Pauline

[Pauline]

Thank you Mike - that means a lot. You more than most know how hard I have been trying to improve my photography skills this season. I shall certainly be trying out your suggestions (soon) and shall post the results.

Thank you for your support Debbie.

Thank you Nick. Might consider your offer but only if you throw in a few Small Coppers with blue spots (I've seen your lovely photos ), oh, and a fresh Purple Hairstreak!

Susie, it must be a couple of years now since we last met up - I'd forgotten that you would have seen at first hand my (lack of) photographic skills to allow comparisons to be made with recent photos, so that praise means a great deal believe me .

Thank you also Neil. I am always worried that too many similar photos may be boring but if you and Susie would like to see several then I am happy to oblige.

There were still a great number of Chalkhills around when I visited Denbies and although many were looking very worn there were still a considerable number that were very fresh and many mating pairs were still in evidence. I still find it something of a novelty that by slightly changing position the backgrounds can be so different and some obviously complement the butterfly more than others. Some subtle differences in the shots below.

Now, here's the thing - I always thought that I could tell the difference between Adonis and Chalkhill and the fact that they were flying together didn't cause a problem with identification; in fact, it made it easier as it enabled direct comparison between the species and I was very confident that the butterfly I was photographing was a fresh female Adonis - until 2 worn Chalkhills pounced on her and one succeeded in mating! Seems I have even more to learn than I thought

[Pauline]

Having just looked at Chris' lovely photos I was reminded that I took these the other day. Don't know what the spider is, nor the moth, which sadly was still alive:

[ChrisC]

nice action shots pauline that is a xysticus species spider and the moth is a chalk carpet.

CHris

[Pauline]

Just a quick update on Noar Hill - BH seen down low on blackthorn at about 11.00am yesterday - Friday (but not by me).

I have now tried out your suggested crops Mike. I think the first one is slightly improved:

.... but the second one is very much improved:

I don't really have too much of a problem using post processing to enhance an image tho' I still really don't know much about the package. In fact, I now have a confession. The beautiful Small Copper I posted earlier was lacking an antennae so I thought I would make him complete again .

I have been trying different crops on other photos including this one taken a short while ago and again I think it is an improvement:

[Pauline]

Not long now til my diary concludes for the season so I am pulling out all the stops to get out and about, calling in favours and bribing friends to animal sit . This gave me the opportunity today to see this beautiful, pristine Painted Lady - a species I haven't seen for a couple of years now:

It was hot out there with no shade, oh so hot and various bugs were biting bits out of me so I decided to call it a day. On the way back I spotted this chap - quite a long way off but a Kestrel I believe:

... and this bush cricket:

... before stopping off at a country pub for a long cool drink, just by the river

[Pauline]

I appreciate your comment Chris - thank you for taking the time to provide identifications.

Today I shall be attempting to find a female Brown Hairstreak, beautifully posed with wings open but having never managed it before I don't have high hopes. Good luck tho' to all those whom I know will be on a similar mission today. The best I could do yesterday was this:

Only one quick, snatched shot before returning to the trees

[MikeOxon]

The beautiful Small Copper I posted earlier was lacking an antennae so I thought I would make him complete again

I think there is a distinction to be made between photography aimed at producing an attractive and , hopefully, artistic image and photography as a means of illustrating a biological specimen.

On this site, there are many who are much more interested in the characteristics of the butterfly than in the photograph per se, so I would be very wary of altering the specimen itself. There may be an expert on butterfly antennae who would get very excited about your 'aberration' - spotting something that the rest of us would never notice. I am exaggerating a little to make a point but I think it is wise to mention any alterations in the accompanying text, when posting photos where the specimen itself has been altered.

I hope this doesn't sound too 'po faced' as I myself am firmly on the 'attractive image' side but I try to be very careful when posting on this site, as I know many (most?) members are much more interested in butterflies than photography.

As usual, you have posted many lovely images and I look forward to your Brown Hairstreak female topside!

Mike

[Paul Harfield]

That makes it 2 down, I to go - as well as the Small Tort which I have almost given up on

Hi Pauline
Before you sign off for the year, and give up on the above. I thought I would let you know I saw a Small Tortoiseshell this morning at Gilkicker Fort in Gosport. Just the one though

[Pauline]

I feel suitably chastised now Mike as it was never my intention to mislead in any way - just using the opportunity to try out some of the facilities in the software. Nevertheless, I shall heed your words of caution to avoid any misunderstandings in the future. Thank you for your comment on my photos - I hope you like todays efforts.

I had a smashing morning out at Shipton Bellinger today. It was nice to see so many familiar faces and enjoy a chat. Matthew started the ball rolling by showing me some BH flying around a tree but as they settled down I moved on to what I consider to be a bit of a hotspot. I was not disappointed. For about 4 hours it seemed as if we were surrounded by BH low down, wings open, wings closed, 3 pairs of mating Holly Blues - we didn't know which way to look . The 5 males showed varying degrees of wear and tear but the beautiful female was pristine. She spent virtually the whole of the 4 hours I was there nectaring low down on bramble and only occasionally giving us a flash of her upper side. I somewhat relectantly decided I would have to leave her but as I made my way back to the car I bumped into Wurzel and was able to lead him to where she was still nectaring. I left her in Wurzel's capable hands but I would be interested to know how much longer she stayed down. A lot of photos from the very many that I took and am still sorting through:

Just got that Small Tort to find now

[MikeOxon]

Congratulations on your Brown Hairstreak photos and what a beautiful specimen! The 'tails' on the topside photos are particularly striking.

There was no intention to 'chastise', as what you did was perfectly reasonable, but I wanted to make a more general point about image manipulation, which I hope might be useful to others as well.

Mike

[Wurzel]

Cracking shots Pauline, mine were all a bit distant in the end but I might be able to salvage one or two. She stayed for about another half an hour and then we left her in peace and she wasn't there later. I did find another female and a male later though. I hope the warm weather holds as Alners Gorse should be cracking!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Beautiful Brown Hairstreak photos Pauline.

I would have been very happy to have taken any one of those

Cheers,

Neil F.

[Pauline]

Thank you Neil- you have been taking some lovely photos too.

I am looking forward to seeing your photos Wurzel - thank you for the sentiment.

She WAS a lovely lady Mike, thank you - wish my photos could have done her justice.

I was delighted to see so many BH yesterday but it was hard to focus on photography in that heat and the butterfly was continually twisting and turning as she nectared, hardly ever still. The only time that she stopped and opened her wings for a couple of minutes she was out of my reach:

Added to that, 90% of the time she had her face buried in blossom!

When she eventually paused and looked as though she might settle a Holly Blue persistently tried to mate with her which sent her up into the trees, but only briefly. The Holly Blue went on to find his own kind:

By comparison the males looked quite dull and faded so I took few photos but one shown below:

And finally, a couple more shotes of the lady in question:

[Pete Eeles]

When she eventually paused and looked as though she might settle a Holly Blue persistently tried to mate with her which sent her up into the trees, but only briefly. The Holly Blue went on to find his own kind:

I have to say, Pauline, that your Holly Blue shot is the best I've seen of a mating pair of this species - a sight that not many get to see. Such behaviour isn't something you can go out and expect to see - which is why I really like it - it's just "different" and captures a moment of serendipity!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Gothic_dreams]

Some cracking photos Pauline, love the painted lady and brown hairstreak shots

Chris

[Pauline]

It's really thoughtful of you Paul to tell me about the Small Tort at Fort G. I do appreciate it but I have had a few longish trips recently so today I shall probably stay closer to home. Part of my 'safety stuff' is never to publish details of where I intend to be in advance so will hopefully report tomorrow.

Thank you Pete. I was astonished to see 3 mating pairs in an hour - 2 pairs visible at once - and a fair few singletons. Together with all the BH it was difficult to know what to point the camera at but, hey, I'm not complaining

Good to hear from you again Chris - glad you like the pics.

I didn't get out yesterday as a neighbour brought me a bird which had flown into his conservatory window . I am assuming it is not a wild bird and my guess would be that it is some kind of aviary finch which has escaped but if anyone reading this has any ideas on identification I would be grateful before I post to a bird forum and then advertise:

[Pete Eeles]

Looks like a Canary to me.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Pauline]

Eureka!!!

[Wurzel]

Congrats on finally getting a SmallTort, cracking shots too Now I can post my shots from my garden and not feel bad

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

That was my first thought too Pete but the beak doesn't seem right for canary and suggests some sort of foreign finch to me - Gouldian mutation? I am awaiting responses from a couple of breeders - we shall see.

Thank you Wurzel - that was very kind of you.

There are so many lovely places round here to see butterflies and other wildlife that it is not possible for me to visit them all in one season and that was the case with St Catherine's Hill where I found a single Small Tortoiseshell yesterday - as well as a host of other species including a number of very fresh Brown Argus. I had only been there once before and had forgotten how picturesque it is. I notice on the board at the foot of the hill that it is possible to see both Kingfishers and otters here so perhaps another visit is warranted before too long.

One of the first butterflies I encountered was a Silver Spotted Skipper and I hadn't even realised that they inhabited this site. It took me quite by surprise and I managed only a record shot before it disappeared:

A fresh Red Admiral was next to catch my eye. Every time I see this species I think of the beautiful photo taken by Rosalyn on the white flower with the drooping stem which is so memorable for its lovely composition. I have never even come close to finding this species in such a perfect pose photos but as my diary is coming to a close I took a quick shot:

followed by my first Peacock photo of the season (but yours is still the best Neil )

A memory that will always stay with me is my encounter with a fox. I silently moved around a bush and saw the fox which was only about 10 feet away from me (one of the advantages of being alone in an isolated place ) The fox was completely unaware of my presence as all its senses were focused elsewhere - it was totally engrossed in catching prey. I stood hardly daring to even breathe as it concentrated on something in the grass. Suddenly it did that characteristic leap up into the air and succeeded in catching the small animal. I have foxes at home both wild and not so wild but the only time I have ever seen this pounce is on TV. To witness it in person and so close was really something special and such a privilege. I only wish I could have recorded it.

It was time to return but I could not resist this Speckled Wood on the way back: