April 2011

[Neil Freeman]

Another sunny day in the West Midlands but with a stiff wind blowing through the trees in my back Garden. Stayed at home today and did a bit of pottering about in the garden with my camera within reach, just in case.
My usual resident Speckled Woods seemed to have increased in number, at one point I could see 6 seperate individuals. Also regular passing visits from Orange Tips and Green Veined Whites.

A pleasant day which got me thinking that sometimes it is easy to overlook things right under our noses.

Cheers,

Neil.

[millerd]

Marsh Fritillaries at Hod Hill today.

Dave

[Bill S]

Dave

Is your first MF shot within the normal variance or an aberration? EDIT - Ignore, I just saw your other post.

Bill

[Zonda]

Dorset Dukes fighting back this year. Pics to follow,

[Willrow]

Paid a quick visit to Aberbargoed (nr. Ebbw Vale) whilst on the way to Abergavenny to see if any Marsh Fritillaries were out.

They weren't, which I guess is unsurprising given the location of this site, but there were numerous Common Blues and Dingy Skippers on the bird's foot trefoil growing on the slurry hill adjacent to the site.

This site was boggy in places when I visited last June, but it has almost completely dried out, which gives me cause for concern for the Frits when they emerge.

Hi David,

I spent about two hours at Aberbargoed Grasslands last Friday, was probably being overly optimistic though, hoping to see Marsh Fritillary on the wing for the first time ever in April. My search for caterpillars produced just one...I must be losing my touch I can only guess the adults should be on the wing about the middle of this month, which is a couple of weeks behind the warmer climes of the southern and western areas from which they have already been recorded. As you know June is the best time to visit Aberbargoed.

Are you aware that the Grasslands has a permanent warden? I usually spend some time discussing the current habitat situation with him, but it was a holiday. The site has always been highly vulnerable to fire, the grass as you mention has been tinder dry for some weeks now, so we are hoping that the fire starting vandals/morons (feel free to add a title to describe these people ) stay well away.

You will be pleased to know I counted more than 120 adults during a mid-June visit last year, if they did what nature intended then this year could prove equally productive - but - Marsh Frit's are fickle critters, so we must wait and see what numbers they produce this year. I'm encouraged by the efforts of Caerphilly County Borough Council regards Aberbargoed Grasslands, the future of this special place looks bright.

In the meanwhile I'll whet your appetite with an image of an adult Marsh Fritillary from last June and also one of the larva found last Friday. By the way, on your next visit keep your eyes open for Mother Shipton which can often be found among the Marsh Fritillary.

Regards,

Bill

[David M]

Thanks for that response, willrow. I went twice during the flight period last year and whilst they weren't about in huge numbers, they were certainly noticeable both times. I hope we get a bit of rain between now and mid-May, because there wasn't much in the way of nectar-bearing plants yesterday.

Equally, a bit of rain would freshen things up for the Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries on site. They tend to fly in the boggy area to the south of the site, but that's the area that's practically dried up.

[David M]

They say statistics don't lie, and to bring this monthly sightings thread to a close, I'd like to draw people's attention to confirmation of just how good an April 2011 has been:

April 2010 Sightings thread - 144 posts/2,713 viewings

April 2011 Sightings thread - 297 posts/5,545 viewings

May has a lot to live up to!

[Pete Eeles]

Great observation, Dave. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm exhausted from monitoring all of the butterfly activity in April since it "ups" the number of emails I get, the species I'd like to see, the sites I need to visit, the progress of livestock being cared for, etc. etc. Bring on the rain

Someone asked me recently - "are butterfly numbers improving?". And, for the first time in a very long time, I had to say "yes". This spring has just been phenomenal.
Cheers,

- Pete

[NickB]

They say statistics don't lie, and to bring this monthly sightings thread to a close, I'd like to draw people's attention to confirmation of just how good an April 2011 has been:
April 2010 Sightings thread - 144 posts/2,713 viewings
April 2011 Sightings thread - 297 posts/5,545 viewings
May has a lot to live up to!

Nice observation: I noticed last year that it was only in the last week of April that I had photographed many butterflies at all, as I remember selecting shots for the April 2010 comp.. In fact, March 2010 was a better month - at least I seemed to have more photos for my efforts.