Awesome

[Chris L]

Do you recall your first ever sighting of a British species that left you totally awe struck - one debut sighting above all others?

Mine was the Silver Washed Fritillary. I saw my first in Grafton Wood in Worcestershire. My eyes were as big as saucers. It seemed so large and so orange. It's flight captivated me too - swooping and soaring and then gliding like a paper aeroplane.

[selbypaul]

It depends on whether you count Camberwell Beauty as a British species!

In August 1995, while on a walk on a holiday in the Lake District, my Uncle and I stumbled across one the 250+ that were seen in the UK in that influx. Even though we were both more into birds than butterflies then, we both recognised it as something highly unusual, being large black and bordered with white.

It sticks in the memory, and I genuinely believe is what inspired my passion for butterflies.

If you are only counting UK breeding species, then like you, it was Silver Washed Fritillary. I'd never seen such a large bright orange gliding butterfly in the UK until I saw a couple in Devon back in 2006.

[Padfield]

In 1985, during the university long vacation, I was earning my pocket money gardening on a farm in Melton (Suffolk). The farmer and his wife were both away, and on leaving I was to lock up and pop the key through the door. As I weeded and dead-headed, a large tortoiseshell casually flew in and began nectaring on a bramble bush. Back then, you couldn't get much more 'Wow!' than large tortoiseshell. I didn't have my camera, and couldn't leave the farm without abandoning my job, so I rang my mother and asked her to drive to Melton with it. She willingly did, but got caught behind an articulated vehicle and took 45 minutes to arrive. During all that time, getting more and more desperate (there were no mobile phones back then), I peeped at the tortoiseshell from a distance, terrified it would fly off before she got there - but it stayed! I took some pictures, finished my work, popped the key through the door and went home. However, those were the analogue days, and on top of that I was due to fly back to Gibraltar to spend the rest of the summer working there. I finished the reel of film in Gibraltar, almost convincing myself in the meantime that I must have made a mistake, had it developed in Gibraltar, and finally saw to my delight that it really had been a large tortoiseshell. I sent the negatives to Steve Piotrowski, just in time for him to put one of the pictures into the Butterflies of Suffolk, which he published with Howard Mendel later that year. To date, that is my only UK large tortoiseshell.



Guy

[Chris L]

In 1985, during the university long vacation...

Absolutely fantastic, heart warming, gripping tale Guy. I enjoyed reading that. Thank you for taking the time to write it.

[Chris L]

It depends on whether you count Camberwell Beauty as a British species!

In August 1995, while on a walk on a holiday in the Lake District, my Uncle and I stumbled across one the 250+ that were seen in the UK in that influx. Even though we were both more into birds than butterflies then, we both recognised it as something highly unusual, being large black and bordered with white.

It sticks in the memory, and I genuinely believe is what inspired my passion for butterflies.

If you are only counting UK breeding species, then like you, it was Silver Washed Fritillary. I'd never seen such a large bright orange gliding butterfly in the UK until I saw a couple in Devon back in 2006.

Definitely counts as an awesome and incredibly memorable sighting Paul.

[Trev Sawyer]

When I was a young child during the 1960's, I spent many hours scanning the flowers on the Buddleia bush in my back garden - fully expecting that if I did so for long enough, I was bound to be able to spot every British species of butterfly as listed in my Observer's Book of British Butterflies The one I dreamed most often of seeing one day was a Camberwell Beauty and I just hoped that I would be present to see it when it inevitably bimbled through the garden.
Fast forward to 24th August 2007 (about tea time). It had been chucking it down with rain all day but the sun came out just as my family sat down for our evening meal. My daughter looked past me through the window and announced that she could see a HUGE butterfly at the bottom of the garden. It couldn't be, could it?... I was taking no chances and there was a mass bundle to get outside before whatever it was flew off. Unsurprisingly, I reached the bottom of the garden first and could see a large butterfly flitting around the branches of a neighbour's Greengage tree. It flew right over my head and did a couple of slow circles just to make sure I could clearly see the dark underside of its wings and the creamy outer border as the light shone through it. I pinched myself. Ouch!!! After barking the order to keep their eyes on it to the rest of the family, I sprinted back to the house to get my camera while they desperately tried not to lose it. Zoom lens in hand, I returned to the fray and was told that the butterfly had gone over the fence towards another adjacent house at the bottom of the garden. A desperate photographer scaled the fortuitously-placed climbing frame and from that vantage point could see the butterfly sunning itself on the warm bricks of the house, to the right of a bedroom window. A couple of quick snaps and she was gone. Wow, what a FANTASTIC sighting and one I had waited 40 years to see. The following days saw a number of Camberwell Beauties spotted across various Eastern counties - It really wasn't a dream! Attached is the shot from the climbing frame. Not exactly razor sharp, but it makes me smile every time I see it. Good job the house owner wasn't in her bedroom or I'd probably still be locked up

[Padfield]

Good job the house owner wasn't in her bedroom or I'd probably still be locked up

I've been there - and missed some lovely photos, just because someone might have got the wrong idea!

Unlike Paul and Trev, I've never seen a UK Camberwell beauty. I had the same childhood dream, but it will probably never become a reality ...

Guy

[Chris L]

When I was a young child during the 1960's

Another fantastic tale, thank you ever so much for sharing that Trev. A really gripping, enjoyable read, full of suspense. Your excitement at the time was palpable in the way you wrote it.

Has anyone ever got euphoric at seeing their first Dingy Skipper? Sorry Dingy fans, not my favourite butterfly. I recall seeing my first one. I saw 4 of them before I realised that they were not moths.

[David M]

The first ever sighting that sticks in my mind is that of Brown Hairstreak.

It was August 2010 and the first year I'd really got back into butterflies.

I was at West Wiilliamston in Pembrokeshire and had spent an hour fruitlessly walking around searching for this butterfly, largely because I didn't understand their preferences and had foolishly assumed they would just be flying around generally like most other species do.

Furthermore, I had slipped on some damp ground near the estuary and my jeans were caked in damp mud. I was pretty frustrated and a tad disillusioned.

Then, I suddenly bumped into Nikki (very sadly no longer with us) who regularly monitored the site. I told her of my difficulties finding this butterfly and she immediately directed me into a small woodland glade near the foreshore, telling me that this was the best spot for them.

I duly walked in and saw nothing at first, but I stood on tiptoe to look at the scrub at the perimeter and saw this almost unreal and incredibly beautiful dark brown square with golden forewing patches - it was my first ever Brown Hairstreak, a female, and she was basking on the tip of some bracken with her wings fully open.

I'll never forget that heartstopping moment, and ever since I've experienced a similar feeling whenever I get to see my first of the season, usually at the back end of August.

This remains my favourite butterfly, in spite of all the showstoppers I regularly see in Europe, e.g., Apollo, Poplar Admiral, Camberwell Beauty, Provence Orange Tip, Violet Copper, etc.

The only species that comes close is Zapater's Ringlet (on my avatar), and that's possibly because that too is dark brown with gorgeous orange forewing patches.

[Jack Harrison]

I have told this one before but perhaps worth repeating.

I was flying in a gliding competition and unable to stay airborne.  I landed at Martlesham Heath disused airfield near Ipswich and had my first ever meeting with Essex Skippers.

Another gliding adventure was somewhere near Silverstone.   Woodland near the field where I had landed (again after failing to stay airborne) had Wood Whites.

Before you get the impression that I was always incompetent and was routinely unable to stay airborne, not quite true -  I did win the odd race

Jack

[Chris L]

I have told this one before but perhaps worth repeating.

I was flying in a gliding competition and unable to stay airborne.  I landed at Martlesham Heath disused airfield near Ipswich and had my first ever meeting with Essex Skippers.

Another gliding adventure was somewhere near Silverstone.   Woodland near the field where I had landed (again after failing to stay airborne) had Wood Whites.

Before you get the impression that I was always incompetent and was routinely unable to stay airborne, not quite true -  I did win the odd race

Jack

Great tale Jack. The thought of gliding and not being able to stay airborne brought on mild palpitations for me. I guess it is an occupational hazard. I wonder if the Essex Skippers and Wood White thought that you were a huge butterfly.

[Chris L]

The first ever sighting that sticks in my mind is that of Brown Hairstreak.

It was August 2010 and the first year I'd really got back into butterflies.

I was at West Wiilliamston in Pembrokeshire and had spent an hour fruitlessly walking around searching for this butterfly, largely because I didn't understand their preferences and had foolishly assumed they would just be flying around generally like most other species do.

Furthermore, I had slipped on some damp ground near the estuary and my jeans were caked in damp mud. I was pretty frustrated and a tad disillusioned.

Then, I suddenly bumped into Nikki (very sadly no longer with us) who regularly monitored the site. I told her of my difficulties finding this butterfly and she immediately directed me into a small woodland glade near the foreshore, telling me that this was the best spot for them.

I duly walked in and saw nothing at first, but I stood on tiptoe to look at the scrub at the perimeter and saw this almost unreal and incredibly beautiful dark brown square with golden forewing patches - it was my first ever Brown Hairstreak, a female, and she was basking on the tip of some bracken with her wings fully open.

I'll never forget that heartstopping moment, and ever since I've experienced a similar feeling whenever I get to see my first of the season, usually at the back end of August.

This remains my favourite butterfly, in spite of all the showstoppers I regularly see in Europe, e.g., Apollo, Poplar Admiral, Camberwell Beauty, Provence Orange Tip, Violet Copper, etc.

The only species that comes close is Zapater's Ringlet (on my avatar), and that's possibly because that too is dark brown with gorgeous orange forewing patches.

Nice one David. I recall my first Brown Hairstreak too. I was in Grafton Wood, Worcestershire. I had encountered 5 or 6 people at the start of the day all looking for Brown Hairstreak. It was my first attempt. The people to whom I spoke said that they had been making a pilgrimage to the site a couple of times a year to see one but had no success.

I wandered off alone and an hour later I was mesmerised by 2 courting Wood White doing the antenna thing. I crouched down to watch. After 10 minutes I got up, turned 180 degrees and right in my eyeline, a couple of yards away, was a Brown Hairstreak on a branch.

I met up with the other people later in the day and was happy to share my success with them. As they had not seen one, it would have been rude not to gloat in an understated, humble way.

[David M]

Great thing with Brown Hairstreaks is that they are usually very approachable and don't take to the air too often. That behaviour is part of the reason why they are my favourites....hard to find but easy to observe.

[Allan.W.]

I,ve been pretty lucky over the last few years ,and in recent times have been lucky enough to add Long-Tailed Blue ,Queen of Spain Frit ,Gorganus Swallowtail to my British list ,and more recently Large Tortoiseshell .....all species that i once felt that i,d never find in the UK. But for me my own "Awesome" moment was in my local forest (Orlestone ) on an afternoon when everything came together. As i,ve mentioned many times on these forums we had locally several good Grizzled Skipper sites ,all pretty close to home .Alas these sites have all but disappeared for one reason or another ,and Grizzlies are now very few and far between in the forest...........They are on the edge ! .
Two thirds of the Grizzlies were Abberant one way or another ,and Taras and Intermedia were commoner than "normal" specimens . On this particular late afternoon visit i found Grizzlies immediately on arrival ,and as usual nearly all Abs .In all i saw well over forty ,and standing in one small spot i counted 6 Taras individuals. While watching these little gems my "Awesome" moment occurred .............or very nearly ! A nice female Taras Grizzle was approached by a fairly worn Taras male ,my findings with mating Grizzles is .............its Quick !
He sidled up to her ,they linked ,and about 10-15 seconds later,and for whatever reason they seperated !
I,ve included a shot of the "nearly" Taras pair.

A little while later I did get lucky with a pair of Intermedias.............. So can,t complain !

Allan.W.

[Chris L]

I've been pretty lucky...

A site with over 40 Grizzlies is awesome per se. I had a look to see where this site is. I was delighted to see that it could not have been much further from me in England

[Jack Harrison]

Chris L: The thought of gliding and not being able to stay airborne brought on mild palpitations for me.

Gliders are always descending through the air.  You need to find air that is going up faster than the glider's descent.  Racing pilots look for the strongest thermals (or other sources of 'lift').  Often, if the weather deteriorates, the thermals fizzle out so you have to land.

However, many modern gliders have auxiliary engines, so avoid landing and can return to base.  As an old timer, I find that a bit of a cheat and takes a lot of fun out of it.  One pilot I knew upset a farmer not because of any crop damage, but had something to do with the farmer's daughter

Jack