www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Cheers Dave I tried it again today and it only just worked. I'd poured the coffee and it was almost cold but then a male Brostreak appeared and briefly opened up
Cheers Neil I know what you mean about the Marbled Whites, blink and you'd missed them I reckon it was the long period of dry weather that we had in the main part of their flight which meant that they didn't have the odd day off as they do in some years when we get the odd days, sometimes a week, of wet weather. They just kept on flying from sunrise to sunset so used up their allotted time more quickly; "better to burn out than fade away"

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Larkhill 20-06-2018

Somehow I managed to fit in a quick stop-off but as the Law of Sod dictates I was able to squeeze this in the weather was decidedly iffy. Anyway I needed a little mental break so I pulled in and risked the road crossing to see how things were at Larkhill. The main track heading West towards the old car park was quite quiet and I couldn’t fathom whether this was because species were on the wane or whether it was the weather almost literally putting a damper on things? It was a bit cloudy and possibly threatening to rain, in fact I’m sure I felt a few drops? I say threatening and doubt myself about the rain as writing this now in July, in the middle of a heatwave only matched by the 1976 one, this may be a mental mirage.

A few Blues still flew looking a shadow of their former selves and Meadow Browns were on the ascendency. As I strolled the Nettle bed there were 3 or 4 fresh Small Tortoiseshells which seemed slightly shocked by the weather as well, trembling and shaking their wings possibly in an attempt to meet flight temperature? From here I cut across the field to the hill top where there were some nice looking clumps of Knapweed. This little spot has produced DGFs in previous years and so I carefully checked every Meadow Brown that looked slightly orange just in case. I was wasting my time doing this as when a DGF did appear it was so different looking as to be untrue. It was very fast moving, cutting powerfully through the air and glowing bright orange in the dinge. Whilst I was chuffed to have added it to the year list I was gutted that I couldn’t get a shot. I’d follow it with my eyes, note where it appeared to go down but by the time I got anywhere near it was off again a right rate of knots. Perhaps there was a second which would take off and give the first a chance for a breather before they swapped again etc? Have a goodun

Wurzel

Those DGF are energetic little so-and-sos when first out, aren't they? And they really do seem to glow in low light levels...I hope you managed some shots later on...

Cheers,

Dave

Cheers Dave They're almost rocket propelled when fresh Luckily I managed to find some early in the morning whil thery were stilll having breakfast

Work 21-06-2018

I didn’t have long at work today and so I only managed to check out the Pits where the Meadow Browns are now hanging out mainly on the Bramble which is serving like an oasis in the middle of what is fast becoming a desert. A slight over exaggeration but when you scan across the predominant colour is sand yellow/pale beige and the ground is either rock hard or dust. I checked around the far side but that was devoid of butterflies being in the shade and so it was to the sides and the front that I devoted what little time I had to it. I’d hang back pick my quarry and then swoop in, click a few times and swoop back out again before the butterfly had t time to register that I was there. This technique paid off and I was able to get a few shots of the ever flighty Meadow Browns. Normally they calm down a little bit as the season progresses but not this year. The heat seems to have them firing on all cylinders at all times and they’re off as soon as you even glance at them! It also seemed to work for the Large Skippers and I was able to get onto a male and a slightly less mature but still not in the first flush of youth female. The Meadow and this area have been a revelation this year and I’m hoping that a few more butterflies will be here next year, the progeny of the pioneers.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi! Wurzel, it's great to look back at your photos and see the Butterflies so fresh , sadly a lot or now fading, at Gait Barrow yesterday although hot, it felt more like September with a lot of Bracken just brown and crisp. Goldie

Cheers Goldie I know what you mean Goldie, there is a definite autumnal feel to the air despite the heat and the act that we've only just started August

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Duke Site but not for Dukes…22-06-2018

As the weather hadn’t been great for a few days and work had been hectic I realised that I’d gotten behind with several species – DGFs were flying, Lulworths were out, Silver-studs were in danger of finishing before I’d get to see them…So I planned things out as my wife told me she wanted to visit Lulworth at the weekend.

Hence today I was leaving for work at the usual time but instead of the usual hurried stop-off at Larkhill it was much more leisurely and when I couldn’t locate the DGFs I carried onto my Duke Site. We had a late starting TD day and it served as a sneak peek into what retirement could look like; rising early and pottering around looking for butterflies without the constant ticking of time passing knawing at your brain. If this tiniest of glimpses is anything to go by then I can’t wait. When I was able to pull into the tiny lay-by at Larkhill I started by checking out the large nettle patch that runs at ninety degrees to the road and parallel to the gully bottom. It was quiet with only the odd Meadow Brown and Marbled White showing. I cut across the fields ignoring the Red flag flying to where the DGFs fly and where I saw my first the other day but I had no luck here and again there was just a thin smattering of the various Browns. Discontent I headed back towards the car and the bushes that fence in the path from the road. Sure enough as expected there were a few Ringlets but nowhere near the covering I’ve seen here before. So Larkhill was a bit of a disappointment – too early in the day possibly? Larkhill as I said was quiet but by contrast my Duke site was filled with butterflies. The blues to a large extent had gone although ghostly looking common blues were still around in places but they’d been replaced by the Browns – Ringlets, Marbs, Meadow Browns and Small Heath abounded and then out of the blue came a big ginger beastie – a DGF. I followed it for a while and then got onto several more in amongst the grasses. Record shots in the bag I set out towards the Cypress tree but stopped on the way for first one and then a second close encounter of the DGF kind. The light was perfect and they were so new that the black margins reflected back the colour of the plant they were feeding on so when it was Vipers Bugloss they had an electric blue sheen to their margins. Further up there was another at the top of the path as well a Common Blue and my first Small Skipper of the year. And up at the edge of the woodland a DGF flew about leading me this way and that round and round the Blackberry bush. Eventually checking my watch, I realised that I needed to make my way back and so I apologised for leaving the game and wished the DGF well. It had been a cracking stop-off and the DGfs just seemed to keep on coming. I’d look around and about and there would be a ginger beastie cutting through the air and scything the tops of the long grasses. When I stopped back near the car in one view I could see 9 DGFs, it wasn’t so much tricky to get my shot as tricky to work out which one to try for! “Brilliant and part one of catch-up weekend complete, on to phase 2!” I thought to myself as Motty waxed lyrical about Red, Red Robin on Desert Island discs. I got to work still 25 minutes early and so was first in the queue for fresh coffee and muffins that were still warm. Then it was time for a quick chat with my colleagues before my preview of retirement ended and it was back to work.
Have a goodun

Wurzel

Glorious DGF's wurzel

Lovely Dark Greens Wurzel . Looks like you caught them just right

Cheers Bugboy Thy were looking in tip top condish
Cheers Paul I think that I got there when they'd only been out a day or two - when they're fresh they can be almost blindingly ginger

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Yep, some lovely DGF there - wonderful when fresh like that and I could watch them for hours. Great shots, Wurzel.

Dave

Really nice DGF's there Wurzel. The Marbled Whites caught my eye as well.

Cheers Dave If hadn't had to go on to work I might possibly have stayed there all day. They're just so appealing when glowingly fresh
Cheers Andrew That Marb did catch the light nicely, they can appear almost inky blue and white sometimes.

Better get on with the next set...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Slop Bog 23-06-2018

With DGFs in the bag I set off with the girls in tow to continue with operation catch-up procedure - part 2. Hopefully this sequel wouldn’t be like others and would be as good as the original; hopefully it would be an Empire Strikes Back rather than a Ghostbusters 2…

It was the girls’ music choice on the way and so it was Taylor Swift hence I kept the windows up and my head down in case I was recognised. It got very hot very quickly so again I was concerned that it was too hot for the butterflies as it was certainly getting too hot for me, I was even considering trimming my beard (shaving would be a bit drastic) but I again I needn’t have worried as having already seen a couple of Specklies in the shade when we started off on the boardwalk little blue butterflies seemed to be covering the heather. “Brill part 2 completed, now for some shots…” I thought as we leant on the rails and watched the little gems frolicking in the Ling. I was itching to get off the boardwalk and onto the heather, to hear the unique scratchy rustle that it makes against your trouser legs that always reminds me of the hours I spent on similar heaths while I was growing up. Almost as soon as I was off the boardwalk I had my first shot and so job done proper. After this things became a bit of a dreamy blur down to a mixture of the heat, heather smells and reminiscence but slowly, possibly too slowly for the girls, we made our way from one side of the heath/bog to the other. I was aiming for the little pine spinney on the far side as here it was shady for the girls and there were picnic benches which could act as a base for further forays but I kept getting waylaid as yet another group of blues would pop up and pose. I was surprised at how few females there were about and also how worn some of the individuals were already, that comes from living in this coarse, rough habitat I suppose? 660 I also started seeing a behaviour I’d not seen before; a failed courtship. The male would slowly sidle round atop a heather plant whilst the female would protest violently against his advances, flapping her wings in flurry of fury. He would carry on encircling in a patient fashion and then eventually with a scream of “You just don’t get it do you?” she’d bugger off to another Heather. Sometimes he’d follow if he was quick enough but occasionally he’d remain morose and feeling misunderstood. We’d reached the Pines and in between bites of sandwich I wandered around in ever increasing circles snapping away at what I found. Another couple of females in amongst the very many males, a female Clouded Buff…sorry Jam and Custard that evaded my camera, a male on Bramble which seemed incongruous for a Heather specialist and a lovely female that started to open out. This being the middle of the day and very warm I wasn’t expecting too many open wing shots especially from the females so this was a real bonus. Buoyed by my success I went and finished my lunch actually sitting down to eat for once. Have a goodun

Wurzel

Love your description of the female rejecting the advances of a male SSB, Wurzel. And those pics of DG Frits are amazing. Two on the same flower head - now you are just showing-off!

Cheers Ernie I was just calling it as I saw it Sorry about the DGFs twofer, I wasn't intending to show off , I'll try to stick to one per shot from now on That is unless they're 'at it'

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Slop Bog cont'd...

After lunch was eaten I ventured forth again and worked my way into what was, in previous years, the bog part of the reserve. This year it was almost as dry as the main ‘Silver-studded Heath’ part (this is its’ actually name I’ve not named it this) and even when kneeling I didn’t get the expected wet patch. The problem I had on this visit was actually knowing what to focus on as there were so many Silver-studs, the heather was crawling with them. They were also quite flighty in the sun and so I switched from patient stalk to smash and grab. I’d find an animal track through the heather, follow it and swing my camera left and right and then click away at whatever befell my lens. There were some nicely marked males and one or two females which had a surprising amount of blue on their uppers. I also found another pair of Large Skippers which were better placed and in better light than the pair I found at work. Seeing this pair made me think how good it would be to find a mating pair of Silver-studs and so I started scanning for a twosome. It started slowly with lots of singletons that kept buggering off before I could focus on them. Then a male played nicely and then I spied a courtship in process. At first I was tempted to hang around but things didn’t seem to be going well for the male and so I wished him luck and moved on. Then I had one of those moments. I was scanning across the heather tops looking for the little flags that were in actual fact butterflies and there was a large white blob, dismissing it at first as a tuft of cotton grass I started to turn my head and as I did the breeze caught the ‘fluff’ and it flashed blue. I looked at it more closely and it resolved itself into a mating pair like one of those optical illusion magic tricks; now you don’t see it now you do! Chuffed I moved in and crouched down to get a better angle and as I did so I noticed another pairing a short distance away! Fantastic another addition to the ‘in cop’ collection! After this I headed back to the girls and we put it to a vote as to whether to stay or not, unfortunately as all the food had been eaten I was outvoted 2 to 1 and so we packed up and cleared off. The return journey was almost as slow as the incoming one as I stopped every few steps occasionally to take a photo but mainly to just observe and breath it all in. As we were just about to step up onto the boardwalk a male opened up just off the path, it was the freshest I’d seen all day, a first rate stunner. On the way back it was still their music choice but this time a selection from Iron Maiden, The Beatles and the Arctic Monkeys. We even had a little taster of Metallica! So two out of three done, ticked off, cards marked, the doubles done on for the treble tomorrow!!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Splendid butterflies, aren't they Wurzel! The blue dusted females are particularly attractive - is this a normal feature of the population here? And the studs on the female in the pairing are large and just a glorious shade of turquoise.

Dave

Those silver studs are gorgeous, Wurzel. Are they a second brood? I thought they were finished!

Cheers Dave This is the first time in 8 years worth of visits that I've seen the blue scaling on females Silver-studs I was wondering if the Silver-studs could go the same way as Common Blues?
Cheers Janet Sorry I didn't mean to catch you out but that post was from the end of June, I'm that far behind but I'm doing my best to catch up

Have a goodun

Wurzel