Wurzel

[Maximus]

Hi Wurzel, I agree with Dave, Neil and Lee, a great sighting and lovely shots of the Small Tort

Mike

[philm63]

Great stuff Wurzel - a fascinating look back at 2013, with some great shots and a 20104 butterfly already. Lets hope all that water doesn't limit you efforts to get out and about - enjoy

Phil

[Wurzel]

Cheers Goldie I too was hoping for some LTBs in 2014 but after the weather we've had I'm not too hopeful
Cheers Neil I've been busy building the Brownie points too - I think I'm up to three trips now Shhhh in case the wife is reading
Cheers Dave I hope the waters fall soon - the weather report for your area looks good for his weekend , over my way however...same old same old
Cheers Rex It won't be long for you now I reckon - perhaps this weekend
Cheers Lee It was serendipitous
Cheers Mike I didn't know what I was going to say if the front door had opened
Cheers Phil I think I might invest in some waders so I'll still be able to get out - or perhaps a wet suit and scuba gear

The Hairstreaks

35 Green Hairstreak, 25th May Martin Down

A successful year for both myself and the species. Up until this year this was my nemesis, my bogey butterfly so a comparison of their emergence seems foolish. Also in 2012 they were ridiculously early due to the insane weather in a 3 week period during March – which was when they were first recorded.
Despite (or possibly because of?) their more usual timing of emergence they seemed to be in very good numbers. I found them at Martin Down and subsequently saw them there on two or three other occasions in different parts of the reserve – at Sillen’s Lane end, the hotspot and also right at the top of the hill along the ditch. Plus I saw them at two other sites – my Duke site where one actually crawled onto my finger and also at my Marshie site. Again they were spread across the reserves and not just concentrated in one spot. I was especially happy as after speaking to some members of the Wiltshire branch I discovered that the Marshie site colonies are generally much earlier in the timing of their emergence. So next year I can try there and overcome this stumbling block of a species as once you’ve seen one you often find them all over the place. All I need now is to find some at Larkhill and I’ll be in Greenstreak heaven!

36 Brown Hairstreak, 22nd August Shipton Bellinger

Only a couple of days later than 2012 but as in a lot of cases that was down to me and not them. Overall they had a great year. I’ve heard of reports of decreasing numbers from Noar Hill just recently but this was countered for me by other reports of egg laying females at my Duke site. Plus I personally found five different females at Shipton Bellinger on my later visit there, the most I’ve seen at one time at the site.
My first visit for Brostreaks was with Philzoid and it was fantastic with “The Brimstone” and a fantastically crisp and fresh male and female Brostreak who both worked the crowd. The 11-3 rule worked a treat for me this year and on all of my visits come 2:55pm there was a sudden dearth of Brostreaks.
As well Shipton I also visited Alners Gorse where I missed the females as I was distracted by the Cloudies but got onto another male. I always thought that the males were supposed to be harder to see as they weren’t supposed to come down to the lower levels but at both sites I’ve seen males feeding down on Brambles. Last year at Shipton the males outnumbered the females 3:1 and this year Shipton visit one was 1:1, visit 2 was 0:5 and Alners was 1:0 which suggests that they come down more commonly than the literature would suggest.

Another observation I made this year was the difference in the timings of the emergence of the two sexes. Usually when I visit I see fresh males and there aren’t any females around as they seem to emerge a week or two later than the males who have been scraping while they wait for the girls to arrive. If I do time a visit and find both sexes present it’s usually the case that the males are pretty worn with patches of scales scraped away, tears in and chunks missing from their wings; whilst the females look immaculate and pristine. This year however on my first visit I saw both sexes and both were in fine fettle, not a tear visible, wing margins intact and not a scale out of place. I think this was probably down to a later emerging male and an early female more than a great temporal shift. Whatever the reason it was great to be able to make the textbook like comparison between the two different hues of the genders – the blaring in your face orange of the female with the more subtle honey tones of the fresh male. Lush.

37 Purple Hairstreak, 6th July Bentley Wood

By the time the Purps were emerging the summer had hit and things were pretty much caught up so I actually saw my first Purp a couple of days earlier this year than last and again it was at Bentley Wood. It must have been a good day for Hairstreaks as I’d already seen Whitters at another site.
Again this year was hard work for Purps – there did seem to be more about but nowhere near the numbers of previous years. A case of doing better but still not doing great and nowhere near up to their full strength.

It was also another hard year photography wise. The best opportunity came when I had rescued one from a drowning at Legoland. But because of where I was I didn’t have my camera and just as I’d managed to fumble my iPod out of my pocket it had gone. Also those that I saw at Bentley Wood (which gave me the impression that they did a little better this year) were flying high over the tree tops, bombing along lower down or were almost beyond the range of both my lens and zoom/crop facilities when ‘processing’ the images. Mind you I did actually manage to get a few snaps and they my first ever Purps actually on Oak! Hopefully this year will bring me some lower encounters – perhaps I’m looking at the wrong time of day and need to go earlier before the dew has evaporated?

38 White-letter Hairstreak, 6th July Secret Squirrel

This is a very hard species to judge numbers of or whether it’s early, late or on time as I have very little experience of it. Also it is one of those hard to see and under recorded species so making comparisons in terms of numbers is difficult to make with any degree of confidence but the best guesstimate I can come up with is that they seemed to have a good year. I certainly saw more than I’ve ever seen before.
This will be the third year that I’ve managed to photograph it. The first was a very worn individual late in August and was a total fluke. The second was another fluke, this time at Alners Gorse and although it was in much better condition it was too distant to really appreciate so I was beginning to despair at ever getting any half decent shots of a half way decent individual. Luckily some networking by Philzoid put me onto a good site which I’ve since named “Secret Squirrels”.

When we turned up on the 6th July (a whole month earlier than last years’ ‘first sighting’) the heat was building and after a few distant views and fly-bys nicely showing off their rectangular wings thongs weren’t looking particularly hopeful for them coming down . Perhaps we were too early in the season we wondered as they all seemed to have their minds on nookie (or at least fighting each other to get some)! Having completed a few circuits and arrived back at the first ‘Master Tree’ I tried the old ‘turn me back on ‘em and pour a coffee’ trick – which worked a treat.

Not only did we see two or three individuals low enough down for a few shots but I found a mating pair which meant we were able to drink in the butterfly; the blue eye on the hind wing margin, the long tails and the eponymous white lettering. I also noted the beautiful golden hairs and the striped legs which were new to me. So a sight worth the three year wait!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Lee Hurrell]

Love that last image Wurzel.

WLH remains a bit of an challenge to me; despite seeing them locally when I was in west London, I've never satisfactorily taken a photo of one. I have one bad image taken on an old mobile phone.

So, if anyone knows of a reliable site in Surrey...

Best wishes

Lee

[Neil Freeman]

Great reports and photos again Wurzel

I missed out on both BH and WLH last year. That is in both cases I had a couple of possible sightings high up but nothing that I was confident enough to claim as a definite sighting. Oh well, more to look out for this year

Cheers,

Neil.

[Maximus]

Superb photos of the Hairstreaks Wurzel, we too found both male and female Brown Hairstreak at Shipton seemed to be in sync this year, with beautiful examples of each sex seen together at the same time. This was very likely due to the reasons you have highlighted in your excellent report

Mike

[Wurzel]

Cheers Lee I hope you find a good site in Surrey
Cheers Neil Good luck with the Hairstreaks in 2014
Cheers Mike Shipton is a cracking Brostreak site


It seems weird that I'm still sorting photos from 2013 at the same time as sorting new ones from 2014 so better get on with "out with the old"...

Old Garden

Having moved out of our rented house last February I really missed my old garden as over the last couple of years it had provided me with a great range of species to photograph. Luckily my wife’s twin bought the house and so I was able to drop in now and again. Over the summer when I was asked if I wanted to pay a visit I grabbed my camera and jumped at the chance. Little did I know that it would entail some pretty heavy work over many weeks...

First up was root ripping in the circular boarder. It felt weird ripping up the vegetation and digging out the bulbs which had offered roosting spots for Orange-tips. Then we attacked the Ivy bush over the wooden archway (no more Red Admirals or Comma on here then ) which was a necessity as it was collapsing. During the occasional break I would grab my camera and have a quick mooch about while the others drank tea or juice and I struggled to actually use my camera as after the repeated shocks of swinging a pickaxe my fingers wouldn’t work properly. I spent most of my summer holidays wile I was growing up working on building sites and this little stint reminded me that pretty much anything can be achieved with a Pick . Fence posts - easy. Concrete – no chance! Hazel stool? Gone! Something worth considering by the Heyshott crew

Over the course of a few days work and a few occasional breaks various butterflies graced me with their presence. I was glad to see my first female Common Blue in the garden, but also disappointed that it hadn’t occurred during my tenure and also because it didn’t stop long enough for a photo. A male however did, all be it a bit distant. While up the top of the garden a Peacock basked on our second visit. On our third visit a few days later we were greeted by a Peacock on the front of the house

Over the next few weeks we visited at least once, sometimes twice and eventually I started work on the concrete path which ran up the garden. It was back breaking work having to clear the border on one side, break out the path and then dig out the hardcore. It was made even harder when I had to then go back over it and sieve all the topsoil a second time. Due to my close proximity to the fence and the next doors Buddleia I kept inadvertently spooking the butterflies but I did manage to grab a few Bees, Hoverflies and the occasional Brimstone or white.

During one break I made a foray up the garden to an overgrown area with much longer grasses. I saw something fluttering around and so I quietly crept up on it. It was a Meadow Brown so I crouched down and started to take a few shots. It was quite patient but after a few shots I could feel my knees and elbows starting to stiffen so I left the butterfly in peace and headed back down the garden to start swinging the pick again and get my muscles warmed up and working. As the chips flew and the path disintegrated I detached myself from the work and got to musing. At one point I remembered the Meadow Brown that I’d just seen and something didn’t feel right about it. So I went and checked my shots and then I noticed that it was one of the unusual ones with two ‘pupils’ in the eye.

Once I started on the path it turned into a mammoth task but there were a few more breaks to be had...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Paul Harfield]

Hi Wurzel

I have so far had no success at all with any of the Hairstreaks except the Green variety (and a little head start with the Purples of course ). They are all near the top of my list for 2014. Yours are all fantastic , I particularly like your White Letters and I believe these are not too far from me. I will be paying a visit to this site in the summer. There have been trees down in that area in the last few weeks, whether they were Elms or not I do not know. In fact the main road was shut as a result more than once. Unfortunately I could not find enough time to investigate Hopefully the WLH have not been too badly affected.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Jack Good luck with the the Whitters - I always reckon that almost all Hairstreak photographs require a large slice of luck but if you get the timing and the site right the slice diminishes . Shipton Bellinger is great for Brostreaks though Noar Hill might be closer for you?

First Five Rivers

There was something about the weather on Saturday that made me think “Five Rivers”. It could have been the fact that when I woke up the sky was clear and blue or that the sun was pouring in through the windows for the first time since I can’t remember when. Whatever the reason (possibly a sudden rush of Serotonin?) I suddenly had a hankering to get out looking for butterflies.

So jobs finally done and children happily enjoying a play date with their cousin I set off to visit my first proper site of the year, the tried and tested and always reliable Five Rivers. As I wandered past the uprooted trees the weather started to change, the wind would pick up and it was keen and the sun would disappear for short times behind the clouds. Because of this and also because of the dearth of flowering/nectaring plants in bloom I headed straight to the Banks. Yes they were exposed to the wind as it blew across from the river but they caught the sun and there were likely to be some nettles poking through.

I generally just focus on this area during the earliest part of the season walking backwards and forwards along the thin path of the banks scanning downhill hoping for some movement which I’ll try (often in vain) to follow or head down watching the path for basking butterflies which seem to prefer the thinner well trodden path. And so it was today occasionally, I’d stop as the wind played with a leaf or to marvel at the noticeable increase in temperature close to the ground. I’d almost finished my first walk along and was almost at bench which serves as my marker to turn around when I caught sight of two leaves which instead of moving horizontally were spiraling upwards and interlocking – a pair of butterflies. They broke apart and one shot off down the hill and vanished across the river while the other landed close by just off the path. So I carefully approached taking single steps and waiting between each one so as not to spook it and working around in a large circle so I could try and get behind it. Then came the painful part; kneeling down and feeling the sharp prickle of the nettles through my jeans. Still it was worth it as my second wild Small Tort of 2014 was captured on ‘film’.

Having carefully repeated my approach manoeuvre in reverse I thought that I would give the banks a chance to attract a few more butterflies so set off across the fields to the small spinney that usually has a Brimstone. It must have been a bit too early here for them but instead I found my third Small Tort.

The sun started dipping into the clouds more and more so I thought it best to head back to the banks and resume the circuits. Time was ticking by and while the mixed tit flock that was accompanying me was nice to see I was starting to think that I’d had my fill of butterflies for the day and so I decided to make my next circuit my last. Again as I was approaching the bench a pair of spiraling butterflies erupted like a miniature tornado from the dead grass stalks. I tried to follow them but they were gone and no matter how much I strained my eyes I couldn’t relocate them.
Even more time ticked by and I took the first three steps of my return journey when there were the two again. I think I was witnessing courtship as the chased butterfly was larger and when it would land the smaller chaser (male) would also land and would then approach wings quivering until it was almost on top of the chased (female). It would then take off and the male would follow after her. I saw them do this a couple of times and each time the female would land in a relatively bare patch amongst the dead grass stalks quite close to some new nettle growth. I was able to approach three times without disturbing them and on the fourth I think the male had finally lured the female as the final time I saw them they headed up the banks and into a secluded gap amongst the Bramble bushes. I couldn’t follow them but having already approached three times and gotten plenty of shots I left them alone.

Third time

As I rushed back home (can’t be late or it’ll be negative Brownie points) I had a huge grin on my face. I just hope that the year continues in this vain.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Philzoid]

A great report there Wurzel . Mind you kneeling down in nettles ..isn't there anything you won't do for your art ? Those pictures were worth it:- rich and colourful in the winter sun, and as detailed as ever. Its a reminder for me to start getting out and about my local area and not just the butterfly house .

[Paul Wetton]

Enjoying your reports Wurzel.

Your Bee thing is I think a hoverfly called Syritta pipiens which has a thickened hind femur that can be seen on the photo.

Excellent stuff.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Philzoid After those trips to Wisley you'll already have your eye in so you'll be racking up the native species soon
Cheers Paul And cheers for the ID too

March 2014

Let's hope the weather keeps moving forwards towards spring and doesn't go backwards...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

The Blues

As there are so many I’ve been a bit cheeky and I’m covering the Blues in two parts so without further ado...

Part 1

39 Small Copper, 25th May Martin Down

Small Coppers seemed to be slightly later this year but only by a week or so and is probably a reflection of their early emergence last year. When I think back over the year my main feeling about Small Copper is relief. After a run of bad years they seemed to be back to their best. True the earlier broods still seemed a bit sparse but by the second they were really coming on strong. I was seeing them right into the middle of October and in very good nick too suggesting to me a third brood.

I also noticed this year the variation in the length of their tails. Most have a little nubbin poking out from the hind wing margin but I personally saw at least three where this was much more pronounced (though not quite as much as Mikhals). I’m not sure why this could have been though I know they can show this variation. Possibly because once I saw it I started to notice it more as we humans are very good at picking out patterns/anomalies from the norm (possibly explains our superstitious natures).

40 Small Blue, 25th May Martin Down

My first Small Blues were from Martin Down again this year and this seems a good ‘early site’ for them. They emerged a couple of days earlier than last year but I think that has more to do with when I started looking in 2012 – as that year I was almost in danger of missing them.

I saw them at a couple of new sites this year –both my Duke and Marshie site and also added them to my Larkhill List which was my Small Blue highlight. But despite these apparent successes I was actually quite concerned for them as a species. After the initial joy of seeing them ‘elsewhere’ I started thinking back over the sightings from Martin Down – my main site for this species – and realised I hadn’t seen anywhere near as many. Whilst this could be down to me missing out on seeing them once their numbers had built to the peak my gut tells me that they were down. Chalkhills and Adonis also seem to be struggling at this site so it could be due to grazing or the vegetation management?

41 Silver-studded Blue, 29th June Slop Bog

Back in 2012 the Silver Studs were a right pain as the cool damp spring held them back from emerging so I made several futile trips to Slop Bog before they finally started emerging in July. With the long, cold, seemingly never ending spring of 2013 I didn’t expect anything different. However things started to perk up and so I saw my first Silver Studs at Slop Bog a week or so earlier this year, again at Slop Bog. They’d been reported from several other sites earlier than this and so I think that I’d actually gotten to Slop Bog a bit late – although saying that I didn’t see many females?

When it comes to thinking about how well they did in terms of numbers I find myself wavering between holding their own and perhaps being down slightly? At the Bog itself I saw some males but there wasn’t the “Blues puffs of smoke” which I’ve encountered on previous visits, when small parties of males erupt in a fight and then drift lazily across the heather dispersing like smoke. This made me feel that they were slightly down though with only one visit it’s difficult to make a firm comment. What also makes it difficult to judge is the fact that my judgement may be slightly skewed as I found a few Silver Studs at Godshill while looking for Grayling. One thing’s for sure – I need to either make a few more visits next year or find some other sites and that way I can make a more reliable and accurate guesstimate of their success or failure.

42 Brown Argus, 2nd June Marshie Site

Unfortunately I saw my first Brown Argus at about the same time as last year on the memorable trip to my Marshie site. I say unfortunately because I love seeing this delightful little butterfly and the first sighting is one of those times that I look forward. Yet because of all that was going on during this trip; Small Blues, Wall Browns, Marshies everywhere, Marshies mating, ovi-positing Greenstreaks, Battle Royale etc, my first Brown Argus kinda got passed over. In fact I’m rather embarrassed to say that I didn’t recall seeing one until I got home and started looking through the photos from the day .

They seemed to start slow and I was worried that they were in for a bad, low numbers year but they seemed to rally during the later broods. I wouldn’t say that they bounced back after last year but experienced a gentle bob up. They also seemed to last longer this year and I was seeing them at Larkhill on into September. However I didn’t see one on my sorties to Five Rivers and I’m hoping that this was just me getting my timing wrong and missing them rather than the miserable alternative.

I was lucky enough to find a couple of unusually marked B.A.s this year one of which had straw coloured lunules rather than orange and I wasn’t sure if this was pathogenic or genetic? The other couple both showed a similar degree of variation as the lunules were huge, making them really strongly marked. One was from the Devenish and the other Martin Down though I haven’t been able to find out whether they’re named aberrants.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Great reports again Wurzel, jealous of your Small Torts at Five Rivers .

Small Coppers definitely bounced back around my patch last year after a dismal showing in 2012. Good numbers at all my usual sites although I didn't find any third brood, the last ones that I saw were a couple of well faded examples in mid September.

I found good numbers of Small Blue at Bishops Hill last year and apparently they did well at their other Warwickshire sites. I also found them all over the slopes at Prestbury Hill in Gloucestershire where they seemed to be having a particularly good year .

I completely missed out on Silver-studded Blues, just wasn't in the right place at the right time, one for this year perhaps...

Cheers,

Neil.

[Maximus]

Hi Wurzel, first of all congrats on the Small Torts you found and photographed at Five Rivers Secondly, lovely shots in part 1 of the Blues did you really take double the amount of photos as the rest of us, in order to have some like this to post now

Mike

[Goldie M]

Fantastic photo's Wuzal, I plan on going to Bently Wood this year, your pic's from there have got me on the go for Summer Roll on! Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers Neil Glad to hear that Small Blues did well somewhere else, good luck with the Silver Studs this year
Cheers Mike The photos are just carefully selected recycled photos used in a different context
Cheers Goldie Good luck at Bentley this year, I might even see you there

Back to the Old Garden 2 (from end of summer 2013)

Over the next couple of weeks we visited the garden very regularly, almost every other day and I set to work on the path which ran almost the entire length of it. I’d put my boots on, place my camera on their picnic table and start work on the next section of the concrete swathe. First would be digging up the roots from the border and then forking through the topsoil before piling it up in a bank along the fence so it didn’t mix with the hardcore. Then I’d break the concrete with the trusty Pick and lift the pieces out before raking through the hardcore with the Pick and then shoveling it into rubble bags. Then it was leveling the top soil back out before starting on the next section.

On one memorable day I had to take a few more breaks than usual because the girls were playing in the garden but also because we were visited by a several butterflies. As well as the usual Whites around the Buddleia we were also visited by five Small Tortoiseshells which scattered themselves across the garden while I sat and enjoyed a cuppa on the picnic table. One was on the topsoil, another clung to the fence with a third, fourth and fifth on the rocks around the greenhouse. As there were so many in such a small area it was actually surprisingly difficult to get any photos of them. Each time I’d approach one it would stay there indifferent until one of the others just out of view would spook for some reasons and it would spook the one I was after. In the end I resulted to elbow crawling across the lawn and then gradually lifting myself up when I was in range. This technique seemed to work pretty well and in one case I managed to stand directly over the Small Tort.

Then there was a Painted Lady which was on the (bl**dy) path at the top of the garden. After a few quick snaps it did a few tours round the garden before landing and basking down on the recently leveled border. It was here for a good while so I managed to elbow crawl up for some nice close-ups. Looking at it now it kind of reminds of a Tiger face on through a distorted lens (?). Another Painted Lady bombed down the garden, landed briefly on the fence before flitting over and into my neighbours’ garden. I had a quick peak and then green with envy wished that I hadn’t as the three or four Buddleia were heaving with butterflies – the odd Red Admiral and Peacock as well as ubiquitous Whites and Small Torts.

This memorable afternoon was finished off with a white plume moth which my Moth expert in residence, Philzoid, identified as “1524 Emmelina monodactyla” although these are tricky (aren’t most moths?).

After this little purple patch things seemed to quieten down, I suppose the butterflies had discovered the Buddleia next door. So cold cuppa drunk I had to spit on my hands and start wielding the pick again.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Paul Harfield]

Hi Wurzel

When I first read of your Small Tortoiseshells at Five Rivers I had assumed that it was one of your retrospectives I have to echo others comments and say that I am very envious of some excellent early Tortoiseshell action They certainly seem to be getting on with it nice and early At this rate they could perhaps fit in three broods

[Wurzel]

Cheers Jack The Small Torts were great value for money and were certainly very intent in meeting their biological imperative I really do need to get my arse in gear and get all the stuff I'd stockpiled for the winter posted so on that note...

Old Garden 3

Over the final successive visits things began to quieten down on the butterfly front, possibly because it became cooler and wetter but also because we were nearing the end of the season. As I was approaching the end of the path and as various little things kept cropping up that took more than the usual head down and press on method, I didn’t really keep too much of an eye out for butterflies but during a few of the tea breaks I took the odd walk around.

On one such occasion I was lucky enough to witness a Hummingbird Hawk Moth in action, feeding on a Buddleia floret that hung over the fence from the neighbours’ garden. As I was side on I didn’t see the usual black and white marking on the abdomen, instead the orange wings really stood out. It looked a lot like a jet fighter taking fuel in mid air. Absolutely brilliant to watch but unfortunately it kept working higher and further into the Buddleia and eventually it was lost from view.

On another occasion I’d downed tools was just walking down the garden and working out in my head that another afternoon should see the job done when a tiny bee landed on the fence. It glinted in the sun and as I cautiously approached I realized it was an Osmia species in fact Osmia caerulescens, the Blue Mason Bee. This was a male as it was golden as if it had been dipped in a pot of gold Humbrol. I’d encountered these cracking little bees in the same place the year before and I hope they’ll continue so I can find them in future visits.

I completed as much of the path that I could by the next visit, after that my niece was ill and since she has recovered the winter is upon us so that was it for visits to the Old Garden, apart from a quick one at the end of October – which has already been posted - actually in October .

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Butterflysaurus rex]

I love watching Hummingbird Hawk Moths Wurzel, it's great fun trying to get a good shot of them in action isn't it. For years I've been dying to see a Narrow or Broad Bordered Bee Hawk Moth, maybe this year?

B'saurus