Neil Freeman

[bugboy]

Great stuff Neil. That looks like a great site, even with deer doing their best to eat their way through it! Congrats on getting that Hairstrek lifer as well, I've been having a fair few of those moments this year myself

[Pauline]

Congratulations on the Black Hairstreaks Neil. I have only seen them once at a distance and didn't manage one decent photo. Well done

[Willrow]

Well done Neil on your penultimate British species..and what a cracking little butterfly the Black Hairstreak is, a very timely report, I have it on my personal visit radar...cheers

Regards,

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[trevor]

Congratulations, not only for the Black Hairstreak, but also for all the other species you have found
this season. Your Cornish trip produced some wonderful images. Some may say the best is yet to come !.

Best wishes,
TREVOR.

[Neil Freeman]

David, Dave, Buggy, Pauline, Bill, Trevor, thank you all for the great comments on me seeing my first Black Hairstreaks

Yes David, a trip to Scotland will have to be on the cards within the next year or two to complete my UK mainland list. Then I will probably be dropping hints for a trip cross the sea to The Emerald Isle

Hi Dave, I am not sure what the weather was like around Oxford/Bernwood last weekend but around here it bucketed down all day on Saturday. I did notice the privet and bramble was still mostly in bud. Maybe as BHS numbers increase they may be tempted down.

Wednesday 17th June.

We have just had a rather nice sunset over the back garden

Cheers,

Neil

[Butterflysaurus rex]

WOW!! Black Hairstreaks Neil! You are lucky, they are still on my wish list. Great that you managed to see some for the first time - Hairstreaks are not always a given.

Best wishes,

James

[Neil Freeman]

Thank you for your comments James, appreciated

Friday 19th June.

With the best of the weather lately being during the week whilst I have been at work and the past couple of weekends being either very dull or wet, I have not had chance to get out around my local patch to see what is now about.
Today, after finishing work at lunchtime, I popped around with Jane for our usual Friday afternoon visit to my mom and after having a cuppa and chatting for a bit I went for a quick look around the park down the road.

A previously overcast morning was slowly turning into a fairly nice afternoon with some good sunny spells and I soon saw half a dozen each of Speckled Woods and Large Skippers.

Large Skipper - Langley Hall 19.06.2015

Large Skipper - Langley Hall 19.06.2015

I also saw a male Common Blue, only the second one of these I have ever seen here, the first one being a couple of years ago.

Common Blue - Langley Hall 19.06.2015

Walking down the road back to my mom’s house a Red Admiral flew past me, the first local one I have seen this year although I did see half a dozen during my recent week in Cornwall.

Back home later in the afternoon it had turned into a nice day with plenty of sun and the odd fluffy white cloud drifting across the blue sky so I decided to pop round to Shadowbrook Meadows for an hour.
Again, I soon spotted half a dozen or so each of Speckled Woods and Large Skippers but here they were accompanied by a couple of tired and worn looking Small Coppers and a single Brown Argus in similar worn condition. There were also three or four male Common Blues in varying condition and a couple of females that looked in better nick.

Common Blue - Shadowbrook 19.06.2015

Speckled Wood - Shadowbrook 19.06.2015

Speckled Wood - Shadowbrook 19.06.2015

Other butterflies seen during a very pleasant hour or so included my first Ringlets this year, again about half a dozen.

Ringlet - Shadowbrook 19.06.2015

Ringlet - Shadowbrook 19.06.2015

Seen but not photographed were singles of Meadow Brown and Small Tortoiseshell plus my second local Red Admiral.

Day flying Moths seen here included Burnet Companion (2), Chimney Sweeper (4), Yellow Shell (6), Silver-Y (2), and Six-spot Burnet (1)

Six-spot Burnet Moth - Shadowbrook 19.06.2015

Six-spot Burnet Moth - Shadowbrook 19.06.2015

Not great numbers of butterflies about but an afternoon that felt like things were just about to start kicking in around here for the summer

Bye for now,

Neil

[Wurzel]

Congrats on the Black Hairstreak - a species on my wish list Lush shots recently especially the side view of the Specklie showing the urple tinge on the margin

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Willrow]

Good stuff Neil. I'm very impressed with you lovely Six-spot Burnet shots, in particular the last one, it's not easy catching them with wings posed like that - well done

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel, I was really chuffed with seeing the Black Hairstreaks

Thanks Bill , I know what you mean with the Burnet Moths, they are either buzzing about or settle with their wings closed hiding the red hindwings.

Sunday 21st June.

Yesterday was the second Saturday in a row that it has rained practically all day with this week it varying from a light drizzle in the morning to some really heavy stuff in the afternoon. At least today was better than last Sunday which although dry was really gloomy with dark grey clouds all day. It was still overcast a lot today but the clouds were lighter grey and they did part occasionally to let the sun through.

The summer brood Speckled Woods have been showing up in my garden for the past couple of weeks now and this morning there were three males squabbling over one corner plus a female that passed through whilst they were busy scrapping amongst themselves.

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 21.06.2015

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 21.06.2015

Speckled Wood female - Coverdale 21.06.2015

This afternoon I went out for a walk at my local spot at Castle Hills and followed the footpath through to Bickenhill to see what was about. As mentioned above the conditions were mostly overcast with some occasional sun and there was also a bit of a cool breeze which knocked the temperature down a bit from what it has been recently.

The most numerous species today was Large Skipper with 20+ seen, mostly males with just two that were definite females.

Large Skipper male - Castle Hills 21.06.2015

Large Skipper male - Castle Hills 21.06.2015

Large Skipper males - Castle Hills 21.06.2015

Large Skipper female - Castle Hills 21.06.2015

There is some concern about Small Heaths in Warwickshire with numbers apparently in a steady decline and so this species has been specially targeted for recording in 2015 to ascertain its status. I therefore made a special effort to accurately count these today and saw 2 along one stretch of the footpath and 7 along another section.

Small Heath - Castle Hills 21.06.2015

Small Heath - Castle Hills 21.06.2015

Small Heath - Castle Hills 21.06.2015

Other butterflies seen this afternoon were Speckled Wood (6), Meadow Brown (5), Common Blue (3), and Green-veined White (1).

Speckled Wood - Castle Hills 21.06.2015

Common Blue - Castle Hills 21.06.2015

No Ringlets here today, and with just 5 fresh male Meadow Browns seen instead of the loads of both species I usually see at this site, things are definitely running a bit later than last year. Mind you, every year is different anyway and butterflies emerge exactly when they intend to irrespective of our man made concepts of time. To paraphrase a character in a well-known fantasy film “A butterfly is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.”

I’m waffling now so...

Bye for now,

Neil

[Neil Freeman]

Wednesday 24th June

After seeing my first Black Hairstreaks at Bernwood last week I went into work the following day and checked up on how much holiday I had already booked off for this year and if I had any odd days left. With the short flight season that the Black Hairstreak has, and with me going to be away for a few days next week, I figured that this week would be my only realistic chance of seeing this species again this year before they were over. Luckily I had a couple of days still unaccounted for and managed to book one of them for today.

Last week I had thought about visiting Whitecross Green Wood but ended up spending that much time at Bernwood, both at the compensation area and in the meadows that I ran out of time. Today I decided to go to Whitecross Green first and arrived just before 10.30. Walking down the rides I soon came across a few other enthusiasts and we started seeing Black Hairstreaks flitting about above the blackthorns, a couple down the first ride just a hundred yards or so from the car park and a couple along the ride towards the pond area. There were also numerous Marbled Whites, Meadow Browns and Large Skippers, it seems that they are finally showing up in numbers this week.
At the pond area there were more people and between us we probably saw half a dozen or so different Black Hairstreaks. It seemed like more but we were probably seeing the same ones again a few times. Most of these were staying high and settling within the shrubs making photography difficult although I did manage a couple of reasonable shots of one male which shows him taking up honeydew from a leaf.

Black Hairstreak - Whitecross Green Wood 24.06.2015

The other side of the same individual after he had done a 180,

Black Hairstreak - Whitecross Green Wood 24.06.2015

I had plenty of good views of a number of individuals through my binoculars and often saw them taking honeydew from leaves which possibly explains why I did not see one come down to any of the dogwood or privet flowers.

By mid-day it was getting very warm and more and more people were arriving so I decided to wander off a bit. Noticing a side path leading off the main ride I went down it and found a couple of chaps in what seemed to be a mini hot spot with possibly up to half a dozen Black Hairstreaks in one small area. There were at least a couple of females here and these seemed more willing to come lower.

Black Hairstreak - Whitecross Green Wood 24.06.2015

One particular nice looking female settled right in front of us and stayed down for a good few minutes whilst she shuffled about and kept turning and moving in and out of the shade of the leaves and stems around her. I now understand what other people mean when they talk about the frustration of trying to photograph this butterfly. Even though this one was just inches away she kept moving and turning so that the side facing us was always in shade. Luckily she stayed down long enough for me to play around with different exposures and flash to light up her shady side.

Black Hairstreak - Whitecross Green Wood 24.06.2015

Black Hairstreak - Whitecross Green Wood 24.06.2015

Black Hairstreak - Whitecross Green Wood 24.06.2015

Black Hairstreak - Whitecross Green Wood 24.06.2015

Black Hairstreak - Whitecross Green Wood 24.06.2015

After a while she flitted to another position just a couple of feet away but a bit deeper in the shade.

Black Hairstreak - Whitecross Green Wood 24.06.2015

She then took off again and went a bit higher up in the blackthorn where she proceeded to wander about amongst the leaves. Watching her through my binoculars she appeared to be laying eggs and by stretching up and using the vari-angle screen on my FZ200 I managed to get a shot of her in the act of laying.

Black Hairstreak - Whitecross Green Wood 24.06.2015

By this time it was just past 1.00pm and getting warmer and shortly afterward the hairstreak activity seemed to melt away so having spent nearly 3 hours here I decided to move on to Bernwood for the rest of the afternoon.

I went to the small car park at Bernwood Meadows to walk through to the compensation area following the same route that I did last week. This is a bit longer than the walk from the main Bernwood Forest car park but is more pleasant with the first bit through the meadows and then following side rides that join the main track part way along. Along the blackthorn hedge just before entering the wood I met up with some fellow enthusiasts who had seen 4 Black Hairstreaks along there and as we were talking one flew in front of us and settled half way up the hedge. I just had time for a distant record shot before he was off again higher up (as usual).

Black Hairstreak - Bernwood Meadows 24.06.2015

I carried on through the wood and along the main track met up with John Tilt and Dave Williams of West Midlands BC who were on their way back from the compensation area. They told me that they had been there since 11.00am but had only seen a couple of Black Hairstreaks and these had stayed high up. We did wonder whether it had got a bit warm for them and if they had tucked themselves away as I understand this species is prone to doing.
I then carried on to the compensation area. By this time more cloud had built up with a bit of a breeze although it was still warm. I spent about an hour and a half here during which time I saw five Black Hairstreaks including three at the northern end by the brick building where I watched them for some time including a number of times when all three were in the air at the same time chasing each other around. I also saw one individual half way down by the motorway fence and one more at the southern end. None of these came anywhere close with all of them being high up around the tops of the hedges. Nevertheless I did get good views through my binoculars which I was happy with. Numbers of Meadow Browns, Marbled Whites and Large Skippers were higher than last week, both here and in the meadows, although there seemed to be fewer Common Blues today.
I then wandered back to the meadows, again seeing some of the culprits of the deer damage along the way.

Bernwood Forest 24.06.2015

By the time I got back to my car it was gone 5.00pm so headed for home.

Bye for now,

Neil

[David M]

Glorious stuff, Neil. I'm so pleased you got some quality shots of this most difficult species.

[trevor]

Some of the best images i have seen of the Black Hairstreak. Never seen one myself, something i
must put right!.

Happy hunting,
TREVOR.

[Neil Freeman]

Thank you for your comments David and Trevor, much appreciated

Saturday 27th June.

At last, a decent Saturday after the wet and gloomy ones of the past couple of weekends. I did the usual Saturday morning stuff around the house and then decided to nip round to my local spot at Castle Hills.

Well, what a difference a week makes. I had come here last Sunday afternoon in mostly overcast conditions with a cool breeze and seen 20+ Large Skippers and just a handful of Meadow Browns and Small Heaths and no Ringlets. Today, on a warm afternoon with a mix of plenty of sun and fluffy clouds, there were loads of Large Skippers, Ringlets, and Meadow Browns.

Every patch of brambles seemed to have half a dozen or more male Large Skippers vigorously defending territories and chasing off intruders.

Large Skipper male - Castle Hills 27.06.2015

There were far more female Large Skippers about today…

Large Skipper female - Castle Hills 27.06.2015

Large Skipper female - Castle Hills 27.06.2015

Ringlets were everywhere, with every step along the paths seeming to put up at least half a dozen at a time.

Ringlet - Castle Hills 27.06.2015

Ringlet - Castle Hills 27.06.2015

Ringlet - Castle Hills 27.06.2015

Meadow Browns were lazily flopping about in the sun and were joined by a few Small Heaths plus some worn and faded Common Blues.

Small Heath - Castle Hills 27.06.2015

Small Heath - Castle Hills 27.06.2015

Summer brood Small Tortoiseshells are starting to show up around here with at least four, maybe five different examples seen today.

Small Tortoiseshell - Castle Hills 27.06.2015

Small Tortoiseshell - Castle Hills 27.06.2015

With Small Skippers starting to be reported I was keeping a look out for my first of these for this year. After loads of false alarms from the many Large Skippers, many of which are still looking fresh, I spotted one with a slightly different flight pattern which proved to be a fresh male Small Skipper.

Small Skipper - Castle Hills 27.06.2015

I found just three Small Skippers here this afternoon, all males, including one that was already showing signs of wear and looking like he had already been out for a few days.

Small Skipper - Castle Hills 27.06.2015

It is still early days for Small Skippers around here and within a couple of weeks there should be loads of them at this site. Then it will be time to start looking for the Essex Skippers which usually fly amongst them as the latter species usually appears here a week or two after the Smalls.

Right then, off to do some packing…I am off in the morning with my wife Jane for a few days in the Heddon Valley

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Looking forward to your HBFs Neil Have a cracking time.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel...HBFs coming up

Sunday 28th June – Heddon Valley Day 1.

On Sunday morning Jane and myself set out for a 3 day break in the Heddon Valley, the first such break that we had planned for this year. For the past few years we have settled into a pattern of having a couple of, usually 3 nights, breaks for the two of us and a couple of week-long family holidays with either my mom or my daughter and grandson. The beauty of this is that I usually have a major say in where we will go and everyone concerned knows that butterflies will be included in the planning, which gives me a chance to see species that would normally be too far for me. I have a self-imposed driving limit of about 2 hours (one way) for a day trip as I don’t want to fall into the trap of whizzing all over the country just to get a ‘tick’ for a species. The other thing of course is that beautiful spots like the Heddon Valley really need a couple of days to do them justice and I find that three days usually gives me a good chance of getting a decent window in the weather

Anyway, we drove down in dull and wet conditions with an almost constant drizzle that turned into heavier rain every now and then. If the weather had been better I would probably have detoured to Haddon Hill, which we did last time we were down this way a couple of years back, but the conditions today made this not worth it. In fact from the A361 it looked worse in the direction of Exmoor than what we were driving through.
Having given myself time for this detour which I didn’t do, we duly arrived earlier than planned at the Hunters Inn in the Heddon Valley where we were booked in for three nights. I thought, ‘no harm in being cheeky’ and went to see if our room was ready which luckily it was, so before 3.00pm we were settled in. Even better, during the past hour, the clouds had been breaking up and the sun was starting to shine through and it was looking like a nice late afternoon was shaping up.

I have mentioned before that since her stroke some years ago, Jane gets tired very quickly and so she suggested that I could go off for a walk for a couple of hours whilst she sorted her stuff out and then just chilled out for a bit. Not needing any further encouragement but also not really having the time to wander too far, I set off down the path towards Heddons Mouth, figuring to have a look in the meadows just past the stone bridge.

The first butterflies seen were a number of Speckled Wood along the shady parts of the path and then arriving at the meadows there were loads of Meadow Browns and Ringlets popping up out of the wet grass. I then spotted a flash of bright orange skimming along the treeline which proved to be my first Silver-washed Fritillary of the year. I had expected to see a few of these during the next couple of days but was a bit surprised that it was the first big orange Fritillary I saw, expecting that honour to go to either a Dark Green or High Brown Fritillary.

Silver-washed Fritillary - Heddon Valley 28.06.2015

Silver-washed Fritillary - Heddon Valley 28.06.2015

Silver-washed Fritillary - Heddon Valley 28.06.2015

Shortly afterwards the High Browns started showing up, skimming up and down the meadow settling occasionally to feed off the head high thistles or settling to bask on the fern fronds. There were some patches of trampled down wet grass where people had obviously been here previously and I was interested to see the High Browns settling in these spots to bask quite regularly and sometimes with a couple squabbling over a favoured spot.

High Brown Fritillaries - Heddon Valley 28.06.2015

I have noticed before that High Browns seem to favour bramble flowers over thistles, which are usually favoured by DGFs but on this occasion the only Fritillary seen on brambles was the SWF seen earlier. In fact apart from the High Browns, of which I estimate there were about 10-12 in this spot, and the single SWF, there were only a couple of Dark Greens here, and worn and tatty ones at that. Never mind, they were to get their chance over the next couple of days.

High Brown Fritillary - Heddon Valley 28.06.2015

High Brown Fritillary - Heddon Valley 28.06.2015

High Brown Fritillary - Heddon Valley 28.06.2015

High Brown Fritillary - Heddon Valley 28.06.2015

High Brown Fritillary - Heddon Valley 28.06.2015

High Brown Fritillary - Heddon Valley 28.06.2015

High Brown Fritillaries - Heddon Valley 28.06.2015

High Brown Fritillary - Heddon Valley 28.06.2015

The late afternoon sun had certainly woken things up a bit with increasing numbers of Meadow Browns and Large Skippers appearing along with a dozen or so of mostly well faded Common Blues.

Meadow Brown - Heddon Valley 28.06.2015

There were also a couple of nice fresh looking summer brood Small Tortoiseshells and a single Red Admiral that 'buzzed' me and flew off over the trees.

Small Tortoiseshell - Heddon Valley 28.06.2015

With the sun getting lower and starting to put the best thistles that I was staking out going into the shade, I called it a day and went back to get cleaned up ready for something to eat later.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[bugboy]

Superb pics Neil! Btw can I borrow your time machine sometime,

Sunday 28th July – Heddon Valley Day 1.

, would be a great way to snap up all those hard to get species at my own convenience

[Neil Freeman]

Superb pics Neil! Btw can I borrow your time machine sometime,

Sunday 28th July – Heddon Valley Day 1.

, would be a great way to snap up all those hard to get species at my own convenience

Oops! ...now edited. I've done that before. Reminder to self...must proof read before posting

Cheers,

Neil

[Wurzel]

It was my own fault really, I encouraged you to post the HBFs and now I'm sick with envy and some fantastic Black Hairstreaks prior too as well, please stop torturing me

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

Cracking shots of the HBF Neil. I can only say that my envy surpasses that of Wurzel