Snow yesterday and the day before but sun this morning. When I cycled down the hill at 06h30 it was still bitterly cold and Minnie was shivering in her backpack by the bottom. But by the time we reached Domodossola, in Italy, it was very warm. The target was nettle tree butterflies. It is too early, really, but this is the only day I have until after Easter so it had to be.
At my first site, reached after a long, steep, uphill cycle ride (with Minnie still hitching a lift in the backpack) I discovered the nettle trees themselves weren't even in green bud yet, let alone ready for the females to lay on. But I did see a couple of the butterflies on the ride up and a further half dozen or so males fresh out of hibernation, looking for females, at the site. None stopped more than a second or two, usually directly between me and the sun, but I did get a few, distant record shots:
At this site, all the nettle trees are on the sheer, south side of a perilous path so it's not a good place for photos, even though it's an excellent site for the butterflies.
By far the commonest butterfly all day was large tortoiseshell. I also saw several brimstones, male and female, a few small tortoiseshells, a single green hairstreak, a single small copper, a couple of green-veined whites and a peacock. This bit of Italy has not woken up yet. To see just one green hairstreak near the end of March was a big surprise - I expected many more.
Here is the single small copper:
That didn't hang around long either!
At my second site - a fairly dense patch of nettle trees, including some on the sunny side, where I have had good photos of ovipositing nettle tree butterflies - there were no butterflies at all. Minnie enjoyed the cycle ride though, as we had to zoom down one hill and up another.
Finally, I visited some rough ground in Domodossola, where a single large tortoiseshell put in a brief appearance:
So, few butterflies on the first day of the holiday, but we had a good day. Everywhere Minnie goes, by train or bike, she makes people happy, meaning it's a pleasure to travel with her even when the butterflies don't fly.
Back in CH in the early afternoon, thick cloud had set in so we didn't visit any more sites.
Guy
... It's about a tenner locally in Glos. Day was also memorable as I saw my first Wall Creeper. Most unusual bird. Like a huge dayflying moth or butterfly.
Of the others, I was able to locate Sarasvatī, Durgā and Sugrīva. Here is Durgā, now waiting patiently next to a bud:
