David M

[Chris L]

Yes, those female Holly Blues are particularly nice David. I don't see many Holly Blues in my area though they are present. I haven't seen many on my travels either. Now that I think about it, I don't think that I have ever seen a female Holly Blue

[Goldie M]

Fantastic shots of the Holly Blue David , I saw some yesterday way up in the trees, I just hope when I get more shots they're opened winged I'm Green with envy Goldie

[David M]

Stunning shots of that female Holly Blue David, particularly the third one down.They really do perform at that site!

Thanks, Trevor. There are lots of males at the site but I only see low numbers of females each spring. I consider myself very fortunate to have found two low down just when the clouds were gathering.

More stunning images David. Not always an easy butterfly to photograph well but you do it again and again

Very kind of you, Pauline, although I tend not to get too many images of the females, which was why I was so grateful two were in close proximity, low down, during the onset of cloudy weather. That doesn’t happen often.

Yes, those female Holly Blues are particularly nice David. I don't see many Holly Blues in my area though they are present. I haven't seen many on my travels either. Now that I think about it, I don't think that I have ever seen a female Holly Blue

Until 2017, I struggled with this species similar to you, Otep. But I found a little spot of heaven on earth for them and I’ve visited regularly ever since. Even so, females are still tricky to find so it’s not all plain sailing.

[Chris L]

Until 2017, I struggled with this species similar to you, Otep. But I found a little spot of heaven on earth for them and I’ve visited regularly ever since. Even so, females are still tricky to find so it’s not all plain sailing.

Thanks David. I thought that I was somehow mysteriously running short on Holly Blue sightings. This is only the dawn of my third season, but looking back on the last 2 years, I only saw 18 in 2020 and 19 in 2021. You can probably see that number in an hour in your 'heaven on earth'.

[David M]

Fantastic shots of the Holly Blue David , I saw some yesterday way up in the trees, I just hope when I get more shots they're opened winged I'm Green with envy

Unlike you, Goldie, I don’t get any in my garden, so the envy is mutual!!

Sunday 3rd April – One last shot….

Puzzled by the continuing lack of Orange Tips, and eager to see one before my Greek trip the following day, I drove down to Dan-y-Graig cemetery in cool and partly cloudy conditions to check whether the copious cuckoo flower growing there might have an OT or two flying around.

Sadly, it did not, and few other butterflies were on the wing, with just Small White, Speckled Wood, Brimstone and Small Tortoiseshell sighted.

So, I headed over to Cwm Ivy and saw a male Orange Tip almost as soon as I arrived. It flew over the hill out of sight but I fancied I’d see more as I did my rounds.

Unfortunately, within 20 minutes the cloud had obscured the sun and the cool temperatures ensured that butterflies went into hiding.
Before this happened, I managed to get this shot of a male Holly Blue:

This Peacock on blackthorn blossom was irresistible:

And this Speckled Wood going to roost was the last butterfly I saw:

[Pauline]

That's a smashing shot of the Peacock David. I have wanted to take one like that for a while now but cannot find the butterfly (or any other butterfly come to that) in just that position

[David M]

Thanks, Pauline. Pure luck. I just fired off a few shots on 'IA' mode and the first one was in focus.

Friday 15th April – Narrow window.….

It had been cloudy ever since I arrived back from Greece last Monday, so with the sun finally breaking through at around noon, I drove a couple of miles up the road to a woodland spot and meadow at the eastern end of the Common.

It was just nice to see a few butterflies again. There weren’t that many, but up in the meadow there was a female Orange Tip that was happy to come down when the clouds obscured the sun:

Five Brimstones were seen, as well as two male Orange Tips (neither of which was settling), 3 Green Veined Whites, a couple of Speckled Woods and my first female Large White of the year.

[Chris L]

That is a brilliant Peacock photo David. It is if it wanted to have its photo taken.

[David M]

That is a brilliant Peacock photo David. It is if it wanted to have its photo taken.

I took four but that was the only one in proper focus, Otep. The butterfly was certainly in a perfect place to have its portrait taken though!

[Goldie M]

Hi! David, not got my Orange Tip yet, great you got yours Goldie

[David M]

Plenty of them around now, Goldie. I'm sure you won't have long to wait!

Saturday 16th April – More like it.….

Finally, after days of largely cloudy conditions, clear blue skies returned and so did the butterflies.

The glade at Cwm Ivy was positively buzzing, with Holly Blues approaching a half century, although once again I didn’t knowingly see any females:

It was good to see decent numbers of Green Veined Whites too, including my first female of the year:

Around a dozen and a half males were about as well:

There were 15 Orange Tips sighted, all but one being males:

Surprise of the day came when I passed by this sheltered section:

A small, dark butterfly was flying on the slope. When it settled I could see it was a Dingy Skipper, the earliest I’ve ever seen in the UK:

Speckled Woods were numerous, with around two dozen seen, while Brimstones were still about in similar numbers.
Other species seen were Peacock, Red Admiral and Small White.

[David M]

Sunday 17 April – Grizzled Skippers….

Hazy sunshine and 15c temperatures were sufficient to tempt me to make my annual visit to the Merthyr Mawr dune site, near Porthcawl, today.
As ever, I found my target species, Grizzled Skipper, fairly promptly, and in the 45 minutes I was there I managed to locate 5 of them:

This is their prime habitat at this location:

Not much else on the wing; 6 Orange Tips, solitary Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell & Speckled Wood. I also saw 1 female and 2 male Brimstones, with the second male allowing a close approach as I returned to the car park:

[Goldie M]

David, I really am green now with envy lovely shots of the Grizzly , I want to cry keep them coming Goldie

[David M]

Thanks, Goldie. Hopefully you'll catch up with this species real soon.

Wednesday 20th April – Quick visit….

With a visit to Spain imminent, today was my last chance to get out and about locally for a while.

This meant I had time for an hour and a bit at Cwm Ivy, and in that brief window there were decent numbers of butterflies about.

Double figure numbers of Speckled Woods and Holly Blues was par for the course, but it was a female Orange Tip that was first to catch my eye:

Whilst photographing her, a male approached and flew around her for a short while:

I checked the steep bank on this site for early Brown Argus:

There were none, but I did see a Dingy Skipper:

Eight Green Veined Whites and three Brimstones completed the list for the day.

[David M]

Saturday 7th May – Hairstreak hunt….

First opportunity for me to catch up with some local UK species following a fortnight in Spain.

I took the easiest option which was a 10 minute drive to the back of Fairwood Common where I live:

I only needed to walk 100m to find my first Green Hairstreaks of the year, two individuals battling for territory close to the field margin:

Five were seen in total:

No sign of Marsh or Small Pearl Bordered Frits here yet. Another 5 days or so should see them out.

[Pauline]

Lovely shots of the Green Hairstreak David. I have been spending a fair bit of time with them this season and never tire of watching them.

[David M]

Thanks, Pauline. Yes, you've really done a job on the Greenstreaks this year. I'll be away again shortly so my chances will be limited.

Sunday 8th May – Reacquainting myself….

Always takes a little readjustment to get back into the UK swing of things after a week or two abroad.

This was made easier by a two hour visit to Cwm Ivy & Whiteford Burrows today, with this leisurely walk an ideal way to see how things had progressed in my neck of the woods since leaving for Spain on 20 April.

A handful of Brimstones eased me in, with a couple of Speckled Woods, a few Green Veined Whites and a Holly Blue making me feel at home.
Soon after emerging onto the dunes, I saw my first UK Common Blue of 2022:

Not long after, my first Brown Argus appeared:

A little while later, I broke my Small Heath duck too:

My last new species for the year was this pair of mating Small Blues:

I tend not to see many Dingy Skippers at this site, but there were eight this time; a very respectable return.

There were also a dozen or so Green Veined Whites, which seem to be having a decent spring:

A similar number of Orange Tips were recorded, including this male nectaring on garlic mustard:

A solitary male Large White was the only other butterfly; 11 species but not a single vanessid, proving that we have now moved conclusively into late spring.

[Neil Freeman]

A nice selection of late spring butterflies there David.

Cheers,

Neil.

[David M]

Thanks, Neil. It's a great time of year when the weather is nice. Missed out in 2021 with that long, dismal spell so great to be out with all the plants in rude health and the butterflies emerging in numbers.

Thursday 12th May – Kenfig Dunes….

I needed to meet someone in Llantwit Major this afternoon, so it made sense to call into Kenfig Dunes which is en route to see if I could find any Wall Browns.

It was raining when I arrived, but sunny conditions were arriving from the west and by 1pm the sky had turned blue.

It wasn’t long before I spotted a couple of Walls, which seemed intent on continually battling one another:

One of them kept coming back to the same area, so I just bided my time:

There were several more elsewhere:

I saw ten in total, including this female:

Around a dozen and a half Common Blues were about, along with a couple of Dingies and Small Blues:

Half a dozen Orange Tips, four Brimstones, three Speckled Woods and a couple of fresh-looking Red Admirals made up the cast, whilst there were orchids aplenty throughout the dune system:

[OwenE]

Nice photos, a birder I know had been telling me how well Kenfig was doing for Wall right now, looks like good numbers.