Pauline

[Pauline]

You make me chuckle with your comments Wurzel but you aren't the only one to hallucinate. Several of us today were suffering from hallucinations . Seems like you were absolutely right about the Redstart. . I have to admit I am not sure what would have caused that colouration in the Meadow Brown

Good to hear from you Gareth and thank you for confirming the ID. I have never knowingly seen a Redstart (or a Pied Flycatcher) so that is a first for me. Mind you, I am still not sure how to tell the difference between that and a Stonechat.

Thank you for the compliment Goldie. I did see more butterflies today but came back to a pile of Collared Dove feathers on my front lawn

Today I was joined by several others at Noar Hill in my quest to see my first male BH of the season after recent sightings had been reported. During the first hour the only sightings had been BH flying around the top of an Ash. We were becoming desperate by now and convinced ourselves that a variety of other species were actually BH but a Small Heath was doing quite a good job of mimicking one, flying up around the Ash before coming down to land. Folk were tending to disperse. It was at this point that I spotted my first female fly down and begin to egg lay. I was pleased to be able to show her to a couple of observers who were still around and had not seen a BH before. They were even more pleased and didn't seem concerned about the chunk out of her wing. As we took a few shots Mark called to say he had found another female in better condition. On closer examination she had one of her tails missing but that didn't stop her laying 2 eggs on a branch where there was already an egg. In between egg-laying the females took some well-earned rest:

After a while the butterflies flew up high and most folk left to get some lunch. I decided to stay a little longer and wandered a little way along a track where I found a third female, also intent on ovi-posting. I had my 'Brownie' pin with me and tried to get a photo of the 2 together with only limited success. I shall keep trying.

Not wanting to ignore the other butterflies I had to take a few shots of this stunningly vibrant Comma:

and a slightly faded but attractive Common Blue:

As I left the site I found a fourth BH - another female!! An excuse for yet another visit to search for a male

[Paul Harfield]

Hi Pauline

Great work with the Brown Hairstreaks It looks like Noar Hill is coming up with the goods this year. I struck lucky with my first visit to Shipton Bellinger a couple of weeks ago, but did not manage any photos. I have never seen one at Noar despite several visits over the last couple of years. Perhaps I should try again

[Wurzel]

Great shots from Noar Hill Pauline, love the Comma and the penultimate Brostreak is a cracker

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

Thank you Wurzel - I thought of you when I took that shot, thought you might like it . It's quite bizarre how many of you guys I think about when I am out and about. Whenever I see 'wiggle-woggle grass' I think of Mike, or if I am at a particular site that Mark has directed me to I remember to be grateful, 'stained glass' and it's you Wurzel etc etc

Hi Paul, with the good weather forecast for the end of the week you should try to make it to Noar Hill. I haven't seen a male there yet but several were seen recently and females are still egg-laying. The Triangle is still the most reliable place but a bit of patience might be required.

[Maximus]

Great BH photos from Noar Pauline seems like they are doing reasonably well this year, at Noar Hill, in spite of the egg losses during the wiinter

[Pauline]

Thank you Mike. More seen today (still all females!) - I obviously collected all the male eggs . Been thinking about that. If it needs to be done again (ie chopping down the Blackthorn) I wonder if it would be feasible to organise a working party of sorts to sift through the branches, clip off the eggs and wire them onto other Blackthorn. I'd spend a couple of days doing that if it was thought to help.

Anyway, 12 species seen today whilst waiting in vain for BH and hoping for sight of a male (butterfly that is! ). The first was a SWF - well, half a SWF really:

I was also pleased to see this male Holly Blue as I have seen very few of them this year:

The Small Heath from Sunday was still masquerading as a BH but we were all wise to him now. Common Blues, both male and female were everywhere:

A couple of Blackcaps entertained us along with a family of Marsh Tit whilst a lovely fresh Brimstone and GVW stayed for a while and helped to pass the time whilst still waiting for BH:

Other species noted were lots of Speckled Wood, a couple of fresh Red Admiral, ST, Meadow Brown and Brown Argus and all this without moving more than a few yards, but ....... still waiting for BH . A couple of us decided to call it a day and as we approached the entrance of the site a female BH flew past. As she went behind some low bushes we lost her and couldn't relocate her. Half way down the track we parted company and I continued down to the 'car park'. I decided to check the blackthorn on the corner and in doing so I flushed 2 female BH from the thicket which I assume had been egg-laying despite the now cloudy conditions. The BH went in different directions but I was able to see where they landed (quite high up). I took a couple of shots on max zoom and this is the result. Your challenge today is to find the BH - she is there, I guaranteee

[MikeOxon]

I find that last photo fascinating, since it shows how well the BH mimic brown autumnal leaves. I can see half a dozen 'possibles' but am sure most are leaves! It's also nice to see all that blue sky.

Mike

[David M]

I find that last photo fascinating, since it shows how well the BH mimic brown autumnal leaves. I can see half a dozen 'possibles' but am sure most are leaves! It's also nice to see all that blue sky.

Mike

I've clocked this myself lately. Blackthorn leaves, once they've started to change colour, reflect the brown and orange markings of female Brown Hairstreaks very markedly.

[Mark Tutton]

Hi Pauline
I am fairly sure I can see just down from the top bit of foliage in the centre with wings flat?
It is doing a remarkable imitation of a pair of Field Maple seeds - nice spot!
Kind Regards
Mark

[Pauline]

An interesting and productive day today but more of that later. In the meantime you were spot on Mark (see below). I agree Mike/David - it is not just the Blackthorn but Ash leaves and others are now sporting brown patches which are easy to interpret as a Hairstreak. Their camouflage at the moment would give the Graylings a run for their money!

[Wurzel]

That was good fun playing spot the Brostreak Pauline There have been several times when I've been caught out by leaves whilst looking for Brostreaks - that gaudy orange makes it surprisingly difficult to locate

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

Cheers Wurzel - more camouflage below and one shot just for you

Today I set off to find (with a little help) not just the tumulus, but also the Grayling, at the site 5 mins away from me, this being my 3rd attempt . I had not only clarified directions and printed them out but had taken them with me. Despite checking the weather forecast which seemed favourable, it was a little cool and misty when we set out with a lot of cloud cover so I was preparing myself for failure - again!.

I hope Ernie is reading this as we found the Irish Harp tree in his directions and literally paced the 200 steps and at last - success - we had found the tumulus:

Whilst searching amongst the heather we stumbled across some strips of corrugated iron which appeared to have been used by the military for lighting fires, but on turning it over it was apparent that it was providing shelter to a number of Peacocks:

Eventually the sun appeared, and with it about a dozen Grayling, one of which landed on me. Courtship behaviour was witnessed but the female eventually rejected the male, preferring instead to nectar on the heather. As usual the Grayling were incredibly well camouflaged, whether soaking up the warmth of the sandy tracks or climbing around the heather:

This was the lovely environment being enjoyed by the butterflies:

As well as the Grayling we saw a few Common Blue, ST, Meadow Brown, a White of sorts and a number of moths and cats. As we were leaving we also saw this attractive Small Comma (or should that be Copper ) but STILL no blue spots:

.... and this 'Dalmation' Copper is just for Wurzel

[MikeOxon]

Sometimes, Pauline, you just have to use Photoshop

Ab. Caeruleopunctata in excelsis

[Wurzel]

Great late Grayling shots Pauline And thank you for my Small Copper, that would look great in my photo collection

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Maximus]

Lovely Graylings Pauline, which look in great condition for the time of year As we have also seen, they seem to have a long flight season

[Pauline]

I shall treasure that image Mike as it seems likely that it is the only one I shall get

Consider it part of your collection Wurzel Thanks for the compliment

It was something of a relief to find them at last Mike and they were in very good condition. I reckon Ernie was right and at peak season I imagine there will be loads of them as he recently witnessed. SSB too so that is a new site for me for them - if you see what I mean?

I am getting behind again and losing track of time so postings may not be chronological. Another visit to Noah Hill the other day failed again to find any male BH - think they are probably finished at this site now but hope someone proves me wrong. As I approached the site along the narrow lanes with passing places a raptor flew past my car and landed on a nearby roof. I stopped the car and remembered to turn off the engine before taking any shots (I have made this mistake before which only resulted in blurred images!). I believe it is a Kestrel?

There was the usual mix of butterflies at Noar Hill in varying condition but whilst checking the eggs from previous visits it seemed that some had already been predated, either having disappeared completely or no longer looking intact like this one:

as opposed to this:

Common Blues were the most common/frequent butterflies encountered:

I also found an interesting caterpillar (but I think that might have been on a different visit) - a Chinese Character, and it is easy to see why it has been named such:

On the way back, almost at the same place I saw the Kestrel, I had to stop as a small rabbit was in the road. I initially thought it might have had myxi but on getting out of the car it was apparent that wasn't so, although it had multiple injuries. Holding up traffic in both directions I scooped up the poor little mite which has since cost me a small fortune in vet fees with no guarantees of a happy conclusion. Lucky, as this little girl has been named, is not out of the woods yet, so whether the name is appropriate remains to be seen!

[nomad]

Very nice Grayling images

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Pauline, I am playing catch up again. Some great reports and photos in your diary recently. Love the blue-spotted Small Copper

All the best,

Neil.

[Maximus]

Hi pauline, nice shots from Noar,hope Lucky is ok? We've only visited Noar once recently, no BH, but plenty of other butterflies to be found, must update my PD

[Pauline]

Thank you Peter - comment much appreciated. It is good to have found a sizeable colony so close to home.

Thanks Mike, especially for asking after Lucky who has needed 24/7 care and is not out of the woods yet so butterfly activities have been severely restricted.

I appreciate the compliment Neil and I have to say that you are not the only one who loved the Blue spotted Small Copper - others have commented to me too so a big thanks must go to Mike for his efforts. I cannot quite match that but today I saw a few Small Coppers and I was delighted to note that one of them had a smattering of blue - perhaps not quite enough to be considered the 'real deal' but hey! it was good enough for me (for now anyway!).

Next time I want to find a particular butterfly I shall simply ask Mike to do a 'mock-up' using Photoshop as it has obviously brought me luck