millerd

[millerd]

Cheers, both - I suspect that will be the last of the Holly Blues until spring now.

However, Red Admirals persisted. On Thursday 18th November, the mild weather with some sunshine continued and I managed to find four of the species on my customary walk. However, they were not particularly easy to get close to today for some reason.

After this it was another four days before things were marginally conducive to further sightings. Monday 22nd November was very sunny (six hours recorded), but it only reached 10 degrees. I was hopeful there would be something, and I was rewarded with two separate Red Admirals. One I had only just got a shot of when it was disturbed by an uncontrolled (and overfriendly) dog...

...though I managed a few closer views of the other before something similar happened (though this time the animal concerned was far from friendly).

The bonus for the day came on the very last scouring of the ivy in the hedge nearest home, where I found a Comma - the first since mid-October.

This was the eighth species I had seen in November, which I think is the highest I've managed for this month of the year.

Seeing nothing else for the rest of the month, I was tempted to think that the season really was over, but a few canny words from Guy at the winter social on 27th paused that particular thought...

Dave

[millerd]

A quick review of November now - an unusually productive month for the time of year.

First an overview of the weather: The average high for the month was 11.4 degrees, which is above average, but not particularly so. Sunshine hours came to 67.8, which equates to about two and a quarter per day. There was only one air frost during the month, but that was during the cold spell right at the end and the temperature dropped to minus four that night. The most noticeable feature was how dry it was - Heathrow only recorded 10mm of rain all month.

Probably because of the preceding two warm months, and the mild initial three weeks of November, butterfly numbers and variety were well above what I normally see. I had sightings on ten out of the thirty days, with Red Admirals featuring on all of those. Here is a list of what was seen, though it has to be remembered that several individual butterflies undoubtedly appeared on more than one day:

Red Admiral 48
Holly Blue 9
Peacock 7
Small White 2
Painted Lady 1
Small Tortoiseshell 1
Comma 1
Speckled Wood 1

Considering that variety, I was surprised not to see a Brimstone, but for some reason they rarely seem to appear in any numbers in the summer and thereafter despite being relatively common in Spring. It's a bit of a puzzler.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Crickey Dave that is an impressive haul for November - I think the best I've managed in the past is three species and those were during the first few days of the month Sorry to hear about the dog incident - it's unfortunate that for every decent dog owner there seem to be at least an even number of irresponsible ones

Have a goodun and say safe

Wurzel

[David M]

A quick review of November now - an unusually productive month for the time of year....

Red Admiral 48
Holly Blue 9
Peacock 7
Small White 2
Painted Lady 1
Small Tortoiseshell 1
Comma 1
Speckled Wood 1

Record breaking for me too, Dave. Round my way, I usually see up to half a dozen in November (nearly always Red Admirals), but this time I recorded 27 butterflies of five different species. Ironically, most of the month was cloudy and/or windy, so I probably only had 6 or 7 days where conditions were optimal.

[millerd]

Cheers Wurzel and David - it was an exceptional November, but maybe in a few years time it will be the norm. Autumns definitely seem to be getting warmer.

The weather became more seasonal towards the end of November - wintry even, with a bit of overnight snow and one really sharp frost on the night of 28th/29th.

However, on the morning of Wednesday 1st December the sun shone and it was a bit warmer, maybe reaching 9 degrees. It was certainly pleasant walking, and worth a look for something in likely areas.

Sure enough, a Red Admiral appeared low down and out of the breeze, where the air was probably a bit warmer. It spent much of the time basking...

...but from time to time fluttered down among the many young nettle plants, pausing there briefly. I managed to catch a particular moment when the distinctly fat abdomen was curving downwards...

...and the result was this egg.

I imagine there were several more eggs around, as there is a lot of similar nettle growth in this area. However, when I returned this way after the rest of my walk, the hedges were being brutally trimmed back and much of the nettle growth had been cut down or flattened by the tractor wheels. At least the ivy flowers were largely over and any hibernating butterflies were likely to be buried much deeper in the vegetation (and there is no blackthorn nor Brown Hairstreaks here!), so perhaps no serious damage done.

Since 1st, there have been a few sunny mornings but also more frosts and one more bout of overnight snow. There have been no more butterflies. I have had some cursory searches for further Red Admiral eggs, but have not found any. Do they react to UV light I wonder? A look after dark might result in a galaxy of bright green pinpricks on the nettles perhaps... I shall maybe test the theory - after all, it's dark by five at the moment, so hardly a late night excursion.

So, that concludes my 2021 season. I'll wrap it up with an overview of the year shortly, but will keep it briefer than previous years as the exercise has a tendency to overlap with the first sightings of the following year. 2021 started in late February after all, so I only had one calendar month without a butterfly. Can't be bad.

Dave

[Wurzel]

I love that 'laying' shot Dave, she's positioned perfectly so as to make it look like she's missing her abdomen I was hoping for one last sighting in December to extend the run for 11 months but that doesn't look like happening now - oh well it hasn't been too bad this year and like yu mentioned, not long to go now!

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel. That December sighting was not my latest ever - I found a Comma and a Red Admiral on the 2nd of the month a few years back - but I think it is definitely the last for 2021. It was a bonus for it to be indulging in noteworthy behaviour though. I have a suspicion the butterfly may have been active on subsequent sunny days (though I didn't see it), as when out walking on Monday 13th December I decided to have a look at some of the low-growing nettles in the same area as the 1st December sighting.

Despite poor light, I managed to find a single Red Admiral egg (not the same one) which to my eye looked green and healthy.

A bit of attenuated flash (a folded handkerchief does the trick) helped a bit.

Dave

[trevor]

You certainly managed to squeeze every last drop out of this years season Dave.
With some stunning results, long after I hung up my camera for the year!.

All I can do now is sit and wait for a warm/mild February day!.

Take care and have a great Christmas and 2022,
Trevor.

[millerd]

Thank you, Trevor. Fingers crossed indeed for some February sunshine - after all it's only three (?) winters ago that it reached 20 degrees at the end of that month and the hibernators were all wide awake!

Now for an overview of the year just finishing. I'll start with a general look at my year, and then more detail about my local patch which after all provides the majority of the butterflies I see (though not quite half the species overall).

In 2021 I managed to see (and photograph) 56 species in the UK, and in all likelihood did get a glimpse or two of a 57th in the form of a Large Tortoiseshell down at Portland. I will never be 100% certain, so I feel I can't really count this one! Some of the 56 I only saw on one or two sites, and in the case of the Large Heath (at Fen Bog in Yorkshire) it was just the one butterfly! Other "one-site wonders" were High Browns and Northern Brown Argus at Arnside, Scotch Argus at Smardale, Pearl-bordered Fritillaries in Rewell Wood, Glanvilles at Hutchinson's Bank, Wood Whites at Chiddingfold, and Large Blues at Collard Hill. Everything else was seen at more than one location.

Trying to pick highlights is a tricky business, but one or two outings do spring to mind. The Arnside visit on a day when I somehow managed a couple of hours of warm sunshine between huge showers and saw three species of Fritillary, NBA and Graylings definitely ranks high on the list, and so does the Portland trip despite the inconclusiveness of the LT sightings - there were just so many butterflies. The sheer sociability of the Emperor season down at Chiddingfold always stands out, as well as the butterflies (though the main target was more elusive than usual this year).

On my local patch, I managed to reach 25 species - just. I only saw one Clouded Yellow, and through completely forgetting to seek them out, only one Purple Hairstreak. Ringlets were surprisingly sparse (though they are never numerous here for some reason) with just two seen, and Marbled Whites only managed three. To be fair, they also never appear in numbers and just stray down the Colne valley from larger colonies to the north.

2021's top ten league table looks like this (individual butterflies counted):
1. Meadow Brown
2. Common Blue
3. Red Admiral
4. Small White
5. Small Heath
6. Holly Blue
7. Comma
8. Gatekeeper
9. Peacock
10. GVW
Considering the first Red Admiral didn't appear until June, they did impressively well.

In terms of days on which species were seen (out of 146 days when I saw a butterfly), the list is slightly different:
1. Small White (98)
2. Red Admiral (85)
3. Holly Blue (76)
4. Comma (71)
4. GVW (71)
6. Common Blue (61)
7. Small Copper (59)
8. Small Heath (58)
9. Speckled Wood (53)
10. Peacock (52)
Of course, around half the stats for the Small Copper can be attributed to sightings of one individual butterfly...

The highest number of butterflies seen locally on any one day was over 350 on 22nd July, when Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers were both peaking. The highest species count on any one day was 15, achieved on 25th June, and on 2nd, 6th and 19th August.
Notable peak counts for individual species were:
Meadow Brown 150+ on 10th July
Gatekeeper 100+ on 27th July
Common Blue 51 on 19th August and 43 on 14th June
Red Admiral 48 on 3rd October
Holly Blue 31 on 6th August
Small Heath 31 on 29th June
Peacock 27 on 18th April
Comma 24 on 11th September

Overall, numbers across all species were down on 2020, except for Red Admirals - and Painted Ladies were slightly more frequently encountered. However, Common Blue numbers were not much down, and both Commas and Holly Blues rallied later in the year after a very disappointing spring.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Some interesting stats there Dave - from them I can see why I saw so few Green-veined Whites this year - they were all over in your neck of the woods A grand total of 56 species is brilliant going - will you try and do the 'Big One' one day and go for the full complement? Have a great Christmas and a brill New Year - might see you in the field in about four and half months time?

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel - I always find the stats of interest at the end of the season, even though the figures are generated in a fashion rather less rigorous than a statistician would be comfortable with. One thing I omitted was that the 2021 season on my patch extended from 26th February (a couple of Brimstones) to that last Red Admiral on 1st December: more than nine months, and with only January being bereft of a sighting.

All the best to you for Christmas and New Year - and indeed to everyone else on these forums. It's a great community we have here.

Cheers,

Dave

[David M]

...In 2021 I managed to see (and photograph) 56 species in the UK...

That's excellent going, Dave. Chequered Skipper aside, which other species did you miss out on?

I also concur that butterfly numbers generally were down on the previous year, which in itself was hardly a spectacular one.

I await the next 'bonanza' year with some craving. The last one in these isles was probably 2013 and we are quite overdue.

[Benjamin]

Brilliant overview Dave - you really do put the hours in! 57 (Sounds like you’re sure enough for me) is really remarkable - especially as for you it clearly isn’t about rushing from one place to the next to tick off species, and reflects a whole year of field observations. Really great stuff, and I wish you all the best for 2022!

[millerd]

Cheers, David, and a (belated) Happy New Year to you. As you guessed, Chequered Skipper was one I missed, the other being the Mountain Ringlet. I need to make a special effort for those soon (plans for the former being thwarted two years running, I have my fingers crossed for 2022).

Thank you, Ben - and seasonal greetings to you as well. I was surprised to achieved such a high tally considering the unusual and unpredictable weather throughout the year. Thinking back, if you take the twelve-month period from 1st September 2020 to 31st August 2021, I actually saw another species on top - the Brighton Long-tailed Blues. This would make a solid 57 (possibly 58... ) in a year.

I somehow doubt I'll do better.

Despite a succession of sunny days with temperatures of 8 - 10 degrees (but overnight frosts) I haven't seen anything in this neck of the woods so far in 2022. I missed the balmy 15/16 degree New Year here by being in Yorkshire where it wasn't so warm, so may have missed something then of course. Never mind - I take solace from the fact that the evenings have begun to get noticeably lighter...

Dave

[trevor]

I haven't seen a 2022 butterfly either Dave.
On facebook there have been multiple images posted of early sightings, from many areas.
But no Brimstones yet.

As you say the evenings are drawing out. Bring it on !.
Trevor.

[millerd]

The 2022 season started for me today with a Red Admiral on my local patch. The sun shone for a few hours, the temperature reached 13 degrees, and the butterfly was enjoying the almost spring-like weather. It looked in decent condition too.

This sighting created a number of notable personal landmarks: this was the first UK January butterfly for me; it meant I'd seen a butterfly in twelve consecutive calendar months for the first time thus spanning a whole year; it also represented my shortest winter gap between sightings (1st Dec 2021 to 29th Jan 2022, a gap of only 58 days without a butterfly).

Dave

[trevor]

Congrats. Dave. A real beauty showing no signs of age.
I have not seen a January butterfly since joining UKB.

A great start to your 2022 season!.
Stay well,
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Nice one Dave - good to see you're off the mark - I'll be keeping my eyes even more peeled now! Mind you I'm still in August

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

...this was the first UK January butterfly for me; it meant I'd seen a butterfly in twelve consecutive calendar months for the first time thus spanning a whole year; it also represented my shortest winter gap between sightings (1st Dec 2021 to 29th Jan 2022, a gap of only 58 days without a butterfly).

Time was when a February butterfly was a novelty, Dave (and usually late February too!)

This January, however, has been as benign as I can recall in my 50+ years and butterfly sightings must have hit new records. I was out myself in Abergavenny yesterday and almost expected to see a butterfly, not something that's ever happened before.

[millerd]

Cheers, all! Yes, a January butterfly was a great way to kick the year off and the way things are progressing perhaps future seasons will only have a brief hiatus at the nadir of the year. If that happens, lets hope the butterflies can adapt successfully to the changed conditions.

February was certainly not a cold month, but rarely seemed to come up with enough sunshine on suitably warm days to tempt butterflies into appearing. However, a local walk on 26th of the month conjured a Brimstone. The butterfly was spotted in exactly the same location (within a metre or two) as the first one I'd seen in 2020 (though that was in March that year), and on the same date as my first Brimstone of 2021.

It was noticeably stained and worn from the rigours of its winter sleep, but they are robust little things, and it took to the air happily enough at one point in between these shots.

That now makes thirteen consecutive calendar months with butterfly sightings - that has to be a first for me.

Dave