millerd

[millerd]

I knew I'd tantalise you with one more Small White, Wurzel. I wish I'd been able to get a bit closer to that one as it looked quite unusual. Autumn Commas have been distinctly sparse this year (certainly compared to autumn 2021), but looking back, the same thing was true of 2020 and they were fine the following spring. Their life-cycle is not as straightforward as some, so it is very hard to guess what may be going on.

On 25th September, the favourable forecast cemented my plans to head out on another major expedition, in search of a species I hadn't seen since 2017. Prompted by some intriguing reports from Kent (many thanks to AllanW and others for details), I headed to an abandoned cereal field on the edge of Walmer. By the time I arrived, it had clouded over somewhat and there was a bit of a cool breeze, but there were already several like-minded folk dotted around the field, including a concentration in one particular spot.

The centre of attention was a very fresh female Queen of Spain Fritillary. Initially, only the underside was on display, but it was stunning: the trademark silver patches were set off beautifully by the overall gold and chestnut of the other markings.

Eventually, increasingly warm sunshine did cause the butterfly to open up and become mobile, revealing un unblemished upperside.

It was a very popular butterfly...

I managed at one point to get on the otherside of it and achieved a "stained glass" shot, which I think always shows fritillaries off to good advantage.

Others of the species were also appearing now, largely males that had a few signs of wear. An attempt was made by someone to introduce the new female to one of these males: they appeared not the least bit interested in each other, but made very nice shots for comparing how the two sexes differ in appearance.

While looking around the site, I did come across other species of butterfly (though not many).

However, my attention soon returned (along with ever-increasing amounts of sunshine) to the QoS. I found several different males, but I think I will complete this account of the day in a second part.

Dave

[bugboy]

Better weather than I got a few days later .

I was chatting to a few locals about the future of the field and it seems the proposed development is dependent on more than just this field, and apparently someone who owns one of the others isn't willing to sell, so perhaps they may have a home for a few years yet...fingers crossed.

[millerd]

That's encouraging news, Paul. The chap I spoke to was full of doom and gloom about a big housing project, rerouting of roads and the disappearance of this field (amongst others) - all prompted when I wondered aloud about why the cereal crop hadn't been harvested. The other positive aspect is that the species was seen in several Kent locations, so even if one or two sites don't work out, maybe others will. As you say, fingers crossed.

So, back to the butterflies. I saw perhaps a further half dozen and managed a few shots of some of them. As I think Bugboy mentioned, the rather monochrome backdrop of the dried-up cereal certainly set off the colours of the butterflies. They weren't too difficult to approach, and though the males had the Wall-like habit of settling on the path ahead of you, they didn't have that species' annoying habit of flying off just as you got suitably close.

One or two slightly different views...

...and finally a closer look at the first butterfly of the day, arguably the most stunning of the lot.

Another brilliant day, with once again some amazing butterflies and some great company (at least one of whom had been on Worthing sea front on 21st. Hi, Monica! ). Hopefully, this species will follow in the footsteps of the Long-Tailed Blue and make much more regular appearances in the UK. Its habits are rather different, however, and it could conceivably become semi-resident rather than a regular migrant like the LTB. Either way, it would be most welcome!

Dave

[David M]

...They weren't too difficult to approach, and though the males had the Wall-like habit of settling on the path ahead of you, they didn't have that species' annoying habit of flying off just as you got suitably close...

Bang on, Dave. QoS is very much a creature of 'the track', seeming to have a predisposition to settling on it and often returning to favoured patches within a relatively small area.

The undersides are probably the most beautiful of any European Fritillary and it would be lovely if they could establish themselves here, although that won't be helped by further loss of habitat to housing development.

[Wurzel]

Cracking sequence of shots Dave Interesting to read about them sitting on the track - all the ones I've seen have seemed to favour vegetation but then I've only seen a few Hopefully there won't be many more whites...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[trevor]

Great reports from Walmer Dave. I was tempted but Worthing was tempting too!.
A few for your shots ( several stunners there ).

Wonderful stuff,
Trevor.

[Allan.W.]

Excellent Report Dave !...................looks like i left a little too early on the 25th ,would loved to have seen that glorious female,
but i,m not complaining !....................seeing the Queens was Almost (but not quite !) my best butterfly moment of 22'
Allan.W.

[Padfield]

Just brilliant pictures of the Queens, Dave. I'd be really interested to know if they are able to gain a foothold. My fear is that the British winter is just too long and damp - and not cold enough. But they seem to manage just the other side of the Channel (assuming their numbers are not constantly topped up by immigrants from further south ...), so maybe!

Guy

[Benjamin]

Much like Paul’s, these late season reports make for some great reading Dave. Fantastic photos and write ups - great stuff.

[millerd]

Thank you for the appreciative comments, David, Wurzel, Trevor, Allan, Guy and Ben - it was very much worth the effort involved in getting down to Walmer, and the butterflies cooperated as well, which is always a bonus. I was particularly pleased with some of those shots as the two QoS I had encountered back in 2017 in Sussex had been rather more worn than these. Overall though, they didn't seem to be too difficult to photograph - though I imagine on warmer sunnier days things might be different.

Seeing the Queens brought my year tally to 53 species, which I was very pleased with - considering I had missed out on any of the ones I'd been planning to see up north this year. Thinking about it, my planning for 2022 has been completely upended, and the old adage of expect the unexpected has been very apposite - in good ways as well as some not so good.

26th September was back down to earth (or my local patch at least). It was cooler (only 16 degrees) and not particularly sunny, and I only saw six species: Comma, Speckled Wood, Large White, Small White, Small Copper and third brood Common Blue.

Dave

[millerd]

27th September was duller and cooler than the day before, only reaching 15 degrees. However, the weather was about return to its unusually warm 2022 self, as the daily maximum local to me at Heathrow did not now drop below this figure until 3rd November. Anyway, I didn't go out again until 28th September when there was a bit more sunshine, though I didn't go far. As it happened, I didn't need to really as there were highlights within a short distance of home.

Third Brood Holly Blues are a regular feature of my local patch, normally popping up between mid-October and mid-November. However, the warmth of 2022 seemed to have advanced things somewhat and I'd already seen one or two. Today, within a couple of hundred metres of home I found first a fresh female, and then immediately afterwards a fresh male.

Autumn conditions always seem perfect for them to open up at lower levels like this.

A single somewhat ragged Small White stopped by briefly...

...and then higher up on some flowering ivy I spotted another Holly Blue - but it was a much older individual and was too far away and at the wrong angle for a photo. However, lower down on a still-flowering buddleia was another typical autumn sight - a new Red Admiral.

Dave

[essexbuzzard]

Lovely Holly Blues in particular, Dave. I don’t see many in autumn this side of London but, like you, I find they open up much better in the weak autumn sunshine than they do in the strong sun of late spring and summer.

[bugboy]

Gorgeous Holly Blues. Didn't see many this year

[millerd]

Thanks, Mark. It's one of the things I've started to look forward to in autumn! There are a couple more late-season Holly Blue stunners to come I think, and certainly quite a few more sightings in October overall (and even one today - 9th November).

Cheers, Paul - even with a hiatus in my observations during the height of the summer, Holly Blues have been the third most frequently seen species in 2022 on my local patch (after Meadow Brown and Common Blue). First sighting 26th March, and latest sighting today. The first brood peaked in May, the second in July, and the (much less numerous) third was more drawn-out September/October. I'd miss them if they weren't here!

29th September was nothing special - nine butterflies of six species, but only a couple of photos. A standard autumn Comma feeding up pre-hibernation...

...and an otherwise fresh-looking Speckled Wood that had unfortunately met with a fairly drastic accident.

Overall, I went out locally on 18 of September's 30 days, but only saw 13 different species during the month here. Numbers of all these were lower than previous years, with the notable exception of the Speckled Wood. Sightings of Small White, Comma and Red Admiral were significantly lower, and everything else less markedly so. As the vegetation at the start of the month had only just started to recover after the lengthy drought, none of this is surprising. Speckled Woods (and to some extent Holly Blues too), inhabitants of shady woodlands, were probably less affected.

Dave

[millerd]

Now for what was to turn into an amazingly warm October. It started with a sunny day on the 1st, and temperatures nudging 20 degrees locally. Disappointingly, this only translated into ten butterfly sightings of just four species - though half were Common Blues...

...and one was a Peacock. Whether wakened from hibernation, or a second brooder, I wouldn't like to guess.

The other butterflies comprised three Small Whites...

...and more traditionally for the time of year, a nicely posing Red Admiral.

Though in the same spot as the one seen a few days earlier, it was a different individual.

Dave

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Dave. I've still never seen a third brood Holly Blue up here

Your local patch certainly carries on much longer than mine, I haven't seen anything since the second week of October (Speckled Wood) and that was actually quite late for around here. We did have a lot of mild weather in October but this was accompanied on most days by thick cloud and quite a bit of rain. We also had our first light frosts earlier in the month before it turned milder.

Cheers,

Neil.

[trevor]

Just seen your fresh, third brood Holly Blues, Dave.
Better still, lovely shots of both sexes

Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Crickey Dave - that male Common Blue is in excellent nick Your patch keeps on producing the goods - it must be the 'Heathrow heat bubble'

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Those relatively few miles northwest seem to make a significant difference, Neil. Third brood Holly Blues would be missed here if they failed to appear.

Thank you, Trevor - there are some more fresh ones to come, and a month more of sightings of the species...

Cheers, Wurzel. More remarkable is the fact that I saw a fairly fresh Common Blue today (13th November), a full six weeks after the one above. Extraordinary, really.

2nd October was perhaps even better than 1st, with more warm sunshine. Two consecutive days of this clearly woke up more butterflies: 20 were seen, of nine species - a species count higher than any day in September. The tally looked like this:

Common Blue 5 (1f, 4m)
Small White 4
Brimstone 3 (2f, 1m)
Comma 2
Red Admiral 2
Holly Blue 1
Large White 1
Peacock 1
Speckled Wood 1

female

male

Dave

[millerd]

Though just as warm as the first two days of the month, 3rd October was less sunny, and fewer butterflies were around. I still managed one or two shots.

This Holly Blue was spotted in a neighbour's garden, but was too far away to be properly caught on camera. However, I like to have the record at this end of the year: it might be the last (though unlikely if I'm honest with myself... ).

Dave