millerd

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel. Thank you for pointing out the extra blue spots on the hindwings of that Painted Lady - I've seen this before, but not for a while. There haven't been enough of them this year to look out for all the variations.

Thursday 26th (continued). The mix of sunny intervals and bright overcast continued for the afternoon, and I headed to Chobham Common to catch up with the Grayling population and see if I could achieve any more success with upperside shots.

There were good numbers flying, including far more females than the last time I was here. The usual grounded camouflaged shots were easy to come by...

...and even a mating pair.

There were then the variously unsuccessful attempts to capture the butterfly in flight...

...all of which at least show how colourful the butterfly is (especially the female). Eventually, I had a bit of luck. Courting attempts by males are not always easily shrugged off by females, and if there is a persistent suitor, the female lands, faces the male and opens her wings. If the interaction becomes more elaborate, pairing may follow, but more often the female just takes to the air again leaving a bemused male on the ground. I managed to track a pair to the ground and achieved some open-winged shots of the female concerned.

Another female I followed that had managed to lose a male turned out to be egg-laying. I was able to locate some of the eggs laid.

All in all, well worth the visit.

Dave

[bugboy]

Well you had much better results with uppersides than I did this year, and you got a mating pair

[trevor]

Some mrgreen worthy open wing Graylings there Dave.
The uninitiated might think that they bask like that.

A great encounter!
Trevor.

[millerd]

I was wandering around the site for ages taking goodness knows how many shots in "burst" mode to get that selection of shots, Buggy. Actually getting one that sat in front of me and sychronised its open-wing moments with the opening of the shutter was a real bit of luck.

Cheers, Trevor - if only they did bask like that! They are a really attractively-marked butterfly, and some of the females are quite a size as well. A great species, probably made better by the challenge they pose!

On Friday 27th August my opportunities to go out were a bit limited for once - not that the weather was anything special anyway. A quick dash over the road to the lake produced a Red Admiral, a Speckled Wood and some GVW.

Saturday 28th August was a bit better, with a sunny morning at least promised, and I elected to try one more visit to Bookham before the Brown Hairstreaks became too worn. Initially there were just a few false hairstreaks by way of Speckled Woods and Meadow Browns (the imitator supreme, the Gatekeeper, having pretty well disappeared now).

However, before very long I found what I was looking for. A female Brown Hairstreak was walking down the blackthorn stems looking for the right spot to lay.

Mission accomplished, she emerged and basked in the sun to recharge her batteries - opening wider when a cloud intervened for a moment.

In a bit of a change from previous visits, this was the only hairstreak I saw today, but at least she was in pretty reasonable condition.

Before I left Bookham, I did witness a rather graphic display of predation, though at least no butterflies were involved. Hornets are not infrequently seen here, and I spotted one cruising over the flowers. Normally they rarely stop long enough to be photographed, but this one made a bee-line to one of the blooms. It had singled out exactly that - an unfortunate honeybee was going to be lunch. I watched the hornet completely dismember the smaller insect, in the end making its meal from the head and thorax. It was too focussed on this activity to notice me recording the gruesome event for posterity.

An interesting coda to the visit.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Lovely Brostreaks Dave but I need to keep some in reserve for those Grayling I'll need to pick your brains before next season about how you get those cracking open wing shots - absolutely brilliant!

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel! To be honest there's an awful lot of point-and-hope involved with achieving those open-wing Grayling shots, plus a bit of watching their behaviour to try and second-guess what they will do. An extraordinary amount of hitting the "delete" key goes on afterwards of course...

On Sunday 29th August there seemed to be a bit more sunshine so I ventured out a bit further, though only down to Denbies once again.

Though Chalkhill Blue numbers were a shadow of what they had been a month earlier, I was very surprised to find at least one male that looked newly emerged.

Other males weren't so new, though this is one I would like to have seen when it was because of the unusual marginal markings.

The females were generally worn too now.

Adonis Blue males seemed to be doing better today...

with marginal black spots...

...and without

...sometimes joining the Chalkhills on the carline thistles which both species seem to love.

They had also been joined by a few females since my last visit.

One of these in particular was a bit of a stunner.

Silver-spotted Skippers were still around, though generally looking rather jaded now.

One could barely fly and needed a helping finger.

After all that, one further surprise awaited - though maybe it shouldn't be so much of one after the last visit here. I once again stumbled across a female Brown Hairstreak, not far from the one seen here six days earlier. She was just basking under the bright light cloudiness and flew off elsewhere before resuming egg-laying presumably when the sun came out again properly.

Having never seen one at this site before this year, I had now seen three - a male and two females. I shall have to look harder next year and take time out from the distractions of everything else this hillside has to offer. A winter egg-hunt is also in order.

Dave

[millerd]

For the last two days of the month, 30th & 31st August I remained local again. Monday 30th was nothing special, though the first of the new round of Commas destined for hibernation were appearing more often.

One shared its basking spot with a Speckled Wood - unusual of the latter to share its territory with anything.

I also couldn't ignore a colourful female Common Blue.

Tuesday 31st looked to be turning out the same, but curiously it actually became something of a festival of white butterflies. I try not to ignore these species, but in everyday practice they often prove to be difficult to approach, don't provide good views if you do get close, and are often rather the worse for wear. Today for some reason I managed a whole selection of reasonable shots of both Small And Green-veined - plus a bonus Large as well. I suspect one factor was the continuing lack of proper sunshine making the butterflies more subdued and less energetic. First a view of a GVW and a Small sitting relatively close together on the fleabane.

Some Small Whites...

...and some GVW, probably the more attractive of the two.

Finally, a male Large White. They've been far from a common sight here this year.

Other sightings from the day to follow...

Dave

[millerd]

Despite the less than ideal conditions, I did find a few other butterflies on my 31st August walk.

It obviously wasn't bright enough for the Common Blues to mobilise, but I did find a few roosting in little groups.

Perhaps because of their darker colour, able to absorb more energy from dimmer sunlight, Brown Argus were a bit more active.

A new brood of Small Heaths was underway now, but they weren't flying much either. However, the duller weather does make them easier to photograph as they stay put rather than fly off as you approach.

Another new Comma...

...a Speckled Wood...

...and some Holly Blues nectaring on the brambles...

... pretty well wound up the day - and the month.

There was an interesting moth as well - a Latticed Heath or something similar?

August 2021 has been notable for its lack of sunshine locally. I think only 95 hours was recorded at Heathrow, a meagre 3 hours a day on average. Temperatures have been a bit subdued too, with the average maximum somewhat shy of the 22 degree mark. Nevertheless, I managed to see butterflies somewhere on every day of the month, and there were some standout days and a fine array of species. All this leads inevitably to this diary getting thoroughly behind, and with September actually having better weather than August (and October also doing well), nothing is going to change any time soon!

Dave

[millerd]

Wednesday 1st September continued the theme of August, though it was slightly warmer. I stayed local once again, and sought out a few more of my favourites, the female Common Blues. As the second brood starts to wane, they are becoming a little worn now.

I didn't completely ignore the males - this very new one might be a third brooder.

Considering that they are the commonest butterfly here by a significant margin, I seem to have very few shots of Meadow Browns. There are a few from the start of their season when the first dark males appear and there is still some novelty value, but their reluctance to bask open-winged until late in the season means they do get overlooked for most of the summer. I managed to redress the balance slightly today. Firstly there was a female with a hint of a double eye-spot...

...and then another very fresh one with a vivid contrast between orange and brown that (almost) rivalled a female Brown Hairstreak.

Writing from the perspective of almost mono-specific mid-October, it seems very strange to describe a time six weeks earlier that Red Admirals had been rather thin on the ground. Consequently, the sight of a new one today was worth recording.

The White theme of the previous day continued to some extent: a female GVW and a male Small White proved amenable.

Holly blues were still haunting the ivy buds looking for niches in which to lay...

...Speckled Woods were at last in double figures...

...and there was, as always, at least one Small Copper - this one with quite noticeable tails.

Also seen on the day: Small Heath, Large White, Comma and Brown Argus. With the summer now poised to wind down, local visits become more frequent as trips out have less to offer. However, there were still some worthwhile excursions to come - though without the pilgrimages to the Sussex coast for Long-tailed Blues that the last two years have included.

Dave

[millerd]

It was back to Denbies for Thursday 2nd September - a warmer day, though by no means particularly sunny. I was hoping to see a few more female Adonis Blues today and as it turned out I was lucky enough to find a few fresh ones. The first one seemed so uniformly chocolate-brown that I initially mistook it for a Brown Argus - but looking more closely I spotted the blue scales.

There were some decent-looking males around as well, though as time goes by they are starting to acquire the electric sheen that comes with age.

Once again, I turned my attention to the Meadow Browns, easily the most numerous species here now the Chalkhills had declined from their amazing summer peak. I settled on a male...

...and a differently marked female.

Aside from a few remaining Chalkhills and Silver Spots...

...the rest of the line-up was beginning to resemble what I might see close to home.

It's probably worth coming back here once or twice more in September, but the local specialities will soon be gone.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Brilliant set of reports Dave not only am I behind with my PD but seriously behind with reading yours That Brosteak was lush, it's great finding something new at a site, and then to keep on finding them is even better Stunning Adonis as well, my eyes are still a little sore from their glare Nice variation in the Meadow Browns - they seem to turn up more at this time of year, as the Meadow Browns get a bit more of a look in around then

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel - yes, finding the Brown Hairstreaks at Denbies after all these years of summer visits without doing so was a great bonus. There's always something new...

On Friday 3rd September, the weather warmed up (23 degrees today), but I remained local to see if anything had changed. I was rewarded with 13 new Commas - the highest total by far this year and unusual for the hibernating contingent in any year. They normally seem to appear in ones and twos and disappear fairly quickly so you don't get to see many at once.

Today, from one vantage point I could see five individuals ranged over the brambles (though getting more than two in one shot proved frustratingly impossible!).

One of those I found elsewhere was focussed on the fermenting blackberries, and indeed looked by the state of it to have had at least one too many.

The other highlight of today's walk was finding a brand new blue-spot Small Copper. While the weather at the time was bright rather than sunny, this butterfly was very amenable to having its portrait taken, so sifting through the many shots taken was unusually difficult.

I also took some close-ups of its most distinguishing feature.

I saw around a hundred individual butterflies on the day, with 12 species represented, but these were the standouts.

Dave

[millerd]

As soon as August was out of the way, September now brought Summer back again. The weather became warmer and sunnier, and it was the turn once again on Saturday 4th September of a visit to Aston Rowant. More chalk downland and more Adonis Blues - perhaps a better showing than at Denbies, despite the areas of short grass being less widespread than usual this summer.

Though unlike Denbies, the Chalkhills had pretty well disappeared here, there were more Common Blues instead to provide momentary confusion with the Adonis.

Another bonus at this site is the reliable presence of a few Small Tortoiseshells at this time of year.

I also had to have a look at the Silver-spotted Skippers. Though most (especially males) were getting a bit worn, numbers still seemed pretty good and there were one or two fresh-looking individuals in the mix.

One particular butterfly posed outrageously on my finger in the most endearing cuddly-toy way, even dipping its antennae to give the impression of a flop-eared rabbit.

They really don't come any cuter than that.

Dave

[millerd]

With the weather now warming up, I decided on Sunday 5th September to head a bit further south and have a look at Mill Hill in Sussex. I also remembered that at this time in 2020 this site had been full of third brood Common Blues, plus a fair sprinkling of Clouded Yellows.

In very warm sunshine I found very few butterflies anywhere, not even in the normally favoured sheltered nooks that the site has several of. It felt as if the season here was nearly over. It didn't help that what I did see was very active in the sunshine (including a couple of Cloudies) so I came away without any photos of note - a worn and distant Wall might even be considered a highlight...

There were only a couple of Adonis...

...two female Common Blues...

...a Brimstone...

...a Small Copper...

...and a Speckled Wood.

I suppose that every now and again (particularly with the number of trips out I go on) I'm going to have a disappointing day.

Dave

[millerd]

Because Mill Hill hadn't come up with as much as I had hoped, as I drove back north on 5th I realised I had more time on my hands than I had anticipated. My route was via Dorking, so despite a few recent visits, I looked in on Denbies once again. The unusual warmth and bright sunshine made things difficult here too (you forget how beneficial clouds can actually be!). Nevertheless I came across a few things of interest. First of all was a mating pair of Chalkhill Blues. This seemed very late for this bit of activity, and when you look at the two butterflies neither is exactly youthful. Do the females mate more than once? It seems unlkely given the numbers of males that have flown here this year that she would have escaped the attentions of all of them until now.

Adonis of both sexes continued to fly, but there were no fresh ones that I could spot.

However, I did find a relatively fresh Silver-spotted Skipper or two.

Such a photogenic species.

Dave

[millerd]

Hot weather really isn't good for observing butterflies close to, nor is it much good for getting decent photos. I had hoped on Monday 6th September that the woods at Bookham might be a bit cooler and knowing Bugboy had been there the previous day and had continued to find a few Brown Hairstreaks, I gave it a try in the morning. Not so lucky...

Small Coppers probably provided the most interest...

...though there was also a lovely new Painted Lady nectaring furiously on the fleabane.

A Comma followed suit, showing distinctly green underside spots.

I also spotted a new Small Heath, managing just this backlit shot.

What a lot of orange butterflies...

Dave

[trevor]

Lovely 'blue badge' Copper and some great Silver Spot shots Dave.
I've almost given up with Mill Hill for one of the reasons you state, the intense heat
on the hillside in full sun, plus the scramble up the steep slopes for a shot only
for the target to fly further up!. Trip hazards and rabbit holes are another reason.
All species found there can be seen on some nice level sites in Sussex.

Stay well,
Trevor.

[millerd]

Cheers, Trevor - yes, Mill Hill was a bit disappointing compared to last year in particular.

6th, 7th and 8th September were all days when the temperature local to me reached or exceeded 30 degrees. I went out locally on all three days (incuding when I had returned from Bookham on 6th), but to be honest, it was too warm to be comfortable out there and most butterflies were hiding or careering around madly in the sunshine. Three species made up the majority throughout this period: Common Blues, Small Whites and Small Heaths.

On 6th, I also found a few Small Coppers...

...and again on 7th.

I'm not sure how I spotted this Comma feasting on blackberries in the shade...

...but the Small Whites were more obvious.

There was also one Large White among the many Smalls...

...and a Brown Argus.

On 8th it was particularly hot and I did well to come back with anything at all. However, I found a new Speckled Wood in dappled shade...

...and a mating pair of Small Whites that proved incredibly difficult to photograph well.

Thankfully things cooled back down to the low 20s over subsequent days, though September still felt more like summer than August had.

Dave

[millerd]

Thursday 9th September was a pleasantly warm (but not hot) with some sun. Having spent a lot of time locally over the last few days, I continued what were becoming twice-weekly visits to Denbies. Unfortunately, September brings ever-diminishing returns and what butterflies remained were looking more and more world-weary. Male Adonis become floating scraps of electric-blue tinfoil in the breeze when worn - quite extraordinary colouring at certain angles.

By contrast, some of the females looked quite fresh.

As luck would have it, one of the few Chalkhills I found would have been fascinating in its prime, with underdeveloped underside spotting.

A few of the rest, a distinctly autumnal-looking mix...

Dave

[millerd]

Back on home turf on Friday 10th September, aside from a preponderance of Small Whites today for some reason, my attention was taken up largely by a very orange Small Copper...

...and a brand new male Holly Blue (likely the first of the third brood). It was characteristically puddling on a patch of muddy ground, but when it stopped to rest it didn't open its wings as they often do - maybe because it was warm enough in the 23 degree conditions not to feel the need to.

One other butterfly of note today was this new Comma. The hibernating brood aften appear to have burnished gold borders to their wings, but on this individual these borders were unusually wide - creating the (probably erroneous) impression that they would be much less likely to tear.

Dave