www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Love the Skipper inside the flower Mike Goldie

love that Large Skipper shot Mike - it's mining for gold The Tern shot is pretty cracking too

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Back down to the Erith Marshes &c. after a weekend break. It is very quiet bird-wise so it looks like I made the right decision to focus on Butterflies &c. I'm certainly enjoying it.

There seem to be a few more Green-Veined White Butterflies about again although perhaps I just haven't noticed them recently.

There are lots of Small Tortoiseshell and Large Skipper Butterflies.

A few more Meadow Brown Butterflies are appearing and hopefully the first Gatekeeper Butterfly will be with us very soon.

And it's always nice to see the Common Blue Butterflies.

Other Butterflies seen include Speckled Woods and Commas.

Goldie M & Wurzel:

I have just noticed I didn't thank you for the kind comments on the commentary dated Friday 13 June. So Sorry and Thank You.

Proving to myself that I don't need to travel far to see Butterflies, recent local sightings have included:

Gatekeepers viz.:
[ii] (first ever) Ringlets viz.:
and [iii] (first-ever) Small Coppers viz.:
So now; twenty-three species for the year in pursuit of my target of twenty-five.

But that doesn't seem to matter anymore since I have really enjoyed my recent Butterflying, Butterfly-Watching, Butterfly-Spotting (call it what you will) activities with some species knowingly seen for the first time viz. Ringlets and Small Coppers.

Love the Small Copper shot Mike. If you can get to some good Down Land in the next few weeks you should be able to pick off the last couple of species to meet your target easily - what are you planning for next year

Have a goodun
Wurzel

Dear Wurzel: thanks.
A crocked knee has restricted my travel recently but I'm hoping to get out and about more soon so that should help me reach the twenty-five and probably beyond.
Next year? To enjoy myself as much as I have over the past couple of months! With Birds, Butterflies and Wild Plants (not that I know much about any of them) there will always be something unexpected, new &c.

A first ever trip yesterday to Fackenham Down (in Kent); the slopes are very, very steep. Thankfully it's all downhill on the way back to the car!

Butterflies seen included: Chalk Hill Blue (first ever ~ see below), Marbled White (first ever ~ see below), Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Ringlet, Brimstone, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell (see below), Comma &c.
And tomorrow; probably back down to the local Marshes &c.

Lovely smoky winged Chalk Hill Mike I like teh way that your shots capture the butterflies in their element. That's the one thing with my macro lens - it's close up pretty much all the way

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Dear Wurzel; Thanks very much.
I very much like your pictures too …..

A very pleasant if albeit warm day on the Erith Marshes; thankfully I had a large bottle of Lemon Barley Drink with me.

And very satisfactory, by my undemanding standards at least, in terms of Butterflies &c. seen.

These included:

Lots of Gatekeeper Butterflies; see one below on Common Ragwort in company with a Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar:
Quite a few Meadow Brown Butterflies (see two below):
A Holly Blue Butterfly (see below):
And one of many Small White Butterflies (see below):
Other Butterflies seen: Green-Veined Whites, Speckled Woods, Common Blues, Small/Essex Skippers (unsure of actual individual identities) and two Red Admirals.

And in addition to the Butterflies, I came across a Jersey Tiger Moth. I first saw one yesterday; I had never heard of them before! And now; another one today (in flight, they put me in mind of Red Admirals).

That Jersey Tiger is great Mike - I don't think I've ever seen one

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wurzel: thanks ….

Probably a last update for the year with my attention increasingly focused on Birds again; bringing once again the seemingly ever-present anxieties &c. concerning identification.

But with regard to Butterflies; during a trip to Rainham Marshes yesterday we spotted a Clouded Yellow Butterfly, a (female) Common Blue Butterfly and a Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly (see below):
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time Butterfly Watching this year and have managed twenty-nine different species (twenty-two locally); including many new ones for me.

I'm looking forward to seeing a similar number next year; and, if this year has been anything to go by, thoroughly enjoying myself again!

PS … we also saw the Spotted Crake currently residing on Rainham Marshes; if albeit at a tidy distance ...

Just catching up Mike and yes, great jersey Tiger (I have never seen one either). It has been a great season hasn't it . Enjoy your birding but be sure to come back

Yippee.

Off we go again.

Lots of Birds and Bees but not many Butterflies. Yet.

After seeing a Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly and a Red Admiral Butterfly wizzing past me yesterday (my first Butterflies of 2015) it was lovely to see some Butterflies resting today.

During a visit to the Gardens at Hall Place (in Bexley) we were fortunate to see two, possibly three Small Tortoiseshells and a single Red Admiral.

After something of a famine I hit the jackpot today with two Butterflies; namely a Peacock Butterfly (my first of the year) and a Green-Veined White Butterfly (again, my first of the year).

Both were seen close to the Thames Path in the Crossness area.

And thankfully, I managed a couple of pictures of the Green-Veined White Butterfly:
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I'm now looking forward to seeing what some hopefully more settled weather in April will bring.

Great stuff, Mike. If Green Veined Whites are out, we can be sure that within the next couple of weeks OTs, Small Coppers, Speckled Woods et al will soon be delighting us!

David: Thanks.

I hadn't really expected anything in terms of Butterflies yesterday, concentrating on Birds, Wild Flowers, other Little Critters and a couple of Seals swimming in the Outfall of the Sewage Treatment Works. And then while walking back to the car I spotted the G-VW (difficult to photograph without crashing down a very steep slope!) and added the Peacock after being told where one might be.

Yup; I'm looking forward to Butterfly Watching/Spotting this year and hoping I'll be lucky as I was last year.

Wishing you luck too ~ kind regards ~ Mike ...

That's a great find Mike - you've started the season off at a sprint!

Have a goodun

Wurzel