Neil Freeman

[Willrow]

Fine report + great images = super holiday Neil Well done that man on the Lulworth Skipper record

Regards,

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks for the comments Bill, very much appreciated
It was definitely satisfying to find the Lulworth Skippers, especially in the numbers that were there and in a place that was not one of the usual well known locations

Sunday 29th June – Later in the afternoon.

Later in the afternoon we were having a cuppa back in the caravan when little Frankie announced that he wanted to go and look for ‘burraflies’ with Grandaddy. In my earlier scouting around I had seen a public footpath that crossed a likely looking meadow just outside the site entrance and knowing that his little legs would only go so far we set off.

The meadow proved to be full of ‘Brown ones’, ‘Black and White ones’ and ‘Speedy Little Orange ones’ which he pretended to take photos of with an old camera that Sarah had given him, probably the safest option currently at his age(3).

Looking for 'burraflies'

A 'Black and White one'

Maybe next year we can let him loose with a proper camera to try out but at the moment it is all part of pretend play

As well as all the butterflies there was a pair of Kestrels in (or over) the meadow, one of which, the female I believe spent most of the time perched on a large post.

Kestrel - Bowleaze Cove 29.06.2014

Kestrel - Bowleaze Cove 29.06.2014

And one that I forgot to put in my earlier post, my first Gatekeeper (Hedge Brown) of the year,

Gatekeeper - Bowleaze Cove 29.06.2014

A great first day with a promising forecast for the following day. Even better, Jane and Sarah had said that I could drop them off in Weymouth in the morning and disappear for a few hours

Bye for now,

Neil

[Pauline]

I'm so envious of your Kestrel shots Neil - fabulous. I seem to be useless at photographing birds and you have got some great shots in the past. I'm so pleased you don't delete your exif data as I do try to learn from shots I admire.

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Pauline, I was lucky with the Kestrel, I just approached very slowly and took a series of shots at full zoom as she sat there.

Monday 30th June – Portland

With Jane and Sarah wanting to spend the day in Weymouth, doing a bit of shopping before taking Frankie to the beach, I was allowed off the leash for a few hours so I had decided to take a drive over to Portland and have a look around a couple of the old quarry sites.

I was hoping to see some Silver-studded Blues, the Portland race of which are considered by some authorities to be of sub-species cretaceus although I believe that this view is challenged by many others. Whatever their status, I had read that the SSBs on the old limestone quarries of Portland tended to fly a little earlier than their heathland counterparts and with this years earlier than usual emergences of many species I was wondering if I may be a bit late.

My first port of call was the Broadcroft Quarry reserve where I arrived at about 10.30am. It was already getting quite warm under a high overcast with occasional sunny spells and there were loads of Marbled Whites and Meadow Browns along with Gatekeepers and Large and Small Skippers flying about.

Marbled White - Broadcroft 30.06.2014

I made my way to the eastern part of the reserve which I had read was the best place for SSBs here and in around an hour saw half a dozen males, all of which were looking rather worn and faded plus a single female which was in better condition.

Silver-studded Blue female - Broadcroft 30.06.2014

I then decided to move on to Tout Quarry to see if I could find any better condition males there. I parked up and walked through the first area of stone sculptures and up one of the higher slopes to enjoy the view back down towards Chesil Beach.

Chesil Beach from Tout Quarry

Returning back down the path I disturbed a Grayling, my first this year, which did the usual thing of flying a short distance away to play hide-and-seek. On the light coloured Portland stone it didn’t blend in quite as well as they usually do so it was a bit easier to find again.

Grayling - Tout Quarry 30.06.2014

I then followed the path around to the right of the sculpture area and into a likely looking area where I spotted a male SSB. Whilst not exactly fresh, this one was in much better condition than those I had seen earlier at Broadcroft.

Silver-studded Blue habitat

Silver-studded Blue - Tout Quarry 30.06.2014

Silver-studded Blue - Tout Quarry 30.06.2014

I spotted a couple more males in this area in similar condition plus a couple of females that were also a bit faded and who would only settle with their wings closed, unlike the males which were happy to bask with their wings open. I am guessing that the females with their darker colour were heating up quicker in the warm conditions, hence the closed wings.

Silver-studded Blue - Tout Quarry 30.06.2014

I then noticed another male that looked distinctly brighter in flight and which when settled proved to be a nice fresh looking individual

Silver-studded Blue - Tout Quarry 30.06.2014

Silver-studded Blue - Tout Quarry 30.06.2014

Silver-studded Blue - Tout Quarry 30.06.2014

In the same area I was surprised to see a faded Dingy Skipper, not expecting to see one of these still flying.

Dingy Skipper - Tout Quarry 30.06.2014

Also, there were a number of Common Lizards amongst the rocks which I managed to get a couple of shots.

Peek-a-boo

Common Lizard - Tout Quarry 30.06.2014

All in all I saw a dozen SSBs at the two sites, 7 males and 1 female at Broadcroft and 4 males and 2 females at Tout Quarry.

It was then time to head back into Weymouth to meet back up with the others.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[nomad]

Nice report Neil, I really enjoyed it. I am pleased that you managed to find two fresh Silver-studded Blues. The views on Portland are wonderful. Early on Sunday June 29th, I walked the coastal path from the Bill where I stayed to Tout Quarry. That Dingy Skipper is very late, I also saw a fresh one during my visit . I expect the Silver-studded Blues on Portland may have started to appear on the wing around mid-June.

Regards Peter.

[Willrow]

Lovely report and superb images Neil, crisp and sharp 'burraflies'

My wife and I were on Portland in mid-May, the quarries are so full of things to interest the naturalist, we mooched about for a few hours and enjoyed the wonderful views you present in your report

Thanks for sharing.

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks for the comments guys, very much appreciated as always
Hi Peter, I am glad you enjoyed the report.
Cheers Bill, Portland certainly merits a bit of exploring, I could have sent much longer there.

Monday 30th June – later in the afternoon

Later that afternoon after returning to the caravan, whilst the others chilled out for a bit, I was still considered to be ‘off the leash’ so I grabbed the chance to nip down the road to Osmington and take a walk up the path to White Horse Hill.
Last year, during a week staying at Osmington Mills in early September, I had seen loads of Adonis Blues up there along with a number of Clouded Yellows; in fact this was where I had managed to get four Clouded Yellows in one shot which I posted in this diary on my return home
I realised that it was too early for any Adonis Blues but thought that it would be worth a look to see what was about at this earlier time of year, maybe a Clouded Yellow given that it seemed a good spot for them last September.
The first part of the path goes through a section of trees and hedgerow but then carries on diagonally up the open hillside.

Looking back down the path up to White Horse Hill, Osmington

The grassy slopes were full of the usual Meadow Browns and Marbled Whites along with some Small Heaths plus Gatekeepers and Ringlets around the patches of scrub. There were also maybe a dozen or more Small Tortoiseshells along here, mostly basking on the path or patches of bare ground on the slopes, or taking off to intercept each other and spiral off into the sky.

Small Tortoiseshells - White Horse Hill 30.06.2014

Looking up the slope from the path I soon spotted the unmistakeable deep buttery colour of a Clouded Yellow skimming rapidly backwards and forwards. After a while I lost sight of it and carried on up the path where a few minutes later I caught sight of another one (or maybe the same one again?)
For the next 40-45 minutes I wandered slowly up and down this section of path and watched as a Clouded Yellow would fly into view and then disappear behind a bit of scrub or higher up the slope.
At one point I had two in view at the same time so I knew that there were at least a couple about and after a while they slowed down a bit and started to settle occasionally. I watched as one settled a few yards away from me and stayed down just long enough for me to sneak up and get a record shot of what proved to be a bit of a worn individual.

Clouded Yellow - White Horse Hill 30.06.2014

A little later I managed to get a couple of shots of another individual that looked a lot fresher..

Clouded Yellow - White Horse Hill 30.06.2014

Clouded Yellow - White Horse Hill 30.06.2014

..and not long after that I photographed another one with slightly darker markings which showed that there were at least three different Clouded Yellows about in the area.

Clouded Yellow - White Horse Hill 30.06.2014

Given that I had seen at least half a dozen Clouded Yellows here last year and that they apparently survived the winter elsewhere, I wonder whether these today are the descendants of last years

Last year I had seen Clouded Yellows go to roost here under bramble leaves so I hung around a little longer hoping to see one do the same this time. With the lighter mid-summers evenings they were still fairly active however and I had to leave to return to the others before they (the butterflies) showed any sign of settling down.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[millerd]

A beautiful Clouded Yellow, Neil! I reckon they could well be a descendants of last year's crop. I would guess there were large stretches of the south coast that did not record an air frost last winter. If it's any measure, I only recorded one morning here near Heathrow where the car told me it was below freezing at 8 in the morning (not very scientific, I know! ).

Dave

[Wurzel]

Stunning fresh Silver Stud and Cloudies Neil I'm glad my home county is treating you so well butterfly wise I've been birding at Portland many, many times but never butterflying there so I'll need to rectify that.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Dave, we had a few air frosts in the midlands last winter, especially at 6.00am on the way to work, definitely not as many or as cold as most years though.
Thanks Wurzel, your home county has certainly been kind to me these past couple of years, I am seriously tempted to have another visit before the year is out.

Tuesday 1st July

Having spent most of the previous day out butterflying, the first day of July was going to be a day spent doing family stuff. Sarah had said that she wanted to take Frankie on the Swanage Steam Railway (at least that was her excuse, she rather likes steam trains herself) so after breakfast we drove to Norden to park the car and catch the steam train into Swanage.
On the platform at Norden I couldn’t help but notice a dozen or so Marbled Whites on the adjacent grassy bank and as the train made its leisurely way towards Swanage there were also large numbers of these visible along some stretches of the embankment.

After having some lunch in Swanage and catching the train back again, Jane and Sarah decided that they fancied stopping off at Lulworth Cove on the way back to Weymouth for an ice cream .
By now there was a fairly thick overcast although it was still reasonably warm and whilst the women and nipper went to get some ice creams, I had a quick look around the grassy area at the top of the car park by where the path heads towards Durdle Door.
In just 15 minutes or so I saw about half a dozen each of Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper plus Large, Small and Lulworth Skippers, the first of the latter that I had actually ever seen at Lulworth, my sightings of these in previous years having been later at Durlston.

Gatekeeper - Lulworth Cove 01.07.2014

Lulworth Skipper - Lulworth Cove 01.07.2014

Large Skipper - Lulworth Cove 01.07.2014

I also saw a worn male Adonis Blue which surprised me a bit as I thought that it was too late for first brood and much too early for second brood,

Adonis Blue - Lulworth Cove 01.07.2014

Ice creams eaten we then carried on our way back to our caravan with me thinking that with a bit of luck I would be back to spend more time at Lulworth sometime in the next day or so

Later in the afternoon Sarah and Jane took Frankie to the play areas on the site and with the cloud thinning and the sun peeking through, I took the chance to stretch my legs and have another wander along the coast path to where I had seen the Lulworth Skippers previously. This time I went a bit further and found them all the way along to Redcliff Point, I wouldn’t be surprised if the colony extended even further along here but the likely looking spots on the cliffs looked too dangerous to try and reach.

Lulworth Skipper - Bowleaze Cove 01.07.2014

Looking towards Osmington Mills from Redcliff Point

I did however find the freshest looking male I had seen so far

Lulworth Skipper - Bowleaze Cove 01.07.2014

Also seen along this stretch were the now usual large numbers of Meadow Browns, Marbled Whites, and Ringlets along with increasing numbers of Gatekeepers plus Large and Small Skippers, half a dozen or so Small Tortoiseshells and a couple of Red Admirals, one a bit worn and one getting very tatty.

Looking towards White Horse Hill from the SW Coast Path between Bowleaze Cove and Redcliff Point

Large skipper - Bowleaze Cove 01.07.2014

Red Admiral - Bowleaze Cove 01.07.2014

That's what comes of defending Gorse bushes

Not bad for a day when I wasn’t going to do any butterflying

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Willrow]

What a great endorsetment for a butterfly holiday, makes for great read...cheers Neil

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks for the great (and very corny ) comment Bill , still a couple more posts from Dorset to come

Wednesday 2nd July

My chance to return to Lulworth Cove came the very next day as, after a morning spent in Weymouth, Jane and Sarah wanted to return to the caravan site and take Frankie to the swimming pool. This would leave me free for the rest of the day so I decided to head back to Lulworth and Bindon Hill.

I had also been looking at the map and noticed that there were a couple of other spots nearby that might be worth stopping off for a look at before carrying on to Lulworth. The first of these was Tadnoll Heath, off the A352 a few miles to the west of Wool.
I spent about an hour here during which time I saw Ringlets, Meadow Browns, Small Heaths, Small Tortoiseshells and Large and Small Skippers, all in good numbers.

I also found half a dozen or so Silver-studded Blues, most of which were quite worn and faded except one individual that was in better condition albeit not exactly fresh.

Silver-studded Blue - Tadnoll Heath 02.07.2014

Silver-studded Blue - Tadnoll Heath 02.07.2014

I left here and went down the road to Winfrith Heath which was a more open site with a quite ‘desolate’ look about it. I only went a few hundred yards down the main track here and found a couple of worn Silver-studded Blues, one male and one female, in a sheltered spot between some trees.

At both of the above sites there were also good numbers of Dragonflies, mostly Common Darters but also a couple of Golden-ringed Dragonflies at each.

I then carried on through Wool to Hethfelton Wood for my next stop where again there were loads of Ringlets plus more Gatekeepers at this site. I spent another hour or so here during which time I saw about half a dozen Silver-washed Fritillaries plus a couple of Red Admirals, all of which were very active in the warm mid-afternoon sun.

Silver-washed Fritillary - Hethfelton Wood 02.07.2014

Red Admiral - Hethfelton Wood 02.07.2014

By then it was time to carry on to Lulworth…

Bye for now,

Neil

[Wurzel]

Brill stuff Neil - I've never tried Tadnoll so I might have to now. We were always told to keep away from Winfrith because of the nuclear Power centre there. When I finally visited it for Nightingales when I was 12 I kept expecting to see five headed locals

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Mike Robinson]

Some very interesting Commentaries (especially for me, a beginner at Butterflying &c.) and some lovely Pictures.

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel, five headed locals in the depths of the Dorset countryside, surely not....I always thought the limit was three heads

Thanks Mike, I am glad you like them

Wednesday 2nd July – Lulworth Cove

Arriving at Lulworth I remembered the heads up (hmm...is that the right phrase considering my comment above about the locals ) from Wurzel regarding the path by the ice cream kiosk being closed due to a cliff collapse so I was prepared to find another way up onto Bindon hill. Whilst visiting here in previous years I had noticed a path by the fenced off MOD range area that went down some steps towards the far side of the cove so I headed straight around the pebbly beach and found this path.
This way up passes through the grassy slopes which seem to be one of the best spots here for Lulworth Skippers. There were loads of them in sight of the path and steps, which is just as well as the slopes themselves here are quite steep.

Path up the hill from the beach

These steps are pretty steep

Lots of Lulworth Skippers on the way up

Male Small(left) and female Lulworth(right) Skippers

A pair of Lulworth Skippers (male top, female bottom)

During my ascent of this path I stopped a number of times to admire the view and watch the numerous butterflies which included the usual Marbled Whites, Meadow Brown and Ringlets along with Large and Small Skippers as well as the Lulworths. I also spotted a couple of Dark Green Fritillaries skimming at high speed across the slopes.

Reaching the gate at the top of the steps I turned left along the path towards the area of the hill that I usually go to. I soon saw more Dark Green Fritillaries which I watched in the hope that one might settle long enough for a photo. At first this was a pretty futile exercise in the warm conditions which meant that they were seldom settling and very skittish when they did. I did however manage to eventually sneak up close enough to get shots of a couple of individuals.

Dark Green Fritillary - Bindon Hill 02.07.2014

Dark Green Fritillary - Bindon Hill 02.07.2014

Walking around to the sheltered dip where the closed path comes out onto the hillside, I saw a blue butterfly that at first I took to be a Common Blue but on a second look something seemed a bit different about it. As it settled I took a couple of record shots and was amazed to see that it was a faded male Silver-studded Blue, not a species that I expected to see up here and one that I don’t remember seeing any other sightings of in this location.

Silver-studded Blue - Bindon Hill 02.07.2014

Searching this area a bit more turned up a couple more and I took photos of three different males in total plus I also saw a suspected female which disappeared before I could be 100% sure.

Silver-studded Blue - Bindon Hill 02.07.2014

Silver-studded Blue - Bindon Hill 02.07.2014

These are the ones that I reported in the UKB July sightings thread last week and as stated there I reported these sightings to Dorset BC and was informed that apparently a SSB had been sighted on the transect here as well. I cannot help but wonder where these have originated from, one of the heathland colonies perhaps, or could a female have been blown over from Portland at some point?

As the late afternoon/early evening cooled down a bit (but not much) the Marbled Whites started to gather to roost and I watched some bickering going on for the best spots,

Marbled Whites - Bindon Hill 02.07.2014

Looks like the male came out on top

Marble White and Small Heath sharing the bed

I also watched the DGFs to see if they would slow down a bit but their behaviour was different, basically one minute they were still very active and the next they had disappeared. I did see one individual heading into the tree line below the path, maybe that’s where they go to roost here?

I had earlier found another path down the hill and around 6.45pm headed down it, coming out by the row of cottages a hundred yards or so up the road from the visitor centre and car park.

Another great day with a fantastic few hours spent up on what is one of my favourite butterfly spots . I have been here for the past couple of years in early September and it was interesting to see the different species here at this earlier time of year. I also noticed how many of the butterflies were carrying the small red mites that a lot carry here, more so than I have noticed before.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Fantastic stuff Neil - I never knew that there were Silver Studs at Lulworth If I'd have tried that path I would have saved myself two other visits on my previous "Super Sunday"

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel, the SSBs were a surprise to me, I have never seen any mention of them at Lulworth before this year.

The last two days in Weymouth were mostly spent doing family stuff, although I did go for a couple more wanders along the coast path during which I saw loads more of all the species already seen, mostly Marbled Whites, Meadow Browns, increasing numbers of Gatekeepers, Large, Small and Lulworth Skippers and Small Tortoiseshells.

Sunday 6th July

After returning home on Saturday (5th July) through some fairly hefty rain showers, Sunday was another nice warm sunny day so I decided to have a look around one of my local spots to see how things were going along. I plumped for Castle Hills near Solihull where having seen my first 2014 Small Skipper there a couple of weeks ago; I was wondering if the Essex Skippers would be flying there yet.
There were loads of ‘small golden skippers’ flying and I started doing the usual contortions trying for that head on shot, something that the vari-angle screen on my FZ150 is a great help with. After a few dodgy record shots with grass everywhere, that all proved to be ‘Smalls’ I found one that was definitely an Essex.

Essex Skipper - Castle Hills Solihull 06.07.2014

Topside shot of the chap above

As it turned out, this was the only definite Essex that I found that day. Given how fresh looking some of the Small Skippers still were I am guessing that it was still early days for Essex Skippers around here. In previous years the Essex haven’t reached their peak here until a lot of the Smalls are looking quite faded.

Small Skipper - Castle Hills Solihull 06.07.2014

Small Skipper - Castle Hills Solihull 06.07.2014

Small Skipper - Castle Hills Solihull 06.07.2014

Small Skipper - Castle Hills Solihull 06.07.2014

Small Skipper - Castle Hills Solihull 06.07.2014

Small Tortoiseshells were about again in increasing numbers with at least a dozen seen around the site plus half a dozen Commas,

Comma - Castle Hills Solihull 06.07.2014

Comma - Castle Hills Solihull 06.07.2014

I was also pleased to see at least 20 or more Marbled Whites, not great numbers compared with the hordes I had seen down south the previous week, but just a few years ago there were none here. This species certainly seems to be consolidating its spread northward across Warwickshire with increased sightings around the Solihull area.

Marbled White - Castle Hills Solihull 06.07.2014

The usual Ringlets and Meadow Browns were flapping about just about everywhere along with Gatekeepers (Hedge Browns) along the hedges and Small Heaths in the grassier meadows.

Gatekeeper - Castle Hills Solihull 06.07.2014

Small Heath - Castle Hills Solihull 06.07.2014

I am still a week behind with my posts, with a bit of luck I should be able to catch up over the next few days...

Bye for now,

Neil

[Wurzel]

Oh to be a week behind on my postings Lush H.Comma shots and plenty of peek a boo Smessex, nice!

Have a goodun
Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel, I suppose one advantage of not going anywhere in the week when I am working is that I get a chance to keep more or less up to date

Friday 11th July

During the past week I have had a couple of sessions in the garden after work in an attempt to keep on top of the rampant growth that is occurring this year. Everything seems to be growing like crazy and proves the point that even the bits left to grow wild need looking after, in fact even more so than the ‘tidier’ bits do.

During the week I had noticed a rather tatty Red Admiral visiting regularly and taking up station on the nettle patch until about 6.30pm when the shadows from some trees lengthen over that end of the garden.
There have also been an increasing number of ‘whites’, mostly Large and Green-veined passing through plus a couple of second brood Holly Blues.

Green-veined White - Coverdale 11.07.2014

Standing on tiptoe with FZ150 held at full stretch above my head using vari-angle screen

The Speckled Wood presence is continuing as usual with a couple of new males to greet me on returning from Weymouth and replacing the faded ones that were there before we went.

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 11.07.2014

Same one as above

I finished work on Friday at lunchtime and popped round to see my Mom as usual and before leaving there I had a quick half hour round the park just down the road from her house.
There were plenty of the expected Ringlets and Meadow Browns and a few Gatekeepers and Speckled Woods along the line of shrubs around the edge of the park plus a couple of Commas and Small Tortoiseshells,

Comma - Langley Hall 11.07.2014

I thought that this fresh looking Small Tortoiseshell looked particularly attractive,

Small Tortoiseshell - Langley Hall 11.07.2014

In an area of longer grass that has been left and allowed to grow there were Large and Small Skippers plus I was pleased to find a couple of Essex Skippers.

Essex Skipper - Langley Hall 11.07.2014

The latter are a species that I would never have thought I would ever see when I used to look for butterflies here when I was younger. Mind you, Speckled Woods were not that common around here in the 1970s either and now they are everywhere. It is also good to see Small Tortoiseshells returning to the kind of numbers that I remember from those days. On the other hand Wall Browns used to be common here but they have since disappeared, as they have from large parts of the midlands.
I can’t help but wonder what will be the winners and losers in another 40 odd years time, who knows, maybe a Continental Swallowtail will turn up

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Great catch up posting Neil and that Small Tortoiseshell is particularly stunning

Have a goodun

Wurzel