September 2021

[David M]

Nice images, TM, and 15 species in mid September is good going.

[Allan.W.]

Thought some may be interested ,the numbers of Small Coppers at Dungeness have exploded !. Dave Walker the obs warden counted over 600 ! in a fairly small area in front of the observatory ,add to this the 469 we counted in a larger area of the peninsula on Saturday ,you,re looking
at over a 1000 ,flying . amongst these he found 2 nice Aberrations ,and we found 1 (on previous Sightings page ) . Anyone interested take a look at the
Dungeness observatory website ,whidh has several excellent photos ,also some excellent pictures of some very scarce Crickets and a White Stork flock !
Regards Allan.W.

[Testudo Man]

Nice images, TM, and 15 species in mid September is good going.

Cheers David, yes i guess 15 species was alright for this time of year.
Im not sure i will return to that site this season now?...unless a few more CY's get reported there.
Although i would think 3rd brood Wall Brown will be there in good numbers in a couple of weeks, an since i hardly ever see any Wall Browns on my regular sites, i might make the effort an return.

[Stevieb]

Still a good selection on the hill today. Beacon Hill, Wiltshire

Chalkhill Blue x 2
Common Blue x 4
Adonis Blue x 7
Brown Argus x 3
Green-veined White x 6
Small White x 4
Small Copper x 2
Peacock x 1
Red Admiral x 1
Small Heath x 1
Meadow Brown x 3

15th September

15th September

15th September

15th September

15th September

15th September

15th September

15th September

15th September

[Medard]

Dungeness observatory website ,whidh has several excellent photos ,also some excellent pictures of some very scarce Crickets and a White Stork flock !
Regards Allan.W.

Hello Allan,
Dungeness observatory does seem to be an interesting place to visit particularly for birds.
White Storks are beautiful elegant birds
A few pictures, part of a flock of White Storks taken, near Caen, France

For the birders, they can be seen at nest in the Alsace along the villages of the wine route were the local communities have conservation projects to discourage the birds migratory habits,

on one campsite one bird would visit our camper every morning for sausage titbits , the campsite mascot ?
they can be seen nesting at
Natural Reserve Moëze, Charente Maritime, France.

Reserve-ornithologique-du-teich Girond, France.

https://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com/

[Allan.W.]

Excellent White Stork images James (Medard ) ! Although i never managed to see the flock on Romney Marsh ,i was lucky
enough to see a low flyover by a singleton over the works car park in Ashford (Kent ) a few weeks back ,it must be quite something to see them as in your pics ............... another reason for a visit to Knepp next year (or farther affield ) .
Regards Allan.W.

[David M]

A few pictures, part of a flock of White Storks taken, near Caen, France

Uplifting stuff, Jim. Thanks for sharing.

[Padfield]

In East Suffolk, there are still graylings flying on the sandlings, though they are all old and I can't see them surviving into October:





Small coppers are common too:





Other species around include red admiral, painted lady, comma, speckled wood and the three common whites.

When I first saw this comma I assumed it was a gravid female - so logically hutchinsoni:



On examining the photos, however, I noticed drops of what looks like meconium coming out of the abdomen, sometimes being left on the leaves. She's clearly very fresh, so it could be meconium, but do they still ooze this after the wings are dry and they are flying?





The underside looks like starski (the dark one) rather than hutchinsoni (the blond one), further suggesting she is not the breeding generation:



I'd be interested in any comments.

Guy

[bugboy]

Interesting you mentioned a possible hutchinsoni Guy. I was out in Essex today and thought I saw one. She seemed to be paying more attention to nettles than would be normal at this time of year but never did anything within view and I didn't see her settled, she just looked very bright in flight. As I understand it, its day length during the larval stage which dictates what form it develops into, so any larva developing during July or August shouldn't become hutshinsoni... in theory anyway. With regard to the presence of miconium, I've seen it on more than one occasion close to a newly emerged Comma moments before it takes to the air and I'm sure Millerd has several images of this occurrence too.

Here's a rather fat Comma I found today, definitely a starsky, presumably the eggs are already developed inside her ready for the spring.

There were also ridiculous amounts of Red Admiral enjoying the Ivy along the short path I find my WLH. I managed to get to 20 before double counting became an issue, but in excess of 50 would be a reasonably realistic total given that much of the Ivy was concealed from view.

[Padfield]

That's very interesting, Buggy. As you say, your photo does seem to show a clear starski but equally, she seems gravid. On the other hand, like mine, she's in mint condition, so could it be a tummyful of meconium? I didn't know they mated in the autumn and laid in the spring - I thought starski individuals just fed up and hibernated. I have a lot to learn ...

Guy

[bugboy]

That's very interesting, Buggy. As you say, your photo does seem to show a clear starski but equally, she seems gravid. On the other hand, like mine, she's in mint condition, so could it be a tummyful of meconium? I didn't know they mated in the autumn and laid in the spring - I thought starski individuals just fed up and hibernated. I have a lot to learn ...

Guy

Sorry Guy, I probably wasn't as clear as I should have been. I don't think they mate before hibernation, I'm just presuming the eggs are already developed inside and stay unfertilised until the spring, although this is a presumption as opposed to an actual fact. I'll have a look through my back catalogue at some point to see if fat bodied females are the norm in the autumn

[Allan.W.]

This morning i found the first of my retained Red Admirals had emerged ,and i,m sure that it was only around 11 days since it hung up to pupate ,and over the next three hours ,all four emerged .

missed the actual emergence of all of them ................domestic duties !
A dark pupae and a pale pupae .

one just before it,s maiden flight !

The finished article !

late afternoon ,i visited a site farly close to home ,which is always good for Clouded Yellows ,but sadly none to be found ! but i did find my latest ever
Silver Wash ..................don,t think he,s going to be with us for much longer .

Regards Allan.W.

[David M]

Nice work with the Red Admirals, Allan, and amazing to see such a late SWF. Even round my way, they don't generally last beyond the first week in September.

[Testudo Man]

After reading that the Clouded Yellow numbers were increasing at Cliffe Pools, Kent, i had to visit this location once more yesterday! I missed the Helice female last weekend, so needed to give it another shot. I would say that 10+ Clouded Yellow were seen (included the helice form). Females are now on the wing, with 3 to 5 seen. Wall Browns were active, i would think 10+ were sighted, but no pics of the swines, too elusive for me!
Some highlight pics of the day, including a lovely female helice form. Images are not cropped. Cheers Paul.

The helice form.

One of the "normal" females.

A male.

[David M]

Lovely selection of fresh Cloudies, TM. You swept the board there!

[Matsukaze]

Suffolk coast, 11-16 September - I wasn't really looking very hard for butterflies, but there was a small movement of Red Admirals southwards along the coast at Southwold on 11 September. Small Whites in some numbers, particularly close to the coast where there was sparse vegetation. A few Meadow Browns, Small Heath and what was probably a Grayling along the shingle at Dunwich on 16 September; the probable Grayling was too quick for me.

Long Knoll (Wilts/Somerset border), 18 September - plenty of Meadow Browns, a couple of Small Heath, two worn Brown Argus and two male Common Blues, one worn and shredded, the other freshly emerged. Long Knoll has scrubbed up considerably in the last decade and there was no sign of the Adonis Blues that used to occur here. It is remote, difficult to access and rarely-visited by lepidopterists; as far as I am aware, this is the first record of Meadow Brown from the site.

[David M]

4th Sept - first time I've ever had a Hedge Brown in my garden....and also (I believe) the latest I've ever seen this species:

[Testudo Man]

Lovely selection of fresh Cloudies, TM. You swept the board there!

Cheers for that David, i was well pleased.
6 hours+, out in the field. Cliffe Pools is a massive site, so you have to cover a lot of ground, chasing the swines!!
The female helice was the least "flighty", but you know how mobile Clouded Yellows can be, especially in the blazing sun!
A great day though, if this warm weather continues, i should return to this site a few more times yet.

[Padfield]

In Ipswich today, this female brown hairstreak was creeping around in the blackthorn:







I was keeping my distance, hoping she would lay an egg or two, but though she explored quite a lot she kept coming back to just sunning herself:





Then she flew over the top and away.

Brown hairstreaks fly at at least three sites in Ipswich, all in a relatively small radius of each other. They were introduced a few years ago but I think they've been self-sustaining since then - Kev is the man who would know.

Elesewhere, on the sandlings, small coppers and graylings were the dominant butterflies yesterday:









Other species still flying in Suffolk are small, large and green.veined whites, red admirals, painted ladies, speckled woods and a few lingering meadow browns:



Guy

[David M]

Tues 7th - spent two hours searching for Brown Hairstreak eggs at West Williamston in Pembrokeshire. Was quite pleased to find 42, which is the best I've done for a few years (although far fewer than the 130+ in 2013).