Neil Freeman

[Pauline]

I'm currently trying to redecorate a room Neil and I've never done any wallpapering before! That's my excuse for having missed out on your diary for so long. Some lovely entries there from the Emperor moth and lovely Herald moth (never seen one of those), right through to those lovely Orange Tips which you have captured so well. My favourite tho' has to be those scrumptious Green Hairstreak shots - one of my favourite species and haven't you just done it justice. Some lovely compositions. I had to work quite hard for my shots recently.

[Wurzel]

You did really well to get those butterflies this weekend Neil - it was so grey or wet here I was struggling to remember what the sun was!

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Pauline, No worries, I know exactly what you mean. Despite now being retired and theoretically having plenty of time, I am amazed at how 'stuff to do' increases to fill available time . I don't know how I ever found time to go to work

Cheers Wurzel. Saturday was a shocker but it cleared up a bit here on Sunday morning although the afternoon went downhill again.

Monday 10th May.

I realised recently, that, for various reasons, I hadn't seen Pearl-bordered Fritillary since 2017. I had intended to visit the Wyre Forest last year to catch up with them, but then the pandemic intervened and although they were still flying when we were allowed to travel again, they were apparently past their best by then so I didn't bother with the journey which takes about an hour and a quarter, depending on traffic, from where I live in Solihull.

With reports of PBFs flying at the Wyre over the past week or so, I looked this morning (Monday 10th) at my various commitments over the coming week and it was apparent that the only day that would give me enough time to make the trip worthwhile would be today.
I mentioned in my last post that I would probably be making last minute decisions this week and so it was, despite the weather forecast looking a bit 'iffy' I decided to go for it and arrived at the Dry Mill Lane car park just turned 10.00am.

The reports that I saw last week indicated that the old railway line would probably be my best bet and so I set off along there first. When I had arrived at the car park it had been under cloudy skies but fortunately, my arrival at the 'hot spot' coincided with these clouds blowing over and bit of warm sun.
It was not long before I saw the first PBF skimming along the bank and eventually I reckon there were maybe 6-8 different individuals, although it is difficult to be exact when they are actively flying back and forth along the bank.

Section of old railway line. PBFs flying along the bank on the right side.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Wyre Forest 10.05.2021

Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Wyre Forest 10.05.2021

Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Wyre Forest 10.05.2021

Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Wyre Forest 10.05.2021

Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Wyre Forest 10.05.2021

Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Wyre Forest 10.05.2021

I watched them here for maybe an hour or so and whenever a cloud came over they would disappear over the top of the bank and into the trees on the other side, only to reappear again as soon as the sun came back out.

I then moved down to Dowles Brook where I saw a single PBF along the path by Coopers Mill.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Wyre Forest 10.05.2021

I looked in a couple of the damp meadows along here although by now the clouds had thickened up again and at one point, I took shelter under some trees from a short sharp shower. The only butterflies seen in the meadows were a few Orange-tips and a couple of Green-veined Whites which settled down on the cuckoo flowers here when the sun went in.

Cuckoo flowers in damp meadow.

Orange-tip - Wyre Forest 10.05.2021

Green-veined White - Wyre Forest 10.05.2021

I then decided to wander further through the forest and saw another four PBF at scattered spots along the way plus a tatty Peacock, all of which settled in some out of reach location.

The clouds had been getting thicker and darker for a while now and eventually formed an overcast which threatened some more rain, so I took this as my cue to start heading back towards the car.
On the way back I got caught in a couple of heavy showers and on leaving the car park just after 2.00pm the heavens really opened. Driving past Bewdley and through Kidderminster on the way home it turned into a combination of heavy rain and hail. Looks like I had left just in time.

A cracking morning in the end and although the conditions went downhill after midday, I was glad I had decided to go.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

A lovely sequence of shots Neil Pearls are a cracking species - I love the way that the different underside colours become more prominent in different lights - I love the yellowy tone of your under side shot - cracking

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Glad you got your long-awaited audience with PBFs after such a long hiatus, Neil.

However, it's that Green Veined White image that catches my eye - I'd pay top dollar to see such a mint specimen posing like that.

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel. It was great to catch up with them at last

Thanks David. I must admit the Pearls were my focus as I don't get them very often and certainly not in my garden

After Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were similar weather wise with lots of cloud some rain showers and occasional brighter spells but very little actual sun.
It was a busy couple of days for me with a number of places to be for both Jane and myself, including our second Covid vaccine jabs on Tuesday. During the occasional brighter spell that actually coincided with us being at home, I spotted a few butterflies passing through the garden including a couple each of Orange-tips and Green veined Whites and a single Holly Blue. Out of these, only one of the Green-veined Whites settled long enough for me to get my camera and grab a couple of shots.

Green-veined White male - Coverdale 12.05.2021

Thursday was a dreadful day here with wall to wall overcast from the start and intermittent rain and drizzle all day. Today (Friday 14th) was better in that at least it stayed dry but we still had that leaden grey overcast right up until 5.00pm when the clouds finally parted enough to let some late sun through.

No sign yet of much improvement either

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

[Chris L]

Nice photos Neil and another interesting narrative. Thank you. I am also grateful for the PBF location news. I might trundle over that way myself.

[David M]

No sign yet of much improvement either

Yes. It's starting to become intolerable now, Neil. You did well to have any butterflies visit your garden during that period. God knows it's hard enough finding them even at the best sites.

Still, at least you're now 100% vaccinated. Every cloud (and there have been many) has a silver lining.

[millerd]

Lovely PBF images, Neil. When I was regularly visiting the Midlands that was a spot I always meant to go over to, but somehow it didn't happen.

Cheers,

Dave

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Otep. The Wyre Forest is a great place to spend a day wandering around in.

Thanks David. Having the jabs is probably a case of shutting the door after the horse has bolted for us, both Jane and myself caught the virus back in January, not sure exactly how but we reckon one of us picked it up when we went shopping. Fortunately for both of us, we both had fairly mild effects although it knocked us off our feet for a week or so, not that we could do anything anyway with isolating.

Thanks Dave. Certainly a place worth visiting although I had missed if for a for a few years myself.

Sunday May 16th

Yesterday (Saturday 15th) was another grim day here with dark clouds and intermittent rain and drizzle all day.

Today was an improvement, in fact it was quite pleasant at times with some nice warm sun until, as usual, the clouds built up during the afternoon. We still had a few showers but despite these being heavy at times they did not last long and for a while it actually felt a bit more like the kind of spring weather that we used to get during April back in the days when the term ‘April Showers’ made more sense.

During the more pleasant episodes this morning and into the early afternoon, I spotted a few butterflies in the garden. These included a couple of male Green-veined Whites, one of which lurked around most of the time and had occasional short squabbles with the other one which returned now and then.

Green-veined White male - Coverdale 16.05.2021

Green-veined White male - Coverdale 16.05.2021

Green-veined White male - Coverdale 16.05.2021

A nice female Speckled Wood came through and stopped for a short spell of basking on the leaves of the lilac shrub before continuing on her way.

Speckled Wood female - Coverdale 16.05.2021

A male Orange-tip also passed through earlier in the afternoon although the weather clouded over before he had chance to come back again on his circuits so I only saw him the once.

I was also busy today getting stuff ready for us to head down to Cornwall in the morning for our first trip away this year. This trip was re-arranged from last year due to covid and even then, with tomorrow being the first day that B&Bs can re-open we had to shuffle the dates, our previous plan being to travel down today. The weather next week is still looking to be decidedly cool and unsettled but hopefully there will be a window or too for me to see some butterflies, fingers crossed.
Whatever happens, I am really looking forward to getting away and having a change of scenery for a few days.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Lovely set of shots Neil - the first one is lush I hope you have a great time down in Cornwall - I seem to recall seeing that the Small Pearls are flying down there so I hope that you can catch up with a few

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

You're doing really well with Green Veined Whites this spring, Neil. I wish I could get them to pose as nicely for me!

That first male is well-marked for a first brooder. Lovely specimen.

Hope you have a great break down in the South West.

[Goldie M]

Fantastic shots Neil, the PBF's look lovely and I've still only seen one Speckie up to now Goldie

[Neil Freeman]

Lovely set of shots Neil - the first one is lush I hope you have a great time down in Cornwall - I seem to recall seeing that the Small Pearls are flying down there so I hope that you can catch up with a few

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. Yep, managed to catch up with a few Small Pearls Returned late yesterday and as usual have loads of photos to sort through.

You're doing really well with Green Veined Whites this spring, Neil. I wish I could get them to pose as nicely for me!

That first male is well-marked for a first brooder. Lovely specimen.

Hope you have a great break down in the South West.

Thanks David. I haven't actually seen that many GVWs so far but those I have, have been slowed down by the cool conditions.

Fantastic shots Neil, the PBF's look lovely and I've still only seen one Speckie up to now Goldie

Thanks Goldie. I'm sure you will see a few more Specklies soon. It looks like the weather may be bucking up a bit towards the end of next week.


The Lizard - May 17th to May 22nd Part 1.

As mentioned previously, this trip was originally planned for last year but due to the covid related restrictions was shifted forward 12 months to the same dates this year, or I should say nearly the same dates as we had been due to travel down on Sunday 16th but with B&Bs not being allowed to re-open until Monday 17th our hosts contacted us to shuffle the dates forward that extra day.

I had originally chosen the dates based on average flight times in Cornwall over the past few years of my two main target species for the trip, these being Small Pearl-bordered and Marsh Fritillaries. With this year’s cold and dry April, followed by the cold and wet May, I was a bit concerned that these dates would turn out to be too early this year, particularly for Marsh Fritillary, and this did indeed to turn out to be the case although I am pleased to say that I did manage to see both of my targets, even if it was just one individual in the case of the Marsh Fritillary.

The weather during our stay was extremely mixed, right from when we drove down on the Monday (17th) when we saw everything from a lovely and sunny 15c around Bristol where we stopped off to visit our youngest son Danny and his partner Charlotte, to lashing down with heavy rain and a drop in temperature down to 10 degrees, especially on the sections of the A30 that pass through Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor. On arrival at our B&B right down on the tip of the Lizard, our hosts said that it had been quite a nice day and although they had been forecast some rain showers, these had not materialised, so we crossed our fingers for the next few days.

Looking towards the old lifeboat station at Lizard Point 17.05.2021

For our first full day (Tuesday 18th) it was indeed quite reasonable with a mix of cloud and sunny spells and just a couple of light showers, although it was quite windy with a stiff breeze blowing in from the west. Wednesday (19th) was similar but better in that we saw a bit more sun and no showers until around 4.00pm on the afternoon. Things changed on Thursday (20th) with the stiff breeze turning into gale force winds, although we missed the heavy rain that tracked further north of us and again didn’t see any showers until later in the afternoon. Friday was another extremely windy day with gusts apparently up to 50mph, but again we missed the worst of the rain that apparently drenched much of the country at some point during that day.

Given these conditions, still cool for the time of year and with a stiff breeze blowing, even on the better days, finding butterflies was challenging and involved searching out known sheltered spots such as in the dips and valleys along the coast path between Lizard Point and Kynance Cove, or round by Kennack Sands and Poltesco which were a bit more sheltered on the east side of the Lizard.
Overall, butterfly numbers were low, I believe partly due to the conditions but also due to the late season which for many species seems to be resulting in lower numbers emerging over a longer period.

My tally for the trip was 11 species,

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary
Marsh Fritillary
Wall Brown
Speckled Wood
Peacock
Small Copper
Common Blue
Orange-tip
Large White
Small White
Green-veined White.

Cornwall has more to offer than butterflies however, particularly at this time of year when the cliff tops are covered in a beautiful display of wildflowers which can be enjoyed irrespective of how windy it is (within reason, Thursday and Friday was pushing it at times). In particular, I am always amazed to see swathes of Bluebells along the cliff tops, as for me they are such an iconic spring woodland flower. Here they blend in beautifully with Thrift, Spring Squill, Sea Campion and many others, all growing right out in the open with hardly a tree in sight.

Bluebells on the cliff top just west of Lizard Point 18.05.2021

Bluebells framed by Thrift along the coast path west of Lizard Point 18.05.2021

Bluebells Thrift and Sea Campion along the coast path west of Lizard Point 18.05.2021

Looking towards Kynance Cove 18.05.2021

Thift growing along stone walls along the path between Lizard Point and Kynance Cove 18.05.2021.

Spring Squill 19.05.2021.

Bluebells also grow profusely, along with Wild Garlic and Red Valerian, in the hedgerows along the narrow lanes, the Wild Garlic filling the air with its pungent aroma after each shower of rain.

Even in the cloudy and very windy conditions that we saw on Thursday & Friday, the rocky coastline here has a dramatic beauty of its own and after doing some ‘touristy stuff’ to keep Jane happy during the mornings, I walked down to Pistil Meadow later in the afternoon to watch the waves crashing off the rocks. There is something quite elementally soothing about watching wild seas like this, as long as it is from a vantage point with some shelter from the worst of the gales.

Wild seas off Pistil Meadow 20.05.2021

Even though I said that butterfly numbers were low, I still have a load of photos to sort through so will be posting some of these and more details over the next few days as I get time to go through them.

To be continued…

Neil.

[Pauline]

Gorgeous scenery shots Neil - looking forward to more.

[Wurzel]

Glad that you got your target species Neil = looking forward to the piccies

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Pauline and Wurzel. More coming up.

The Lizard May 17th – May 22nd Part 2.

Small Pearls.

Although I was sure that our trip down to The Lizard would turn out to be a bit early, given the way that this season has progressed so far, I was still fairly confident that I would see Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries. In fact, I had already seen a few reports of them flying in Cornwall and having visited The Lizard a number of times before, I was aware of the best spots to try.
So it was that, after breakfast on the Tuesday morning (18th), I headed off from our B&B for a walk to the undercliff area to the south of Kynance Cove that has proved reliable in the past. The morning was shaping up to be fairly reasonable by recent standards although there was stiff breeze which was quite blustery along the more exposed cliff tops. It was more sheltered in the little valleys along the way however and arriving at the undercliff area I was pleased to find that area was also sheltered from the worst of the wind by the cliffs behind it.
At first I didn’t see anything, but as it approached 10.30am and warmed up a bit I spotted a bright orange butterfly rapidly flying back and forth across the area, a Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. I had forgotten how fast these things can actually fly and just watched it for a while until it landed and gave me a chance to sneak up for a photo.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Kynance Cove 18.05.2021

I stayed in this spot for around an hour and soon saw more SPBFs. Due to the way that they were flying back and forth over the whole area they gave the impression that there was maybe half a dozen or so but I reckon that in reality there were no more than 3 or maybe 4 in total, all fresh looking males. Checking afterwards showed that I had actually photographed just 2 different individuals although I know that I saw 3 in the air together a couple of times.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Kynance Cove 18.05.2021

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Kynance Cove 18.05.2021

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Kynance Cove 18.05.2021

I then headed back and saw a couple more in sheltered spots along the way, again both males but showing slightly more wear.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - between Kynance Cove & Lizard Point 18.05.2021

I returned to the undercliff area around 4.30pm on the Wednesday (19th) afternoon and definitely saw 4 different individuals flying although I only managed reasonable shots of one of them as they tended to settle lower down in the grass out of the wind this time.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Kynance Cove 19.05.2021

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Kynance Cove 19.05.2021

I tried watching as it clouded over to see if I could spot them go to roost but one minute they were there and the next they had just disappeared and despite looking around I couldn’t find a roosting one to get an underside shot.

Earlier on the Wednesday afternoon we had driven around to Kennack Sands and whilst Jane chilled out by the beach, I took a short walk to Poltesco and the old serpentine factory ruins at Carleon Cove. This is another spot where I have seen SPBFs before and I reckoned that the cove being very sheltered from winds from west would be worth a try. Sure enough, I found 2 males here and a female, all showing a bit more wear than those seen by Kynance Cove.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Carleon Cove 18.05.2021

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Carleon Cove 18.05.2021

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary female - Carleon Cove 18.05.2021

I returned here on the Friday (21st) when it was blowing a gale on the off chance that the sheltered cove might be the only spot that might provide a butterfly on that day. By a stoke of good fortune I arrived at the cove just as we had one of the brief brighter spells and spotted the same female that I had seen on Wednesday, looking a bit more weather beaten this time

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary female - Carleon Cove 21.05.2021

She was the only butterfly that I saw that day but given the high winds and dull cloud, that was one more than I had really expected.

Marsh Fritillary.

I was far less confident in seeing Marsh Fritillary this time as, although I had seen a few reports from Wiltshire and elsewhere, these were from dry grassland sites where they tend to emerge earlier than in other parts of their range.

The first site I checked was the one just off the main road down to Lizard Village that Essexbuzzard had tipped me off about a few years back and where I had seen Marsh Fritillaries a few times before. I was unsuccessful here and the state of the vegetation made me think that I was simply too early. Having said that, the site did not look to be in such good condition as I remembered it with large areas churned up by tractor tracks and some evidence of fires, although maybe from last year going by the degree of regeneration. I searched a bit further and noticed some of what looked like they may have been markers for larval webs further over on the other side of the hedgerow from where I had seen them before.

I then carried on around to the National Trust carpark at Predannack Wollas Farm and stepped it out to Predannack Cliffs to another spot where I had seen Marsh Fritillaries in the past. This spot was fully exposed to the brisk west wind and my arrival at the spot coincided with a large cloud covering the sun and there was not a single butterfly to be seen. I was just thinking of heading back and doing a final scan of the vegetation along the base of the stone wall along here when I spotted a splash of bright colour against the green background, a fresh looking male Marsh Fritillary.

Marsh Fritillary - Predannack Cliffs 19.05.2021

I watched him for about twenty minutes as he made a couple of brave attempts to fly against the wind, one of which brought him down on a patch of nearby bluebells which made for a nice pose.

Marsh Fritillary - Predannack Cliffs 19.05.2021

After taking a few photos, I left him in peace, the only butterfly seen along that stretch of exposed cliff top but definitely a case of quality rather than quantity.

A few more photos of the other species seen to sort through so more to some.

To be continued…

Neil.

[Goldie M]

Fantastic shots of the Lizard Neil, and lovely shots of the Marsh Frit and Pearl Frit It's a place I've always wanted to visit, I've put it on my list of places to go Goldie

[Neil Hulme]

Nice report, Neil. I long to get back there myself; it's been a while.
BWs, Neil

[trevor]

What can I say, Neil Superb report and images.
All butterflies fresh and mint. The Small Pearl should emerge at Park Corner soon.

Have a great time!.
Trevor.