www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Belgian Skippers

Here's a very nice image of Chequered Skippers taken by my brother Mark, not far from his Antwerp home. We could do with a few more of these between here and Glasdrum Wood!

It is bizarre that both Chequered Skipper (Antwerp) and Queen of Spain (Netherlands sand dunes) should occur so near to England yet are absent from England. There are no doubt other similar examples.

Jack

Small Pearls At Last!

Just before heading north in search of the Mountain Ringlet, I managed to fit in an afternoon (14th June) at our Park Corner Heath & Rowland Wood reserves, knowing that if I failed to see a Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary in the perfect weather conditions, we might have reason to worry. As I walked to the PCH hut, expressing these sentiments to David Bradford, a male SPBF welcomed us. This will come as a great relief to us all, and particularly to those who have done such a marvellous job of managing and volunteering here over the years. The timing confirms that the butterfly season is still running 3 weeks late! We were soon joined by Reserves Manager Bob Foreman, but the butterfly remained elusive during his visit. At 6pm I found a second, freshly emerged SPBF in Rowland Wood. Also seen during my visit were Common Blue (1), Painted Lady (1), Red Admiral (1), Brimstone (2), Green-veined White (1), Small Heath (2) and Cream-spot Tiger (1).

Lakes And Small Mountains

On Friday evening (14th June) the Met Office issued a weather forecast for Cumbria which was considerably better than those of previous days. After hastily arranging a hotel I packed a bag and set the alarm for 5am. As is usually the case in these circumstances, I failed to sleep properly, never having lost the excitement I felt in my youth when it comes to a butterfly adventure. It's a long slog up from the South Coast, but I was standing on Irton Fell soon after midday. The weather was rather frustrating, as the clear skies visible along the coast never reached sufficiently far inland to allow the sun's rays to heat the slope where I stood, waiting and hoping. After three hours the wind dropped, the temperature rose, and I was bathed in milky sunshine. A small, chocolate coloured butterfly whizzed passed me - the Mountain Ringlet was out! On this first afternoon I counted between 20 and 25 individuals, with about 50% being in excellent condition, and about 50% showing some wear and tear. Only a few females were on the wing.

I was even luckier on Sunday (16th June), as for the first few hours on the fell I enjoyed completely calm conditions; this must be rare. The bungled attempt of last year was finally forgotten as freshly emerged Ringlets appeared, climbing up through the grass to dry their wings. I surveyed a much larger area than the day before, counting 35 - 40 butterflies. The journey home seemed much shorter.

Great stuff Neil - and some of the best shots of Mountain Ringlet I've ever seen - nice job!

Cheers,

- Pete

Thanks Pete. I don't reckon on getting a better opportunity again!
BWs, Neil

The 'part-cloudy' might well have done you a favour, Neil.

Credit for risking the journey in the first place and I'm glad you were rewarded.

Seems you had a splendid trip and excellent photos! Your experiences echoed mine of the year before - including a sleepless night before starting

Mike

Those are wonderful photographs Neil - so artistic as well. You have exceeded your own high standards. Having spent all that time and traveling costs it would have been dreadfully disappointing not to get the result you wanted.

I'll post some of mine in the Sightings Neil, but I can tell you now they won't be a patch on yours. Excellent stuff.

Hi Neil,

Lovely to read of your Mountain Ringlet success. I was above Langdale, not too far east of you on Saturday accompanied mainly by thin clouds and Small Heaths on the high ground... the sun did come out in to make a splendid evening, but not before I was back down in the dale.

All the best
Alexander Henderson

Hi Pete, David, Mike, Pauline, Steve and Alexander. Thanks for the comments - much appreciated.
Now for artaxerxes..... Should be fun given the weather forecast. I'd be up there today if I wasn't stuck in a radio station with no windows . BBC Sussex 2pm if you've got nothing better to listen to.
BWs, Neil

Pete Eeles wrote:Great stuff Neil - and some of the best shots of Mountain Ringlet I've ever seen - nice job!

Cheers,

- Pete

Absolutely agree

I am just catching up on some diaries and this post has hit me with the wow factor. Fantastic images and a great description of the knowledge and commitment that enables you to get them.

All the best,

Neil F.

This diary is pretty good photographically and sometimes very interesting (epiphron in the land of William Wallace )

In CZE, the species thrives in alt. ca 1 200 - 1 500 beyond the forest limit (?! is that correct) and also flights a bit later - together with local and scarce E. sudetica

Lower it wouldn't have a single chance due to warm climate

The Annoying Czech wrote:beyond the forest limit (?! is that correct)

Almost ... we call it the "tree line"

Cheers,

- Pete

Thanks Neil and Annoying Czech. More northern adventures coming soon.
BWs, Neil

Artaxerxes Artaxerxes

Last week I made the long journey north in search of the Northern Brown Argus subspecies artaxerxes. It was way back in the 1980s, when I lived in Scotland, that I last saw this beautiful, white-spotted form, and that was long before I owned a camera. Inspired by Iain Leach's images of this butterfly I decided to retrace his steps and visit St Abb's Head, where of course there is much more to enjoy than just the NBA. The spectacular cliffs, noisy seabird colonies and flower meadows full of Northern Marsh Orchids will remain happy memories for a long while.

As always with butterflies, timing is everything. The full day I spent on site (20th June) was windy, but warm and sunny, particularly in the sheltered SE corner of Mire Loch, where I watched the species emerging in good numbers. In the morning, only single figures were present, but there were probably 20 males on the wing by late afternoon. Also seen were low numbers of Wall, Common Blue and Small Copper. Was the 900 mile drive worthwhile? Without a doubt!

Kipper

Was the 900 mile drive worthwhile? Without a doubt!

A PhotoShop session with a (southern) Brown Argus picture have saved 900 miles

(Super photos as always Neil)

Jack

A splendid series of photos, Neil I like the way you have caught the iridescent colour on the wings and, especially, the bronze colouration on the first photo.

Mike

Ah Neil...

That is the last butterfly on my British list left to do. I don't think I'll be in a position to do so this season, but at least I can stare at those wonderful photos.

Trev