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Monday 11th October – All but vanished….

Another pleasant day today, meaning that I thought I’d nip down to the dunes at Port Eynon.
There wasn’t much about – three Small Whites, two Large Whites and a Speckled Wood which briefly flew over the ivy at the back of the cottages adjacent to the site.

There were three Red Admirals however, with this one posing nicely in the sheltered area by the fish and chip shop:
The near two week long spell of inclement weather has clearly seen off most of the butterflies that were on the wing in late September.

Monday 11th October – Arriving home….

After getting home from Port Eynon, I noticed there was a Small Tortoiseshell on the verbena at the far end of my garden:
After watching this individual for a few minutes I turned to go through my front door and saw another Tortoiseshell on the verbena at the opposite end:
With poor weather forecast for the next few days these may well be my last sightings of this species till next spring.

Nice to see the Small Tortoiseshell on the verbena and the rearing cage in your garden, David

Maximus wrote: ↑Fri Nov 05, 2021 9:52 pmNice to see the Small Tortoiseshell on the verbena and the rearing cage in your garden, David

Thanks, Mike. The Tortoiseshells have gone but the net cage will remain throughout the winter with its contents duly protected!

Friday 22nd October – Still a little action….

Conditions were mild and fairly sunny this morning, so I decided to pop into Linda Vista Gardens in Abergavenny to see if there were any late season butterflies around.

I didn’t have long to wait before I saw my first; this Red Admiral was feasting on the ivy at the entrance gate:
The view towards the Blorenge mountain was attractive as ever:
I walked down to the section in front of the mansion house and saw another Red Admiral basking on a stone adjacent to the heather:
I then walked out into the main garden area where this display often attracts the odd butterfly:
Sure enough, a third Red Admiral was nectaring on the verbena, before settling on the grass nearby:
Walking back, I saw another Red Admiral posing nicely on a rock:

The Red Admiral hardly ever lets us down for a late sighting, David.
Even on November 5th I saw several flitting around the tree tops.

Stay well,
Trevor.

True, Trevor. They are very reliable and will continue to be whilst temperatures remain in the teens.

Monday 1st November – Surprise to start the month….

November is traditionally my least favourite month of the year, but this one got off to a uniquely positive start when I was leaving the house to go shopping just before 9am.

Whilst locking my front door I noticed a small shadow moving around and when I turned I saw an airborne Red Admiral which then immediately settled at the top of my neighbour’s patio door:
Although the sun was out, the northern part of the sky was menacingly black and the temperature no more than 10 degrees! I only had my mobile phone to take the images, but it was very pleasing to see a precious November butterfly so soon as this:

Wednesday 3rd November – Remaining pleasant….

A couple of mild frosts have led to mild, sunny days since November began, so I thought I’d take advantage of these conditions with a trip to nearby Nicholaston Burrows.

At the bottom of the footpath from the car park is a sunlit area of ivy, which I figured would be the likeliest spot to find any butterflies. It was, there were no fewer than seven Red Admirals seen taking advantage of this late-season feast:
The dunes themselves were devoid of butterflies given that the grassland species have now all finished for the year:
However, I found 3 more Red Admirals in the light woodland which borders this site, meaning that I managed 10 in total, which I think is the most I’ve ever seen in November on a single day.

Whilst most of the flowering plants have now gone over, the gorse was coming into bloom, which made for an attractive blaze of welcome colour at a time of year when virtually everything else is dying away.

That does indeed look like some very pleasant November butterflying David - some beautiful scenery and double figures of one of my favourite species - can’t be bad.

Thanks, Ben. It's been the most productive November since I moved here in 2010. Gone appear to be the days when butterflies disappeared during the latter half of October!

Thursday 4th November – November surprises….

Another lovely day saw me visit the sheltered, lower part of Kilvey Hill. I first took a stroll around the cemetery but didn’t see any butterflies. I then walked up the wooded track and stopped to admire the view to the east:
There is a gap in the trees here meaning that the sun lights up the track and I was hugely surprised to see a Speckled Wood land briefly on the bramble leaves. It looked in good nick too, but by the time I had my camera out it had flown back down the slope.

I had to do a detour to go to where I thought it was heading, and whilst cutting through the woodland, I noticed a Red Admiral flying in a clearing. It eventually came down on this tree trunk:
I did a full circuit but could not track down the Speckled Wood, which was the first I’ve ever seen in the month of November. However, upon returning to the same part of sunlit track I saw another species that I’d never hitherto seen beyond October – a Brimstone:
This male was flying around these brambles for 30 seconds or so. He then very generously decided to alight on the ground:
I walked up a different track soon after and the view over Swansea Bay looking towards Mumbles Head was a good one:
There was a further Red Admiral flying around the ivy growth on this path but sadly it didn’t settle.

That's a great view David, you actually got shots of Butterflies as well, I love to see Brimstones in flight, they look so graceful
Goldie

A November Brimstone certainly is a surprise, David!

Thanks Goldie/Mark. Swansea Bay always looks attractive, and even more so when there's a surprise November Brimstone there!

Thursday 4th November – Further surprise….

By 1pm, the weather was still extremely pleasant, so I thought I’d drop into Limeslade Bay to see if any butterflies were active around this mass of hebe:
Within minutes, I’d spotted this Red Admiral:
One of the residents passed by and asked what I was doing and was delighted to know there were butterflies still about. Amazingly, as we were talking we spotted another butterfly – a Painted Lady:
For a brief few minutes, this Painted Lady was nectaring fairly close to another Red Admiral:
The latter remained active in this easily accessible area and was in good condition:
Only 7 individual butterflies seen today, but this is the first time I have ever recorded 4 different species on a November day.

Wednesday 17th November - Hard work....

After a run of cloudy days, today dawned mild (12c) and sunny and I felt sure I'd see several butterflies so I set out just after 11am to the ivy hotspot at Nicholaston Burrows.

Surprisingly, nothing was flying in the sheltered woodland, so I moved on to Port Eynon, paying particular attention to the churchyard where plenty of valerian is still in flower. Again, no butterflies.

It was almost 1pm by now so I figured I'd have just enough time to check out the hebe at Limeslade Bay. Sadly, I drew a blank here too so I walked to nearby Bracelet Bay where I saw a single, in-flight Red Admiral at the top end of the car park.

I followed its direction of flight onto the raised headland but couldn't locate it. I made do with an image looking east to the Castellamare restaurant and the old coastguard station:

Friday 19th November – Still about….

After seeing no butterflies two days previously on the hebe at Limeslade Bay, I revisited this morning and promptly found a Red Admiral within a matter of a few seconds.
This sheltered spot is the most reliable place I know for late season insects and on a sunny day, even if temperatures are in single figures, so long as winds are light there’s a good chance of seeing a Red Admiral:
The flowers are still emerging and it looks quite out of place in a winter landscape.

Lovely shot of the Bay David, and you actually found a Butterfly Goldie

That last shot certainly doesn’t look like the 19 November, David.

There must be similar places on the south coast of Cornwall and Devon. If only I had the abilities to check them.

We have to be pretty determined to try and seek out a late November butterfly...........
....... or just plain lucky!.
My record is a Brimstone on 21st November a few years back, brought out by
warm sunshine and disturbance from nearby conservation work.

Keep safe and warm,
Trevor.

Goldie M wrote: ↑Sat Dec 04, 2021 4:58 pmLovely shot of the Bay David, and you actually found a Butterfly

Thanks, Goldie. Yes, been quite a few November butterflies down here this year....and the bay is always a beautiful sight.

What was nice about those habitat cages (November 4th, regarding October 11th), was how they might have been folded to begin with, to fit through the post.
Possibly a nice Christmas present for someone.

essexbuzzard wrote: ↑Sun Dec 05, 2021 9:42 pm That last shot certainly doesn’t look like the 19 November, David.
There must be similar places on the south coast of Cornwall and Devon. If only I had the abilities to check them.

Even in January it looks out of sync with time having all that hebe in flower, Mark. I’m absolutely sure the SW of England will have similar pockets of colour and activity.

trevor wrote: ↑Mon Dec 06, 2021 9:38 am We have to be pretty determined to try and seek out a late November butterfly...........
....... or just plain lucky!...

Thanks, Trevor. Yes, luck plays a part once you hit mid-November, but as I’ve always said, if you’re not out there looking you definitely won’t see anything!