millerd

[bugboy]

A predictable for that Orange-tip. I hope he has his winter woollies at hand, I heard mention of wintery showers next week (just in time for my two week break )

[trevor]

Congrats for the OT Dave. Always a treat to see the first one.
For me too it was the Peacock that was seen in numbers today.

Great stuff,
Trevor.

[millerd]

Thank you both. It was great to see that first Orange Tip - very uplifting as always. Strangely, despite the continuing exceptional weather, I am still waiting for the next one to appear.

Wednesday 23rd March was indeed more of the same, with 20 degree temperatures and long hours of sunshine. I added another species to the 2022 year list in the form of a sparkling white male Green-veined White, but it pottered on past me as I was watching a Red Admiral up in a willow tree, and failed to stop. I did get a good view of its underside to confirm its identity, and later on I think I saw another. As with previous days, Commas (11) and Brimstones (9) put on a good show, and Peacocks have now joined them (11 seen today). There was that single Red Admiral as well, plus 6 Small Whites. A selection from the day:

Perhaps the highlight of the day was a female Brimstone nectaring on dandelions with such single-minded concentration that I was able to get within a centimetre or two of the butterfly. Females seem more disposed to doing this, presumably lacking the need to tear off along the hedgerows all the time. Their egg-laying sorties are much more leisurely.

Dave

[Chris L]

Fantastic photos Dave, particularly the Brimstone.I am still very much an amateur but I find the hibernators (male and female) are constantly on the move but the next brood really easy to get up extremely close to.

[millerd]

Many thanks, Otep. That female Brimstone was a bit unusual, but it was very much on a mission and having found a particularly good dandelion, it clearly wasn't going to move.

While it was still relatively cool this morning (Thursday 24th March) I went to Staines Railway Station having heard that Flying Scotsman was due to pass through on a railtour. My timing was perfect, though the viewpoint not ideal...

On the way back to the car, I chanced upon an early-rising Small White.

Rather than return home, I thought I'd have a look at Denbies Hillside for the first time this year. Fortified as usual by a coffee from the van, I did a circuit of the main slope and then wandered along to the smaller slope east of Steers Field. There was disappointingly little flying: I counted two female and half a dozen male Brimstones, a couple of Peacocks, and a single Small Tortoiseshell.

Clearly despite the increasingly long spell of splendid warm sunshine, the early spring specialities here (Grizzled Skipper and Green Hairstreak) are yet to emerge.

Back on my local patch in the afternoon, I came across the usual suspects. However, as I wandered along a partly shaded path by the River Colne where I often see the first Speckled Woods, that's exactly what appeared. Unfortunately it was too distant and too active to be immortalised, but no doubt there will soon be others. This made species no. 9 here this year - not bad for the third week of March.

I came across a male Comma with designs on a female, but she either spurned his advances or the two were bothered by an energetic Peacock. I managed one shot of the encounter - it is just possible to make out the female behind the male in this rather exposed spot.

I watched another female Comma flying low and erratically over the young nettles, basking occasionally before resuming.

After one pause, I looked more closely at where she had been sitting, and found the product of her activity. I suspect these nettles are peppered with eggs.

Even with the warmth two hours after midday, Brimstones tend to retire early, perhaps with a bit of nectaring first. That's what this male was doing.

A little later I watched another pick his roosting spot up in some ivy, where if I hadn't been watching I would never have spotted him.

Near perfect camouflage. Finally, I managed a reasonable shot of one of the several Small Whites.

No GVW or Orange Tips today.

Dave

[trevor]

A great combination Dave, steam and butterflies on the same day.
I can remember being hauled by two A3's, Doncaster and Prince of Wales,
from Biggleswade to King's Cross, back in the day!.
Great shot of the resting Brimstone, it really does blend in with surroundings.

Stay well,
Trevor.

[David M]

Nice range of species, Dave, particularly the Orange Tip from 22nd. I'm a bit puzzled as to why there haven't been plenty more. These last few days have been perfect to coax them out of their pupae.

[Wurzel]

Congrats on the OT Dave Also the Brimstone - they just don't want to sit still when i encounter them I've experienced a sudden up turn in the Peacock numbers too, phew I wonder if this would work for other species? Just in case - I'm slightly concerned Dave with the lack of Camberwell Beauties this year...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Thank you, Trevor - I try to see any notable steam engines when I can. Luckily, many steam-hauled excursions are routed via Staines, and there are also regular journeys along the line at the foot of Denbies Hillside. Of course, there is the NYMR next to Fen Bog in Yorkshire as well!

It's certainly worth a ponder, David. I've noticed that Orange Tips rarely seem to appear locally before the Garlic Mustard and the Cow Parsley flower, and as yet (even with all the sun and warmth) they still haven't. Perhaps the butterflies know somehow, or maybe both plants and this particular butterfly respond more to day length than to hours of sunshine.

Cheers, Wurzel! After that comment, there are now loads of Peacocks (though Commas are still well ahead at the moment - I've never seen so many in Spring.). If only it worked with Large Torties and Camberwells like you say. The wind's going round more northeasterly, so you never know with the latter (though they don't migrate at this time of year, sadly).

Friday 25th March was yet another day of near-continuous sunshine and unseasonal warmth. Curiously, despite seeing 30+ butterflies today on my local patch, there were no Brimstones among them. Peacocks(15) and Commas(14) predominated again.

I also found a Red Admiral I'd seen before - looking rather the worse for wear these days, but still gliding delicately around.

Dave

[millerd]

Saturday 26th March was more of the same, weatherwise, but for some reason it turned into the best butterfly day of the year so far locally. I notched up the tenth species for the year and managed to see nine of the ten today - further Orange Tips are still not appearing.

My walks involved a stroll down to Staines Moor, where a Small Tortoiseshell was hanging around the usual sheltered nettle patch...

...and a couple of Peacocks flew along the bramble bushes at the edge of the moor. Nothing else appeared down there in the open, but as I wandered back along the semi-shaded path to Stanwell Moor, a Speckled Wood settled just over the fence - I couldn't get any nearer.

There were a few flybys of Commas, Peacocks and Small Whites, but the first real highlight of the day came just onto my local walk, pretty close to home. Looking for butterflies nectaring on the many dandelions, I disturbed something silvery which immediately headed for a big patch of ivy. I knew what it was - my first Holly Blue of 2022. The surprise was finding that it was a female: I nearly always see males first (and I did spot one later on high up in another patch of ivy).

The next point of interest was encountering a white butterfly behaving more circumspectly that all the Small Whites I'd been seeing. It was hugging the ground and moving between flowers - though rarely stopping for long. I did eventually get close enough for a shot or two, and it turned out (as I suspected) to be a female GVW.

The third main highlight of today came in a spot which during spring afternoons becomes a playground for tussling Commas and Peacocks. There were perhaps five or six of each today, but ignoring all their antic was another butterfly I hardly ever see in this location - a Speckled Wood. The sun was strong enough today for it to remain with its wings closed, but the upside was that I was able to approach it closely. It was completely new, and I achieved probably some of my best ever shots of the underside of a spring brood Specklie.

I encountered it again a bit later, but it had ceased to be quite so obliging!

Amongst everything else, there were Brimstones again today, including another I watched going to roost.

I found another two Red Admirals hanging on in there...

...plenty of Peacocks...

...and likewise Commas.

One in particular posed nicely for a backlit stained glass shot.

All in all, a terrific day. The tally looked like this:

Peacock 16
Comma 13
Small White 5
Brimstone 4
Speckled Wood 4
Holly Blue 2
Red Admiral 2
Small Tortoiseshell 2
GVW 1

After all that, the Met Office got their forecast annoyingly accurate and Sunday 27th was cloudy here until gone five, so nothing was seen today. More annoying was to see that not all that far to the south and west, it had been another very sunny day...

Dave

[millerd]

Monday 28th March was a return to long spells of warm sunshine. After a day off the butterflies returned, but initially not quite as expected. On my usual local walk, the first butterfly I found was a female Green-veined White, warming up at ground level.

This was followed as I did a wide loop around the grassier areas by a series of five Small Tortoiseshells. This was the highest total for this species here since 1st April 2021, when five were also seen.

Not far from the last of these I spotted another female GVW.

At this point I hadn't seen a single Comma or Peacock, but inevitably that soon changed.

I managed a single Holly Blue, a particularly small male (initially seen puddling, but then heading for the undergrowth to warm up a bit). I failed to get very close.

There was another GVW, and several Small Whites which proved tricky to approach as always.

A couple of Speckled Woods completed the picture.

That made seven species for the day: no Brimstones again, no Red Admirals and still no further Orange Tips. The garlic mustard is just coming into bloom, so once the cold spell is over, they should appear. Today's totals:

Peacock 10
Comma 5
Small Tortoiseshell 5
Small White 3
GVW 3
Speckled Wood 2
Holly Blue 1

Dave

[millerd]

As promised, Tuesday 29th March was much cooler, but there was none of the forecast rain (a smattering in the night had left another layer of dirt on the car though). However, somewhat unexpectedly there was some very hazy sunshine, which was enough to encourage me out for a quick circuit of my local patch. There wasn't much to see: I disturbed a Peacock and a Comma, and then in a particularly sheltered spot just north of the A3113 I found two more of the latter species.

Thinking that would be it, I walked back under the A 3113 and in the equally sheltered bit of path to the south, a familiar shape glided past in long energetic swoops for all the world as if it was late afternoon in midsummer: a Red Admiral. It briefly settled on the path before setting off again.

I didn't get as close as I would have liked, and initially thought the butterfly to be perfectly new. However, a look at the photos shows a bit of wear. That said, all the other Red Admirals I've seen this year (which I imagine have overwintered) have been far more worn, so given the recent long spell of winds from the continent, this one could actually have been a recent immigrant.

That may well be all for what has been an exceptional March, but if the sun shines something may appear in between sleet showers over the next couple of days...

Dave

[trevor]

You've got off to a good start Dave, with an OT, GVW and Holly Blue already.
Admittedly I have mainly haunted the one site so far, and kept a keen eye out,
but the three species above have yet to be seen, shouldn't be long now though.

A great start to your season.
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Cracking shots Dave Great to see that you're onto the Holly Blues - that's a sure sign for me that the season has started proper Love the smoky Green-veined White - I just hope that they're a little more numerous than they were last year And that Specklie underside is gurt lush

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Yes, a very good start to 2022, Trevor - I have had sightings on 17 out of 31 March days (as well as on one day in each of January and February). I hope the current sudden plunge back into winter doesn't spoil things too much. I haven't ventured very far afield yet either - I shall leave things until there is a better chance of seeing something interesting as other species emerge.

Cheers, Wurzel! GVW always seem to put on a good show round here, and I was surprised by another one on 30th.

Wednesday 30th March turned out better than expected. Though it only reached 11 degrees at best, the sun appeared in the afternoon for a while and there was little wind. I managed to find five butterflies of four species: two Commas, one Peacock, the same Red Admiral from the day before, and a new male Green-veined White.

I was able to get much closer to the Red Admiral this time, and it definitely does seem to be in very good condition, as well as being nice and plump compared to some of the other somewhat emaciated ones seen so far.

I also noted that the garlic mustard had begun to flower, but had yet to attract an Orange Tip.

Fingers crossed that when things warm up again, they will appear and head for these plants as they usually do.


Dave

[Wurzel]

Love the Green-veined White Dave - not seen one yet but did get a Holly Blue earlier in the week The Garlic Mustard round this way is still knee high to a grasshopper and nowhere near flowering - but then we're often a week or so behind the Heathrow Heat Bubble Hopefully the nicer weather will return soon

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Amazing to see your garlic mustard in flower, Dave. Round my way, it's some while off, although our bluebells are bursting forth right now.

Looks like a miserable few days weatherwise to follow. We can only hope things improve in a week or so.

[millerd]

GVW do seem to do well round here, Wurzel, and generally are easier to approach than the Smalls. They like the garlic mustard too and often roost there like the Orange Tips (and both species do this on cow parsley as well).

Yes, David, temperatures here have nose-dived and the added strong north/northeasterlies have kept the butterflies well out of sight for several days, despite quite a bit of sunshine.

Before the first round of April sightings, a quick summary of what has been an unusual March on my local patch.

MARCH 2022 OVERVIEW

A weather round-up (published stats for the Heathrow weather station): Overall, the average high for the month was 13.2, which is a degree and a half above the 1991-2020 average of 11.7 degrees. Sunshine hours of 157.2 equated to a shade over 5 hours per day (ave. 124.5 = 4 per day). There were several chilly nights, but only one air frost all month. Rainfall was below average - but not hugely so (about 80%).

The overall warmth, coupled with good periods of sunshine (particularly from around 9th onwards nearly until the end of the month) meant that I managed to see ten different species over the whole month, with 328 butterflies counted over the 17 (out of 31) days that I saw one. The list comprised:

Comma 110
Peacock 92
Brimstone 59
Small White 25
Red Admiral 12
Small Tortoiseshell 12
Speckled Wood 7
GVW 7
Holly Blue 3
Orange Tip 1

Two things stand out in comparisons with previous years. Firstly, the number of Commas is higher than any year I can recall - for them to outnumber both Peacocks and Brimstones is unusual. Secondly, though Red Admirals do appear in some years having survived the winter, this represents again an unusual number (though there were definite repeat sightings). The first one seen here in 2021 appeared in June!

Let's see what happens next!

Dave

[millerd]

For 31st March and the first couple of days of April, we were plunged back into winter. Though the sun shone a fair bit, there was a biting wind from the northeast, temperatures dipped considerably, and there were a few snow flurries. The maximum temperature was only 8 degrees on 31st, and this figure then increased daily, reaching 11 on 3rd April. I had been out looking every day, but it was only on Sunday 3rd that I saw another butterfly. It had actually been the frostiest night of the period (dipping to -1), but the wind had dropped markedly allowing warmth to build up in the foliage in the strong April sunshine.

Expecting to see something in more of a sheltered spot, I found my first butterfly of the day out in the open - a Small Tortoiseshell. It moved from nectaring on a dandelion to sit on this bit of newly-grown goats' rue.

After that single shot, it was up and away, no doubt to a more distant dandelion amongst the many flowering at the moment. I returned to one of the more productive bits of path, and there coming the other way (though not flying far above the brambles) was a male Green-veined White. It did stop a couple of times, but approaches were difficult through the low-growing convoluted spiky runners which seem considerably longer each day at this time of year. It was a nearly all-white example, with just a few dustings of charcoal on the wingtips.

Just as I'd fought my way through without disturbing it for once, another butterfly flew past and the GVW was up and after it at top speed. I expected another of the same species, but I quickly spotted that the new arrival was in fact a male Orange Tip. However, the GVW apparently didn't care about that and wasn't taking no for an answer. It relentlessly pursued the unfortunate Orange Tip at speed up and down the path (almost pinning it to the ground briefly at one point). I was hoping they'd tire, or the sun would go in for a spell to ground them, but in the end they disappeared into some trees and out of sight. I managed some quick in-flight snaps as they whizzed past me, but nothing better.

Still, it gives a flavour of the event, perhaps better than a more sterile posed shot (my excuse anyway! ) - and my second Orange Tip of 2022.

Finally, after I'd given up hope of the pierid pair returning, I spotted what has become the most typical sight of the spring so far this year - a basking Comma.

Four butterflies - four species: it was well worth the wander out.

Dave

[trevor]

An interesting resume of your March sightings Dave.
I totally agree about the Comma, they were everywhere earlier on.
Another for your second OT. I hope the weather will play ball today,
and one might turn up. The forecast for the rest of the week looks grim.

Stay well,
Trevor.