Winding Down
Last weekend I lamented the fact that the 2012 butterfly season was coming to an end - and what a difference a week makes! Despite sunshine and warmth the majority of species had all but disappeared when I visited several sites on Saturday (29th September), with the exception of Red Admiral, Comma and Large White. At Steyning (I couldn't resist a last look!) I failed to see Brown Hairstreak for the first time since August and only a couple of Speckled Wood and Meadow Brown were present, apart from the aforementioned. On Mill Hill it was a similar story, with only two almost unrecognisable Adonis Blue, a Common Blue and a few Meadow Brown on the wing. However, I did see a couple of fresh Small Copper out egg laying. These are the only third brood specimens I have seen this year and the species looks unlikely to produce its normally strong autumn crop. With the season still running two weeks late through September we are now unlikely to see a significant third brood of Wall this year. The situation is in marked contrast to recent years, when a flying start in the warm spring period enabled many species to squeeze in extra broods at the back end.
While on Mill Hill I received a call from Dan Danahar, who had found a mating pair of Large White sitting on sea kale at Shoreham Beach. When I joined him there were about a dozen of these immigrant butterflies flitting over the shingle.
Despite the rapid wind down there is still likely to be some interesting activity through October and early November. At some point we are likely to see a spectacular exodus of Red Admiral in a southerly direction - eyes peeled! Given the huge numbers present in the UK at the moment it would be even more interesting if we don't.