www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Yes, lovely Heath Fritillaries, a few will always pose nicely, whilst the others escape.
They always seem a sociable species, with several basking together.

Great stuff,
Trevor.

Hi Wurzel, I haven't heard anything from Kent, though they should be out. They are usually a few days behind Essex, as summer temperatures are slightly cooler there, but I saw mine nearly a week ago, so might be worth doing a bit of 'digging '.

Yes Trevor, I have always found Heath Fritillary to be fairly sociable, though they only bask in cool weather, and early and late in the day. Thanks for your comments.

Cheers for the info Essex, I'll pop along to the Kent website directly

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Nice to see the Heath Fritillaries doing ok, Essex, and that the sites are being better managed now. The last time I was over there a few years back, two of them at least looked very unkempt. I am aware sightings have to be anonymised this year to help them along.

Dave

Some stunning Heath Frits there, Mark. Much darker markings than those I see in abundance in France. Of course, their rarity value makes them so much more desirable over here.

Excellent shots of the Turtle Doves, the last time I saw them was at Stodmarsh in 2013. Lovely images of the Heath Fritillaries too, it's good news that they are doing well in Essex.

Mike

I do enjoy your diary Mark and apologise for the late and infrequent comments. I thought those shots of the Turtle Doves were stunning but it made me realise that I haven't seen them in my garden this year yet which is a shame . Your post of 5 June was very nostaglic and like Neil said very poetic and thought-provoking

Thanks Pauline, for your kind words. I know what you mean about other people's diaries, I do read them,including yours, even though I don't always comment. A pleasure to look at all the same. Well done on the Essex Skipper, you saw one earlier than me and that's not allowed! A bit early, but not outstandingly so.

FOR sheer numbers, Hadleigh Castle Country Park is perhaps the best butterfly site in Essex. All the common grassland species are here in numbers, but also a few scarcer ones, including White- letter Hairstreaks and lots of Marbled Whites. On the oaks, lots of Purple Hairstreak have emerged. Hadleigh is good for wild flowers, and noisy marsh frogs are in the drainage ditches. Things are early this year, the numbers of Essex Skippers and others is now impressive, no doubt helped by the hot weather.

Cracking stuff Essex especially the Whitter - look at the tails on it

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wish I had a reliable site for White Letter Hairstreaks near me, Mark. It's one species that I need to spend lots of time with but opportunities are scarce.

Good to see Essex Skippers are out and about too. I suspect I won't see them in Wales until I return from the Alps in mid-July!

I can only concur with the butterfly numbers at Hadleigh park. I was there last weekend and wtnessed 30+ WLH all over bramble flowers. I think I go to a different spot than you Essex, I find them up at the Leagh-on-sea end, conveniently next to the train station.

Essex,
Nice photos from Hadleigh CP. There myself last Saturday and you are right about the numbers, hundreds of them. I love the place and visit most years.

Regards Kev

ARMENIA, Butterflies of the Caucasus...

Just back from our Naturetrek holiday to Armenia. We saw around 130 kinds of birds, and 120 species of butterflies! Details to come, but got a lot of pictures to sort out, so I'll sign out for now with sone pictures from Aston Rowant, taken on Sunday, when the sun was shining, and Dark Green Frits were flying in good numbers.

Aremenia I'm really looking forward to being really envious about the species you saw

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Great! I'm really looking forward to seeing your images and commentary from Armenia, Mark. It's a location of great interest to me.

Thanks, Wurzel. Something a little different!

Thanks David. Good luck in France. Certainly, it was great last time!

ARMENIA

Armenia is a small, land-locked country, about the size of Wales, perhaps. It has borders with Georgia, Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan. It appears to be a very poor country though Yerevan, the capital, is vibrant enough, with bars, restaurants and lots of young people. Once you get away from here, thought, a different story emerges. Gyumri, for example, had a devastating earthquake some years back and neither city, or the human population, have recovered.

Climate is hot and sunny in summer, especially in the lowlands, where arid, semi-desert dominates, streams run dry and temperatures often reach 35 to 40C. In the mountains, though, towering cumuli form clouds often form, bringing rain and thunder, and vegetation is lush, vibrant and full of flowers, birds and butterflies. Farming is rudimentary, by western standards, though most land seems th be farmed to some extent.

There is a fledgling interest in birds in Armenia, but butterflies are virtually unknown-I think locals are too busy trying to earn a living to take an interest in butterflies or conservation. They could certainly do with some protection, as collectors were at at least two of the sites we visited and at one, adults were seen to get squashed in a book.

It was midnight when we arrived in Yerevan and, next morning, I was amazed how many swifts were flying over the city, 100's if not 1000's of them! At our first stop , a thistle patch was attracting many butterflies including lots of Cardinal Fritillaries, Guy would have loved it! Plus several others, including what I think is a Klug's Tawny Rockbrown and Hermit.
Then we visited a semi-desert area, where the commonest butterflies were-Common Blues! The black version of Small Copper was here,and birds included rose-coloured starling, (steppe) buzzard, black-headed bunting and crested lark.

Wow - I expect you saw quite a lot of things you've never seen before, Buzzard! I'm glad you enjoyed the sight of cardinals on thistles - thanks for thinking of me! Hermits and rockbrowns too - lovely (I think you have the IDs correct).

Looking forward to your further postings.

Guy

I thought of you a lot that week, Guy, as there were cardinals everywhere! I've seen a few before, but this was on a different scale.