millerd

[bugboy]

Good to see you posting again Dave, this place has been a little empty without you! Hopefully I'll bump into you in a field (or on a hill) somewhere before the season dies

[Pauline]

Pleased to see you back Dave - you've been missed!

[David M]

Pleased to see you back Dave - you've been missed!

Ditto. Welcome back, Dave.

[millerd]

Thanks again to you all for the very kind wishes - I'm really quite touched by it all. I'm still taking things relatively easy, but September butterflies locally are taking a bit of seeking out, which isn't helping!

Back to June again, and the summer solstice (21st) which for once was blessed with a high percentage of the possible 16+ hours of sunshine.

I drove over to Hadleigh Country Park in Essex, to my annual rendezvous with the White-letter Hairstreaks along the path from Leigh-on-Sea Station. Fortified with a coffee from the outlet at the station (which was very quiet as a strike loomed later in the day), I soon encountered a few WLH, but all were high up or lurking well back in the brambles or sitting as dark silhouettes against the brilliant sun - or a combination of all three at once... After a few shots of the resident Commas...

...I left them to it, reasoning that they would still be here later and might have become more amenable by then, and walked up to the castle.

It was quite windy out in the open, and the various skippers flying, along with Marbled Whites...

...were being blown around all over the place. I managed a shot or two - Small, Essex and Large Skippers were present: This one is (I think) a Small Skipper...

...and these two are Essex.

On the way back to the shelter of the WLH path, I spotted two or three more of the species flying over some of the other scrubby elms that border the track, but none came down even to head height. One or two female Holly Blues tried to spark my interest by posing briefly on the brambles, but I wasn't fooled. Brambles are their main food plant at this site, and the emergence of the first brood is delayed to match the flowering of this plant.

The WLH were indeed a little more helpful when I got back to them, but not as much as in previous years - though there were reasonable numbers overall I'd say.

Cheers,

Dave

[essexbuzzard]

Glad Essex provided the goods, Dave. I left it too late this year. I went on 1 July, only to find the WLH has already finished!

[millerd]

Cheers, Mark - this is such a reliable spot, and well worth the trip round the M25. I didn't even venture into any of the nearby Heath Frit sites this time as I had seen plenty of those earlier in the month in Hockley Woods and it was a pretty warm day.

The following day (22nd June) was also very warm and sunny, and I went down to see what Chiddingfold was offering. No Emperors as yet, but the recent dry weather meant other species were looking for moisture on the path. White Admirals frequently indulged - though they are very restless and rarely get engrossed in one patch the way their larger cousins do.

Several Red Admirals behaved similarly...

and I also saw a couple of SWF, Commas and Meadow Browns likewise engaged. The first fresh Ringlets had started to appear - this is a good place to see them.

Dave

[trevor]

I think your Red Admiral at Chiddingfold is the same one that was giving
some pretty convincing Emperor like flying displays when I was there!

[Wurzel]

Great set of posts Dave - you'll have overtaken in next to no time Those Purple Hairstreak shots are pretty similar to the ones I got but the Whitters - cracking - those tails! Also interesting to see the difference in the Commas int he depth of their markings

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Yes, Trevor - Red Admirals down at Chiddingfold definitely take lessons in Emperor emulation!

Cheers, Wurzel - for some reason I've yet to see a Purple Hairstreak down low on my local patch for long enough to photograph, though treetop cavorting is another matter entirely...

Back on home turf again on 23rd June, and the usual walk (prolonged somewhat by the sheer numbers) proved to be one of the most productive of the year. I counted 16 species and a total of well over 300 individual butterflies. With numbers that high, no count is going to be particularly accurate, but 200+ Meadow Browns were (predictably) notable and there were double figures of both Small and Essex Skippers, Small Heaths, Red Admirals and Commas. A Hummingbird Hawk Moth provided a bonus.

The remaining species seen were: Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Large Skipper, Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Marbled White, Common Blue, and all three common Whites. Considering that in the few days either side of this date I also saw Holly Blue, Small Copper, Purple Hairstreak, Brown Argus, Peacock and Gatekeeper, it just shows what variety this site can offer at the peak of the season.

Here is a selection. With both Small and Essex Skippers now emerging in numbers simultaneously, it was particularly tricky to establish the ratio of one to t'other. Honours were about even today I'd guess...

Dave

[trevor]

Lovely and unusual final shot in the above sequence, Dave.
I'm guessing Essex, but the two still trip me up!

[millerd]

Thanks again, Trevor - I should have labelled those Skippers, but once you commit to an ID some cleverclogs like Bugboy will come along and point out something obvious that you should have spotted...

I find that on a warm, bright (rather than blazingly sunny) day, getting close up shots of skippers from appealing angles is an absorbing pursuit - and Essex are definitely slightly cuter than Small.

Oh go on then... Here are my IDs for the ones above:

Three Smalls, a Large, and three Essex.

Cheers,

Dave

[bugboy]

Hi Dave, just looking at your pics and couldn't help but notice on the front tibia of the second 'Essex Skipper', the hairs look slightly longer so it's clearly a..... (I can't really talk so soon after my HBF situation a while back )

[Maximus]

Hi, Dave, glad to see that you're back and on the mend you were conspicuous by your absence. Nice selection of of Small and Essex Skippers, which I tend to find a challenge to photograph as they're.. well, small, and usually perched low down somewhere, involving a certain amount of crawling around

[millerd]

Well Paul, no one has queried those skippers yet, so they may be correct... Still, I have a few more to come so plenty of scope for future faux pas!

Cheers, Mike, and thank you for your good wishes - you're right, you really have to get down to their level. The main problem is getting up again.

24th June saw me back down at Bookham. All seemed relatively quiet (it was quite cloudy), though a newish Ringlet was encouraged to open up in the lower light levels.

There were White Admirals...

...and Silver-washed Fritillaries...

...and sometimes both at once.

With nothing more to see, I drove a few miles north for a rather different species.

Dave

[millerd]

I arrived at Fairmile Common with the same mix of bright cloudiness. However, it was enough for a selection of male Silver-studded Blues to be flying, though I didn't see a single female.

Aside from this species, there was very little else flying.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Lovely Silver-studs Dave but that final shot of the Essex is a cracker - to me it shows the cheeky nature of this species Just remember; if in doubt it's a Smessex

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel - almost certainly the Smessex is the commonest skipper hereabouts...

There are a few more here, but as ever, I shall stick my neck out and mix a metaphor above the parapet and assign them identities.

25th June wasn't as warm and I saw fewer butterflies over all on my local patch on the day, perhaps half as many as a few days earlier.

A selection:

Essex

Essex

Small

Small

Small

Dave

[Katrina]

The vertical Essex with the pink flowers in the background is very pretty

[millerd]

Thank you, Katrina - they make a good subject I always think despite their lack of showiness.

On 26th June, I decided that Chiddingfold should the target again - surely an Emperor would be appearing soon...

In fact, one of the first appearances of the day was Katrina herself! We spent a lot of time searching for the elusive Emperors, but it was a while before we struck lucky, and then only briefly.

Early on, I spotted a female Large Skipper with a male alongside trying his luck - unsuccessfully as it turned out.

There were lots of new Ringlets around today, but it was too sunny for them to open up.

White Admirals ruled the rides, and often touched down on the surface of the paths in order to seek out minerals and moisture.

They also nectared on Brambles and just basked on bracken.

One had to share its vantage point.

Less frequently seen were the SWF.

Finally, there was at last a brief appearance of a very unsettled Purple Emperor. Both Katrina and I saw the butterfly fly past, and jointly did a bit of a double-take before Katrina managed to trace it just down a shady bit of narrow grassy path to the side. It made a short stop on the ground, but only just long enough for the event to be recorded.

It was a start I suppose - maybe future days would be better. Good company and much chat on an otherwise rather frustrating morning - cheers, Katrina!



Dave

[Wurzel]

It may have been a start but it was still 10 times better than the best I could manage this year Dave Myself and Mr Emperor/Papa Purps are going to fall out soon

Have a goodun

Wurzel