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Saturday 30th July 2016 - The Gower coast....

I wasn't prepared to travel far today given the mixed weather forecast. So, at 11am I drove the relatively short distance down to Whiteford Burrows which is at the north west corner of the Gower Peninsula.

The first hour was predominantly cloudy, but the next two saw decent breaks allowing the butterflies to become active and visible.

Meadow Browns were about in almost silly numbers. I'd estimate at least 400 and they ranged from tattered to very fresh indeed. The cloudy conditions meant that many of them were posing with wings open, and I managed to capture this impressively marked female:
Hedge Browns were about too, although they were absent from the more exposed areas:
Suddenly, after a relative paucity thus far in 2016, Red Admirals were about in good numbers:
A dozen or so Peacocks were also a most welcome sight:
Out on the dunes I was pleased to see 20 or so Common Blues, a species that has not had a good year in 2016:
Second brood Small Blues were about in similar numbers:
I was particularly delighted to see Brown Argus here. They've had a shocking year so this pristine specimen (one of three seen) was especially pleasing:
Pierids were about too. Only one definite Green Veined White seen, but Large and Small Whites both hit double figures:
Here's an overview of the dunes looking west:
I also had two first UK sightings for 2016. I anticipated seeing quite a few Graylings but in the event I only saw one:
I also managed to see a solitary Marbled White, a species I had all but given up on this year having been out of the country during its peak flight period:
Small Skipper was the most notable absentee, whilst I had hoped that the odd Tortoiseshell, Small Copper and Comma would pop up too. However, there were three Speckled Woods in the scrubby area on my way back to the car at 2.30pm:
So, 16 species on a mediocre late summer's day isn't to be sniffed at, given how shocking this year has been thus far. Here are the butterflies seen:

Meadow Brown 400+
Red Admiral 30-50
Common Blue 20-30
Small Blue 20-30
Hedge Brown 10-20
Large White 10-20
Small White 10-20
Peacock 10-15
Ringlet 5-10
Brown Argus 3
Speckled Wood 3
Silver Washed Fritillary 1
Grayling 1
Dark Green Fritillary 1
Green Veined White 1
Marbled White 1

5th & 6th August 2016 - Odds and ends.....

My annual visit to the Isle of Man coincided with pleasant conditions this year, giving me time to hunt down a few Graylings at the Ayres Nature Reserve at the northern tip of the island.

I saw 20 or so in total, including this female:
Soon after spotting her, this male homed in on her:
It's during moments like these that both sexes will open their wings:
Several Painted Ladies were encountered, including this fresh looking specimen:
Common Blues were disappointingly scarce, but I did see this wonderfully well-marked female:
A nice caeruleopunctata Small Copper popped up too:
Lovely red chevrons on the hindwing...shame about the missing antenna though!
Saturday was glorious, although I spent much of it in the car! On my way from Liverpool to Abergavenny though, I briefly stopped at Prees Heath which is en route. Silver Studded Blues have finished for 2016 unsurprisingly, but I did encounter something I've never seen before - a female Holly Blue nectaring on the heather right in the middle of SSB country:

Saturday 13th August 2016 - My favourite site....

My neighbour and I spent a wonderful 5 hours at the West Williamston site in Pembrokeshire today to catch up with this year's Brown Hairstreaks.

They didn't disappoint, with 4 males and 3 females seen, along with plenty of other species.

For the first time ever here, I saw a grounded male betulae, but he was off before I could get an image. Instead, I got my usual 'tree-top' record shot:
The first female was seen at 11.20am on the foreshore. She looks to have had a hard time in her short life so far:
Still, she gave us the distinction of being the first visitors to record an egg being laid this year:
Female number 2 was in much better condition:
Having first spotted her at 1305hrs, we tracked her all the way across the top field and out over the perimeter fence for nearly half an hour, seeing her lay 6 eggs in total, including two 'doubles'. Here's one of them:
At 1410hrs a third female was seen. This image sees her about to embark on an ovipositing sortie:
...and here's one of her just resting:
Another Hairstreak popped up too. Even though there are very few oaks at this site, for the last three years Purple Hairstreaks have been sighted. As ever, this one was up in an ash tree, but a long range record shot proves that it's quercus:
It was good to see a healthy variety of species, 16 in all. About 10 Silver Washed Fritillaries were about:
Half a dozen Small Coppers put in an appearance:
This female Common Blue was a brief but welcome distraction:
Several Painted Ladies were seen in the more open areas:
Peacocks and Red Admirals could be found on the prime nectar sources in decent numbers:
The other species seen were Large White, Small White, Green Veined White, Small Tortoiseshell, Holly Blue, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown & Hedge Brown.

Beautiful images of the BH's David, especially that last female

There are many marvelous butterflies to see in France, David, but my chances of seeing Brown Hairstreak and getting photos like yours are close to zero where I live.
Chris

Lovely Brown Hairstreak sequence David. Hope to get some images like that next week.

Best wishes,
Trevor.

Not seen any Brownies yet this year, I'm almost salivating at that final underside picture...

Thursday 25th August 2016 - Making the best of a bad draw.....

I'd have loved to have been off on Tuesday or even Friday of this week, as both these days were forecast almost perfect.

However, due to work restrictions I had to make do with today, a cloudy day, but I headed down to West Williamston anyway in order to undertake a Brown Hairstreak egg count.

Arriving at 10.30am, I devoted a full hour to the first field by the car park and had unearthed a healthy tally of 34 ova, including this triplet:
7 more eggs were found in the middle field, before 10 were located in the last field before the foreshore, including a personal record of NINE on a single blackthorn sucker, six of which are visible in this image:
Skies cleared around 12.15pm, and I was fortunate enough to witness a rare spectacle - a male Brown Hairstreak pursuing a female. Sadly, the male lost interest and the female disappeared over the shrub line so I was unable to get any images. However, there were plenty of other butterflies around - at least two dozen Speckled Woods, of which this one was the most attractive:
A dozen or so Red Admirals were around:
Painted Ladies were the most common vanessid, with at least 20 seen. Although this image is a poor one, it does contain an unlikely pairing - cardui along with one of two Silver Washed Fritillaries encountered:
This lovely female Large White was nectaring on buddleia:
Four Small Tortoiseshells were seen:
....along with this single male Common Blue:
Other species seen were: Hedge Brown (4), Meadow Brown (2), Green Veined White (2), Small White (1), Comma (1) and Peacock (1).

Sunday 4th September 2016 - Plas Pilipala...

A mainly cloudy day here in south Wales saw me opt for a visit to the National Botanic Gardens of Wales just west of Cross Hands.

The principal reason was that they have recently opened a new butterfly house and I wanted to see what was there.

The three month experiment from 1st July has already been extended to a 6 month one, and I hope there is sufficient interest to keep it going into the new year, as it will provide a much needed 'fix' during the long off-season.

Blue Morpho was, unsurprisingly, one of the star species (this one taking quite a liking to my shirt sleeve):
Here's an underside:
The bulk of the specimens were from the Longwing family. This group loves flying around in the shady, lower areas of the canopy and is thus much favoured as the butterflies stay away from the windows and spend long periods basking on leaves or on the feeding stations:
Glasswings were out in force too:
There were a few Banded King Shoemakers, but they were mainly perched up near the ceiling or on the window sills. A few were feeding on the fruit laid out by the staff but sadly they kept their wings closed:
Like the above, Brown Clippers were favouring the brighter areas by the windows, but this one couldn't resist a ripe banana:
There were a few species I couldn't identify:
This is a view of the glass house, and outside of it is a walled garden where there are plenty of brassica plants. In spite of the gloomy conditions, several Large & Small Whites were seen along with a solitary female Green Veined White. The only other butterflies active were Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell.

Morning David

Great photos from the butterfly house. The ones which you can't identify I saw on a visit to Wisley earlier in the year. I THINK the first and third are both Great Mormon and the middle one may be Great Eggfly - a most unattractive name for such a lovely butterfly!

Sunday 18th September 2016 - Small White renaissance.....

Having spent a week looking after my friend's guest house in Abergavenny whilst she was on holiday, I was eager to get out again on the butterfly trail today. Although the weather wasn't perfect, it was mainly sunny with temperatures around 17 degrees, so I spent the best part of two hours at Port Eynon on the Gower coast in an attempt to reconnect.

The most notable statistic was the sheer numbers of Small Whites. This species didn't have the best of first broods round here, but they have clearly responded to the warm conditions of late, as I reckon I saw 100+ of them in and around the dunes between 10.45 and 12.30 today. This patch of wild cabbages next to the car park took me into double figures straight away:
The valerian on the coastline was well frequented by several species, including a dozen or so Large Whites:
Here's a view towards the headland looking south west:
I didn't see a single Green Veined White, but there were 4 Small Tortoiseshells, 3 Painted Ladies, 3 Speckled Woods, a Red Admiral and what will probably be my last Common Blue of 2016 as well as my last Meadow Brown:

Sunday 2nd October 2016 - Winding down......

Two weeks ago I visited Port Eynon on the Gower coast. I did the same today but a lot had happened in between.

A fortnight ago, Small Whites were numerous - this time, there were 10 at best, and all the ones I saw settled were worn.

In fact, very little was flying in the dunes, in spite of lovely conditions - 16c, and almost unobstructed blue skies.

A Painted Lady and a couple of Red Admirals were the only other butterflies seen until I moved on to the woodland path that leads to the trig point on the hill overlooking the bay, from where I took these images:

This one is out towards the sea, with the plumes of industrial smoke just visible in the background from the Tata Steel plant at Port Talbot:
This one shows the village of Port Eynon:
Within the more sheltered confines of the woodland path, it seemed that almost every patch of flowering ivy had several Red Admirals nectaring on it. I probably saw almost 50 in various spots along this path:
I saw a couple of Commas amongst the numerous Red Admirals, which was nice as I've seen precious few of this species over the past couple of months:
I won't be able to get out again for another couple of weeks, at which point I daresay only the adult hibernators will be about. Things are definitely on the wane here now and I'm already yearning for next spring!

Saturday 22nd October 2016 - In need of a fix.....

On 10th October, I spotted a Small White in the grounds of Swansea University. Since then, only Red Admirals have been about and it looks like the season is all but over. So, once again I took myself to the National Botanic Gardens of Wales to pay a visit to the tropical butterfly house.
Sadly, because this building was constructed for plants rather than butterflies, it doesn't have as much natural light coming into it as would be ideal. As a consequence, many species can be better seen from outside the windows resting on the glass. There were quite a few Indian Leafwings in there, but none were flying about the interior - they were all perched on the window sills!!!

The gardens had that late autumn look to them, although it is still a lovely place to visit as it is always well manicured:
Just one native species seen; unsurprisingly, a Red Admiral on the flowering ivy behind the walled gardens. However, another sighting of interest was this semi-tame pheasant, which practically resides in the garden centre at the site as it is regularly fed:

Monday 31st October 2016 - Unseasonably warm yet again.....

What is it about this time of year lately?

31 October 2014 was the hottest ever Hallowe'en in the UK and last year saw temperatures hit 17c on 1st November in Swansea.

Fast forward 12 months and yet again we have had freakish conditions at this precise time of year.

The weather forecast merely predicted mild conditions of 15c or so, which meant that I paid a visit to Linda Vista Gardens in Abergavenny once the mist had cleared at about 10.30am. Sadly, there were no butterflies about but the autumn leaves looked resplendent:
On my way back from Abergavenny to Swansea though, I noticed that my car's temperature gauge had hit 17c even at high altitude!! By the time I got to Neath, it was saying 20c!

I decided to take a last minute detour to a former late season haunt at Cwm Clydach, where flowering ivy abounds in sheltered conditions facing south:
The sun had already started to dip down as I only arrived at 1.40pm, but on my walk back the last cut of ivy growth was right in the warmth:
Unlike some favoured spots on the English south coast, there were no Clouded Yellows, Common Blues or Speckled Woods. The butterfly gorging itself on nectar here was a straightforward Red Admiral, however, I suspect that it will be the last I see in 2016, which makes it just as special:
Watching the news later that evening, I wasn't at all surprised to see west Wales break Hallowe'en records with a daytime high of 22.2c! At best I reckon Swansea hit 21.

Won't see those figures for a long while.

Bonfire Night butterflies

I always like to chase down a November butterfly or two, so with bright, sunny, blue skies this morning, I ignored the earlier mild frost (as well as the chilly 10c with a brisk northerly wind) and headed down to Bracelet Bay on the Gower Coast to check out the hebe blooms by the coastguard's hut.

Two Red Admirals were duly seen, though only this tatty one was photographed:
The microclimate to the left beyond the building felt positively balmy when I reached it, which is why this spot tends to attract these unseasonal butterflies:
Amazingly, whilst driving back into the complex where I live, another Red Admiral fluttered lazily across my path. With a few night-time frosts to come I reckon this will be it unless there is a freak mild period later this month.

Right now March seems a long way away.

Happy New Year!

This winter is shaping up better than the last few so far. The constant rain and floods of last year have been replaced by predominant high pressure and even here in Swansea we've had precious little rain. All we need now is a decent cold snap to create conditions more favourable for overwintering stages and, with any luck, a warmer and drier April to enable the early emergers to prosper!

I nipped out for half an hour to the coast today, and although it was no better than 7 degrees, the relative lack of wind made it feel quite pleasant. With cloudless skies I wondered whether there might even be a Red Admiral or two! At Limeslade Bay I noticed this huge patch of flowering hebe in a sunny and sheltered spot. Quite a few bees were nectaring from it and the bergenia adjacent to it is already beginning to flower. This is probably my likeliest spot for an unseasonal butterfly so I'll be back every now and then when (if) conditions are suitable.

Wishing everybody a happy and productive 2017!!

Dates of first UK sightings 2017:

1. Red Admiral - 18 February, Dan-y-graig cemetery, Port Tennant, Swansea
2. Small Tortoiseshell - 9 March, Swansea Vale
3. Brimstone - 9 March, Morfa, Swansea
4. Peacock - 9 March, Oystermouth Cemetery, Mumbles, Swansea
5. Comma - 9 March, Oystermouth Cemetery, Mumbles, Swansea
6. Small White - 25 March, Castle Meadows, Abergavenny
7. Holly Blue - 26 March, Kilvey Hill, Swansea
8. Speckled Wood - 26 March, Kilvey Hill, Swansea
9. Large White - 6 April, Kilvey Hill, Swansea
10. Orange Tip - 6 April, Swansea Vale
11. Green Veined White - 8 April, Whiteford Burrows, Gower, Swansea
12. Grizzled Skipper - 23 April, Merthyr Mawr, nr. Porthcawl
13. Green Hairstreak - 1 May, Welshmoor, Gower, Swansea
14. Wall Brown - 2 May, Kilvey Hill, Swansea
15. Small Copper - 6 May, Crymlyn Burrows, Swansea
16. Small Blue - 6 May, Crymlyn Burrows, Swansea
17. Dingy Skipper - 7 May, Kittle Quarry, Swansea
18. Pearl Bordered Fritillary - 13 May, Ewyas Harold Common, nr. Pontrilas
19. Common Blue - 14 May, Crymlyn Burrows, Swansea
20. Small Heath - 14 May, Crymlyn Burrows, Swansea
21. Brown Argus - 14 May, Crymlyn Burrows, Swansea
22. Duke of Burgundy - 20 May, Rodborough Common, nr. Stroud, Glos
23. Adonis Blue - 20 May, Rodborough Common, nr. Stroud, Glos
24. Marsh Fritillary - 21 May, Welshmoor, Gower, Swansea
25. Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary - 22 May, Fairwood Common, Gower, Swansea
26. Meadow Brown - 4 June, Fairwood Common, Gower, Swansea
27. Ringlet - 17 June, Daneway Banks, nr. Sapperton, Glos
28. Large Skipper - 17 June, Daneway Banks, nr. Sapperton, Glos
29. Marbled White - 17 June, Daneway Banks, nr. Sapperton, Glos
30. Large Blue - 17 June, Daneway Banks, nr. Sapperton, Glos
31. Silver Washed Fritillary - 17 June, Lower Woods, nr. Wickwar, Glos
32. Silver Studded Blue - 18 June, St Govan's Head, nr Bosherston, Pembrokeshire
33. Dark Green Fritillary - 20 June, Old Castle Down, nr. Ewenny, Glamorgan
34. High Brown Fritillary - 20 June, Old Castle Down, nr. Ewenny, Glamorgan
35. Painted Lady - 20 June, Old Castle Down, nr. Ewenny, Glamorgan
36. Large Heath - 21 June, Cors Caron, nr. Tregaron, Ceredigion
37. White Letter Hairstreak - 26 June, Glanymor Park, Loughor
38. Hedge Brown - 17 July, Glanymor Park, Loughor
39. Essex Skipper - 22 July, Mill Lane Orchard, Abergavenny
40. Small Skipper - 22 July, Mill Lane Orchard, Abergavenny
41. Grayling - 5 August, The Ayres Nature Reserve, Isle of Man
42. Brown Hairstreak - 10 August, West Williamston, Pembrokeshire
43. Clouded Yellow - 13 August, A477, Pembrokeshire

UK species seen in France but NOT seen in Britain in 2017:

44. Lulworth Skipper - French Pyrenees
45. Chequered Skipper - French Pyrenees
46. Swallowtail - French Pyrenees
47. Glanville Fritillary - French Pyrenees
48. Heath Fritillary - French Pyrenees
49. Wood White - French Pyrenees
50. Mountain Ringlet - French Alps
51. White Admiral - French Alps
52. Purple Hairstreak - French Alps
53. Chalkhill Blue - French Alps
54. Northern Brown (Mountain) Argus - French Alps
55. Silver Spotted Skipper - French Alps

Non-UK butterflies seen in 2017:

French Pyrenees 23rd - 31st May

56. Mallow Skipper
57. Tufted Marbled Skipper
58. Red Underwing Skipper
59. Safflower Skipper
60. Oberthur's Grizzled Skipper
61. Large Grizzled Skipper
62. Spanish Festoon
63. Clouded Apollo
64. Apollo
65. Spanish (Iberian) Swallowtail
66. Provence Orange Tip
67. Black Veined White
68. Southern Small White
69. Bath White
70. Berger's Clouded Yellow
71. Cleopatra
72. Violet Copper
73. Sooty Copper
74. Purple-Shot Copper
75. Purple-Edged Copper
76. Blue Spot Hairstreak
77. False Ilex Hairstreak
78. Sloe Hairstreak
79. Lang's Short-Tailed Blue
80. Osiris Blue
81. Provençal Short-Tailed Blue
82. Chequered Blue
83. Green Underside Blue
84. Mazarine Blue
85. Escher's Blue
86. Turquoise Blue
87. Amanda's Blue
88. Chapman's Blue
89. Geranium Argus
90. Cardinal
91. Queen of Spain Fritillary
92. Marbled Fritillary
93. Weaver's Fritillary
94. Spanish Fritillary
95. Knapweed Fritillary
96. Spotted Fritillary
97. Provençal Fritillary
98. Meadow Fritillary
99. False Heath Fritillary
100. Map
101. Camberwell Beauty
102. Southern White Admiral
103. De Prunner's Ringlet
104. Bright Eyed Ringlet
105. Large Wall Brown
106. Pearly Heath
107. Dusky Heath
108. Spanish Gatekeeper
109. Western Marbled White
110. Iberian Marbled White

French Alps 27th June - 15th July (the following are species seen exclusively in this region that had hitherto not been seen in the Pyrenees in May)

111. Marbled Skipper
112. Alpine Grizzled Skipper
113. Carline Skipper
114. Foulquier's Grizzled Skipper
115. Rosy Grizzled Skipper
116. Silvery Argus
117. Geranium Bronze
118. Mountain Alcon Blue
119. Glandon Blue
120. Idas Blue
121. Alpine Blue
122. Damon Blue
123. Eros Blue
124. Baton Blue
125. Meleager's Blue
126. Long Tailed Blue
127. Scarce Copper
128. Ilex Hairstreak
129. Niobe Fritillary
130. Pearl Bordered Fritillary
131. Mountain Fritillary
132. Shepherd's Fritillary
133. Titania's Fritillary
134. Lesser Marbled Fritillary
135. Cynthia's Fritillary
136. Grison's Fritillary
137. Southern Comma
138. Small Apollo
139. Scarce Swallowtail
140. Mountain Clouded Yellow
141. Mountain Green Veined White
142. Peak White
143. False Mnestra Ringlet
144. Almond Eyed Ringlet
145. Common Brassy Ringlet
146. Lesser Mountain Ringlet
147. Large Ringlet
148. Arran Brown
149. Piedmont Ringlet
150. Sooty Ringlet
151. Great Banded Grayling
152. Darwin's Heath
153. Chestnut Heath
154. Woodland Grayling
155. Dusky Meadow Brown
156. Great Sooty Satyr

Total species seen in 2017 - 156

Last butterfly sighting - Red Admiral - 5th December 2017, Sandringham Park, Swansea Vale

Thursday 9th March 2017 - Action at last....

After living under a curtain of cloud for over a week, today was forecast mild and sunny (at least in the morning), so I took a day off in the hope that I might see a few emerging hibernators.

It was slow going at first...an hour in Dan-y-graig cemetery surprisingly drew a blank, and it was ironic that I had to go to work (or at least to the car park) to see my first butterfly of the day - a Small Tortoiseshell, pottering around the celandines and dandelions on the bank of the stream that runs through the wild areas a few hundred yards from my workplace:
This area is always good for early spring Torties...I think they're attracted by the strong nettle growth that can be found here:
By midday, I left to go to Morrisons, but on the way I spotted a male Brimstone fluttering around the shrubs on the roadside, so once I'd done my shopping I thought I'd pay a visit to Oystermouth Cemetery in Mumbles given there was no sign of the predicted gathering cloud. It proved to be a good decision. The lowest part of this site is extremely well sheltered, almost a natural bowl. There were two Peacocks here, and a couple of times they jousted with each other, spiralling upwards before coming down in much the same place:
I walked up the hill, pausing briefly to admire this beautiful early March scene:
Something then caught my eye, and I knew by the flight and by the light tone it was a Comma. It came down on a grave and spent about 10 minutes there:
I walked around the perimeter of the cemetery, where from the highest point there is a nice view towards Mumbles Head:
It was then back down to the sheltered area, where a Small Tortoiseshell was fluttering about, along with another Comma and one of the two Peacocks seen earlier:
So, one of those delightfully cathartic days that one can only have at this time of year. By the time I left at 2.40pm it was still sunny and 14 degrees!!

Great stuff David, it was very frustrating being at work today knowing there would be loads of emergents out and about posing for everyone. The one silver lining is I work mostly outside so I managed a couple of sightings at least

Thanks, guys. In many ways, the first warm day of spring is the best of the year and it certainly was well worth the day's annual leave!