www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Morning Neil - well done with those Early Thorns. As always, lovely shots of them. Your moth images are inspiring me to dust off my moth trap.

Hi Otep, thanks for your comments.
Speckled Woods can take a bit of practice to separate the sexes but it become easier with practice. The males have a patch of scales on each forewing that makes up their 'sex gland' but this may not always be obvious in some lights. Other differences are the shorter and fatter abdomen on females plus their wings are larger and rounder. Females of all broods also tend to look brighter due to larger yellow patches but there can be a large amount of variation in both sexes. I have been watching this species in my garden for some years now and I still get it wrong occasionally.

Morning Pauline. Unfortunately, it has been slow going with the moths in my garden so far this year and I have run the trap far fewer times than I would have normally done due to lots of unsuitable weather. Fingers crossed that it picks up soon.

Cheers,

Neil.

Hi! Neil, your inspiring me has well to get a moth trap now I'm in Kent I'll have to wait for the move first, sorry to hear of your Mother-in-laws fall, I hope she's doing okay Goldie

Neil Freeman wrote: ↑Wed Apr 13, 2022 8:19 am Speckled Woods can take a bit of practice to separate the sexes but it become easier with practice. The males have a patch of scales on each forewing that makes up their 'sex gland' but this may not always be obvious in some lights. Other differences are the shorter and fatter abdomen on females plus their wings are larger and rounder. Females of all broods also tend to look brighter due to larger yellow patches but there can be a large amount of variation in both sexes. I have been watching this species in my garden for some years now and I still get it wrong occasionally.

Thank you Neil. I have undertaken a consultation with my inner management team and decided to park Speckled Wood gender learning for another day or to let it evolve naturally over time.

Hi Goldie. You are certainly in a good part of the country now if you do get a moth trap...but beware, it can become time consuming sorting through the catch and trying to identify what you have caught, especially in the summer months.

Hi Otep. It will come over time and before you know it you will be telling them apart with confidence...most of the time anyway.

Thursday 14th to Tuesday 19th April – Bosham.

We recently spent a few days down in Bosham in West Sussex, staying at the same B&B that we stayed at last September. The reason for this trip was primarily to see our daughter who lives in Emsworth, just over the border in Hampshire, and the dates were dictated to me by Jane and Sarah so that we would be down there over Easter. From a personal and selfish perspective, I would probably have chosen dates a little later, portably in a week or two, but they ganged up on me and so that was that. In fact, once word got out around the family that we were going down, we became the Family Easter Egg Delivery Service.

We set off on the morning of Thursday 14th, laden up with not only our usual luggage but also with bags of Easter Eggs on the back seat. Most of the way down the M40 and A34 was under dull grey skies but by the time we approached Emsworth it was brightening up and the forecast was looking promising for over the weekend (Yeah I know ). Of course, whether I would see any butterflies would depend on some careful negotiation as I knew that Jane had already made some plans with Sarah.

Anyway, the first butterflies that I saw were along the lanes and public footpaths between our B&B and Bosham village and Bosham Quay. I managed to have a wander along these on most days, either after breakfast before we went out or later in the afternoon when we got back. These walks produced my first Orange-tips of the year along with my first Green-veined Whites plus Peacocks, a few Speckled Wood and a couple of tatty Small Tortoiseshells. I also had a flypast by my first Red Admiral of the year on Friday 15th, but it wasn’t stopping.
The Orange-tips were ceaselessly patrolling, even quite late in the afternoon and the first photo I managed was a record shot of a female that briefly dropped onto a bluebell before going over a hedge into a garden.
Eventually I managed to catch an occasional male as he stopped but these were usually distant record shots. On the morning of Sunday 17th, before going round to Sarah’s for Sunday (Easter) Lunch, I went for one of my morning walks after breakfast. The Orange-tips were waking up and starting to get lively and I watched one male patrolling along a ditch beside a footpath that went along one edge of a farmer’s field.
As I watched him get further and further away, I saw him do a sudden stop and drop down into the ditch. He didn’t reappear and so I slowly approached to find that he had swooped down on a mate. I took a few photos and left them to it.
Later that afternoon I returned and with a cooler breeze blowing, I managed to sneak up on a male to get a closer photo.
Both male and female Green-veined Whites were seen in small numbers but I didn’t confirm any Small Whites along here.
These lanes make for a pleasurable walk and you never knew what would turn up around the next corner.
On Saturday Jane and Sarah had arranged to go out shopping together, here was my chance to get out for a few hours...

To be continued…

Neil.

Saturday 16th April – Butser Hill/Rake Bottom.

A few years back, I had bumped into Mark Tutton at Fermyn Woods and we had spent an enjoyable day wandering around and looking for Purple Emperors. More recently, following a post of mine on Twitter about visiting Old Winchester Hill last September, he commented that we should meet up if I was down that way again some time.

With Jane and Sarah arranging to go off shopping on Saturday (16th), this meant that I was off the leash for a few hours and Mark suggested that we could meet up at Butser Hill. He had been there a couple of days previously and seen a few Grizzled Skippers and he thought that, with the warm weather, there was a good chance that Dingy Skippers and Green Hairstreaks would also be out plus possibly an early Duke of Burgundy.

We met up at the car park at the top of Butser Hill and set off towards Rake Bottom, a steep valley at the back of the hill. As we were chatting and catching up on various things to do with butterflies, we began to see a few Grizzled Skippers on the way down towards Rake Bottom.
We then made our way down the steep slope to the bottom of the valley and began to wander back and forth along this area. More Grizzled Skippers were soon seen along here and it wasn’t long before we found Green Hairstreaks with some clumps of brambles hosting multiple individuals, mostly males that were busy chasing each other about.
At one point we spoke to a lady who was wearing a bright green hat and who had a couple of Green Hairstreaks persistently flying around it and regularly settling on her head.
A few Dingy Skippers were seen, I reckon maybe 3 or 4 different individuals but with the way we were wandering back and forth I couldn’t rule out double counting.
With the Grizzled Skippers, Dingy Skippers and Green Hairstreaks making three new for year species I was already feeling chuffed but the day was really made when we spotted a Duke of Burgundy, not only that but a nice fresh Duchess. We watched her for a while as she fluttered around one small area and alternated between basking on various bits of vegetation and feeding on a patch of Lesser Celandines.
A little later we caught sight of another DoB, this time a male that flew along the path in front of us. It settled briefly and I just managed to get a record shot before it was off again and we lost sight of it. We lurked around this spot hoping that it would come back but that was the last we saw of it.
Mark has since informed me that he has checked his records and this is the earliest he has seen Dukes here by four days, so well done to him for arranging these for me .

After a good couple of hours here we braved the steep climb back up to the car park, all the more taxing as it had turned into quite a warm afternoon.
At the top of the climb a nice finish was provided by a Brimstone that plonked down on a Dandelion right in front of us.
Other Butterflies seen were Peacocks and Orange-tips, seemingly in good numbers but no doubt many of these were repeat sightings as both us and them wandered back and forth along the bottom of the valley. Also singles of Small Tortoiseshell and Comma.

A cracking afternoon and many thanks to Mark for showing me around.

To be continued…

Neil.

Great to meet up again Neil - wasn’t quite as hot as the day we spent at Fermyn but I think we used up just as much energy climbing up those steep slopes!
I am pleased that the butterflies performed - it was really good to see the Dukes.
Interestingly the Green Hairstreaks on the woman’s hat were males actually trying to mate with it? One male got its claspers caught in the fabric and had to be gently released - never encountered that before.
Kind Regards
Mark

Looks like you had a smashing time Neil, and yes, you did get some great shots . I can confirm that the hill in your photo definitely is much, MUCH steeper than it looks

Lovely photos Neil and an enjoyable narrative to read. I really like those Grizzled Skipper photos. Such a cute butterfly. Interesting green hat news too. I have often wondered if there might be clothing that I could wear that would attract butterflies - and not a million and one other unwelcome insects that would only serve to be a nuisance.

Fantastic images Neil - pretty of the Dukes - as they haven't started flying over this way just yet. I reckon Tuts is a handy Talisman - the few times I've met him in the field the butterflies have been splendid

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Glorious springtime images . Looking forward to the next instalment

Great set of recent reports, Neil, with some nice, pin-sharp images to go with them.

Sounds like you had an excellent day at Butser Hill/Rake Bottom. Amazing behaviour with the Green Hairstreaks and that Duchess must have made your day.

Mark Tutton wrote: ↑Thu Apr 21, 2022 2:06 pm ...Interestingly the Green Hairstreaks on the woman’s hat were males actually trying to mate with it? One male got its claspers caught in the fabric and had to be gently released - never encountered that before...

Cheers Mark. Looks like they had a thing for big females, the hat I mean not the lady

Pauline wrote: ↑Thu Apr 21, 2022 3:37 pm ...I can confirm that the hill in your photo definitely is much, MUCH steeper than it looks

Thanks Pauline. Glad that it wasn't just my age creeping up on me...although there is a bit of that too

Otep wrote: ↑Thu Apr 21, 2022 6:39 pm Interesting green hat news too. I have often wondered if there might be clothing that I could wear that would attract butterflies...

Hi Otep. I have had Silver-washed Fritillaries flying around me when wearing a pale orange cap and they get attracted to my wife's blonde hair. I must admit I usually try and wear stuff that blends in rather than loud colours that stand out but I am really not sure if it makes a difference.

Wurzel wrote: ↑Thu Apr 21, 2022 7:20 pm - pretty of the Dukes - as they haven't started flying over this way just yet.

Cheers Wurzel. You shouldn't have long to wait now, I have seen reports from a number of places now.

bugboy wrote: ↑Thu Apr 21, 2022 8:52 pm Glorious springtime images . Looking forward to the next instalment

Thanks Paul. Some more of the same coming up.

David M wrote: ↑Fri Apr 22, 2022 6:24 pm Sounds like you had an excellent day at Butser Hill/Rake Bottom. Amazing behaviour with the Green Hairstreaks and that Duchess must have made your day.

Thanks David. Yes, it really was an excellent day

Monday 18th April – Butser Hill/Rake Bottom part 2.

We spent the morning of Bank Holiday Monday morning wandering around RSPB Pagham Harbour, our second visit there as we had also spent a couple of hours here on Good Friday morning. I’ll include these visits in my next report.

After lunch, Jane said that she wanted to chill out and sit in the garden back at our B&B for a bit before meeting Sarah and the kids again later and said that I could disappear for a couple of hours. I did consider driving up to Noar Hill but in the end decided to go back to Butser Hill as it was closer and I could therefore spend more time on site rather than driving.

I arrived at the car park on Butser Hill around 1.30pm and once again started following the route that Mark had shown me on Saturday but part way down I noticed a small trail going off diagonally across the hill. I followed this and came out in the bottom of Rake Bottom close to where the steeper path begins.
I then spent about an hour and a half wandering back and forth in a similar manner as to how we did on Saturday and saw pretty much the same selection of butterflies with many of them probably being the same individuals as previously seen.
Numbers of both Grizzled and Dingy Skippers seemed slightly higher with something like 15 Grizzlies and half a dozen Dingies this time.
The only other butterfly person there was a guy called Adam who spotted a mating pair of Grizzled Skippers. If you read this Adam, it was nice to meet you and thanks for pointing them out to me.
Green Hairstreaks were again seen in good numbers, difficult to be accurate with their chasing each other about but I reckon somewhere between 15 to 20.
I checked the area where we had seen the Duchess on Saturday but there was no sign of her today, probably gone off looking for males after feeding up for a day or two.
I did find a single male DoB not far from where we had that brief sighting on Saturday and this time he stuck around for a bit longer. Comparing photos, I reckon that it is indeed that same individual with just some slight wear around the fringes but otherwise still looking good.
At one point I was just about to photograph a Grizzled Skipper when I spotted a splash of bright orange a few feet further on, a fresh out of the box Small Copper and another first for the year for me.
Brimstones, Orange-tips, Peacocks and a couple of Small Tortoiseshells were once again flying actively on what was a slightly cooler but still warm afternoon. A few unidentified whites were also spotted with at least one of them confirmed as a Small White.

I then made my way back up to the car park, this time returning along the same trail that I had gone down on and finding it much easier if a bit of a longer route than the steep path.

I reckon one more report from our trip down south to finish off with some miscellaneous stuff.

To be continued…

Neil.

A good haul of some species I have yet to catch up with.
So a for your Green one, Duke, Dingy and Grizzled Skippers..

Great stuff !.
Trevor.

What a terrific array of butterflies from your two visits to Butser Hill, Neil. Someone I chatted to at Noar Hill on Monday mentioned how good things had been there on Saturday! I really should investigate - it can't be any further from me than Noar Hill is. However, to me that hill path looks steep, so goodness knows what the reality is like...

A definite for the mating Grizzlies too - there's quite a size difference between the sexes, the female looking half as big again as the male in that shot.

Cheers,

Dave

More fantastic photos Neil. I always like looking at Grizzled Skipper photos but that Small Copper stole the show. How incredibly pristine it is, definitely fresh out of the box. The colouring is so sharp and vibrant.

Another cracking report Neil Those are great shots all but the Grizzlies in cop is my fave - as Dave says the size difference is quite remarkable

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Absolutely splendid reportage for mid-April, Neil. You cleaned up on just about everything and had the icing on your cake with that mating pair of Grizzled Skippers.

Fantastic report from Butser Hill Neil. Love the grizzled skippers in cop

Kind Regards
Kev

Thanks Trevor. I'm sure you will catch up with soon.

Cheers Dave. Not sure how far Butser Hill is from Noar Hill, maybe 20 minutes or so I think, so a visit to both sites could easily be done in one day.

Thanks Otep. Yes, that Small Copper really stood out.

Cheers Wurzel. I think the way the male is holding his wings also adds to the apparent size difference.

Thanks David. Yes, a few days that certainly ended up better than I originally thought they would.

Thanks Kev. Something that I have only ever seen a couple of times previously.

Cheers all,

Neil.