Neil Hulme

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks CJB. If not before, see you amongst the Hairstreaks ... it's going to be a good year for them.
Best Wishes, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

Emperor Update

Having spent a few days just over the border, on Friday (12th July) I decided to look for Emperors closer to home, in a small, quiet wood near Billingshurst. The morning cloud cover was slow to clear, so I headed off to another site further west where the sun was already shining, leaving my parents to watch over a couple of belachan baits. I hadn't been at the second site for very long before I received a phone call informing me I was in the wrong place. Later that day I did catch up with the same butterfly my father had photographed in full purpleness, but only managed an underside shot. In the evening I found another male Emperor sitting on a pile of chalk aggregate.

On Saturday (13th July) I co-led a BC Sussex/Hants & IOW walk around Havant Thicket, with Ashley and Jackie Whitlock. 29 of us wandered around this well-managed site in sweltering heat, seeing a wide variety of species, but sadly no Emperors. We were more fortunate at Southleigh Forest on the county border, where 2 males put on a spectacular show for us. Last stop was the Brickkiln Ponds territory near Stansted House, where a single male crossed through the vista at c.3 pm. Thanks to Ashley, Jackie and all who attended.

On Sunday (14th July) it was back to Botany Bay, to lead an RSPB walk with Chris, Helen and Ellie Corrigan. 21 birders were treated to an impressive performance by the Purple One, with several participants seeing their first Emperor. Everyone got excellent views and one obliging male sat at head-height in a hazel, flashing purple every time I pushed a sweaty finger in his face. I stayed into the evening, finally leaving a very active male butterfly at 6.15 pm. At least 10 individual Emperors were seen across the site, with many coming to ground throughout the day. Thanks to the generosity of the RSPB walkers we raised £85 for conservation work by the Sussex Branch.

Billingshurst Emperor

Billingshurst Admiral

Botany Bay Emperor

[Neil Hulme]

Trouserings

I haven't washed my moleskin trousers since early June, and won't wash them again before August. As they have 'matured' in the current heat-wave they have become ever more appealing to His Imperial Majesty, until it now seems they are almost irresistible to his refined palate. Yesterday (15th July) I trousered my sixth and seventh Emperors of the season at Botany Bay, where they continue to descend in good numbers. The only downside is that my trousers seem to have taken on a life of their own; it takes me about ten minutes to catch them every morning.

Trousered Emperor

Later in the day I visited Southwater Woods, spotting a single male Emperor above the Marlpost Road car park. Mia Iris Hulme was treated to her first close encounter with her favourite butterfly, when a second male descended to fly in tight circles around her backpack.

Image by David Bradford

[Jack Harrison]

Happy Families!

Jack

[Lee Hurrell]

Lovely to see you on Sunday, Neil.

Stunning 4 wing PE shots! Good luck with those trousers...

Best wishes,

Lee

[Neil Hulme]

You too Lee. Hope to catch up again soon.
BWs, Neil

P.S. the trousers are running up and down the road outside.

[Neil Hulme]

White-letters

Back-filling with some adventures earlier in the month, here are a few shots of the typically obliging White-letter Hairstreak, all taken in urban Cosham.

[Neil Hulme]

Catching Up (Part 1)

Finding time to keep my diary up-to-date has proven difficult of late, particularly as almost every July day has been sunny, meaning minimal time indoors. Even better, the Purple Emperor has been having an excellent season on most of the sites I've visited.

Wednesday 17th July: Back to Botany Bay where at least a dozen male and two female Purple Emperors were active. I trousered my eighth Emperor of the season. Some males were still emerging, with the very newest specimens showing that characteristic blotchiness over slightly damp wings.

Botany Bay Emperor Patrol (image Colin Knight)

I then travelled on to Straits Inclosure (Alice Holt Forest), where activity was really quite subdued. I watched 3 males 'oak-edging' and a further specimen perched on the first deer watch tower.

Thursday 18th July: I travelled up to Fermyn Woods for the day, despite knowing that the 'Big Bang' was over for another year. Although the very best period had passed, and the morning session was steady rather than spectacular, I was still treated to a very generous evening flight in a forest now empty of people. By close of play I had seen between 60 and 70 Emperors; only half of what had been on offer over the preceding days, but more than enough to please anyone. I trousered another 3 specimens, breaking double figures for the season. Many thanks to Mark Joy for taking the shot of an Emperor on my rucksack.

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Neil,

It was good to finally meet you at Fermyn last Thursday

It may have been quieter than Mondays and Tuesdays outstanding peak days but for Chris and myself it was a bit special, a great day as described in my diary.

All the best,

Neil F.

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Neil,
It was great to meet you and Chris, particularly in such happy circumstances . It might have been quieter than Monday or Tuesday, but I think that any day in which even a single Emperor is seen must count as special. If not before, see you same time, same place next year.
Best Wishes, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

Catching Up (Part 2)

Friday 19th July: This was the day of the long awaited and carefully planned Big Butterfly Race, a competition between teams from BC Sussex and BC Hants & IOW, to celebrate the launch of the Big Butterfly Count. I won't write too much, as I believe an article will be appearing on UKB in due course. It was a fantastic event and keenly contested, with only the narrowest of margins separating the teams. With Messrs Oates, Willmott, Eeles and Hoare amongst a very impressive line-up on the opposing Team Glanville Fritillary, I didn't think we stood much chance. Highlights included excellent views of Purple Emperor and successful hunts for Small Blue larvae for both teams, but it was the raid on hanging baskets outside a pub for Large and Small White ova that carried the Sussex Wood Whites to victory. Congratulations to Dan Danahar for masterminding the event, which drew a great deal of media interest for an important cause.

Saturday & Sunday 20th & 21st July: I spent a couple of very exciting days in the field with Matthew Oates, surveying a large site somewhere in the depths of Sussex. We can't say too much at the moment, as the owner is out of the country, and would probably be a little miffed to find his land invaded by hordes of butterfly photographers on his return. We saw a very large number of Purple Emperors.

Wednesday 24th July: I started the morning at a beautiful, isolated spot just west of Petworth, where Michael Blencowe recently discovered a small colony of Purple Emperor. It didn't take long before I'd notched up a couple of males, so headed off to look (unsuccessfully) at other potential Emperor sites within Petwork Park. I'm sure they're in there somewhere, but the rarity of suitable sallow precludes a population of any size. In the afternoon I visited Springhead Hill on the Downs near Storrington. In the meadow and surrounding areas, covering less than a hectare, I recorded 24 species including Essex, Small and Large Skipper; Brimstone (newly emerged); Large, Small and Green-veined White; Small, Common, Chalkhill and Holly Blue; Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma; Dark Green and Silver-washed Fritillary; Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Small Heath. Best of all was a large Empress observed laying eggs from close quarters. A quick visit to Chantry Hill a couple of Km away confirmed the presence of approximately 50 Dark Green Fritillary, as recently reported by Dr Martin Kalaher. The recent change in grazing regime is clearly bringing spectacular results here.

[Neil Hulme]

Abundance & Diversity

Abundance and diversity were words seldom used in the context of butterflies during the 2012 season, but it's remarkable just how quickly many species have recovered this year. Although Common Blue, Small Copper and White Admiral have been in short supply in Sussex this season, I witnessed an abundance and diversity of butterflies in the conservation meadow at Springhead Hill yesterday, where the situation looked healthier than for many years. An hour visit slowly turned into a four hour visit, as Colin Knight, Mark Colvin and I wandered through a stunning display of wild flowers and clouds of whites, blues and browns. Between us we collectively saw 28 species in this golden hectare, including Silver-spotted Skipper, Essex Skipper, Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Clouded Yellow, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Small Copper, Small Blue, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Chalkhill Blue, Purple Emperor, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma, Dark Green Fritillary, Silver-washed Fritillary, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Small Heath.

The Silver-spotted Skipper discovered by Mark (Colin later found a female) is a significant find, representing another 1 Km shift westwards in the Sussex range of this species. The habitat isn't particularly suitable for it, so I imagine the colony will remain small and might be vulnerable to cool, damp summers. However, it does suggest to me that we should be searching better habitat to the west. Male and female Clouded Yellows, a stately Empress and some very large, fresh Painted Ladies were amongst the numerous highlights of a wonderful afternoon.

Later I visited Chantry Hill, a little way to the east. Butterflies were also seen in impressive numbers here, including about 20 Silver-spotted Skipper. A three-way chase between a male SSSk, Clouded Yellow and Dark Green Fritillary was a first for me. It's great to have a proper summer again!

SSSk male

SSSK female

Brown Argus

Chalkhill Blue pair

Colin and Mark at Springhead Hill

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Neil,

Great report and a fantastic tally of species seen. Loving the Brown Argus photo, not seen many of those this year.

Small Coppers have certainly bounced back this year around my patch at Solihull after last years dismal showing. White Admirals also seem to be doing a bit better in Warwickshire than previous years. Still not seeing many Common Blues locally, they are present at most usual spots but only in small numbers so far, a bit better than last year but not much.

All the best,

Neil F.

[Neil Hulme]

New Discoveries

On Saturday (3rd August) I completed one of several surveys I perform on the Knepp Castle Estate, where Sir Charlie Burrell is running his innovative re-wilding scheme. Highlights of the day included Clouded Yellow, my first Brown Hairstreak of the year (male and female), and several Purple Emperor. Although Matthew Oates and I have alluded to the discovery of a large population of Emperors in Sussex (e.g. Purple Empire http://apaturairis.blogspot.co.uk/), we didn't want to spill the beans until Charlie returned from holiday Down Under. There will be plenty to report in time, but the big news is that Matthew and I made counts of 84 and 71 Purple Emperor over different parts of the Estate on successive days. The habitat is essentially linear, so there is little chance of double-counting; these are individuals rather than sightings.

In the BC Sussex 2012 Butterfly Report I speculated that "Although numbers (of Silver-spotted Skipper) were lower than last year, warm and calm anticyclonic conditions during the flight period will hopefully have encouraged its attempts to move further through the Sussex landscape." So later in the day, and bearing in mind the recent sighting of a Silver-spotted Skipper at Springhead Hill, I decided to stop at Cissbury Ring, just in case. Ulrika! I spotted a female almost immediately, followed by 5 different males. This ratio of sexes suggests a recent colonisation, with these 2013 butterflies having emerged on-site. The area where I found them, the south-facing slope just below the ramparts (TQ137075), is approximately 6.5 Km from the Chantry Hill colony. I hope they manage to gain a firm foot-hold, as the habitat appears ideal for the species; it could do very well here.

[Pauline]

Lovely BH Neil. I just knew you'd be first to see them

[Neil Hulme]

Chasing Brownies

Yesterday (4th August) I started off at Steyning Rifle, which was surprisingly quiet ... that won't last for long! The Brown Hairstreak season is underway and I found two females during the couple of hours I was there. Despite following one for more than 20 minutes, there was no attempt at egg-laying; these individuals had recently emerged and were only interested in sunbathing or nectaring. The Prunus looks to be in superb condition and I'm optimistic that the site will perform well this year. Numbers will probably remain modest this week, before picking up at the weekend or early next week.

I then moved on in the hope of finding more Silver-spotted Skipper colonists, drawing a blank at Washington Chalk Pits. The habitat here is currently being managed as part of the South Downs National Park Nature Improvement Area project, and does look suitable; it's only a matter of time.

Washington Chalk Pits

I was similarly unsuccessful at Rackham Gulley near Amberley. However, the lack of SSSk was more than made up for by the large number of other butterflies and superb views over the Wild Brooks. Small Skipper, Chalkhill Blue, Large and Small White were present in their hundreds. Amongst the more exotic were Painted Lady and Clouded Yellow, both of which appear to be cropping up with increasing regularity; a very welcome addition to the countryside.

Common Blue Pair

[Neil Hulme]

Hairstreaks, Skippers And Blues

This morning (6th August) I returned to Steyning Rifle Range, knowing that a few more Brown Hairstreaks would have emerged. It didn't take long to find the first, but she didn't hang around for a photo shoot. The second was more co-operative and I even had time to 'phone a couple of friends to let them know of its location, both arriving in time to get a few pictures. Sadly, the upper surface was blemished, detracting from one of the beautiful orange wing flashes. No complaints about the underside!

At 2pm, when I considered it unlikely that more would appear, I headed to Chantry Hill. It's a joy to be out on the Downs at the moment, with flowers and butterflies at their best. Although it was primarily the Silver-spotted Skipper I'd come to survey (c.25 seen), it was the beautiful, freshly emerged Common Blues I spent most time photographing.

Male Common Blue

Female Common Blue

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks Pauline,
Looks like you've bagged some nice Brownies yourself.
BWs, Neil

[mud-puddling]

Stunning shots again Neil; I have an almost identical shot of the Silver-spotted Skipper (see below)

Unfortunately my Brown Hairstreak profile didn't come out so well but fairly pleased with the open wings shot (despite the missing scales ) - all considered they are stunning butterflies. Hopefully will get the opportunity to visit the site again before the season ends.

Cheers, Leigh

[Neil Hulme]

More SSSk

This afternoon (7th August) I needed to relieve the boredom of the office and paperwork so, despite the grey cloud cover, I headed back up to Chantry Hill near Storrington. In some of the more sheltered spots almost every flower and seed-head supported a roosting butterfly. No Swallowtail, Pale Clouded Yellow or Long-tailed Blue just yet, but I was more than happy to track down a few more Silver-spotted Skipper.