millerd wrote: ↑Tue Sep 05, 2023 5:03 pm...I reckon the "rules" regarding Brown Hairstreak behaviour need to be treated with a bit more scepticism these days, David. The males are frequently seen nectaring low down and do not spend their lives up in ash trees, the species can be found low down soon after 9 a.m., and the weather doesn't have to be warm and sunny for them to fly.
You can also add regional variations in behaviour to that, Dave. Both sexes are almost never seen nectaring in this part of Wales, and certainly the females will be active in cloudy and cool conditions (I've seen them in temperatures as low as 14c).
Saturday 2nd September – Couldn’t resist.…
Given the improvement in the weather, I was unable to resist the temptation of paying a return visit to Teifi Marshes. My first visit was in predominantly cloudy conditions, with temperatures maxing out at just 16c and a fair breeze blowing. I wanted to see what would be about in near perfect conditions, as today was 24c, scarcely any cloud and barely a sniff of wind.
It was a real pleasure driving there on near empty roads in the sunshine with the roof down on my car, and when I arrived at 10.15am I was eager to see what I could find as conditions were excellent:
Once again, I spotted a Brown Hairstreak high in an oak tree within 5 minutes. I decided not to bother trying to photograph it as I was sure I’d see plenty more. Instead, I took aim at this very late male Hedge Brown that suddenly appeared near my feet:
Then, within a couple of minutes, I disturbed another Brown Hairstreak in the grass nearby. This one was near-perfect, which is quite surprising given the date:
I followed her for around ten minutes as she didn’t appear to be in a hurry to do much. She posed nicely on the tip of a fern:
Then she settled on a bramble leaf and probed it for fluids:
Eventually, she flew up into the trees and I continued my circuit, coming across a third Brown Hairstreak on the opposite side of the meadow:
Then, as had happened on my previous visit, none were seen for over an hour. I had to content myself with this striking Comma:
This Peacock was on the same buddleia every single time I passed by:
I saw one more
betulae in flight before I decided to head back to my car. However, I was in for a big surprise on the way out – there was another female at the bottom of the steps leading down from the visitor centre:
Another was sighted whilst walking back along the path to the car park and just before I got there I stopped to take an image of this Small Tortoiseshell:
I was in this area when a small butterfly caught my eye:
Amazingly, it was a seventh female
betulae flying from the open meadow towards the tree cover on the opposite side.
So, once again, searching for this species proved to be feast and famine. Three were seen within 40 minutes at the beginning, and another three within quarter of an hour at the end. In between was a two hour gap with just one seen in-flight.
I was a little disappointed not to get to double figures (which would have been a first for me) but a total of 14 over two separate visits within 3 days is not something to complain about.