Re: Neil Freeman
Posted: Tue May 15, 2018 7:26 pm
A bit of a catch up post from the weekend..although I feel a bit like the poor relation compared to all those lovely Dukes, Pearls etc I am seeing posted on other PDs
Saturday 12th May
The weekend arrived and it was back to normal...in other words, a decent sunny start to the morning but with clouds building rapidly to give a dull grey overcast for most of the day.
At least it was dry so between doing stuff around the house I did some pottering around the garden during which the occasional brighter spell - not quite sunny but a thinning of the cloud – produced a few butterflies.
A couple of the resident male Speckled Woods were in their usual corners but looking a bit worse for wear now,
A nice large female came wandering through and stopped to bask for a while before carrying on her way, right in front of the males who were that busy chasing each other about that they completely missed her.
At one point a worn and rather undersized male Green-veined White came fluttering along, it's weak flight in the cools conditions looking very much like that of a Wood White...I wish
The only other species seen today was a Holly Blue that actually stopped just long enough for me to get a quick photo, not exactly up to millerd standards but the closest I had got to one of these so far this year.
Sunday 13th May.
A similar start to the morning but today the clouds took longer to build up and they didn't form a complete blanket so there continued to be some good sunny spells which made for a much brighter and warmer day.
I did think about going out somewhere but with the more localised species such as Grizzled and Dingy Skippers and Small Blues only just beginning to be reported in Warwickshire I decided to leave it for another week or so to give a bit more time for numbers to build up. I also still have loads of stuff to do at home which at least means the brownie points are being topped up...but as usual I also managed to squeeze in a few sessions in the garden.
As well as the more worn examples, there were some better condition Speckled Woods about today, I counted at least four different males through the day by taking photos and comparing differences in condition and markings.
Another couple of females were seen, both of them different individuals to the one seen yesterday,
Green-veined Whites were far more active in the warmer conditions today and only occasionally stopped for a quick refuel, unlike the couple of Orange-tips I saw which didn't stop at all.
A female Holly Blue was fluttering around the Holly bushes in the garden and kept investigating the flower buds but was always hidden by leaves or shadows. She eventually came out and perched on a nearby Lilac and opened her wings about half way which enabled me to get a better photo than yesterdays before she carried on fluttering down the garden and over next door.
As well as the butterflies mentioned above, I also saw a couple each of Small and Large Whites during the day which like the Orange-tips were constantly flying and didn't settle once whilst I was watching them.
Back to work yesterday (Monday) and you guessed it, clear blue skies all day...and today
Bye for now,
Neil
Saturday 12th May
The weekend arrived and it was back to normal...in other words, a decent sunny start to the morning but with clouds building rapidly to give a dull grey overcast for most of the day.
At least it was dry so between doing stuff around the house I did some pottering around the garden during which the occasional brighter spell - not quite sunny but a thinning of the cloud – produced a few butterflies.
A couple of the resident male Speckled Woods were in their usual corners but looking a bit worse for wear now,
A nice large female came wandering through and stopped to bask for a while before carrying on her way, right in front of the males who were that busy chasing each other about that they completely missed her.
At one point a worn and rather undersized male Green-veined White came fluttering along, it's weak flight in the cools conditions looking very much like that of a Wood White...I wish
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
The only other species seen today was a Holly Blue that actually stopped just long enough for me to get a quick photo, not exactly up to millerd standards but the closest I had got to one of these so far this year.
Sunday 13th May.
A similar start to the morning but today the clouds took longer to build up and they didn't form a complete blanket so there continued to be some good sunny spells which made for a much brighter and warmer day.
I did think about going out somewhere but with the more localised species such as Grizzled and Dingy Skippers and Small Blues only just beginning to be reported in Warwickshire I decided to leave it for another week or so to give a bit more time for numbers to build up. I also still have loads of stuff to do at home which at least means the brownie points are being topped up...but as usual I also managed to squeeze in a few sessions in the garden.
As well as the more worn examples, there were some better condition Speckled Woods about today, I counted at least four different males through the day by taking photos and comparing differences in condition and markings.
Another couple of females were seen, both of them different individuals to the one seen yesterday,
Green-veined Whites were far more active in the warmer conditions today and only occasionally stopped for a quick refuel, unlike the couple of Orange-tips I saw which didn't stop at all.
A female Holly Blue was fluttering around the Holly bushes in the garden and kept investigating the flower buds but was always hidden by leaves or shadows. She eventually came out and perched on a nearby Lilac and opened her wings about half way which enabled me to get a better photo than yesterdays before she carried on fluttering down the garden and over next door.
As well as the butterflies mentioned above, I also saw a couple each of Small and Large Whites during the day which like the Orange-tips were constantly flying and didn't settle once whilst I was watching them.
Back to work yesterday (Monday) and you guessed it, clear blue skies all day...and today
![Evil or Very Mad :evil:](./images/smilies/icon_evil.gif)
Bye for now,
Neil