Long tailed Blues in Kent

[lee3764]

My Long-tailed Blue seen on Sunday 29th September, 2013 at Kingsdown Leas, Kent. [img]

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This is the 1st image I've ever posted on here as I didn't know what to do to download the images so excuse me if it's not as it should be!
Cheers,
Lee Slaughter (and Robert aged 10) Cornwall.

[lee3764]

I would again like to add that I am very grateful to all who sent me private messages and forum messages of encouragement and congrats on here and said they were pleased for us before & after our infamous trip to Kingsdown Leas last weekend! Without this forum I would never have made the journey! The power of UK Butterflies website & forum eh? All the very best of luck to anyone making the trip this coming weekend!! Go & live the dream!!
Cheers,
Lee Slaughter (Cornwall).

[David M]

Weatherwise, it looks to be a decent weekend, so this could be a final opportunity to get out and see this butterfly.

As an aside, are we now to assume that the potential Clouded Yellow explosion is unlikely to occur?

[mud-puddling]

I'd agree with previous posts, if weather looking favourable def worth a chance. I think there will be more emerging. Happy hunting! Leigh

[lee3764]

I'd agree with previous posts, if weather looking favourable def worth a chance. I think there will be more emerging. Happy hunting! Leigh

Best of luck to you matey! if you find one it will be one of the highlights of your butterfly hobby ever!!
Cheers,
Lee Slaughter.

[lee3764]

Weatherwise, it looks to be a decent weekend, so this could be a final opportunity to get out and see this butterfly.

As an aside, are we now to assume that the potential Clouded Yellow explosion is unlikely to occur?

Don't rule out the next home brood Clouded Yellows. There will some emerge I'm sure! Long-tailed Blues?......My advice is to go for it! If weather is not windy & it is sunny then do go as you will probably have a 50/50 chance of finding one I believe!
best of luck & hope you succeed if you go!
Cheers,
Lee Slaughter (Cornwall).

[Testudo Man]

Congratulations to everyone who got lucky with sighting/photographying these LTBs recently(especially Lee and Family) who made the epic road trip from cornwall!!

Im calling last Saturday..."Black Saturday" where a few of us turned up there, but failed to connect. Theres always a certain amount of luck involved here, i guess there are days when its a no show, then there are days when one or two might emerge??

Im still not sure if im gonna have another go at it yet the weekend does look good(weather wise)...maybe after Saturdays dry out, Sunday could be the day to go? My guess is, after the warm weekend...a few will emerge Monday onwards When we all go back to work

I think i will wait to see if any new sightings are reported on the saturday first?? although Im only 55miles from the site, so its not that far for me to travel.

Good luck to anyone thinking of making the trip this weekend.

Cheers Paul.

[Paul Wetton]

Helen and I will make the trip again on Sunday when the weather looks best and hope that we can connect.

Does anyone know if the Pea plants are still intact on the reserve as I guess those on the roadside have all been removed by strimming activity.

Thanks

[dave brown]

Firstly, today has started cold and wet following last nights heavy storms. The forecast is for a better afternoon and weekend. Let us all hope that they are right, as this will probably be the last weekend opportunity for most. We have not had a frost yet but it can't be far away. Despite the apparent poor weather over the last few days good numbers of migrant moths are arriving in East Kent.

Paul. To the best of my knowledge the only Everlasting Pea plants that have been strimmed are those in front of Ship House on the road side strip between the road and the owners fence line. That is the one with all the building work. It happened to be the one of the best spots for LTB but actually did not have too much flowering Pea Plant on it. Most of the Everlasting Pea plant is actually on the seaward side of the road and this belongs to the Natural Trust. I have not been myself this week but I don't believe any on NT land has been cut (yet?). I think the advantage of the strip in front of Ship House, in addition to the Pea plant, was its sheltered location and the fact that the LTB would often bask there when the sun broke through. However, there are still other good areas, such as that in front of the house called Moonraker. I think its just a case of the sun shine required. The temperatures remain high for this time of the year with a predicated 20 degrees this weekend.

[Paul Wetton]

Hi Dave

Thanks for the information. I will definitely be heading south over the weekend maybe on Saturday and Sunday. I'll keep my fingers crossed for a glimpse of Blue with Long tails.

[Jaz50]

Hi all,

Firstly thanks to Pete for accepting my application.

This will probably be my only post but I wanted to give the folks going down to Kingsdown Leas some info I learned from my brief time there last week. I am spurred into this after hearing of Lee's epic adventure but mainly as the weather has taken a turn for the worse and there is less info coming forward.

I took the plunge and drove down from Manchester and spent 5 hours there Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday last week. I saw LTBs all days.

The best place to park is at the bottom of Undercliff Rd, the shingle beach as people have stated - be careful as the roads in the whole village are narrow and I got reversed into by a local! . It is then a short but steep walk south to the top of the cliff, through some Ivy just coming into flower which held a few species as well as hundreds of the locals Honey Bees (you will spot the hives if you gawk into gardens looking for LTBs - respecting locals privacy of course). You are then into the 20-30 yard wide strip of the Leas which extends south for quite some way. The border is the cliff edge (obviously - be careful! A lot of it you wouldn't even touch the sides on the way down) to the left and the small road (The Leas) to the right.

Nothing new there but I found there was no real "best place". the "better" places seemed to depend on which way the wind was blowing (it changed direction over the three days). Downwind being better, IE if the wind is blowing down towards Ship House (the last house) it was better down there.

I found my first two both nectaring on the sweet pea but after that did not see one on the peas, although others did. It might be best not to concentrate on the peas but if you do, peer deep into the flowers as the LTBs stick their heads right in.

I think one of the most important things is to get there EARLY. Turning up at lunchtime will really limit your success. Everyday the LTBs were found either nectaring, basking or sat on a dead grass stalk - not easy to find as they are the colour of dead grass with their wings shut. So, an early arrival will see them "accessible". It may be different now because of the weather but as it was sunny when I visited and if it gets sunny again their behaviour maybe similar, but, from late morning onwards they must have been fully fed, watered and had their batteries charged by the sun and were charging around, hardly settling. Afternoons were really difficult, well harder than the mornings!

There are a few clumps of peas on the way up to the first "hill". That was good, if the wind was heading that way. Mostly it was blowing down towards Ship House which was very good. The garden has a fence which ends 20ft from the road and that area has a few dead branches, brambles and some Peas. I'm guessing that is the "strimmed" area. The other side of the road there is a hedge and nice flatter grass. The local Adonis/Common/Chalkhills hung out there and it was also good for LTBs early in the morning in the grass. In between the two there are a few clumps of small bushes along the road which hold the pea plants, one of which was very sheltered with a little den of Spearmint, it was good there too. It is quite easy to see where people have been searching as the grass is heavily trampled and that is a good clue.

It may be worth continuing past Ship House as the last Male I saw was "holding territory" on the next large bush that the path forks around, 50 yards or so towards St Margarets and there has been a post to say they have been seen towards the monument (you will see it) which is much further down the cliff.

As for afternoons, in the sun, the only place I saw them was in the long grass front garden of a house halfway along the road. Owned by a lovely couple who leave the grass long as a wildflower meadow for the butterflies. On the Tuesday there were at least three LTBs chasing each other around there, any chance of a photo is out of the window but you might get a sighting - whether or not they were there as it is undisturbed is speculation, but almost every butterfly moving across that grass that afternoon was an LTB. The house is the 5th or so along, is set back from the road at a 45 degree angle giving a large triangular "field" of a front garden, that they have also started to cut. It might all be cut by now but it still might be worth looking, especially if it is sunny.

So, I hope this helps. Apologies if it is misleading as it could now be well out of date.

Good luck to all going and GET THERE EARLY!

Fingers crossed.

Jaz

PS I didn't see anyone with a net on Tuesday!

[Pete Eeles]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and info. Jaz - much appreciated and very community-minded (your should stick around)!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Adrian Dowling]

I spent a few hours at Kingsdown Leas around lunchtime today in the company of Mark Joy and saw 3 LTB's, including a pristine male (all found by Mark - he has 'his eye in' better than me). He had also seen a couple more males and a pristine female.
It was a cloudy morning today with some sun around midday before clouding over again. So still worth a visit tomorrow as the weather looks favourable, with more sun forecast than there was today.

Many thanks to Mark for his company & his assistance in finding them for me.
I may even see you there if you make the trip, as I will probably take my wife down to see them.
Good luck

[David M]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and info. Jaz - much appreciated and very community-minded (your should stick around)!

Absolutely agree. It'd be such a shame not to see you again after such a show of altruism.

[lee3764]

Well done Adrian on seeing 3 x Long-tailed Blues today! Glad they're still emerging there therefore giving other folk the chance of seeing them for possibly the only time in their life on British soil!
All the best.
Lee Slaughter (Cornwall).

[Paul Wetton]

Oh give me strength!!!
We decided to visit a site suggested by Neil today in East Sussex for LTB today and after around 4 hours, constant cloud and much dog poo later we dipped again seeing none of the little blighters. Thus extremely dis-chuffed (polite understatement) especially as we decided to bomb over to Kingsdown Leas to try there before heading home. Of course the sun came out during the car journey but by the time we arrived it was too late in the day.
Great, must have covered over 600 miles today with 3 Angle Shades and a Fox Moth Caterpillar to show for it.

So guess where we're going tomorrow. Yep Kingsdown Leas. Hope to see you there Adrian and please please please anyone there who finds a LTB show it to the man with the big white video camera.

I reckon there were LTB at Neil's Site but the weather was just all wrong. However, I'm sticking with Kingsdown as there will be more eyes to look for them.

At this rate we'll be the only couple in the UK not to have seen LTBs this year in the UK.

Adrian where were they when you saw them?

Cheers all.

[lee3764]

Fingers crossed for you tomorrow Paul..........You WILL see them there I confidently predict as the weather is absolutely ideal there tomorrow at Kingsdown Leas!! Keep your chin up & it will all come good tomorrow!
Cheers,
Lee Slaughter (also a 600 + miles veteran of the 2013 Long-tailed Blue butterfly must see it in Britain club)!!
(676 miles last weekend actually!!)

[Adrian Dowling]

Paul, they were roughly opposite the bungalow called 'Moonraker', although I am sure that there must be more down towards Ship House, it's just that I didn't get that far during the time I was there today.

[Paul Wetton]

Hi Adrian
Did you see them on the seaward side of the road?
Hope to see you early in the sun.

Thanks for the encouragement Lee, this will be my last attempt.

[Paul Harfield]

Hi

A big thanks to all those who have shared information about their visits to this site, successful or unsuccessful. It is a great help to those of us that have not been there yet. I have a day set aside on Monday which will probably be my only opportunity. I have been studying this thread very carefully and also sightings reports, diaries and the weather trying to decide on a plan. (wondering if I should bother at all or alternatively should I perhaps take a tour of Sussex sites )
Hopefully a few more people will have visited this weekend and will be able to share their experiences here