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We're used to it Wurzel - seeing May in August will be par for the course! Always worth waiting for... I'm hoping for a chance to head for that Hill this weekend, but the forecast keeps changing. I may have to just take pot luck and go.

Thanks, Goldie - every day throws up something different.

As did today. I escaped for an extended lunch break from work and popped into Bedfont Lakes Country Park again - the main part to the north of the railway line. Hoping for Common Blues and Brown Argus, the first butterfly I saw was fussing around tangled growth of vetches near enough at ground level. After recent experience, I knew what it was - another female Holly Blue, apparently looking to lay on the vetch and also having the odd sip of nectar from the flowers. Soon afterwards, I finally tracked down a male Common Blue, the first I've seen here this year. I noticed that over the boundary fence of the park, there was a fairly bare field (I think it was a mound of spoil that had been given nice rounded contours last year by bulldozers), now covered in large patches of Birds'-foot Trefoil. I could see over this area there were quite a few Common Blues flying and squabbling with each other. Sadly, the area was not accessible. Moving on, I came to the path by the railway where I had seen the Green Hairstreak ten days ago. Down in the grass I soon spotted one, and a bit further on, another. The first one was a female, and she was seeking out patches of Trefoil amongst the grass and clover and (ike the Holly Blue) apparently seeking spots to lay. Clearly this represents a colonisation of this area from the established colonies across the railway, and with luck they will spread along this path. Further on still, I was distracted by a flash of orange - there had been a few Burnet Companion moths, and I almost dismissed this as being another, but I followed it to where it settled (rather annoyingly on the other side of a bramble patch). I was surprised to see that this was a Large Skipper, the first I've seen in 2016 and though I didn't get very close, I think it was a female. A very successful outing. As well as all these, there were Orange Tips and Brimstones, and further Holly Blues. Finally, I found a fresh female Common Blue. Dave

After work on 26th, there was still time (I love the long summer evenings ) to have a look around locally. It was early evening really, but I did find the first Common Blue of the year for this patch, roosting uncomfortably in the breeze. Several Small Heath were still flying too, though starting to perch rather than hide in the grass. Curiously, I came across two separate battered Commas - I haven't seen one for about three weeks or so - I wonder where they've been hiding?. Finally, I was accosted by a Red Admiral, and then right at the end, by another one. This one was happy to bask in the late sunshine. Dave

Today was my opportunity to visit Hutchinson's Bank: the day-off-from-work fairy had already waved her wand, and amazingly the weather fairy decided to be kind as well - much kinder than predicted too.

On arrival just before 12, I located Martin (Mr. Sp0ck) in the cutting with one or two other folk, admiring a Glanville aberration. An interesting butterfly, brand new and quite obliging for photos, it had set up a territory and though disappearing from time to time, it turned up again in the same part of the cutting. There were several "normal" Glanvilles about in the cutting too, and as it turned out there were still more in various other parts of the site. Martin is incredibly knowledgeable about this species and its history here (with which he is very much involved), and it was great to have him on hand to enlighten about every aspect of the Glanville Fritillary - and much more besides. A big thank you for that.

As well as the star attraction, Hutchinson's Bank offered Small Blues (popping up in ones and twos almost anywhere), Dingy Skippers (similarly), Green Hairstreaks, Small Heaths, Speckled Woods, Holly Blues, Common Blues (only just starting to appear), a single Grizzled Skipper and a single Brown Argus. As you might expect, there were Whites, Orange Tips and Brimstones, plus a couple of Peacocks and a Red Admiral. I think I saw 17 different species today, but one stands out - what a lovely butterfly it is. Dave

Great series of shots of the Glannies Dave If you're still thinking about the Hill I reckon Sunday is the best bet as 2 out of four weather apps have sunny intervals and the other two have cloud as opposed to rain on the Saturday.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks, Wurzel. Glanvilles require a lot of crawling around at ground level, something I'm finding increasingly difficult these days! Thanks also for the weather advice - Sunday it is, though I suspect today might have been okay on that score. However, the traffic might well have spoiled things. Queues on the A303 are not recommended...

A large splodge of puffy cloud sat over my part of the world until midday, whilst all around seemed sunny. I did have a local walk this morning regardless, and in the brighter bits, saw over a dozen Small Heaths and five or six Orange Tips. One of these I took to be injured, as it fluttered inelegantly close to the ground and settled on it once or twice, wings open. However, looking at the pictures, it was sucking up minerals, not something I've seen this species do before. It did go on to nectar normally, so was actually perfectly healthy. I saw a few GVW too, including a male where the black markings on one side seemed darker than on the other. I also spotted the first Silver Y moth of the season. Searching everywhere for Common Blues, I managed to track down an attractive new blue female - quite a small example too. Heading for home, a few Holly Blues were still around and a Red Admiral swooped back and forth. The moment I reached the doorstep, the sun came out properly, so I decided to head further afield for the afternoon.

Dave

That's a great shot of the Small Blue Dave. I find they are a tricky little butterfly to get a nice sharp image of but not only have you managed that, you've caught that gorgeous sheen and oily colours - and you already know what I think of your Glanville ab. Well worth that convoluted journey

Hi! Dave, lovely photo's but I really like the Silver Y, It looks just like an African Mask from that angle Goldie

Great OTs Dave, very large spot on the fore wing - could that be an ab or is it within usual range? Philzoid tells me you got your Small Pearls so a cracking end to a cracking day. It was great to finally meet in the field and share some butterflies first hand

Have a goodun

Wurzel

You've really been racking up the trips out lately with some very rewarding results. Also getting a good collection of abs this season

Thank you Pauline - Female Small Blues when very fresh do have that amazing sheen and I was lucky enough to capture it.

Thanks Goldie. You are right about that Silver Y - it looks exactly like that! Scary, in fact... I wonder if that's to scare away predators?

Thanks, Wurzel. I reckon that Orange Tip is not really extreme enough. It was its behaviour I was interested in and didn't notice the larger than usual spot till later. It was great to meet up with you, Phil and your apprentice in a terrific spot on a glorious day - and yes, Phil and I found the SPBFs later on as well. However, I'm getting a bit behind now after a packed weekend. I understand your problem completely...

A few more trips still to come, Buggy. I just had to make the most of the weather and three free days. The abs are a bonus! To be fair, there seem to be a few around this year.

After an excellent Friday, Saturday and Sunday were just as packed, if not more so. After my local walk on Saturday, the sun came out so I decided to spend the afternoon at Denbies. I was rewarded by a hillside populated by good numbers of Adonis Blues, with a mixture of very fresh and somewhat worn males standing out. There were females, but I didn't track down many new ones, and only saw one blue female of the sort I'd seen a week ago. Here are some of the new nes. One or two had black dots in the hindwing margins: most did not. One individual was sucking up minerals from the chalk path There were more Common Blues now, but the ratio of Adonis to Common was at least 5 to 1. Small Heaths were everywhere, and Dingy Skippers were still around, particularly at the bottom of the slope. One perched some fresh oak foliage and almost disappeared. In this same spot I also saw two Small Blues, the first I've ever seen at Denbies, and a Brown Argus. Neither species stopped for a photo. On the way back up to the car park through Steers Field, I spotted movement - butterflies are not frequent up here until a bit later in the year, so I tracked the insect to the ground to reveal it as a worn Small Copper. I was pleased to see this increasingly rare sight (except at Dungeness of course...) Dave

I can offer nothing but mrgreens for those Adonis images, Dave.

Looks like you are having a cracking season so far Dave

I love the Orange-tip on the bare earth a couple of posts back, not a combination you often see. Also, that female Common Blue is gorgeous and as for the Adonis

Cheers,

Neil

There is nothing to beat the colour of a fresh Adonis Blue, Trevor. In fact they do seem to vary a bit in shade, though it can just be the way the light falls. They were very obliging on Saturday, and the bit of cloud about helped.

Thanks, Neil - you picked out my favourites precisely! I would single out the Adonis slurping at the chalk as well - though the open-winged shots are glorious, this one has more appeal and life to it.

Now for Sunday 29th. The plan had always been to head down to Wurzel's Wiltshire hillside come rain or shine - the weather forecast over the days beforehand was spectacularly uncommitted on which it might be, but by Saturday evening became heavily inclined towards the latter. I set off early under cool grey skies, but beyond Andover, the sun emerged and by the destination was out amidst clear blue. It was still cool to start with and quite breezy, and it was a while before the butterflies appeared. However, gradually as I walked gently along the paths following the contours along the lower slopes, Marsh Fritillaries began to appear. Almost all were showing signs of wear unfortunately - I don't think I actually saw any that had emerged on the day (except perhaps for the female of the mating pair spotted later on). However, they were a lovely sight, with a great deal of colour variation between individuals. I'll leave the photos until the end.

Marshies were not all on offer by any means. Also seen were Dingy Skipper (lots), Grizzled Skipper (not so many), Large Skipper (3 or 4), Green Hairstreak (lots - mostly right along the bottom of the slope, but not exclusively), Small Heath (lots), Brown Argus (5+), Common Blue (2 or 3), Adonis Blue (a dozen or more), Small Blue (3 or 4), Speckled Wood (a couple along the path from the parking area), Large White (2 or 3, including a huge male dwarfing every other butterfly), Small/GVW (several, with both definitely present), Orange Tip (4 or 5), Brimstone (4 or 5), Red Admiral (2), Peacock (1), Small Tortoiseshell (1). A selection: In the middle of proceedings I was hailed from a higher path. There were Wurzel (plus daughter) and Philzoid out to enjoy the glorious countryside and the wonderful butterfly offering here. It was good to finally meet Wurzel out in the field (rather than over a beer or two as is customary), and to see Philzoid too. We spent a very pleasant couple of hours or so spotting various things (more pairs of eyes a distinct advantage!).

Towards the end of our sojourn on the hill, we found a mating pair of Marsh Fritillaries: there were no doubt many others down in the grass (which appeared longer than usual). Here are a variety of others seen throughout the day: A splendid outing - but the day was not yet over, and there was another spot to visit on the way home.

Dave

Wow ! that's quite a bag full Dave, lovely shot's of the Marsh Fritillaries Goldie

Pleased that you were able to enjoy this species rich site. Great Marshie shots.
If I were a betting man I'd say we have some Small Pearl images coming up !.

Was great to meet up with you on Sunday. You've posted a lovely array of Marsh Fritillaries there .

I think we saw 20 species in total at Cotley which is a fantastic count on a single site

I think Trevor might be onto something

Phil

Great post from Wiltshire. Brings back happy memories of my visit last year. As the weather improved through the morning the turf seemed to erupt butterflies all over the place It's just a shame places like this are few and far between these days, particularly down here in the south east

Thank you Goldie - yes, there was a lot to see, though there were more Marsh Fritillaries than anything else.

How did you guess, Trevor? If you were a betting man, there's no one would have offered you very long odds, I suspect... Certainly not Philzoid, but he had insider knowledge!

Thanks, Buggy - it's a terrific place, and one I've now visited three years on the trot. A fixture on the calendar now, all thanks to Wurzel.

So, as Trevor suspected, the logical place to drop into on the way back from deepest Wiltshire was Bentley Wood. With the recent decent weather bringing the season back on track a bit, there was a very good chance the first Small Pearls would be out. The Eastern Clearing had a few people looking, but none admitted to seeing anything much beyond good numbers of PBF. These were zooming about madly in the sunshine, and stopping very infrequently. However, almost immediately I spotted a much more brightly orange butterfly which didn't fly quite so fast, stopped once in a while and was, dare I say it, a bit smaller... Close to, there was no doubt that it was a Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary.While I was engrossed, I was joined by Philzoid, who had detoured into Salisbury with Wurzel. Over the next hour or so we ambled gently around the clearing and saw at least another two SPBF, quite possibly one or two more. They were pretty fresh, a beautiful brilliant orange and all males. We had a look for Dukes, but saw none; just more PBF which as the afternoon drew on did start to settle a bit. It became noticeable that towards five o'clock, both species tended to disappear: my previous experience seems to indicate that the Pearls roost in trees and shrubs, and their smaller cousins do so on old seed heads and sedges. The subtle difference in their underside markings may be linked to this. Aside from the Fritillaries, we saw a variety of moths, including an Argent and Sable, plus a large species that performed huge loops in the air at high speed. I was told on a previous visit this might be an Oak Eggar - Phil believed it could be a Fox Moth. It was large and orange-brown, but utterly unapproachable. Finally, I tracked down a very small (1 cm?) Brimstone caterpillar on buckthorn - I'm sure there were many more there somewhere. Now it really was time to go home, after a really excellent day. Dave

Great Small Pearls, Dave. I guessed Bentley Wood and had heard that some were on the wing there.

Totally cracking shots from a totally cracking day Dave

Have a goodun

Wurzel