Cheers Wurzel, those could well be the last butterflies that I see this year
The season always ends around here before it does down south and the weather this weekend has been lousy.
So, it looks like time to start looking back...
The weather around here has turned pretty grotty over the few days and we are now well into autumn with lashings of rain and high winds with the leaves turning and coming down off the trees in ever increasing numbers.
I have started to look back over the past season and sort through the many photos that I took during some fantastic trips around the country which included heading north to Arnside and south to Devon and Dorset as well as great sites in the midlands such as the Wyre Forest and Fermyn Woods.
My species tally for the year is 48. This is 2 short of last year when I managed to see 50 species during what was apparently a worse year for many species, not all though, as some species appeared to do worse this year.
Holly Blue numbers in particular have been well down locally. Ringlets also did not seem to be around in the same numbers but that one is a bit relative as there were still plenty, just not quite the hordes that there were last year.
After a late start to spring, Commas and Peacocks were about in good numbers as were Orange Tips when they finally showed up with me seeing more of the latter in my garden than for a few years.
Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers and Small and Essex Skippers seemed to do well locally but Large Skippers seemed down in numbers a bit although they were around for a while longer than usual.
I was particularly pleased to see Common Blues and Small Coppers bounce back from their poor showing last year, Small Copper numbers particularly were well up in the second brood although, unlike further south, it appears that due to the later start to the season we didn’t get time to fit in a third brood.
As with the rest of the country there were amazing numbers of all three common Whites about, particularly Large and Small. I also saw Small Tortoiseshells in the kind of numbers that I haven’t seen for years. Red Admirals on the other hand were thin on the ground with only a few seen locally including 2 in my garden.
Despite missing out on a number of species due to just not having the opportunity at the right time, I did add three more firsts to my list this year
.
Marsh Fritillary during a family break to North Devon in June,
- Marsh Fritillary - Volehouse Moor 18.06.2013
- Marsh Fritillary - Volehouse Moor 18.06.2013
- Marsh Fritillary - Volehouse Moor 18.06.2013
Heath Fritillary at Haddon Hill on my way to Heddon Valley for a few days later in June,
- Heath Fritillary - Haddon Hill 05.07.2013
- Heath Fritillary - Haddon Hill 05.07.2013
- Heath Fritillary - Haddon Hill 05.07.2013
and Large Blue at Collard Hill when I stopped off on my way home from Heddon Valley.
- Large Blues - Collard Hill 08.07.2013
- Large Blue - Collard Hill 08.07.2013
- Large Blue - Collard Hill 08.07.2013
These brought my total tally of British Butterflies up to 53 species with Glanville Fritillary, Black Hairstreak, Northern Brown Argus, Mountain Ringlet and Chequered Skipper still to be seen, with Cryptic Wood White if I ever go across the sea to Ireland.
Black Hairstreak seemed to have a good year going by the sightings and photos posted on UKB and would have been easy for me to get to, but their short flight period was mostly when I was in Devon. Oh well, can’t have everything… one for next year perhaps.
Other highlights of my season as described during the past year in this diary included;
- Good numbers of Pearl-bordered Fritillaries in the Wyre Forest.
- Being surrounded by Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries at Marsland.
- The numbers of High Brown Fritillaries in the Heddon Valley.
- The amazing number of Purple Emperors at Fermyn Woods.
- Hundreds if not thousands of Scotch Argus at Arnside Knott as well as HB and DG Fritillaries and my first Clouded Yellow Photo.
- A fantastic early September week in Dorset with loads of Adonis Blues, Small Tortoiseshells and Clouded Yellows among the many butterflies seen.
All in all a great season with butterflies generally seen in very good numbers
, in fact even when I was growing up in the 1970s there were years when I didn’t see as many butterflies as this year.
As I write this the rain is lashing down again outside and it has gone dark enough for me to put the lights on to see what I am doing. I think I will sort through some more photos to cheer myself up....
Bye for now,
Neil