www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Speckled Wood

Thank you Wurzel, they're one of my favourites too

Yesterday I spent my lunch hour over at a local patch where I had seen plenty of Speklies the day before. I went there with the intention of trying to take a few artsy and atmospheric shots of this late season S W bounty.

They are now one of the few fresh looking Butterflies still to be found in my local area.

I started with a standard side shot to get my eye in. Then I waited for one to land in a suitable spot for my attempt to capture something a little more moody.
Just before I returned I saw a female SW being courted within an inch of her life by an extremely amorous male, it quickly became far too much for her and she swooned at her suitors feet. Then after all that hard work he suddenly gave up on her to go and fight another passing male The female SW quickly regained her composure and flew off no doubt wondering what on earth had just happened!
If only all my lunch hours were this exciting

Nice photos Rex, amazing how she 'played dead' to get rid of him

Mike

Maximus wrote:Nice photos Rex, amazing how she 'played dead' to get rid of him

Mike

Thanks Mike, yes it did make me chuckle. No "not tonight dear I've got a headache" for her. More like "get lost can't you see I'm dead!"

Retrospective Diary part 2: MAY 2013

After this years cold and prolonged spring May proved to be rather hectic as the warmer weather arrived and everything seemed to emerge all at once. I admit that I couldn't really keep up with all the action and as a consequence I didn't manage to take as many photos this spring as I normally would have.
During the first week of May I managed to squeeze in a trip over to Hampshire to seek out the Duke of Burgundy at Noar Hill. The weather was absolutely perfect and the local people were very helpful and friendly. Some of us had travelled a considerable distance to get there and we were rewarded with pretty decent numbers of this cracking little butterfly.
The rest of the month was spent locally, but that was no bad thing, during one brief walk I managed to see 26 species! Possibly a new personal record for May.

Orange Tips and Green Hairstreaks are always high on my list in the spring time, there are some decent sites for Green Hairstreaks locally and most of the usual hotspots had decent numbers.
A few Hairstreaks were a little shy and decided to play a bit of peekaboo!
Despite Chasing the Orange tips around and realizing just how unfit I had become over the winter, I didn't manage to get a decent shot of an OT this year. This is about the best I could manage, I did enjoy running after them, they keep me in shape every spring
I saw quite a few Mother Shipton Moths this year, at a distance they fooled me into thinking they were Dingy Skippers.
If you read the first instalment of my "retrospective diary" you may recall the picture of the Small Tort laying eggs on Nettle.
I made a point of checking that spot as I passed by, sure enough after a short time the results of her labour were there happily munching away.
For years now I have awaited the spring arrival of the Holly Blue determined to get a decent photo of a fresh one. I've never managed to get a photograph of a Holly blue that I'm happy with, despite my best efforts I failed yet again! This is about the the best I could do, personally I find that even the notoriously difficult Wall Brown is easier to get a good photo of than these guys!
During late May I always try to get over to Abbots Wood for the Pearl Boardered Fritillary. In mid to late May we had some spells of cool and Cloudy weather that made macro photography a bit difficult. Numbers of PFB were definitely low at Abbots this year and they were mostly confined to one site. I did manage to get a couple of half decent shots, I really hope numbers improve there next year.
As well as The PBF I also saw my first fresh Peacocks of the year, there were also some Grizzled Skippers and Green Tiger Beetles at Abbots Wood.
And that's about it for May, it seemed to come and go in the blink of an eye but Spring had finally burst into life, and it was a big relief after that long cold winter.

B,saurus

Very nice shots Rex, seeing your spring posting brings it all back to me, how time flies I agree with you that Holly Blues are hard work, especially if you want an open wing shot

Mike

Maximus wrote:Very nice shots Rex, seeing your spring posting brings it all back to me, how time flies I agree with you that Holly Blues are hard work, especially if you want an open wing shot

Mike

Thank you Mike I couldn't agree more, looking back through my photos it feels like just weeks ago not months! I do have a couple of decent side shots of Holly blues but they are all quite worn and tired. In fact it was probably due to their advanced age that I managed to get any photos at all
I shall keep working at it, maybe I'll get lucky next year with a fresh one. Or in an even more likely scenario they will manage to drive me mad all over again

Great reminisce Rex and the side on shot of the Duke is lush I've just started compiling my Yearly Tally but first I've got about 7or 8 postings to do in my PD before I can catch up Looking forward to June

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wurzel wrote:Great reminisce Rex and the side on shot of the Duke is lush I've just started compiling my Yearly Tally but first I've got about 7or 8 postings to do in my PD before I can catch up Looking forward to June

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thank you Wurzel it's been nice to look back and remember the optimism and excitement that a new season brings. I'd never thought of doing a 'yearly tally' what a great idea. I look forward to seeing those 7 or 8 postings in your diary.. that'll be a treat

J

Hi Rex,

Some great photos there, certainly brings back memories of the season

Like Wurzel, I have a few posts to go yet to bring my diary up to date before I start thinking about looking back. Last year I think it was November time before I started to do a couple of retrospective posts, it helps to make the darker nights more bearable.

Cheers,

Neil F.

Lovely photos Rex, especially the female Speckled Wood flat on her side, never witnessed anything quite like it. Well done for capturing the moment. Great stuff.

All the best, Nick.

Butterflysaurus rex wrote:I saw quite a few Mother Shipton Moths this year, at a distance they fooled me into thinking they were Dingy Skippers.

For years now I have awaited the spring arrival of the Holly Blue determined to get a decent photo of a fresh one. I've never managed to get a photograph of a Holly blue that I'm happy with, despite my best efforts I failed yet again! This is about the the best I could do, personally I find that even the notoriously difficult Wall Brown is easier to get a good photo of than these guys!

Hi

I am enjoying reading your early retrospective Although I am hoping that the butterfly year still has a few surprises in store

I also seem to struggle with Holly Blue In fact, looking back, I have not managed a single Holly Blue photo They always seem to appear when I least expect them. When they do appear I am always unprepared. Mother Shiptons have had me fooled a few times this year as well.

Hi Neil, Thank you for the kind complement I am looking forward to seeing your retrospective posts, it certainly will make all of our nights more bearable to read them and recall what has been a really nice summer.
I think holding some things back to post during the cold dark winter months is a really great idea, it certainly cheers me up to see it and remember those warm summer days surrounded by the beauty of nature.

Hi Nick, I had never seen anything like it either, the whole show went on for what seemed like 4 or 5 minutes. She laid flat on the ground like that several times during the display. It was quite fascinating to watch, the male would bat her with his wings and they would occasionally be face to face before she would lie flat again. I think her behaviour was a definite rejection to his advances, he was a persistent little devil but all of his work were in vain on this occasion.

Hi Jack, I do hope we are in for a few nice end of season surprises. The weather has taken on a decidedly chilly and Autumnal feel here in the south east but I hope it will warm up a bit and maybe things will start to happen
I don't think were alone when it comes to struggling with Holly Blues, (small consolation I know) but I hope with patience and a lot of persistence we'll both crack it one day. I guess if it were all too easy it wouldn't be as much fun.. although it is very frustrating I must admit

Retrospective Diary Pt 3 JUNE 2013

This entry comes a little later than I intended due to ill health.

Considering the late spring I wondered if we would experience the "June gap" actually in the month of June or not! Looking back through my photos I can see that the answer was yes but with a few little surprises.

Every June I try to make a few trips to the BC Park Corner Heath / Rowland Wood reserve to try and find some Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaires. Unfortunately after last years dismal June the SPBF's were very thin on the ground and I worry if they'll be able to hang on there, I hope they can bounce back. The volunteers have done so much hard work improving this lovely reserve it would be a real tragedy if these great little butterflies were lost to Sussex once more.

As a result of this I did not manage to get a single photo of a PBF this year. Instead I had the consolation photos of an Adder and an Emperor Dragonfly.
June turned out to be great for bright and vibrant Poppy fields the like of which I have not seen in my area since my childhood.
This is all well and good but "where are the butterfly photos you ask?" Throughout the first half of June we had quite a few cool and cloudy days making things rather difficult. I found myself on more than one occasion 'wearing a jacket' braving the strong wind peering into the grass looking for sheltering Blues. On one such occasion I found a female Adonis sheltering from the inclement weather, I managed to get a photo or two without disturbing her.
And finally I reach the 'nice surprise' that I alluded to at the start of this entry, as the weather started to improve into what became the best period of summer weather for many a year I was delighted to find a local site with more Common Blues than I've seen for quite some time. I have heard some people say that CB's had not had a good year, well I'm pleased to say that no one told the very healthy population in my local area. Oddly the second brood of CB's didn't produce anything like the numbers I saw in June, in fact it was tiny in comparison. So to finish off this entry here are a couple of the Common Blue photos I took.
See you in July

B,saurus

Bit if a wait for your next post then Rex Lovely shots especially the hiding Adonis Wearing a jacket when looking for butterflies feels weird to me too,I reckon that if I'm comfortable with shirt sleeves rolled up then it's just about right for butterflies

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wurzel wrote:Bit if a wait for your next post then Rex Lovely shots especially the hiding Adonis Wearing a jacket when looking for butterflies feels weird to me too,I reckon that if I'm comfortable with shirt sleeves rolled up then it's just about right for butterflies

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I will try and get the next one out on time Wurzel although I think I'll probably be a little preoccupied searching for LTB's this week so another delay is quite possible. Wish me luck - I think I'm going to need it

Wurzel wrote:Wearing a jacket when looking for butterflies feels weird to me too,I reckon that if I'm comfortable with shirt sleeves rolled up then it's just about right for butterflies

Indeed. It feels quite wrong to be going out clad in a warm jacket in search of sun-worshipping insects!

Looks like we'll be able to cast the warm layers off for a few days (though this may prove the last time this year).

No need for our jackets today David we spent many fruitless hours searching for LTB's despite there being at least 15 of us searching. Oh well.... the weather was glorious and it was nice to see so many familiar faces.

AT LAST!

After several days searching, today I finally caught a glimpse of an extremely elusive (at least in Sussex) home grown Long tailed Blue. The encounter was very brief indeed and she (I think it's a female) was so active she quickly gave me the slip. All I could manage was a distant "record shot" but I'm still very chuffed to get a glimpse of one in my home county.

Apologies for the poor quality, it's been cropped at 100%
In the meantime my quest for a MUCH better shot continues................

Great spot, Rex. How far away from the 'main' site are you?

David M wrote:Great spot, Rex. How far away from the 'main' site are you?

Thanks David I would think I'm roughly between 60 or 70 miles away from the "main site"