Neil Freeman

[Wurzel]

Stunning Small White shot Neil Sandford is one of those cracking places that seems to get overlooked but I saw some great birds there when I was a nipper ( Hobby, Nightjar, Crossbill, Woodlark etc)

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[essexbuzzard]

Hi Neil,sounds like you had a great time in Dorset,and i'm delighted for you.
It looks like you visited some of the sites i went to-only with better weather!
I saw Lulworth Skippers at both Bindon Hill and Durlston CP,but you're right,i think by September, Durlston is probably the better late site.
I'm a bit jealous of your Red Admirals at Studland,i've always been a bit scared to go there with my camera,to be honest

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks for your comments Wurzel, I'm not too good at birds but I did see a couple of Green Woodpeckers at Sandford.

Hi essexbuzzard, following comments from Wurzel amd millerd, I made sure that I didn't go too far north of the Knoll Beach car park at Studland, happy to say I did not have any awkward encounters

Cheers,

Neil.

[Neil Freeman]

Thursday 6th September.

This being our last day in Dorset and looking like being another nice sunny one, Jane, Sarah and Danny had already decided that they wanted to spend most of it on the beach.
We agreed that I would take them back to Studland, where the beach is within Jane’s limited walking distance from the car park, and I could have a few hours to myself.

We arrived at Studland at around 10.30 and after having a ‘compulsory’ ice cream went to have a look behind the dunes where I had seen the profusion of Red Admirals on Monday.

There were still a fair few RAs here but not the same numbers as previously, I imagine most had dispersed further inland by now.
I only spent about 30 minutes here and as well as the RAs counted 11 Small Tortoiseshells before deciding to make a move.

Small Tortoiseshell - Studland 06.09.2012

Red Admiral - Studland 06.09.2012

I had decided that I would nip round to Ballard Down which is only a few minutes’ drive from Studland then finish off by continuing through Swanage to Durlston Country Park before returning to collect the others later in the afternoon.

When I went to Ballard Down on the previous Sunday, it had been a bit dull and breezy but today (Thursday) was much warmer and following the same path as before it was soon evident that Adonis Blues were there in great numbers all along the lower south facing slopes.
I also noticed many more females flying than on my previous visit including a fairly blue one similar to the individual posted from my first visit but in better condition.

Adonis Blue female - Ballard Down 06.09.2012

Adonis Blue females and hoverfly - Ballard Down 06.09.2012

Adonis Blue female - Ballard Down 06.09.2012

Adonis Blue male - Ballard Down 06.09.2012

I believe that this is a Hornet Mimic Hoverfly, it was certainly a big beastie which doesn't really come across in the photo.

Hornet Mimic Hoverfly - Ballard Down 06.09.2012

A bit further along I saw another Clouded Yellow which circled around a bit before looking like it was thinking of settling on a patch of wild herbs.
At this moment it was intercepted by an aggressive male Adonis Blue and carried on flying down the path and over some scrub where I lost sight of it
I didn’t think I would ever swear at an Adonis Blue but I did at that moment. Still, I can’t complain, after not seeing a CY for years, I had now seen 2 in 2 days

After a little while longer I carried on to Durlston, arriving there just before 2.00pm.

I had a quick look at the Buddleia up the path to the left of the castle counting 4 Red Admirals and 4 Small Tortoiseshells.
Next to this there was a clump of Valerian growing out of the cliff face with a couple of Large Whites on it. There was also a Brimstone doing some late feeding up before hibernating.

Brimstone - Durlston 06.09.2012

Following a similar route as the other day around the cliff path and up the gully, I saw a similar selection of butterflies, this time with the addition of a Comma, only the second one of these that I had seen all week.

Comma - Durlston 06.09.2012

There was a bit of a breeze coming in off the sea this time which meant that most butterflies were settling fairly low down in the grass when they landed.

I took the shot below of a male Adonis attempting to court a female but before I could get a better one they were gone with the male chasing the female over the slope.

Adonis Blue courting couple - Durlston 06.09.2012

I also saw a few mating pairs, those below being the only ones that were not partially hidden right down in the grass.

Adonis blue pair - Durlston 06.09.2012

About 4.00pm it clouded over a bit and the breeze picked up so I headed back to Studland to collect the others.

That was it, the end of a cracking week in Dorset with some glorious weather and some excellent butterflying, we were departing back to the midlands in the morning (but not before going out for a nice meal later).
Prior to going, I had been hopeful of seeing Adonis Blues and whatever else may still have still been about but I certainly did not expect to see the amount of butterflies that I did.
The sheer numbers of Adonis Blues on the hillsides at Ballard Down, Durlston CP and Bindon Hill plus the amazing sight of all the Red Admirals at Studland were real highlights
Add to all that, the Lulworth Skippers which were a first for me and the Clouded Yellows which I had not seen since my childhood made it a truly memorable week

Bye for now.

Neil.

[millerd]

A splendid account of some glorious days spent in some of Britain's best coastal countryside, with butterflies to match. Pretty high on my personal enviometer I would say!

Many thanks for taking the time to share it, Neil.

Dave

[David M]

Ditto. In fact, I'm highly envious as weather conditions in south Wales are anything but conducive to venturing out to see butterflies.

[Wurzel]

Great report and cracking shots Neil You made me feel envious of your trip even though I'm from Dorset

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Many thanks for the great comments guys , I didn't mean to make anyone envious
Writing these reports this week made it easier to cope with going back to work after having such a fantastic time.

I did manage to squeeze in another little trip last weekend......

Saturday 8th September – Grafton Wood.

Returning from Dorset on Friday I had later noticed the sightings of the Monarch at Portland, a bit of bad timing for me as I could have done a little detour before coming back to the midlands .
That really would have been a perfect end to the week....oh well, I can’t have everything

I also noticed that Brown Hairstreaks had been showing well during the previous few days at Grafton Wood and with this being only 45 minutes’ drive from my house it was possible to pop over there for a couple of hours.

The following is a slightly altered report that I posted on Gillian Thompson’s new Brown Hairstreak Blog, Ash Brownies, a few days ago.

http://betulae.blogspot.co.uk/

I have saved posting it on here until now to maintain the timeline.


With the weather set to stay good over the weekend, I mentioned this to my son Chris, and as he had a day off from his work today (Saturday) we decided to drive over for a look.
We left just after 10.30am in glorious sunshine but nearing Grafton, it steadily got cloudier and foggier and we looked at each other as if to say ‘where’s this come from?’ As we parked up by the church however, the sun had started to break through and we could feel it getting warmer.

We had heard that the best time to see Brown Hairstreaks was for about an hour or so each side of midday, depending on the weather, so we decided to have a walk through the wood to have a look around before heading for the ‘orchard’ area which is the most reliable part of this site.

I had seen a couple of Brown Hairstreaks on the other side of the wood in 2010 so we headed for that area first which is a sort of clearing with good Blackthorn growth around the edges. After seeing a few ‘whites’, Speckled Woods, Red Admirals and Silver Y moths, I caught sight of something orangey, it was a definite Brown Hairstreak. We watched it for a while as it flew around about 15 feet up before losing sight of it behind a large Oak.

Circling back around to the orchard we found a few other people there and we all started checking the Blackthorn. At around 1.00pm the first female was sighted low down where she stayed obligingly for twenty minutes or so during which time a second female joined her so that we had two together within 10 feet or so.

Brown Hairstreak - Grafton Wood 08.09.2012

Brown Hairstreak - Grafton Wood 08.09.2012

A few more sightings were made during the next hour or so but it is impossible to say exactly how many there were as I think some of them were the same ones being seen again, although going by slight differences in markings and damage, it looks like I photographed at least 3 different individual females.

Brown Hairstreak - Grafton Wood 08.09.2012

Brown Hairstreak - Grafton Wood 08.09.2012

Brown Hairstreak - Grafton Wood 08.09.2012

By 2.00pm things had quietened down a bit and we did not have any more sightings after this time.
This led Chris to comment ‘My kind of butterfly, they get up at lunchtime for a bit then go back to bed’

Feeling very happy with our sightings and having got some photos we decided to leave shortly afterward and head home.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Cracking shots Neil they made me go all misty eyed and nostalgic I was wondering if the triangular "crimp" in the fore wing of the first female was a bird strike?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Debbie]

Fabulous pictures Neil, This is a site that I had my first visit to recently and is a wonderful place.

Debbie

[Neil Freeman]

Wurzel and Debbie, thank you for your comments

Wurzel, I was wondering if that triangular 'crimp' was a birdstrike myself. Either that or possibly damage incurred on emergence.

Saturday 15th September

A nice sunny day here in the midlands tempted me to nip out this afternoon to have a look around one of my local spots, Castle Hills near Solihull.
It wasn't long before I found a couple of Commas flitting around the blackberries among the hedgerows closely followed by a couple of Red Admirals that insisted on settling higher up to bask in the sun.

Hedgerow at Castle Hills near Solihull

Comma - Castle Hills 15.09.2012

Comma - Castle Hills 15.09.2012

Comma - Castle Hills 15.09.2012

Red Admiral against Hawthorn - Castle Hills 15.09.2012

Meadow Browns were still around in fair numbers along with Speckled Woods, Small Whites and a few Common Blues which I was pleased to see as they have been a bit scarce around here this year, emerging late and only showing up in ones and twos at most sites.

Meadow Brown - Castle Hills 1509.2012

Small White - Castle Hills 15.09.2012

Common Blue - Castle Hills 15.09.2012

At one point, a series of screeching calls drew my attention skywards to where I saw four Buzzards above me. These stayed above me for a while putting on quite a display.
I am not sure what behaviour I was seeing, whether it was two pairs or one pair and juveniles or even four totally seperate individuals, but they were fascinating to watch for a while until they moved too far away.

Buzzards - Castle Hills 15.09.2012

Buzzards - Castle Hills 15.09.2012

I coudn't get all four in one shot but I did mange to get three.

Buzzards - Castle Hills 15.09.2012

A very pleasant couple of hours with a definite early Autumn feel to it.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Neil Freeman]

Saturday 15th September - In the garden later

After getting back home later in the afternoon, I was sitting in the back garden having a mug of coffee and just contemplating things when my eye fell on some Ivy growing up and over a fence between us and our neighbours.

This is where I had seen and photographed a female Holly Blue some weeks back and as there had been a steady procession of Holly Blues through the garden at the time and also remembering Sussex Kippers post in his diary about looking for caterpillars, I thought I would have a look.

Following the advice to look for the tell-tale holes in the flower buds it was not long before I found the first caterpillar, followed by two more, all at around head height .
There may be more as the Ivy grows up to about 10feet or so and most of the flower buds are high up. I will have to get the ladders out to check them.

Holly Blue caterpillar - Coverdale 15.09.2012

Holly Blue caterpillar - Coverdale 15.09.2012

Holly Blue caterpillar - Coverdale 15.09.2012

Bye for now,

Neil.

[David M]

Excellent shots, Neil. I shall keep my own eyes open for these little holes in the ivy buds as I see the occasional Holly Blue round here.

[Wurzel]

Great stuff Neil! I'll have to check out my Ivy in the next few days.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Many thanks for the comments Wurzel and David

I had another look on the Ivy today but none to be seen, I am hoping they have moved or pupated rather than becoming a tasty morsel for a predator.

Cheers,

Neil.

[David M]

Must admit, I scoured the ivy at West Williamston in Pembrokeshire today looking for the tell tale holes.

Didn't find any, but I will persevere as there is an entire riverbank bedecked by this sprawling shrub near to me and surely I will find one eventually.

[Neil Freeman]

Saturday 22nd September

Following a busy week at work, the weather was looking promising for today so I had a hectic couple of hours this morning, getting the domestic duties out of the way in order to have an a couple of hours spare this afternoon.

The day had started with a beautiful morning and by 11.00am had warmed up enough for the ever reliable Speckled Woods in my back garden to be getting lively with 2 males defending their territories.
It is interesting to note that during the year, successive males have used the same perches on the same shrubs, the male in the photo below is in almost the same spot as one that I photographed back in June.

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 22.09.2012

Shadowbrook Meadows

Rather than wasting too much time driving too far, I decided to have a look around a couple of local spots so headed first for Shadowbrook Meadows.
By early afternoon some cloud had bubbled up and there was bit of a cool breeze. It warmed up nicely when the sun popped out between the clouds and as the afternoon went on there was more sun and less cloud.

I spent about an hour and a half here during which time I saw 6 Commas, 3 Red Admirals, 2 Speckled Wood, 1 Small Tortoiseshell and 1 tatty male Common Blue.

Comma - Shadowbrook 22.09.2012

Comma - Shadowbrook 22.09.2012

Comma - Shadowbrook 22.09.2012

Comma - Shadowbrook 22.09.2012

Red Admiral - Shadowbrook 22.09.2012

Red Admiral - Shadowbrook 22.09.2012

Common Blue - Shadowbrook 22.09.2012

Sheldon Country Park.

I then headed back towards Birmingham and turned off to Sheldon Country Park which is on the opposite side of Birmingham Airport to Shadowbrook.
I walked along to just past an area at the end of the runway where people gather to watch the aircraft. The grass here is cut back a couple of times a year but around the edges there are areas that are left where I have seen Common Blues and Small Coppers previously.

I did not find any Small Coppers today but I did find another male Common Blue that had seen better days and a nice looking female.

Common Blue male - Sheldon CP 22.09.2012

The shots below are all of the same female, the topside shots show how the amount of blue can vary depending on the light and angle.

Common Blue female - Sheldon CP 22.09.2012

Common Blue female - Sheldon CP 22.09.2012

Common Blue female - Sheldon CP 22.09.2012

Also seen here were 2 Speckled Wood, 2 Small White and a single Red Admiral.

A very pleasant afternoon, one which could well be my last one looking for butterflies this year.

Looking at my diary last year, the last butterfly that I saw was a Red Admiral in my garden on 30th October so it will be interesting to see what will be this years.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[David M]

I like the Common Blue, Neil, but your first Red Admiral is even more stunning (it also has the seldom seen white spot in the red forewing band).

[Wurzel]

Cracking Comma too Neil They won't seem to open up for me at the moment? How are you doing for Brownie points at the moment? I'm starting to save mine for next season

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks for the comments David and Wurzel, much appreciated as always

I am not sure how I stand on Brownie points at the moment, I tend to use them up as fast as I earn them, in fact I probably owe a few back


With the horrible weather of the past few days and the evenings getting darker again, I have taken the opportunity to look back through my notes from this year.

I had been thinking that I had probably seen 40 or so species this year and was quite surprised to see that the Brown Hairstreaks at Grafton Wood the other week had made it a nice round 50

I am well pleased with this, especially considering the 'less than ideal' weather we have had this year and the fact that there were a number of species that I made no attempt to see due to distance or timing (or both)

I have also learnt a number of valuable lessons this year including the fact that a surprising number of butterflies can still be found even when the weather would indicate otherwise. This is perfectly illustrated by the photo below which I posted in this diary back in July.

Chris photographing a Marbled White in the rain

I think the second most important thing that I have learnt is that flight times can vary enormously from year to year and it would be quite possible to look for a species at the wrong time and miss them .
A good example of this is with Peacock Butterflies which around my area appeared in the summer about 4 weeks later than last year and were only really abundant for about 2 weeks before mostly disappearing. If I had not been in the right place at the right time and seen good numbers then I might well have missed them.

Having said that, I have also had some good luck this year in that the later flying times of some species has meant that I have managed to see some butterflies that I did not anticipate earlier in the season, I guess every cloud has a silver lining (well maybe not all given the number of clouds this year)

Bye for now,

Neil.