millerd

[trevor]

That was a great find Dave, and the best grounding of all my visits to Chiddingfold this year.
Unfortunately it proved impossible to crop out the disgusting mess from the best shots.

Thanks once again,
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Simply gorgeous Green-veined White from before Dave and as for your audience with the Emperor Hopefully next year will be a bit more 'usual' and I'll be able to make a trip to Chiddingfold - I'm about due an Audience Brostreaks are matching onwards - hopefully see you at the end of the week?

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Pauline]

I reckon I arrived just too late that day Dave but you DID get some nice images on the bracken etc. Given how difficult it has been this season I think you did well (and not once did I hear you utter the words 'stay back, stay back' ).

[millerd]

Thank you, Trevor - it was as ever a very sociable spell down at Chiddingfold and we did see Emperors in the end.

As you say, Wurzel, there's alwyas next year. I always think that if you achieve everything then that leaves nothing left to aspire to. Yes, much underrated, the GVW - fresh second-brooders are especially striking.

Thank you Pauline - it was good to meet up with you again down there, and chew a bit of fat. I was lucky to come across that butterfly on my own and have it to myself for a while. I spent a fair while within a couple of inches of it and it had no intention of going anywhere. I was even able to fetch Trevor from some way up the track and it didn't budge in the interim.

So, pretty satisfied with the morning, I returned home on 14th July and popped out onto my local patch again. Nothing spectacular here, just some more fresh GVW, a nice Comma and a new Gatekeeper.

Dave

[millerd]

On Thursday 15th and Friday 16th July, I was once again down at Chiddingfold, hoping to improve on Wednesday's efforts by at least having a better backdrop for the butterfly. No such luck - several Emperors were seen on both days, either in flight performing the characteristic sallow-searching for females, or briefly on the ground. I think I may have disturbed the same individual from the same spot twice, having failed to spot it either time. One from 15th...

...and one from 16th

On 16th, other contenders were making spotting grounded Emperors trickier...

That then concluded my 2021 Purple Emperor season. As ever, it was great to see a selection of familiar faces, to catch up and pass the time with like-minded souls in a splendid bit of woodland countryside. If I could remember everyone's names, I'd mention you all, but the memory dims a wee bit a month down the line. Thank you all anyway.

Dave

[Maximus]

You did really well with the Emperors at Chiddingfold, Dave, considering that it was a bad year for them. Shame the really purple one was on a 'shish Kebab' someone had left behind

[millerd]

Cheers, Mike - yes, that was a bit of a drawback though it was clearly a powerful attractant for the butterfly.

During the couple of weeks when the pursuit of purple tends to take over, butterfly life goes on regardless everywhere else, and on chalk downland especially things were becoming interesting. On Saturday 17th July, I went up to Aston Rowant, where Chalkhill Blues were beginning to emerge. There seemed to already be nearly as many females as males.

There were one or two fresh Common Blues as well, presumably the vanguard of the second brood.

Regrettably, I'd missed the peak of the DGF season here, but there were still a few flying and this female looked pretty fresh.

Small Coppers are a consistent feature of the site and sure enough I found a few in various spots across the hillside.

A new Small Tortoiseshell appeared...

...as did a Comma as I left the slopes behind.

Dave

[millerd]

On Sunday 18th July, taking advantage of the increasingly warm and sunny weather, I headed the other way and visited Denbies hillside. More Chalkhill Blues of course, but already in encouraging numbers. The strong sunshine restricted upperside views of both sexes today.

Several pairings were seen...

...plus the little clusters of males that often form on noxious substances close to the paths (probably fox scats).

Remembering that Bugboy had identified some healthy elm trees along the path leading westwards from the bottom of Denbies in the direction of White Down, I headed along that way to see if I could spot a White-letter Hairstreak or two. I found the elms, this being the largest of them. It is just beginning to show signs of DED unfortunately.

After a few minutes of watching, I managed to spot a butterfly up among the branches. This is the best I could manage, but I'm pretty sure it was a WLH. The nearby leaves do seem to show appropriate larval feeding damage too.

I returned to the main slope and as I walked along the bottom, I was passed by two bright egg-yellow butterflies heading towards the top - my first Clouded Yellows of the year. I saw one of them again a bit later, but all my attempts to approach it were thwarted by it being "bounced" off every nectar stop by stroppy Meadow Browns (much as I've seen them do with DGFs). These are all I could manage - for the record only...

Denbies is a great place to go, and there will be several more trips to report on throughout the coming weeks as the summer progresses...

Dave

[Wurzel]

That first Chalkhill from the second to last post looks really striking Dave - the fore wing underside looks almost pure white and the black markings really contrast with the ground colour - cracking image that one! And then nicely followed up with a plethora of other cracking shots. I reckon you're right about the Whitter - they do that; hang around at the top of the tree and taunt you most of the time

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel. Chalkhills provide immense variety, and there will be a lot more of that in forthcoming posts. They are having an outstanding season and there have been a huge number to choose from!

On both Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th July I headed for Bookham. I went relatively early both days, firstly because it was increasingly hot and therefore cooler early on, and secondly because it's the best time to find Purple Hairstreaks low down. I had no trouble finding them on both days - they frequently came down to drink dew from the grass and other foliage.

White Admirals were still around, but fading fast now, but the Silver-washed Fritillaries were going strong with more females in the mix.

On 19th I managed to catch sight of a valesina female flying low and in the shade at the edge of the track. In all I saw it on three separate occasions (and witnessed by another enthusiast on the second time around), but it failed to stop and there were no photos. I have just had confirmation in that apparently it was photographed on a subsequent day. I was joined by Bugboy on 20th, but we couldn't find it again. One curiosity on 20th was a new Speckled Wood with very faint hindwing spots.

A selection of other butterflies seen over the two days:

Dave

[Wurzel]

Lovely set of Small Purps Dave and that Specklie looks intriguing - almost as someone has taken an eraser to the hind wing spots It was a cracking day today so much so that if I close my eyes I can still see Brostreaks on my eyelids

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Those two warm sunny mornings back in mid-July were the ideal opportunity to find those Hairstreaks at Bookham, Wurzel. They've been reliable for three years running now irrespective of the vagaries of the weather, and one day I'll get some decent open-winged shots as well as all the undersides! Still, you always need something still to achieve or it would all become less interesting.

The weather actually became hot for a few days, so much so that I repeated my ploy of the August 2020 heatwave and for 20th/21st July ensured a couple of decent nights of sleep by finding a very reasonably-priced local chain hotel with aircon. This one had the added benefit of being just beyond the other end of my usual butterfly route, so my two early walks home from the hotel on 21st/22nd (at around half six) had the bonus of a few early-rising butterflies. The downside was that the site had just been mown, leaving only a few islands of flowers and scrubby trees plus the edges. These meadow edges now teemed with displaced Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers and Skippers.

Essex

GVW

Small

Small

Small

On 21st July, I braved the heat and popped down to Staines Moor - most of the path down to this spot is shaded, which made things a bit easier. I managed to find a new Brown Argus (second brood I suspect) and naturally enough a nice Small Copper. Both butterflies kept their wings firmly shut in the heat.

Also seen were Gatekeepers

...a Ringlet

...a Speckled Wood (along the shady path, though perching here in the sun!)

...and a curious female Small White that adopted a very wide-open pose and seemed unusually heavily marked.

Dave

[trevor]

Congrats on your Purple Hairstreaks Dave, especially the male, which like
the ones I've seen over the years, gives a glimpse of upperside and that's it!.

We had more success with their brown cousin on Monday, and the whole experience
of the day will long be in my memory, thoroughly absorbing and enjoyable.
And it seems I even managed to influence Wurzel to post an up to date image!.

Looking forward to your shots of the day.
Stay safe,
Trevor.

[millerd]

Thank you, Trevor - it was a good couple of days for the small purple one. You did well to persuade Wurzel to post an immediate sighting from Monday - it'll be a while before any of mine are ready to roll...

Friday 23rd July wasn't quite so hot, but I didn't venture far and spent an hour or two of the morning on my local patch. The highlight of the walk was seeing the first males of the second brood of Holly Blues.

Some of the Common Blues were new too.

Speckled Woods have been very thin on the ground this year and it was good to see one today.

Skipper numbers are declining fast, but a few Essex were still flying.

A Gatekeeper pairing showed a clear difference between the undersides of the sexes.

female (l); male (r)

Finally, I came across an interesting moth I'd not seen before.

Any suggestions as to its identity are very welcome!

Dave

[meiga]

Hi Dave

The moth is a Bordered Beauty.

Cheers, Maurice

[millerd]

The moth is a Bordered Beauty.

Cheers, Maurice

Thank you, Maurice. That's a new one on me, a quite attractive one too.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Lovely set of shots Dave You're right where have the Specklies been this year? They've definitely been in lower numbers for one of their broods - perhaps they'll pick up in the latest one? Good to see you back on the Holly Blues - your lesson on whispering at Shipton was a bit of an eye-opener

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Just recently, the Specklies seem to have returned with a vengeance, Wurzel. I managed to see 23 locally today, which is as many as I've seen round here all year. Yes - Holly Blue whispering involves a degree of tough love...

With reasonable weather continuing, on Saturday 24th July I ventured down to Denbies once more to see how well the Chalkhill Blues were doing. The hint earlier that a bumper season might be on the cards had been entirely right - there were hundreds of the species, perhaps thousands. Most seemed to be males, though females were out too and probably being accosted by a male soon after emergence as there were mating pairs all over the place...

...and knots of males chasing lone females.

seven on one...

However, sometimes the two sexes nectared amicably without any male harassment at all.

Some females, as yet unharried:

And a selection of males:

One variety that appears in a minority of males is known as ab. suavis. Inside the hindwing marginal black spots are a series of orange ones.

Unsurprisingly amongst such a throng, there were other abs involving diminished underside spotting.

This example appeared to have slightly misshapen wings, so the ab was probably pathological rather than truly genetic.

Amazingly, I found a moment to look at other butterflies. A female Dark Green Fritillary managed to go about the business of egg-laying in among the blues.

I wondered whether Silver-spotted Skippers mught be out, so wandered over to the sheltered and secluded slope to the east of Steers Field where the grass is kept shorter by more extensive rabbit grazing and there are more bare patches. Sure enough, I found a couple of new males.

The last interesting sighting was a summer Saturday staple - a steam excursion with 35028 Clan Line at the front.

Dave

[trevor]

Lovely selection of Chalkhills Dave, especially that mint female posing perfectly.
Good to see Clan Line again. It's amazing that 11 Merchant Navies out of a class of 30 survive today.

Great stuff,
Trevor

[millerd]

Cheers, Trevor. Some more Chalkhill females to come, including some interesting ones. Always good to have steam trains as well when out butterflying - I forgot to include a shot or two from the NYMR in my Fen Bog post a few posts back.

On Sunday 25th July, it seemed reasonable enough at home - a bit of sun, fairly warm... I thought I'd have another look at Aston Rowant. I should have checked the weather radar: as I passed High Wycombe on the M40, the temperature started to drop and the cloud seemed rather lower. By the time I reached Aston Rowant, I was up in it! Rather than just turn round and go back, I decided to at least make one traverse of the slope and return. From time to time the cloudbase lifted a bit and you could see a bit of a view, but generally it was damp, drizzly, and most of all dark.

It wasn't in fact actually all that cold, and despite the drizzle I didn't end up wet (except for boots and lower legs from the grass). Despite all this, there were a few roosting male Chalkhill Blues to be found out in the open.

Returning home, I quickly came back down out of the weather to a far more reasonable day. I also suspect that if the Chilterns were another 500m or so higher, the tops would have been in bright sunshine.

Never mind, the forecast for Monday was better, so I decided to repeat the trip then.

Dave