Fingers crossed I get to see some. 
Goldie David M
Re: David M
Love your Grizzly shots David , Fingers crossed I get to see some. Goldie
Fingers crossed I get to see some. Goldie 
Re: David M
Few things would give me greater pleasure than knowing you had finally found this butterfly, Goldie. 
Sunday 14th May – Misty morning…
With two successive overseas tours pending, today was my last chance before June to do some serious domestic butterflying.
With the weather forecast predicting sunshine & light winds, I drove to Rodborough Common, arriving just after 9.30am. Sadly, the forecast was woefully inaccurate as there was a fairly heavy layer of misty cloud when I arrived:
Nothing at all was flying, so I slowly made my way round to the main Duke of Burgundy lek and sat around for 20 minutes hoping the cloud would lift.
A brief bright interlude saw a Green Hairstreak, a Dingy Skipper and a couple of Brown Argus take flight, but I had to wait for another quarter of an hour until my first Duke appeared, a male at the bottom of the steep slope:
Things started to improve ever so slightly after that, and as I made my way back along the combe I started seeing more butterflies, with Dingy Skipper & Brown Argus being the most frequent:
With the sun now starting to burn through the clouds, I managed to find a handful more Dukes on my way back to where I’d parked my car. This male was first:
I then found this female:
The only other butterfly I photographed was this female Orange Tip during a period when the clouds descended again:
So, in summary, not a great return but the weather was to blame for that. Just 5 Dukes and no more than 40 or so butterflies in total.
Sunday 14th May – Misty morning…
With two successive overseas tours pending, today was my last chance before June to do some serious domestic butterflying.
With the weather forecast predicting sunshine & light winds, I drove to Rodborough Common, arriving just after 9.30am. Sadly, the forecast was woefully inaccurate as there was a fairly heavy layer of misty cloud when I arrived:
A brief bright interlude saw a Green Hairstreak, a Dingy Skipper and a couple of Brown Argus take flight, but I had to wait for another quarter of an hour until my first Duke appeared, a male at the bottom of the steep slope:
Re: David M
Hi, David
Well, despite the bad weather you saw more Dukes than I have on Rodborough Common which still totals zero for me. My only Duke was at Selsley Common. It may be that I just went to the location you visited a bit late.
Well, despite the bad weather you saw more Dukes than I have on Rodborough Common which still totals zero for me. My only Duke was at Selsley Common. It may be that I just went to the location you visited a bit late.
Ernie F
Re: David M
My one and only trip to Rodborough Common was very similar David. A forecast of sunshine saw me sat in the car park with torrential rain beating down on the roof of the car. I spent the time composing an email to the BBC in my head asking if their weather forecasting people underwent annual appraisals. When the sun did appear, fortunately a few Dukes emerged making it worthwhile. Your photos are fantastic so hopefully you were happy with the adventure.
Re: David M
I'm sure you'll find them soon enough, ernie. In sunny conditions I usually rack up a dozen and a half by searching the sheltered edges of the combes.
Thanks, Otep. There have been many times when I have cursed the weather forecasters over the years. That morning was one of them!Otep wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 10:42 amMy one and only trip to Rodborough Common was very similar David. A forecast of sunshine saw me sat in the car park with torrential rain beating down on the roof of the car. I spent the time composing an email to the BBC in my head asking if their weather forecasting people underwent annual appraisals. When the sun did appear, fortunately a few Dukes emerged making it worthwhile. Your photos are fantastic so hopefully you were happy with the adventure.
Re: David M
Sunday 14th May – Into Herefordshire…
In the early afternoon I made my way from Gloucestershire to Herefordshire, stopping at Ewyas Harold Common for my surreal annual fix of plenty of a very rare butterfly and not much of anything else.
Sure enough, there were fair numbers of Pearl Bordered Fritillaries around – I counted around 30 in the hour and a half I was there. The males were racing round as per usual but the females were typically more sedate:
The site was pretty wet after all the rain this spring, but it was green and lush as a result:
The hotspot around the sheltered gully was a little drier:
Just three other butterflies seen: single specimens of Small White, Peacock and Orange Tip.
In the early afternoon I made my way from Gloucestershire to Herefordshire, stopping at Ewyas Harold Common for my surreal annual fix of plenty of a very rare butterfly and not much of anything else.
Sure enough, there were fair numbers of Pearl Bordered Fritillaries around – I counted around 30 in the hour and a half I was there. The males were racing round as per usual but the females were typically more sedate:
Re: David M
Friday 2nd June – Poor numbers still…
Having arrived back from France the previous evening, I thought the best idea was to stay local this morning and check out what was about on Fairwood Common.
The terrain has dried out significantly since mid-May as it has not rained at all here, but once again there were very poor numbers of butterflies.
The first one I saw was this male Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary:
He was typically flighty, but shortly afterwards I came across this more accommodating female:
There were no Marsh Fritillaries, although this area of the Common was burned in early spring so they may have been wiped out in this particular spot.
The only other butterflies seen were 5 Small Heaths, 3 Common Blues and 2 worn Green Hairstreaks.
Having arrived back from France the previous evening, I thought the best idea was to stay local this morning and check out what was about on Fairwood Common.
The terrain has dried out significantly since mid-May as it has not rained at all here, but once again there were very poor numbers of butterflies.
The first one I saw was this male Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary:
The only other butterflies seen were 5 Small Heaths, 3 Common Blues and 2 worn Green Hairstreaks.
Re: David M
Well done with the SPBF, David. As of Friday they had yet to appear locally.
Re: David M
Thanks, Trevor. Strange SPBFs are ahead yet the Marsh Frits are way behind.
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essexbuzzard
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Re: David M
You’re certainly having the best of the weather over your side of the country at the moment, David. Overcast and just 14C over here today. Glad to see you’re enjoying it while it lasts...
Re: David M
Swansea has been sunny and warm for nearly a month now, Mark.
Shame is that I've been abroad for most of it!!
Shame is that I've been abroad for most of it!!
Re: David M
Hi! David, sounds like you've been checking out the Butterflies in Greece When I was there ages ago a huge Snake emerged from the grass there , I'd just moved to climb up over this bit of a fence and when I looked back there was the Snake, needless to say i kept to the paths after that Goldie
When I was there ages ago a huge Snake emerged from the grass there , I'd just moved to climb up over this bit of a fence and when I looked back there was the Snake, needless to say i kept to the paths after that Goldie Re: David M
Saturday 3rd June – Seriously concerning…
With just two days before my trip to Greece, I thought I’d stay local again and check to see if Marsh Fritillaries were about at Welshmoor, which is a 20 minute drive from my home.
This is a site with more even ground than my local Common, but in spite of spending almost an hour in the hotspots, none were seen. I have to presume they are yet to emerge. This is now the latest I’ve ever waited for them.
Even more concerning was the sheer lack of butterflies on a warm, sunny morning. Just two were seen – a faded Green Hairstreak and a Large Skipper, which was my first of the year:
The Skipper was found in a particularly favoured Marsh Fritillary hotspot (normally) where there are copious ragged robin blooms:
Catching up with these Fritillaries will be my first job upon my return.
With just two days before my trip to Greece, I thought I’d stay local again and check to see if Marsh Fritillaries were about at Welshmoor, which is a 20 minute drive from my home.
This is a site with more even ground than my local Common, but in spite of spending almost an hour in the hotspots, none were seen. I have to presume they are yet to emerge. This is now the latest I’ve ever waited for them.
Even more concerning was the sheer lack of butterflies on a warm, sunny morning. Just two were seen – a faded Green Hairstreak and a Large Skipper, which was my first of the year:
Re: David M
Been several snakes in Greece over the last few days, Goldie. They don't bother me; I find them quite interesting.
Sunday 4th June – Depressing theme continues…
A trip to Kenfig NNR on a beautiful sunny morning gave me hope that I would see plenty of butterflies.
Sadly, that proved not to be the case as in spite of continued good weather in this part of south Wales, numbers continue to be exceptionally poor.
I had hoped to see a few Wall Browns, which are normally reliable at this site. However, in spite of nearly two hours in the dunes none were seen, with very little of anything else making the situation rather depressing.
This sheltered crater is usually the best spot for megera:
Re: David M
Wednesday 14th June – Common assault…
Fresh from a cracking week in north Greece, my first task now home was to visit my local common to see if I could find any Marsh Fritillaries.
I did, but only four, all worn males:
I also checked out this drier area for any lingering Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries:
Surprisingly, there were none, but at least I got to see over two dozen butterflies in the 50 minutes I was there, which is an improvement on how things were prior to me leaving for Greece on 5th June.
Fresh from a cracking week in north Greece, my first task now home was to visit my local common to see if I could find any Marsh Fritillaries.
I did, but only four, all worn males:
Re: David M
Thursday 15th June – Dark Green Fritillaries…
The weather since I returned to the UK from Greece has been positively Mediterranean, so I fancied a trip down to Alun Valley, near Bridgend, to look for a few Fritillaries.
I arrived just after 8.30am, and saw my first Dark Green Frit within 5 minutes.
Plenty more followed, particularly in the meadow at the bottom of the site:
Surprisingly, in spite of the bright conditions, quite a few settled with their wings closed:
It was impossible to keep an exact count but I reckon around a dozen were seen, although all were active males and getting close to them took quite some effort and patience.
The weather since I returned to the UK from Greece has been positively Mediterranean, so I fancied a trip down to Alun Valley, near Bridgend, to look for a few Fritillaries.
I arrived just after 8.30am, and saw my first Dark Green Frit within 5 minutes.
Plenty more followed, particularly in the meadow at the bottom of the site:
Re: David M
Just love those images David - if I get any shots this season half as good as that I'll be well pleased
Re: David M
A for the closed wing DGF on the fern. Wish I had taken that!.
Aren't High Browns seen at that site also ?.
for the closed wing DGF on the fern. Wish I had taken that!.Aren't High Browns seen at that site also ?.