www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

That's an excellent 'spot' to find a White Admiral nectaring on buddleia, Wurzel.

Never seen that before.

I was going to say ' nice one ' with that WA on Buddleia , but your Graylings with an uncluttered
background make it two nice one's.
I would like to visit Shipton next year, some precise directions to the site would be good.
It's just about do-able in a day from here.

All the best,
TREVOR.

At least the Graylings let you get better shots of them with going onto the white setting Wurzel But I like the White Admiral on the Buddliea best lovely shots Goldie

Some excellant recent posts Wurzel. That mating Gatekeeper shot is particularly vibrant. I notice you have a Red Admiral with a whits spot on the red forwing band, there's several of of those abs on various PD recently I've noticed.

Cheers David It was a new one for me too
Cheers Trevor I'll PM the details for Shipton as soon as I've gotten my work back under control
Cheers Goldie I was doubly happy with the WA shot, but more was to come
Cheers Bugboy I've only seen a few Red Admirals so far this year and most seem to have the White spot - is it ab.bialba

Day out by the sea Part 2 02-08-2015

It was now decision time... Lulworth was crossed off as the skippers are not in good nick there as this time in the season, plus I’m not sure long hill walks would have been popular with little L. Corfe Castle went the same way as Lulworth for similar reasons plus I’m not sure how large a population there is present there. In the end we plumped for Durlston. I have fond memories of this reserve as it’s produced my only Arctic Skua, my only British Red-backed Shrike as well as my first ever male Pied Flycatcher. However I’ve never been butterflying here before. So while getting change for the parking I asked the warden and suggested a few areas (which amounted to pretty much everywhere! ).

We set off to the Meadow just behind the learning centre and it was a fantastic sight. The cream of the taller grasses intermingled with the yellows and purples of the flowers. It was stunning. This was actually supposed to be a recee for a visit with Philzoid the following day but the butterflies were so numerous I still ended up with a bucket load of shots.
The Lulworths that were fresh were easy to distinguish from the Smessex present. The females had the clear crescent moon and males had an olive like colouration. In fact I soon noticed that even the faded ones weren’t too tricky to differentiate as Smessex seem to go a pale, creamy orange as they get older. Lulworths however seem to get darker and more olive with greenish thorax hairs. Also they’re smaller in size, more gregarious and seem to keep lower down in the vegetation. So with some useful field craft learnt we carried on, leaving the meadows and strolling down through the closely cropped grass towards Tilly Whim. On the way there was the odd Marbled White and Meadow Brown as well as the occasional Lulworth. The girls loved the climb down to the raised beach with the Lighthouse on one side and Tilly Whim Caves on the other. I pointed out the ‘gully’ cutting inland from here which is great for migrants acting almost like a natural Heligoland Trap and funnelling them in off the sea. As if to prove my point a Painted Lady flapped in and took nectar briefly before flying off (more strongly now it seemed?) straight up the gully. We then strolled up and along the coastal path stopping occasionally to admire the view. Even here there were Lulworths plus a second generation Small Blue. We eventually made it to the Castle and the odd Painted Lady and Red Admiral on the buddleia diverted my attention from the sea rescue going on just past Peveril Point. So what had meant to be a trip to the seaside and a quick recce had finished up being a fantastic trip with a wealth of butterflies – 20 species in all. But most importantly the girls had a fantastic time and were raving all the way home and all the way to bed!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Great Shots Wurzel once again, I must visit Lulworth again, it was May when I went there last no Lulworth Skippers then, May be July some time in the future Goldie

Hi Wurzel, great report and photos from Durlston

Interesting comment about the gully funnelling migrants in off the sea, I have seen Clouded Yellows coming in there in previous years just like you describe the Painted Lady doing. I was also there last week and saw another Clouded Yellow heading up the gully, stopping very briefly to nectar along the way.

Cheers,

Neil.

A brilliant day at Durlston by the look of your terrific photos, Wurzel, only two days after I was there with Elliot following our trip to the beach at Studland. I was impressed by all the Lulworths as well! A stunning bit of coastline.

Dave

Cheers Goldie July is probably your best bet in case the're late or early emerging as July will still be well within their flight period
Cheers Neil It's a surprise (but shouldn't be really) that such different organisms take advantage of the same geographical features
Cheers Dave It's a cracking site, I'd forgotten how good it was so a visit next year is a must

Shipton Bellinger 03-08-2015

With the weather reports suggesting slightly more sun (actually some), no black cloud and warmer temperatures it seemed Shipton rather than Durlston would be a better bet for my meet up with Philzoid. True this would mean a postponement of Lulworths for Philzoid and my reccee visit the day before might be the only chance of Lulworths for me in 2015. However there was always the possibility that we would find a cracking fresh Brostreak. When we met in the car park Philzoid had already had enough drving so a further 20 minutes to Shipton was preferably to an hour plus to Durlston.

Once there we set off up the main track with Holly Blues and Meadow Browns doing their best to trick us into believing that they were Brostreaks. Annoyingly there were no Brostreaks along the path and before we knew it we we’d arrived at the main field to be greeted by a strange sight. There in the field were a collection of thrushes. If this had been November onwards I would have been confident that they were Fieldfares but they didn’t have the black markings. It turned out that they were Mistle Thrushes – I’ve seen small family groups before but never an entire flock!

We set the girls up and then started working our way along the ‘Hedge hotspot’ peering into the leaves and checking each and every orange leaf. It seemed very quiet despite the good numbers of Holly Blues and the occasional Peacock and Comma bolstering the Hedgies and Meadow Browns. I realised what was missing – the Blues and Brown Argus that were here in large numbers last year. Perhaps we’re earlier than the Dog Show and the lack of faeces has meant the Blues are elsewhere? As we walked we chatted and it was only our return back that we struck gold. For their, up quite high, was a Brostreak and judging by the honeyed colour it was a male. My guess was confirmed when it started to open its wings. It took off but luckily it landed lower down and this time it opened its wings out wide. It was immaculate and stunning, my best male Brostreak ever! After some time it flitted off leaving us with our jaws dragging on the floor and rubbing our eyes in disbelief. Had that just happened? Checking back the camera yep it had. We strolled around a bit more up and down the hedge and then found a second and possibly a third. Three males this early in the season down at the lower levels is a pretty good tally! After about three hours which had only felt like 30 minutes we started back down the track. As we bumbled along we’d stop every now and again for the occasional nicely presented butterfly but I was still mesmerised by the Brostreaks so I didn’t take as many shots as I usually would have. Before I knew it we were back near the car park and the girls were in the play park, their reward for letting Philzoid and I get on with the serious butterflying! From here it was still relatively early and so we packed everyone into the cars and drove over to my Duke site to see whether there were any Chalkhills about? The usual bare ground near where I park didn’t have any blues on it at all which I thought was surprising. We did find some fresh Common Blues slightly further in but all was quiet. It wasn’t until we were working along the main track towards my Duke hotspot that we started seeing plenty f butterflies. We broke off the path and waded into the long grasses. All around us were Common Blues, Brown Argus, Small Heaths, Meadow browns and the occasional Chalkhills. There were also a few DGFs still flying and they were their usual flighty self. The best butterfly here though was a lovely Small Copper with the slightest of blue badges.
All too quickly time was up and we had to say our farewells and make our way home. As we walked back a few Chalkhills flew up right near the car and when I turned to try and signal to Philzoid he was waist deep in grass and deeply engrossed so it looks like he had as a great a time as I had.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Some great images of male Brostreaks there, Wurzel.

They NEVER descend so low at my site in west Wales, so I can only look on with envy at your close encounters.

Those are staggering male Brown Hairstreak photos, Wurzel. I've still yet to see a male closer than the top of an ash tree, but those are absolutely stunning. Impossible to beat unless you get one like that with an open-wing female next to it. There's a target for you!

Dave

Indeed! The first person to post male and female Brostreaks side by side should win an award!

Have just been catching up with your diary after a recent abstention from UKB to sort out my holiday photos from France. A great and accurate report from Durlston and as you know I did get to go there myself and may get around to doing a post for the winter months. As in your report the butterflies were there in good numbers: Lulworths; Marbled Whites; Walls and Painted lady's, and although I didn't see any rare bird species, I did get to see the 'green beast of Durlston' a female Great Green Bush-cricket which was well worth the trip on its own .

The male Brown Hairstreaks at Shipton were magnificent examples of this species .... we did get lucky . I also got some good pics of my own of the Small Copper at the duke site, as well as DGF's and a Dusky Sallow moth. A great day all round . I look forward to seeing what Brostreak delights we'll have lined up for us next year, although Dave's challenge may be pushing it a bit too far

Trevor.

It's really good to be able to read posts from better times now that the season is drawing to its close!

You had a great day at Durlston - on my last couple of visits I found Lulworths quite hard to find. Also, those photos of BH are truly splendid - I've never experienced such pristine males - and with open wings too

Mike

Seriously, that last MALE Brown Hairstreak image is a prize winner, i think it's the same one you
cruelly left us to drool over whilst on your hols. There's a well known Guy who lives in West Sussex,
who is known for his exquisite photography and i think he would be hard pushed to beat that.
So i will have to leave some more mrgreens .

All the best,
Trevor.

I'll Second Trevor on the Greens Wurzel Fantastic shots, I hope when I do finally see a BH it's in the condition your's was in but I couldn't get a better shot Wurzel Goldie

Absolutely wonderful Brown Hairstreaks Wurzel! I've not done very well with those at all this year. I will have to invite you down here to show me how it's done. I did see my first ever male BHS a few weeks ago though! That's not a frequent occurrence in these parts so I was well chuffed. Anyway my quest to photograph a really pristine BHS will have to continue next year.

All the best

James

Cheers for your kind comments Dave and David. Do the shots below, if seen as a montage, count as 75% towards the target set? Cheers Philzoid Looking forward to the Holiday report I reckon Shipton will deliver next year
Cheers Mike I got lucky at Durlston as everything has run a bit later than recently this year
Cheers Goldie and Trevor for your very kind comments
Cheers Rex I'll trade you some Brostreak secrets for some LTBs inside info

Have a goodun

Wurezl

Excellent effort to get male and female in the same frame, Wurzel.

It helps, of course, if these insects are nectaring which, sadly, they never do in west Wales.