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Returning home this morning from Wiltshire, under grey skies, I noticed a band of brighter
sky in the far distance, this was while travelling over Salisbury Plain. It would be another 80 miles
before I caught this brighter sky up !. As I was near Storrington by now, the improved weather
was ideal for a Duke of Burgundy hunt.
When I arrived on site Dave Cook, Rolf Farrel and Gary Philpot had beat me to it, and had located
a resting Dingy Skipper. I was told of the earlier sunshine, which had produced a few Dukes,
but the cloud had now caught up. We did, however, have one or two cloud breaks
and the Dukes responded, with three spotted in the air together. I also saw a Dingy/Duke dispute.
Photography was fairly easy as the conditions made the Dukes rather lethargic.

Trevor.

ARCTIC PEARLS

Although the air was freezing this morning, the sun was very strong. With these conditions in mind
I thought that if I could find a sheltered, sunny spot I might be in luck.
I had such a spot in mind so I headed for Abbots Wood. When I arrived it seemed that I may have
pushed my luck too far. Nothing at all flying, and it was chillier than I had hoped for.
After about 30 mins. a solitary pearl appeared, which raised my hopes somewhat, and better still
this Pearl rose up to another flying Pearl.
Over a period of about an hour about ten Pearls were seen, and as things turned out the morning
was not a lot quieter than normal. Unsurprisingly no other species were seen.

Trevor.

Great Dukes, and then the Pearls braving the Arctic blast. It just shows that sunshine is more important than temperature. A lot of variation in the markings too, with one at least quite heavily marked. I wonder if the cold will affect any still in the chrysalis.

Dave

Many thanks, Dave. I hope there are still many more Pearls to emerge on this site.
If not there will be very few. I have yet to see more than about ten to twelve on recent visits.
Of course we are not in May yet, so there's a bit more time.

Your seeing quite a good mixture of Butterflies Trevor inspite of the cold weather , great shots of the Pearl's Goldie

Pearls are great value for money Trevor I've been out in 9 degrees and thick grey cloud and the slightest bright spell and they were on the wing Hopefully this cooler snap won't be too detrimental Though butterflies are often hardier than we give them credit for.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Many thanks Goldie and Wurzel.
Since this cold snap started my part of Sussex had escaped anything really nasty, until yesterday.
We had a hail shower in the early afternoon, then a really heavy one about 6.30 pm.
Then early this morning a hard frost, even my sheltered back garden was partially white.

I was keen to find out how the Pearl Bordered Fritillaries had coped with the weather.
On arrival at Abbots Wood the conditions were similar to Tuesday, a clear sky, and the sun
warming up the same sheltered spot visited on Tuesday. But, over a two hour period
only three Pearls were seen, and these were flying quite normally, until the building cloud
finally obliterated the sun. Just before I left the site a Pearl which had been basking on the
ground, flew up into the shelter of a bush, allowing another underside shot.

Trevor.

Those PBF images are making me desperate to get my own 'fix', Trevor. If only we in south Wales could better rely on the weather.....it might be a few days before the opportunity presents itself.

Hopefully your local Pearl colony will emerge in better weather conditions than those at Abbots Wood.
Judging by the numbers I've seen, this cold snap may have delayed more from emerging early.
Good luck David.

The only good things about the cooler snap is that is might slow things down a bit so they don't burn out so quickly and hopefully a little rain might be delivered I'm not normally a fan of rain during the butterfly season but things are quite dry round our way Some more great shots by the way

Have a goodun

Wurzel

ps About the Hill...I'll look back over my records but the date you mention might produce the goods, just not in any numbers as they'll only just be starting

Thanks for that Wurzel !. A few will do, and there's bound to be other species to enjoy.
Hope your wish for rain doesn't materialise that day !.

All the best,
Trevor.

A moments sunshine this morning soon disappeared once I had arrived on site.
Only two Butterflies were found, a Green Veined White blending with Cow Parsley,
and a Small White, which was a little more active.

Trevor.

Trevor,

Enjoying your photos of the PBF. They look stunning when fresh.

Regards Kev

Lovely looking GVW Trevor Good too to see that there are some Small Whites out there they've been so thin on the ground this season so far
Have a goodun

Wurzel

Keep the camera handy at all times, something I rarely do at home.
At lunch time I noticed a male Orange Tip posing perfectly in my garden, Where's the camera ?, in the car.
Kick off shoes, they were wet !, rush to car, get camera, shoes back on, Orange Tip is still there .
OT then decides to flutter around the garden before the camera is ready, Finally landing on one of my native
Bluebells for a rubbish shot!, the only one before it flew over the hedge an out of sight .

Must be better organised.
Trevor.

After yesterdays missed opportunity with the Orange Tip, this morning came good with some careful
planning and an awful lot of luck.
First on my list was an early morning visit to High and Over for some Wall Browns, with seven males
in residence, spread out across the whole area. Unfortunately most had been out for a while and
were showing signs of wear. Whilst watching a Wall. a female Holly Blue landed and partially opened up.
Several tatty Red Admirals were found warming up, but the bonus for me was one of the freshest Red Admirals
I have ever seen, fluttering and landing in quick succession on one of the paths, a joy to behold !.

On my way home I popped into Abbots Wood. The big surprise here was a faded, but very active Painted Lady
making the most of the Bluebells. Also seen, a single Small Copper, Brimstone, Peacock, three Orange Tips,
and only nine Pearl Bordered Fritillaries, which considering the beautiful weather, was rather disappointing.

A very enjoyable and productive morning.
Trevor.

Nice shots of the Wall Brown Trevor - not the easiest of butterflies to photograph (and it's a few years since I've had any practice )

I must agree with Pauline on the Walls, Trevor. Really tricky to get decent shots (or any at all when they are at such a distance away from here!). The Red Admiral is terrific too - I wonder whether it's a local specimen or has just hopped the channel (as your Painted Lady must have done)? Great selection.

Dave

Well done with the Wall Browns Trevor, sadly a once thriving colony close to home appears to have gone. Looks like I'm going to have to go a bit further away to see these beauties from now on.

All the best

James

Trevor, Nice Wall Browns. It's been a long time since I saw one in the UK. Reading your reports, I think I'd better fill my boots at the weekend and drive down from Suffolk.

Regards Kev