Maximus

[Maximus]

Thanks Neil, its interesting to compare your visit to Durlston with ours, shows how things change, even after only a couple of days.

Thanks Dave, its amazing you saw no Clouded Yellows just a week before our visit, were those we saw fresh arrivals from the continent?

Thanks Wurzel, Lulworth Skippers do seem hardy little butterflies, with a long flight season!



5th September, continued..


After our success at Durlston we decided to pay a visit to Ballard Down before heading home. We parked in the lay-by and headed up the path to the down until we reached an area rich in wild flowers. Adonis Blues were everywhere, and every nectar source was covered in butterflies.

The Adonis ranged from very fresh to very worn, but there were hundreds on this bit of hillside. Every direction you looked in, blue and brown open wings faced towards the sun to catch its last rays. As we walked along the path and came to a more open area, we soon spotted some Clouded Yellows, about six in total, which appeared to be getting ready to roost.

We then spotted a white butterfly which, when it landed, turned out to be a Clouded Yellow, here was our helice. She was not easy to approach and was clearly not a really fresh individual, but she was beautiful. Our photos are not brilliant and do not do her justice, but we felt pleased to have at least got a couple of shots of her.

In addition to the Adonis and Clouded Yellows we saw Lulworth Skippers, Common Blues, Brown Argus, Meadow Browns, Large and Small Whites and some Speckled Woods. All in all another great day out in a great part of the country

[Wurzel]

Great stuff Mike All those Adonis are a great sight, the Clouded Yellow shots are lush and a Helice to boot

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Maximus]

Thanks Wurzel, apologies for the belated reply, i've been busy lately with other things, non-butterfly related i'm afraid!

Mike


30th September

In spite of being otherwise engaged we have however managed to find time for a couple of trips in search of the elusive Long-tailed Blue. On 30th September we made our way to Kingsdown Lees driving into warm sunshine along the M20. The diversion at Dover cost us some time but we eventually arrived, parked up and made our way along the cliff tops. Although it was sunny the strong easterly breeze made it feel cooler and we weren't sure whether we'd see any butterflies on the wing. However we soon spotted a small brownish butterfly which landed on the path in front of us, but on closer inspection found it was a female Adonis and not the Long-tailed Blue we'd hoped for. We spent the next few hours searching up and down the cliff top scrutinising every nectar source along the way, but at the end of the day we only spotted male and female Adonis Blues, a male Chalkhill Blue in pretty good condition and several Speckled Woods, Small Whites. one Small Tortoiseshell and a Comma, the last two sheltering from the strong wind in the car park at the back of the Golf Course. While we were there we bumped into fellow UKB member, Leigh (mud-puddling), nice to meet you. At about 4.30 pm we called it a day as we didn't want to get stuck in heavy traffic on the motorway.

4th October


Today we were back in Kent after spending the night at my sister's house in Hythe. We had chosen to continue our quest for the Long-tailed Blue today based on the favourable weather forecast. During the night however we had watched the spectacular lightning display as torrential rain fell turning the road into a river. The morning dawned with strong southerly winds and lashing rain, but as we were here we were determined to make the most of it even though we were convinced we would not see any butterflies on the wing, let alone Long-tailed Blues. When we arrived at our destination the rain had eased a little but the wind was really gusting strongly on the cliff tops. After some while searching I found a Small White hiding deep in the grass and soon after a Silver-Y moth doing likewise. At least I had found something. Cathy had moved on ahead and I was slowly walking along a path in the grass searching carefully. At one point I found a small bush which was obscuring a clump of Ragwort. As I walked past the bush I could see the Ragwort more clearly, and as I looked, there sat on a flowerhead busily nectaring was a Long-tailed Blue. What an amazing sight, surreal comes to mind. As I slowly removed my camera from its case being careful not to disturb the nectaring butterfly it began to rain heavily. I managed to fire off four photos almost as if on auto pilot before the butterfly took flight, disappearing into the gloom. To say I was pleased would be an understatement but this was tempered with the fact that Cathy had missed seeing it. I quickly caught up with her and found her looking over the cliff where the LTB she had found had disappeared, denying her a photograph. The inclement weather forced us back down to the car where we ate lunch, after which we decided to take one last look up on the cliffs for any sign of the LTB's we'd seen earlier. Unfortunately we drew a blank, but satisfied with our earlier sighting we decided to call it a day.

[Wurzel]

Congrats Mike Great shots, all four of em and that's four more than I've got By the way where can I buy one of these autopilots they certainly seem to do the trick

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

This entire Long-Tailed Blue saga has thrown up some amazing stories. People have been massively inconvenienced getting down to this site, but it often seems as though they are blessed - poor weather, unfamiliarity with the site...but persistence seemingly pays off.

Most folk on here seem to have seen at least one - and at the end of the day, that's all you need.

The only thing stopping me from going there myself tomorrow is having seen the species in France last year. I'm pretty certain there'll be a few about having digested the reports on here.

[lee3764]

"To say I was pleased would be an understatement".........................Well done Maximus!! I felt just as you did last Sunday to finally see one! Persistance paid off in the end. Well done & cherish the hard earned memories of your encounter with it.
Cheers,
Lee Slaughter (Cornwall).

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Lovely LTB photos there Mike And I really like your Clouded Yellow in amongst the leaves, unusual and beautiful lighting.

[Susie]

So glad you persevered and got your butterfly in the end. Lovely photographs

[Paul Harfield]

Hi Maximus

Well done for getting your Long Tailed Blue I am very envious. I am hoping to visit Kent on Monday. Hopefully I will have at least as much luck as you have had, fingers crossed

[Nick Broomer]

Well done Mike, a great find in such poor conditions. I am really pleased that you and Cathy got to see the LTB, and you also managed to get a few lovely photos to remind you of this day forever.

All the best, Nick.

[Maximus]

Thanks Wurzel and you know the saying, there are just some things that money can't buy

Yes David there have been some good stories regarding the LTB's. Personally one is more than enough for me, given their small numbers and the M25 madness. I was particuarly keen to see a LTB hatched on british soil but can now look forward to seeing some in France next year

Thanks Lee, I will remember that moment for years to come. I'm very glad you saw one too and know exactly how you felt.

Thanks B. Rex, I got there (LTB) in the end. The Clouded Yellow was roosting in a dog rose and the sun was low in the sky giving that effect.

Thank you Susie, your Adonis Ab photo in the UKB 2014 calendar is stunning.

Thanks Jack, I wish you luck with your search for a LTB on Monday.

Thanks for you kind words Nick, it will remain etched in my memory always.

Mike

[Neil Freeman]

Congratulations on the LTB Mike

There was no way that I could make it to Kent(or Sussex) to see these due to time/distance and family circumstances but I have really enjoyed reading about everyone else experiences, great stuff

Cheers,

Neil.

[Susie]

Thank you. I was very surprised to be asked

Thanks Wurzel and you know the saying, there are just some things that money can't buy

Yes David there have been some good stories regarding the LTB's. Personally one is more than enough for me, given their small numbers and the M25 madness. I was particuarly keen to see a LTB hatched on british soil but can now look forward to seeing some in France next year

Thanks Lee, I will remember that moment for years to come. I'm very glad you saw one too and know exactly how you felt.

Thanks B. Rex, I got there (LTB) in the end. The Clouded Yellow was roosting in a dog rose and the sun was low in the sky giving that effect.

Thank you Susie, your Adonis Ab photo in the UKB 2014 calendar is stunning.

Thanks Jack, I wish you luck with your search for a LTB on Monday.

Thanks for you kind words Nick, it will remain etched in my memory always.

Mike

[Maximus]

Its been a while since my last posting on UKB as things have conspired to keep me from doing so! I also have a lot of catching up to do on other people's diaries!
Thanks Neil for your congrats on our LTB sighting, I do understand how it's not always possible just to drop everything to go in search of a butterfly, even though you would like to.

I'm surprised that you were surprised to be asked Susie, its a stunning photo!

The LTB sighting was a natural cut-off point for our 2013 butterfly season. Our aim this year was to better our 2012 total of 41 UK species seen.
Our first sighting of 2013 was of a Small tortoiseshell on 14th March at Wrecclesham and our final new species sighting was the Long-tailed Blue at Kingsdown on 4th October . This brought our tally for 2013 to 53 UK butterfly species recorded, nine of these (Wall Brown, Chequered Skipper, Swallowtail, Wood White, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Black Hairstreak, White Letter Hairstreak, Lulworth Skipper and Long-tailed Blue) being first ever sightings for us. This easily beat our last year's figure, which now brings our tally of UK butterfly species to a total of 54.

We didn't manage to see the Large Blue this year, although we saw this butterfly at Collard Hill last year. Species we have yet to see are the High Brown Fritillary, Mountain Ringlet, Scotch Argus, Northern Brown Argus, Large Heath and Reals Wood White. Hopefully, six species for us to enjoy looking for next year!

Most recent butterfly sightings to follow...

[Maximus]

During early October we managed to spend some time out locally and found quite a few very fresh looking Small Coppers on the wing, as well as some bright looking Commas.

More recently we have been watching Red Admirals and Peacocks nectaring on a neighbours shrub, mostly on sunny mornings. They are obviously feeding up in preparation for their winter hibernation, which looking at the predicted temperatures for next week in our area, may be quite soon. We are not sure what the shrub is and although I have looked on line I have not been able to get an ID.

waxy bell-shaped flowers

strawberry like fruits

basking in the November sun

[Padfield]

Hi Maximus. Your shrub is a strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo - a great autumn butterfly attractant. In the Mediterranean it serves as foodplant for two-tailed pashas and Chapman's green hairstreak, but further north it simply provides a welcome nectar source when flowers are scarce.

Guy

[Maximus]

Thanks for the ID of the tree Guy. It certainly must be a very good nectar source at this time of year, which is why on sunny mornings, even in the UK in November, is covered with Red Admirals and Peacocks.

Mike

[Wurzel]

I don't think I've seen the sun here in Salisbury this November Lovely Snall Copper from back in October Mike. A neighbour has a Strawberry Tree(which I managed to ID from your photos and with Guys input ) so if we do actually see the sun in the next few days I'll have a check, cheers for the tip.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Maximus]

Hi Wurzel, I hope you've seen some sun in Salisbury and some butterflies on your neighbour's Strawberry Tree recently The blooms are starting to fade now on our neighbour's tree and we have not seen any butterflies on it for a week or so

Mike



12th November
This year we put in quite a bit of effort to ensure that there were plenty of nectar sources in our garden, in order to attract as many butterflies as possible. This definitely paid off, as the Erysimum Bowles Mauve, Verbena Bonariensis, Scabious, Cosmos and Oxeye Daisy, just to mention a few, have throughout the summer paid host to a variety of different species. The first to arrive were Orange Tips, which although they only stopped briefly to nectar before moving on, obviously found our Garlic Mustard plants to their liking.

We soon noticed that the caterpillars were disappearing, probably through predation, so moved all further hatchlings into the kitchen, where they were given their own sprig of Garlic Mustard to feed up on. More of these later.
The next species to arrive were Large and Small Whites, they became regulars and there were always plenty of them in the garden, especially on the Scabious and Verbena. We even planted some cabbages for them which they made full use of.

We even had a Large White egg-laying on our peas! When the eggs hatched the caterpillars initially fed on the pea leaves before moving onto the cabbage plants.

When we witnessed these caterpillars being predated by common wasps I protected them with a fine mesh net, which seemed to do the trick.

This was a great start to the butterflies visiting our garden and we wondered what was to follow.....

[Neil Freeman]

Great report and photos Mike

I am wondering what was to follow as well....

Cheers,

Neil.