David M

[Pauline]

I do like that Holly Blue shot David - the one with the really dark background. I think it looks quite dramatic. I haven't managed to get near any of these so far this season.

[David M]

I do like that Holly Blue shot David...I haven't managed to get near any of these so far this season.

This was the first I've got near to, Pauline, and that includes the two dozen or so I saw in France recently.

They're particularly difficult in spring. At least in late summer they can be relied upon to turn up on the bramble flowers, but right now, it's either a leaf or the flower of a shrub....and both usually above head height!!

[David M]

Sunday 3rd May 2014 - Spring delight.....

One of my favourite moments in any spring is the sight of Pearl Bordered Fritillaries. Given I was spending the Bank Holiday weekend in Abergavenny, I deemed it a point of order that I should take the 20 minute trip just over the English border to Ewyas Harold Common, near Pontrilas.

Weather conditions weren't ideal, with a fresh breeze blowing and 15c being the top temperature, but there were sufficient sunny intervals for the Frits to get active.

I saw 23 in all (in about an hour and a half), the majority of which were in the 'hotspot' on this large site, which is just the other side of the dip in this image:

Both males and females were seen, including this courting couple:

Most individuals were in excellent condition:

Sadly, as is often the case at this site in early May, precious few other butterflies were seen - just two Green Veined Whites, a Peacock and, pleasingly, a solitary Grizzled Skipper which was very obliging in coming to rest at waist level on the branch of a sapling:

Monday 4th May 2014 - Small Blue...

On my way back to Swansea from Abergavenny, I popped into Crymlyn Burrows on the coast and managed to find one solitary Small Blue. Again, not much flying which was disappointing, but with Dingy Skipper, Brown Argus & Common Blue all set to emerge very soon, I expect to find a quite different state of affairs when I next visit.

[Nick Broomer]

Hi David,

Thats a lovely photo of the Pearl with it's wings closed, the background colours compliments the butterfly. What a beautiful insect, i could stare at photos like that all night.

All the best, Nick.

[David M]

Any Marshies on your door step yet ?

Not yet, Trevor, but I suspect the first handful will be around within the next ten days or so.

Saturday 9th May 2015 - Green Hairstreaks.....

Ironically, I visited my prime local 'Marshie' spot this afternoon, but this was an excursion to observe Green Hairstreaks, and I'm pleased to say I found 15-20 of them.

It's always fascinating to watch the territorial skirmishes between these insects, as each takes turns to launch itself from its perch to swirl around in a flash of green and brown with an intruder.

Some were already a bit worn, but amongst the dozen and a half or so, there were a few that looked in tip-top condition:

This one was probably the most attractive, with an impressive array of 'streaks':

This species is always irresistible on blue flowers:

In spite of ordinary May temperatures, Welshmoor was looking in fine fettle:

On my way back home, I took a short detour to Kittle Quarry to see if there were any Common Blues/Brown Argus. There weren't, but I spotted a raptor perched at the top of the quarry. Looks like a Peregrine if I'm not mistaken (apologies for the poor image, but this bird was some distance away from me):

[trevor]

Those Green Hairstreak images are superb !. A species that's been avoiding me this year, so far.
And can be a tricky subject to photograph.

Good hunting,
TREVOR.

[Neil Freeman]

Hi David,

Smashing Green Hairstreaks and I like that PBF underside against the bracken, great stuff

Cheers,

Neil.

[Padfield]

You've nailed those green hairstreaks, David! I think only last year you were lamenting you couldn't catch the texture and range of colours ... Well, these pictures certainly do them justice.

Guy

[David M]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Guy, I think I'm just a very slow learner! I'm gradually exercising more patience in the field and I'm now much more au fait with the light settings as well as the close-up attachment I bought for my camera a couple of years ago (I still delete more than three-quarters of my images though so I've a long way to go!)

[David M]

Saturday 16th May 2015 - Disappointing....

I had a two hour window around midday today so I figured it'd be best to stay very local and check out activity in both Kittle Quarry and on Fairwood Common.

I had hoped that Common Blue and Brown Argus may have emerged at the former, but in spite of the bird's foot trefoil being in full bloom, not a single individual of either of these two species were seen.

In fact, butterfly numbers generally were worryingly poor. In the quarry I saw just two Peacocks, one male Brimstone, one male Large White, one female Green Veined White and a Dingy Skipper.

The last of these was a bonus, since not only was it my first of 2015, but it was the first time I've seen this species in this location:

The Dingy was extremely hyperactive, and the best image I could manage was one from a fair distance:

Even worse was the return at Fairwood Common, just a mile or so away.

I had pondered whether the first few Marshies might be out, but not only were they absent, but everything else was missing too except for a solitary male Orange Tip and a Green Hairstreak.

We're currently stuck in a weather pattern that does this part of the UK no favours whatsoever - moderate to strong, moist westerly winds, meaning sunshine is at a premium and temperatures are constantly in the 11 - 15c range.

Clearly, this is suppressing emergences locally, and given the very ordinary short term forecast, I feel it might take till the last few days in May before things start to get moving again.

[David M]

Wednesday 20th May 2015 - Slight improvement....

The wind's still about as are the cool temperatures in south Wales but at least the sun made an appearance today, meaning that I was able to chance an hour or so at Danygraig Cemetery to see if Common Blues had finally emerged.

It didn't take long for me to see my first, although only 4 were observed in total (unsurprisingly, all were males):

Another species that is fond of this cemetery is Wall Brown. They can be found in small numbers all over Kilvey Hill, but they seem to enjoy taking time out in the sheltered spots of the graveyard where the grasses are left to grow long and there are plenty of headstones upon which they can bask. This spot at the top corner always attracts them best:

I saw three in total (of which the two that settled were both males). Both Wall and Holly Blue can be tricky to locate, so it's comforting to know that this location is a near certainty for both at the right time of year:

[Willrow]

Glad you had some better weather in Swansea and managed to see some emerging species David Cracking Common Blue pics, really good captures there!

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[David M]

Saturday 23rd May 2015 - Rodborough/Selsely Common

One of the most delightful days I have had in some while.

Finally, the sun shone, the wind dropped and temperatures soared.

Willrow and I spent a good 4 hours at Rodborough Common, near Stroud, Glos, before moving on to neighbouring Selsely Common to spend a further hour checking out the Duke habitat there.

The first thing that struck me was the phenomenal numbers of Brown Argus. Normally, you will see maybe one for every 5 or 6 Common Blues. Today it was easily the reverse, with Brown Argus probably notching a century plus!

Dingy Skippers were also numerous, with 60+ being seen, along with Small Heath with about 50.

Encouragingly though, Dukes of Burgundy were also seen in high numbers. We looked for them in the dips and hollows on the way from the car park to the fort and were already into double figures before moving to the sheltered 'crater' which seems to be their epicentre. We even clocked up another out in the open on the flat plain nectaring on cow parsely which was a real surprise:

In the hotspot, the grass had been well trodden down so quite a few fellow enthusiasts had obviously been there before us. Their efforts to get to the bottom of this steep hill would have been well rewarded, as there were probably a dozen or so different Dukes active there:

Here are a couple of the brightest individuals from the day:

Of course, this abnormally warm micro-climate is what attracts Adonis Blues at this northerly (for them) outpost. About a dozen were seen in total but none from anywhere else on the site. This male was in fine fettle save for the missing antenna:

Mating pair:

Nice female:

Over at Selsely Common, we found the largest concentration of Dukes of the entire day. I spent half an hour at the bottom of this dip and counted 21, whilst Willrow, who stayed an additional 20 minutes, was up around 30, all in a 200 yards stretch. It really was quite astonishing:

A couple of Small Blues were seen here to add to the singleton at Rodborough:

In total, between the two sites, 16 different species were seen. In addition to those mentioned above, we observed Common Blue, Large White, Small White, Green Veined White, Holly Blue, Peacock, Green Hairstreak, Speckled Wood, Brimstone (female) and Orange Tip (female).

[Willrow]

Nice report David, a thoroughly enjoyable days butterflying in a favourite location...

the sun shone, the wind dropped and temperatures soared

...and that's all we needed...

Best Wishes,

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[Chris Jackson]

Hi there David,
That is stunning scenery to go butterfly spotting in, and some great photos too.
A shame we don't get "blue" female Blues down here - very nice indeed.
Cheers, Chris

[Jack Harrison]

That blue female Common Blue is surely an aberration? It is almost completely lacking in orange lunules at the edges of the wings.

See this thread:

viewtopic.php?t=8297&start=0#p98446

Jack

[Goldie M]

Lovely Photos David the Butterflies look so fresh, love the Black one, very unusual Goldie

[Neil Freeman]

Great report and photos from Rodborough / Selsely Commons.

As others have said, that female Common Blue is a cracker, in fact if it wasn't for the clear white margins she would almost have a bit of female Adonis about her. A lovely individual

Cheers,

Neil.

[Pauline]

Some great shots in your diary recently David, especially the Wall Brown and Brown Argus - 2 species I always find difficult to photograph. I also especially like the Duke on Cow Parsley - very unusual

[David M]

Thanks for the comments everybody. It's a sign of how poor the weather's been that my Rodborough trip was the first time this year I haven't needed to wear my fleece whilst out in the field.

Saturday 30th May 2015 - Feasting on scraps....

Yet another cool and cloudy forecast, but there was a brief opportunity to get out as this morning was supposed to be sunny till 10am with a steady deterioration afterwards.

So, by 8.40am I was out on Fairwood Common less than a mile from my home looking to see if anything was flying prior to the grey skies descending.

Well, I only saw four butterflies in the hour I was there - three were Green Hairstreaks but the other was my first Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary of the year. I took a record shot first from a distance:

As the clouds obscured the sun, the 11c temperatures sent him into semi-torpor and he dropped down into the grasses:

Whilst studying him, I noticed a large spider heading towards him so I shooed it away. However, given he was struggling to move due to the cold, I feared that if the spider returned then this recent emergee's life would be over before it had properly begun. I coaxed him onto my finger and put him out of harm's way on a nearby shrub:

I went back to my car and into Killay to do some shopping. However, whilst driving back the sun was still shining through hazy clouds and my car's thermometer was reading 13c so I thought I'd pop down to Welshmoor to see if I could find some Marsh Fritillaries there.

In the space of an hour, I found 33. Most of these were disturbed as a result of me walking through the grasses and I quickly resolved to walk slowly and watch my step in case I should potentially tread on a sleepy Marshie!

The only other butterflies seen were 2 Common Blues and a geriatric Green Hairstreak.

Roll on the predicted heatwave next week (though I suspect the Swansea area will be vastly cooler than the south east).