October 2011 sightings

[Jack Harrison]

And what's wrong with this signboard at a nearby organic farm?

Image of Black-veined White by Un-Natural England.

Little wonder the powers-that-be want to cut funding (and I don't know if that is in fact the case for Un-Natural England - just giving as an example) when this sort of howler occurs.

Jack

[Hoggers]

Lovely warm afternoon for a stroll around Dungeness : I saw five Red Admirals, two Small Whites, a Peacock and then much to my delight, two male Common Blues by the power station wall. Some real living colour in a unique setting.

[David M]

Another sighting this afternoon, this time a Red Admiral.

[NickB]

Beautiful morning - after the first grass-frost of the year. A couple of RA in the Cemetery and spotted 6 or 7 on a cycle ride later. Saw 5 RA in a 35 minute stop on a south-running drove - all heading straight south. Also a couple of buzzards soaring over a wood and a kestrel I disturbed from a drove-side tree.

N

[Ian Pratt]

Seen today at Walters Copse Newtown- 3 red admirals and 1 southern hawker dragonfly. At Afton chalkpit 1 clouded yellow (first on IOW for me for over two years),1 wall brown and 1 female adonis blue.
Great day for being out in the countryside.

[millerd]

At Coombe Abbey Country Park near Coventry today, several Red Admirals were still around. One was seen heading directly towards the sun at around one o'clock - due south of course - though the others were lazing around on ivy. One Speckled Wood seen as well.

Dave

[David M]

Got sent to do an errand at Waitrose in Abergavenny today, so I thought I'd stop for half an hour at Castle Meadows to see if anything was on the wing. Surprisingly, there were no Red Admirals taking advantage of 16C temperatures and sunny skies. I did, however, see one solitary Small/Green Veined White which was too far away for me to get a positive I.D.

[EricY]

Wet week in Cumbria last week! I was seduced by the dry weather I had at end june/early july when I went for the MR,HBF,NBA etc into booking a week in oct for the scenery etc. We had never been up there before & in all our years of travel we have never had such a wet cloudy week or come home a day early!. However in one bright spell of 20mins I did see 2 Red Admirals along the west shore of Ullswater. How those Mountain ringlets manage to survive up there I have no idea. Eric

[Ian Pratt]

Two red admirals seen at Shalcombe Down on the IOW this afternoon.

[Nick Broomer]

Late morning i saw 2 Red Admirals in the garden so i thought i would leave the wife indoors, again and go in search of butterflies. so i decided to drive to a small village called Forest Green, park there and walk towards Leithhill Tower. Walking northwards out of the car park i encounted my only butterfly, on my entire walk, a Red Admiral.

But also seen were 4 Emperor Dragonflies, [definitely Emperor Dragonflies, i know its rather late in the year to see them] numerous Common Darters, one pair copulating. A female Siskin taking a drink from one of two ponds i encounted. but my highlight of the afternoon was seeing a Honey Buzzard being mobbed by a couple of Jackdaws, and a pair of Ring-Necked Parakeets. Also saw a further 4 Buzzards, one of which was another Honey Buzzard, [could of been the same one] and 3 flying together, very high up and too far away to identify species. Did`nt take my binoculars, silly boy.

the two pictures below were taken in very poor light, hence the low quality.

nick.

[Nick Broomer]

Now i have sorted through the rest of my pictures thought i would post another two. These were taken in far better light.

nick.

[NickB]

On one of the only south-facing ivy bushes in flower this morning in the Cemetery - 5 Red Admirals.
N

[Matsukaze]

How usual is the yellowish suffusion of the wings on that Common Darter? I can't remember seeing one quite like it.

[Neil Hulme]

On Sunday at Cissbury Ring I watched a very fresh-looking female Clouded Yellow in the ramparts on the SW corner. Elsewhere around the flanks I saw Peacock, Speckled Wood and a handful of Red Admiral heading south. Still a little life left in the season.
Neil

[celery]

Very surprised to see a single small copper during a lengthy walk in the Trent valley on Sunday. In the margins of an agricultural field between the Nottinghamshire villages of Fiskerton and Morton. In decent condition too.

[MikeOxon]

Yesterday afternoon, while working at my computer, I watched a Peacock searching carefully along he eaves, just above my window, presuming looking for a pace to hibernate. There is a vine runs along under the eaves and it was exploring very thoroughly. After a while, it moved away to look elsewhere but then came back about a quarter of a hour later.

I was impressed by the apparent care that was being taken. It would be fascinating to know what criteria guided its search.

Mike

[Wildmoreway]

This Speckled wood was sunning itself on Pampas Grass at Hollacombe Gardens near Paignton yesterday afternoon, I also saw at two others there as well.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13372714@N ... hotostream

[Wildmoreway]

Very surprised to see a single small copper during a lengthy walk in the Trent valley on Sunday. In the margins of an agricultural field between the Nottinghamshire villages of Fiskerton and Morton. In decent condition too.

I often used to see Small Coppers up until around the 20th October in South Cheshire.

[lee3764]

Small Coppers still going strong here in Par in Cornwall. I recorded with my little son, Robert, 5 fresh adult Small Coppers on Saturday 15th October, 2011 in sand dunes - Lee Slaughter.

[lee3764]

Very surprised to see a single small copper during a lengthy walk in the Trent valley on Sunday. In the margins of an agricultural field between the Nottinghamshire villages of Fiskerton and Morton. In decent condition too.

I often used to see Small Coppers up until around the 20th October in South Cheshire.

Well here in lovely mild Cornwall, a fellow recorder and myself have had late repeated sightings of Small Coppers some years ago which had been checked on daily until disappeared/perished during 1990 (excellent hot summer) & had one as late as 19th November, 1990. If that wasn't late enough, after the superb summer of 1995, we consistantly recorded several Small Coppers well into November & 2 late emergent adults clung on until the last one disappeared after a hail storm and a heavy frost after being last recorded on 22nd November, 1995 near St Austell on the short grassy banks near a stream which used to attract late Autumn sunshine around the middle of the day. We found freshly laid ovae on Sorrel leaves until mid November too!!
22nd November...Beat that date! (not much chance at all if the cold weather decends again this November as per last year!!).
Cheers,
Lee Slaughter (Cornwall).