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Lovely photos Neil.

Neil Freeman wrote: ↑Fri Mar 18, 2022 7:04 pm Cheers Wurzel. I have never yet seen any of those 'well hard' Red Admirals in the spring around my patch, they are simply not a spring butterfly here (yet?).

Yes, being about 35 - 40 minutes further north on the M42, I don't expect to see a Red Admiral here in spring. I always remark to myself how I can see a comsiderable number of other species before I see one.

Hi Otep.
It is usually June before I see one here or occasionally earlier if I venture further south before then.


Thursday 24th March.

The past few days here, as with most of the country it seems, have seen lots of warm sunshine following chilly starts and afternoon temperatures in the high teens (or even higher down south apparently).

After doing my usual chores and household stuff this morning, I wandered down to Wagon Lane for an hour or so this afternoon. Butterfly numbers were similar to those I had seen here on my last visit on Tuesday, that is 20+ Small Tortoiseshells, at least 8 Commas and half a dozen Peacocks. I also saw a single Small White that passed close to me but didn’t stop before vanishing over the hedgerow.

Many of the Small Tortoiseshells are looking a bit worse for wear now but there are still some new ones appearing that look to be in better condition.
The same can be said of the Commas with worn and faded ones now outnumbering those in better condition.


On the other hand, most of the Peacocks look to be in better condition, most likely due to the fact that they tend to appear here a week or two after the first Small Tortoiseshells and Commas.
Today I spent most of my time wandering back and forth along the stand of blackthorn blossom which is now in full flower. This is the first stand to flower here with others usually following on a week or two later.
I watched two different courting pairs of Small Tortoiseshells today but in both cases they flew off into the distance and were lost to view.
I haven’t bothered venturing to any of my other local spots yet because as things stand at the moment I would only see the same species, so I am hanging on until we have a few more species out here to make it a bit more worthwhile.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

Neil Freeman wrote: ↑Fri Mar 25, 2022 8:52 am Hi Otep.
It is usually June before I see one here or occasionally earlier if I venture further south before then.

Yes, June for me too Neil.

Thanks Otep.

Friday 25th March.

Neil Freeman wrote: ↑Fri Mar 25, 2022 8:52 am I haven’t bothered venturing to any of my other local spots yet because as things stand at the moment I would only see the same species, so I am hanging on until we have a few more species out here to make it a bit more worthwhile

I said this in my last report but it isn’t quite 100% true as I have had a few looks around the park by my mom’s house when we have popped round there.

This morning we went round for our usual Friday morning visit and with another nice sunny morning I took the opportunity for another quick circuit around the park

Heading past the pond I noticed that someone had thrown some seed onto the bank and the usual dozen or so ducks were tucking into it including the Tufted Duck that I saw last week and which looks to be settled in here. I also spotted another different looking duck amongst them and back home later I posted a photo of it on twitter and had it identified it as a domestic breed of Mallard known as a Duclair. Apparently these, along with similar breeds, are more often known amongst birders as ‘Manky Mallards’ which seems a bit of an unfair name to me, but I have found that some birders can be quite dismissive of anything that isn’t a ‘notable’ sighting.
I carried on around my circuit and went to check out a couple of smallish blackthorns which had come into flower since last week and found a couple of Small Tortoiseshells shuffling about on the blossom.
I then returned to my mom’s and after staying a bit longer and having a coffee we headed back home.

This afternoon I spent a couple of hours in the garden during which a passing Comma was the only butterfly that I saw for the rest of the day.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

More lovely shots Neil The Red Admirals down this way are 'well hard' in tow ways - first they're often the first out and second they seldom pose for photos - so generally like you I have to wait until later in the season for any shots worth it though

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Looks like a proper Small Tortoiseshell 'fest' round your way, Neil. Great to see.

Your blackthorn seems far in advance of ours on the Gower. I reckon it'll be two weeks at least before it's in its prime here.

Some really beautiful shots of small tortoiseshells recently Neil - such lovely subtle variation.

Thanks for the comments Wurzel, David and Benjamin.

No butterflies for me this week.

Sunday and Monday were both very dull grey days here with an increasingly cold breeze. Wednesday saw a further drop in temperatures with some rain showers and then yesterday and today have been like a return to winter with daytime temperatures not lifting much above freezing and regular flurries of snow and hail.

Fingers crossed that this cold spell doesn't last too long.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

Tuesday April 5th.

Last year an Early Thorn female that came to my garden trap left me some eggs, some of which I reared and subsequently overwintered the pupae as described on page 187 of this PD https://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/phpBB/v ... start=3720

A couple of weeks ago I saw the first examples of this years spring generation being reported in Warwickshire and so I took the pupae out of the fridge and laid them out in a cage ready to emerge.
Earlier today I checked on them and saw that the first one had emerged, a male. Unfortunately I missed the actual emergence and by the time I saw him his wings were fully inflated so for all I know he may of emerged during the hours of darkness last night.

I took a few photos in the garden and then moved him into cover so he could fly off wherever he likes tonight.

With more cloud cover last night I decided to run the trap for the first time this month and although it was fairly mild I suspect it probably ended up being a bit too breezy with the result being just 7 moths of 4 species, these being Common Quaker (3), Hebrew Character(2), Double-striped Pug(1) and my first Red-green Carpet for this year.

After the cold weather of the past week or so, there was an uplift in the temperature today and some breaks in the cloud to allow some sun through tempted me down to my local spot at Wagon Lane.
Although it was warmer than it has been of late it was quite blustery and when the clouds covered the sun again it still felt quite nippy. Despite this I managed to find five Small Tortoiseshells braving the conditions.
The sunny spells didn't last long however and once the clouds had merged together to again form a blanket grey overcast I headed back home.

I am still on five species around here, these being Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Comma, with just a couple of Small Whites and a single Brimstone so far.

It looks like being a wet one here tomorrow and then temperatures are forecast to drop again, fingers crossed it bucks up a bit not too long after that.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

That's a lovely pattern on your reared Early Thorn, Neil. I hope it got to fly off safely.

As for the weather, it's stuck in a rut right now, but it can't last forever. We will get some relief eventually.

Cracking Small Torts Neil, proving once again that they're worthy of the 'Hardest Butterfly' title The Early Thorn is a lovely looking Moff- the almost purple coloration is lovely to look at

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks David and Wurzel

Friday 8th April

Well, I’m glad that week is over. I said in my last report that Wednesday looked like being a wet one but I honestly was not expecting the monsoon like conditions that we had here at times with deluges of rain interspersed with snow and hail, all accompanied by gale force winds.
There wasn’t much let up in the cloud on Thursday leaving us with a cold day with temperatures remaining resolutely in the low single figures.

After yet another cold night (-2 degrees) today was another frosty start followed by a cold morning but this afternoon bucked up considerably with some good sunny spells that tempted me down to Wagon Lane.

Visiting the usual sheltered spots, it was apparent that, out of the cool breeze it would feel a good few degrees warmer than the more exposed areas and I soon started to see Small Tortoiseshells with at least 15 counted around the circuit. The condition of these now varies greatly with many of them having taken a hammering from this weeks scabby weather.

Other butterflies were still scarce with just 4 Commas plus singles of Peacock and Brimstone seen, the latter two not coming anywhere close for a photo.
I had been watching the slow approach of a large ominous looking mass of dark cloud so I completed my circuit and stepped it out towards home, arriving back just in time before the heavens opened with a heavy sleety shower.

Fingers crossed that things are looking up a bit next week.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

I hope you're right about things looking better next week - I don't think they could be much worse Lovely collection of Small Torts again - I love looking at all their variation almost as much as Hedge Browns

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Just shows how resilient Small Tortoiseshells are when they can turn up in such numbers following sub-zero nights like that, Neil.

Great that they are starting spring off so strongly round your way.

Thanks Wurzel and David.

Some more Small Torts today but still photos to go through so first...

Another half a dozen Early thorns have emerged over the past couple of nights, 3 males on Friday night and 2 males and a female last night (Saturday). All emerged during the hours of darkness and greeted me in the morning with fully inflated wings.
That just leaves three pupae left to emerge.

I photographed a male last time so here's the female.
Cheers,

Neil.

Sunday 10th April.

After another cold start on Saturday, we had a few sunny spells through the morning but none of them lasted long enough to make much impression and with more cloud building up as the day went on it remained pretty cold all day.

Sunday turned out much better with clear blue skies for most of the morning and some nice sun which warmed things after a frosty start.

Looking out of the kitchen window whilst making a coffee just after 11.00am I spotted my first Holly Blue of the year passing through the bottom of the garden. I went out to potter about in the garden for a bit whilst keeping an eye out for it to return, which it did about 20 minutes later but once again passed through without stopping. I am assuming that it was the same one as I have timed their circuits in previous years and on average the same individuals take approximately 20 minutes to return on their circuits around the gardens.

By the time I was free to have a wander down to Wagon Lane some high level cloud had built up but it was still thin enough to allow the sun to filter through to make it feel reasonably pleasant.
Butterfly numbers today were up from my last visit on Friday with my usual circuit producing 21 Small Tortoiseshells, 11 Commas and 4 Peacocks. Although many of these were looking worn and faded now with many of them being individuals that I have seen here before, there were also some newer looking Small Tortoiseshells about today, obviously not fresh at this time of the year but considering some of the weather we have had recently some of them are in remarkably good condition still. I suspect some of these were probably tucked away in deeper shade and needed the sun to reach a higher point in the sky to wake them up which would possibly explain why they appear over a period of time rather than all at once.
My butterfly of the day however was my first Speckled Wood of the year, a nice fresh male in one of the corners where they usually show up here.
No whites at all again today which means I have still only seen 2 Small Whites and 2 Brimstones here so far. Mind you, it is still only the second week of April so still early days here by usual timings.

Although it looks like there will be a fair bit of cloud around still, at least temperatures are looking to be up a bit this coming week, fingers crossed for an orange-tip or two soon.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

Now that Dave Miller has photographed a Holly Blue and now you've had your first Specklie I can say that the season has officially begun without fear of jinxing it Neil Cracking Small Torts - I've watched some of them this year and when the sun goes in or the rain starts that disappear into a little 'tent' of grass

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman wrote: ↑Mon Apr 11, 2022 7:47 am...My butterfly of the day however was my first Speckled Wood of the year, a nice fresh male in one of the corners where they usually show up here.

Always a happy moment for us all when you spot your first Specklie of the year, Neil. Impressive count of Small Tortoiseshells again, compensating somewhat for the lack of Pierids.

As you say, things look like bucking up weatherwise very soon. Let's hope so.

Thanks Wurzel and David.

Yes, always good to see my first Specklie, just waiting for one in the garden now.

Yesterday (Monday 11th) was a busy day, my mother-in-law had a fall in her back garden on Friday and is in Warwick Hospital with a broken hip. Yesterday morning we went round to check her bungalow and pick up some stuff to take in to her and then drove down to Warwick. Due to Covid, visiting is restricted to one person for one hour so I took Jane to the ward and then went for a walk.
I found my way to Priory Park, a nice green oasis in the middle of Warwick approximately 15 minutes walk from the hospital and did a quick circuit during which I saw singles of Brimstone and Small Tortoiseshell. I didn't have my camera with me but neither of them stopped so I wouldn't have got a photo anyway.

Today (Tuesday), it has been raining all morning so far and as I write this at 10.40 it is lashing down and showing no sign of letting up. Looks like showers forecast here for tomorrow but the indications are that things are bucking up towards the Easter weekend.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

Sorry to read that your mother in law has had a fall resulting in broken bones and hospitalisation Neil.

Looking at your Speckled Wood photo, I was instantly impressed by you being able to identify its gender. I did some research. For that identification, are the genders separated by size and the slightly different colours? Or observation of behaviours? Or both?