Goldie M

[Goldie M]

Hi! Mike, Thanks for your info, my husband will be interested in the old church, I don't mind looking at places but will be more interested in the butterflies

The South Downs hope fully may have some I've not yet photographed . What about Marden Wood? What can I expect to find there? We are going in Mid June for a week then on to Kent.

The butterflies we have in the North can vary greatly with the ones you can find in the South and I know a lot of the rarer types seem to come mostly in July or Aug
so what did you Photograph Mike ? Goldie

[MikeOxon]

so what did you Photograph Mike ?

Unfortunately for your timing, most of my photo 'finds' at that time were high-Summer Vanessids and Fritillaries. I saw my first Silver-washed Fritillaries in Marden Forest back in August 1976 - they seemed quite hard to find back then - and there were also Dark Green frits and Purple Emperor, but all later in the year. June does tend to 'fall between two stools'.

I believe that Stansted Forest (north of Havant) now has good coppiced woodland and is notable for Pearl-bordered frits, but they are probably over by June.

Someone with more up-to-date local knowledge may be able to give more help

Mike

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Mike and Goldie,

Sadly the Pearl-bordered Fritillary went extinct at Stansted Forest quite a few years ago.

Neil

[MikeOxon]

Sadly the Pearl-bordered Fritillary went extinct at Stansted Forest quite a few years ago.

Oh dear - it looks as though Pete needs to revise the 'Sites' pages again.

I do hope you find some interesting butterflies on the wing, Goldie! Kingley Vale always used to be a good downland site.

Mike

[essexbuzzard]

If you are going to Kent in June,or can find your way up to Essex,don't forget to go and see the Heath Fritillaries! Also, the Essex White-letter Hairstreaks will be out by late June. Given good weather,they can be guaranteed at head height at Hadleigh Castle Country Park,near Southend.

[Goldie M]

It looks like I'll miss out on the PB and the SPB fritillaries but I'm not too mad about that has in early June I'll be up at Gaits Barrow and I've shot them there each year. I would like to see a Glanville Frit though if possible also a Wood White. I plan on trying to get shots of the Silver SB in Chester when I get back it's only an hour from us on the M56 then the M6 in July, also the White Hair streaks and the Purple which are also at GB together with the HBF and the DGF anybody going to look for the HBF will find it at GB always around the middle of July. It flys with the DGF and you can't tell them apart ( well I can't) until they settle.
I would like to find the Silver Washed Fritillary has well Mike I know it's up there some where I'll have to get onto my Lanc's Butterflies. I did see one once In Denge Woods in Kent near Canterbury, I've been back since but no sight of it yet, that was August Mike.
Thanks everybody anyway I would have loved to see a Purple Emp , maybe another year Goldie

[Goldie M]

Although the weather as been great, the wind has been really bitter. We went to Fleetwood on Tuesday temp was around 9 and the Sun was really warm no Butterflies yet though, I put this down to the cold winds very disappointing We spent the day there and when we got home the temp was 12 so I wished I'd gone some where local like Hall-Lee-Brook may be i'd have seen a Butterfly, decisions , decisions, lets hope i make some better ones for the rest of March

I've been concerned lately about the birds that used to come every day to our garden. With the warmer weather I thought they'd be building their nests, etc by now but we've seen very few in fact the gold Finch seem to have stopped coming altogether, even the Starling pay us a visit and usually stay in the garden for quite a while but they don't hang around . No Chaffinch either. We went to Pennington Flash one day and there was no birds like last year not even an Heron. Someone had sighted a Bittern no idea where about in the Flash , infact there were very few photographers there. No idea whats going on but things certainly not has they should be for this time of year. My Husband said they've heard about the Snow on the way this weekend and have all gone South. Goldie

[EricY]

Goldie, if you are going back north from Kent at end june it might be worth diverting (a little) to take in Fermyn wood if weather is warm & sunny for the PE's. 2012 they were a bit later but in 2011 I saw them at Fermyn on June 24th but most bf's were earlier that year. Eric

[Padfield]

Hi Goldie. It's quite normal for winter groups of finches and tits to disperse at this time of year and move off to set up their individual territories. I do hope you get some of those territories in your garden - maybe they've dispersed but haven't really started singing and defending their posts yet. And it's not just in gardens: things are moving everywhere and many places can seem quite bare while the birds are in transit. I shouldn't worry too much just yet!

Guy

[David M]

I've always considered this time of year to be the point in time when birds are gathering in the 'dressing room' ready to emerge onto the field of play, do the haka and let battle commence.

Give it two weeks and they'll all be 'in play'. Same with our chickens, they lay a little bit more in February and early March, but come the equinox, they suddenly go crazy. It's like their tiny bird-brains immediately recognise that there's more daylight than darkness and their instincts go out of control.

[Goldie M]

Thanks Padfield and David, I've never known the birds to disappear like they have this time of year before, it's good to know this can happen and then they reappear I was looking out into the back garden today and to my delight I saw 2 Gold Finch , 2 Chaffinch, 1 Coal Tit, 1 Dunnock and the Starlings were back also the Blackbirds, so thats a start, not a great one considering the amount we had before but a start

Hi! Eric to begin, where is Fermyn Wood We are heading back North about the 7th July with our Caravan after staying in Canterbury (visiting family) if there's a caravan site near there maybe we could manage a couple more nights. If you say the PE came out sooner Middle of June maybe with being that bit later we could see them, I'll try and find the place on the comp also see if there's a site near there, Thanks every one for your input Goldie

[Goldie M]

I found Fermyn Wood and got directions to it from Canterbury Eric, we'll have a look there if we go back to Kent In early August, I hope that won't be too late. My Husband says he'll have had enough of the Caravan when on the home track Can't blame him

I down loaded lots about it, thanks again for your info I'd never known or heard about the Wood before, PM's are on my list of Butterflies I've yet to see and if the PH is there has well that will be great. Goldie

[MikeOxon]

If you took the M40 route from the M25 to Birmingham M6, then you would pass Bernwood (just North of Oxford). Good for both Purple Emperor and Purple Hairstreak (and lots more!)

Mike

[Goldie M]

Thanks Mike, I'm writing all these places down, with luck I may get to see them. Lets hope the weather gets warmer. I watched the vision and saw the snow down South and we were in lovely Sunshine, it was cold but in the the sun and a way from the wind it was lovely. We certainly have a strange climate here but I wouldn't change it , I think last year things were abit too early and the Butterflies suffered for it maybe this year things will be more normal. Roll on! Goldie

[Goldie M]

The last time I posted I wrote about the Snow in the South, it looks like tomorrow we're on the receiving end Looking on the bright side of things in my green house my seeds have started to peep through, so that's a start. My daffodils are well on their way to opening but if the snow is heavy that could just spoil the lot.

I've been round the garden looking if I can save anything, Crocus are so delicate though I've no chance there. Ah Well! we'll just have to hope the old saying is right, "If March comes in like a Lion it goes out like a Lamb" Hope fully Easter will be nice and I can eat my chocolate egg in the garden Goldie

[Goldie M]

Well! we certainly got the Snow , how's this for a comparison, Butterfly in the garden this time last year and today I did get a nice surprise however when I looked into the back Garden later and saw the two Gold Finch We had to dig ourselves out though to feed the the birds, I took care of the Snow on the green house roof, you never know we may get some Sun yet Goldie

[David M]

Incredible to think this time last year it was 20-odd degrees! You look to have had at least a foot of snow there, Goldie. It might stick around till Easter too as every night next week appears to be below freezing!

[Goldie M]

Hi! David, yes the weather is certainly bad round here, we've still got those East winds and their very strong, it does thaw a bit during the day and the roads are now clear so that's good. They found one man dead in his car this morning on Burnley Moor he's only 27 so that's very sad.
There's nothing anyone can do about the weather we've to grin and bear it . I caught sight of a few Daffodil heads through the snow this morning, round here it's been so cold up to now we've had no Daff's in full bloom so hope fully we'll see them when the weather returns to normal Goldie

[Goldie M]

I visited the Butterfly House at Chester Zoo over the Easter holidays the weather although cold was Sunny, Ideal really for walking about. The Butterflies were lovely and it felt really good to see them flying after the bad weather we've had recently and not being able to see our own flying about.
The Zoo had loads of new born's from baby Elephants to Rhino's I couldn't resist a few shots of them. the place was packed where ever we went but the children were loving it including this child
On the Tuesday April 2nd we went to Bolton 's BH which had just opened for the season, I hoped to get a glimpse of the Moth that was blown off course I don't think the Moth I took a shot of was it ( probably dead now) I think I've taken shots of a similar one before but it's still quite a big one and the Butterflies were still quite dopey and coming out of the Chrysalis state, very interesting though.
I hope our Butterflies get flying soon maybe this weekend if the wind drops Goldie

[Goldie M]

At long last! Butterflies! I went to Hall-Lee-Brook on the 17th of April and inspite of the strong winds I got my ist shot of the year a Small Tortoiseshell I'd seen them before but no luck with pic's etc.
On Sat the 20th I went once more to HLB and the weather was perfect so were the Butterflies, where I'd just seen one before there was virtually loads.
Small Tortoiseshell's were every where not one was interested in food only mating, so I Didn't manage to get any shot's of them on the flowers .
I saw Peacock's as well they were harder to take shots of they flew a way before I could get too near I did manage one though it's not so good. I also saw a Comma this was way beyond my reach , had to use a long shot. When I got back home a Comma was on my Heather so this really made my day Goldie