millerd

[millerd]

Wednesday 14th November (continued):
After seeing the two Red Admirals, I was pretty well satisfied that this was all there would be today, unless another one appeared nearer home. I turned the corner into the last bit of open ground next to the lake, and for some reason cast my eyes down to the grass. Something moved, and you can imagine my pleasure in discovering that down on the ground was a beautiful new female Holly Blue. She allowed a whole variety of shots as she flitted between perches to try and maximise the amount of sunlight falling on her wings, and also managed to find some flowering deadnettle from which to nectar. No question about opening up today - she needed as much energy as she could get, and after each bask she flew to the next perch with noticeable added vigour. Eventually, she flew higher into the trees.

Very pleased indeed with this sighting, which matched the one I had on 16th November last year, I continued towards home. However, I hadn't gone more than ten metres or so when I disturbed something else from the grass. Amazingly, this was another new Holly Blue: a male this time. His behaviour was generally similar to that of the female, but at one point he was taking minerals from the surface of the leaf he was sitting on. He struck some splendid poses amongst the autumn leaves in the warm sunshine before he too disappeared into the same set of trees as the female had done.

]

Here is the area where they were seen, with a bit of local atmosphere:

An absolutely extraordinary 40 minutes watching two gloriously new butterflies.

Dave

[bugboy]

A couple of beauties there Dave, just a single Cloudie for me today

[trevor]

That find could only happen to ' Mr. Holly Blue! ', and is absolutely incredible.
May I be the first in the queue with the mrgreens .
A fresh male and female Holly Blue on 14th November, what's going on?.

More to the point, is this a record?.

Fabulous, Dave,
Trevor.

[Katrina]

Amazing sighting! Well done for spotting them

[Maximus]

What a great find those two fresh Holly Blues were, Dave I wonder how they'll fare with the dip in temperatures forecast for next week.

Mike

[millerd]

Thank you, everyone. Those two butterflies were a wonderful thing to find in mid-November, and I would have been happy to have such shining new and cooperative subjects at any time of year. Not a record though - I saw an equally new female Holly Blue on 16th November last year - but seeing a female and then a male in quick succession was astonishing.

Since then it has been cloudy (though still quite warm) so they have had no real chance to fly. Two days of sunshine, but with cooler temperatures, are forecast, so they may get an opportunity then with luck. I shan't get the chance to check, unfortunately, and after that it all goes rapidly downhill, with even a bit of sleet in the cold easterly winds. I suspect the season may finally have come to a standstill.

But what a way to end...

Dave

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Dave, those two Holly Blues make for a most impressive sight at this time of year, beautiful examples and great photos of them. Well done

Neil.

[Goldie M]

Hi! Dave, you lucky thing My neighbours garden is full of yellow Blossom right up to our fence I've forgotten
what the plants called ,I keep looking for Butterflies but in vain Goldie

[Wurzel]

Flipping hell Dave you really are living up to the Holly Whisperer title - now you're whispering them into existence Cracking shots

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

That's practically a Holly Black rather than a Holly Blue, Dave! I'm not sure I've ever seen one with such extensive dark wing margins. You must have been absolutely delighted to stumble upon her.

[millerd]

Thank you, Neil - I'm still not sure I believe this was less than a week ago, as the cold rain (with hints of sleet) comes down.

I think these were the last butterflies of the year now, Goldie - we'll all be wishing away the time till next March now.

Cheers, Wurzel - I have a reputation to maintain you know! To be honest, I hadn't expected to see any more this year and certainly not one of each sex within a few metres of each other. Paradoxically, they were probably more approachable than any others I've seen all year. One of those unreal moments,

I was very pleased to see both of them, David. She was indeed a particularly dark specimen.

It does make you wonder what it is that determines the degree of black scaling on the wings of the females. Spring individuals have far less black than summer ones, and all the third brooders I've seen over the years have matched the second (summer) brood. All I can think of is increasing day length in the spring and the opposite for those emerging in summer - markedly so for a butterfly hatching in November. Certainly the third brood have a much greater resemblance to the second than the first. Larger areas of black increase heat absorption from the sun, increasingly a factor as daylight hours decrease, so it makes sense. Watching the female last week, each period of basking was like charging a battery - she flew much more strongly after each bit of sunbathing. The male on the other hand, was mostly using the reflective strategy, warming his body by focusing the sun's rays by varying the angle of his wings (much as white butterflies do). The males are much shinier than the females, and the blue has a different quality to it. In females it seems almost powdery in texture, especially as they wear.

Dave

[trevor]

After last weeks exploits at Mill Hill, I literally had to mop my brow on the climb back to the car park.
Six days later the central heating is on, and last week seems a world away!.
Nov. 22nd saw my last Butterfly of 2017, I don't think I'll beat that this year.

Looking forward to 2019.
All the best, Dave.
Trevor.

[Old Wolf]

Hello millerd,
What a great find and an absolute treat that they were so accommodating I am yet to see a Holly Blue with its wings open. They regularly visited the bushes just outside my garden fence this year but because they were high up, any open wings could not be seen by me down below.

I had given up on finding anything a while ago and funnily enough my dogs disturbed something which flew up and away in a dark flash only the other day. I was thinking probably Red Admiral but have no way of knowing.

[millerd]

Cheers, Trevor - we're well and truly into the beginnng of winter now, and those sunny warm days are slipping into memory. Those two Holly Blues were only a fortnight ago, though.

Thank you, Old Wolf - a brilliant way to end an exceptional season.

53 species seen this year, including two new ones for me. It will be tricky to do better than that, but you never know.

I thought I might now have a review of the year, picking out the interesting bits, including sites new to me and less commonly visited, as a way of passing some of the cold grey and miserable days of winter. There may be the odd new photo too...

MARCH

After having to wait until late March to see the first butterflies of the year (the first was a Peacock on 16th, but I didn't get a photo), the lovely sunshine on 26th stirred no less than five species into life. The surprise amongst them was a Small White along with the usual hibernators.

Dave

[Andrew555]

Very much enjoyed your recent local reports Dave. Particularly of course those fantastic Holly Blues.
I was waiting for those, and you didn't let me down!

Cheers

[David M]

Given what you've seen this year, Dave, I feel this review of 2018 might be quite time consuming!

Looking forward to it....and I expect multiple Holly Blues.

[Wurzel]

Great stuff Dave - looking forward to further episodes of your Review 53 species in a year

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Thank you, Andrew - lovely butterflies.

Yes, there will be the odd Holly Blue in there, David!

Cheers, Wurzel - though I now have to interrupt my look back at the year, and will have to add another chapter at the end!

Sunday 2nd December: After a coffee at the local café, I found the sun was shining quite strongly for all its low elevation, and it felt really quite warm. I therefore set off for a couple of circuits of part of my local patch close to the River Colne. There are plenty of dandelions flowering, and almost every one had attracted a hoverfly or two.

Just after taking this photo, I was passed, first in one direction and then in the other, by a Red Admiral. Unfortunately, I lost track of it, but resolved to do just one more circuit. A good thing, as in a more sheltered nook close to the river I spotted a Comma basking down on the ground. Long shadows prevented me getting close to the butterfly without disturbing it, but at least I had the record this time before it flew off into the trees.

These sightings are my latest for both species, and in fact are the first butterflies I've ever seen free-flying in December: previously the latest date for both was 30th November (2014). I have now seen both species in every month of the year except January.

Dave

[bugboy]

Thats a very orange and lightly marked Comma, if I didn't know better I'd say it was a hutchinsoni! I had no luck, the sun didn't return after vanishing upon my arrival on site

[Wurzel]

That is a very lightly marked Comma Dave, and as Bugboy says could easily be mistaken for a H.Comma Was it your early Christmas present?

Have a goodun

Wurzel