millerd

[millerd]

Sunday 24th April promised sunshine, but with a cold start. I decided to take in a selection of Chiltern sites, all of which promised Dukes and other spring butterflies.

I started at Totternhoe, and at nine in the morning with a brisk wind blowing, several layers were definitely needed. However, the old chalk pits where the Dukes live were sheltered, and before long the sun was strong enough and the air warm enough to tempt them out.

A habitat shot for a bit of context.

There were also a few Dingies around...

...and some Holly Blues...

...as well as Brimstones, Peacocks and Orange Tips, plus a Green Hairstreak that evaded the camera.

Not very far from here is Dunstable Downs, so that would be the next stop.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cracking set of Dukes Dave And there is something very, very pleasing to the eye about that final Holly Blue shot - definitely in the 'I wish I'd taken that' category

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel! You're right about that Holly Blue - a very calming sort of image somehow. More Dukes still to come, and one or two other things.

After Totternhoe on 24th April, next stop was nearby at Dunstable Downs. I had hoped for a coffee from the visitor centre, but the queue was a long one and the outdoor counter was closed. Never mind - I headed straight down to the gullies where the Dukes lurk. There was still a chilly breeze despite the sunshine, and for a while all I saw were Peacocks and Brimstones. The latter were taking to the air only briefly before heading back down to refuel.

However, I soon found a few Dukes keeping low and out of the wind.

I looked in vain for any skippers or Green Hairstreaks, all of which I've seen here in the past, and instead had to concentrate on the Brimstones. There were perhaps equal numbers of males and females, and as almost certainly all the females had already been mated, any male trying his luck was going to be disappointed. This did mean there were several of the characteristic spiralling chases, and I attempted a few shots as they whirled around me, using the camera's "burst" mode. Most of these shots were in the "instant delete" category, and some were annoyingly caught as they passed through my shadow.

Others ended up a little better...

...and there were a couple that by complete chance turned out rather well. This was a bit of a complete bit of luck, as I had turned off the burst function and just pointed the camera and hoped. The autofocus chose the butterflies rather than the background (as generally happens).

Dave

[trevor]

Very interesting and enjoyable sequence of the Brimstone chase.
Thar's one way of obtaining an open wing shot !.

Great stuff !.
Trevor.

[SarahM]

Love your photos of the Brimstone pair Dave.

Sarah

[millerd]

Cheers, Trevor - I always enjoy watching Brimstones engaged in this behaviour, so it was good to successfully capture a bit of it. Oddly enough, I've tried using video to do so, but with very little success at all. Clearly some other kind of technique is required...

Thank you Sarah - I was very pleased with those (somewhat lucky!) shots.

On 24th April there was time for one more stop at a Chiltern site before heading home. In fact, Ivinghoe Beacon is on one of my routes (near enough), so it would have been daft to drive past the turning. Luckily, the car park was surprisingly empty too.

I headed for the gully below the beacon that is always good for Dukes, but within a minute or two I'd seen three Grizzled Skippers. Two of these took an instant interest in each other, descended to the grass right in front of me and within seconds had joined.

I was pleased to be presented with this bit of behaviour as I had rarely come across it before - once perhaps some while back?

Leaving the pair to it, almost immediately I found a series of Dukes - perhaps half a dozen or so along the length of the dip.

just the one female spotted

At one point, the squabbles between males were interrupted by another butterfly of similar size, but much brighter - a Small Copper. It had made its territory right in the middle of the area occupied by several male Dukes, and spend a great deal of its time chasing them.

A very full day, and a lot of Dukes!

Dave

[essexbuzzard]

Excellent stuff, Dave! The Dukes and Grizzed Skippers are lovely, but I especially like your Brimstone action shots!

[Wurzel]

Brilliant stuff Dave from the in flight Brimstones to the cracking Dukes , although they did produce a little bit of FOMO

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Katrina]

Beautiful Brimstones in flight shots

[millerd]

Thank you all for the comments about the Brimstones. I reckon they must flap slower than other butterflies when they interact like this, as it seems easier to catch them in good poses. My humble little camera does surprisingly well.

Monday 25th April was a rather subdued day, involving as it did the funeral of an old friend who amongst other things used to send me frequent photos of butterflies for ID. I shan't forget the midsummer morning at Chiddingfold where I was waiting (interminably it felt) for the first Purple Emperor to appear: a text arrived from my friend walking in a Lincolnshire wood, asking "What's this butterfly on my leg?" You can guess the answer to that one...
He will be much missed.

Tuesday 26th April required a bit of uplift, and I headed south this time to Rewell Wood in Sussex where Pearls were almost certainly out and about. I parked as usual at Fairmile Bottom and headed across the open slope and then up the steep (but short) climb to the woods at the top. A gentle wander later brought me to where I had seen a few in 2020 and 2021, but I explored a little further as the nature of the woodland management here means that the butterflies move around the changing areas of coppicing each year. It's a big wood too! The first butterfly encountered was a Grizzled Skipper, and several more were spotted during the morning.

Before too long I found my first PBF, but unfortunately it was a less than perfect example.

The next one was better, but didn't hang around for photos in the strong sunshine.

I stopped to chat with some other enthusiasts, and as we were chewing the fat a Duke of Burgundy appeared...

...and proving the strategy of staying in one spot and waiting for the butterflies to come to you, a nice male Pearl then came and nectared on a convenient bugle close by.

After this bit of success, I headed back to the car, and saw at least another half-dozen Pearls flying singly along the ride edges. Back down at Fairmile Bottom, I didn't encounter much beyond Peacocks, Brimstones and Orange Tips until just before the car at the northern end. Here was another Duke of Burgundy, but unlike the Chiltern and Hampshire ones encountered recently, it was very camera-shy.

I then headed east for an afternoon look at Mill Hill.

Dave

[kevling]

Dave, what spectacular shots of the dancing Brimstones. Nice reports of the Bedfordshire Dukes. I am hoping to visit those sites at the weekend.

Regards Kev

[Neil Freeman]

Just seen those in flight Brimstones Dave. Superb images and the best I have seen so far this year

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Brilliant Pearls Dave I'm getting a bit twitchy about the Dukes as they seem to be a bit later over this way And now the Marshies are out - but only just so there could still be some good ones at Martin Down in about 2 and 1/2 week

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

You're seeing some good stuff lately, Dave. Must be great to be knee-deep in Dukes (as well as getting those early PBFs).

As for those Brimstone images, what can I say? Almost certainly the best I've seen of such behaviour in this species.

[millerd]

Thank you all once again for your appreciation of those "dancing Brimstones" as Kev aptly called them. I had plenty of time watching them as well as trying to capture those images, and they were great to see. Another part of springtime.

It's a good thing I have a small backlog of outings to post, as I've been rendered somewhat hors de combat by a rather annoying accident that happened when making a cup of tea last week. This simple everyday action ended up with me getting scalding water on my left foot and causing a very nasty burn. This has rendered me unable to walk or drive very far at present so currently I can't even reach my local patch to update myself with what's out there. I hope to have a full prognosis tomorrow.

Meanwhile...

Back on 26th April, after Rewell, I travelled back over to Mill Hill. As expected, I saw quite a few Dingy Skippers...

...but their Grizzled cousins seemed very thin on the ground...

...and I only encountered one Green Hairstreak.

Small Heaths were flying around the lower parts of the slope...

...and in amongst them was a single male Common Blue, my first of the year.

I headed up the slope to the top, and as I went I passed several Walls going up and down - I'm not sure, but they could well have been hill-topping. Is this something the species does? They proved almost impossible to photograph - about par for the course really. Another first for the year, though, making three for the day all told.

Dave

[Pauline]

Good heavens Dave, that sounds pretty horrific. I had noticed you weren't posting in 'sightings' as you usually do and wondered if all was OK. I really hope you are back in action very soon. Take care.

[SarahM]

Wishing you a speedy recovery Dave.

Beautiful Pearl on Bugle shots.

Sarah.

[Neil Freeman]

Sorry to hear of your incident with your foot Dave.
Mind you, you have been racing ahead with the number of species you have seen so it gives the rest of us mere mortals chance to catch up a bit
Seriously though, I hope it doesn't put you out of action for too long and that you are soon out and about again.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

I hope you got better than expected news today Dave - I'll do my best to save some fresh Marshies for your recovery

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Thank you all for your kind thoughts - it has been a very frustrating week or so. However, the good news is that everything is healing OK, and the specialist burns unit (no, they don't hold Scottish poetry readings in the evenings) don't need to see me again. However, my foot won't be fully normal for quite a while.

Nevertheless, I decided to try a gentle walk today locally, just to catch up with emergences here. As expected, Common Blues, Brown Argus and Small Heaths had all appeared, and will feature in a post in chronological order in due course. That said, there was one more sighting, quite unexpected and justifying the walk on its own: I found a Large Tortoiseshell.

This was the first one I've seen for certain, ever. I've reported the sighting more fully in the relevant thread dedicated to the species this year, and will also give it a bigger mention when my diary reaches today in due course.

Dave