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To day at Chobham Common lots of Painted ladies, 11 Small skippers, 5 Grayling. Grayling well camouflaged, on the ground. Also possible Essex skipper? Could anyone confirm or otherwise please. Comments welcome. It was nice meeting you Jack at Bold Hill the other day. Went back next day still no luck with Silver spotted skippers.
Cheers

Sezar

Hi Felix,

There are still Grayling at Draycott Sleights, but very few of them.

I think at Stoke Camp they may be caught between managing for different species of blue - it seems to be suiting Small Blue rather better than Chalkhill now. This may be by design as Small Blue was the rarer of the two species in Somerset a few years ago.

Did the little moth, Pyrausta cingulata, occur at Draycott when you used to visit the place?

Now that's a question..! It has been some years since I visited. That's the little Crambid with the lateral cream bar isn't it? I can't recall for certain but i would hesitate to say that I do not recall seeing it. I would have to dig out my old diaries to be certain though as I would have made a note had I encountered it...

Felix.

Saw the following at 2 locations in Dorking, Surrey

Meadow Brown
Gatekeeper
Silver-washed Fritillary
Painted Lady
Brown Argus
Common Blue
Holly Blue
Small White
Large White
Green Veined White
Brimstone
Red Admiral
Comma
Peacock
White Admiral (very worn)
Speckled Wood
(All the above at the lower end of Box Hill)
Clouded Yellow (My first in the UK)
Chalkhill Blue
Small Copper (Possibly)
(the above all at Denbies Hillside)

By the way does anyone in the Surrey/Hampshire border area know where I can find a definite Small Copper and a Small Heath. These are proving to be quite a problem this year.

Paul

There are definitely small heath and small copper at Denbies. I have seen these very recently.

Saw the following at 2 sites in Dorking, Surrey today

Large White
Small White
Green-veined White
Brimstone
Comma
Red Admiral
Peacock
Painted Lady
White Admiral (very worn)
Silver-washed Fritillary
Speckled Wood
Gatekeeper
Meadow Brown
Brown Argus
(All the above at the lower end of Box Hill)
Clouded Yellow (my first in the UK but also, as I couldn't focus the camera quickly enough, my worst butterfly ever)
Chalkhill Blue
(Possible) Small Copper
(the above 3 on Denbies Hillside)

Whilst writing, does anyone in the Hampshire/Surrey Border area know where I can reliably find a Small Copper and Small Heath. I am having quite a good year so far but can't find these, two which I thought would be relatively easy.

Paul

Sorry, posted twice - not trying to impress anyone - just messed up!

Thanks for the advice Susie

All the best

Paul

Hi Sezar,

Your Skipper is a female which makes it more difficult, but I do not think the tips of the antenna are black enough to be an Essex Skipper. I would therefore have to go for Small Skipper in this case. As always a second opinion would always be helpful.

Cheers,

Vince

Hi all,

I paid another visit to Colley Hill, north of Reigate, Surrey on Monday 3rd to see how the Silver Spotted Skippers were doing. I saw around 20, two of which were females. There were similar numbers of Chalkhill Blue but these seem to be down on previous years. The highlight for me however was a nice fresh Dingy Skipper, clearly a second-brood individual. Be warned that the Silver Spotted Skippers and Chalkhills are only to be found at the base of the hill and the slopes are so steep as to be dangerous. There is a spot in the south-eastern sector which is not quite so precarious and easily accessable. I can post directions if anyone needs them.

Cheers,

Vince.

VinceM wrote:

Be warned that the Silver Spotted Skippers and Chalkhills are only to be found at the base of the hill and the slopes are so steep as to be dangerous.

That sounds the ideal place to test if my “Geranium Bronze” leg has fully recovered (Some might recall that I got a leg injury last Autumn when I tripped on some steps and crashed into a wall while chasing a Geranium Bronze; I ended up in hospital). The leg is OK now, but excessively rough ground and very steep hills are off the agenda; in my 65th year of butterflying, I am old enough to be allowed some excuses. I am even entitled to be a “Grumpy Old Man”

Jack

Vince M wrote:Hi Sezar,

Your Skipper is a female which makes it more difficult, but I do not think the tips of the antenna are black enough to be an Essex Skipper. I would therefore have to go for Small Skipper in this case. As always a second opinion would always be helpful.

Cheers,

Vince

Thanks Vince

Cheers

Sezar

Matsukaze wrote:Hi Felix,

There are still Grayling at Draycott Sleights, but very few of them.

I think at Stoke Camp they may be caught between managing for different species of blue - it seems to be suiting Small Blue rather better than Chalkhill now. This may be by design as Small Blue was the rarer of the two species in Somerset a few years ago.

I have visited the Sleights a few times recently but have seen no grayling at all. There were first brood wall near the top earlier this year.

It hadn't occurred to me that Stoke Camp was being actively managed for small blue but it makes sense, since the Sleights nearby appear to be favouring chalkhill which are doing quite well there, no doubt assisted by the grazing sheep. Meanwhile, I saw at least a dozen second brood small blue at Stoke Camp when I visited on August 2nd, but only a single chalkhill.

Red admirals galore here, same with Painted Ladies. Saw several more peacock butterflies than I have been seeing which was nice. Here is a shot of a painted lady and a peacock I got earlier:

Peacock at rest under some trees:


Resting Painted Lady:


Saw today total:

Mountstewart Gardens:

2 Male GV Whites
40+ Red Admirals (was being swarmed by them so I gave up counting)
5 Peacock Butterflies
4 Meadow Browns
40+ Painted Ladies
1 Female large white

My Garden:

3 Red Admirals
4 Small Whites (one badly damaged)
5 Large Whites

Splendid sighting today in Tesco car park. My current car (Citroen C1) plus the model (Morris Eight) that was my first ever car 50 years ago.

Sorry to be off topic, but I got quite excited when I returned to my car and found what was parked next to me.

Jack

Has anyone seen any second brood adonis blues yet, i am on holiday next week and i am planning a trip down south to see chalkhill blue and silver spotted skipper, if i can see all three it would be terrific, i was too early for the first brood of adonis when i went to Goring for the clubtail dragonfly.

Colin.

jackharr wrote:Splendid sighting today in Tesco car park. My current car (Citroen C1) plus the model (Morris Eight) that was my first ever car 50 years ago.

Sorry to be off topic, but I got quite excited when I returned to my car and found what was parked next to me.

Jack

Great Jack as you say, I did drive one of those in late fiftys once but as I remember with some difficulty. Sorry joining off topic.

Sezar

hammer wrote:Has anyone seen any second brood adonis blues yet, i am on holiday next week and i am planning a trip down south to see chalkhill blue and silver spotted skipper, if i can see all three it would be terrific, i was too early for the first brood of adonis when i went to Goring for the clubtail dragonfly.

Colin.

I've not heard of any sightings thus far ...

Keep an eye on the Hampshire and Dorset websites.

Cheers,

- Pete

They are being reported at Durlston.
http://www.durlston.co.uk/index.php?nid=2&id=1
Look at the daily diary.

Denise

Hi Eccles,

Grayling at Draycott Sleights, 6 August 2006 (below). They were seen there in 2007, not sure about since, one way or the other. The population must always have been very small and possibly the weather in the last couple of years has tipped them over the edge.
Interesting about the sheep grazing at Draycott. Summer-grazing sheep and Small Blue do not mix - sheep eat the flowerheads of the kidney vetch and take out the caterpillars. Either they do not graze horseshoe vetch or their grazing of it does not harm the Chalkhill or Adonis caterpillars (which will not be feeding on the flowerheads).

Went out for a 2 mile walk around where I live and saw:

20 or so Large Whites
Several GV Whites (One female)
15 Painted Ladies
6 Small Tortoiseshell
5 Meadow Brown (All worn)
1 Ringlet (bit worn)
2 Silver Y (Dark Form)
4 Holly Blues
3 Red Admirals
1 Peacock Butterfly

I did notice something odd though. I saw a butterfly which I knew was a large white male and it looked a little smaller than usual because a normal sized male large white came along and landed beside it and it was bigger.

Peacock Butterfly:


GV White Male:


Large White Male: