millerd

[millerd]

Thank you, Pauline. There are just so many to choose from, it's actually not difficult to get close. Such an attractive little butterfly.

Thursday 3rd May:
Something different was called for today on another promising sunny day. After the obligatory walk round my local circuit (more on that in a bit), I headed off to Bedfont Lakes Country Park. I started with the northern part, which is more artificial and manicured in places (they cut the grass and path edges...), though there are some wild bits. One leafy path is designated as a "nature area" and this did host the highest number of species, including over a dozen Brimstones (which have been largely absent lately on my local patch), plus Orange Tips, all three Whites and Speckled Woods. I checked another area for Green Hairstreaks, but saw none this time. Notably absent were Holly Blues, Commas and Peacocks.

I then drove round to the southern part of the Country Park; there is no connection and the main line to Windsor and Reading cuts through the middle. Right at the initial entrance gate, a Holly Blue was engrossed in sucking up salts from the damp ground - always a good sign.

Then just inside the Park proper I disturbed a Green Hairstreak from a clump of lush trefoil growing in an island of longer grass. I could only watch as it sailed up into the trees. I assume it was a female laying eggs on the plant. I then walked to the railway and back, seeing good numbers of Holly Blues this time, plus various whites and a few Brimstones. However, on the return to the start, I disturbed another Green Hairstreak. This one was on a dogwood bush, and despite all my close attention with the camera, there was no way this one was leaving the shrub.

It too was laying eggs on the flower buds, and it was not difficult to find the little pale turquoise jewels tucked down between them.

In the end I had to leave one of the most amenable subjects I have ever come across, but it was a very satisfying encounter.

More from my local patch shortly - female Holly Blues are on the rise!

Dave

[David M]

I'm not surprised you were reluctant to leave, Dave. It's not everyday you witness this behaviour and even better that she's in such good condition. I will look forward to the female Holly Blues.

[Wurzel]

Fantastic Greenstreak shots Dave - a great sequence from adult to egg And of course the Holly Blue, I've still not seen one mud-puddling

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[bugboy]

You can have a load of these for those Hairstreaks

[Katrina]

Yes from me too great photos

[millerd]

It was one of those almost perfect butterfly moments, David. It's not often your subject sticks around quite so persistently as that, and doing something interesting to boot!

Thank you Wurzel - I was needless to say pleased with the photos. Mud-puddling Holly Blues are quite common in these parts where partly shaded damp patches remain on paths in sunny weather. They are almost invariably newly emerged males.

Very kind, Buggy Now you know I I feel when I see your White Admiral caterpillars and other early stages. You have great patience - not my strong suit.

Thank you too, Katrina!

May 3rd - some more. Before (and after) the trip to Bedfont Lakes, I had the obligatory look at my local patch. I would say that GVW and Holly Blues were running neck and neck today, with a couple of dozen of each at least. The weather must have suited Orange Tips as well, as there were more today than on any day so far this year - approaching 20 I'd say. A few Brimstones were back too, but nowhere near as many as at Bedfont.

One difference today was that perhaps a third of the Holly Blues were females. The first of these I spotted on the hedgerow a minute or two from home, very early on before the sun was too strong.

There were others too, mostly quite new, and still some new-looking males.

I watched some interactive behaviour between Orange Tips. I've noticed that sometimes when rebuffed by a female, the male goes and sits a little way off, still hopeful.

On this occasion he sprang to attention again when an interloper appeared.

Meanwhile the female slunk off into the brambles. However, I'd encountered another female a bit earlier on.

Cuckoo flower in not a common plant on my patch with only isolated small clumps and one larger area by the lake. However, a female Orange Tip had found the most isolated bit.

A few others seen today:

Star of the day here, though:

Dave

[bugboy]

You couldn't get a fresher looking female HB than that last one. I'm gonna have to have a browse of your patch sometime I think to experience the wonder of your Holly Blues in person!

[trevor]

What can one say, other than great stuff !.

[Wurzel]

There's got to be more to this than just whispering or cologne Dave, I swear that you went down to the crossroads at midnight and made a deal with a red, goatee bearded individual in order to get Holly Blue shots like that I count myself lucky to get one or two reasonable shots of this species a season and you seem to do it day in and day out during their flight

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

We bemoan the lack of butterfly species in the UK, Dave, but with a bit of patience you can observe some wonderful things with those we’ve got, and you have done precisely that. I’d kill for such intimate encounters such as your Holly Blues. I see them regularly near me but it’s a rare treat to witness them at such close quarters as you seem to do by default!

[millerd]

You'd be welcome, Buggy - that will be the day they all hide away of course...

Thanks, Trevor!

You've sussed it, Wurzel... and you really don't want to know what the rest of the bargain was.

Part of the equation is the sheer number of Holly Blues I'm seeing, David. By far the majority of them, especially after about 10 on a warm sunny day, are flying higher up and don't settle anywhere close. However, early in the morning and especially on cool sunny mornings after overnight rain, they start the day by coming down and basking on low shrubs and even on the grass. They can also be seen sucking up dew from the leaves, and fresh males frequently take salts from damp patches along the paths. When females are laying, they behave a bit like Brown Hairstreaks and can be found quite far into shaded bits of the chosen plant, and after achieving their aim they come out into the sun for a rest and a warm-up. This can be low down, and if you spot one you can almost guarantee it will open up at least a bit at some point. Both sexes will also bask before they roost in the evening, though not so much on a hot day. The spring brood seem to roost round here in the ivy-covered trees where they fed as larvae in the autumn.

Friday 4th May: the day turned out sunnier than expected and I made a last minute decision to go down to Noar Hill before the bank holiday weekend traffic made things difficult. Several other folk had the same idea, including Neil Hulme crossing the county line from West Sussex.

It wasn't too long before I encountered my first Duke - which turned out to be a Duchess.

She didn't hang about long, but I soon found several others (all males).

During the morning I saw perhaps nine or ten Dukes: strangely, there were no Dingy Skippers around, unusual as I always associate early visits to this site with seeing both species. In fact there was not a lot else flying and the Dukes outnumbered all the other species seen. One Green Hairstreak, a few Brimstones and Whites, and a handful of Orange Tips. I came across one of the latter which I took to be newly-emerged as it was distinctly floppy and very clean and bright in appearance.

However, the day belonged to the Dukes.

Dave

[millerd]

Saturday 5th May required me to be at home, so I went out early and late on my local patch, and at least in the morning it was relatively cool! As usual, Holly Blues were everywhere, with increasing numbers of females. With so many, I could concentrate on certain aspects of behaviour. I've noticed before that it's not unusual for two butterflies to sit close together - almost uncomfortably so. I'm not sure why this is.

With so many females around now, I also witnessed the rejection behaviour typical of this species (and of Silver-studded Blues too), where the female rapidly flutters her wings at the male and then drops into the foliage.

I saw a variation on the mud-puddling activity today, with one butterfly down on the grass apparently drinking from drops of dew.

The sun was very strong and any basking individuals didn't open up far.

I tried shading one, and sure enough she opened wider - I had to do quite a bit of fiddling with the photo to produce this image!

There was interest on the GVW front as well. A very small white butterfly fluttered up from the grass, and at first I thought it was an aberrant Holly Blue as it was the same size. However, once perched, it turned out to be the tiniest female GVW I've ever seen. The first shot doesn't show this at all, but as luck would have it, the butterfly moved onto a spray of cow parsley and was immediately accosted by a male of the same species. He seemed huge in comparison - the male is only very slightly nearer the camera than the female. You can see she wasn't having any truck with this as her abdomen is characteristically raised.

There were some other nice GVW poses as well.

Finally of note was a female Speckled Wood I encountered late on. She was so new that from certain angles to the light, there was an almost purple iridescence on the wings.

Aside from these standout snippets, there were still plenty of Orange Tips, Whites and Brimstones flying.

There is still more variety at home than at the specialist species locations. It's always worth going out.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cracking Dukes from Friday Dave I was there today but it was so hot they kept their wings tightly shut to prevent themselves getting too hot And even more envy inducing Holly Blues

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

That was beginning to happen a bit with the Dukes when I left on Friday too, Wurzel, and on Sunday when I saw them elsewhere, it was very prevalent. Not easy being a spring butterfly when the season oscillates back and forth between winter and summer with barely a day or two in between.

Sunday 6th May. A glorious summer's day, and a look at the M25 at around half eight reinforced my plan to head north today, rather than south. It only took 40 minutes to get to the visitor centre up on Dunstable Downs. Kites were already being flown as I headed straight down to the bottom of the hill, then along to the Whipsnade end and back along the diagonal (far less steep!) path to the top.

It is this path that can abound with butterflies, and I soon encountered a couple of Green Hairstreaks.

These were swiftly followed by a number of Dukes, madly dashing after each other in characteristic spiral tussles.

There were no Skippers (which I had hoped to find) and only a modest selection of commoner species.

After a refill of the water bottle courtesy of the NT, I drove on the short distance to Totternhoe for what turned out to be more of the same - At least half a dozen Dukes in two distinct areas, and three Green Hairstreaks very widely spread out.

Brimstones were in good numbers here, with a fair number of Orange Tips too, but again no Skippers. As at Noar Hill, not seeing a Dingy or two along with the Dukes seemed very strange. A somewhat ragged Small Tortoiseshell put in a surprise appearance near the car park - I haven't seen any at home for a few weeks now - and I did see the outing's only Holly Blue.

As usually happens I took the scenic route back along the bottom of the Chilterns, and the prominent mass of Ivinghoe Beacon beckoned along with visions of the ice cream van in the car park. By now, things were unsurprisingly busy, and it was only by dint of inventing a car park space that I managed to stop. Many of the folk up there in their (in my humble opinion only you understand) vastly oversized cars would never have made it. Suitably refreshed and renewed, I headed for the gully to the left before the final climb to the top, and quickly found another couple of Dukes. The first I saw had suffered some kind of congenital deformity, giving it a very curious appearance. It could fly perfectly well and had many a squabble with the other one.

Once again - no Skippers, and once again a Green Hairstreak.

Back home, much later on, I ambled round my local patch, hoping for a few roosting butterflies. However, even at 6pm it remained hot and all I found asleep was a single female Orange Tip. the males, the usual contingent of Holly Blues and even a few Brimstones were all still rushing madly about. Time to put my feet up at least...

Dave

[Wurzel]

Flippin hell Dave you're making retirement sounds exhausting Fabulous Dukes and Greenstreaks, too many great shots to nominate a fave

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

Well I shall nominate mine which is that fabulous image of the Green Hairstreak egg-laying

[bugboy]

I want to be retired

[Goldie M]

Just catching up on your shots Dave, fantastic Goldie

[David M]

That's quite some Bank Holiday weekend you had there, Dave. You saw more than I have all year by the looks of things.

[millerd]

Thanks, Wurzel and Bugboy - yes, retirement is exhausting, especially in the hot weather. To be recommended, however...

Thank you Pauline - she was rather splendid, wasn't she!

Thanks, Goldie - the weather's been just brilliant, which does help!

Not a bad few days, David, though it's been a bit too warm again here in the southeast.

Tuesday 8th May. Another sunny and hot day, so an early start was called for again. South to Denbies this time, and the curse of the M25 meant it took far longer than it should have done. However, by complete serendipity this also meant I arrived at exactly the same moment as Susie, who was on her first major butterfly outing of the year. Good to see you as always, Susie!

Green Hairstreaks were in their usual spot by the steps, with around half a dozen in the area and another couple at the top of the slope in the grass.

On a slow walk across the hillside and back, I saw both Dingy and Grizzled Skippers, with six or seven of the former and ten or so of the latter. They were very mobile and spent very little time settled, so photos were a bit sparse.

On the far side of the hill, there were two new Small Heaths, my first of the year.

I had just enough time for a fleeting look at the Small Copper hotspot at Bookham, but there were none around, little of anything in fact apart from this very small, but attractive, moth.

Dave