www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Any bets on Pearls this week!!

I had a look in Abbot's Wood today Bob, not a sausage...... or a PBF for that matter. Hopefully not long now

BW's

B'saurus

I spent a splendid afternoon on the downs with Badgerbob today. The weather was marvellous and it started to get rather hot out of the wind. We saw plenty of Green Hairstreaks and I also saw my first Large White of 2014 fly past.
I'm delighted to say that I also saw my first Small Coppers and Dingy Skippers of the year as well. Strangely there was no sign of any Grizzled Skippers! Hopefully they will start to join the Dingy's on the wing soon. I only manage to get a couple of poor record shots of a Dingy and a Small Copper. Hopefully I'll manage to get some better images next time.
Then on the way home I stumbled upon a very fresh Speckled Wood basking in the late afternoon sun.
After that encounter I enjoyed walking the rest of the way home in the company of many a Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell and ever increasing numbers of Green Veined Whites.

A fabulous day

Oh yes and if you managed to find my diary it was great to meet you today Gary's mum

B'saurus

Lovely Green Hairstreak Rex - that Small Copper seems quite pale, but maybe it's just the light?

Thanks William the Small Copper had a worn patch on it's right fore wing. The other ones I saw today looked pristine but they were being too camera shy for me today.

I'm really looking forward to seeing some of your Green Hairstreak and Small Copper photos when you add them to your diary.

Nice photos Rex got a week off work next week and hoping to get out and look for some of these species myself.

Cheers,

Neil.

Things have really got going down here in Sussex Neil, I would imagine many other places in the UK will get under way too over the Easter period. With a whole week at your disposal I think the chances of you seeing these species are excellent. I'll be keeping an eye on your diary for the photos

Stunning Greenstreak Rex and Small Coppers too I so need to get back onto home turf look at what I'm missing out on!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Don't worry Wurzel you've got the Easter break coming up. If you're back by then it will all be waiting for you. Hopefully you'll see some really fresh Green Hairstreaks and Small coppers too.

badgerbob wrote:Any bets on Pearls this week!!

Good Friday?

Good to see you James and all the greenies. I will hopefully have a couple of pictures to put on when my computer returns from the computer Dr!!

badgerbob wrote:Good to see you James and all the greenies. I will hopefully have a couple of pictures to put on when my computer returns from the computer Dr!!

Great to see you as well Bob. What on earth have you done to that poor computer I'm really looking forward to seeing those photos when it's all fixed. I'll bet that Green Hairstreak photo is a real cracker.

B'saurus

Sadly I've not had much time to enjoy any Butterflying over the past couple of days but I did manage to spend an hour close to home this afternoon. I saw my first Holly Blues of the year, they flew past without stopping I spent most of the short time I had available looking for larva, my time was too limited to have a really thorough look around. I did spot a Small Tortoiseshell larval web, the caterpillars were only about 6mm long and a real challenge to photograph hand held, this is the best I could manage. It's always a privilege to see a brand new generation start it's journey.
I also saw plenty of adult Small Tort's, lot's of Peacocks, quite a few Green Veined and Small whites, 2 Orange Tips and a couple of Red Admirals.... Oh yes and how could I forget a few fresh Speckies too

B'saurus

Another quick flying visit today proved to be well worth the effort as I managed to see my first Grizzled Skipper of the year! I only managed a quick record shot but it was delightful to see one at last.
After seeing a few Dingy Skippers the last time I visited the site I was somewhat surprised to find only a single specimen today!
The numbers of Speckled Wood are increasing nicely around these parts too.
And finally the Green Hairstreaks were a little flighty today but one settled for me just long enough for me to grab a photo or two.
Not too bad for a hour and a half, I only wish I could have stayed longer.

B'saurus

Grrr. Everybody seems to be seeing Green Hairstreaks except me!!!

I hope to put that right this Easter weekend.

What do you mean "see a Grizzled Skipper at last"? They've only just started coming on strong and I've still to see a Greenstreak, Dingy Skipper and a Duke Honestly some people - they don't know they're born Great shots - what's up with the Dingy there seems to be some damage to the abdomen?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

David M wrote:Grrr. Everybody seems to be seeing Green Hairstreaks except me!!!

I hope to put that right this Easter weekend.

I hope you find some David, this is by far the earliest I've ever seen Green Hairstreaks. It must be the prolonged and unseasonably warm spell we've been having here in the south east. There have been quite a number of days where it's felt quite hot out of the breeze.

Good luck on your Easter search

Wurzel wrote:What do you mean "see a Grizzled Skipper at last"? They've only just started coming on strong and I've still to see a Greenstreak, Dingy Skipper and a Duke Honestly some people - they don't know they're born Great shots - what's up with the Dingy there seems to be some damage to the abdomen?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi Wurzel Yes I didn't explain myself very well there, what I should have said was, I've seen nothing but Dingies so far and that's quite unusual. The grizzlies are usually out first or at least at the same time in these parts. So my exclamation of "at last" really should have been something like "they've arrived" or something like that. With reports about them possibly having a poor year it was just a relief to see one. I'm not sure what up with the Dingy's abdomen, it did look extremely fresh. Maybe it had just pupated and not everything was in order yet?

ATB

B'saurus

Nice photos Rex

I must admit that I usually see the Dingys, Grizzlies, Greenstreaks etc. start to get posted on here and give it a couple of weeks to start looking around Warwickshire. Yes, there will always be the odd one or two spotted earlier but the season around here tends to be a week or two later than the South East.

Cheers,

Neil

Thanks Neil

Some sites have really sprung into life down here where as others have yet to get going. One spot in particular has already produced GHS's, Dingy Skippers, Grizzled Skipper, Small Copper Speckled Wood and Orange Tips. In stark contrast I made a brief visit to another local site that usually produces all of the above and I couldn't find any of them! I'm hoping that this will prolong the season here as the later sites start to come alive later on. It may well do the same thing in and around Warwickshire too.

All the best

B'saurus

No worries Rex - I'm made up as I got some Greenstreaks today with a side order of Grizzlie Now for those Dukes, Dingies, Coppers, Pearls...

Have a goodun

Wurzel