www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Cheers Ernie Over this way there generally are good numbers of Small Torts at this time of the year. Saying that this year has been particularly good , not the best but a lot better than last year. Most years I record my first Small Torts in February, as this year and by March their numbers have built. The Beast from the East knocked them on the head for a while and so what we could be seeing is the usual build to a peak compressed into a much shorter time. It could also be an artefact caused by butterfly deprivation over the winter, we take every opportunity to see butterflies at the beginning of the season
Cheers Goldie I think my volunteering to visit the shops will wane in the winter, doubly so when Waitrose get rid of their free coffee
Cheers Essex I was able to get onto even more on some other trips out...got to write them up first though

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Middle Street 05-04-2018

Suitably refreshed after a Waitrose coffee we strolled back and had lunch. Then I loaded my camera into the car and I was away on my first proper trip of the season. As Small Tort and a Brimstone waved me off. Once at Middle Street I made my way directly to the ‘hotspot’ taking in the water filled hollows and furrows on the way. I was therefore still disappointed but not surprised to see it filled with water too. So I carried on round the ‘lake’, past the fishing platforms to make my way to the far end of the site. And then the butterflies appeared with four Brimstones, one of which was female and four Small Torts. The Brimstones were patrolling past me whilst the Small Torts would be interspersed along the path, nestled in the dried reeds and sticks as if they were holding specific territories. At the end of the site I turned, reset my internal counter to zero and made my way back towards the ‘once hotspot’. This time I took the higher path so that I could look down into the drainage areas and scan their banks at the same time. I immediately started picking up Small Torts including a pair in courtship. Well the male was doing his best but the female didn’t seem that interested. As I reached the crossroads of paths I scanned across the largest f the drainage fields and something golden orange caught my eye. As I started towards it a larger, dark butterfly took off and flew back the way I’d come at a tremendous pace. It didn’t seem black enough to be a Peacock and there was a pinky flash as it passed me – a Red Admiral. Chuffed I turned my attentions back to the orange butterfly which became a Comma. I carried on and scanning around the edges of the large Bramble bush a pair of vivid blue eyes flashed out at me from a lovely Peacock. As it flew it looked totally black and bat-like in contrast to the Red Admiral I’d seen only moments before. After this I walked around the Lake racking up more Small Torts and Brimstones as well as Cetti’s Warbler (with its “one, one-two, one-two-three-four-one-two” song). Back near the Bramble clump there was a Comma which might have been a different individual and it posed readily. So Middle Street had thrown up all five of the expected early species, a cracking start. On the drive back I stopped on the corner of Upper and Middle Street near the sluice gate for only a few moments but in that short time I managed to pick up a further 3 Small Torts and 4 Brimstones! Anyway onwards and upwards!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel, that would be excellent.
Until then I'll continue to appreciate them through yours and others great shots.

That was a great start for you Wurzel, it's cold here at present, we can't seem to get rid of the cold wind, Saturday it rained here and yesterday cloud nearly all day, today cloudy, Sunny, cold wind again, the Butterflies have gone into hiding Goldie

Absolutely beautiful colours in your pictures wurzel. Especially liking the tortoiseshells.

Are Waitrose getting rid of coffee? I must go and check. Hopefully, not in my store. They seem to be pulling back on a number of things...bring back Mark Price....

Off to check....

They've actually closed my local Waitrose - appalling! Lovely vibrant Tortoiseshells, Wurzel. In the couple of weeks since you saw all those, they have all but disappeared from my neck of the woods (hopefully having covered the nettles with eggs of course!). How quickly the season moves on.

Dave

Cheers Andrew I've had a word so let's see if it pays off
Cheers Goldie We too experienced the bad weather...and still are really. After this day there was only one more decent day in a fortnight of holiday
Cheers Peter They're stopping the all free coffees from the big cafe's - so you can only get the 'standard' coffee from the self service dispenser - no more soya Mochas for me Still it'll mean more time actually out butterflying as I won't be queing for 15 minutes before each butterfly trip
Cheers Dave Closed Waitrose where do you get your free Lalle's from? As I'm a little bit behind and as the West is about a week behind back then the numbers were still building so there's more to come ...eventually

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Five Rivers 05-04-2018

After the success at Middle Street I thought that I’d better see how things were over at Five Rivers so with Iron Maiden blaring I cut across town. I saw the odd Brimstone on my travels and before I knew it I was drawing to a stop amid a satisfying crunch of gravel.

I cut down through the woodland path noting two non-stop Brimstones on the way and then I reached Comma Corner. Whilst here I checked the scallop at the entrance to the Spinney. On one side sat a Comma and on the other a Small Tort. The Comma was adopting an aggressive looking pose; alert, upright with wings held like the sides of a tent. It obviously didn’t like the presence of the Small Tort and as I expected a fight ensued. Unsurprisingly the smaller but much more aggressive Comma won out settling itself smugly back down in its favoured spot once the furore was over. Whilst in the neighbourhood I also checked out the scallop on the opposite side of the Spinney scanning the bank on the way and turning up a second Small Tort. After this little sojourn I got back to my usual route, from Comma Corner along the Lower Banks and back again. My first run threw up a Comma almost immediately swiftly followed by another and then a Peacock and numerous Small Torts. To top it off two more fly-by Brimstone made a pass. So as to not double count on the return leg I reset my mental counter and this time notched up at least 5 Small Torts, the 2 Comma and a Peacock. Looking at the photo at the time I suspected that this Peacock was a different individual (which I was able to confirm later). So a minimum count of 4 Brimstone, 2 Peacocks, 3 Commas and 8 Small Torts. Not bad going on a single trip although in previous years I might have added Whites, Specklies and possibly even a Holly Blue by now. I then mooched around just enjoying the show – a Peacock side walking, crabwise to find the optimum basking spot, a squabble involving a Peacock, a Comma and 2 Small Torts during which all three of the smaller relatives ganging up and having a pop at the single, larger Peacock and best of all stopping every 10-15 steps as another butterfly hove into view or materialised from the foliage. I didn’t even mind the nettles stinging my knees through my jeans. A fantastic spring day…at last!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

So much intense colour, winter is already just a distant memory

Cheers Bugboy It was a very short lived experience of Spring as two days later we were back to cool and cloud, more cool and cloud with a side order to cool and cloud Oh well things will have to eventually get better...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Just a small post more for the sake of completeness...really it's because I can't get used to be so up to date I need it to be May already as then I'll still be 'a month behind'

Five Rivers 07-04-2018

One of the great things about Five Rivers is that it offers free swimming for children during the holidays. So once the girls were in the pool and my work was done I nipped off for 30 minutes. I grabbed my camera from the boot and headed straight over to the Banks. The two Scallops were quiet but at Comma Corner a Comma took-off and I spied a second down on the deck in the middle of the track.

After a few shots I carried on but the sun which had been out oh so fleetingly now hid away behind the clouds and butterflies now became thin on the ground. Near the small Bramble patch near the bench a Peacock resided briefly. I Watched it come down and try to settle before it felt the need to find somewhere more sheltered. I didn’t have much more luck with the two Small Torts which flew in together from the top of the Banks. As they tumbled to the ground I again watched and waited giving them time to settle or maybe move a little closer towards me. Just as I decided that they’d had long enough and was about to make my move a bloody great dog thundered past me and the Small Torts scattered. Oh well some days are like this and as I’d busked this trip anyway I couldn’t grumble. Have a goodun

Wurzel

Mottisfont 14-04-2018

So an entire week after my last trip out finally the weather had improved enough to head back out. The cloud had lifted, the temperatures were rising and the sun was actually shining rather than just hanging limpid and lacklustre. Mottisfont seemed to be the best bet and so with snacks packed we set off. On the journey I could almost feel the serotonin forming as we drove along and there would be a little surge every time a butterfly hove into view. By the time we pulled into the car park two Small Torts and eleven Brimstone so I was feeling pretty elated.
We entered the grounds and there was another Brimstone, a male a bit too far away for my lens to capture but a lovely sight to see. From here we wended our way along the streamside path making our way to the walled garden though we were frequently distracted as after a week of grey dismal cloud to finally see colour and feel the warmth of the sun was brilliant so we’d stop time and again. On one such stop to admire the daffs one of the leaves detached itself but instead of falling down it fluttered off and a realised that it was a female Brimstone. I watched as she flew by and then landed just ahead of me before momentarily disappearing from view again. I realised she was taking nectar and was camouflaged. Once in the Walled Garden my wife sat and read, the girls disappeared off to play hide and seek (I’d see one of them occasionally hiding behind the bench or climbing up a tree) so I just pottered about drifting through the squares of lawn from one to the next and wandering seemingly aimlessly but all the time scanning for any sign of movement. First butterfly was a Small Tort and then there were a multitude of Brimstone. The males all proved a pain as they would feed frenetically and mostly on the flowers which were in the middle of beds. They were always that little bit too far away for all but the most cropped shots or holding themselves at an unusual angle. Occasionally I’d manage to orientate myself to get a few shots but it was hard going. The females on the other hand were much more accommodating. My meanderings around saw me encountering another Small Tort and possibly 4 Brimstone, though this is a very conservative guess. There was also a Peacock which dropped in momentarily only to be sent packing by a female Brimstone, so it seems that they’re not always well behaved! Sun-soaked and happy we then walked across the grounds and ventured out further across the fields to link up with the riverside walk. On the way Brimstones would fly by and by the Ha-Ha there was another Peacock but I was just happy watching and drinking it all in. The girls ran on ahead laughing and joking or held hands and talked incessantly all the way cross the fields, along the river path and over the bridge. All too soon the circuit was complete and we walking up the raised walkway to the exit. As we did I glanced across to my right and there was a white feather amongst the foliage. Only it wasn’t a feather – my first Green-veined White. The girls went on and I hung back and hung off the walkway camera in one hand to try for a few shots. It was tricky but eventually I managed to lie almost flat along the walkway, hold the support with my left hand and the camera in my right and fire off a few shots. As I was starting to get a few funny looks I wrapped things up, un-contorted myself and re-joined the others. All in all a fantastic family day out!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Lovely shots of the Brimstone Wurzel and the Green Veined Whites, the latter has not been seen here yet, early days I know but the weather's awful here. Goldie

Nearly an open wing Brimstone there, Wurzel. The females are so much easier than males.
Hope things pick up over your way for my next visit in May.

Can you believe sleet is forecast !!!.
Trevor.

Good job with the GVW shot Wurzel, well worth a few funny looks.
Lovely colourful shots, love the Brimstone getting stuck into the Daff.

Sounds like an idyllic day out, Wurzel! Like Andrew, I love that shot of the Brimstone in the daffodil. I don't think I've ever seen any butterfly on daffs. I've been told there are GVWs round this way but I haven't seen one yet - will just have to wait for the weather to pick up again.

Cheers Goldie Unfortunately it looks like being bad for a while yet, fingers (and toes and legs and arms and eyes) crossed that things improve drastically soon
Cheers Trevor I too hope things pick up weather wise it's been a fitful start to the season As for sleet, anything goes this year it seems
Cheers Andrew I swear I could hear slurping It reminded me of me on a hot summers eve on the first pint of Fursty Ferret
Cheers Janet I was chuffed with that shot as I thought it nicely showed off the surprising camouflage Here's hoping things improve weather wise in your area

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Work 16-04-2018

So as I returned to work the weather looked set to improve greatly…what…a…surprise! Still it is the same every year and you just have to grin and bear it and keep plugging away. So it was today. Despite the lovely start to the day by lunchtime the cloud had returned and as I strode purposefully (more to keep myself warm than because of any sense of purpose) across the field the cloud was accompanied by a strong breeze. A Small Tort was startled by some workman up ahead and flew by at a great rate of knots, wind assisted.

On the path things weren’t much easier as the wind direction was such that the breeze cut straight across the field and hit the path full in the face. During the briefest of lulls in the breeze and when I was about half way along I saw two Small Torts take off and plop down in a furrow in the field. So no photo opportunities there. Luckily further along my scanning of the piles of dross and the little ‘clearings’ among the dead grasses yielded a fourth Small Tort. It was as flat to the ground as it could be and was quivering it’s wings trying for all it was worth to keep its temperature up. I walked to the end of the track and then started my return journey. Another Small Tort was basking. It then started crawling across the dead foliage taking shelter underneath some stinging nettles. And a good job too as the temperature continued to drop, the wind continued to blow and there was also some drops of rain carried by the breeze. Considering rolling my shirt sleeves back down I heaed back to work. Have a goodun

Wurzel
Ps Within an hour the wind had dropped and the sun

That last post sounds like my season so far in a nutshell !

Cheers Bugboy It feels like we've had Spring and Summer (that was those three epic days the other week) and now we'll be stuck in Autumn until around Christmas time

Work 18-04-2018

Things are starting to get a little better. Today was warmer with sunny intervals and walking round without a jumper was actually doable. I planned to do the usual route but got distracted right at the outset as I recalled Dave’s/a friend from UKB’s luck with Dandelions and so I diverted to investigate the overgrown area where the jump pits used to be. I bumped into a Small Tort almost immediately and this was swiftly followed by a pair. They seemed to be locked into courtship with the small male patiently waiting behind the female. I was sure that they would have copulated but unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to wait and watch. Instead I cut back across the field and, with time pressing, dove down through the housing estate to get to the ‘path’. I made a brief stop on the way as a Small Tort hung upside down tantalisingly from a Muscorum offering a cracking composition from both front and back. Once on the path it was business as usual with a total of eight Small Torts, two of which also seemed to be a courting. Time was ticking by and so I forewent walking to the very end of the path so I’ll never know if there would have been my first Specklie waiting for me. I made my way back along the path this time seeing six Small Torts and a Peacock which was down on the deck mudpuddling. I wondered while I watched it if this would become a more common sight this year after the recent deluges? With 15 seconds to spare I stepped back into my classroom…that was a close run thing!

Have a goodun

Wurzel