]

Great egg shot - very clear.

[trevor]

Yes, good to see your Green Hairstreaks, I've still not seen one this year.
You obviously had a great day, with some cracking shots.

Stay well,
Trevor.

[millerd]

Thank you Katrina - that egg was the one amongst a dozen shots or so that was exactly in focus. Possibly my best ever attempt...

Yes, Trevor, an excellent day among so many in April that were very much less than perfect. Those hairstreaks were making the most of it too.

Friday 30th April was a bit better than the previous two days, and at lunchtime I ventured down to Staines Moor. I immediately found two Small Coppers chasing one another in the sheltered lee of a large bramble bush.

The second one had nearly-divided hindwing bands, but not quite enough to qualify it as radiata.

There were also a few whites and Orange Tips, including this Small White with a dusky underside.

Later on in the afternoon I also took in part of my local patch. No Coppers here, but a similar mix of whites and Orange Tips.

Classic spring male GVW ...

...the second of which had heavily lined veining on the wings.

The Orange Tips were settling down for the evening - such a good time to get shots of them.

There was also a nice new Specklie.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Lovely OT's Dave and a very dusky Small White - I've not seen one that dusky before I hope you've been able to un-batten the hatches

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Much as we all hate cold, grey, wet & windy weather (especially at this time of year), it does rather keep the Pierids more amenable for the camera lens, something your images demonstrate, Dave.

Let's hope this persistent meteorological cycle is now about to leave us. For once, a few well-aimed curses over butterfly hyperactivity seem a small price to pay to enjoy temperatures appropriate to the time of year.

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel. There will be some more Orange Tips shortly, as they do seem relatively unaffected by the weather. I suppose they've evolved to cope with spring in all its varied aspects, including repeated frosty nights. That was an unusually dusky Small White - I shall be taking as many shots of them as I can this year, especially later on, just in case something different sneaks in amongst them...

You're right, David - the weather has made some of the more energetic species easier to approach. They spend more time basking to warm up, and seem to stop more often for fuel as well. However, it's made for a strange season so far.

Well, April was certainly cold, dry and sunny. On most of the very few days when there was any precipitation, it actually fell as sleet or even snow. There were 200 hours of sunshine at Heathrow during the month (which works out to exactly six hours 40 minutes a day on average). This is high, but lower than last year which notched up an extraordinary 234 hours in the month. As for temperatures... the average daily high in 2020 was around 18 degrees; in 2021 it was only 13 degrees.

Into May now, but no immediate signs of improvement are forecast - things will get temporarily worse in fact.

Dave

[Wurzel]

It got my weekly email from Bird Guides today and there was an article from Will Langdon about those very same species Dave so you might be able to access it as well I haven't read it yet myself; I'm saving it for during a dull Teams call

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Interesting, Wurzel. Let me know what it says - I'll see if I can access it somehow, but in case I can't...

Saturday 1st May. More cold sunshine and the number of butterflies I saw on my local patch is dropping. Whites, Orange Tips and a solitary Holly Blue were all that appeared, probably because there was more cloud around, the type the forecasters dare to call "fair weather" cloud. However, it did cause an Orange Tip I was following to plummet to the ground - or rather a dandelion clock.

I waited until the sun reappeared and revived it, when it hopped off and onto various flowers before setting off on hedgerow patrol.

A fresh Small White also obliged with a basking shot.

Dave

[millerd]

Later on 1st May, there was a bit more sunshine and the winds remained light. I went down again to Staines Moor, and saw more individual butterflies than I had in the morning nearer home. The visit started with more Orange Tips, obliging once again.

However, more impressive were the Small Coppers, which managed to scrape into double figures with ten individuals counted. As I covered a relatively small area, there were doubtless a few more. As ever, they were variable in colour and markings, making for a fascinating late afternoon. I think all these are different individuals.

Dave

[millerd]

Sunday 2nd May was much the same, but the cool sunshine (while it lasted) tempted me out. I reversed Saturday's order of events and covered Staines Moor first. There was more variety around today, but curiously I counted fewer Small Coppers. Among these seven, there was as ever a
bit of variety.

Even Orange Tips were hiding in the grass in cloudy moments.

Back up the road on my local patch, the story was similar - a few more butterflies and a bit more variety than on the 1st. There were even five Holly Blues chasing each other high up around a huge clump of ivy (the tree up which the plant had grown seems to have long disappeared). This was a welcome sight in a year so bereft of them so far, but none came down anywhere close. There were good numbers of whites and Orange Tips, but this female Small White was the only one that seemed happy to be photographed.

However, one of the two Speckled Woods seen today was rather more obliging.

The less said about the Bank Holiday Monday 3rd May the better. There was some early brightness, but it soon became windy - and then windier still. Then came the lashing rain. I braved it for a while, but no butterflies did and I didn't even spot a roosting Orange Tip. A wild night followed.

Dave

[millerd]

Tuesday 4th May was a windy cool day, but after the overnight weather cleared southeastwards there was some bright sunshine. Five species of butterfly made it out onto my local patch - I counted five Orange Tips, four Small Whites, two GVW, a single Holly Blue and just one Speckled Wood. The last of these provided a reasonable pose...

...as did a male Small White...

...and female Orange Tip.

There is an increasing emergence of OT females now causing an added complication in estimating white butterfly species numbers, though their rather weak fluttering (a bit reminiscent of Wood Whites) is often an accurate pointer.

Dave

[trevor]

A mrgreen for your female Orange Tip Dave .
High on my list of priorities, but the female OT is proving elusive for me this Spring.
Fortunately there is still time.

Stay well,
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Love the shots of the OT on the Dandelion clock Dave I've tried for one of those for a while as they often investigate white things but haven't managed it yet so here's another

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Nice to see Small Coppers becoming more plentiful round your way, Dave. You've also used the cool conditions to good effect with your Orange Tips. I must say I've never found them easier to photograph than this spring; they are far more docile than normal, which I suppose is understandable.

[millerd]

Thank you, Trevor - she was a very nice butterfly. The females have definitely just started to appear more widely round here so I'm sure you'll see a few very soon. When you see one with wings wide like that, the resemblence to an owl's face is quite apparent - wide eyes with piercing black pupils, and the body mimicking the pointed beak. Without the orange warning colours of the male, this (and the underside camouflage) must be their form of defence.

Yes, Wurzel, the dandelion clock pose is one I've been waiting for a while now, and to have an Orange Tip elect to land on one right in front of me was a bit of luck. Loads of dandelions have seeded over the last couple of days, which has certainly increased the chances many times of course! Conditions this year have definitely made them more amenable as you say, David - there has to be a positive side to the cold weather somewhere!

The Small Coppers seem relatively unaffected by the cold, as they start to fly in temperatures of only 9 or 10 degrees if the sun is strong enough. There numbers are perhaps a fraction lower than in 2020, but it would be interesting to see how many appear on a warm sunny day...

Wednesday 5th May started cool but sunny yet again, and with potentially showers promised later I needed to make a reasonably early start (too early and it would be too cold for anything to fly). I headed for Bedfont Lakes Country Park and the possibility of that rare commodity the Middlesex Green Hairstreak.

I started on the south side of the railway, always the more productive part in the past, and also much quieter and more pleasant in terms of layout and numbers of people around. Today, despite searches in all the usual spots, I drew a blank on hairstreaks; in fact there weren't many butterflies at all. I spotted a single Holly Blue (they have been numerous in the past) and only a single Peacock.

The most numerous butterfly was the Green-veined White: all the white butterflies I came close to were this species and the majority of those were females. I love the more subtle markings of the first brood females, almost as if they are drawn in the softest of 5B pencils.

There were also a few Speckled Woods...

...and several Brimstones (again mostly females).

I then drove round to the more public-oriented north side of the Country Park and walked a circuit roughly round the perimeter. There was again a scarcity of butterflies, though it was a bit warmer by now and several Orange Tips were awake and patrolling along with a Brimstone or two and a couple of Peacocks. The last time I saw a Green Hairstreak on this side of the Park was two years ago, and as I approached the very spot, almost like magic one appeared in the self-same shrub.

Just the one though... Rather pleased with the find, I carried on round and detoured through what is designated a "Nature Reserve" (just a gated length of sheltered path where dogs are excluded and children have to be on a lead - or something like that... ). I have seen early Brown Argus and Common Blues here in the past, but today it seemed initially to be just a series of patrolling Orange Tips, until something buzzed me at head height - another Green Hairstreak.

I've never seen one in this spot before - they must be more widespread in the Park than I realised. No doubt they are completely overlooked by the many casual visitors and easy to miss even for the few folk actually looking specifically for them.

In taking a series of shots of the first individual, I managed to fluke one of it just taking off.

Not as good as the similar shot Bugboy posted recently unfortunately... It is however possible to make out the pale spot on the forewing that characterises the male of the species (which sometimes shows on the underside as a raised bump).

A worthwhile trip out (and not very far either).

Dave

[trevor]

A great selection there Dave. No Green Hairstreaks for me yet.
I could have done with the services of an expert Holly Blue whisperer this morning.

Stay safe,
Trevor.

[Neil Freeman]

A cracking selection of species and photos Dave. That first female GVW is a beauty

Cheers,

Neil.

[millerd]

Cheers, Trevor - I'm not sure I'd be up to much with your Hollies as I haven't had much practice whispering to them this year...

Thank you, Neil - GVWs are much underrated and have a subtle beauty all their own in both broods. That female went into maximum-bask mode as soon as the sun appeared on that very chilly morning.

Thursday 6th May was not so good, with a lot more cloud around. The butterfly total for the day was only six - three of them female Orange Tips. The first two were on opposite sides of the same bit of path, and the third was seen a bit later on flying in a brighter interval. The first one also cranked its wings open briefly in response to a bit of sunshine, but the second one didn't budge. Number one:

Number two:

Number three:

I seem to have seen an awful lot of roosting Orange Tips this year, and the majority now are definitely females.

I saw a couple of male Orange Tips flying in that same bit of sunshine later on, and also briefly encountered my first Small Copper on my patch for the year - in exactly the same spot the first one had been seen in both 2019 and 2020. Creatures of habit. The sun went back in at this point and I couldn't relocate it for a photo.

Dave

[millerd]

At one point on 6th May, I also popped down to Staines Moor. This must have coincided with a sunny spell, because I managed to see a very faded Small Tortoiseshell, a Peacock...

...and a handful of Small Coppers. After an initial success...

...they weren't very cooperative, until I came across one crawling through the grass.

I think (as it was a female) she was on an egg-laying mission: there is clearly some sorrel in the second shot. In the end, the need to bask and warm up took over, and she revealed hereself as fine example of caerulaeopunctata, with a full set of prominent blue spots.

Dave

[bugboy]

That Copper is beautifully marked