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Fingers crossed Trevor - it can't get any harder can it? At least the 2nd brood Wood Whites and that cracking Purple Hairstreak went some way as consolation for the offhand manner in which His Nibbs is behaving so far

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Well done with the grounded Emperor, Trevor. Been a real scarcity of those so far during its flight season.

Many thanks all. The Emperors haven't been that scarce, just plain awkward.
But it was very hot last week, and I was often in the wrong place at the wrong time.

With high winds forecast for today, I though about going over to Abbots Wood.
There are some good east facing woodland edges which have proved useful when
the wind is blowing from the west, in the past, and also catch the best of the early sun.

There were quite a few Ringlets bobbing around, including a very nice ab,
which I have discovered is ab.lanceolata. I spent over an hour following
the ab in order to photograph both sides and open wing.

Retracing my steps back to the car there were five White Admirals in the
air at once and two basking within a few yards. I managed shots of the two
basking, a male and a female, both were showing signs of middle age.

No Purple Hairstreaks today.
Trevor.

That's a great ab., Trevor! It almost doesn't look real.

Dave

That is a fantastic find Trevor - better than an Emperor anyday Great work getting the topside view as well I can't remember seeing that before

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Thanks Guys. There were actually two of those ab's, but I could only follow one!.
It took over an hour to photograph both sides and open wing. It was very mobile.

John Williams found a grounded Purple Emperor at Chiddingfold today, Wurzel,
I think you made the right decision though. Crap weather forecast for next week!.

Stay well both,
Trevor.

Loving that ringlet ab Trevor what a brilliant treasure to find!

Superb Ringlet AB; there Trevor, best I,ve seen , found an AB;Arete a few days back. but that little beauty ,is off
the scale...…………………………. Nice find ! Allan.W.

Thats a very striking Ringlet, particularly the upperside, I've only ever managed the underside of a lanceolata

trevor wrote: ↑Sun Jun 28, 2020 6:45 pm

John Williams found a grounded Purple Emperor at Chiddingfold today, Wurzel,
I think you made the right decision though. Crap weather forecast for next week!.

Stay well both,
Trevor.

I wonder if that was the one I pointed him in the direction to, the only one I saw on the ground there today, a rather flighty individual. There was a little bit of activity but it was all quite late in the morning, nothing was seen before 11 as far as I could make out.

That is a really striking Ringlet Trevor and well done for capturing it from all angles to show it off .

Cheers,

Neil.

Many thanks Katrina, Allan, Paul & Neil.

I got quite excited when that Ringlet ab gave a brief glimpse of it's upperside,
obtaining an image with wings open was a different matter. It kept moving around
and landing in the grass, after an hour it landed on a leaf, job done!.

Best wishes all,
Trevor.

Today was possibly my last chance to catch up with the Purple Emperor for this year.
We have two more days of poor weather forecasts, and on Thursday I'm off to
Wiltshire for about a week.
Early this morning the sky was clear, and the wind gusts were infrequent so it was
off to Chiddingfold Forest. On arrival I found a fresh Comma basking, and the first
of two male Silver Washed Fritillaries that I would photograph today.
A real surprise was in the form of a fresh male Holly Blue, one of two seen.
Next, in a sunny spot out of the wind a fresh White Admiral nectared on bramble
with wings closed showing that incredible underside. To end the morning another
fresh Wood White was discovered.
Needless to say His Majesty failed to show, so ends a tricky season.

All Ringlets ( and there were many ) were of the normal variety.

Stay safe,
Trevor.

That's a pretty good selection, Trevor, despite the suboptimal weather - especially the White Admiral and first SWF By the time I'd got myself up today, the cloud had blown over the blue, so I decided to stay put and have a proper local session instead.

You've certainly had some poor luck with the Emperor this year - he's been messed around by the ever-changing weather and hasn't followed the form of previous years. As well as sneaking down in places you happened not to be - which is the most frustrating part.

Have a good time in Wiltshire and see what you can turn up down there! Hope to see you down in Sussex later in the summer for some late specialities - let's hope there are some good ones..

Cheers,

Dave

I be more than happy with those images despite not having His Nibbs in the mix Trevor - especially the White Admiral and the Wood White I have given up on hte Emperor as well for this year Trevor, though to be fair I don;t know why I thougt this would be the year - my previous sets of images of grounded Emperors were from 2012, 2015 and 2018 so by my reckoning I should be due another set in 2021

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

That's quite some cast from Chiddingfold, Trevor, even if it doesn't include an Emperor.

Your lanceolata Ringlet from an earlier visit is absolutely stunning, and well done regarding your persistence in getting an upperside shot. That's the first time I've seen the ups on this aberration. Wonderful!

Thanks Dave, Wurzel & David. I gave the Purple Emperor one last try today.
The sight of two PE's gliding along the tree tops convinced me that groundings
may be on the wane or even over for another year.

I was witness to an unusual event this morning.
I had just photographed a female Comma nectaring on bramble blossom
which then took off and landed on a nearby leaf. A male Silver Washed Fritillary
seemed to find the Comma very attractive and spent sometime fluttering around
the Comma and even landed beside it.

Trevor.

The best of the rest today.

I'm just catching up Trevor, that ab is just like another species altogether, the markings are lovely, it would be great if it was the start of some thing new. Goldie

Near the end of my journey to Wiltshire late this afternoon, I could not resist
a quick stop off at Tilshead. As usual the place was heaving with butterflies,
mostly with golden Skippers and Marbled Whites. My first discovery was, however,
a bit gruesome. A Crab Spider had grabbed a Small White which had been nectaring
on Privet blossom. Another surprise was a Skipper and Marbled White sharing a
Scabious bloom.

Keep well all,
Trevor.