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On Tuesday (yesterday) I had a spare afternoon, so I headed back down to the Lydden Temple Ewell reserve. This is one of the best sites I know for Silver Spotted Skippers, and there has been a splendid emergence since my last visit a couple weeks ago. They are now abundant, with many hundreds, or more likely thousands, on site. Sometimes, whole clumps of Skippers would shot past, in pursuit of mates or rivals, and they make a wonderful sight in the late-summer sunshine. Most of the Chalkhill Blues are now worn, and their numbers are now rapidly declining. However, a good sprinkling of fresh Adonis Blues have now emerged, though they weren’t posing for picture-taking! But here are a couple I’m happy with, including this mating pair.

Hi! essex, I seem to miss them every year when in Kent, I'm just too early for them, love the shot of the Adonis, hope fully I'll get them next year Goldie

essexbuzzard wrote: ↑Wed Aug 19, 2020 9:31 pm On Tuesday (yesterday) I had a spare afternoon, so I headed back down to the Lydden Temple Ewell reserve. This is one of the best sites I know for Silver Spotted Skippers, and there has been a splendid emergence since my last visit a couple weeks ago. They are now abundant, with many hundreds, or more likely thousands, on site.

Those are serious numbers, Mark. Must be wonderful to see so many at a single site.

Nice to see fresh Adonis Blues return for their late summer flight period. There's still plenty to keep us interested.

That first female is an absolute stunner Essex They are fantastic when fresh and that one looks in mint condish and you've caught the light perfectly on it = gurt lush

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Thanks Goldie. The problem is, if you visit during the Adonis Blue season, you would miss the Chalkhill Blues, Heath Fritillaries and other stuff you saw in July. That would change if you moved down, of course...

Thanks David. Seeing Silver Spotted Skippers is special anyway, but the numbers here are phenomenal. Surely one of the very best sites in Britain, for these and other butterflies!

Thanks Wurzel. Yes, she was a lovely looking adult, and well behaved, too, posing nicely.

On Sunday, it was time for my last visit to Aston Rowant of the year. My main target this time was the chiltern gentian, as they weren’t out a couple of weeks ago. They were soon found,on the southern side, I have never seen them on the north side. They are attractive, if unspectacular flowers of the end of summer and early autumn, and are special to this area.

Chiltern gentians. Aston Rowant had an end of season feel to it, with far fewer Silver Spotted Skippers and other species than last time, and most of these were rather worn. It must be said, though, that the weather wasn’t very good. We also found three Adonis Blues, though none were worthy of photography. It’s time to accept the inevitable. Ravens were much in evidence. Up to 9 together at one point, and they gave us a cracking display of synchronised flying and gliding. They are clearly much at home here, despite being a fairly recent re-colonist. They were the highlight of the day, along with the Chiltern gentians.

Yesterday I had a spare afternoon, so I headed back to the Lydden Temple Ewell reserve in Kent. Having had sunshine most of the way down, I arrived to thunder and torrential rain! However, during the few sunny spells before and after, I saw far more Silver Spotted Skippers than I had the day before at Aston Rowant. They were in better condition, too. Adonis Blues were about too, though only in low numbers. Had the weather been better, though, I may have seen more. Buzzards have again bred successfully, producing two young. They have found a wonderful place to set up home, and the young have found their wings far more quickly here than in the flat, arable countryside where I live. The slope offers commanding views and excellent updrafts in which to practice their flying skills. There is an abundance of food, including rabbits, here too!

Hello Essex ,My findings were much as yours at Temple Ewell , I was there a couple of days back,started out early ,still very high numbers of Chalkhill Blues ,all past their best, on the wing ,the Adonis Blues ,seemed to take to the wing a bit later than the Chalkhills ,but when
they did get going ,found a reasonable number nearly all males...............very few females !
As you say plenty of Silver Spots still about (a pretty good season !) but i only saw 1 fresh individual ,Common Blues and Brown Args (very few !)
all well past there best ,but some very fresh looking Meadow Browns . also plenty of Autumn Ladies tresses.
I wondered what the irritating " squeaky gate " noise was ,which carried on all the time i was there ,i did wonder if it was young Buzzards !
Didn,t manage any Wartbiters did you ??
Do you ever have any problems with Dogs up there ,i was rushed by a big black job ,last time i was there , it stopped me in my tracks......it
was followed a few seconds later ,by an out of breath owner......................who just about managed to control it (after some antics )
about three weeks back ,i watched a lercher ,chasing the cattle ,it was some time before the owner could control the mutt ,and both came VERY
very close to getting kicked for their trouble !
Regards Allan.W.

Hi Allan, I echo most of what you say, though I have never seen wartbiters there myself.

Silver Spotted Skippers have had a fabulous season there, especially at the Lydden end. A sprinkling of Adonis Blues, though not as many as in spring. The weather was much better then, though!

Never had any problems with dogs there myself, but don’t get me started on out of control dogs and their owners.

A male Clouded yellow was present, too.

This is one of the very best sites I visit, both for wildlife and scenery!

Fair play for your determination to continue following that storm, Mark. Good to see your Silver Spotted Skippers are so numerous and that last 'electric' blue Adonis was worth the drenching on its own.

On bank holiday Monday, it was time for probably my last trip to the Lydden Temple Ewell reserve in Kent

All three Whites were found at the Temple Ewell end. Most numerous by far were Small Whites. Meadow Browns were still abundant, having long gone from the meadows where I live. Adonis Blues were present throughout this large reserve, but not in high numbers. Most were already showing their age, but there were a few good ones. Perhaps the most remarkable thing I saw here was this Jersey tiger moth. When I saw it in flight, I thought it was a Painted Lady. Never knowingly seen this moth before so, although a little tattered, was a good sighting. Numbers of Silver Spotted Skippers have crashed, and were much harder to find, having been abundant a week ago. So I’ll finish with this habit picture, which clearly shows the blue hue of Devils-bit scabious. Makes you wonder what would happen if a few Marsh Fritillaries were introduced.

You mentioned an 'end of season feel' in one of your recent posts, definitely had that feel at Mill hill yesterday, had to work hard to find anything that didn't look close to the end of its short life. A couple of freshly minted Cloudies gave me the run around before heading north so perhaps they think there's still some life left in the season. I also echo your Jersey Tiger looking like a Painted Lady, that's always my first instinct when one flies past. It's been an incredable year for them, I always see some at work but I had 10 flying around me at one point this summer! Hopefully bump into you in the coming weeks when the LTB start emerging

Lovely set of posts and images Essex There is a definite 'winding down' feel in the air at the moment though there's still time for a bit of rallying - fingers crossed

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

essexbuzzard wrote: ↑Fri Sep 04, 2020 9:09 pm...Most numerous by far were Small Whites.

They're having a good late summer period round my way too, Mark. Wish I could say the same about Large and Green Veined.

That's a very nicely marked Meadow Brown, by the way. Quite reminiscent of those found in the south of France.

Welcome to autumn. This is the season when we see things wind down. Bright days can still be warm at first, but the rapidly diminishing day length brings an inevitable decline in sightings. However, if the weather is kind, there should still be a few new emerging broods , Clouded Yellow, Small Coppers and Walls, and maybe even a few Common Blues. However, last year there was not a single spell of warm, dry weather after mid September, and very little of note was seen after. In contrast, the autumn of 2017 was so good, I saw 7 species of butterflies on 1 November! And by then, we are just a few weeks from the shortest day.

So, it’s time for a visit to Bedford’s Park. Getting there early, the first thing I found was this Painted Lady, by far the best one of the half-dozen I’ve seen this year. This is a good Small Copper site, and several were found, some worn, some fresh. It was nice to see a couple of third generation Large Whites. Here is a female, a most attractive insect. Surprisingly, I only found one Comma, this is usually a good place for them. If the weather holds, I will return in a couple of weeks, to see if numbers have increased.

Cracking set of shots Essex - a for the Small Copper Cracking shot that! Last year was a bit dismal at the end of the season - it was suddenly all over and just fizzled out Hopefully things might be a bit better this year.

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

essexbuzzard wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 9:55 pm...Getting there early, the first thing I found was this Painted Lady, by far the best one of the half-dozen I’ve seen this year.

That one's mint, Mark. You can see a lustre on the hindwings so it must be exceedingly fresh.

I reckon I'm still to hit a dozen in 2020, and that includes week long trips to southern France and Spain!!!

A particularly fresh Painted Lady, Mark. Lovely shot. Some eggs must have got themselves laid somehow earlier in the year! A typical upside-down Small Copper too!

Cheers,

Dave

On Tuesday, I headed down to Sussex. Knowing I was late to the party, I still headed first to Whitehawk Hill. It took until lunchtime to brighten up, and the LTB were disappointing, with just a couple of very worn males seen, barely recognisable by their scaleless wings. Though, of course, the underside is distinctive enough. A couple of Common Blues were in better condition. Thankfully, there are plenty of other sites nearby, so I headed to Shoreham beach. Here, in autumn, lizards love to bask on the old walls, and sometimes the newer ones as well. Nowhere else, do I see so many together. Then onto Mill Hill, where there was just time for a short visit. What amazed me more than anything was the staggering numbers of Common Blues, far more than I ever see here in spring of summer. Granted,most were worn, but there were a few good ones. A couple of Clouded Yellow were seen. Photo opportunities have eluded me this year, hopefully my chance will come in October. But there were still several Walls, in various stages of wear. Despite the disappointment with the LTB’s, this was still a good day.