www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Your third Meadow Brown is an amazing creature, Neil. I don't think I've ever seen one so liberally splattered with orange in the UK!

Well done with the Small Skipper too. They disappeared quite a while back near me.

Looks like you had a good trip to Cornwall, Neil and those Meadow Browns are simply stunning

Mike

Thanks for the comments Wurzel, David and Mike. It is easy to overlook the Meadow Browns when there is more exciting stuff about but they certainly warrant a bit of time, especially when there seems to be so many with the extra orange on them around lately.

Cornwall - August 19th to 26th...part 5

Before going down to Cornwall, Sarah had seen something on the TV about the Lost Gardens of Heligan and asked if we could go there. Jane and my Mom also liked the sound of these gardens and so it was that on Thursday morning after breakfast went to visit them. They are located not far from Mevagissy which was about a 90 minute drive from where we were staying at Kennack Sands.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan were 'rediscovered' in 1990 after being neglected and forgotten about for decades, apparently since the end of WW1 when so many young men were lost that there was a shortage of labour to look after this kind of estate.

http://heligan.com/the-story/introduction/

As well as the restored gardens there is also a farm and walks around the larger estate that consist of woodland and meadows and a farm that has some rare breeds. Whilst Jane and my Mom kept to the better paths around the flowers gardens and farm, Sarah, Frankie and myself explored further afield around the estate which consisted of some quite steep paths through woodland.
Of course, I had my eye out for butterflies and spotted a number of species including all three Common Whites, Small Tortoiseshells and Red Admirals around the grounds, particularly in the flower gardens plus numerous Speckled Wood along the woodland paths.
During the week I also saw plenty of birds about including lots of Swallows that were gathering before migrating south. Others included Wheatears, Stonechats, Ravens, Kestrels and Peregrine Falcons. I spotted one particular Peregrine regularly at the northern end of Kennack Sands where the path goes up and over the top of the cliffs but it was always too fast or too far away to get a photo.

I am not really a birder but I think I have got the IDs of the two below right but if I haven't would welcome corrections.
The Little Egret below was one of a pair that were just other side of the rocks to the south side of the Beach at Kennack Sands, just yards from the crowded beach.
That's the last report from our holiday in Cornwall, a great week that was thoroughly enjoyed by all of us. Sarah and Frankie are already asking when they can go back.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Hi Neil,
Great reports from a fantastic part of the world. Shame I missed you by a day!
BWs, Neil

What a brilliant set of photos from your Cornish trip, Neil. As Buggy said earlier, definitely on the wish list of places to visit next year, possibly more than once!

Dave

Cracking set of images from the Lost Gardens Neil - it looks like a brilliant place to visit

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks Neil,
Yes, it was a shame we missed...I didn't realise you had been down there until I came back and read you own excellent reports.

Thanks Dave,
I have been fortunate to have been down there twice this year, first in early June (Marsh Frits, 1st brood SPBF and more) and then again for this family holiday. I would certainly recommend a visit around either time.

Cheers Wurzel,
The Lost Gardens are well worth a visit, you can easily spend a good day wandering around the grounds.

Just before I continue, one more photo from Cornwall that I forgot to put in the last report.

On the Wednesday afternoon I was walking down the lane from the caravan site to towards the beach at Kennack Sands when something shot out of the verge to my left and landed on the tarmac in front of me. At first I thought it was some grass that had been blown across but when it moved I noticed it looked like the biggest grasshopper I have ever seen. It was in fact a Great Green Bush Cricket, the first adult version of these I have seen although I have seen smaller nymphs before. Those living down south may see these thing regularly but we quite simply don't see these around my patch and I was impressed by the size of it.
I took a couple of photos before moving it back into the vegetation before it got squashed by a passing car or possibly became a tasty snack for one of the many birds around.
Saturday 2nd September.

Back to work for the past week, or rather 4 days because of the bank holiday which was spent mainly catching up on job around the house and garden.
My butterfly fix for the past week has come in the afternoons after work in the garden with Red Admirals, Comma, Large and Small Whites, Holly Blues and Speckled Woods all being there at some point.
The same Comma has been hanging around for the past few days feeding up on the overripe blackberries at the bottom of the garden.
Right then, off to Dorset in the morning for a few days

Bye for now,m

Neil.

Great garden shots Neil Looking forward to your Dorset report

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading your reports from Cornwall Neil (can I come next time? ) and seeing your lovely photos. Looking forward to the Dorset ones

Me too. And yes, you have the bird id's correct. The wheatears are preparing to migrate south, but the stonechats stay.

So you found the lost gardens of Hellegan? Esther rather likes it there...

Those gardens in Cornwall look beautiful, Neil, as do the butterflies, especially that Comma posing face down on the tree trunk.

You're bringing back some lovely memories of our family holidays in Cornwall there Neil, it's been a very long time since I was last there. Great images as usual. Now that you're heading off to Dorset you'll be stirring up even more great memories, I lived there for several years during the 90s. Looks like you're all having a fantastic time.

Best wishes

James

Thanks for the comments Wurzel, Pauline, Mark, David and James We all did indeed have a great week.

Dorset - September 3rd to 7th part 1.

Jane and myself returned home yesterday from our last trip of the season, a few days spent down in Dorset staying in a B&B in Lulworth Cove. Anyone who has read my diary over the past few years will know that we have been down there around the end of August and beginning of September a few times previously, although we didn't make it last year, choosing a week in Cornwall instead.
Having missed our Dorset trip last year I was determined to spend a few days there this year and although we also had our family holiday in Cornwall booked for August, I had also managed to sort my time off work to give me the opportunity for a few days in the first week of September. We usually aim for around this time as it coincides with the kids first week back at school after the summer holidays and so it is a little bit quieter...and of course Adonis Blues usually peak here around this time. Mind you, given the season this year with many species seeming to have been flying a bit earlier, particularly down south, I was wondering what we would find.

So it was that we arrived at our B&B on Sunday (3rd) afternoon after a gloomy drive down through almost constant rain. The forecast for the next few days looked to offer a mix of mostly cloud with some sunny spells but one of the staff at our B&B told us not to take any notice of the forecasts as they were never right for the Lulworth area...what a surprise!

As it turned out, Monday (4th) wasn't too bad, mostly cloudy but warm. We popped into Weymouth on the morning so that Jane could visit a couple of shops that she likes there and then stopped off for an hour in Osmington before heading back to Lulworth where I had a walk up Bindon Hill later on the afternoon.
Tuesday (5th) was cloudy and drizzly which turned to proper rain in the afternoon before clearing to a nice sunny early evening. We had a drive into Swanage on the morning and then went round to spend most of the of the day at RSPB Arne. Back at Lulworth later in the afternoon and with the skies clearing, I had a walk over Hambury Tout to Durdle Door.
Wednesday (6th) was the best day weather-wise with a mix of cloud and decent sunny spells. After breakfast I went to Durdle Door again for a couple of hours before returning for a cream tea with Jane. We had already agreed that if the weather was ok that I could make the most of it and go off butterflying again for the afternoon so I took the opportunity to go to Osmington again which in previous years has proved to be one of the best butterfly sites around this area, and so it happily proved to be again.

A total of 16 species of butterfly were seen, most of them across all the sites visited. More details on these to come but to start with...

Adonis Blues.

Living in the midlands, this is a species that have to travel to see and over the past few years I have enjoyed them in good numbers at various sites during my late season visits to Dorset. Missing our trip last year meant that I missed seeing this species in 2016 and so I was keen to catch up with their glorious shade of bright blue this year. In truth, I was unsure how long they would have been on the wing this season with some early emergences of many species being reported, but as their normal flight period here usually extends through September, I was hopeful to find some in good condition still.
I was well chuffed to find loads, in all sorts of conditions from well worn and faded to nice and fresh looking still. The first ones were seen on the Monday during the short stop at Osmington on the way back from Weymouth, followed later in the afternoon by some more up on Bindon Hill. On both of these occasions it was cloudy and quite breezy but nevertheless around 15-20 Adonis Blues were seen at each site.
On one occasion on Bindon Hill I watched a male chase a female into the grass and after a quick couple of seconds the male moved into position and they joined together. I must admit, I was quite surprised at how quickly it all happened with hardly any courtship as such.
My second visit to Durdle Door on the Wednesday morning produced more butterflies than the day before including more Adonis Blues with maybe 30+ seen on the slopes and sheltered hollows above the famous rock arch.
In previous years, the slopes along the path from Osmington Village to White Horse Hill have produced good numbers of Adonis Blues and so it proved to be again. My second visit on the Wednesday afternoon saw me seeing them all over the hillside, easily 100+ and probably many more as I find doing an accurate count when they are flying all over the place next to impossible and I would much rather just enjoy the experience of seeing them.
As at all the sites visited, males outnumbered females but there were plenty of the latter flying, most of which were predominately brown with a variable but light scattering of blue scales. The example below being typical of most of those seen.
One particular female at Osmington caught my eye by having much more blue on all four wings, probably the bluest female Adonis I have ever seen.
Chalk Hill Blues.

My past visits to Bindon Hill have often produced some Chalk Hill Blues and during my last visit at the beginning of September 2015 there were plenty of surprisingly fresh examples still flying there. I was curious therefore to see if any were still around this time and sure enough there were a few individuals still hanging in there, no more than 5 or 6 at most. It seemed like a few more but it was a bit breezy up on the hillside and I am sure I counted the same individuals more than once as they were blown some considerable distance across the hill if they ventured far above the grass. Most of these were well past it and looking really tatty and faded although there were a couple of 'middle-aged' looking individuals still flying.
More to come in the next report with some of the other species seen...

Neil.

That's a proper kaleidoscope of blue, and that is a real stunner of a female Adonis!

Agreed Bugboy, I can't recall seeing that much blue on a female Adonis Durdle Door is, in my humble/biased opinion the greatest place on Earth so any reports from anywhere remotely near there always pique my interest Good to see you're living up to the county motto; 'Who's afeard' and ignoring the forecast and getting out there, I think we should offer you honorary Dorsetian status

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Beautiful Adonis, Neil, especially the blue females. That last one is stunning.

Dave

Wow! That Adonis female looks almost ceronus-like. Beautiful specimen.

Thanks all for the comments ...that blue female certainly stood out from the crowd

Wurzel wrote:... I think we should offer you honorary Dorsetian status :lol

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel, I feel truly honoured


Dorset - September 3rd to 7th part 2.

In general, numbers of the other species of butterfly were not as high as I have seen in previous visits to this part of Dorset but this can be accounted for by the weather which had turned wetter and cooler just before we went down. Also, for most of the time the wind was coming from the wrong direction for migrants which would explain my lack of sightings of Painted Lady and Hummingbird Hawk Moth, both of which I usually see down there. Mind you, I did see both of these the other week in Cornwall.
Nevertheless, as well as the Adonis Blues, some species were flying in good numbers, particularly on the Wednesday (6th) when we had some decent warm sunny periods.

Small Whites were easily the most numerous of the three common species, being seen everywhere in all conditions except when it was raining. I was surprised at how many I saw still flying in really quite dull cloudy weather although it often felt warm and muggy still.
Large Whites were also seen just about everywhere but not as numerous as the Small whites.
There were usually a few around the clumps of valerian at Lulworth cove including in the small (and getting quite overgrown) wildlife garden by the visitor centre where the female below was seen. She spent some time adopting this rejection pose even though the only other butterflies around her were a couple of male Small Whites that did not show the slightest bit of interest in her. I guess just seeing their colour was enough to trigger the response.
In one of my previous posts from Cornwall, I mentioned that over the years I have found some sites that are usually reliable in producing Clouded Yellows. Two of these sites are at Durdle Door and Osmington and sure enough they produced the goods this time with single examples at both. I saw the first one at Durdle Door on the Tuesday when I walked to the slopes above the rock arch in the late afternoon when the skies cleared after a wet day. This one was flitting about fairly slowly and settling regularly on the patches of bramble there, perhaps looking for a spot to roost up for the night. I have noticed before that underneath bramble leaves is a favoured roosting spot for this species where their underside markings blend in remarkably well.
When I went back to Durdle Door the following morning there was a Clouded Yellow flying about far more actively. I suspect that this was the same individual from the previous evening but couldn't get close enough to confirm one way or the other.
There was also at least one and possibly two Clouded Yellows flying at Osmington on the Wednesday afternoon but in the warmer conditions they were much more active and kept well out of reach.

Brown Argus were seen at Bindon Hill, Durdle Door and Osmington, just a few at each site and mostly worn and faded. It wasn't until I saw the first of these that I realised that this species had somehow passed me by this year and that these were the first I had seen this season.
Common Blues were also present at all three sites, again mostly worn and faded but a few fresh looking females were amongst them, particularly at Osmington where it could be difficult to tell them from the Adonis females without a good close up look.
I am always pleased to see Small Coppers and these also showed up at all three sites. Some were looking worse for wear but there were some nice fresh examples amongst them.
I spent some time watching one particulaly nice fresh blue spotted female as she moved around the hillside at Osmington.
A few Graylings were still around at Durdle Door although not as many as I have seen here on previous visits and I didn't find any on Bindon Hill this time.
Meadow Browns were flying at all three sites in good numbers, including some fresh looking examples. I have commented before about seeing increased numbers of females with extended orange patches on all four wings and found an example like this at Osmington.
A couple of nice fresh looking Commas were seen at Osmington patrolling along the first part of the path through the hedgerows before it opens out across the hillside.
Other species seen but not photographed (or in some cases I just got really ropey record shots) included a few each of Green-veined Whites, Speckled Wood, Small Heath, Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral, all of which were seen at all three sites visited, and a single Peacock was seen at Osmington.

I mentioned in the last report that I had seen 16 species but I must have miscounted or forgotten about one because, including the Adonis and Chalk Hill blues in the previous post, I have just counted them up to 17.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Another nice (and increasingly autumnal) selection, Neil. That second Large White seems more strongly marked than usual, and the Common Blue female is attractively patterned - this species has pretty well disappeared round here now, so it's great to see a fresh one.

Dave

Great report again Neil, really envious of the Cloudies Need to get to the coast and hope that the storms haven't finished them off

Have a goodun

Wurzel