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White Admiral. Ashtead Commons 21st

Good to see you back, Phil. Got anything from Greece to share?

22nd June Grantown-on-Spey

Numerous but very lively Small P.B. Fritillaries.  Signtings about one ever two or three minutes but very difficult to follow
Rather more docile Northern Brown Argus - four seen.

Due to my age limiting mobility, I had to stay on the track and observe from there.  Habitat looks better further from the road.

Not the quality of photos I aim for but at least proof.

I don't think that the locality is especially sensitive, but if anyone wants a Grid Ref or a what3words, drop me a private message.

Jack

David M wrote: ↑Thu Jun 22, 2023 7:15 am

bugboy wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 5:23 pmOn a brighter note, I had a nice little surprise as I was leaving Bookham at Lunchtime, this freshly emerged fella licking the path...

Nice Midsummer's Day gift, Paul.

First of many, hopefully.

My total is now 3, all grounded. Edit, make that 2, it was the same one seen twice today, still already better than the past 3 or 4 years of searching Bookham!

Four hours on Irton Fell this afternoon in seemingly ideal conditions produced not a single Mountain Ringlet. Guess they are finished for this year.

bugboy wrote: ↑Thu Jun 22, 2023 3:57 pm My total is now 3, all grounded. Edit, make that 2, it was the same one seen twice today, still already better than the past 3 or 4 years of searching Bookham!

Today's was the first I've ever seen on the ground here, Paul.

Here is the individual, the first time it was seen.Other sightings at Bookham included White Admirals......an unexpected Dark Green Fritillary (there were a few SWF too)......and one or two new Purple Hairstreaks of which this was the best. This splendid selection was followed by a lot of Marbled Whites and a few more DGF at Denbies and Box Hill: an excellent day!

Dave

millerd wrote: ↑Thu Jun 22, 2023 8:56 pm...and one or two new Purple Hairstreaks of which this was the best

Can't really get fresher than that one, Dave.

The Purple Season is now officially underway!

Here are the two swallowtail butterflies seen recently in Norfolk. Originally I thought there was only one but it is clear from the photos that one has a slightly damaged wing tip and the other does not. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Well done Dave - that's a really great selection and smashing images

A morning at Chiddingfold gave me a couple more Emperors on the ground. 3 days in a row after several years of neck craning into the tree tops, it's shaping up to be a good purple season and we're still a week away from July!

That is some going, Paul!

David M wrote: ↑Fri Jun 23, 2023 8:10 am Can't really get fresher than that one, Dave.

That Hairstreak was a beauty, David!

Pauline wrote: ↑Fri Jun 23, 2023 11:15 am Well done Dave - that's a really great selection and smashing images

Thank you, Pauline - it was a really good day!

Back to basics and my local patch today, but 15 species including two new ones for me for the year this morning was pretty good.

The "firsts" were a brand new Gatekeeper......and an Essex Skipper (someone will probably tell me it isn't - I know I didn't get the underside of the antennae indisputably showing! ).A first for the year for the local patch were a couple of Marbled Whites, but they didn't stop moving.

Other highlights included an egg-laying Small Skipper......a brand new female Green-veined White......a strikingly blue female Common Blue that would have been a stunner when fresh......and a couple of new female hutchinsoni Commas of which this one definitely is a stunner in my book. Dave

i think this shows a Dark Green Fritillary ( on the left )

can you confirm please ?

pic taken at Sundon Quarry today

Yes indeed, Charles, that's a Dark Green Fritillary. Nice shot with the Marbled White next to it as well!

Cheers,

Dave

Yes Charles ................nice pic ! Allan.W.

millerd wrote: ↑Fri Jun 23, 2023 8:35 pm Yes indeed, Charles, that's a Dark Green Fritillary. Nice shot with the Marbled White next to it as well!

Cheers,

Dave

Allan.W. wrote: ↑Fri Jun 23, 2023 8:36 pm Yes Charles ................nice pic ! Allan.W.

thanks Dave & Allan !

A trip to Hutchinson's Bank yesterday yielded 15 species with no Pieris spp. Not the unbroken sunshine forecast but largely hazy cloud but very warm.

50+ Meadow Brown
40+ Marbled White
3 Speckled Wood
10 Ringlet
Small Heath
5 Brimstone
2 Red Admiral
Comma
2 Dark Green Fritillary
16 Small Blue
5 Common Blue
Dingy skipper
Grizzled Skipper
3 Large Skipper
2 Small Skipper

Surprised to still see the 2 spring skippers but both pretty worn. Previous day Glanville & Silver-washed Fritillary were seen by another observer.

millerd wrote: ↑Fri Jun 23, 2023 1:22 pm...a strikingly blue female Common Blue that would have been a stunner when fresh...

Wouldn't it just! Spectacular.

My first Grayling of the year seen at Dawneys Hill near Pirbright/Brookwood in Surrey. There were also a scant handful of Silver-studded Blues.This came as a diversion on my way back home from a morning at Chiddingfold, partly to avoid J10 of the M25...

Chiddingfold does deserve a separate post though.

Dave

After Bugboy's success yesterday down at Chiddingfold, I thought I'd give it a go. Finding grounded Purple Emperors here has been getting more difficult over the years (at least that's how it feels), so I was only moderately hopeful.

Strangely, during the four and a half hours I spent down there, I didn't see a single other butterfly enthusiast: normally once the season is underway you are bound to see a familiar face or three but even though it was a Saturday I encountered no one else at all. However, this did mean that whatever I found I had to myself (a weird situation in Emperor season ).

Around 1015, I had a curtain-raiser with a fresh White Admiral down on the path taking an interest in something noxious.However, right on cue a few minutes later and a couple of metres further on, the first Purple Emperor appeared. Over the course of the next three hours I counted no fewer than seven grounded Emperors, including two within a metre of each other. They were well spread out along the various rides, but I suppose it is possible that some were repeats considering how powerfully this insect flies. With no one else there to complain about how I was obscuring the view or disturbing the butterfly, I took a lot of shots from close range - assisted by two of the butterflies involved which insisted in sitting on me. The very last one seen was very hard to get rid of in the end...

Here are just a few shots extracted quickly from the many.Aside from the Emperors and reasonable numbers of White Admirals, also seen were: one very fragile Wood White, a few Marbled Whites, a few Small Skippers, a few Ringlets, a few Silver-washed Fritillaries, a Large White, a Red Admiral, a Comma, a couple of Speckled Woods, and lots of Meadow Browns and Large Skippers.

Quite a morning!

Dave

Stunning photos Dave.