Trevor

[Katrina]

Wow what a great selection Trevor! It was a toss up between Anchor Bottom and Herstmonceaux for me this morning and it seems both choices would have been excellent.
one for the Small Tort and one for the Painted ladies = the one at Anchor looked faded with a large chunk of wing missing

[trevor]

Thanks Katrina. Three of the four Painted Ladies were fresh.
But one I forgot to post earlier had a few miles on the clock.

[millerd]

Great to see the Painted Ladies, Trevor - they look pretty fresh too. Hopefully that might mean a few more migrants over the next few days when the winds are likely to be favourable. (As for LTB, I saw one yesterday - but on my local patch... Very very worn, though.)

Cheers,

Dave

[bugboy]

There was a freshly minted one at Bookham this morning. Sadly I never saw it, a jogger and 2 dogs scared it off before I got to where it was, but looks like a few females managed to get to our shores 4 - 6 weeks ago and lay a few eggs maybe your tatty one is one of those?

[trevor]

Good to read of your LTB Dave, no matter how tatty, hopefully a female
who has done her duty. A few were reported from Felpham, near Bognor
several weeks ago, so maybe there are even more unreported ones around.

If there is a hot-spot this year I wonder where it will be ?
I'm not holding my breath though!

[millerd]

A male unfortunately, Trevor, but as I wasn't expecting to see one anywhere this year it was a very unexpected and welcome find! It does make you wonder how many go completely under the radar without encountering anyone with sufficient knowledge to positively ID one and a camera to record the event...

Cheers,

Dave

[trevor]

Cheers Paul, Flicking through UKB facebook it would seem that a few fresh
Painted Ladies are popping up, and widely scattered, even from the Midlands.
The four I saw yesterday were the first since the day I went looking for
Grizzled Skippers back in the Spring.

[bugboy]

Cheers Paul, Flicking through UKB facebook it would seem that a few fresh
Painted Ladies are popping up, and widely scattered, even from the Midlands.
The four I saw yesterday were the first since the day I went looking for
Grizzled Skippers back in the Spring.

Just going through some pictures from the 21st of July, I had Painted Ladies at both Mill Hill and Lancing Ring that day which could well have been part of a small influx, the timing would match for those to be the parents of the fresh ones we're seeing now too.

[Neil Freeman]

4 Painted Ladies.

That is equal to the number I have seen so far this year, including 1 in Dorset a couple of days ago.

A great selection there Trevor and good to see a Small Tortoiseshell. They have been scarce up my way too this summer.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Cracking to see the small group of Painted Lady Trevor , not a very numerous species this year Here are a couple for them and one extra for the one with the extra blue spotting It's gone very autumnal round here very quickly, fingers crossed things will pick up a bit

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

That is equal to the number I have seen so far this year, including 1 in Dorset a couple of days ago.

A great selection there Trevor and good to see a Small Tortoiseshell. They have been scarce up my way too this summer.

Only seen three of each in the UK this year myself. Been an exceptionally poor season for both species.

[trevor]

The weather today was the reverse of what was forecast.
Instead of early cloud we had some sun, and the forecast sunny afternoon turned into solid cloud cover.
Fortunately the morning sun encouraged the butterflies at Herstmonceux to appear and nectar.
In the afternoon most of those seen in the morning were basking on the stone paths to warm up.

Part 1 of today. The Small Coppers ( 8 found ) and a single Small Heath.

[Katrina]

Beautiful blue badge copper there

[millerd]

Splendid Coppers, Trevor, especially that last one with the very bold markings.

Cheers,

Dave

[trevor]

Thanks Katrina, Dave and Neil, Wurzel & David from earlier.

Part 2 of today.

Not very many butterflies today, but like my last visit, a good mix of species.

A list of those around today

1 Painted Lady ( Not one of those seen last visit ).
1 Peacock
5 Red Admirals
1 Identifiable GVW
Many Small and Large Whites.

Not bad for a dull afternoon.

[Wurzel]

Sterling work finding all of those Coppers Trevor - I think you matched, if not surpassed, my total for the year in that one visit

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Love those images of the butterflies on the yellow asters, Trevor.

Dull weather isn't normally welcome, but it does generally make those butterflies that are active behave in a more docile manner.

[trevor]

I went up to High and Over this morning to hopefully find some third brood Wall Browns.
When I arrived the car thermometer showed 12c it was bright and very windy.
I saw nothing on the walk down to the steps, but once in the meadow I quickly saw
a male Wall territorial dispute taking place. As it was so cool early on most Walls were
basking ,only taking off to challenge a rival. As it warmed up more Walls showed themselves
and gave the impression of a very strong third brood this year.
Before Katrina arrived I found a mating pair that were occupied for about a hour. Later
Katrina spotted a mating pair of Large Whites, which concluded a morning that also saw
several Red Admirals, a Painted Lady, a single fresh Meadow Brown, ' Whites ' and a very
worn Brown Argus.
It would be interesting to know Bob Eades assessment of this years third brood, but from
what I observed I would say a very healthy number were present.

Then on to Herstmonceux....................

[trevor]

Cheers Wurzel. Small Copper numbers seem to slowly building at Herstmonceux,
but well down on the good years. Same goes for most other species there this Autumn,
all down in numbers.

Thanks David. My tally is now six Small Torts, including two ex hibernators. Dire !.

On arrival at Herstmonceux we were treated to free entry, as the debit card machines
were not working. Same in the cafe, so cash only. Thanks to Katrina I didn't go hungry!
While having lunch we were joined by John Williams, and the three of us enjoyed a very
pleasant afternoon.
In all we found three Painted Ladies, a few Small Coppers, several Red Admirals, and
at least for me the butterfly of the afternoon, a very fresh Peacock, which posed very
well for the cameras. Unsurprisingly there's a striking similarity of my shots and Katrina's.

One of the better days of this season.

[Katrina]

A good haul of photos and a good afternoon out