millerd

trevor · Post by **trevor** » Thu Apr 21, 2022 6:03 am

A great encounter with the Dukes Dave, and all fresh.
They can either be easy or very difficult to photograph.
A

for your last image, perfect !.

Stay well,
Trevor.

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Thu Apr 21, 2022 7:38 am

A cracking selection of Dukes (and Duchess) Dave

Cheers,

Neil.

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Thu Apr 21, 2022 7:27 pm

Fantastic stuff Dave

Those Dukes and Duchesses are brilliant

Not long til the Marshies now

Have a goodun

Wurzel

bugboy · Post by **bugboy** » Thu Apr 21, 2022 8:37 pm

Maximus · Post by **Maximus** » Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:22 pm

Hi Dave, I know a lot of water has flowed under the bridge

but that's a lovely shot of the Green Hairstreak on blackthorn blossom

a butterfly we've yet to find here.
Mike

millerd · Post by **millerd** » Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:55 pm

Many thanks to all of you - the Dukes were very well-behaved for once, and that Duchess was one of the most attractive butterflies I've ever managed to photograph. It was staggeringly accommodating as well, resulting in one of my better shots.

The Hairstreak shot you refer to was up there too Mike. Another butterfly sitting right in front of me in a great pose.

That time already, Wurzel - May is always so congested...

After Noar Hill on Monday 18th, I had a brief walk locally too, turning up a few of the usual suspects.

They continued to pose as well...

Tuesday 19th April was cooler and cloudier, so I stayed local. Despite the less conducive conditions, I still managed to count over 60 butterflies - though only seven species. Most were Orange Tips...

...and Green-veined Whites.

A welcome sight was the increase in the number of Holly Blues - reaching double figures at last.

No Commas appeared today, but there was a single Small Tortoiseshell hanging on...

...and several Peacocks.

More fresh Speckled Woods appeared - they are having a good spring here this year after a couple of poor ones.

Not bad for an uninspiring day weatherwise!

Dave

kevling · Post by **kevling** » Fri Apr 22, 2022 5:58 pm

Hi Dave,

Enjoying those Dukes and Duchess from Noar Hill and as for that Male Orange Tip on your finger, how did you manage that (not envious, honestly)

Kind Regards
Kev

millerd · Post by **millerd** » Fri Apr 22, 2022 6:48 pm

kevling wrote: ↑Fri Apr 22, 2022 5:58 pm ...and as for that Male Orange Tip on your finger, how did you manage that (not envious, honestly)...

Cheers, Kev.

It was indeed a good morning down at Noar Hill.

Tuesday was a different sort of day, much cloudier and cooler, so I found that Orange Tip well and truly settled on a random bit of foliage, wings firmly shut. I managed to coax it onto my finger intending to position it in a more photogenic location, but there was a bit of unexpected sunshine and it immediately woke up. It didn't stay long after that!

I've found that given the right conditions you can get almost any butterfly to sit on a finger - sometimes they can be difficult to dislodge, either because they discover something interesting to suck from the surface, or because they enjoy the relative warmth.

Dave

millerd · Post by **millerd** » Fri Apr 22, 2022 7:30 pm

Wednesday 20th April was an about-turn back to sunshine and warmth: 19 degrees and 8 hours of sun locally. I stayed on my local patch and made a thorough tour - the result was nearly 150 butterflies of 12 species, including one new one for the year. The tally looked like this:

Holly Blue 30
Orange Tip 28
GVW 27
Peacock 27
Speckled Wood 15
Small White 5
Brimstone 5
Small Tortoiseshell 4
Comma 3
Large White 2
Red Admiral 1
Small Copper 1

The sudden appearance of so many Holly Blues was very heartwarming - they've been very slow in emerging so far. I have a feeling that the offspring of the summer brood of this species are spread over quite a long period (eggs are laid from July to September), and that the early ones are those that emerge as butterflies in October and November as a third brood here. The rest wait till spring, but as there are few early ones left, the majority don't appear till later in the season. If that makes any sense!

The preponderance of GVW over Small White continued, but the latter are looking fresh again, so another wave may have just started. Peacocks now outnumbered Commas, a turnabout from earlier in the Spring. They were everywhere in ones and twos, presumably now dispersed and getting down to some egg-laying. There are many new areas of fresh nettle growth by the River Colne, so there could be large numbers of caterpillars in a few weeks time. Speckled Woods are having a good spring so far, much better than the last couple of years certainly. The Small Copper was a welcome early appearance here - I rarely see them on this patch until May.

Now for some photos... Not surprisingly, one or two Holly Blues feature.

Some others...

One of the other Commas was keeping very close to the ground, and after a brief pause on a nettle...

...I investigated.

Here is the Small Copper. It may have been new, but it had managed to tear a hindwing somehow.

Quite a full selection!

However, I'll save some Orange Tip behaviour for a separate entry.

Dave

millerd · Post by **millerd** » Fri Apr 22, 2022 7:40 pm

During my lengthy walk on Wednesday 20th, I came upon a female Orange Tip on a garlic mustard plant. I had a feeling she might have been laying, so attempted some close shots. However, before I could get near to her, a male dived in...

...followed by another one.

She set off, with one of the males in tow...

...finally shaking him off and settling down again.

I examined the original flowerhead and found two eggs, one fresh and very pale, and the other mature and bright orange. I assume the female had just laid the former one.

Dave

Chris L · Post by **Chris L** » Fri Apr 22, 2022 8:18 pm

Excellent set of photos and an entertaining narrative Dave. Not remotely jealous of your circa 150 butterflies seen on that one day. I am perfectly happy with my 30-35.

I was interested in your comment 'I've found that given the right conditions you can get almost any butterfly to sit on a finger' Please tell.

Goldie M · Post by **Goldie M** » Sat Apr 23, 2022 10:20 am

Some fantastic shots there Dave,I'm looking in the wrong places I think

Goldie

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Sat Apr 23, 2022 7:23 pm

Sterling work with the OT in the hand Dave

Cracking set of shots especially like the three OTs Action Shot

Have a goodun

Wurzel

David M · Post by **David M** » Sun Apr 24, 2022 5:14 pm

Great work with the Orange Tips, Dave. It's a lot of fun when they behave like that.

The Holly Blue images are excellent too.

millerd · Post by **millerd** » Sun Apr 24, 2022 8:06 pm

Cheers, Otep. The knack of getting butterflies to sit on your finger varies between species, but finding them when they are sleepy is one pointer.

Thank you, Goldie - I am just a bit lucky to have a lot of semi-wild land on my doorstep, tucked between the urban/suburban sprawl of London (and the airport of course) to the east, and mixed countryside to the west.

Cheers, Wurzel - I do like to get a few action shots if I can, as they are better reminders of the day than some of the more posed images.

Thanks, David - The Hollies have appeared at long last, and in good numbers, so there will be a few more images to come. Orange Tip behaviour is fascinating - I like to make the most of their relatively brief appearance each year, the zenith of which we must nearly have reached.

Thursday 21st April was another sunny day, and became quite warm again. Denbies beckoned again, and this time the Dingy Skippers had joined the Grizzlies and Green Hairstreaks - plus one new species for the year.

Curiously, I found all of the last of this trio in different spots to my last visit. Most were perched on dogwood bushes along the hedge line at the bottom...

...plus one other right along at the eastern end beyond Steers Field, in the hedge at the top of the slope.

This latter individual was a female, and appeared to be interested in laying on the rock rose, but I was unable to find any eggs. During one of the squabbles between males, I tried to get some "in flight" shots. I thought I'd failed, and nearly deleted this one - it was only when I enlarged it a bit that I discovered the open wing butterfly in the middle.

The upperside is really quite dark.

There were more Grizzlies around than on my last visit, spread all along the bottom of all parts of the site. With less of a breeze, they will no doubt spread a bit further upslope.

This will be true of the Dingies too. They outnumbered the Grizzlies by about five to one at least, and could be seen darting around whenever the sun was properly out.

In amongst them, looking distinctly more orange in flight, were a few Burnet Companion moths.

However, in addition to all these, the first Small Heaths were flying at their stronghold at the western end of the hillside. Taking into account their long season (April to October), they end up being perhaps the commonest species here. Though Chalkhill Blues will outnumber them on the day in late July, and perhaps Meadow Browns come close, they can number in their hundreds sometimes. Despite half a dozen to choose from, not one of them truly cooperated today.

Hopefully, Adonis Blues won't be long in appearing here now...

Dave

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Tue Apr 26, 2022 7:35 pm

Great Grenstreaks Dave, especially the second metallic looking one -its great to get a shot like that

You're tearing ahead in terms of species and now a Small Heath

Have a goodun

Wurzel

millerd · Post by **millerd** » Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:46 pm

Cheers, Wurzel - I like the metallic green sheen as well. If you get the light angle just right it can be spectacular; if you catch it differently you can get anything from dull greeny-buff to deep turquoise. Terrific little butterflies!

Looking back at my photos for Thursday 21st, I now see I sandwiched Denbies between a couple of short local walks. These involved a lot more Holly Blues, both early and late.

I'd almost stopped taking photos of Peacocks, but not quite...

...and there seem to be a succession of bright new Speckled Woods.

The Commas still like to pose (same spot, different butterfly!)...

...and the GVW as well, so much easier than the Small Whites (GVW continue to be far more numerous here too).

Naturally enough, no walk at this time of year would be complete without an Orange Tip or two. Late afternoon proved good today.

I've been hoping one would pose on these forget-me-nots eventually, and today one found them and kept on returning as well. I love the colour contrast!

Dave

millerd · Post by **millerd** » Thu Apr 28, 2022 8:15 pm

Friday 22nd April was mostly cloudy, with hazy sunshine at best - and it was cooler and breezy. Nevertheless, I managed some time out locally and some brave Holly Blues and GVW provided most of the entertainment. I've noticed in the past that when a sudden drop in light levels occurs, enough to send the Hollies for cover, they often seek out a spot where another of the species is already sitting. At one point today I briefly had four in a small area, but this reduced to three (all males).

Unfortunately, the brief sunny spell wasn't long enough for me to get a better shot of all three at once with wings open at the same time...

With the sun back in, I found several more in nearby spots...

...and was able to get very close to this one for an endearing view or two.

As mentioned, there were several GVW around as well, but these also made for cover when the sun disappeared.

Others headed for the trees, hawthorns being favoured. White butterflies in general seem to roost up in the trees and I managed to spot a Large White doing just that some way up.

With the butterflies disappearing, I then examined a few garlic mustard and cuckoo flower plants for eggs. These are Orange Tips...

...and as these next ones are laid under the leaves rather than on the flower buds, they may be GVW eggs.

Finally, as a result of this close scrutiny, I found a female Orange Tip.

Dave

millerd · Post by **millerd** » Sun May 01, 2022 7:32 am

Saturday 23rd April was warmer, but still lacking much sunshine. I had a couple of local walks, and for some reason conditions seemed to favour GVW over everything else today, though Holly Blues were a close second. The tally (not at all scientific since it encompassed two outings, albeit not over quite the same ground):

GVW 24
Holly Blue 19
Orange Tip 13
Peacock 12
Comma 5
Speckled Wood 5
Small White 3
Small Tortoiseshell 2
Red Admiral 2
Brimstone 1

Dave

millerd · Post by **millerd** » Sun May 01, 2022 7:54 am

Some photos from Saturday 23rd. A few Commas to start with. I find it amazing that though now looking a tad faded, all of these butterflies are largely undamaged at this late stage of their lives.