Neil Freeman

[Neil Freeman]

Wednesday 12th June.

A quick shuftie around my local area earlier this afternoon whilst there was a bit of brightness in the sky, not proper sun as such just a slightly brighter bit of cloud.

First off was Shadowbrook Meadows looking for Small Coppers and Common Blues. The first things that I saw were a number of Burnet Companion and Chimney Sweeper moths that would settle low down in the grass to get out of the stiff wind that was blowing. There were also at least half a dozen Large Whites that were surprisingly mobile given the cloud and wind.

Burnet Companion - Shadowbrook 12.06.2013

I did not find any Small Coppers but was very pleased to find a female Common Blue , especially as I did not see any first brood here last year at all and only a couple of second brood males.

Common Blue female - Shadowbrook 12.06.2013

After 45 minutes or so the sky was looking ominous and there was a feeling of rain in the air so I headed home, stopping off for a quick look in Elmdon Park LNR on my way past. This is a spot that I normally avoid during the summer, particularly at weekends, there being far to many dog walkers for my liking there who are quite happy to let their precious hounds bound up to and slobber all over you. Mid-week however, it can be relatively quiet so I decided to have a quick look.
Heading down to one of the more sheltered meadows I noticed a few Large Whites and quite a few Latticed Heath moths which as usual hunkered low down in the grass when they settled.

Large White - Elmdon 12.06.2013

I had just taken the photo above when the LW took off and within a few feet was intercepted by a male Common Blue which chased it for a while before returning and settling in the grass.

Common Blue - Elmdon 12.06.2013

Shortly after I felt the beginnings of drizzle in the air so headed home.

No Small Coppers today but I was very pleased to find the Common Blues, only one male and one female at two different spots but considering I did not find any first brood around Solihull last year and only a few second brood I was well chuffed

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Lovely shots Neil I'm only able to pop on for a bit as the OfSTED are back tomorrow but this cheered me up as a break from my lesson planning

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Debbie]

Hi Neil,
As always your pictures are super. I especially love the female common blue. Not see one in Shropshire yet (less anybody knows where they are?)

Debbie

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel, hope the Ofsted thing went ok.

Thanks Debbie, these were the first two Common Blues I have seen locally. According to Jeremy Thomas Common Blue emergence can vary a lot, usually having two broods down south but further north being single brooded depending on local climate. Of course 'further north' can be relative, my brother lives in Newcastle and he regards Manchester as in the midlands whereas to me it is in the north

Thursday 13th June

A reasonable start to the day soon turned to heavy showers but before they arrived I had a quick look in the garden to see how the Brimstone and Orange Tip larvae are getting on. Without looking too hard I found five Brimstone larvae between 10-15mm in length and three Orange Tips, two at about 5-6mm and one at about 10mm.

Brimstone larva - Coverdale 13.06.2013

Brimstone larva - Coverdale 13.06.2013

Orange Tip larva - Coverdale 13.06.2013

The Peacock eggs have not hatched yet, I am off to Devon for a week tomorrow so hoping to see these hatched on my return.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Neil - the Head can't tell us the "verdict" for 20 more days but she seemed quite cheerful so fingers crossed. Cracking shots of the cats - I haven't branched out into this area of butterfly life yet so you've got me thinking...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Back home today after a weeks family holiday at Croyde Bay, North Devon. The weather was mixed as were the butterflying opportunities with my wife, daughter and little grandson to keep happy

Nevertheless, I did manage to get out a couple of times as well as have a few good looks around the local area and managed to see 18 species of butterfly during the week.
Highlights included Marsh Fritillaries which were a life first for me , good numbers of Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries and a couple of Painted Ladies

A quick summary of species seen in rough order of sighting;

Small White - at least 2 identified, probably more.
Speckled Wood - at least a couple seen at most places.
Wall Brown - 1 at Croyde Bay.
Large Whites - a couple of positive IDs.
Small Tortoiseshell - 2 at Croyde Bay.
Common Blue - seen at most places, some really tatty, some quite fresh.
Brown Argus - 1 at Croyde Bay, my first of the year.
Meadow Brown - 2 fresh males at Croyde Bay, my first of the year.
Green-veined White - Seen at most places.
Marsh Fritillary - 20+ at Volehouse Moor
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - 20+ at Marsland and similar numbers at Heddons Mouth.
Dingy Skipper - 3 seen at Marsland, all looking very 'dingy'
Small Copper - 2 at Heddons Mouth.
Large Skipper - half a dozen males at Heddons Mouth, my first of the year.
Small Heath - Everywhere usually in good numbers.
Green Hairstreak - 3 at Heddons Mouth.
Red Admiral - 1 at Heddons Mouth, my first of the year then 2 at Croyde Bay.
Painted Lady - 2 at Croyde Bay.

I did not see any High Brown or Dark Green Fritillaries, despite going to Heddons Mouth and following directions given to me by UKB member Rogerdodge. Many thanks for the all the info Roger, it is a beautiful place in its own right and I saw plenty of other butterflies including SPBFs as in the list above
I was a bit surprised now that I have seen that Matthew Oates tweeted that he saw about 20 HBF at Heddon, apparently on the same day that I was there. Maybe I was looking in the wrong places or there at the wrong time, between 11.00am and 2.00pm between dropping the women and grandson off at Watermouth Castle family theme park and then going back to meet them. I obviously didn't have time to look everywhere but did spend 3 hours bimbling around the recommended areas. Oh well, maybe next time, it is certainly a place I would like to visit again.

More details and photos to follow when I get time to sort them out.

Bye for now.

Neil.

[David M]

Nice to see you back, Neil, and I'm glad you enjoyed your holiday.

Like Wurzel in the Isle of Wight, you seem to have just missed out on the emergence of your target species. Rather frustratingly, Matthew Oates reported 20 HBFs from Heddon Valley on 19th June

This 'late' year is catching us all by surprise.

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks David,

On the positive side, although I did not see HBFs and DGFs this time, I have seen both species before. The Marsh Fritillaries were a life first for me and in another year may well have been finished or nearly so.

Cheers,

Neil.

[David M]

Thanks David,

On the positive side, although I did not see HBFs and DGFs this time, I have seen both species before. The Marsh Fritillaries were a life first for me and in another year may well have been finished or nearly so.

Yes, you're right, Neil....and there's still plenty of time to track down HBF and DGF.

[Neil Freeman]

North Devon - 14th to 21st June, part 1.

The first report from last week in North Devon, I will be posting these in installments over the next few days as I get time.

I drove down to Croyde Bay in North Devon on Friday 14th for a week long family break with my wife Jane, my daughter Sarah and our little grandson Frankie, who will be 3 years old in August.
Being first and foremost a family break I knew that my butterflying would have to fit around what the others wanted to do, or more accurately, keeping Frankie happy which would keep the women happy

The weather for the first couple of days was a bit dull and showery with a bit of sun on the Saturday but with a strong wind. Over the first weekend I took a couple of short walks around the local area between doing family stuff to check out potential spots. One tatty Small White was the only butterfly seen on the Saturday and nothing on the Sunday which was a wetter day.

Croyde Bay has a nice sandy beach backed up by dunes, and I did see quite a few birds along some paths behind the dunes in some spots out of the worst of the wind including a number of Stonechats.

Stonechat - Croyde Bay 15.06.2013

Stonechat - Croyde Bay 15.06.2013

Stonechat - Croyde Bay 15.06.2013

There were also a number of what I think are Linnets, not being an expert on birds my IDs may well be wrong and I am quite happy to be corrected, in fact would welcome being put right on any I get wrong.

Linnets - Croyde Bay 15.06.2013

Other birds seen here were Whitethroats, Dunnocks, and Pied Wagtails including quite a few juveniles of all these.

Pied Wagtail juvenile - Croyde Bay 15.06.2013

The Sunday proved to be the wettest day that we had and from Monday afternoon the weather improved steadily for a few days and I managed to get out a couple of times and see some butterflies

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Spot on with the Linnet ID Neil. Looking forward to reading the next installment

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Padfield]

I hope I'm not being predictable, but I really love that first shot of a stonechat looking back over its shoulder, set against the open backdrop of what Nick Boles would doubtless describe as a 'boring field'.

Guy

EDIT: And is that another stonechat set set behind, on the left of the picture?

[Nick Broomer]

Lovely photos Neil, especially the 3rd Stonechat.

All the best, Nick.

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks for the confirmation of the Linnets Wurzel

Thanks for the comments Guy, I actually didn't notice the other bird in the background when I took the photo, it probably is another Stonechat, there were a number of them spaced out like sentries along the hedgerow

Thanks for the comment Nick

North Devon 14th-21st June, part 2.

Monday morning started off dull and cloudy with some light rain showers but the wind had dropped and there was a forecast that hinted at some brightness later in the afternoon.
Jane and Sarah wanted to go and have a look at Woolacombe which is just up the coast in the next bay so we headed there for a look around.
Woolacombe is a small town with a long sandy beach backed up by dunes and ‘Woolacombe Warren’, an area that has had a past history as a military training area and a golf course before being taken over and managed by the National Trust.

Whilst the others had a look around and took little Frankie on some kids attractions, I went for a short walk through part of the ‘Warren’. There was still a bit of light rain in the air at this time but even so I saw numerous birds including Meadow Pipits (I think), Stonechats and Whitethroats. I also heard Grasshopper Warblers which according to a sign by one of the paths this is a good site for.

I believe the bird below is a Meadow Pipit but again not absolutely sure on this one. The photo was taken in light rain hence the streaks.

Meadow Pipit? - Woolacombe 17.06.2013

After a bit of lunch (in truth, a huge piece of cod and chips )at a local café we headed back to Croyde as little Frankie was getting tired and Sarah wanted to see if he would have a nap.
By the time we got back it had started to brighten up a bit so whilst the girls chilled out a bit I went for a walk.

Heading through to behind the dunes again there were even more birds around now that the weather was a bit better.

Looking down behind the dunes at Croyde Bay

Pied Wagtail - Croyde Bay 17.06.2013

I think that the 'scruffy herbert' below is juvenile Dunnock, whatever it is there were a number of them around.

Juvenile Dunnock?

A bit of movement on a dandelion caught my eye and looking closer showed it to be immature stage of what is possibly a Great Green Bush Cricket.

Bush Cricket - Croyde Bay 17.06.2013

A little further along I spotted a Small Tortoiseshell, closely followed by a second one. The first one was in quite good condition making me think that it had only been around a short while but the second one was quite worn and faded.

Small Tortoiseshell - Croyde Bay 17.06.2013

Small Tortoiseshell - Croyde Bay 17.06.2013

This made me wonder if the second one was a late surviving hibernator that was actually still flying. Of course it may have also emerged recently and suffered in the weather, but with Brimstones and Peacocks still flying, I suppose there is no reason why a Small Tortoiseshell couldn’t be too.

Circling around back to the site I saw a Wall Brown that in typical fashion I couldn’t get close too and a couple of tired and worn looking male Common Blues plus a fresh looking male Speckled Wood.

After a short spell back with the others they were happy to carry on chilling so after making sure that I wouldn’t be in the doghouse , I went to have a look in a meadow that I had spotted next to the site.
By this time it was around 6.00pm and it had turned into a nice pleasant early evening which was made even better when I found my first Brown Argus of the year basking in the sun

Brown Argus - Croyde Bay 17.06.2013

Brown Argus - Croyde Bay 17.06.2013

Things were looking up and later, whilst enjoying a couple of bottles of Rattler Pear Cider, the women informed me that there was a local market next to the site the next morning which they wanted to go to followed by an afternoon on the beach which was within walking distance.
This would leave me free to have the day to myself time to get the map out and make some plans.....

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Neil Freeman]

North Devon 14th-21st June, part 3.

After some overnight rain, Tuesday morning started off cloudy but warm with a promising forecast for brighter conditions later.
As mentioned previously, I was free for the day and had spent a bit of time the evening before looking at the map and planning my day. I had seen Rogerdodges post and photo in the sightings thread of a Marsh Fritillary at Volehouse Moor and also his earlier post with a Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary at Marsland.
Looking at the Map, I figured that I could head for Volehouse Moor in the morning and carry on to Marsland for the afternoon and maybe, if I had time, stop off at Braunton Burrows on my way back to Croyde.
I was keen to try for Marsh Fritillaries as this is a species that I had never seen before and with this late season thought that maybe I would still be in with a good chance.

So it was that I headed off for Volehouse Moor and arrived at the southern section about an hour later at 10.00am under a cloudy sky but with it feeling rather warm and humid.

Volehouse Moor - it was warmer than it looks in this photo.

Within minutes I had seen a couple of Green-veined Whites and continuing down the slope to the second meadow soon found a female Marsh Fritillary. The next four photos are all of this one individual as she lazily fluttered about and settled regularly .

Marsh Fritillary - Volehouse Moor 18.06.2013

The next one is my attempt at a 'Padfield' type shot taking full advantage of the articulated screen on my FZ150 to get the camera low enough without lying down in the still wet grass.

Marsh Fritillary - Volehouse Moor 18.06.2013

Marsh Fritillary - Volehouse Moor 18.06.2013

Marsh Fritillary - Volehouse Moor 18.06.2013

After spending a little while taking photos I left her in peace and carried on down to the third meadow where I soon saw more Marsh Fritillaries. During the next hour or so I saw at least 20 in varying conditions from very worn and faded to quite reasonable.
Although it was still cloudy it felt quite warm and although they were fairly mobile, they would settle often, even if it was usually down in the grass . Nevertheless I managed to find a few that settled in positions where I could get some reasonable photos .

Marsh Fritillary - Volehouse Moor 18.06.2013

Marsh Fritillary - Volehouse Moor 18.06.2013

Marsh Fritillary - Volehouse Moor 18.06.2013

Marsh Fritillary - Volehouse Moor 18.06.2013

Marsh Fritillary - Volehouse Moor 18.06.2013

After spending a couple of hours here I decided to head back to the car, meeting a chap on my way up the meadows who turned out to be the volunteer warden who I had a pleasant and interesting chat with.

Having had a successful morning and feeling very happy at seeing my first Marsh Fritillaries I left Volehouse Moor at around Midday to continue on to Marsland.

Bye for now,

Neil

[millerd]

Lovely pictures, Neil. Looks like one of those bright warm days with just enough sun to make the butterflies wake up - but not too much...

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cracking shots Neil and congrats on the lifer Marsh Frits are one of my faves and they seem to be hanging on in there because of the late season.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

Morning Neil, I love your first Marsh Frit shot and that is a stunning Tortoiseshell - something I have struggled to see in recent years. As for your 'Padfield' style, I would say you have captured it almost perfectly with the Stonechat looking back at its mate, presumably.

[Neil Freeman]

Thank you very much for the comments Dave, Wurzel and Pauline, It was a great morning and I still had the rest of the day ahead of me

North Devon 14th-21st June, part 4.

Before coming to Devon I had looked up a number of places on the internet including Marsland and printed off some directions.
I still managed to take a wrong turn but eventually managed to find my way to the track where I could park my car, arriving about an hour after leaving Volehouse Moor.

I followed the path down through the woods, noticing a number of Speckled Woods and Green-veined Whites along the way, and continued out onto the more open hillside.

Speckled Wood - Marsland 18.06.2013

I followed the path down towards the sea and saw a few Fritillaries which I think were SPBFs as they looked a fairly bright fulvous orange colour and I would think that any PBFs still around would be faded by now. The cloud had thinned by now and it was getting very warm which meant that these were very active and didn’t settle for a positive ID but I am pretty certain that they were Small Pearls.

Marsland - looking back up the valley

Just before reaching the sea there is a wooden bridge where the path crosses a stream and joins the South West Coast Path.

Marsland - Bridge by the South West Coast Path

On the sheltered slopes here I found good numbers of Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries, the condition of which varied from well faded and tatty to quite fresh looking. These were just as active as those further up the slope but in this area were settling regularly and nectaring on the various flowering plants with up to half a dozen at once on some clumps of what I think is flowering thyme .

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Marsland 18.06.2013

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Marsland 18.06.2013

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Marsland 18.06.2013

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries - Marsland 18.06.2013

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries - Marsland 18.06.2013

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries - Marsland 18.06.2013

There were also a few Common Blues and rather faded Dingy Skippers around this area.

Common Blue - Marsland 18.06.2013

Dingy Skipper - Marsland 18.06.2013

I spent some time here taking photos and then just sitting enjoying being in a beautiful spot surrounded by butterflies

I then slowly made my way back up the path and spotted a large caterpillar wandering across in front of me which I am fairly sure is an Oak Eggar Moth caterpillar.

Oak Eggar Moth caterpillar - Marsland 18.06.2013

By this time it was around 4.00pm so I decided to head back in the direction of Croyde.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[David M]

Great images, Neil.

Fair warms the heart to see several SPBFs all nectaring from the same bank of flowers.