millerd wrote: ↑Thu Sep 30, 2021 7:41 pm"...on the wane..." describes the middle of September rather well, David. Even when it stays warm and even summery as it has done this year, suddenly numbers of butterflies and variety of species drop off markedly and we are left with the Red Admirals and maybe a few Small Coppers.
Thanks, Dave. It's an annual event round my way at least - the Whites drop in numbers and the Meadow Browns vanish. By mid October you're lucky to see a Speckled Wood and/or a Small Copper. By the end of the month, it's usually just Red Admirals left standing.
Wednesday 15th September – Close to home….
A second successive pleasant day saw me drive a few miles down the road to Nicholaston Burrows:
This dune system is reached via a woodland path and in a sheltered dip there is a section of ivy shrubs and these were proving very attractive, with well into double figures of Red Admirals and a couple of Small Tortoiseshells enjoying the feast:
There were several Speckled Woods about too:
On the dunes there weren’t too many butterflies about – half a dozen Common Blues and 5 Small Whites, but I did find 9 Small Coppers which was nice, as well as a couple of faded Brown Argus. This image was taken from the bottom of the site looking towards Three Cliffs Bay:
The best moment was finding my first Comma for a while, basking on a leaf a little nearer the beach:
Other species seen were Large & Green Veined White, plus a single Small Heath on my way back to the car park. 11 species was encouraging, but only Red Admirals reached double figures.