millerd

[Willrow]

It certainly adds a dramatic and contrasting effect to the image Dave, always good to see enthusiasts trying out different things

Best Wishes,

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Dave,

I am glad that you found Bishops Hill ok on Saturday, a shame the weather didn't clear up like it was forecast to do. I still haven't been to Ryton Wood yet this year, ironic really as I only work a couple of mile away now, just that bit too far for a lunchtime visit (I only get 30 mins), and the weather has been against me on the occasions when I could have gone after work. The Green Hairstreaks and Dingy and Grizzled Skippers have only just started there, it tends to be a late site compared with others in Warwickshire, so I must make the effort to visit sometime over the next couple of weeks.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Goldie M]

I like the last OT picture best, I think the black back ground makes it stand out more or may be that's the artist in me Goldie

[millerd]

Thanks for the views on the flashlit Orange Tip, Bill and Goldie. I'm still not decided, but it's interesting to see how you can vary the photos you get.

Bishop's Hill looks a brilliant place, Neil - whereabouts are the Small Blues? I didn't have time to look far and only found the Dingies (very easily!).

A day off today, primarily for a dental appointment, but luck in the form of brilliant blue skies shone down. There was time to visit Bentley Wood to see the Pearls, so off I trundled. If anything, it was too sunny: the butterflies (there were good numbers of Pearls out) were forever on the move, even when stopping to nectar. However, females going to ground and pausing between laying eggs provided a few opportunities to see and photograph a non-moving butterfly.

There was quite a bit of egg-laying activity, though the poor females were frequently interrupted by one or more amorous and hopeful males.

As well as the Pearls, there were lots of Brimstones about, a few Orange Tips and Peacocks and nice to see again, a few Dukes. I found a couple in the same area of the eastern clearing as last year, and they were both quite dark specimens - as indeed was the one I saw in 2014. Is this a characteristic of woodland Dukes, as opposed to downland ones?

The traffic was also kind today, and I had plenty of time once I'd returned home to look around my local patch again. Small Heaths have now appeared, with three brand new examples chasing each other around.

Common Blues and Brown Argus should follow shortly. Otherwise, it was the usual suspects, with abundant Holly Blues everywhere I went, Whites (Large and Green-veined), Orange Tips of both sexes, Brimstones, a couple of Speckled Woods and Commas, and no less than nine Peacocks.

Three old codgers had set up adjacent territories along a piece of path, and despite their tattered wings and shrivelled abdomens, they were scrapping as energetically as ever and had lost none of their aerobatic abilities.

Amazing really for butterflies now a good ten months old.

Dave

[Pauline]

Great shots of the Pearls egg-laying Dave . Much more interesting (and more challenging to achieve) than the straightforward poses of a pretty butterfly on a flower - like the ones I take Re your OT's, well, it's hard to choose between them. A natural background shows the butterfly in its context but personally I quite often prefer a more dramatic, dark, contrasting background, which focuses attention purely on the butterfly. Horses for courses .....

[trevor]

HI Dave,
I personally like your OT. image, using the flash. Not suitable for use all the time,but it certainly
worked this time. My preference is for a sharp Butterfly with a blurred background.

Nice one,
TREVOR.

[Neil Freeman]

...Bishop's Hill looks a brilliant place, Neil - whereabouts are the Small Blues? I didn't have time to look far and only found the Dingies (very easily!)...

Hi Dave,

It appears that the Small Blues that I saw the other week were amongst the first reported in Warwickshire this year, along with one from the Southam Bypass on the same day. Numbers should be building now and will probably be at their peak in a week or two when it should be possible to see them from just inside the gate and anywhere in the Yellowland part within the fence. If you then follow the path to the left they can be found anywhere along the path up the hill (shown in the views in the report in my diary).

Great report and photos from Bently Wood , somewhere I have never been to...maybe one day.

Cheers,

Neil

[Wurzel]

Great Pearls and Dukes Dave Was the Duke at the far end in amongst the tussocks and stuff as per Alan Thornbury? By the way the worries about the Marshies site were unfounded - I was there Wednesday night and they were already in good numbers I wonder where you'll be heading next

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Thanks, Pauline and Trevor - I personally like photos with a bit of context. Sometimes I feel the exquisite poses with uniform backgrounds could be anywhere (even a reared specimen in an artificial environment - you wouldn't know). However, both have their place, and luckily everyone's taste is different. Interestingly, the egg-laying Pearls were relatively easy to get close too - their mission in life was not going to be disturbed by a mere human with a camera. I was able to watch quite a bit of this activity yesterday.

Thanks for the extra detail, Neil. I know exactly where to look for the Small Blues now.

Thanks, Wurzel - I've sent you a quick pm. The Dukes were at the end apparently, but these two I saw on the right hand side close to the trees. As for further trips? Well, no more days like today's 100% washout, please. Then we'll see...

Dave

[millerd]

Saturday 16th May: Another sunny day. A bit of a late start meant shortening the radius of operations, and the need to keep my ten-year-old interested was a factor too. In the end, we drove to Butterfly World near St. Albans, which has a few more things to entertain small boys than just a hillside full of butterflies does. There is also a significant discount off the entry fee for BC members. After a look around the various gardens, and a spell with the tropical Lepidoptera, we set off round the various wildflower banks in search of indigenous species. Unfortunately, it was a bit on the breezy side, especially early on, and what we saw was battling against the wind. After a couple of Brimstones, the next thing I caught sight of was a flash of salmon-pink - and quite a large flash too. Flying strongly straight into the north-westerly wind was a Painted Lady. It briefly grounded (I'm not sure this was voluntarily) and I managed a distant lousy shot of my first PL sighting for 2015.

Hopefully, this is part of the vanguard of many more heading up from the continent which have been seen along the south coast in recent days. Shortly afterwards, we wandered along one of the artificial chalk rubble ridges, looking down into the gully between them. In this slightly sheltered dip, a couple of Small Blues were flying - another 2015 first.

I also spotted a couple of Burnet Companion moths (impossible to approach) in the same area. At the far end of these ridges, close to the area designated the "Music Meadow", a piece of flatter ground with various wildflowers and a bit less wind threw up three or four Common Blues, a Brown Argus and a Small Copper. 2015 sightings: species three, four and five for the day.

Unfortunately the Small Copper, a lovely new individual, was so distracted by constantly chasing the Blues away that I couldn't follow it to a settling point. There were also a couple of newly emerged Cinnabar moths.

Carrying on round and back past the giant ant, I spoke to some people who had seen several Small Blues in a sheltered area along the fence on the other side of which lie the Gardens of the Rose. Other sightings: three or four Orange Tips, more Brimstones, a few Green-veined Whites, a Small Tortoiseshell and a Peacock. Overall, I was impressed to see the good variety of species that have taken advantage of the habitat laid out for them, and no doubt on a less windy day might have seen more. (And five year "ticks" in one day! )

Back home later on, I managed a couple of Green-veined White shots - a much underrated butterfly.

I also saw a Holly Blue, a Peacock and a Comma during the brief time I was out.

Dave

Dave

[David M]

You saw a lot more than I did today, Dave.

I'm particularly envious of your Common Blues and Brown Argus!

[Wurzel]

Seems you had a much better day Dave Lovely Common and Small Blues

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Lovely photo's Millerd, nothing like that here yet. Goldie

[trevor]

HI Dave,
Those Small Blue images are some of the best i've ever seen. The texture of the wings has been captured
to perfection.

All the best,
TREVOR.

[millerd]

Thank you all again for your kind comments, especially yours Trevor about the Small Blues.

Nothing so exciting today, though the weather behaved better than forecast and the sun shone for most of it. I toured my local patch - each time there are subtle differences with the vegetation, and with what I see. For example, there has been a complete absence of Small Whites recently, but they were back today.

The Holly Blues have started to move from their usual haunts and are now turning up almost anywhere. The first I saw was on a privet hedge next to home.

I later watched one crossing a large meadow area at low level and was convinced that it was a Common Blue until it reached the edge - it flew into the hedge and wandered around inside before reappearing and perching on various bits of foliage. A female Holly Blue, not a male Common Blue.

More Small Heaths were out, and spread over a wider area now.

Small Heath habitat close to the M25 J14 (also where the Holly Blue above was seen)

Peacocks and Commas were still hanging on - just - with one Comma looking almost transparent as well as very ragged.

In surprisingly good nick...

... more than can be said for this one

There were a couple of new Speckled Woods, one of which was quite russet in colour near the body, plus Green-veined Whites and a solitary female Orange Tip.

Every day is different: give it another week and spring will have progressed just a bit more...

Dave

[Goldie M]

Lovely photos Dave, that female OT has given me hope may be I'll see them at HLB now. Goldie

[Willrow]

Your getting out and about and capturing a really good range of species Dave, and its always nice to see a good range of images too

Regards,

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[Wurzel]

Great stuff Dave, the Small Pearls can't be far off now, this might be the year when we finally bump into each other in e field I see you've been doing your Holly Blue whispering again - you need to do a workshop to teach us the tricks

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

There's been a veritable plethora of Holly Blue shots this spring. I wonder whether, perhaps, they're reaching the peak of their 7 year cycle?

[millerd]

Thank you Goldie, Bill, Wurzel and David - your comments are much appreciated. You never know, Wurzel, we may yet meet at Bentley, rather than miss each other. Those SPBF will certainly entice me back...

I was wondering about the seven-year cycle thing too, David. Holly Blues have certainly been numerous here this spring, but they didn't do badly the last two years either. I'm sure I read somewhere that they are not necessarily in sync all over the country, so that an abundance in one place may run alongside a dearth somewhere else. It makes sense - conditions vary widely between locations, and even if the parasite is the major determining factor it may well not be the only one.

Today (20th), just as I left work at five, the sun emerged and the wind dropped a bit. To follow Bill's ever sound advice, I cast doubt aside and ventured out into the adjacent country park at Bedfont Lakes. The habitat alongside the railway is coming along nicely, with trefoil abundant and in flower, and the big ox-eye daisies nearly so. Given some sun, and more especially less wind, I would expect Common Blues, Brown Argus and Small Coppers to appear any day. However, I had nearly given up today when I spotted a small shape roosting on a plantain flower. Forgetting the length of my shadow, I disturbed it, and a beautiful new female Common Blue sailed off downwind. Luckily, she chose then to bask for a while, before finding another roosting spot on a knapweed bud.

Just the one butterfly, but worth the effort.
No males out yet, though.

Dave