Bugboys mission

[bugboy]

So all weekend off and mostly cloud as far as the eye can see, back to work today and blue sky as far as the eye can see, oh the injustice!!!! I did see a smallish white butterfly this morning which will be my first non adult hibernater of the year. Hope this dry spell lasts longer than the prediction, itching for a good long day of butterflying!

[bugboy]

Update: That smallish white butterfly is a male Small White!

[bugboy]

Well, browsing the diaries it would seem that everyone has had a thoroughly good Easter Monday, some fantastic pictures to get envious about tonight! Spring has finally arrived after a few false starts

[bugboy]

Day off today (due to my rota and working weekends I get every wednesday off for those that are in anyway curious) so off I went to Epping Forest for a long wander, turned into a 5 hour strole and very lovely it was too.

The weather here in London was good, a light breeze, bright but hazy sun which clouded over a bit late on but stayed bright and was very warm, regretted taken a jacket very early on! Only 4 species seen: 1 male Brimstone, 2 Small Tortoiseshell, at least 6 Comma (my first of the year!) and at least 20 Peacock. Lots of male Peacocks holding territories along the rides with the occasional Comma thrown in.

After a while it did feel like I was playing Peek-a-boo with the Peacocks!

and just for a bit of variety here's a 14-spot ladybird and a Bee-fly (I do have a soft spot for Bee-flies )

and this is one of my attempts at trying to get a Bee-fly in flight....

nearly there!

Thanks for browsing

[Wurzel]

Great shots Bugboy There do seem to be plenty of Peacocks around is year, although they're still outnumbered 4:1 by Small Torts at Five Rivers

[bugboy]

In my part of the world Peacocks have outnumbered Small Tortoiseshells for a very long time, certainly as far as my personal obs are concerned. In my mind I'd have to go as far back as the mid 80's when Tort's were at the dizzy heights that Peacocks are now. Of course my attention to butterflies has waxed and waned over the intervening years so that may not be very scientifically accurate!

Managed to wangle another day of tomorrow so will have a wander on my local patch, Walthamstow Marshes. As it's name would suggest, its a much more open habitat and I fully expect to find Tortoiseshells holding there own there. Fingers crossed for some Pierids, Specklies and maybe a Copper or Holly Blue too

Here's a couple of context pics from my phone from today:

[bugboy]

9th April, Walthamstow Marshes

Well another day and another strole that turned quite epic in the end, 7 hours on my local patch and came home with well over 300 pics to go through It started off quietly, looking out the window when I woke up all I saw was grey clouds but a few hours later the sun had burned them off and not a cloud was to be seen. It was about 20 minutes before I saw my fisrt butterfly, rounding a corner I caught a glimpse of something Orange on a Blackthorn, first butterfly of the day:

20 seconds later a peacock appeared and shortly after that a Comma. They mostly stayed high up, any time they were tempted down a dog walker or jogger came past. nevertheless I hung around and was finally rewarded by a nice close encounter with the Comma:

A couple of Small whites also joined the blackthorn party but they too stayed high up so only managed a couple of long distance shots, better than nothing though

I wandered off with more Peacocks and Commas popping out here and there plus Small Whites patroling, possibly the same two I saw earlier.

A little later I came across a couple of Peacocks nectaring low down on blackthorn and took the oppurtunity to get some more closeups when my attention was distracted. A couple of Reed Buntings, attracted by a swarm of midges at the top of the bush, were flitting about only 10 or 15 feet away: Rarely have I been luckily enough to see them this close so snapped at them, and also a male chaffinch that joined in the feeding frenzy.

You can clearly see the midge swarm around the Chaffinch (or I really need to clean my lense!)

Back to the butterflies: I saw the familiar lemon yellow of a male Brimstone flitting between a cluster of Dandylions and took my chances at getting some closeups, I was quite shocked that I came away with 20 good pics of not usually the most approachable butterfly

I followed this Brimstone down the field until it stopped off at another patch of Dandylions where it joined a second male plus more Tortoiseshells, a Peacock and another couple of Small Whites. Today really was turning out rather good!

So I'd so far only seen male whites but in the distance I could see 3 white butterflies fluttering in a cluster, obviously a female was about, they never settled but managed a few in flight shots:

I actually surprised myself how in focus I got with them!

More wandering and more Tortoiseshells and Peacocks plus 1 rather tatty Red Admiral that didn't settle long enough to record on camera:

It was getting on now so making my way back home I turned into a small copse, 4 Peacock were busy fighting and feeding on Sallow catkins when out of the corner of my eye something dark flitted close to the ground:

My first of the year

A little further I heard a male Woodpecker drumming away, he was showing very well on a dead tree so managed some nice shots of him as well:

It wasn't until I got home and went through my pictures properly that I realised I actually had another 2015 first:

As you can see it was a Green Veined White female they were chasing, female Small Whites are obviously very thin on the ground currently and this GVW was probably regretting emerging so early, they really weren't getting the message at all!

Back to work tomorrow but a thoroughly good couple of days enjoying the lovely spring weather

[millerd]

A fascinating selection, Buggy. A nifty way to tick off the GVW - not sure I've seen one this year, but that looks like a good way to bring the suspects closer. Getting the woodpecker before it shuffled round to the back of the tree was good work too - I've never managed it yet!

Dave

[Wurzel]

Great stuff Bugboy I'm seriously impressed with how much time you're spending out in the field, I have to take a slightly different tack and cram in what I can.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[peterc]

I admire your enthusiasm, Buggy, and pleased that you were rewarded with your first Speckled Wood and Green-veined White of the year. I've yet to see a white of any kind or a Speckled Wood - maybe today will be the day.

ATB

Peter

[bugboy]

Thanks Millard, yes the GVW was a little bit of luck. The woodpecker actually made no attempt to hide, I stood and watched him for 5 minutes and have about 15 very similar pictures of him looking in various directions!

Thanks Wurzel, I suspect the amount of time I can put into it is primarily due to me being a single man, without the trappings of 2.4 kids etc lol

Thanks peterc, it's the enthusiasm on this site that enthuses me . hope you had some luck spotting some new species today

I forgot to give a final tally of numbers I saw yesterday: between 7 & 10 Small Whites (depending on repeat flybys), 1 GV White, 2 (possibly 3) Brimstones, 1 Speckled Wood, 1 Red Admiral, at least 20 Peacocks, 7 Comma and 10 Small Tortoiseshell.

Also saw this cheeky little illegal immigrant basking on the side of the ditches where I often see the local Water Voles:

Might send this pic to UKIP, see what can be done eh

After I'd packed my camera away and was 10 minutes away from home I saw this on the pavement (phone pic):

hopefully it's owner had done it's deed for it's species before it was sacrificed to nourish another animal. Ever since someone wrote in their PD about faces on peacocks hindwings thats all I can see, rather prophetically this particular face looks decidedly sad/p***ed off!

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Bugboy,

Oops! Sorry, I think it might be me to blame for the faces on Peacocks hindwings. I had never noticed until the other day when I posted the 'smiley face' Peacock in my diary and now like you I see them all the time.

Cheers,

Neil.

[bugboy]

Still very blustery today so thought it best to go somewhere with a bit of shelter. I've been waiting a while to see a Butterfly at Abney Park and to see if their claim (last line in the pic below) is true:

Well the initial signs seem to back it up, 3 individual Specklies seen there all allowing photographs:)

Watching the third specklie a Comma appeared then 2 Peacocks, feeding on cherry blossom and basking on tombstones and finally a slightly tattered male Brimstone, :

Tally after an hour was 3 Speckled Wood, 2 Peacock, 2 Comma, 1 Brimstone.

It seems to be becoming a habit now to get a couple of bird pics whenever I go here, this time a female Sparrowhawk flew into a tree above me carrying a twig. There was no sign of a nest of any sort or a male Sparrowhawk so perhaps it was a young female learning the ropes. Anyway she stayed long enough:

Then I started thinking I was better at photography than I actually am......

I was going for the soft focus look, honest

I left just after noon and since the sun was still out and it was still warming up, out of the wind, I decided a little strole at Tottenham Marshes would be nice. Despite the wind the Small Tortoiseshells were doing their best to enjoy the sun, mostly females from what I could tell, flitting around sheltered patches of nettles.

In some of the more sheltered patches where Blackthorn created a windbreak several Peacocks could be seen and a few Commas as well. The Whites were also making their prescence felt this afternoon, being blown along by the wind. I did try to identify them with long distance pics and zooming in on the results but unlike Thursday, I was mostly unsuccessful with mostly unidentifyable white smudges as the result. I did just manage to identify 1 Small and 1 GV using this technique though.
A little further on I saw another white but this one looked slightly different.... a slight orange tinge . Sadly it was flying in the opposite direction, past a large group of what looked like an eastern European family, and then round the corner. I very quickly decided against pointing my camera in that general direction to attempt a record shot for fear of giving the wrong impression!

On my return route I found the Whites to be MUCH more cooperative and was rewarded with my first decent closeups of both species (no sign of mr Orange Tip sadly):

I'd watched the GVW lay some eggs before she took her refreshment break, she must have been mated before her wings were dry judging by how freshly emerged she looked.
A final tally here was 7 Tortoiseshell, 9 Peacock, 2 Comma, 1 Orange Tip, and several Small/GV Whites (2 confirmed Small, 3 Confirmed GV)

So despite the gusty wind another successful day butterflying and with the Orange Tip, my yearly total now stands at 9 species, not too shabby at all

[Wurzel]

Great report Bugboy and I like the soft focus Sparrowhawk OTs have been a bit thin on the gound for me too - I've only seen three so far and all have been whilst driving so no chance of a shot - still a while to go quite til things really kick off.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Lucky you Bugboy, Whites and Speckled Wood I'm Jealous Goldie

[bugboy]

I'm sure the wait is only a few days away for you Goldie

A very quiet day on the butterfly front today, cloudy and a bit of a nip in the air. Good birding weather though so spent a couple of hours at barnes Wetland Center. Lots of summer migrants, loads of Willow Warblers singing, couple of Sedge Warblers, Sand & House Martins and a Swallow. Also not just one good view of a Cetti's Warbler but 3 of 3 different individuals! To the non birders out there, a good view of a Cetti's is a bit like coming across a Grayling with it's wings open and allowing you to get close enough to get some macro shots, it doesn't happen every day!

The weather looks like it's on the up again tomorrow, according to the forcast 23 and then 25 on Wednesday.....well down here in the south east anyway. The plan for tomorrow is Orange Tips at Dollis Valley so an early start is in order to get them before they start patroling. Must go now, Game of Thrones is on in a bit

[bugboy]

Well I was expecting more butterfly activity than I eventually got today, perhaps the stiff breeze put them off. Peacocks still outnumbered everything else, a few Tortoiseshells and Speckled Wood and a fare smattering of Commas too, including this very fat female!

She needs to stop sunbathing and get on with laying those eggs!

Also saw this one tasting the Nettle with her tongue which I've never seen before. Seen plenty of vassenids pattering nettles with their reduced front feet but never with their tongue

I was after OrangeTips today and did see 2 males, but both in the afternoon and although I did follow one a short way I was quite aware any chance of a photograph was somewhere between zero and not a hope in hell! Ahh well it's still early days.

On the other hand I did tic off Holly Blue today, a nice active male! VERY active male....too bloody active if truth be told. He was doing that usual Holly Blue thing of threatening to land every 5 seconds and when he did actually land it was for only 5 seconds! I only really managed a few distance shots. He did actually land for a long session of mud puddling on the bank of Dollis Brook but in true Holly Blue fashion, on the opposite bank to the one I was on! I got the distinct impression I was being taunted!!!

In other news, Bob the Purple Hairsteak egg has Hatched

I couldn't find any sign of Bob the caterpiller or any evidence of burrowing into the bud though

For a bit of context here is where the egg is located (using my phone camera):

and here you can see just how exposed he was all winter:

I shall keep my eye's peeled for evidence of feeding as the season progresses.

Lots of spring flowers out now, Wood Anemone, Lesser Celandine, Dog Violet....

sadly this is the only Fritillary to be seen near me though

So in total 12 Peacock, 4 Small Tortoiseshell, 8 Comma, 2 Orange Tip, 1 Holly Blue, 1 Brimstone, 5 Speckled Wood, not bad I suppose, it is still only April after all so I shouldn't be greedy

[Wurzel]

Lovely report Bugboy That's the thing with Holly Blues, unless you're a fully trained HB Whisperer like Dave Miller they do taunt you from afar

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Love the Comma close up Bugboy, lovely colours, I've added Holiy blue to my list now hope fully Orange tips next Goldie

[bugboy]

Thanks Wurzel, Holly Blues quite literally demand patience!

Thanks Goldie, congrats with your Holly, OT's only days away I'm sure, saw two males today

Box Hill/Headley Heath 15/4/15 part 1

Well after yesterdays little leasurely strole todays was the polar opposite, an 8 hour epic! Decided a first trip of the year to Box Hill was in order, enjoyed my visits last summer and wanted to see what spring was like there. Arrived at 8am, bit of a nip in the air but I soon warmed up getting to the top of box hill. Didn't see much for the first hour or so then stepped out into a clearing at the bottom of a slope (same clearing as where I saw my Silver Washed Frits last summer) and found 4 Peacock all having breakfast on something a bit smelly. With it still being cool they were very approachable so I took the opportunity to practice my closeup work (plus I've enough standard Peacock pics already) and I make no apologies for flaunting the results in front of you (and whats the point in taking them if I can't share them anyway) .

He really didn't seem to mind having a lense thrust up his Palps!

Leaving the Peacocks feasting on their breakfast I wandered off and had a few Brimstone fly bys, 3 or 4 flitting around then back in the woods I got my first female of the year, feeding on Bluebells:

And as luck would have it she gave me my very first open wing shot :

It was a theme that would continue as the day went on. Walking through Box Hill Woods towards Headley Heath I saw several more Brimstones of both sexes, they could have been the same ones following me but as time wore on and the further I walked I'm pretty sure I was seeing new ones, the woods seemed to be riddled with them. Anyway I shall finish this off tomorrow, got loads more photo's to sort through now...