Duke of Burgundy - Favourite Photo 2022

[Wurzel]

Duke of Burgundy - Favourite Photo 2022

Week 5

Well things are motoring along nicely and as usual as soon as the Winter Social is in the offing various rail workers decided to strike! Oh well if I set out on foot next week on Thursday I should get to the Old Forge by lunchtime on the Saturday! To cheer us up here are the next set of Favourites.

Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos as then it will be easier to keep track of things? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As in previous years details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome as would any accompanying stories and anecdotes or other observations of behaviour and interesting other points.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

I was fortunate enough to see this species at several spots this year: the Chilterns, Wiltshire, Sussex and Hampshire. Out of all these, I think my visit to Noar Hill on 18th April stands out because of the particular individuals I came across: a pristine female, an equally new male, and an unusual male with very dark hindwings lacking most of the usual markings.

Dave

[Stevieb]

A visit to Battlesbury Hill, Warminster, Wiltshire on 25th April enabled me to connect with a nice fresh male. My earliest date for this species.

[Neil Freeman]

During a visit to see our daughter in Emsworth in April, Mark Tutton had arranged to meet me at Butser Hill and show me around. He mentioned that, given the good weather, we may be fortunate in seeing an early DoB and we descended down the steep slopes into Rake Bottom for a look. After wandering back and forth for a while we spotted one which actually turned out to be a nice Duchess. Mark told me that this was the earliest he has ever seen this species at this spot.

Duke of Burgundy female - Butser Hill 16.04.2022

A little later we had a glimpse of a male but I only managed to get a single record shot.

A couple of days later I returned for another look and managed to find what I believe to be the same male seen previously and this time managed to get a couple of better shots.

Duke of Burgundy male - Butser Hill 18.04.2022

Cheers,

Neil

[Phil Bowler]

A visit to a very out of the way haunt in the North Yorkshire Moors to see the Duke himself. And the Duchess as it happened.
A decent upperside shot basking on low flora.

We were very lucky to come across this lovely underside capture on bluebells.

[Wurzel]

Duke of Burgundy

I thought that have a difficult job choosing my Favourite shot for Duke of Burgundy this year as not only did Fovant hold good numbers but they put in a very decent showing at Sidbury – my Duke Site of old. In the end I settled on two but I couldn’t decide between them. The first was from my first trip to Fovant and once I’d found it in the little quarry I realised that there was something different about it. The orange markings across both the wings were washed out and almost off-white and the ground colour was less chocolate and more grey brown than usual – a cracking ab.leucodes. I photographed one before but it was quite old and this was fresh out of the box.

The second also came from the little quarry at Fovant but was a few weeks later. I dropped in one my way home from photographing Glannies and was chuffed to find 5 or 6 Dukes all buzzing about in the bowl of the quarry. This one stood out as it was still really fresh and the total opposite of the leucodes, the orange shining out from the rich chocolate background and sitting in the three quarters open pose that I love.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Only got one opportunity in the UK this year, on 14th May at Rodborough Common, Glos:

[bugboy]

My first mating pair makes the cut

and a rather lovely Duchess