millerd

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel - yes, she probably didn't expect to emerge either!

With temperatures still up around the 14 degree mark, and several hours of sun again, I had another local walk on 7th November. The three Red Admirals were no surprise, but they proved tricky today, with this coy individual up in the ivy being the only one photographed.

This female Small White looked familiar from previous days, and turned out to be the last one I saw in 2023.

I reached the territory of the long-lived Common Blue, and took a shot of the area it had been occupying for the best part of a month.

In the end, it fluttered into view, but really did seem to be on its last legs now.

This turned out to be the case, as despite searching over the next few days, I didn't see it again.

However, by a strange twist of fate, it wasn't my last sighting of the species. I returned to the other side of the overbridge in the shot above, and about 100 metres down the path another male Common Blue appeared. It was if anything in a worse state than the other one and was likely of a similar vintage. I am amazed I'd not come across it before...

...but I didn't see this one again either.

Dave

[millerd]

The weather gradually deteriorated towards the beginning of winter now. I spotted a single Red Admiral on 9th November, then on 11th, I found three.

However, I also found the Peacock I'd probably seen a few days earlier...

...and then another Speckled Wood, a male this time but in surprisingly good condition.

Looking back, this was really the last "proper" butterfly day of the year.

Dave

[millerd]

13th November was really quite warm with a high of 16 degrees, but lacked much in the way of sunshine. A couple of Red Admirals were flying, but that was all.

On a sunny afternoon on 23rd I caught sight of a Brimstone flying along the riverbank - presumably disturbed for some reason and now looking to find another hibernation nook. I was resigned to the fact that this would be the last butterfly of 2023, but it turned out that I was wrong.

Dave

[millerd]

So that was it for November. After the unusually warm September and October, the month turned out only slightly warmer and sunnier than usual - and was a whole lot wetter. I managed 32 butterfly sightings, with six species represented (and there were a few that were around right until the end of October as well). The way things are going, I think (in the south of the UK at least) the season continues into November now.

I really thought I'd be drawing a line under things at this point, but a bit of sunshine and relatively mild conditions tempted me out for a brief walk on 8th December. If I had seen a Red Admiral, I wouldn't have been all that surprised, but instead I spotted a Peacock, flying strongly between basking on the ground or on the brambles.

A very nice coda to the season, and a good bookend as well - the first butterfly I saw this year was also a Peacock, over ten months ago back on 3rd February.

Dave

[millerd]

All that remains before an overview of 2023, is to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and high hopes for a thoroughly lepidoptiferous New Year.

Dave

[Neil Freeman]

'lepidoptiferous'...Not sure if that is a real word but if not, it should be

Merry Christmas Dave.

Cheers,

Neil.

[David M]

...and high hopes for a thoroughly lepidoptiferous New Year.tree

Try saying that after a few aperitifs and a bottle of wine tomorrow!

Best wishes to you, Dave. Hope you have a good day.

[Wurzel]

Looking forward to the 2023 overview Dave I'm with Neil bout lepidoptiferous - a cracking word that

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Looking forward to the 2023 overview Dave I'm with Neil bout lepidoptiferous - a cracking word that

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I'm just waiting for that word to turn up in the Times Crossword now, Wurzel!

I still haven't compiled a round-up of 2023 I'm afraid - it would largely be a rehash of what I've posted on the "Favourite Photos" threads, so I might just limit it to a summary of activity on my local patch. Apart from anything, 2024 is now underway!

Sightings so far:

Feb 2nd - one Red Admiral
Feb 11th - one Red Admiral and one Comma
Feb 19th - one Red Admiral

That last one was the first I've photographed this season - I've reported the event in the February sightings thread so here's a link to avoid duplication. https://ukbutterflies.co.uk/phpBB/viewt ... 87#p183687

Dave

[Wurzel]

"Apart from anything, 2024 is now underway!" I was doing so well and then I relocated my 'Lost Posts'

Great to see the Red Admiral in such good nick - it must have found some soft bedding for it's winter catnaps I didn't know whether to comment here or on the Sightings page...I think here is the safest bet

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

...Feb 2nd - one Red Admiral
Feb 11th - one Red Admiral and one Comma
Feb 19th - one Red Admiral...

Even as little as 15 years ago, that list of early sightings would have been considered exceptional.

These days, it's relatively normal for the southern quarter of the country.

[millerd]

Yes, I'd feel disappointed not to see a February butterfly these days, David.

Another Red Admiral today on my local patch, as after the overnight chill and uninspiring weather to kick off the month, the wind died, the sun shone and 11 or 12 degrees was achieved mid-afternoon.

Dave

[trevor]

Well done/found Dave. Looks like a fairly dry week coming up!
The air was too cool around here for any sightings today.

Great shots1

[millerd]

Thank you, Trevor - in similar weather for part of today I saw a few more butterflies.

As I walked slowly along the flooded path again, I spotted a butterfly headed towards me. It passed close by, but headed over a nearby fence as the sun went in and disappeared. However, its close approach allowed it to be identified as a Peacock, my first of the spring. A bit further on, there was a Red Admiral (also in flight), and then shortly afterwards another one basking on the ground.

It was quite active as well, and didn't hang around for very long - though I was able to get quite close for this shot.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Lovely shot that one Dave I like how you've caught the ground colour in the inner part of the wings which looks more brown than black, also interesting to see the white markings on the wing margins about half way down Fingers crossed things keep ticking over

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel!

Yes, that butterfly was very faded (certainly when compared with the one from two days earlier). Those white patches on the margins are pale blue in fresh butterflies, and the brown ground colour highlights the fact that the hindwings actually have a series of black spots. These don't show up on the normal black of newer butterflies - which could be described as being black with black spots!

Hoping now for a few other species to start waking up. February was very warm, but too dull for anything except the odd Red Admiral (in fact there have only been 18 overnight air frosts here all winter, and only two cold snaps: one at the start of December and the other in mid-January.) It's been very wet, and the worry is that hibernating butterflies may have been affected by mould, or that predators will not have been killed off by "normal" winter cold. Fingers crossed.

Dave

[millerd]

Friday 8th March was sunny almost throughout, but the strong easterly breeze kept the temperature down. However, in any sheltered spots it was very pleasant, and my local walk (more muddy than wet now) produced two more Red Admirals.

Dave

[Wurzel]

I wish I'd had some of your luck today Dave - my lunch time walk proved fruitless Is it just me or does this feel like the springs used to - a more genteel and slower start to the season?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

It has felt slow this year, Wurzel, despite kicking off in February as seems to be the norm these days. The unusual aspect is to have seen eight Red Admirals and only two other butterflies.

2023: A Local Retrospective

I did promise a brief overview of 2023 on my local patch, so I'll give it a go while 2024 isn't quite in gear... Numbers are somewhat approximate and were not very scientifically gathered - but they give a general idea.

Overall, I counted nearly 13,000 butterflies on my various local walks during the year, starting on 3rd February (with a Peacock) and finishing on 8th December (also with a Peacock). 25 species were seen, spread across around 150 days (averaging about 90 butterflies per outing). The highest number of species seen in one day was 20 on 8th July, and several days in the same month topped 500 individuals counted.

The season continued well into November, a month that included some very late third brood Common Blues.

That count of 13,000 can be broken down, with these being the top ten:

1. Meadow Brown 3307
2. Red Admiral 1736
3. Holly Blue 1082
4. Gatekeeper 917
5. Peacock 916
6. Small White 878
7. Brown Argus 540
8. Speckled Wood 479
9. Common Blue 443
10. GVW 433

In terms of the number of days when each species was seen, the list is rather different:

1. Speckled Wood 114
2. Small White 110
3. Red Admiral 103
4. Holly Blue 87
5. Common Blue 79
6. Peacock 77
7. Brown Argus 73
8. GVW 70
9. Comma 69
10. Small Copper 56

At the lower end of the scale were singleton sightings of Silver-washed Fritillary (on 21st July - a first for my local patch), and Clouded Yellow (waiting until 28th October to make its appearance). Absent in 2023 was the Ringlet, of which I've only ever seen one or two, and there was sadly no repeat of 2022's Large Tortoiseshell sighting.

"Winners" for the year I'd say were Red Admiral, Peacock and Holly Blue, and "losers" were Small Tortoiseshell and Small Heath. There weren't many Painted Ladies, but with numbers so dependent on migration I'd never classify it in this way. Everything else was pretty well as expected.

Dave

[robpartridge]

Crikey... Rather puts my record-keeping into the shade!