Goldie M

[Goldie M]

At last I found a Comma I went to Clowes Wood this afternoon and I was just about to leave when I spotted this flash of Orange in the bush there, by this time the sky had turned very cloudy and it looked like it was staying on the leaf to shelter, the look on it's face made me smile, it seemed to say " about time too "

Also there was a fresh looking Red Admiral and of course lots of Meadow Browns, I'd a Meadow Brown in my Garden this Morning , it looked a bit weary but it's the first I've seen in the Garden , hope fully other species will follow.

Goldie

[Wurzel]

Good things come to those that wait Goldie - great that the Commas turned up! You'll be tripping over them now

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Nice to see those Marbled Whites and the Gatekeeper, Goldie. I'm sure Commas will increase in number very soon....along with the other members of that group.

[Goldie M]

Thanks for your posts Wurzel and David, I went to East Blean Woods over the week-end but I saw nothing , I think things here are very slow, the Heath's were numerous there this time last year but I've yet to see them so this year, I didn't go right into the woods as a man arrived with four huge dogs , that put me right off I've still got the marks from the dog bite so I'm afraid I'm a bit of a coward at present

The weather here was cloudy and we did get a bit of rain, Thursday hope fully will be Sunny , I plan to go back to Monkton Nature Reserve then , no Dogs allowed there because there's Snakes there , we didn't see any but they warned us to keep to the Paths, there's also birds of prey there , it makes it a very interesting place to visit

I did take a couple of shots in the garden on the 1st and 2nd of July of a GVW and a Holly Blue, I'm surprised the Hollies are still around , there's also loads of Whites visiting at present, many more Whites than any thing else at present.Goldie

[dave brown]

Hi Goldie. I saw 19 Heath Fritillaries at East Blean Woods today after midday. I found the best spot was the footpath that runs parallel to the road to the left of the entrance to the car park. Plently of Ringlets in the same area. Excellent amount of Cow Wheat throughout the wood. Dave

Heath Fritillary

Heath Fritillary

[millerd]

Hi Goldie - that Holly Blue looks fresh, so is probably from the new brood. They are just starting to emerge over this way too. You will likely get a few more before very long!

Cheers,

Dave

[David M]

Lovely Holly Blue, Goldie. I hope you can get back to see the Heaths.

[Goldie M]

Hi! dave, I did go back to East Blean Woods today, unfortunately it was very cloudy but I did see the Heaths and got some shots, I also got a shot of a Ringlet not too good a shot, at least it's my first of a Ringlet

Hi! Dave, the Hollies seem to like it in the Garden When I had the Ivy cut there was still a lot left on the fence, I can just trim it now, it was growing up my next door neighbours tree, really high, he was glad to see it cut

I David, Has you will see I did get some more shots of the Heath, there was no Sun until I left, then wouldn't you know it was a lovely afternoon, whilst there, the Heaths weren't flying because it was dark and were few and far between but least there was a few more than last time. I went on to Reculver after that and got a nice surprise.

I didn't have a lot of time at Reculver just an hour but the Sun was shining and so were the Butterflies, I was looking for the Large Skipper,I didn't see it but I got a lovely surprise when this Painted Lady turned up Also there were Gate Keepers, a Small Heath , hidden nearly in the long grass, Peacocks, loads of Whites and of course Holly Blues

I dropped My Daughter off on My way home, but she'd said she'd seen the Large Skipper in the long grass near the house, so I had to go and look I found a Small Tortoiseshell instead, that rounded my day off nicely Goldie

[Pauline]

That first shot of the Painted Lady is lovely Goldie.

[Wurzel]

Cracking collection of shots Goldie Those Painted Lady shots are lush but I reserve the for the Heaths as I've not seen them for a few years now Maybe next year I should try for all 8 UK Frits?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

So pleased you found the Heaths, Goldie, and that beautiful Painted Lady was the icing on the cake.

[Goldie M]

Thanks Pauline,I wish I could get them all like that

Hi! Wurzel, why not, you live near a lot of them I always enjoy seeing your Marsh Frits it's years since I saw them, at least I got some nice shots when I did see them.

Hi! David, I was thrilled when I saw her, she made my day

This morning at 8am I went to check the Garden out and found a Gate Keeper basking in the Sun on the Ivy, it seems the Butterflies enjoy the Ivy more than the Boules Mauve.

I decided with the weather being so nice to try Seasalter early before it got too hot, I was looking for Skippers,
When I got there it was quite windy but still warm, there was lots of Meadow Brown, and a few Small Heath, then I saw the skippers waving about on the grass, boy did they give me the runaround

I expected to see the Large Skippers but I saw none, the ones I saw looked like Small Skippers because they didn't seem to have the pattern which the Large Skipper has. I did wonder if they were Essex Skippers, I'm not too well up on those so if any one knows for sure i'll be happy to be wrong Goldie

[Wurzel]

Love the Gatekeeper shot Goldie, beautiful pin sharp that it I'm not sure about the Skippers but all the antennae seem to 'flick' out and have a touch of orange on the edges so I'd go for Small. Sometimes the only way is Smessex

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

None of those are screaming 'Essex' at me, Goldie. Best way is to take the photograph from in front of the butterfly.

[Goldie M]

Hi! Wurzel, I thought Small Skipper has well, Had to be sure though I think I've only seen the Essex Skipper twice and even then I'd to ask

Hi! David, I couldn't take the shots from the front the Grass was so high, but I'll remember to try that next time I see a Skipper

I went to West Blean Woods today with My Daughter ,it's best to go in two's you can get further into the Woods, I went to see if I could find a White Admiral, no luck with that, I'll try East Blean again if possible this week, at Least I know where the Admiral can be found there also the Purple Hair Streak
and the with luck Sliver Washed Fritillary, the latter doesn't seem to be in West Blean.

There were plenty of Butterflies , but I didn't see any Heath Fritillary, I did see a Brimstone in the distance , also lots of Red Admirals not just the occasional one but in the teens , Gate Keepers of course and Ringlets, I got some shots at least of them, I also saw a Comma, Peacocks also were there , all in all it was a lovely warm day but not too exciting Goldie

[Wurzel]

Lovely set of shots Goldie I really like the last Ringlet - the 'eyes' are nice and tear-drop shaped

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Hope your next visit sees you get your targets, Goldie. You're already seeing good numbers of Gatekeepers - I haven't yet had chance to do that as the weather has been pretty ordinary round my way since I got back from France.

[Goldie M]

Thanks for your posts Wurzel and David, I've been busy this week trying to dodge the showers when doing the garden .

Wurzel that Ringlet was the only one that stayed put for a while they were non stop flyers

Hope you'd a good time in France David , you won't belong getting shots of the Gate Keepers they seem to be every where.

I've been busy this week playing catch up with the cleaning and the Garden, I thought it a good Idea especially when there was a gale force wind and rain, I did have visitors to my Garden , loads of Whites which never seem to land and yesterday a Red Admiral was sat on the grass catching it's breath I think after the rain, I did notice a couple of spots on it's wing in the Orange.

This morning a lovely Peacock arrived on my B Mauve and stayed for quite a while so my days were not quite empty
Hope fully I'll get to East Blean Woods if we get some decent Sun, looks like this weather may be here for a while though. Goldie

[Goldie M]

I put my Camera away last night because of the weather forecast, but this morning in spite of the rain and strong winds there was Sunshine at times and to my amazement the Butterflies were flying

I quickly got the camera out again and took some shots , when one landed in the Day Lilies I wasn't surprised, I think it was Blown there. Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cracking Peacocks Goldie
"and to my amazement the Butterflies were flying " looks like we should take a leaf out of the butterflies book and ignore the weather forecasts The best way it seems to look into the distant out of the window

Have a goodun

Wurzel