www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Thanks Goldie, they’ve only just emerged down south, so they should be with you soon.

Thanks David, I like my flowers as well as the butterflies. Bluebell season is almost here!

Sunny spells, April showers and Orange Tips!

Today started clear and blue. As often happens in April, the strong sunshine soon warmed the surface layers, forming cumulus clouds that eventually towered upwards, with showers breaking out during afternoon.

Behind my house is a hedge and ditch which runs north to south. It is full of garlic mustard. On these lovely cool sunny mornings, Orange Tips warm up here in the sunshine and shelter from the wind. Also in the ditch, was this glorious fresh Holly Blue! Later, I was visited in my garden by another beautiful Orange Tip, which spent half an hour feeding on my flowers, especially the garlic mustard which I grow for them!

That array of garlic mustard is positively intoxicating, Mark. No wonder Pierids are attracted to that spot. Right now, my area is seeing a mass emergence of wild garlic and for me this is the most enjoyable time of year from a flora perspective, prior to the grasses growing in late May and strangling most other plants out!

PS - well done with the OT open-wing shot. Far too few of those have been achieved thus far this year!

Beautiful shots Essex, I like your close ups as well.

Thanks David. Fortunately, this ditch is only a few hundred yards from home, and, when not working, I can get there anytime. On these cool, sunny mornings, photography is easy. Life doesn’t get much better than this!

Thanks Andrew, yes I thought I would try a couple of close shots, just something a little different.

HI Mark,
Good to hear from you, enjoyed your winter adventures.
Also a mrgreen for your female Orange Tip , that looks like a cracking site for them.

Hope to see you around,
Trevor.

When I read that you have an OT site behind your house I was reminded of the Dungeon scene in Life of Brian "you lucky, lucky..."etc And then you go and top it all with a blinder of a Holly Blue shot

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Welcome to the merry month of May, the most beautiful month of the year. The bluebells are out, the hedges are full of cow-parsley and Orangetips, and the hawthorn and horse chestnut are coming. Days are long, bright and warm (well sometimes), and the countryside is clothed in fresh green. We now see the emergence of the spring species. Dingy and Grizzed Skippers and Dukes on the downland, and Pearl border Fritillaries in the woods. Later this moth, we will see the Blues emerging. Common, Adonis and Small. Times are good!

essexbuzzard wrote:Welcome to the merry month of May, the most beautiful month of the year. Times are good!

I can only agree! This is very much my favourite time of year and the forecast for the first half of May looks very promising! Fingers crossed...

Dave

Lovely shots of the OT's essex, and that shot of the Blue Bells is fantastic, May, is also my favourite time year lets hope it brings more Butterflies for us. Goldie

Fantastic shot of the Bluebell Wood Essex, I need to get to mine soon Tis the season to be really jolly

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks everyone. As I look out at the pouring rain, it seems hard to believe, perhaps. But hang on in there, for this is the month when it all happens.

essexbuzzard wrote:Welcome to the merry month of May, the most beautiful month of the year. The bluebells are out, the hedges are full of cow-parsley and Orangetips, and the hawthorn and horse chestnut are coming. Days are long, bright and warm (well sometimes), and the countryside is clothed in fresh green. We now see the emergence of the spring species. Dingy and Grizzed Skippers and Dukes on the downland, and Pearl border Fritillaries in the woods. Later this moth, we will see the Blues emerging. Common, Adonis and Small. Times are good!

Couldn't put it better, Mark. May is indeed a joy in the UK. My personal favourite time is that week or so when the horse chestnut 'candles' are in full pomp.

By mid-June, the grasses have strangled out most of the earlier flowering plants and the leaves take on that richer shade of green which isn't as attractive as the fresh olive colours most sport right now.

And, of course, heaps of butterfly species will emerge as adults!

Spot on, David. I was at Windsor on Monday, and the conker trees were already in bloom there , but ours want a few more days. Love it, just love it!

Unfortunately, it was raining again on my day off (Wednesday), and it didn’t clear until the evening. Butterflies were out of the question by then, so we will have to make do with an Essex scenery shot.

Hi

Love the shot of the windmill in a field. I hail originally from Essex but more into town rather than this nice rural location you show. The closest windmill I know of to where I lived was near Upminster.

Here's to a great May for us all.

Hi Ernie, yes , Essex has a good number of windmills. Your right, there is one at Upminster though I haven’t been to it.

Here’s to a merry May to you and yours too. Enjoy it while it lasts!

Thanks for the landscape shot, Mark. I daresay you won't have time for any more this weekend given the forecast. Should be a butterfly bonanza!

Whenever I visit Essex (for Heath Frits usually), I am always impressed with how lovely it looks. Typical green rolling English countryside straight out of everyone's imagination. That's a great shot with the windmill.

Dave

Thanks everyone, yes, Essex sure has some beautiful places. Once you get off the beaten track, some people are surprised how pretty Essex is. Never is it more beautiful than in May.

We are also known for our bluebells, indeed the best bluebell woods I have seen, anywhere, are right here. One of my favourites is Hillhouse wood, near Colchester. So we visited on Bank Holiday Monday- as did many other people- to try to soak up the sight and scent of this place, with its spectacular show. All too soon it will be over for another year. In some parts of the wood, the bluebells combine with stitchwort, wild garlic and yellow archangel, creating a riot of colour!