Neil Freeman

[Pauline]

Desperately trying to catch up Neil but a fox shot can usually be relied upon to get a comment from me Great shot! Lovely Dunnock and Chiffchaff too but 36 ST????? Wow!!

[Neil Freeman]

Great stuff Neil although I am now exceedingly envious of your garden (or anyone with a garden) Good to see the Small Torts still holding their own and in your most recent post a touch of normality - a Specklie in a Neil Freeman PD post

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel, the garden has indeed been a godsend in these times and it is good to see the return of the Specklies

Great shot of the fox Neil and the birds, I had two or three Gold Finch enjoying themselves in the garden today, it's great watching them and two Robins were having a territory dispute lovely shots of the Butterflies as well. Goldie

Thanks Goldie. I too have a couple of Robins that keep trying to chase each other off from around the feeders.

Always good to see Speckled Woods return to your garden, Neil. Spring isn't the same without them.

Things look to be moving now round your way with Holly Blues, Orange Tips and Whites on the wing.

I'm sorry to hear you're being furloughed. Hopefully it won't be for long and, as you say, you have a little more flexibility regarding when you can get out on your daily exercise walk.

Thanks David. Fortunately I am still being paid full pay for now, at least until the end of April when the situation is being reviewed.

Desperately trying to catch up Neil but a fox shot can usually be relied upon to get a comment from me Great shot! Lovely Dunnock and Chiffchaff too but 36 ST????? Wow!!

Thanks Pauline. I wondered if you would spot the fox shot. It seems Small Tortoiseshells are having a very good spring around the midlands from other reports I have seen.


Thursday 9th April.

With me not working from home now I went out for my daily walk a bit earlier this morning. Instead of just sticking to the area of rough ground to the side of the park, this morning I also did a full circuit of the outer boundary hedges of the park itself where there are a number of hedges, bramble patches and small areas of scrub.

This was around mid morning and after another clear night and chilly start it was rapidly warming up. Small Tortoiseshells and Peacocks were once again seen in good numbers but today I didn't take that much notice of them as I was on the look out for Orange-tips which so far had only appeared here in small numbers.

My luck was in as I soon spotted a male Orange-tip which settled a few yards in front of me and stayed down long enough for me to creep up and get a couple of shots.

Orange-tip - Wagon Lane 09.04.2020

A couple of unidentified whites were also seen and one went down and enabled me to identify it as a male Small White.

Small White - Wagon Lane 09.04.2020

Commas have been a bit thin on the ground around here this spring, especially in comparison with the Small Tortoiseshells and Peacocks. I have only seen a few each time I have been out with the highest count being 5 at Sheldon Country Park last weekend.
Again, I only saw a couple today but one of them was a nice large and plump female that I spotted fluttering around a large nettle bed and occasionally stopping to bask.

Comma - Wagon Lane 09.04.2020

By this time it was approaching midday and although I saw a couple more male Orange-tips they were now in full on patrolling mode and showing no sign of stopping.

Friday 10th April.

My exercise walk today was to our local shop to get some essentials so I didn't make it to the park although I did see a couple of Peacocks chasing each other up above a front garden on the way to the shop.

Butterflies passing through the garden during the afternoon consisted of Brimstone, Orange-tip, Peacock, Comma, and unidentified white(s). In all cases I saw these more than once, but whether they were different individuals or the same ones returning I couldn't say. They were all highly mobile in the warm afternoon sun.

Stay safe,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

That's a cracking Small White shot Neil I too have been doing a spot of Supermarket Butterflying - on Thursday I saw a Small Tort, Peacock, Brimstone and a Holly Blue whilst shuffling around the car park of Waitrose. 'm glad I didn't tkae my camera though else I could have lost my place in the queue and so another 1hr 30 wait would have been endured

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Beautiful image of the Orange Tip, Neil. You don't get presented with many opportunities like that each spring so you have to react when they arise.

You are also one of the few to capture a settled Small White in a good pose. They're driving me mad this spring!

[Neil Freeman]

That's a cracking Small White shot Neil I too have been doing a spot of Supermarket Butterflying - on Thursday I saw a Small Tort, Peacock, Brimstone and a Holly Blue whilst shuffling around the car park of Waitrose. 'm glad I didn't tkae my camera though else I could have lost my place in the queue and so another 1hr 30 wait would have been endured

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. I did a bit of supermarket car park queuing myself yesterday morning, only about 15 minutes though but it was too early for butterflies to be about.

Beautiful image of the Orange Tip, Neil. You don't get presented with many opportunities like that each spring so you have to react when they arise.

You are also one of the few to capture a settled Small White in a good pose. They're driving me mad this spring!

Thanks David. Not just the Small Whites, everything has been highly mobile in the constant warm sun we have had this past week.

Saturday 11th April.

A day spent keeping myself busy doing stuff around the house and garden.

During the course of the day I had Peacock, Comma, Speckled Wood, Brimstone, Small White, Orange-tip and Holly Blue passing through the garden. The only ones that settled long enough to grab a quick shot or two were a Small White and Orange-tip that paused briefly to refuel...

Orange-tip - Coverdale 11.04.2020

Small White - Coverdale 11.04.2020

...and a male Brimstone that settled briefly when a bit of cloud appeared in the afternoon and covered the sun for a couple of minutes. This enabled me to get a quick shot before the sun returned and he was off again. This was the only time I have seen a Brimstone actually stop moving so far this year.

Brimstone - Coverdale 11.04.2020

Looks like a couple of cooler days ahead before becoming a bit warmer again later in the week. Still not much rain in the forecasts though, it is getting a bit dry around here.

Bye for now and keep well.

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Lovely shots Neil especially the lemony Small White - we could do with a little drop of rain down here, ideally during the evening cooler would be good too as everything is going full throttle in the warmth Only a 15 minute queue I'm shopping in the wrong place
bet they even had toilet roll in stock

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

... we could do with a little drop of rain down here, ideally during the evening cooler would be good too as everything is going full throttle in the warmth
Wurzel

And just on cue, we had quite a bit of rain last night and it is going to be cooler for the next few days, maybe a touch too cool today but tomorrow onward looks better.

... Only a 15 minute queue I'm shopping in the wrong place
bet they even had toilet roll in stock

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

They did indeed have loo roll Wurzel, and this was my local Tesco not Waitrose


Sunday 12th April

Another crisp and clear morning with quite a heavy dew on the lawn first thing but the sun soon warmed things up again once it had gained a bit of height in the sky.

The stormy winds earlier in the year had blown down an old elder tree in the corner of my garden and over the past few days I had been tidying this corner up a bit although a section of the blown down trunk is still lying there. This morning I noticed a male Speckled wood was using this as a basking spot so I will probably leave it there for a while yet.

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 12.04.2020

Later on a Peacock also tried to move in to this spot but was chased off by the Specklie so then went over the fence into next doors garden and settled on the back of a wooden bench. I surreptitiously leant over the fence and took a couple of sneaky shots, although the neighbours wouldn't have minded being well aware of my usual garden antics with the camera.

Peacock - Coverdale 12.04.2020

As the morning went on a layer of cloud moved in although for now this was high level stuff that gave that milky sort of light and left it feeling warm. A Comma passed through and settled for a while on the elder trunk whilst the Specklie's attention was elsewhere.

Comma - Coverdale 12.04.2020

Later in the afternoon I went on my exercise walk down to the local park. The cloud was still building up but every now and then it thinned enough to let some sun through and it felt quite warm and muggy.

The Small Tortoiseshells are still around and this afternoon produced my highest number yet at this spot with a count of 16.

Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 12.04.2020

Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 12.04.2020

There were not quite as many Peacocks here today but at least half a dozen were actively mixing it up with the Tortoiseshells.

Peacock - Wagon Lane 12.04.2020

A couple of male speckled Woods have now emerged here.

Speckled Wood - Wagon Lane 12.04.2020

Two or three each of Orange-tips and Brimstones were patrolling the hedges, all males, none of which I saw settle. A few whites were doing likewise and the only ones I got close enough to ID were Small Whites. I still haven't confirmed a Green-veined White yet this year.

Back home in the garden later in the afternoon I spotted a Peacock, a different one to the one that was hanging around in the morning, on a flowering (wild?) cherry that sprung up a couple of years ago in one of the side borders.

Peacock - Coverdale 12.04.2020

By now the cloud was thickening up and around 4.00pm we had a few spots of rain but that didn't come to much.

There is a bit of rain in the forecast for tonight but apart from that it is looking like another dry week ahead albeit going a bit cooler for the next couple of days.

Stay safe and keep Well,

Neil.

[trevor]

Love the image of the Small Tortoiseshell on the bramble leaf, Neil.
As for the weather it's cold and blowy down here today, and with no
rain since the Winter deluge, the garden is parched and the water butt is empty.
I sometimes envy the weather you get in the midlands, it seems a little more balanced.

Take care,
Trevor.

[Wurzel]

It is that certain law Neil that means when we butterfliers 'ask' for cooler wetter weather that's what we get, but when we ask for clam, sunny weather it isn't forthcoming
I'm not brave enough to visit Tescos - the one in town is tiny and the aisles are barely a 5 foot in width
Lovely set of Specklies and other cast members - they certainly seem darker in the spring season. Loving the Small Torts and I've still to see a Green-veined White too - where are they ? Saying that in =your next post you'll probably be featuring one

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[millerd]

Your butterflies have been posing well for you, Neil. The Torties and the Specklies in particular - as I've said before I really envy you the numbers of the former that still can be found a scant 100 miles northwest of me. Very thin on the ground they are round here this year.

Cheers,

Dave

[Neil Freeman]

Love the image of the Small Tortoiseshell on the bramble leaf, Neil.
As for the weather it's cold and blowy down here today, and with no
rain since the Winter deluge, the garden is parched and the water butt is empty.
I sometimes envy the weather you get in the midlands, it seems a little more balanced.

Take care,
Trevor.

Thanks Trevor. We did get some rain in the end on Sunday night but not as much as we needed.
The weather may be a bit more balanced here but our season is a good couple of weeks shorter than down south. I envy your late season stuff such as the Clouded Yellows.

... and I've still to see a Green-veined White too - where are they ? Saying that in =your next post you'll probably be featuring one ...

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Not in this next post Wurzel but there could be one coming up soon

Your butterflies have been posing well for you, Neil. The Torties and the Specklies in particular - as I've said before I really envy you the numbers of the former that still can be found a scant 100 miles northwest of me. Very thin on the ground they are round here this year.

Cheers,

Dave

Thanks Dave. Looking at what others have been posting on here, and elsewhere on social media, it is interesting how different species are faring in different parts of the country.


Garden Moths.

For the second half of March and into early April, things remained slow to get going, with a run of clear and cold nights only producing small numbers of the usual suspects (Common Quaker, Hebrew Character, Clouded Drab) on the few occasions that I ran the trap.

A much milder night on 10th April (minimum of 10 degrees and a light breeze) produced a better result of 24 moths of 11 species with Small Quaker, Early Grey, Red-green Carpet, Double-striped Pug and Brindled Beauty all new for the year (NFY). I was particularly pleased to see the Brindled Beauty as I have only had a couple of this large attractive moth before with the last one being in 2017.

Brindled Beauty - Coverdale 10.04.2020

A different view of the one above.

Early Grey - Coverdale 10.04.2020

Another shot of the one above.

Small Quaker - Coverdale 10.04.2020

There was also a diminutive little Diamondback Moth (NFY), a micro that can occasionally migrate here in large numbers and become a pest on some vegetable crops.

Diamondback Moth - Coverdale 10.04.2020

I don't usually run the trap on consecutive nights but another reasonable forecast for the next night (April 11th) tempted me to go for it again. As it turned out, the temperature dropped a bit lower and there was a bit more of a breeze which reduced the numbers to 13 moths of 8 species but these included a couple more NFYs of Pine Beauty and Spectacle.
The Pine Beauty is only the third of this attractive little species I have had with the others being in 2016 and 2018, so that is every other year that one has turned up.

Pine Beauty - Coverdale 11.04.2020

The same moth as above.

The Spectacle usually flies in two overlapping generations (just one in the north) from April through to early October although with climate change it's flight period is beginning to start earlier, as is the case with many species these days. It has previously not shown up in my garden until May and this is my earliest by over three weeks.

Spectacle - Coverdale 11.04.2020

No prizes for guessing how it got it's name.

Spectacle - Coverdale 11.04.2020

A return to colder (and windier) nights for a couple of days means I have not had the trap out again since then but the conditions are looking better again for the second half of this week.

Bye for now and stay safe.

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Thank you for sparing me the Green-veined White Neil it's okay I saw my first today so now you can publish your images Cracking set of Moffs - I can see why the Brindled Beauty is so named - one of those juxtapositions of subtlety and stunning-ness Loving the Punk-dweeb feel of the Spectacle

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Love that Spectacle Moth Neil, it made me laugh Goldie

[David M]

Looks like Wagon Lane is producing them by the wagonload, Neil! The Midlands seems to be doing fine for spring butterflies right now!

Love the moths too, especially the Spectacle (although the Pine Beauty runs it close).

[Matsukaze]

Nice moths - I also had Brindled Beauty on about the same date, and it is also a rare visitor to our garden. I've never had Early Grey here (though it was regular in my previous garden 3 miles away) and have only ever seen one Pine Beauty. It's strange how local some moths can be.

[Neil Freeman]

Thank you for sparing me the Green-veined White Neil it's okay I saw my first today so now you can publish your images Cracking set of Moffs - I can see why the Brindled Beauty is so named - one of those juxtapositions of subtlety and stunning-ness Loving the Punk-dweeb feel of the Spectacle

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Thanks for the permission to show the Green-veined White Wurzel ...coming up.
Stunning-ness...is that word? If not, it should be.

Love that Spectacle Moth Neil, it made me laugh Goldie

Glad you enjoyed it Goldie There are some great moth names.

Looks like Wagon Lane is producing them by the wagonload, Neil! The Midlands seems to be doing fine for spring butterflies right now!

Love the moths too, especially the Spectacle (although the Pine Beauty runs it close).

Thanks David. Yes, I am lucky with that local spot, it is only small but usually produces a good number of the commoner species.

Nice moths - I also had Brindled Beauty on about the same date, and it is also a rare visitor to our garden. I've never had Early Grey here (though it was regular in my previous garden 3 miles away) and have only ever seen one Pine Beauty. It's strange how local some moths can be.

Thanks Matsukaze. Yes, there are plenty of supposedly 'common and widespread' moths that I have never seen here. Then again, I have had a couple of rarities in previous years, that is one of the things with moth trapping, you never know what might show up.


Tuesday 14th April.

After a cold and quite blustery Bank Holiday Monday, we woke up on Tuesday morning to a frosty start under clear blue skies. The cold wind from the previous day had dropped but an underlying chilliness persisted all morning despite the constantly shining sun. It was not until early afternoon that the air temperature rose into the mid teens and it began to feel reasonably pleasant.

I had already popped out earlier in the morning for a walk to my local shop for some milk and fresh bread and so I decided to sit out in the garden in the afternoon to see what turned up.

The first butterfly I noticed was a Speckled Wood in the corner with the blown down elder tree. I took a couple of photos and compared them to those taken on Sunday which proved that this was a different individual that had moved in to this spot.

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 14.04.2020

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 14.04.2020

Another male Specklie was flitting up and down one of the side borders and photos proved this was also a new one in the garden.

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 14.04.2020

Both male and female Small Whites kept passing through and occasionally stopping on the dandelions that I leave growing wherever they pop up.

Small White male - Coverdale 14.04.2020

Small White female - Coverdale 14.04.2020

I had also been watching another white that looked a bit different in flight and was wondering if this may be a Green-veined White when it settled giving me the chance to creep up and get some photos. It was indeed a GVW, my first confirmed one this year and a nicely marked female at that.

Green-veined White female - Coverdale 14.04.2020

But of course, what I was really hoping for was a visit from an Orange-tip or two and hoping that one would actually stop long enough for photos. Despite the cooler conditions, the first couple of times a male appeared they seemed to be nearly as active as before....nearly, but not quite, as today they did stop occasionally albeit they were still very flighty.
As the sun began to get a bit lower later in the afternoon the Orange-tips began to settle more often and would stay down a bit longer giving me a more opportunities to get some shots. By comparing photos, I identified at least two different males that kept coming around on their circuits.

Orange-tip - Coverdale 14.04.2020

Orange-tip - Coverdale 14.04.2020

Orange-tip - Coverdale 14.04.2020

One of them also began to stop for an occasional refuel at one of my 'Bowles Mauve' plants. I grew these from cuttings taken three years ago and they are beginning to look a bit straggly now, I must take some more cuttings this year before they peg it.

Orange-tip - Coverdale 14.04.2020

Orange-tip - Coverdale 14.04.2020

A day that turned out much better than I had expected given the original forecast and one that proved the value of just sitting in the garden to see what turns up.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

[Stevieb]

Cracking photos of female Green-veined White and Orange-tips Neil

[Wurzel]

No mistaking that Green-veined White Neil - what a cracker Lovely Orange-tips too - the frst male has got the smallest fore wings I've ever seen - at first glance I thought that he was 'blind'

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

What a fabulous array of images, Neil. Probably the best I've seen this spring.

That first Orange Tip is most unusual, with the forewing spots almost completely diminished.

The female Green Veined White is a stunner too. How I'm praying to see one of those right now!

[Neil Freeman]

Cracking photos of female Green-veined White and Orange-tips Neil

Thanks Stevie, glad you like them.

No mistaking that Green-veined White Neil - what a cracker Lovely Orange-tips too - the frst male has got the smallest fore wings I've ever seen - at first glance I thought that he was 'blind'

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. There is nearly always some variable feature on a butterfly that I use to identify different individuals, with Orange-tips it is the size and shape of the forewing spots. That is one of the faintest examples I have yet seen, like you, I thought he was 'blind' at first.

What a fabulous array of images, Neil. Probably the best I've seen this spring.

That first Orange Tip is most unusual, with the forewing spots almost completely diminished.

The female Green Veined White is a stunner too. How I'm praying to see one of those right now!

The GVWs have only really appeared here over the past couple of days David, I saw a few more today, mostly males.