www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

No Chris, I only took the one pic of the caterpillar..think it was a single line down the back tho....i've checked a few sites but had no joy seeing anything like it..i'll look up your call tho...and yes the walks do take longer...but i suppose as winter draws in i'll be getting quicker again.
This is a good time of year this for birding even if the butterflies are getting harder to find.
Day at home today but still found time to spot a few flying around the garden enjoying the bright skies. (red admirals and whites) Oh and a vey large moth that flew over without landing ...sort of large white size and dark in colour.....no idea what it was tho.

Short trip to Cliffe Pooles in Kent today with Curlew Sandpiper on the agenda..found 13 of the little fellas early doors. Butterflies were hard to come by today..a few whites, red admiral and a single small heath but very dissapointing....did see one in flight across the pools at Tilbury which was very yellow but it never settled to ID it..could have just been a yellow ish white?. or that elusive clouded yellow. (i'll never know)
Did pick up yellow legged gull at Tilbury though so worth the trip.
(Other birds seen: Avocet, Ruff, Greenshank, Redshank, Spotted redshank, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Bar and black wits etc etc)

Brian Anderson wrote:did see one in flight across the pools at Tilbury which was very yellow but it never settled to ID it..could have just been a yellow ish white?. or that elusive clouded yellow. (i'll never know)

Orange would be the first colour to mind if you saw a Clouded Yellow at a distance. They're a far, far deeper colour than male Brimstones.

I'd call it mustard yellow.

Cheers

Lee

Yep, wishful thinking i guess.....i think i saw clouded yellow a couple of years back whilst birding along the sea wall at Brightlinsea but at that point i had no idea/appreciation for what i was looking at.....so if I stumbled across them once I'm sure i can again....here's hoping I have the camera with me next time.

thanks for your continued tips guys

David M wrote:They're a far, far deeper colour than male Brimstones.

Just one caveat for you, Brian - there's also the helice form of the female Clouded Yellow, which is very pale! See below:
Mike

Thanks for that, i can see these are going to bring similar challenges as some of the bird groups........bring it on!
TWO WEEKS OFF NOW
Refurb work to do on my sons house but i'm going to find some time for myself to get out with the camera. Watch this space!

Brian Anderson wrote:i can see these are going to bring similar challenges as some of the bird groups........bring it on!

Ha, and you thought Acro's and immature gulls were fun...female blues, flying whites, canopy height hairstreaks...just wait till you get into moths!!!!

MikeOxon wrote:

David M wrote:They're a far, far deeper colour than male Brimstones.

Just one caveat for you, Brian - there's also the helice form of the female Clouded Yellow, which is very pale!

Mike

Very true, Mike.

Anyone who spots one of those in this country passes 'GO' ten times and wins 2 hotels on Mayfair!

I'm probably talking twaddle...but that pic of helice Clouded Yellow has markings/wing shape very much like Pale Clouded Yellow...any thoughts either way anybody?

Gibster.

Hi Gibster,
You can see through the forewing that the thick black margin (continuation of black apex area) runs much of the way down the wing margin..... which means it's helice. In PCY and BCY this dark margin rapidly thins away from the apex.
Neil

So it does. At least my level of twaddle is up to scratch, if not my butterfly ID!!!

Knee deep in bricks and associated dust....Flash floods whilst we're patching up the roof following a chimney coming down......And yes i'd rather be walking with my camera!
I have to say this site is such an education.....i'm learning daily about things i'd not heard off....."pale clouded yellow, helice!" i think i'm going to have to push the delete button to make room in the brain for this stuff.
Thanks for all the advise guys...i'm sure it will pay off one day.

another day on the refurbishment Friday, pulling down the old ceiling and it has to be the dirtiest job imaginable!....50 years of dust all coming down on me!......i must be mad giving up my holiday to do this for my son when i could be walking the coast and all the fresh air that brings.
Whilst pulling down the ceiling i found the wasp nest pictures below (well acually my son found it and took a few hits for his trouble.
During a rare break for coffee i also noticed a lovely red admiral in the garden so grabbed the camera for a quick pic.
Off to Norfolk Sunday for a couple of days...here's hoping!

Short Essex trip today to see if I could catch a local Wryneck, which i did.
picked up a little pic of it (a record shot and a first for the year) and on the walk back found a sleeping dragonfly. (ID welcome?)
Early start tomorrow up to Titchwell. (Planned the trip for a while but now it's this close i can't help hoping the little bittern hangs about for another day)

Hi Brian.
The dragonfly in your picture is a male Migrant Hawker.This is often the last of the larger dragonflies to be seen in autumn.
Love the Wryneck pic-i've never seen one in the county.
Regards,Mark.

Thanks for that.....saw loads of the same Dragon flies whilst at Titchwell on Sunday. Caught up with a rarity too as the LITTLE Bittern stayed and waited for me. (Count of 103 birds for the day, always nice to break the ton) Really windy up there so the only butterfly seen was a large white....treated to a new one for the garden at home this morning though as a speckled wood driften in and out sitting a while but not long enough for me to grab a camera.
Good trip to Titchwell, Cley and Sheringham.....really close good views of Curlew Sandpiper, couple of little stint, ten Spoonbill...watched a Peregrine take a Redshank and within ten minutes of that counted, Merlin, Kestrel, Sprawk, Marsh Harrier and Hobby and when added to the Buzzard seen on the way in made for a nice raptor count.
Strange to see a Black Swan come in off the see too at Sheringham too.
Dipped out on the KGV Sabines gull...ouch (only 5 miles from home).

Trip to Dungeness today. Missed the long tailed skua but did find a Greater Flamingo (i'll let the experts decide if it flew over on the recent high winds(if Cranes and Spoonbills can then i suppose it'll not be long before Flamingos do too) or has escaped from some collection somewhere)
Lot's of birds getting ready for the big off down there...Wheatears, Warblers. swallows and martins galore!
As for butterflies two small coppers, a common blue and lot;s of whites down there. Got home and the speckled wood was in the garden again with a passing red admiral and more whites abound.
Included a couple of pics of Dungeness as it's one of the strangest places with the random collections in everybodies garden etc.

Boxhill, Burgess Hill and Brighton run on Friday, Peacock, Lot's of Whites, 2 Small Coppers, 2 meadow browns and my first Wall.
Today a quick trip to Colne Point to pick up a lifer....Pallid Harrier! and a bonus Short eared owl too!....weather Friday was great..today couldn't have been wetter...got soaked waiting for the harrier to fly but it was worth it.

Another trip this morning down to Dungeness. Few hours sea watch presented a balearic shearwater and a black throated diver along with a good few arctic skuas and a black turn. A walk round the observatory provided good views of 3 black redstart and we found a robin trapped in a net which was duly removed by the warden once reported. A pit stop for coffee and a bacon roll was followed by a search for Rose Coloured Starling in which we failed but whilst sitting outside the Britannia I observed Small and Large Whites, Red Admirals, Painted Ladies, Small Heaths and a Peacock. Of note was several Humming bird hawkmoths feeding in the garden opposite the pub. I managed a couple of pics but they are a little difficult to lock on. On the way out we had good views of Black necked grebe on ARC pit and 3 Marsh Harrier at close quarter.
A good at the office all round.