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Neil Hulme wrote:...Despite the late hour and overcast conditions we managed to find 5 Grizzled Skippers at roost.

Very nice, Neil. I wondered when the first of these would emerge. Surely, it can't be long before the first Pearl Bordered Fritillaries are on the wing?

Thanks, all. More Grizzles coming shortly.
David: I reckon about 19/20 April for PBF in Sussex.
BWs, Neil

Agree with the PBF dates, expect the other early Fritillaries around then too, i looked up the dates for 2011 and things seem to be ahead of those,

2011 First Sightings, [the SPBFs were probably West Country.]
Green Hairstreak 29th March
Duke of Burgundy 3rd April
Grizzled Skipper 2nd April
Dingy Skipper 7th April
Wood White 18th April
PBF 9th April
SPBF 22nd April
Marsh Frit 22nd April
Glanville 22nd April
Common Blue 18th April
Adonis Blue 26th April

so it looks like the April Fritillary will be with us again, and the May Fritillary a little later. so when things warm up i would expect most on the above list to appear.

Grizzles And A Greenie

Dodging the showers and with only the briefest spells of sunshine, a short visit to the lower slope of Mill Hill today (13 April) produced about 5 Grizzled Skipper and a fly-by Green Hairstreak (my first of the year).

Lovely images, Neil. Should be a lively Easter weekend with Grizzlies, Green Hairstreaks, Small Coppers and PBFs about. Let's hope the forecast is accurate and these 17-20c temperatures materialise.

If 19-20 is the prediction for PBF in Sussex then I reckon 27th in Wiltshire - that's if there are any left On a brighter note those are cracking Grizzlie shots; the last one is brilliant and quite an unusual pose

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks, David and Wurzel. Hold on tight - this weekend should produce fireworks!
BWs, Neil

Mixed Bag

A late afternoon visit (18 April) to Chantry Hill provided a nice mix of Grizzled and Dingy Skippers, Green Hairstreaks and male Emperor moths. Moving on to the stream-side meadow at Wiston, the roosting Orange-tips were initially difficult to track down, with none at rest on the Cuckooflowers. I eventually found four secreted in the adjacent copse, with two of them using lichen as camouflage; something I've never seen before.

Great shots Neil especially the Dingy - it looks like it's rubbed out the Grizzlie in the background Have there been any records of Small Heath over your way yet?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Delightful, Neil, especially the Dingy Skipper which is immaculate.

Pearl Bordered Frits are on the wing at Cwm Soden in Wales so they must surely be emerging round your way.

I had never thought of OTs using lichen but now you have photgraphed it really ought to have been obvious. How could we all have missed it? Maybe we are less smart than Orange Tips

Thanks for the "discovery" Neil.

Jack

Love your Green Hairstreak shot, Neil. How that green can vary according to light,
camera angle etc. Always a thrill to see.

Keep up the good work,
Trevor.

Thanks, all.
Wurzel: Small Heath started on 17 April in Sussex - unsurprisingly on the ultra-warm slopes of Mill Hill.
David: PBF started at Abbot's Wood on 19 April and on 20 April at Rewell Wood, where numbers have built rapidly.
Jack: One of the joys of butterflying is that no matter how much time we put in, there's always something new to learn.
Trevor: Not much can trump a fresh Green Hairstreak.
BWs, Neil

Pearls Aplenty

I'm pleased to see that Pearl-bordered Fritillary (PBF) numbers have reacted very well to the huge amount of habitat creation work performed at Rewell Wood over recent winters, thanks to generous financial support from the Norfolk Estate, and the labours of South Downs National Park staff and Volunteer Rangers, BC Sussex, Plumpton College and Kenny the resident woodsman.

On just Day 5 of the flight season here (25 April) I made a count of 65 PBF, of which only 3 were females. This total was recorded over six monitoring compartments, some of which are away from publicly accessible areas. However, there are plenty to see on the main W-E track running across the southern part of Rewell Wood.

When visiting, please try to avoid excessive footfall over the areas of regenerating vegetation, particularly in cool periods when the butterflies may be sitting on the ground. Freshly emerged adults, mating pairs and pupae are also at risk during the early part of the flight season (the same applies to other PBF sites).

Thanks for the info on the Small Heath Neil - the 17th was the same day I got my first ones of the year too
Lovely to see the Pearls especially the slightly melanistic one Looks like I might need to take a slightly different route home tomorrow after work

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wonderful to see them out, Neil, and an early ab. to boot!

After last year's near perfect flight period weatherwise, let's hope this cool, cloudy, stormy stuff disappears to give this species an opportunity to further consolidate in 2019.

Rewell PBFs Go Large

The warm, sunny weather yesterday (29 April) triggered a huge emergence of Pearl-bordered Fritillary (PBF) at Rewell Wood, with the previous best 2019 count of 114 being easily surpassed, as the number of female butterflies rose dramatically after midday.

I bumped into Patrick Moore, who had already seen 23 PBF on the main W-E ride, and invited him to join me in a standardised count of a large commercially harvested area of chestnut coppice (please keep to the public rights of way, from which large numbers of PBF can be seen). Within this one recording compartment we counted 151 PBF (in just 30 minutes), and my final tally for six compartments reached 243.

This is the most PBF I've seen in a day for a very long time and is testament to years of cooperative work here by the Norfolk Estate, South Downs National Park Authority, Butterfly Conservation and others. I have a feeling that other projects guided by BC's Fritillaries for the Future will be providing some more good news over the coming weeks.

Absolutely fantastic Neil!

Even by your standards that's a fabulous sequence, Neil. We're really spoiled for choice, especially with that mating pair.

I particularly like the one with the 'bluebell hue'. It's always irresistible when a butterfly settles on these blooms.

A fantastic sequence of shots Neil and fantastic new of the success, those numbers are incredible - and I thought that I was doing well finding 5 easily at Bentley Wood

Have a goodun

Wurzel