Neil Freeman

[David M]

May I add my best wishes too, Neil. Splendid news.

[Neil Freeman]

Many thanks all for the comments and the best wishes on the birth of my Granddaughter No butterfly inspired names unfortunately, they had already decided that a girl would be named Chloe which just happens to be a name that I really like...not that it would have made any difference if I didn't

Thursday 12th May

The weather on Tuesday was really dismal here with rain practically all day and yesterday was not much better. In complete contrast today was a beautiful day with clear blue skies all day and the temperature on my car display reading 23 degrees on my way home from work this afternoon at 4.00pm.

Back home in the garden the usual butterflies were all about with a couple of male Specklies in their respective spots and Orange-tips, Holly Blues, and Large, Small & GV Whites passing through.

Orange-tip - Coverdale 12.05.2016

Holly Blue - Coverdale 12.05.2016

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 12.05.2016

Looks like some cooler conditions ahead for a few days, lets hope that doesn't last too long.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Goldie M]

Hi! Neil, One Butterfly I've not seen yet is the Holly Blue, Well! lets say I've seen it flying past me Goldie

[Wurzel]

Once again Neil...Oh for your garden That is a lush OT and Holly Blue!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Goldie, Oh yes!...plenty of Holly Blues on the move but that was the first one that I have seen stop still this year.

Cheers Wurzel, at this time of year with all the action kicking off down south I need my garden to keep me sane before things get going up here.

Friday 13th Mayy

After the glorious day that was Thursday, most of which I missed at work, Friday was a bit cooler and cloudier but still quite pleasant. After my usual half day at work I finished at lunchtime and the plan for the afternoon was to head home to collect Jane and then go round to pick up my mom and take her over to see her new little great-granddaughter. Having a quick cuppa at home before going out I was watching the resident Specklies through the kitchen window and couldn't resist the temptation to nip into the garden and grab a couple of shot. Think that cost me a brownie point as Jane was ready to make a move and told me to get a move on

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 13.05.2016

Saturday 14th May - Morning

After a cold night, Saturday morning started off with a chill in the air with a cool breeze blowing from the north. We had just got in from doing some early morning shopping when I spotted a fox nosing around the garden and took a couple of quick shots through the kitchen window.

Despite the cool breeze there was some good warmth in the sun as it rose higher in the sky and by 10.00am the Specklies were flying in the garden, at least two males and a female, and these were soon joined by a couple of Orange-tips and Green-veined Whites.

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 14.05.2015

Speckled Wood female - Coverdale 14.05.2015

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 14.05.2015

Orange-tip - Coverdale 14.05.2016

Orange-tip - Coverdale 14.05.2016

Green-veined White - Coverdale 14.05.2016

Then it was back to the Saturday morning household chores. The forecast was for more cloud to build up through the afternoon but I figured that I might nip out for a couple of hours to a local spot if I got the chance...

afternoon report to follow,

Neil.

[Goldie M]

Lovely shots Neil, I hope you don't keep chicken's Goldie

[Neil Freeman]

Don't worry Goldie, no chickens around here

Saturday 14th May -Afternoon

Saturday afternoon turned into a reasonable spring day in the end, practically normal for the time of year compared with the past two weekends when we woke up to snow on the Saturday morning two weeks ago followed by the summer temperatures last weekend.

Anyway, with a couple of hours spare I scuttled round to my local spot at Castle Hills near Solihull to see what was about. Starting off along one of the usual footpaths I soon started to see Orange-tips and Green-veined Whites. Although it was reasonably warm there was a cool breeze blowing which made itself felt when a cloud covered the sun and this meant the OTs in particular were settling quite regularly, often on the many clumps of Herb Robert along the edge of the path. As Trevor recently observed in his diary this is a favourite of OTs and a plant that I leave to self seed in my garden for this very reason.

Orange-tip - Castle Hills 14.05.2016

Orange-tip - Castle Hills 14.05.2016

Orange-tip - Castle Hills 14.05.2016

I also saw a few females that would get chased by males and watched a couple of times as they settled and adopted the rejection pose, usually not in a suitable position to get a photo although I did just about manage to get one shot with two males and a female in frame,

Orange-tips - Castle Hills 14.05.2016

The males soon got the message and the female promptly flew off a couple of yards and settled down near the ground to compose herself before carrying on her way,

Orange-tip female- Castle Hills 14.05.2016

At one point the path goes alongside an area of wasteground, this being the place where last year there was plenty of knapweed which attracted a number of Painted Ladies. This time there was clumps of Forget-me-not all over the place and in a couple of small sheltered areas between banks of earth I found a number of Small Tortoiseshells and Peacocks. The Tortoiseshells in particular had mostly seen better days but all of them were flitting about actively between bouts of basking.

Forget-me-nots

Three Small Tortoiseshells and Two Peacocks in this sheltered spot.

Small Tortoiseshell - Castle Hills 14.05.2016

Small Tortoiseshell - Castle Hills 14.05.2016

Small Tortoiseshell - Castle Hills 14.05.2016

Peacock - Castle Hills 14.05.2016

Peacock - Castle Hills 14.05.2016

I was half hoping to find a Small Copper here but that was wishful thinking perhaps given the spring we have had. They don't usually appear around here until mid may in a good year and so far this has been a late one here. Maybe in a week or two by which time I also hope to have caught up with Grizzled and Dingy Skippers and Green Hairstreaks, all of which are now on the wing in Warwickshire.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Pauline]

Belated congratulations on the arrival of Chloe, Neil. I am struggling to keep up with the diaries with the frequent postings . Naturally I love the fox shot - she is in great condition. I have many wild foxes visit but despite years of feeding they only come after dark and a movement from inside sends them fleeing. I would have thought the presence of the residents would have reassured them but no! Oh, and some smashing moths in your last posting

[Wurzel]

Cracking shot of the manage Neil and the final Peacock shot is a beaut, I wonder at it's thought processes as it seems to contemplate it's own shadow

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Lovely OT's Neil, and the scene shots are lovely, that's what we're short of around here Flowers to entice the Butterflies. Goldie

[kevling]

Neil,

Lovely selection of the Castle Hills Orange Tips. I never tire of those aerial shots especially.

Regards Kev

[David M]

You're doing really well, Neil, with a mix of vanessids and Pierids. My 'patch' seems to lose the former more rapidly than elsewhere, and to make matters worse we don't get the earlier emergences in May either! Nice to see such a return elsewhere.

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Pauline, I don't feed the foxes at all, they just turn up every now and then. They will come right up to the house if it is quiet but if they see any movement they will be off in a flash.

Cheers Wurzel, I rather liked the way that Peacock seemed to be studying its own shadow myself.

Thanks Goldie, I hope you find some flowers and butterflies to go with them before long.

Thanks Kev, I saw more action than I managed to capture. Sometimes the pleasure lies in simply watching.

Cheers David, I often see ex hibernators up until the end of May, sometimes into June and this season is running at least three weeks late around here.

Tuesday 17th May

Not much to report since last Saturday with family stuff on Sunday and work this week. At one point late yesterday afternoon I had three Holly Blues chasing each other around the garden but as usual none of them settled at all.

I have run the moth trap in the garden a few times recently and had a few more species new to me but with a run of cold nights with clear skies the numbers have been low. Apparently there is a 'May lull' in mothing, similar I suppose to the June Gap for butterflies when there is a transition from spring to summer species.

Anyway, a few photos of recent moths from the garden.

Lime-speck Pug - the first Pug I have been able to easily identify.

Yellow-barred Brindle - These are greenish in colour when fresh and fade to yellowish.

Brimstone Moth - Smaller than the butterfly but even brighter yellow.

Angle Shades - from a different angle.

Muslin Moth - cute little fella.

The thing I am finding amazing is that despite living in this house for more than twenty years, with a few exceptions, I have never seen most of the species of moths that I am catching here before. Just goes to show what we miss during the hours of darkness.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[David M]

The thing I am finding amazing is that despite living in this house for more than twenty years, with a few exceptions, I have never seen most of the species of moths that I am catching here before. Just goes to show what we miss during the hours of darkness.

Indeed it does, Neil. Many of these moths you're posting images of are species I've never seen. Just goes to show what we miss during night-time.

[bugboy]

Just catching up on things here Neil. That trio of Orange-tips earlier is a superb capture, the slight blurring from movement I think helps add to the frenetic nature that we all know was happening in real life

[Wurzel]

Loving the Moffs Neil, especially the Lime-Speck Pug - it reminds me of the underwing markings of a Buzzard.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks for the comments David, Bugboy and Wurzel

Sunday 22nd May

After a wet and miserable Saturday, Sunday started of a bit better with some decent sunny spells albeit with plenty of cloud about still. So far this year, for various reasons, I had not been further afield than my local patch and with a cloudy but warmish afternoon forecast I decided to drive the forty odd minutes down the M40 to Bishops Hill.
My target there was Small Blue which have been doing well there over the past few years and sure enough, within feet of entering the site I saw half a dozen or so fluttering about. The conditions were cloudy with a temperatures around 18 or 19 degrees which was warm enough for the Small Blues to be active, but not too active. During the couple of hours that I spent here a couple of big black clouds came over and heralded a couple of short sharp showers which knocked the temperature down a few degrees and during which I sheltered under some trees but the Small Blues were soon active again when they passed and the clouds became lighter. All in all there must have been more than thirty of these delightful little butterflies flying, although as usual there seemed more but I was undoubtedly seeing some of them more than once.

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 22.05.2016

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 22.05.2016

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 22.05.2016

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 22.05.2016

One male looked to have a lot more blue scales on his wings than the rest and and really stood out when flying amongst the others,

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 22.05.2016

As well as the Small Blues there were also some Common Blues, all males from what I could see which indicated they have not been out long here.

Common Blue - Bishops Hill 22.05.2016

Common Blue - Bishops Hill 22.05.2016

Common Blues - Bishops Hill 22.05.2016

Common Blues - Bishops Hill 22.05.2016

This is usually a good site for Dingy Skippers and I did see a few but not as many as would be expected on a good sunny day here.

Dingy Skipper - Bishops Hill 22.05.2016

Dingy Skipper - Bishops Hill 22.05.2016

In previous years I have also seen Grizzled Skippers and Green Hairstreaks here but both of them only in small numbers and neither species put in an appearance this time.

Bye for now,

Neil

[millerd]

Lovely Small Blues, Neil. That one you picked out is exceptionally blue.

Dave

[trevor]

Lovely images, especially the Small Blues.
I saw plenty yesterday, but photographed none, they were supercharged !.
They must be the easiest Butterfly to lose sight of when on the wing.

[Wurzel]

Beautiful Blues Neil I've still to capture my first Common Blue on 'light sensor' (doesn't have quite the same ring does it )

Have a goodun

Wurzel