Neil Freeman

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Mon Jun 24, 2013 9:37 pm

Ditto what David said Neil

Those group shots are a fantastic sight to behold

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Maximus · Post by **Maximus** » Tue Jun 25, 2013 9:14 am

Hi Neil, ditto what David and Wurzel said, congrats on your first Marsh Fritillaries.

Mike

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Tue Jun 25, 2013 7:31 pm

Thanks for the comments guys....and the dittos

North Devon 14th-21st June, part 5.

Leaving Marsland I went straight back up the A39 which was a lot quicker than the cross country route that I had taken to Volehouse Moor earlier that morning.
I turned off at Barnstaple and passed through Braunton and took the road to Croyde which passes Braunton Burrows. I took the turning for the Sandy Lane car park in order to spend an hour or so to finish off my day.

The burrows cover a massive area and I only had time to wander a little way but it was not long before I saw a fair number of Common Blues. Some of these were worn and faded as were the ones that I had seen at Croyde and Marsland but there were also a number here in much better condition, including the first females that I had seen in Devon.

: Common Blue - Braunton Burrows 18.06.2013

: Common Blue - Braunton Burrows 18.06.2013

: Common Blue female - Braunton Burrows 18.06.2013

There were a fair number of Small Heaths and numerous Silver-Y moths around plus a few Speckled Woods and Green-veined Whites in the more wooded areas at the back of the burrows.

: Speckled Wood - Braunton Burrows 18.06.2013

I also came across my second big hairy caterpillar of the day wandering across the path in front of me, a Drinker moth.

: Drinker Moth caterpillar - Braunton Burrows 18.06.2013

As mentioned above, Braunton Burrows covers a large area and really needs more time to look around and I only really had time to have a little taster of the area. I figured that being so close to where we were stopping in Croyde Bay I may get time to come back and spend more time here.
Nevertheless, it made a nice end to my day as I finally made my way back to join the others feeling kn*****ed but happy

Bye for now,

Neil.

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Tue Jun 25, 2013 9:59 pm

Cracking shots, especially the female Common Blue Neil

Are we expecting to see any Heaths Frits?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Wed Jun 26, 2013 7:13 pm

Hi Wurzel, sorry no Heath Frits, I ran out of time/opportunity before returning to the midlands.
Looks like I will be paying a return visit to Devon the weekend after next for a couple of days, just me and the wife this time. I may get another chance if there are any still about.

North Devon - An Evening surprise

Later that same evening, my daughter Sarah had put little Frankie to bed and wanted to go out for a walk whilst Jane looked after him. Ever since she was young, whenever we had gone on holiday, Sarah had looked for a nearby hill and wanted to get to the top of it

.

So it was that around 8.30pm we found ourselves at the top of a hill that overlooked the NT Baggy Point car park at Croyde Bay.

: Hill at Croyde Bay - photo taken the afternoon after the Painted Ladies were seen.

As we just enjoyed the view as the sun got lower in the sky a movement caught my eye and a Painted Lady flew past us and settled briefly. During the next ten minutes or so it circled around us a few times and was joined by a second one before they both flew off down the inland slope of the hill.
This was one of the few times that I did not have my FZ150 with me but I did manage to get a couple of record shots with a small Panasonic compact camera that I usually carry.

: Painted Lady - Croyde Bay 18.06.2013

I was really surprised by these Painted Ladies at this time of the evening but they really did make the perfect end to a great day

Neil.

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Wed Jun 26, 2013 8:44 pm

North Devon 14th-21st June, part 6.

Whilst I had been out on my drive around North Devon, Jane and Sarah had picked up a leaflet for Watermouth Castle family theme park which appeared to have attractions geared up towards younger children.

Wednesday morning started off nice and sunny with a forecast for all day sun. Not wanting to push my luck I wasn’t going to say anything

but the girls said that they would be happy for me to drop them off at Watermouth Castle and leave them there whilst I took advantage of the weather, as long as I did not leave them for too long.

Looking at the map, I saw that it was between Ilfracombe and Combe Martin which meant that Heddons Mouth was not much further.

So it was that, after dropping the others off and arranging to meet them again by 2.30pm, I arrived at Heddon at around 11.00 and parked up by the Hunters Inn.

This is a good site for Dark Green and High Brown Fritillaries along with Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries and many other species but I was not sure if any DGFs or HBFs were around yet given the late season.
UK member Rogerdodge had sent me some useful info on the area so I set out down the path towards one of the recommended spots.

I did not find any High Brown or Dark Green Fritillaries but I did find a number of Small Pearls plus a couple of Small Coppers and my first Large Skippers of the year.

During the next three hours I wandered along the paths in glorious sunshine, including the one that leads down to a small stony beach which is a beautiful spot as is indeed the whole area. I saw plenty of Small Pearls and Small Heaths plus Large Skippers and a few Common Blues and Green Hairstreaks and my first Red Admiral this year...but no sign of DGFs or HBFs.

: Heddons Mouth - looking back up the valley. Lots of butterflies along here.

: Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Heddon 19.06.2013

: Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Heddon 19.06.2013

: Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Heddon 19.06.2013

: Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Heddon 19.06.2013

: Large Skipper - Heddon 19.06.2013

: Large Skipper - Heddon 19.06.2013

: Small Copper - Heddon 19.06.2013

: Small Heath - Heddon 19.06.2013

: Green Hairstreak - Heddon 19.06.2013

: Red Admiral - Heddon 19.06.2013

This is a lovely area with many paths worth exploring which again I did not have time to do proper justice to as I couldn't wander too far in the time I had.

With the time approaching 2.00pm I made my way back to the car to go and meet the others as promised, having really enjoyed my time here, the more so as I originally did not even know I would be here when the day started

.

Bye for now.

Neil.

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Wed Jun 26, 2013 9:19 pm

Cracking shots Neil - the Greenstreak in particular, it looks in great nick for this stage of the season

The Dark Greens have only just started appearing over our way so that might explain their absence at Heddons Mouth - something for your next visit

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 8:56 pm

Thanks Wurzel, I saw a couple of other Greenstreaks but they were both in much worse condition.

North Devon 14th-21st June, part 7.

After doing a bit of family stuff we returned to Croyde Bay later in the afternoon. Wanting to make the most of the nice sunny day I went for another walk around the dunes and meadows by the site.

I soon came across another big hairy caterpillar, a Garden Tiger Moth or ‘Wooly Bear’ of my youth. When I was young I used to find these regularly and take them home to rear through to adults. This one was the first that I have seen for years and seeing it brought back loads of happy memories

.

: Garden Tiger Moth caterpillar - Croyde Bay 19.06.2013

Continuing on I saw a couple of Red Admirals, one of which was happy to pose for a while.

: Red Admiral - Croyde Bay 19.06.2013

: Red Admiral - Croyde Bay 19.06.2013

There were also a few more Common Blues basking in the late afternoon sun, some looking very faded but also some looking quite fresh.

: Common Blue - Croyde Bay 19.06.2013

: Common Blue - Croyde Bay 19.06.2013

: Common Blue - Croyde Bay 19.06.2013

: Common Blue - Croyde Bay 19.06.2013

The afternoon turned into a lovely evening so a little later I nipped out again to get a couple of shots of the sun getting lower over Baggy Point.

: Looking out to sea past Baggy Point with Lundy Island on the horizon

The next day(Thursday) started off dull and drizzly and stayed cloudy all day although the rain did stop later. No Butterflies but it did mean that I did more family stuff

.

: My Grandson Frankie - Croyde Bay 20.06.2013

Friday morning we set out back to the midlands with it again being dull with rain showers.
Going along the A361 towards the M5 I couldn’t help but look towards Exmoor which was shrouded with fog. Earlier in the week I had briefly thought about stopping off at Haddon Hill on our way home but with a fully laden car including a young child it wasn’t really practical so I kept my thoughts to myself

.
Further up the M5 as we approached the junction for Weston-super-Mare the weather had brightened up and again I had brief thoughts of turning off, this time for sand point. Later, seeing Bill(Willrow)s report in the sightings thread of the lack of Glanville Fritillaries there made me feel better at wizzing past.

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed my week in North Devon with a couple of great days butterflying

Bye for now,
Neil.

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:58 pm

Friday 28th June

Just a bit of an update on the goings on in the garden to bring me up to date.

After arriving back home last weekend I was keen to see how things were developing in the garden.

I noticed that the garlic mustard had take a bit of a pounding from the wind and rain with some stems lying almost horizontally across others. Nevertheless I found two larvae, one of which looked of a size to go walkabout any day to pupate
Both photos below were taken last Saturday (22nd)

: Orange Tip larva - Coverdale 22.06.2013

: Orange Tip larva - Coverdale 22.06.2013

The Alder Buckthorn is still only 18-24 inches high and a lot of vegetation had grown up around it making searching for the Brimstone larvae more difficult. I found one that was a good size but despite a good search couldn't find any more. I do not know if any of the others would have grown enough to pupate yet or whether they have succumbed to predation or parasites or any other fate.

: Brimstone larva - Coverdale 22.06.2012

Moving over to the nettles, I was pleased to see that the Peacock eggs had hatched, just a day or two previously by the look and the larvae had moved en-mass onto the upper side of the leaf.

: Peacock larvae - Coverdale 22.06.2013

Three days later they had noticeably grown and spread out a bit in the beginnings of a larval web.

: Peacock larvae - Coverdale 25.06.2013

Checking on them the day after I found that they had moved higher up the nettle.

: Peacock larvae - Coverdale 26.06.2013

Last weekend I was also pleased to be greeted by a nice new brood male Speckled Wood who was joined a couple of days later by a second one

.

: Speckled Wood - Coverdale 22.06.2013

: Speckled Wood - Coverdale 25.06.2013

: Speckled Wood - Coverdale 26.06.2013

That brings me back up to date now. It was nasty dull and rainy day today, the weekend looks better but I think I may be busy so I am not sure if I will be out anywhere yet.

Bye for now.

Neil

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 9:36 pm

Lovely shots of the Specklies Niel

I've just seen the weather and it looks to be dry and warm over the weekend so it might be alright to get out and about

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 6:05 pm

You were right about the weather Wurzel

Sunday 30th June.

A busy weekend with most of it spent catching up on jobs in the garden, cutting lawns and getting a bit of control over the jungle that half of it is turning into.
As I pottered about I was kept company most of the time by two male Speckled Wood and was also pleased to see a female fluttering about amongst the long grass.
Although it is the males that are most obvious with their territorial antics, I always look out for females in the garden as without them I would not have their almost constant presence from Spring through Summer and into Autumn

: Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 29.06.2013

: Speckled Wood female - Coverdale 29.06.2013

Having spent most of the weekend around the house and garden I figured that I had earned a break so this afternoon I popped round to Shadowbrook Meadows to see what was about.
I immediately noticed a number of Meadow Browns with their lazy floppy flight and the more I looked the more saw. It looks like there has been a good sized emergence over the last couple of days, I stopped counting at fifty, all males.

: Meadow Brown - Shadowbrook 30.06.2013

: Meadow Brown - Shadowbrook 30.06.2013

: Meadow Brown - Shadowbrook 30.06.2013

I did a couple of circuits of the site and apart from the Meadow Browns I also saw half a dozen or so Large Whites looking a bit worse for wear, a single faded male Common Blue and a couple of fresh male Large Skippers. I also saw a single Ringlet, my first of the year.

: Large White - Shadowbrook 30.06.2013

: Large Skipper - Shadowbrook 30.06.2013

: Ringlet - Shadowbrook 30.06.2013

For a while I was kept company by a group of Goldfinches that would perch on the Thistles that are just beginning to flower, presumably looking for insects.

: Goldfinch - Shadowbrook 30.06.2013

Back home later in the afternoon, I was sitting in the garden with a cup of coffee when I heard a loud screeching and squawking above me. Looking up I spotted a Buzzard that was being 'mobbed' in turn by a Seagull and a Crow (not sure if mobbed is the right word when there are only two assailants). Looking at the photo, the Buzzard has something in its talons, possibly a chick?

: Buzzard and 'friend' - Coverdale 30.06.2016

Bye for now,

Neil.

Pauline · Post by **Pauline** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 6:11 pm

Looks to me like that Buzzard has just taken that Gull's youngster Neil. Can you see what it has got in its claws from your original shot?

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 9:31 pm

Hi Pauline,

The original doesn't show it much clearer.
I was thinking it had taken a youngster but the way the Crow and Seagull were going for it I wasn't sure which. I only managed to get the Gull in shot but the Crow was just as persistent. Could be something else entirely though with them all being scavengers.
The whole episode was only above me for a minute or so before they disappeared over the roofline, could still hear the noise for a while longer though

Neil.

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 10:22 pm

Glad the weather report panned out Neil

Lovely shots especially the open wing shot of the male Meadow Brown.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 7:51 pm

Cheers Wurzel, the weather is looking even better for this coming weekend

.......and I have a return trip to Devon sorted, a long weekend at the Heddon Valley

Wednesday 3rd July

Just a quick update on the Peacock larvae in my back garden.
They have moved over to another nettle stem and are starting to darken and look like proper mini Peacock caterpillars. I think that most are still first instar, not sure how long this lasts but would imagine they will start changing soon.

: Peacock larvae approx 14 days - Coverdale 03.07.2013

This evening was the first chance that I had to have a proper look around the garden since the weekend. The Orange Tip and Brimstone larvae have all gone, I hope that at least some of them have wandered off to pupate.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Pauline · Post by **Pauline** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 12:40 pm

I'm getting behind Neil, as everyone's diary is so interesting. Your little Frankie looks a cutie but I bet he can be a handful!. Sounds like a great holiday - Love your Speckled Woods - they look like velvet.

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 8:32 pm

Pauline wrote: Your little Frankie looks a cutie but I bet he can be a handful!......

Oh yes!!, terrible twos and all that

Thanks for the comments. I have some catching up to do myself, just back today from a weekend away and hundred of photos to sort though....

Friday 5th July – Headin’ down to Heddon and stopping off at Haddon.

A couple of weeks back, in one of my reports from North Devon, I described spending a couple of hours at Heddons Mouth and how I felt that I could have spent a lot longer there.
On my return home, thoughts of a re-visit began to grind around in the brain cells and so it was that last Friday myself and Jane found ourselves heading back down the M5 for a long weekend at the Hunters Inn at Heddon Valley

I figured that I may as well make the most of the journey down and make a detour to Haddon Hill on Exmoor to look for Heath Fritillaries which would be a first for me.

At this point I would like to express my thanks to UKB member Rogerdodge who had sent me some information on the best spots both at Haddon Hill and Heddon Valley which I found invaluable in finding my targets.

I parked in the main car park at Haddon as Jane was quite happy to sit in the car reading whilst I wandered off for a while and she felt happier here than in the lay by further along.
I headed straight for the recommended area at the bottom of the slope along the tree line and met a chap doing the local transect. He told me that he had been seeing around half a dozen on his counts and had just seen 3 or 4 just a few yards along.
I carried on and sure enough soon spotted my first one. I spent about an hour along this stretch of a hundred yards or so and saw 6 or 7, mostly males I believe, patrolling back and forth at about knee height above the ground. It was early afternoon and getting very warm but there was just enough white cloud about for them to settle occasionally.

: Heath Fritillary - Haddon Hill 05.07.2013

: Heath Fritillary - Haddon Hill 05.07.2013

: Heath Fritillary - Haddon Hill 05.07.2013

I also found a nice fresh looking female that was far less active and posed for a few photos.

: Heath Fritillary - Haddon Hill 05.07.2013

: Heath Fritillary - Haddon Hill 05.07.2013

: Heath Fritillary - Haddon Hill 05.07.2013

I then made my way back up to the car and we carried on our way, arriving at the Hunters Inn at about 3.30pm.
After settling in Jane was tired after the journey and said she would have a nap if I wanted to go out for a nose around. I didn’t go far, just 30 minutes or so to stretch my legs but soon saw a couple of Dark Green Fritillaries and a single High Brown.

: Dark Green Fritillary - Heddon Valley 05.07.2013

With the weather looking good for the weekend, things were looking promising

Bye for now,

Neil.

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 10:07 pm

Cracking shots Neil

I reckon there could be some HBFs to follow

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Tue Jul 09, 2013 6:31 pm

Wurzel wrote:Cracking shots Neil I reckon there could be some HBFs to follow

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel, I reckon you could be right

Saturday July 6th – Morning.

As mentioned previously, Rogerdodge had sent me some info on good spots at Heddon Valley, one of which was the wet meadow that he described in his post on the last page of the June sightings thread.
After a good breakfast on Saturday morning I decided to go for a walk and find this meadow and try for some photos before the butterflies became too active in the sun. I soon found the meadow which was exactly as Roger described it, full of head high cow parsley and thistles and also a bank by the path covered with brambles that were just starting to flower.
It was around 10.00am by this time and already getting warm with some early cloud that was rapidly disappearing as the sun got higher. Walking into the meadow I initially saw a couple of Fritillaries that were settling regularly on the cow parsley, both of which proved to be High Browns

: High Brown Fritillary - Heddon Valley 06.07.2013

: High Brown Fritillary - Heddon Valley 06.07.2013

After a while I started to see a few more, around half a dozen, mostly High Browns but with a couple of Dark Greens as well. I am always wary of stating numbers because it is so easy to count the same ones more than once and I had noticed that they were moving between the meadow and the brambles on the bank.

: High Brown Fritillary - Heddon Valley 06.07.2013

: High Brown Fritillary - Heddon Valley 06.07.2013

I rather like the photo below which to me looks like two fighter jets ready for take-off. The top right hand butterfly is a DGF and the bottom left one a HBF.

: HBF and DGF - Heddon Valley 06.07.2013

The photos below are closer shots of the two in the photo above.

: Dark Green Fritillary - Heddon Valley 06.07.2013

: High Brown Fritillary - Heddon Valley 06.07.2013

I spent a further hour or so here during which time more HBFs and DGFs showed up and were joined by a couple of Silver-washed Fritillaries so that eventually there were more than a dozen Fritillaries swooping between the bank and the meadow. Most of them were High Browns which surprised me a bit as I had expected the Dark Greens to outnumber them rather than the other way round.

: High Brown Fritillaries - Heddon Valley 06.07.2013

: High Brown Fritillary - Heddon Valley 06.07.2013

: High Brown Fritillary - Heddon Valley 06.07.2013

: Dark Green Fritillary - Heddon Valley 06.07.2013

: Silver-washed Fritillary - Heddon Valley 06.07.2013

By around 11.30 it had got really warm and the butterflies were far more active so I headed back to the Hunters Inn to meet Jane and have a nice cold drink

I was very happy with the photos that I had taken but I had not managed to get a classic side on underside shot so I figured that I would return later in the afternoon and try again.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Maximus · Post by **Maximus** » Tue Jul 09, 2013 8:21 pm

Hi Neil, i'm not surprised you are happy with the photos! Lovely photos of beautiful butterflies.

Regards,

Mike

Neil Freeman

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