millerd

[millerd]

28th was another rare "blank" day, but 29th May was warmer and had reasonable amounts of sunshine. I recorded the highest count of Common Blues so far this year (18), a higher total than any day in the 2023 spring brood - but by contrast, Brown Argus have not been doing so well. Last year their numbers exceeded those of the Common Blue (by about 5 to 4 over the whole year) but the ratio is more than 2 to 1 the other way this year so far. Holly Blues continued to surprise by suddenly producing another surge in sightings today, with 19 seen.

With so many Common Blues, many of them fresh, they were the subject of the majority of my photos today.

The Brown Argus were less fresh.

The best of the Hollies.

This left the Small Heaths, and the by now customary pursuit of a decent open-wing shot.

I also encountered some interesting dragonfly activity, but I shall post that separately.

Dave

[trevor]

Well done with those ' open wing ' Small Heath shots, Dave.
The final portrait shot is particularly sharp and educational.

I struggled to find many Common Blues in Wiltshire, but plenty of Adonis.

Not long now!!

[Wurzel]

You're getting so close with the open wing Small Heath shots Dave and about a million miles better than any I've taken Orchids are funny things like you say; here one year gone the next (decade) but then back again, I'm just glad that butterflies are slightly less contrary

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Trevor and Wurzel - I shall keep plugging away at those Small Heath shots... I'm beginning to spot when they are about to land somewhere, when their flap-rate slows down a bit. This happens in cooler cloudy weather too, which is probably why the more recent shots are better!

A case in point - Thursday 30th May was both cloudy and cooler, and there were showers too.

I did find a Small Heath, but it wasn't going anywhere!

I managed to coincide my local walk with a brief burst of sunshine, but was still surprised to see a male Brimstone zip past - I'd seen hardly any locally since the first half of the month, and thought they were over.

One other surprise was a Small Copper which appeared on a bit of path I walk along every day, but I hadn't seen for a week. Their behaviour fascinates me sometimes.

There were just three Common Blues that I could find, but one was this female which I'd seen the previous day in a different spot.

The Peacock caterpillars I had found on 27th were getting bigger but yet to take on their black velvet form. Their mother had chosen a good spot - there are lots more nettles nearby for them to move onto.

The weather forecast for 31st indicated that the day would start sunny, but soon deteriorate as a mass of cloud would move across from northeast to southwest (completely the reverse of what normally happens). Plans for the day therefore meant an early start and hasty travel in a southwesterly direction...

Dave

[millerd]

When I left home on the morning of Friday 31st May, it was indeed starting to cloud over. I set off down the M3/A303 to meet Wurzel for a wander around Sidbury hillfort and I soon began to overtake the edge of the cloud. By Basingstoke I had emerged into sunshine, but on arrival it was still going to be a race against time as the northeasterly breeze was strong and the cloud was already ominously on the horizon.

In the sheltered parts of the ramparts, we soon found a few Marsh Fritillaries (which were easy to approach) and a one or two Walls (which definitely weren't). Marshies...

...and Walls.

As we progressed round the ring of banks and ditches, cloud was beginning to interfere with the sunshine, and the air became decidedly chillier at the same time. Nevertheless, in the sheltered bits, butterflies did appear - Common Blues, Brown Argus, a Dingy Skipper and a Small Copper.

Two of the Common Blues were becalmed together in the grass...

...but the application of a little body heat woke one of them up - but not the newer of the two.

In the end they had to be persuaded to relinquish the warmer perch for a spot back down in the grass.

By now it had completely clouded over, and finding further butterflies proved tricky. On the way back, we traced a cuckoo back to its perch in a leafless ash tree - but unfortunately all my shots were of a blurry silhouette. There was another Wall...

...and Wurzel spotted two different Large Skippers.

The final sighting of the morning was in a windswept patch of horseshoe vetch close to the tank tracks. Half a dozen or so male Adonis Blues flew up from the ground and were taken by the wind across the dusty gravel - or onto it.

In the end, considering the conditions, it was a very good morning in convivial company - one of those days when you'd prefer the weather forecast to be other than 100% accurate (which it unfortunately was!). I returned to even cloudier and chillier conditions on the edge of SW London, which gave the excursion westwards a bonus star!

Dave

[millerd]

The weather was no better to kick off summer on Saturday 1st June - barely any sunshine and a mere 17 degrees as a high. My local patch yielded only seven butterflies, and here are most of them...

Dave

[Wurzel]

Good to see the Sidbury shots Dave I think we made the most of what there was on offer You did better with the Small Copper than me

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel! That Copper let me get much closer than those Walls would...

Sunday 2nd June was a total contrast - 14 hours of sunshine and temperatures up to a more summery 24 degrees.

I headed down to Denbies quite early to avoid the traffic (success - it only took just over half an hour) and was soon finding my first Meadow Browns of 2024.

This one was so new, it needed a bit of help out of the long grass.

A few Dingy Skippers were still around, but I didn't spot any Grizzlies today, nor any Green Hairstreaks. The Dingies varied from fairly fresh...

...to worn and very washed out.

However, it was good to see that there were still quite a few Adonis Blues on the wing, especially closer to the bottom of the hillside. Some of the males looked quite fresh...

...and others not so much.

The females were in mixed condition too, but the second one below was a looker.

A few Common Blues were around too, and I came across this particular female that was so worn I wasn't 100% sure which species it belonged to. I plumped for Common in the end.

There was another much newer individual about which there was no doubt at all.

Also seen were Small Heath, Brown Argus, Holly Blue and one or two Brimstones. This one decided to land on the path in front of me.

Good to get out in proper sunshine again for a whole morning, and with the afternoon to follow in similar vein - but back on home territory.

Dave

[millerd]

Back on my local patch for the afternoon of 2nd June, I saw more species than I had at Denbies in the morning. Nothing as exotic as an Adonis Blue of course, but a good selection. The totals over a leisurely couple of hours:

Common Blue 15
Holly Blue 14
Small Heath 8
Brown Argus 7
Speckled Wood 3
Red Admiral 3
Large White 2
GVW 2
Brimstone 1
Peacock 1
Meadow Brown 1

That was the first Meadow Brown of the year here, and was trickier to get a shot of than the one at Denbies.

Plenty of Blues of the non-Adonis varieties...

This one looked to be one of the flavescens variety with very pale underside hindwing lunules, but it's not the clearest of shots.

This variety is not that unusual on this site, and I find a few every year in both broods.

Two species I didn't get shots of at Denbies were Small Heath and Brown Argus (though both were present). I rectified this now. This Small Heath had a tiny "satellite" eyespot on its forewing.

The Brown Argus included a nice new female...

...as well as some fairly fresh dark males.

White butterflies have been very few and far between lately - a combination of being between broods and (in the case of Small and Large) there likely being no immigration from Europe because of unfavourable winds. However, one passed close by me and briefly settled up on the brambles. I snatched a quick shot, revealing it to be a GVW.

I then came across a group of squabbling Specklies - interesting as I hadn't seen any for over a week. One of them paused for a moment.

It didn't help that there were also two Red Admirals getting involved as well. Neither of these two were still for a moment, but a bit further along the path, there was another one that looked very new indeed. It was a handsome beast, and appeared to know it...

A very satisfactory afternoon.

Dave

[millerd]

On Monday 3rd June, the familiar story of sunshine being at a premium returned. On the plus side, it was reasonably warm, the cloud was relatively thin, and some butterflies at least were prepared to take to the air (or bask on leaves and flowers at least).

After the first Meadow Brown of 2024 the previous day, I counted five individuals today, including a female.

She was new enough to be fairly docile.

The males were trickier.

The Brown Argus seemed to be a different selection to those I'd seen the day before, and included one that was a bit different, with very pale markings...

...compared to the standard model with a similar degree of wear.

I found a female Holly Blue waiting patiently for the sun to appear - I waited alongside, and watched as every little increase in light levels prompted a twitch of the wings.

The sun didn't become any brighter than that and the butterfly departed in disgust.

However, there was enough UV around to energise the Small Heaths, and after a nicely posed individual...

...I managed a couple of in-flight shots of another showing broad wing borders.

That left the Common Blues, to which I'll allot a separate post.

Dave

[millerd]

3rd June - Common Blues on my local patch.

There is a reliable population of this species on the grassland of my local patch - unsurprising since at this time of year, a good proportion is carpeted with birds'-foot trefoil, black medick and clover. There are also vetches, and lots of grass vetchling, which is a flower Common Blues seem to find irresistible. They also seem to tolerate cloudy but bright weather and even if not actually flying madly around (as they do in bright sunshine) can be found basking with their wings open. The males, anyway - females are much harder to find, especially when the grass is as long and the other vegetation as high as it is in this damp year.

A selection from the day...

Dave

[Wurzel]

More cracking in flight Small Heaths Dave Interesting 'binocular' Heath as well But the butterfly I can still see when I close my eyes is that female Adonis - what a looker she was

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel! Female Adonis are worth seeking out as fresh ones can be stunning. One of my favourite all-time butterflies was an example which was velvety midnight black generously sprinkled with shining silvery-blue scales like stars in a night sky.

Tuesday 4th June was a carbon copy of the day before - except there was slightly less sunshine. At least the temperature held up at around the 20/21 mark. Ever a creature of habit, I toured my local patch again with (not surprisingly) broadly similar results.

One success was catching a Meadow Brown with its wings akimbo - the early ones every year seem very reluctant to do so, which is a pity as the males are particularly dark in colour at this stage of their extended season.

The usual pose...

A nice new Brown Argus was a bonus, too. There seems to be a steady trickle of new ones appearing, as there is with the Common Blues.

Talking of which, here are few more Blues.

Compared to the one above, this one once again had distinctly paler underside lunules - though not the extreme lemon-yellow I have seen here.

There was even a female - they haven't been easy to find this year.

A couple of Small Heaths posed...

...and the obligatory female Holly Blue - though this one was pale wraith of a butterfly now.

Other interest was provided by the seething nest of Peacock caterpillars...

...a fine example of a Yellow Shell moth (not hiding underneath something for once)...

...more bee orchids...

...and a single example of a pyramidal orchid, the first I've seen here.

Not a great deal of butterfly variety at present, but some quality at least, and a few other items of interest.

Dave

[millerd]

After some overnight rain, it was a bit cooler on Wednesday 5th June - but a lot sunnier. This was the recipe for more butterflies, so I covered my local patch again.

Eight species appeared, including the first Large Skipper of the year here:

Common Blue 16
Meadow Brown 11
Red Admiral 6
Small Heath 4
Brown Argus 4
Holly Blue 3
Small Copper 1
Large Skipper 1

The Copper was a curiosity, popping up along a bit of path I walk most days but completely new to me (though clearly not a new butterfly). I think it was a female, wandering through and not tied to a territory like the male - explaining why I'd not seen it before.

The new Large Skipper was found not far from the same spot, and I initially thought as it flew past that it was another Small Copper. Not for long, mind...

Not so many Holly Blues today, but they included a nice female and more surprisingly a reasonable male.

Common Blues dominated proceedings again, with a mix of newer...

...and more worn males.

There was one female.

The total of six Red Admirals was the highest this year so far. I think I timed my walk through their favoured bit of path with their most active period in late afternoon, and saw two separate aerial dogfights (plus two others, each in other spots).After their squabbles they returned to pose.

imperiously looking down on me

surveying the path for whatever might come along

This is one of the other ones.

Dave

[millerd]

The forecast for Thursday 6th June promised sunshine in the morning at least - though on the cool side to start with. I decided to head up to Aston Rowant for a change, and to see if any Adonis Blues were still flying.

As it turned out, I left the sun behind and found myself on a rather cloudy and distinctly chilly hillside with apparently no butterfly life at all. At least the horizons are extensive up here, and any change in conditions can often be anticipated, so I stuck with it and waited for the cloud to part a bit and things to (hopefully) warm up.

Brisk walking was in order (I wasn't really dressed for the chill!), and the first butterfly appeared when it was disturbed from the ground by my passage. The flash of blue in flight identified it as Adonis, but there was no way it was going to open up when it landed again.

The same thing happened again, but this time the butterfly was carried way away on the breeze.

Gradually, the weather improvement my fingers had been crossed for began to happen, and butterflies tentatively took to the air. Common Blues were the first to appear. First a nice male...

...then a strikingly blue female.

A bit later, after counting half a dozen or so more males, I found another male creeping up on a much darker female.

A few Adonis males took to the air as well, but these were a bit worn for the most part: this one is probably the best of those I saw.

However, a couple of Adonis females occupied the bulk of my attention during the morning. Both were pretty fresh, and when the sun warmed them up enough, they were occupied in finding suitable bits of horseshoe vetch for the eggs packed in their bulging abdomens.

The only other species seen in any numbers was the Brown Argus, with some new examples of both sexes.

The food plant of choice for them here is rock rose.

I was surprised not to see any Small Heath, and even more not to come across a single Meadow Brown, as they were out at home and are common here. However, there were a couple of very worn Dingy Skippers.

The wild flowers were good today, and worth a separate floral interlude...

Dave

[Katrina]

At the risk of being repetitive, I love your in context shot. It makes me feel as if I was there

[millerd]

Thank you again, Katrina - I'm finding a few of these shots really help to nail particular outings in the memory. You'll no doubt see a few more in the posts ahead!

Before more butterflies, here are some flowers from Aston Rowant. Mostly orchids (none of which I've individually identified as my knowledge is a bit sparse), a couple of others that I think I know, plus one I don't but probably should!

orchid 1

orchid 2

orchid 3

orchid 4

orchid 5

orchid 6

I think this next one may be Chiltern Gentian, a local speciality.

Chiltern gentian?

Having read that Perennial Candytuft (sempervirens - the foodplant of the Southern Small White} grows on the Chilterns, this is the first time I've found anything that could be it.

Perennial candytuft?

Finally, I feel I should know this one, which was common on the more sheltered bits of the hillside.

unnamed...

All IDs (including corrections!) welcome...

Dave

[bugboy]

I'll have a stab at the flowers, orchid 1 is Pyramidal Orchid' 2, 3 & 4 are Spotted Orchid (the leaves have reddish blotches if I'm right) but I believe its split into various micro-species/races/forms etc depending on the habitat, I just stick to Spotted Orchid! 5 is Fragrant Orchid, 6 might be the same. That certainly looks like Candy tuft to me and I think the last is Dropwort, a relative of Meadowsweet, which prefers dry calcerous soils as opposed to damp marshy soils it relative prefers. I could be wrong with all those but I'm 90% sure I'm right...ish

[essexbuzzard]

I think Bugboy is right. That looks good for wild candytuft, though it is early. I didn’t think it would be out yet. The purple one is clustered bellflower, Campanula glomerata. Chiltern gentians don’t flower until August, and are a lighter shade.

[trevor]

Wonderful selection of Orchids, Dave. I knew the spotted orchid, they are quite common.
Like other plants they have enjoyed the wet conditions this year.

Might see you in the next fortnight or so.