www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Hi Wurzel, great report and photos from Broughton Down, especially the Silver-spotted Skippers ...one species I have missed this year. In fact I have missed all the southern downland species this year as my plans took me elsewhere.

Cheers,

Neil.

Superb pictures of the silver-spots Wurzel . Love the shot of the one on the Self heal (and the mating pair !)

Phil

Cheers Trevor I know what you mean abut the DGFs I've seen that could almost be 'partial Valesinas' - a Greenish Dark Green Frit
Cheers Goldie Silver spots always casue mixed feeligns - joy of just witnessing them , and sadness as they're one of later species and the season is on the wane
Cheers Dave I've been hoping for them for a few years now - another addition to my Lepidoptera Karma Sutra' - there only seems to be one position though
Cheers Paul I was well chuffed with that find
Cheers Bugboy It was a close thing with the lighting - one of the few sunny breaks
Cheers Neil You did get some cracking butterflies though
Cheers Philzoid I think next year we should make a joint visit here?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

The Devenish 30-07-2016

Following on from the great day at Broughton Down I found myself trapped into the vagaries of finishing yet more work on the house – this time adding to the layers of paint but somehow managed to escape for an hour or two in the afternoon. I’d been disappointed with the lack of Chalkhills the previous day and so I headed back to The Devenish in the hope that they had emerged there and I would be surrounded by pale ghostly blues.

Once in the car park I made my way straight through the meadows and towards the Down only stopping briefly for a worn Silver-Washed. I hadn’t seen that many this year and so every extra one was great to see. This one looked like it had done its job and was now enjoying a little R’n’R with a few chips out of its wings and the odd faded mark. Also here was what I’d come to see a male Chalkhill posing on the florets. It too was slightly battle scarred and the lack of spotting on the underwing seemed quite familiar. I looked remarkably similar in fact to the one I’d seen a few days earlier. I then made my way up the steep Down via the steps cut into the chalk and I scanned around. It seemed reasonably quiet and so I worked my way along the track along the side of the Down making my way down to the area of larger shrubs. A Marbled White flew by looking more like a Marbled Grey and here amongst the shrubs were a few Hedge Browns a very fresh Red Admiral and surprisingly a Ringlet still clinging on. I walked across the Down and apart from Meadow Browns and Whites aplenty it seemed reasonably quiet so I made my way right across the top and started back down the other side. A Golden Skipper caught my eye and so I started working back down towards the stile and the track back down into the meadows. Here I stumbled onto a bit of a Blue fest. There was a defiant Brown Argus taking on all comers, a couple of male Common Blues which the Brown to a special dislike too and also another male Chalkhill. Of them all the BA was the hardest to capture on film as he buzzed around a ballistic ball of androgen attacking anything that dared enter his airspace. Whilst here a second brood Peacock did a fly-by and one of the several Brimstone males actually paused for nectar within range of my lens. I carried on down and into the Orchid Meadow and tried my luck at the far end which I hadn’t visited for a while. There were several Whites here and another Red Admiral and I pottered about here for a bit without much success and so started back towards the car park. A Brown Argus stopped me in my tracks. There was something about it that didn’t seem right? When I knelt down and focused in I could see that the spot on the forewing was really obvious and the lunules looked so bright because surrounding them were dark, almost black ‘highlights’ it was a real cracker. With that I headed home to pick up the paint brush and carry on with yet more painting…
Have a goodun

Wurzel

Love the Brimstone shot Wurzel, nice Brown Argus photos too. You certainly did better than me with the Chalkies this year, I hardly took any photos of them at all, so I'm happy to enjoy yours instead.

ATB

James

Lovely photos Wurzel, so clear , I wish we were back in July Goldie

Cheers Rex Unfortunatley there were very few Chalkhills at the sites that I visited apart from Martin Down, they had a terrible year at The Devenish and I didn't see a single individual at Broughton Down
Cheers
Goldie So do I, but I'm wishing for a cold winter and 'normal' spring more

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wales – The Lane Part 1 – 31-07-2016

Typical the weather had been steadily getting better for the last couple of days culminating with today when there was glorious sunshine amidst lovely warmth. Guess what I was doing? Nope not butterflying and making the most of it. Instead my morning was spent doing various errands, packing, putting another coat of oil on the corridor floor, dropping the cat off at the cattery and then driving to Wales to visit the Outlaws. Once there and unpacked the next thing I did was check the weather App – Salisbury looked good for the week ahead but Aberaeron wasn’t up to much with barely a break in the clouds and the strong possibility of heavy rain.

I looked despondently out of the window and it was still sunny so I grabbed my camera and set off to make hay while the sun still shone. The little field was gated off so instead made my way up and Lane scanning the tall hedge row and every leaf for my quarry. I ignored the whites – they never settle anyway and instead peered into the shady areas hoping for a glimpse of brown and orange. I soon got onto my first Hedge Brown. It was a lovely marked individual with a very slight extra white pupil in the ‘eye’ and the hind wing was decorated with 5 spots – 6 if you counted the miniscule one third from bottom and 7 if the dashed spot counted as 2! A good start to the ‘unusual’ Hedgies of Ffosyffin. From here on I don’t think I even noticed another butterfly species as I was so zoned in on Hedgies. Next was a male looking fairly normal and then another male with two spots on the right hind wing and only one on the left. These two were only a pace apart and only 4 paces away from the female. A few more paces and I was onto another female with huge spots on her hind wings. They were massive, almost as big in fact as the ‘eyes’ on her forewings! She was a beauty but refused point blank to open her wings any further then three quarters and so I had no clue as to any further markings that she had. I wrapped things up with a final female on the return wander almost in the same position as my second male. I’d been photographing for 15 minutes and as I said I was only popping out for 10 back to the Outlaws I scurried or I’m sure I’d have found more. There were 5 definite individuals along only a 5m stretch of hedge so it seems that Hedgies are having a good season here, I can’t wait to get back out to see what other surprises there are! Have a goodun

Wurzel

Lovely fresh examples of a surprisingly variable species. The female with the giant spots looks really odd. When new like that the orange colour is really striking, but sadly they don't stay like that for long!

Dave

Cheers Dave I don't now what it is about the Hedges around my Outlaws but they seem to throw up a high proportion of variants - which is a great consolation for me

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I love to see Gate Keepers on white Blossom Wurzel, it bring's out there lovely orange colour, Goldie

Cheers Goldie There is a great contrast between the white and orange

Wales cont'd 02-08-2016

Having had such a great quarter of an hour with the Hedgies the day before I was bitterly disappointed to wake up to see blue skies replaced with dark grey almost black clouds and various shades of rain from pelting to mizzle. In fact I only saw two butterflies all day. The first was a Holly Blue being blown by in the briefest breaks in the rain while we were walking back to the car. The second was a female Large White a few moments later taking nectar while she could. Llanachaeron 03-08-2016
The weather was improving throughout the day and so we all headed out to Llanachaeron. After a walk through the woods and lunch while the sun burnt off the cloud we wandered into the estate proper. Swallows were whizzing about and the odd White passed by overhead and then we walked through the gate and into the Walled Garden. A Peacock passed by and the odd Small Tort but the main pints of interest were the three species of Whites which thronged around the Lavender. After a dire first brood this was a much better showing. After this we headed around the lake (noting a Chicken of the Woods?) and then the house. The girls like this part as they could try the Welsh cakes and little L loves pretending to be the washer woman. So I had a mooch around and found a few moths and a crazy legged spider and out the back a Meadow Brown which was quite willing to sit wings open wide – it must have gotten to that time of the year. Once back home and refreshed from a brew I headed back out to the Lane and the hedges. I stopped briefly at the neighbours Buddleia where a pair of Red Admirals and a Small White fed. I headed up the Lane to where I was the day before and was soon onto a Hedgie and a Common Blue by reaching through the gaps of the fence to the Paddock. I then made my way as if to head back but at the entrance to the cul-de-sac I carried onto the end of the road and checked out the tall hedge near the Post Box. Here the length of the hedge could, I thought, only support a few butterflies, one of which was a Small White. However there were several Hedgies even here and a couple of them were ‘excessa’. After the dismal day yesterday it was nice to get back into the butterflies…
Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi! Wurzel i love the first shot of the Large White on the Pink , has you've guessed, I love the contrast with colours Goldie

Cheers Goldie I do try and catch the butterflies when they make a fashion faux pas

October 2016

A little late but got there in the end...
Have a goodun

Wurzel

I think it's great and I look forward to see which Butterfly you'll choose for the month Wurzel Goldie

Cheers Goldie Only two more to go and then I have to make next years!

The Lane - Part 3 04-08-2016

Another day and another trip down the Lane but this time I had half an hour to spend so I headed towards the Post Box and then started down Rhw Goch. The Buddleia bushes bordering a driveway have yet to recover to their former glory and instead of a range of butterflies feeding it housed a party of House Sparrows. A few metres further along the verge and I’d reached another good area for Hedgies. In fact I found a gorgeous ‘normal’ female, no extra spots just lush vivid colours. Just up from her I stopped for a Green-veined White which was feeding on the Bramble flowers. After this slight distraction I carried on determined to focus just on the Hedgies. This was actually harder than it seemed as they were present in good numbers along this stretch of hedge and the biggest problem I had was selecting which butterfly to focus my attentions on. I’d see a Hedgie and stalk ever closer only for one to be feeding in the Brambles and it would erupt in front of me and my original quarry would be spooked and I set off stalking once again. Occasionally a Hedgie riot would ensue and three would bowl along the hedge setting off others in a Mexican wave of squabbling and joisting. Somehow amongst all this action I managed to persue and get photos of couple of individuals including one cracking male. It got me wishing that I’d started looking here a few days earlier and I might have encountered him looking much smarter. As I was pondering the excessa male I spotted a female out in the open. As I approached I couldn’t believe my luck as she was similarily marked to the male but was fresh out of the box and looking resplendent. I headed back to the house, time almost up, in a bit of a dream, all those spots burnt onto my retina. I did make one brief stop for another excessa male and I think that I’ve encountered him before? Have a goodun

Wurzel

You've certainly got some nicely marked Hedge Browns in your ( our! ) area.
Now that your diary has crept into August I expect your next posting will contain
some sickening, envy inducing shots of Brown Hairstreaks.
That shot last year, of the open wing male was too much. .

All the best,
Trevor.

Just what I was I was thinking Trevor I've yet to see one great gate Keeper's Wurzel, Goldie

Cheers Trevor I've still one more Posting from the trip to my Outlaws and then as you've guessed it's off to Shipton Bellinger for Brostreaks
Cheers Goldie If they've been reported from up your way your chances of seeing them are getting better and better, if they're on your target list for next year good luck
Have a goodun

Wurzel

The Lane – the final instalment 05-08-2016

My time at my Outlaws was coming to an end and as is usually the way the finals days weather was pretty good with the day following set to be even better – when I’d be trapped in a car for the ling drive back. So to make the most of it I headed out as soon as I was able to – which actually meant not until mid-afternoon as we had to make the obligatory trip to Newquay Beach. I was looking forward to this as a short walk along the beach should have produced a Wall or two. However I only saw three butterflies the whole time I was there – a lost looking Small Tort which was flying over the sandcastles and heading out to sea and a couple of Whites far too high up the crumbling cliff to identify. So I was quite glad to head home, not least because I was getting irritated by ‘The Mission’ but also because there was a cracking Buddleia in the car park which looked good for some butterflies.

Once back and refreshed with yet more tea I tried up the Lane proper, turning left at the end of the cul-de-sac. I first checked out the Buddleia belonging to the neighbour on the corner. It was a great little spot with four species scattered over the shrub. First spotted was a Peacock – well with those eyes staying hidden is never easy for this species then a Small White, Red Admiral and finishing up with a Small Tort. After this I wound my way up the Lane, steeling myself to ignore the Hedgies until I reached my destination. On round the bend, past dog cottage and took another left down a farm track. The only butterfly I found here was a Small Tort and I had been hoping for at least a couple of Peacocks here. So I strolled back spying the odd Hedgie and White on the way but not stopping really. I didn’t want to be too late back and I was worried that once I started counting Hedgie spots I might not make it back until well after dark! I did arrest my hike back at one point though. I was almost back, on the final stretch and a golden blur flitted along the hedge on my right. I watched it settle and the sun glistened off of it and it shone golden in the afternoon sun. I managed to get in really close and so was able to really appreciate the beautiful colours and the feeding dance of the Small Copper that had presented itself to me. A great way to end the visit. Home tomorrow, I wonder what’s happening at Shipton Bellinger?
Have a goodun

Wurzel