Highs and Lows of 2008

[wavelea1]

In the same vain as Gruditch - discussing this year in local areas, it would be good to know what have been the high points of your year. Mouse has often talked of 'moments' and I think we all have them although perhaps not as profound as hers, understandably.

For me, despite it being a pretty dismal year and Sooz and I having a break in France in April and Italy in September the big win was in early June at Heddon Valley.

Walking from Hunters Inn down to the Heddon Mouth on the coast on a very warm Tuesday afternoon we saw and photographed the High Brown Fritillary although there was a degree of luck involved as it was mixed in with Dark Greens and Silver Washed. (see pic attached) Sooz also saw 6 Green Hairstreaks. It was a great day out which I would recommend to all. We stayed in Lynton.

The low point was 13 days in North Norfolk where with high hopes we probably had less than 12 hours sun throughout and I failed to see the White Letter Hairsteak, Silver Studded Blue or the Swallowtail.

Mike

[Denise]

Highs and Lows, hmmmm.
Well the Lows is easy. Two for me, being poorly and missing out on the trip to see Black Hairstreak and Swallowtail, and the month of August, which was very cloudy and dismal.

The Highs. That's a lot harder as there were so many. I've spent all morning thinking about it, and just when I think oh yes, that was brilliant, something else pops into my mind, but the best moments were ;-

West Yatton Down for Green Hairstreak and Dingy Skipper.
Sand Point for Glanville Fritillary, loads of Common Blue, Brown Argus and Small Copper - brilliant day.
Hazelbury Common for Marsh Fritillary, Adonis Blue and loads of Dingy Skipper and Large Skipper, - fantastic place.
Ravensroost Meadow for Brown Hairstreak and Somerford Common for Valezina SWF, - magical
The list goes on and on, but all of the above were shared with Eccles.

I suppose that my very best experience was in Kos, when I happened upon Swallowtail flying around me and ovipositing right in front of me.
The are so graceful and elegant, and I felt privileged to spend this time with them. They were the highlight of my holiday and my butterfly year.
I just wish that I had had someone to share it with.

Denise

[KeynvorLogosenn]

I just wish that I had had someone to share it with.

Well you have shared it with all of us Denise!
I have never come across a Swallowtail, I think I am going to make it a mission of 2009. Hearing everyone describtions and moments of them makes me want to find one more!

Mouse has often talked of 'moments'

ha! I often go on a bit don't I? no need to comment on that by the way

Okay, now that's hard making me chose.. I think that this butterfly season has been excellent, perfect for me as it is the first one where I really got the chance to go out there and explore!

Well, okay, I always take bad news first, the low point of 2008 in the butterfly calender was probably when I had an inset day, planned to go out to listen for a butterfly - this was back when I started listening for them - and I set out all optimistic, and it rained. Not only did it rain.. it poured! Typical

Where as there has been so many highs!!
- Finding my first butterfly, no idea what it was.. I didn't have a library of butterfly sounds in my head as a reference. But digging into the archives, it was probably a Peacock.. I remember feeling really excited and happy.. mainly because I didn't think it was possible to start with!
- Photographing my first butterfly, I needed butterflies IDing, so I could identify them by sound as I could have a name to a sound. It was a Speckled Wood. I was delighted.
- I was finding it a bit tough at first to navigate around my field. So I was looking after a friends cat while they were away, and in their garden there was a huge buddleia bush. One that buddleia were loads of peacocks and Red Admirals. Fantastic. The sound of them fluttering around, chasing each other was just beautiful
- Hearing a Coma, that has got to be the most amazing sound I have ever heard in my life.
- Finding a Skipper, these things has such a soft delicate flutter, almost silent, if I was to move, I would lose it in the rustle of the grass. Amazing.

There are plenty more, but I would be a bit long otherwise

Em

[Tony Moore]

LOW - arriving at Wheatfen on 7th June to be told by the Warden ''If yar see one, that'll be a boonus. I've only sane three or far all season!'' And then chasing round all day with thirty or so other hopeful leps after a couple of pretty tatty ones .
HIGH - going to How Hill the next morning at 08.30 and finding the place swarming with freshly emerged STs!! . You could pick your thistle and within a couple of minutes it would be occupied - miraculous. When the crowds started to arrive at about 10.30, the STs all b****d off and no one would believe me. Where do they go?

[Padfield]

I didn't answer Gruditch's post because the year out here wouldn't mean much to UK butterfliers. But I had plenty of highs - mostly life ticks and mid-life ticks (things I haven't seen since I was a youngster ).

Most of these have been thanks to others. Matt Rowlings helped me get my first ever scarce heaths, Philippe Bricaire guided me to my first chestnut heaths and large heaths and Tim Cowles shared his local large coppers with me (I'd seen one large copper before in my life, in Hungary). Another life tick was Reverdin's blue, which both Matt and Tim helped me find, in different locations, and 2008 saw my first ever false graylings (also thanks to Tim).

2008 also saw short-tailed blues spread into my local region and it was a real high to see this species every time I went down to the valley.

The low was being turfed out of my chalet. But I move into a new one in exactly 2 weeks time and the area is excellent for butterflies.

Scarce heath:


Large copper:


Guy

[markhows]

Lows - Missing Wood White for the third year running
High's - Mountain ringlet, Real's Wood White

Mark

[NickB]

Highs - Seeing Swallowtails flitting around (v. few decent photo ops tho) at Strumpshaw and Purple Emperor in Fermyn Woods
And the few fine days when butterflies were flying...

Lows - Going to Totternhoe too early - no Small Blue or Dukes around! (And seeing one field where I saw Dingy Skippers the previous year ploughed-up - end of set-aside; and the bottom of another quarry where I saw Small Blue totally grazed-out by horses)....and not seeing a single SSB in Suffolk despite 2 trips to see them - one to RSPB reserve when they were there but not in an area open to public!
And in general - any free day when it rained in the season...
N

[Dave McCormick]

Highs for me:

Seeing around a hundred or so small heaths at a bog about 6-7 miles from my house, and that was in one day.
Discovering Narrow Boarderd Five Spot Burnet moths at the same location, which is a bit inland for them
Discovering a new colony of common blues not far from my house, never seen them there before.

Seeing wood whites/ Eyed Hawk Moth/ Marsh Fritillary and Green Hairstreak at Montaighs Moss. New species on my list for 2008. Although the Green Hairstreak was a bit akward to photo and the marsh fritillaries flew so fast they were hard to spot, no flowers so they did not stop for a photo, maybe this year I'll get luckier.

Lows:

Saw hardly any small coppers, seems it was not a great year for coppers in my area
Not really much else except not photographing the marsh fritillary, only seeing an yellowish/orange strak in the distance a few times. Have problems photographing fritillaries at best of times.

Goin to Killard Point NNR to see DG Fritillaries/Meadow Browns and Common blues. Supposed to be great numbers of common blues and meadow browns there and wanted to see if that was true. Maybe it was a little late in year (august)took about 1-2 hours getting there, it rained when I arrived and saw not much but hundreds of meadow browns, one or two six spot burnets and two female common blues, and a silver y moth (all in a 5 mile radius) and that was when sun came out... as I was leaving!

[Charles Nicol]

Highs:
In England: first sightings of Green Hairstreaks ( on Fleam Dyke with help from NickB ), Purple Emperors ( Fermyn Woods with help from johnb ),Black Hairstreaks ( Brampton Wood & Monks Wood ), aberrant Small Tortoiseshell ( Spaldwick )

In France: first sightings of Great Banded Grayling ( mistook it for a Camberwell Beauty at first ), Ilex hairstreak, various skippers & fritillaries

Lows:
Missing the photo of the aberrant Small Tortoiseshell by 1/2 a second
Car broken into whilst in Brampton Wood


Charles

[dave brown]

Lows
Missing Chequered Skipper in Scotland despite searching several sites at the right time of the year around the Fort William area (poor weather- cold, windy and sometimes very wet). Also failed to see Azure Hawker for the first time in four visits.
MIssing Mountain Ringlet at Ben Lawers. To be honest did not even attempt when passing nearby. It was raining so heavy it would have been a waste of time.
Missing High Browns at Arnside, again very poor weather.
Common theme appearing here involving the weather.
Highs
Seeing Marsh fritillary for the first time (on a sunny day).

Dave