Trevor

[trevor]

On what is supposed to be the last day of the fine weather here in the south,
I decided on a return visit to Worthing after the super time had yesterday.
On arrival there was complete cloud cover, and little action, then a woman
visitor disturbed a grounded Long Tailed Blue which gave it's position away
by flying a very short distance and landing again on a pebble.
It's underside was well photographed as we waited for the sun to warm it up.
We were later treated to a fresh, pristine male when it felt some warmth.
The rest of the morning was quieter than yesterday, but still very rewarding.

It was good to see Pauline for the first time this season.

[bugboy]

Good to see old wonky wing still loitering down there

[Katrina]

More shots of perfect LTBs Well done for making the most of them!

[trevor]

Thanks Paul & Katrina.
I'm glad I made the most of yesterday's fine weather at Worthing.
It's raining here this morning.

[Goldie M]

Lovely shots Trevor, I've not seen the Butterfly yet, may be next year when I'm not has busy Goldie

[Wurzel]

As I said on Facebook "Wow, just wow!" Brilliant stuff Trevor

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[trevor]

Thanks Goldie. LTB's can be found near you, sometimes at Kingsdown.

Cheers for the WOW Wurzel, but I had to return it when I saw your BH shots .

I had a day of great variety today, but the day had a winding down feel to it.
As i arrived at Herstmonceux a Clouded Yellow flew across my path, one of four eventually seen.
The long brick wall that runs either side of the steps to the sundial was host to three male Wall Browns.
Other welcome sightings were of a very fresh Red Admiral, two Commas, many Small Coppers and
several male Common Blues.
The most bizarre find today was of a Clouded Yellow nectaring on a huge pink dahlia.

Trevor.

[Katrina]

A nice fresh blue badge copper there

[trevor]

Thanks Katrina. I was very pleased with the variety on offer yesterday.
Plenty of Small Coppers in the meadow near the maze.

[David M]

It's been a great last couple of weeks for those fortunate to live in that area, Trevor. It almost feels like you've hopped over the Channel and are reporting back from somewhere in France!

I hope you can all squeeze a few more days out of this spectacle before temperatures dip.

[millerd]

I very much envy you your proximity to the Herstmonceaux site, Trevor. It sounds a lovely spot to wander round, but with the added bonus of a great variety of butterflies at almost any time of the year.

Good to see you again at Worthing - again pretty local for you (at least when the A27 is behaving itself!). Some great shots of both Blues and Yellows too - the way things are going, the novelty of Long-Tailed Blues to finish the summer is going to fade! To be honest, I reckon some of us will have seen almost as many LTB as Painted Ladies this year.

Fingers crossed that some reasonable weather will return before winter sets in, and I'll make at least one more Sussex Coast visit - High & Over perhaps? Unless the third brood Walls have already finished...

Cheers,

Dave

[Neil Freeman]

Some excellent late season action there Trevor, the Cloudies and Wall Browns would have my envy meter climbing but LTBs as well

Cheers,

Neil.

[trevor]

Many thanks David, Dave and Neil.

I have always considered myself lucky to live in the Southeast at this time of year.

Today's visit to Herstmonceux was cut short when the fluffy white clouds filled in quickly,
and it started to rain.
Prtor to that butterfly sightings were relatively frequent, during an earlier cloudy spell
I was delighted to see a perfectly fresh Painted Lady waiting for the sun on a brick wall.
Talking of walls only one male Wall Brown appeared today.
Out in the meadow the Small Coppers were still all over the remaining thistle flowers,
as were several female Common Blues. I hope I managed to persuade two of the gardeners,
who were about to cut down the thistle area, to leave them until the frosts.
One of them was very surprised when I showed him just how many butterflies were still using the thistles.

[Katrina]

How marvellous to see a fresh Painted Lady and well done for persuading the gardeners to save the nectar sources!

[trevor]

Thanks Katrina. I'll report back on the thistles at Herstmonceux, hope they are still there.
Good to see you again today, looking forward to your shots. I looked around to say goodbye but you were too distant.

Trevor.

[Katrina]

Good to see you too - waiting too see if I missed any females or pairs!

[trevor]

I decided to give Worthing another go today as the forecast looked good.
In all I managed to photograph four male LTB's, unfortunately all had suffered some minor damage.
One specimen with only one tail posed beautifully for everyone's cameras, you couldn't fail with him!
Interest was maintained with some immaculate Clouded Yellows including another helice, again
many of the visitors were able to photograph it.
One of my highlights was a very fresh female Small White with wings fully open, they don't pose like that often.

It was good to meet Katrina, Neil Hulme, Lindsay Morris, Gary Linney and at last John Wiltshire.

[Old Wolf]

Hello Trevor, Some great shots you got today and a for the Helice and the small white.
Your third LTB looks like it could be the one I photographed on Sunday as the damage looks similar and if it is, it has been there at least four days now!

[Katrina]

Great Cloudie and Small White shots!

[trevor]

Thanks Old Wolf. Pleased that your long train journey was worthwhile.
It is likely that the same butterfly you saw was still there yesterday, I've met
several return visitors who have said " seen that one before ".

Thanks Katrina, I was particularly pleased with the Small White shot.
They don't often pose like that.