www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

I like your last sentence David, especially as I can see all those species
just .75 of a mile from home at the old railway. Come May travelling
is necessary for some of the more far flung species.
I remember your Holly Blues from the site you mention.

Stay well,
Trevor.

I can picture just where that tree is, must have been some weather down there.

I've only ever been there for birds rather than butterflies, it hosted a Red Rumped Swallow a few years ago and is part of the annual trek out whiteford point for sea ducks, shall have to pay a visit for butterflies too.

Thanks, Trevor. If we get a prolonged mild, sunny spell, I reckon the likes of Holly Blue and Orange Tip could be around within the next week!

Cheers, Owen. This entire site is great for a whole range of wildlife, and April is probably the best month to see it.

Friday 4th March – Surprise encounter….

An early afternoon excursion to Lower Kilvey Hill only produced three butterflies, but the first was a major surprise.

There are a couple of sunlit sections along the lower path, and from 30 yards or so away I noticed a butterfly fluttering in this clearing, amongst the dead bracken from last year:
I tiptoed over and was amazed to find it was a male Speckled Wood:
I checked my historic first sightings for this species, and the earliest prior to today was 26th March, meaning this was earlier by over three weeks!!
The other butterflies seen were Small Tortoiseshells:
It should be interesting to see what else turns up once the weather gets warmer.

I've been keeping an eye open for an early Speckled Wood, nothing yet.
I too have seen a few in March before now. Great to see your shots.

Trevor.

WoW! David ,that is early for the Speckle , great shots too, I'll be on the look out for them in the woods now. Goldie

Thanks, Trevor/Goldie. I think that one was a bit freakish but given the forecast for the next week or so I see no reason why there shouldn't be a few more out soon.

There was the 'freak' sighting, on the 12th Jan - https://butterfly-conservation.org/butt ... tings-2022

Jon

Sunday 13th March – First Peacock….

A brief break in the cloudy weather late this morning tempted me to dash out to the woodland in Parkmill where I found my first Peacock of the year:
The cool conditions kept it sufficiently docile for a close approach to be made:
Whilst I was stood photographing it, a Small Tortoiseshell flew across my line of sight, though it clouded over fairly soon afterwards and no further butterflies were seen.

Just seen your early Speckled Wood David, very nice

I have checked my first sightings over the past few years and my own earliest was 25th March but far more usually we are well into April before they show up here. I have a feeling that I may see one before the end of the month this year the way things are currently looking.

Cheers,

Neil.

Thanks, Neil. Given that I’ve seen them at two separate locations during March, I’m confident you’ll have your first Speckled Wood before your previous earliest date of 25th.

Monday 14th March – At last! Commas….

A beautiful morning tempted me down to Castle Meadows in Abergavenny where I hoped I’d tick off my first Commas of the year.

Arriving at 11.45, my first two sightings were Small Tortoiseshells. The second one was seen on animal droppings, something I haven’t seen this species do before:
About half an hour later, I spotted a Comma flying low alongside a hedgerow. As I crept up to take an image, another Comma buzzed it and the two went spiralling over the shrub line and out of sight. I went back into the adjacent field and walked over to this area:
Sure enough, there was another Comma happily nectaring away on the celandines:
I also saw my first bee-fly of the year nearby:
Another handful of Small Tortoiseshells as well as a Peacock were spotted on the walk back to the car park, and in Linda Vista Gardens I saw a male Brimstone; only my second sighting ever of this species in Abergavenny.

Hi David. I’m with Neil. Your Speckled Wood is a remarkable sighting, for early March. I have occasionally seen them late month, but mid to late April is more usual.

I too have never seen a Small Tortoiseshell on ' something unpleasant '.
I have always thought of them as a more genteel species. Worth recording though.

Trevor.

essexbuzzard wrote: ↑Fri Mar 18, 2022 10:32 pmHi David. I’m with Neil. Your Speckled Wood is a remarkable sighting, for early March. I have occasionally seen them late month, but mid to late April is more usual.

It's remarkable for me, Mark, but on the BC first sightings page there is always a Speckled Wood observed by the end of February (sometimes in January like this year). I saw another yesterday at a different location so there is clearly something about winter conditions this time that have encouraged an earlier than normal emergence.

trevor wrote: ↑Sat Mar 19, 2022 5:36 amI too have never seen a Small Tortoiseshell on ' something unpleasant '. I have always thought of them as a more genteel species. Worth recording though.

I guess as an ‘open country’ butterfly, they are less likely to be seen feasting on droppings than woodland species, Trevor. This one was found on the common, so the dog owner should have cleared it up.

Tuesday 15th March – Small White appears….

Another pleasant morning saw me head for Lower Kilvey Hill, where again I was met by a Brimstone hovering around the primroses at the entrance to the track. This time though I got lucky as it decided to first come down on some blue-coloured cardboard:
It then visited a primrose to feed:
Three males were seen in total, but they were outnumbered by Small Tortoiseshells, with seven recorded including this one that was irresistible on a hyacinth on one of the graves in the cemetery:
On my way back up this section of the site, I got a surprise:
I saw a white butterfly heading towards me and when it settled I could see that it was a Small White, my earliest ever by one day:
I was quite surprised to find it was a female:
Can’t be too long before Orange Tips put in an appearance!

Nice find in the female Small White, David. Yes, expecting Orange-tips any day now.

Cheers, Mike. Been quite a run of mild, sunny days here with more to come!

Friday 18th March – Brimstone fest….

Sunny and mild, so a trip to Cwm Ivy was the order of the day. On the pathway down to the site I saw my first female Brimstone of the year, and three males were flying around the entrance to the woodland.

There were plenty more in and around the glade, and I stopped counting at 15 as there were often two or three spiralling around then splitting up and coming back together. Up to three dozen were seen though, which is an excellent tally for this species, especially in mid-March!!
It was nice to finally see a few Commas too. I counted eight in the hour and a half I was there:
There were 6 Peacocks in total:
The other butterfly seen was a fresh Speckled Wood:
No Holly Blues yet…but it won’t be long.

Great photos David. Your sites are always plentiful with butterflies and seemingly ahead of many of us by a few weeks too.

Now that you mention it, I have never seen a Small Tortoiseshell dining on that which was in your photos. Then again, I have never seen Brimstone with a box of Cadbury's Dairy Milk either.

I was surprised to see the Bee Fly. I would not expect to see one of those here for weeks ! I am still trying to get a photo of one. Maybe 2022 is my year.

Sunday 20th March – Plenty about….

Another visit to Dan-y-Graig cemetery and Lower Kilvey Hill was highly productive, with Small Tortoiseshells leading the way with 14 seen.

Brimstones weren’t far behind with 10, including a couple of well behaved ones:
Three Small Whites seen – the only one I got close to was this female:
These pink bluebells are usually very early, but 20th March is exceptional. The passing Brimstones were very attracted to them:
Other butterflies seen were a single Comma and this Speckled Wood:

Otep wrote: ↑Thu Mar 24, 2022 8:55 pm..I was surprised to see the Bee Fly. I would not expect to see one of those here for weeks !

Me too, Otep. I don't usually see these till early April.

Monday 21st March - Activity even in poorer areas...

Not an ideal day for butterflying today. It was sunny and relatively mild, but the wind was strong so I wasn't expecting to see any butterflies when I took a midday walk in Mill Wood, ten minutes drive away from my home:
However, the area above played host to three Commas, a Peacock and a male Brimstone, all of whom indulged in a little aerial entertainment as they defended their territories. This Comma seemed to be the most determined to repel all interlopers:

We had quite a few bee flies today in Barry. Also holly blue