Trevor

[trevor]

Thanks Wurzel & Dave, That WLH was the icing on the cake, old and worn, yes, but still a delight.

Flushed with the success of the early morning visit to Horseshoe Plantation,, I went over to
Herstmonceux Castle in the afternoon. The place was alive with butterflies, including at least
four more Small Tortoiseshells and a few Wall Browns. The total surprise of the visit was a very
worn White Admiral, not the normal setting for this species.

Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Some fantastic photos there Trevor - great to see a Wall on a wall again and what was that White Admiral doing there? Perhaps it was taking a Stay-cation?

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[trevor]

Cheers Wurzel. I had to look twice to make sure it was a White Admiral !.

After consulting several weather forecasts and the weather radar, I was reasonably
sure that a fine day lay ahead for a long distance day trip. So it was off to Shipton Belinger
for the Brown Hairstreak. As I slowly searched the ' hot spots ' it became clear where others
had found Brownies by the trampling around brambles still in bloom, and creeping thistles.

At one clump of creeping thistle I found, after a short wait, a male and female BH nectaring
very near one another. Photography was very challenging with the sun behind the butterflies,
and of course nectaring BH tend to wander and assume awkward positions.
In all I found five BH and was pleased to show the only other person on site a couple of Brownies.

The other species of note was the Brimstone of which there were hundreds nectaring over a huge area.

A great but exhausting day.
Trevor.

[Katrina]

Lovely to get them nectaring well done!

[trevor]

Thanks Katrina. Creeping Thistle is their flower of choice.
If only there was more of this at Steyning !.

[Wurzel]

Cracking shots Trevor and good to see that the females are out and about - by the end of next week they should be a fair few more and some will be laying - always provide a better chance of photographing them them I was there a couple of days before you but I too looked for the flattened areas around Bramble and Creeping Thistles - and sure enough gt a few down

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[trevor]

Cheers Wurzel. One thing really peed me off at Shipton B.
I arrived a little after 10.30 and straight away saw a fresh male with wings wide open,
very near where we park. For only a few seconds he partially closed up, then shot off
like a bullet. I didn't even have time to switch my camera on !.
Exactly what I went for escaped after just a glimpse.

Still it's early days, stay safe,
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

That's the thing with Brostreaks Trevor - they like to play silly bu££ers I reckon that they've read the 'handbook' and decided that following the rules is for other species Things aren't looking too crash hot for Friday - quite a strong breeze and clouding over just at the time the Brostreaks should be waking up Next week is looking better - if that's to be beleived

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Always good to see a few fresh Brown Hairstreaks, Trevor. Late summer wouldn't seem the same without them.

[trevor]

Thanks Wurzel & David.

Some really positive news for once.

This afternoon I took my youngest Grandson over to Herstmonceux Castle, mainly to aquaint
him with various butterfly species. I was hoping to find a few Small Tortoiseshells, but instead
we saw literally dozens, and they were seen in large numbers over a huge area.
As well as plenty of nectar on offer there are plenty of healthy nettles in a nearby meadow.

Without a doubt the Small Tortoiseshell was seen in numbers we once took for granted, this afternoon.

Trevor.

[bugboy]

Well at least one species has appreciated all this rain then! Shows how quickly species can bounce back when conditions are right for them, and possibly also shows how many went straight into hibernation rather than hanging around for a second brood in recent years.

[Wurzel]

That is excellent news Trevor long may it continue! I hope you filled your memory card with images

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Good to hear you found good numbers of Small Tortoiseshells Trevor. Most of them have disappeared into hibernation now around my way and been replaced by Peacocks.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Andy Wilson]

I have had more Small Tortoiseshells in my garden in East Sussex recently than I have seen in the last 10 years combined. A couple of days ago, I counted 6 on my Buddleia, together with similar numbers of Peacocks and Red Admirals, plus the odd Comma. It's an absolute delight to see them after so many years of hardly any.

I don't know what is responsible. It could be a relative lack of parasitoids this year, but my guess is that the wet but reasonably warm summer has produced very lush growth of many food plants, including nettles. Speaking more generally, I have never seen such a profusion of wildflowers everywhere as there is at the moment. On a walk on the South Downs yesterday, it was as if someone had planted a prolific herbaceous border on either side of the bridleway I was going along.

[trevor]

Thanks Paul, Wurzel, Neil & Dave.
The number of Small Tortoiseshells at Herstmonceux was an eye opener, Dave.
It was like being back in the 60's and 70's.IN 2019/20 I saw only six each year in East Sussex.

FADING GLORY.
This afternoon I drove over to Rowland Wood, where worn Gatekeepers were the most common butterfly.
Surprisingly a male and female Silver Washed Fritillary were still around, and were both on the same
patch of brambles, they were of course were very worn, as was a single Small Copper.
The only fresh specimen I saw was a very active Comma, which was not very popular with the Gatekeepers.

Trevor.

[Maximus]

Great stuff recently, Trevor Fantastic BH at SB and loads of Small Torts at Herstmonceux

[trevor]

Thanks Mike.

I couldn't resist this one today. I saw this Dragonfly land and even had time
to nip back to the car to fetch my camera.
Halnaker, West Sussex.

Trevor.

[trevor]

TORTOISESHELLS GALORE !.

I returned to the gardens at Herstmonceux Castle this morning, and to even more
Small Tortoiseshells than on Tuesday. Sun and some cloud ensured that hectic
nectaring was balanced with spells of basking when the sun went in.
A rough estimate of numbers seen in sunny conditions was between 40 and 50.
Most were seen on Verbena and Buddleja.

It must be in excess of twenty years since I last experienced so many ST's.

Enjoy!.
Trevor.

[trevor]

The best of the rest today.

Besides the Small Tortoiseshells, there were a number of fresh Painted Ladies present,
along with many Red Admirals and Peacocks plus just one Comma!.
I was also pleased to see several Small Coppers and a single Green Veined White.

Trevor..

[Benjamin]

Wonderful to see the small tortoiseshells Trevor! The summer brood should be at peak now - I don’t have many still to emerge.