Thanks David. Small Coppers seem to have had a decent year around my patch.
Thanks Pauline. I put that photo on the Sussex BC website when I reported my sightings but didn't have time down at Sarah's to do a proper report for on here until now I am back home.
Monday 5th September.
A week or so back, our daughter Sarah called us and asked if we wanted to go and spend a couple of days with her down in Emsworth. Her husband had been home on leave for a couple of weeks from Poland where he is currently deployed as part of the NATO presence but was going back on Sunday 4th so she asked if we wanted to go down the following day and stop for a couple of nights.
After a spectacular thunderstorm on Sunday night we left home on Monday morning in pleasant sunny conditions but on the way down we drove through all sorts of weather ranging from nice sunny spells to black clouds and showers of really heavy rain. We arrived in Emsworth at 12.30 in drizzly rain but Sarah mentioned it had been dry earlier and was supposed to brighten up again later in the afternoon.
Thorney Island.
After settling in and catching up over a sandwich and a coffee, it did indeed look to be brightening up a bit so I decided to take advantage and go out for a couple of hours. After driving down in the morning, I did not fancy driving far so thought I would go and have a look on Thorney Island, this only being 10 minutes from Sarah’s house. As I was driving through Emsworth there was a short sharp shower but on turning off for Thorney Island and arriving at the small parking area just past the marina it had stopped and although still cloudy the skies were looking a lighter grey. I set off along the path that circles around the island and noticed that much clearer skies were heading over, including some large patches of blue sky.
To start with I didn’t see much, just a couple of Speckled Wood and Small Whites, but after being buzzed through the barracks gate and walking further down towards the southern end, I began to see a few more butterflies including a few Small Heath, a couple of Red Admirals and a Comma along with more Speckled Woods and Small Whites.
- Small Heath - Thorney Island 05.09.2022
- Red Admiral - Thorney Island 05.09.2022
I also spotted a Small Copper by where the path reaches the stretch of shingle beach.
- Small Copper - Thorney Island 05.09.2022
I went as far as where the access road leads to the beach from the barracks and looked around the meadow area with lots of fleabane which looked to be the likeliest spot to maybe see a Clouded Yellow. By now, the blue skies had reached us and in the warm sun there were more Small Whites flying around here. After a few minutes I spotted a yellow shape flying back and forth at high speed around the area, a Clouded Yellow and my first one this year.
I watched as it quartered back and forth over the area and saw when it suddenly dropped down into the vegetation. I slowly approached the spot where it had disappeared, hoping to find it perhaps nectaring on a flower, but before I got there it was up again with a second one. It looked like the first one was a male that had found a female and over the next few minutes I watched as they repeatedly flew high into the air then dropped down again before charging back and forth just above the vegetation. I tried to fire off a few shots of them in flight but most of the time they were too far away and moving too fast. The only shot that I got that wasn’t just a couple of small blurred yellow blobs was the one below which is cropped quite a bit but at least confirms they were definitely a male and female.
- Clouded Yellow pair - Thorney Island 05.09.2022
After a few minutes of watching them perform, they flew off over the shrubs to the back of this area and didn’t return. I assume the male was successful and they had dropped down out of sight to mate.
I then checked the time which was now 4.15pm and realised that I had better make a move as I had told Jane and Sarah that I would be back by 5.00pm…not much chance of that now with the distance I had to walk back to the car…oops!
I had just started back when I spotted a ‘white’ that didn’t look right and when it settled on a patch of fleabane I realised that it was a
helice female Clouded Yellow. I made my slow approach and managed to fire off a few shots as I got closer before it took off and flew over the nearby fence into the MOD area.
- Clouded Yellow helice - Thorney Island 05.09.2022
- Clouded Yellow helice - Thorney Island 05.09.2022
I then stepped it out back the way I had come, seeing what were probably the same butterflies that I had previously seen on the way down. I did wonder about carrying on to do the complete circuit but never having done this before I wasn't sure if that would take me even longer to get back.
On my wander down earlier, I had noticed a number of birds, including Greenshanks, Curlew, Godwits, Oystercatchers, Little Egret and Heron, all out on the mudflats and too far away for any worthwhile photos. There was also a Kestrel hovering over one of the fields and at one point I watched a large bird quartering back and forth over a field by the Great Deep. At first I thought it was a buzzard but its behaviour put me more in mind of a Marsh Harrier but unfortunately it was too far away to be sure one way or the other.
I also spotted a few Wheatears (I think) flying back and forth along the rockier stretches between the path and the sea.
- Wheatear - Thorney Island 05.09.2022
- Wheatear - Thorney Island 05.09.2022
I arrived back at Sarah’s at 5.45pm and luckily they had assumed that I would make the most of the decent spell of sunshine, so I wasn’t in the doghouse for being late.
In fact the second half of the afternoon had turned out much better than the forecast had indicated and although more thunderstorms were forecast for overnight, my fingers were crossed for a window in the weather sometime during the next day.
To be continued...
Neil.
Feels a bit strange to see butterflies in this condition at the end of summer.
Goldie 
