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trevor wrote:INVEST IN THE FUTURE !

Today I made what I believe to be a shrewd investment.
What is more I hope to get a quick return on my money,
in two or three weeks time.

Are you making sandwiches then?

Hope you have a good time making odd smells in the woods. I will take a fly swat to keep the butterflies down in Hungary.

Your tin should be nice and ripe by now, Goldie, if it's a year old !. Best of luck.

I wouldn't risk making sandwiches with this stuff, Peter. As it seems so attractive to H.I.M,
God knows what's in it !. Last year I poured the Tuna liquid on the track on the Monday,
and had one down, by Thursday it smelt pretty offensive ( to our unrefined nose ) and five came down.

Every little helps !
Trevor.

This morning I visited two locations, and not a Butterfly in sight. 40 miles later,
but less than a mile from home I had a walk along the old railway, in Hailsham.
Here it was a case of ' June gap, what June gap '.
Seen altogether; two worn Holly Blues, a Red Admiral, a fresh Large White,
lots of Speckled Woods, and best of all a good number of Meadow Browns.
The heat made the Meadow Browns difficult to get near, but their presence
was re- assuring that the High Summer season can't be far away.

Trevor.

Nice shots of the Meadow Browns Trevor - they're right tricky little gits at this time of the season. Then when they're well past their best they are wonderfully accommodating Thanks for the reminder, better stop-off at Tescos tomorrow and stock up

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Good luck with the fish paste, Trevor. Won't be long now before the Emperors come out to tease us!

Many thanks, Wurzel & David,
You read it here first, the word is out now, so buy your Tesco Tuna in brine while stocks last!.
They've pulled a sneaky one this year, and are offering Tuna in spring water, as much good as
a chocolate teapot, I suspect. What is more the tin looks identical to the real thing.
Don't be fooled into buying Waitrose or M&S as their offering probably contains a less pungent aroma.

Maybe we need to do a brand test comparison.

Remember, every little helps.
Trevor.

Good to see you are getting prepared, Trevor. When I head down to Chiddingfold this year I shall seek you out by smell... And hopefully the cloud of circling Emperors zoning in!

Dave

When you say you will ' seek me out by smell ', Dave, are you suggesting
that I stop having a bath ?. Now there's a thought..........

Trevor, good luck with the tuna brine experiment

I was given a very large tin (1.26 kg drained weight) of Princes Tuna Chunks in Brine as a birthday present from my nephews in 2014 - I am crazy on tuna and lettuce sandwiches . As it is still unopened and obviously not now safe to eat I will dish out the contents in the local woods in a few weeks and see what happens ...

ATB

Peter

No Meadow Brown's here yet Trevor, hope fully They'll arrive soon. Goldie

Your tin of Tuna sounds perfect, Peter. Just pierce the tin, then give the Cat a treat with the meat.

Won't be long now, Goldie.

Good luck to all,
Trevor.

I can feel the excitement and anticipation growing Trevor Have you bought your tent yet? I know how much time and effort you put in at this time of the year so I am sure you will achieve some excellent images which I am looking forward to seeing

Many thanks Pauline,
One has been seen at Bookham Common. I won't be able to play until the 19th June,
as I will be staying at my Daughters. I would think H.I.M will be showing well by then.
According to the experts it's going to be a very early emergence this year.
And yes I will be using my home as hotel when I get back.

Weather obliging !!
Trevor.

THE RETURN OF THE EAST SUSSEX SMALL PEARL BORDERED FRITILLARIES.

On the 22nd of May Doug Neve and myself went for a very agreeable lunch in East Hoathly.
This was not supposed to be a Butterfly trip, but to discuss a forthcoming holiday.
On the way home it was suggested that we pop in to Park Corner Heath to see how the
area cleared in the past Winter, was coming along.
Shortly after arrival we spotted the unmistakable sight of a Small Pearl scooting across the site.
My initial thought was that maybe we were seeing a wild survivor, from perhaps a small, resident
colony that had gone unseen.
The truth was however that a release of reared Butterflies had taken place a few days before our visit.
Never the less it was a fantastic sight, and I felt compelled to nip home and grab my camera.

A big thank you to all involved with the project,
Trevor.

PS. To the above posting.
It was agreed that the release of images of the reintroduced SPBF,
should be delayed in case the site was invaded by too many visitors,
and consequent excessive trampling. Hence the late posting.

Great shots Trevor Sensible idea releasing the photos after the fact to give the butterflies a head start as it were, something that I often do (unintentionally )

Have a goodun

Wurzel

trevor wrote:When you say you will ' seek me out by smell ', Dave, are you suggesting
that I stop having a bath ?. Now there's a thought..........

I believe it is an established technique with regard to enticing down butterflies of a Purple persuasion... However, I was of course referring to the fact that you will have soaked yourself in tuna juice for the coming festivities. I am currently trying to move booked leave from the wrongly anticipated first week of July, particularly as the weather for the next fortnight looks pretty good - I hope to see you down there before long.

Dave

It’s always pleasing to see SPBFs in the east of the country. One hopes if more work is done then reintroductions can help to bring this butterfly back to the levels it was at 40 years ago.

Today, I went over to Collard Hill for my first ever encounter with the Large blue,
On arrival I was met by one of the site wardens, Gabrielle, who kindly offered to show me around the hill.
Later we met Peter and his father, from Lincolnshire, who had just photographed a Large Blue nectaring on Thyme.
A little later someone spotted a mating pair, and I obtained several shots of this pairing.

But the best was yet to come, when a fresh individual was spotted nectaring. A little later it flew onto a grass stem,
and by pure luck I managed some shots of another Large Blue approach and instantly mate.

I will let the following images tell the rest !.

Trevor.

Brilliant images Trevor You must be thrilled with those Perhaps a return visit is long overdue for me!