November 2014

[David M]

I always try to obtain a November butterfly sighting. Usually, I need to sneak off to one of my late season haunts but this afternoon, a Red Admiral came and found me outside my workplace so I didn't need to!

It spent a couple of minutes flying round the tree tops before descending to some lower level evergreens as if it were trying to find a roost.

Given the stormy forecast for the next few days, this little critter may well prove to be my last sighting of 2014.

[Tony Moore]

Minty RA outside my front door in Stafford yesterday - first I've seen locally all year

Tony M.

[jenks]

2 Red Admirals seen by me on Tenby Esplanade yesterday afternoon. Pembrokeshire Birds website has a report of "not less than 50 RA`s and 6 Painted Ladies coming in off the sea onto the Castlemartin range ". Now that`s impressive ! It was a lovely sunny day in south Pembs, temperature 14 C by mid afternoon, per my car temperature gauge.

Jenks

[David M]

2 Red Admirals seen by me on Tenby Esplanade yesterday afternoon. Pembrokeshire Birds website has a report of "not less than 50 RA`s and 6 Painted Ladies coming in off the sea onto the Castlemartin range ". Now that`s impressive ! It was a lovely sunny day in south Pembs, temperature 14 C by mid afternoon, per my car temperature gauge.

Sunday may provide an opportunity for we Welsh folk to take stock of Lepidopteral activity.

12c, sunny with light winds may just prove to be the ideal 2014 curtain call!

[Vince Massimo]

A local walk in Crawley today to a known hotspot for late butterflies produced 2 Red Admirals and a Speckled Wood.

Red Admiral - Crawley, Sussex 9-Nov-2014

It produced a great shadow when it settled on the ground.

Red Admiral - Crawley, Sussex 9-Nov-2014

The Speckled Wood refused to settle, but was probably the same one that I saw there on 4th November.

Speckled Wood - Crawley, Sussex 4-Nov-2014

This was the same place which produced my latest ever Speckled Wood on 22nd November 2007.

Vince

[jenks]

Snap !! Newport wetlands Goldcliff reserve between 11.00 and 14.00 produced 2 Red Admirals, 1 Speckled Wood and 2 Common Darter. No Clouded Yellow though, my last sighting here was on 17 October, but my latest sighting of Specklies by some weeks. Its bizarre to see Speckled Wood at the same time as small parties of Fieldfare and Redwing are landing on the same hedge to feed on the Hawthorn berries ! At 14.00 hours the rains came so I fear for any butterfly which had not found shelter.

Jenks

[False Apollo]

These sunny autumn days are certainly bringing out butterflies around the Bournemouth/Christchurch area. Today (9/11/14) I had a Painted Lady hanging around the garden around 11.15 which eventually nectared on the yellow buddleia. Very likely a recent arrival, we had one in at Halloween as well. Just after this a Comma was sunning itself on the garage. Of course Red Admirals were around, almost a daily occurrence these days.
At Southbourne there have been 5 or 6 Clouded Yellows recently, a couple exhibiting pairing behaviour. However on the negative side a long swath of lower vegetation on the slopes has been cut, which is where eggs may have been laid or which could have been sheltering overwintering larvae. This happened for the first time last year, but previously this area was not cut in for management reasons that I can remember. Of course other butterflies could be using this area as it is warm and sheltered.
My wife had a Clouded Yellow flying north recently in Christchurch, somehow I think we are in for an extended butterfly season (until those frosts).

[David M]

That Comma seems very 'sparsely' marked, FA.

[millerd]

Sunday 9th November - another Holly Blue on my local patch near Heathrow.

Far and away the latest I've ever seen one. More shortly in my diary... (EDIT-Now posted)
Dave

[David M]

That's just ridiculous, Dave!!

I shall look forward to your diary entry with interest.

[NickMorgan]

I received a report of a Peacock at the coast near Longniddry yesterday. As I entered it into the database this morning I thought to myself that it will be the last butterfly sighting this year after a hard frost last night. However, I saw a Peacock flying backwards and forwards in the autumn sunshine in the garden outside the bank this lunchtime!

[Mark Tutton]

Had a bizarre sighting of a Red Admiral today - three stories up in Central Portsmouth temperature of 13C and in torrential rain I spotted a Red Admiral valiantly battling against all that Mother Nature could throw against it as it desperately made a determined effort to fly over the office building on its way south. Never underestimate a butterfly
Kind Regards
Mark

[John_C]

I have seen several late butterflies in Ayrshire during the past week.

Tuesday 04/11/14
1 Red Admiral and 1 Small Tortoiseshell in my garden in Rankinston, Ayrshire both were on Red Valerian and Mauve Valerian.

Wednesday 05/11/14
3 Red Admirals and 1 Small Tortoiseshell in various places in Ayr, one Red Admiral was on Ivy while the other two were on Hebe.

Sunday 09/11/14
2 Red Admirals in Ayr, both were on Ivy

[ChrisC]

peacock just paid the garden a visit, looking in good shape too..

Chris

[False Apollo]

Fresh male Holly Blue on ivy flowers growing over garage from 11.35. A beautiful sight for mid November. This is my latest sighting of Holly Blue. Hopeful it will hang around for a while.

Regards
Mike.

[David M]

A single Red Admiral seen in a woodland clearing at the southern end of Cwm Clydach, near Swansea at approx 11.30 this morning.

Given the mild and sunny conditions and the fact that I saw 5 Speckled Woods here a fortnight ago, this was rather disappointing.

Looks like the season is finally winding down.

[millerd]

Friday 14th: One Red Admiral still in ivy on my patch near Heathrow.

Dave

[notpop]

A late one from Cambridge
http://www.ispotnature.org/node/454886

[maverick]

A very late butterfly today,a sunny day but not the wamest in the sunny North West
i was doing a bit of gardening and along came this peacock, shouldnt he/she be tucked up in bed ?

[David M]

i was doing a bit of gardening and along came this peacock, shouldnt he/she be tucked up in bed ?

Very much so, yes.

Peacocks are probably the sleepiest of our adult overwinterers so to see one in late November is notable.