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Thank for your positive feedback,guys!

Lee,i truely love Grizzed Skippers,their beauty when seen close up,and their lively character. Reminds us what a shame about the former colony at Indian Queens...

Thanks Neil,you were so helpful yesterday,as always. Great to see you again. Speaking of which...

So then,onto Rewell Wood for the afternoon. I walked through the lovely bluebells,and then onto cleared areas of coppice. Soon,i started to see what i was looking for- Pearl-bordered Fritillaries! Many were nectaring on bugle flowers. Orangetips were present,including a female,and several Peacocks. In mid-afternoon,i was walking down a track,when who should be coming in the opposite direction. None other than Neil Hulme! We had a bit of a chin-wag,and he kindly pointed me toward some of the best areas for Pearls. Sure enough,we were soon tripping over them-all the better as i havn't seen any for a couple of years. Some were more heavily marked than others,but all were beautiful.All the time,a willow warbler was singing it's lovely descending song from a tree. In the fading evening sun,Neil told me how to find roosting Pearls. His advice worked its magic,as i found one(picture below).A truely super day,up there with the very best!

Full list for the day was: Grizzled Skipper,Dingy Skipper,Brimstone,Small White,Large White,Green-veined White,Orange Tip,Green Hairstreak,Peacock,Small Tortoiseshell,Comma,Pearl-border Fritillary and Wall.
Birds seen included cuckoo,lesser whitethroat,kestrel,buzzard ad raven,while Cetti's warbler was heard at Mill Hill.

Super!

Love your Green Hairstreak Mark - a lovely combination of colours and your Pearls are fantastic. Yet to see any this season and with all this rain and thunder it might be a while before I do. I was interested in your comment about roosting Pearls - round here they only roost up trees, not on bracken etc and the only way I could get a shot of them roosting was to carry a stepladder through the woods at 5.00am

Great reports Essex And good to see that you got some Pearls - the one in the first image is definitely outside the norm, stunning markings Hope to get some at Bentley soon but no reports from there yet...soon though.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Beautiful images. That first aberrant PBF is remarkable.

Hi EB, I've just caught up with your Spanish/Gibraltar trip, looks like you had a fantastic time. The Monarchs must have been a great start and it looks like you achieved most, if not all of your objectives. Sorry you missed Provence Hairstreak, I only saw 1 in nearly 3 months, and I didn't know what it was when I stumbled across it

Cheers Russ

WELCOME TO THE GLORIOUS MONTH OF MAY!

Hi everyone,just back from a short break in Cornwall. More on that to come soon. But while i was away,the Essex countryside has exploded into fabulous colour and scent,as spring reaches it's glorious peak. In town,road verge and countryside alike, everywhere you look is the sight,scent and splendour of flowering hawthorn,aka Mayblossom-for good reason! Under these hedges grow cow-parsley,red campion and many other flowers,giving a riot of spring colour.

Along each of these beautiful hedges and verges,fly male Orangetips. These butterflies,flying against a backdrop of hawthorn,the air heavy with scent...words and pictures simply cannot do it justice. They together signal the height of spring perhaps like no other.

Today was just about enjoying the moment,trying to soak it all up. However,i couldn't resist a fow more pictures of Orange Tips!

When the sun shines,nothing beats the British countryside in May-the most beautiful month of the year!

Thanks to you all for the feedback while i have been away,i'm grateful for your comments.

CORNWALL DAY 1 MONDAY 28 APRIL

We went to Cornwall last year in late April to see some spring species-and failed miseribly! But things were better this time! After a cloudy star,it started to brighten up as we headed out onto the coast path west of Seaton. There is the Murrayton Monkey Sanctuary here and just below it,is one of only 4 or 5 Cornish colonies of Pearl-border Fritillary. We soon reached this colony,and good numbers of adults were seen,in various stages of wear. A few were past their best-not surprising as the first Pearls were seen 2-3 weeks earlier. Others were mint,including several females. The Fritillaries were found over quite a long stretch of coast path,flying up and down,and feeding on the avalable flowers.

Also seen here were Orangetips,Green-veined Whites,my first Holly Blues of 2014,Peacock,Speckled Wood and Walls. Ravens,Kestrel,Sparrowhawk and Buzzards were among the birds.By early afternoon,the skies had darkened,and soon a full storm arrived-torrential rain,thunder,lightning,hail-the lot-bringing an early end to an otherwise great first day.

Glad you had more luck this year Essex The Pealrs seem to emerge about a week or more earlier in the South Western colonies than they do in Wiltshire - do you know if it is the same for Small Pearls?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I believe they do Wurzel. I don't know when they emerge in Wiltshire,but they are about in west Cornwall by mid-May in most years. Even last year,after the cold spring,Small Pearls were abundant at the begining of June,and had clearly been about for a week or two.

CORNWALL DAY TWO.

Today,the forecast was better in west Cornwall,so we headed down to the Lizard,one of my favorite places. The results of the stormy winter were clear to see here. Normally the gorse is yellow with blooms in spring,but here it was scorched brown. Thankfully the other flowers were unscathed,and an abundance of colour awaited us. Bluebells,sea campion,thrift and the lovely little spring Squill. This tiny flower formed a glorious hazy blue carpet in places. As the sun started to break through the cloud, butterflies started to be seen. Green-veined,Small and Large Whites. Then a Small Tortoiseshell flew by. By now, it was time for a pasty in the Lizard cafe,as Cornish chough flew nearby.

After lunch, we headed towards Kynance Cove. Walking along the South West coast path,several Walls were seen near a stone wall. As we headed west,more cliff-top flowers were enjoyed,and stonechat,wheater,raven,kestrel and buzzard were seen. Near Kynance Cove itself,early purple orchids grow on the cliffs. This seems a strange for a woodland plant to grow. Evening had arrived,so we enjoyed the spendid scenery and blue skies for a while,before heading back. When we got to our digs in east Cornwall,they said it had been raining all day there!

My goodness,it is all happening in Cornwall! You have my sympathy,as i just wish we could come together as one,and work together to save Cornwalls rarer butterflies and moths,after all,that's what we all want. I will e-mail you shortly,in the meantime,may i wish you the best of luck at Bunnys Hill-i so hope the Pearls haven't gone from there.

CORNWALL DAY 3.

We were staying near Saltash,so today we headed back to the Seaton coast and valley. This lovely little place has had a rough winter,and the damage is clear for all to see.We walked from the village,up the hill and joined the coast path,and guess where we ended up-back at the Pearl-border Frit colony! Along this path were bluebells galore,plus colourful buttercups, stitchwort and red campion,a lovely combination. There have been coast slippages here,and a new path has been created. On it today,several Walls were present,enjoying the morning sunshine. Further on,we saw several Holly Blues,including the female in the picture. Then we arrived at the Pearl colony,and spent some time enjoying them. A female,perched on a bluebell,was attracting plenty of interest from passing males,picture below. Saw some lovely fresh adults,suggesting they were still emerging here. Then a shout came "mating pair of Holly Blues over here" Esther had indeed found Holly Blues on a sycamore leaf. Nearby,a male Green Hairstreak was holding position,darting out at everything that flew past. The sun was now fading ahead of a warm front,but Orange Tips, a Peacock and a Red Admiral were enjoyed. Heading back,and having seen a couple of Speckled Woods earlier,the adult below was particularly attrective.Speckled Yellow moths were about. By time we arrived back at Seaton, light rain was falling. We checked out the woods in the Seaton valley,which have carpets of bluebells and wild garlic at this time. In the more open areas,we found a couple more Orange Tips,roosting on cuckoo flowers,some of which also contained the orange eggs. Rather wet by now,we called it a day,glad we had made the most of the earlier sunshine.

Cheers for the confirmation of my observation Essex, I'll keep my eye out for reports from the South West and then visit Bentley Wood a week or two later More great Pearl shots - especially the one on the Dandelion - that's gurt lush that is

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Great reports and photos from Cornwall

I remember the area around Seaton from a couple of family holidays back in the 1970s, it was a really quiet, away from it all place back then, has it changed much?
We stayed in some apartments just up the hill from the beach café and I remember seeing my first Silver-washed Fritillaries just behind them.

Cheers,

Neil.

Hi Neil. I have never been there in peak tourist season,as i think this area has most to offer,for me,in spring. But it's just a small place,with a small beach,a cafe and so-on. I would expect it to be fairly quiet most of the time,though,as it just doesn't have the facilities of some of the other more famous Cornish beach resorts.

CORNWALL DAY 4

This was our last day in Cornwall,and we decided to try and see,and photograph,Orange Tips and Dingy skippers,both of which are found in this part of Cornwall.

In Seaton valley,we found plenty of cuckoo flowers the day before,plus a couple of Orange Tips at roost. After a rainy start,the first blue patches were arriving when we got to Seaton-good timing! So we headed straight there. Almost as soon as the sun came out,a couple of male Orange Tips were spotted,one of which was on the cuckoo flowers. Nearby,a Green-veined White landed when the sun went in again. A great start to the day!

So we decided to head up to the coast path,which you join up the hill out of Seaton to the west. It was cool with a breeze but with intermitant sunshine too,we fancied our chances. We lingered this time in the area before the Pearl colony that we visited the day before.Walls are still fairly common in Cornwall,especially near the coast,and several males were seen. A few Orangetips were flying in the brighter intervalls beteen a few showers,but no Dingy Skippers.

So we had a delicious Cornish Cream tea in Looe,then back to Seaton to check the path to the east,where i saw Dingy Skippers in April 2011. However,the wind had increased and although it had stoped raining,the sun had gone,too and it was no surprise we failed to find any. So a slightly dissappointing end to an enjoyabe few days in Cornwall.We went back to Looe to get some pasties to take home,then it was time to go.

Lovely OT photos!

Thanks Katrina! I love Orange Tips,sadly they will be over soon. But i've seen lots this year

WEDNESDAY 7 MAY

Today,despite cloudy and windy conditions,there were a few sunny breaks,so we took our chance,and headed down to Botany Bay to look for Wood Whites. All along the main track,many nightingales were singing,with the usural blackcaps and the lovely descending song of the willow warbler. We walkes up to,and around the Oaken Wood site-still no Wood Whites. Then,heading back,a slow,fluttering white butterfly-could it one? Sadly not,it was a Green-veined. Then a couple of Speckled Woods were seen. Then,in a few sunnier breaks,things warmed up a little and a Wood white appeared,then another,and another. None all morning,then 5 at once! Great stuff! We enjoyed them(obviousely) then headed back towards the car,stoping to enjoy a few more Wood Whites including courtship, and checking the garlic mustard for Orangetip eggs-found some-on the way,before heading into Sussex for the afternoon...

WEDNESDAY 7 MAY AFTERNOON.

For the afternoon,we headed down to the Heyshott Escarpment in Sussex,to see the Duke of Burgundies. Though it was cloudy and windy,there was just enough sunshine to enable a few to be seen. Also present were Grizzled and plenty of Dingy Skippers,Common Blue,Small Heath and Brimstone. Most of the Dukes were fresh,and were great to see as i missed them last year because of the poor weather. Not so this year! Another very enjoyable day.

THURSDAY 15 MAY

Today i went out with a family friend of ours,who has never seen a Duke of Burgundy.She lives in Kent,so we headed to Denge Wood,near Canterbury. We got to the Bonsai Bank site and,just inside the gate,a couple of Dukes-wow,that was easy!
Several orchid species are present here and,in May,splendid Lady Orchids,which are putting on a great show here this year. A few of the stunted conifers have been removed,resulting in increased numbers of these rare orchids- perhaps the best display of them i have seen.
Further down,near the bottom of Bonsai Bank,is where most of the primrose plants are,and where most of the male Dukes were seen. After enjoying them and taking some more pictures,we headed further down,into the wood to have our picnic. While we enjoyed it,another Duke fed on buttercups,almost at our feet! In about half a mile is a meadow area,where more Dukes were found.
Two purring Turtle Doves were heard,a sound to treasure these days as this is fast dying out in Britain. Kent,Essex and Suffolk now have most of the small breeding population,for a few more years at least,but extinction in the UK seems inevitable.
Full butterfly list for the day Dingy Skippers, Large White,lots Brimstones,Orangetips including eggs,several Green Hairstreak,Holly Blues,Peacocks and a Speckled Wood.
Photo's to follow...