www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Interesting stuff.

We have clearly been invaded on (at least) two fronts.

The early August Clouded Yellow progeny should be checking in any time now too.

Exciting stuff to light up an otherwise depressing time of year.

Brilliant find Rex, well done, its nice to see all your hard work rewarded.

And by the way, i love your photo of the Speckled Wood playing dead. Something i have never witnessed, so well done for capturing the moment. But my favourite has to be the first photo of the Poppies, just brilliant.

All the best, Nick.

Congrats on the Long-tailed Blue Rex Now you've found that one you'll be tripping over them

Have a goodun

Wurzel

hideandseek wrote:Brilliant find Rex, well done, its nice to your hard work rewarded.

And by the way, i love your photo of the Speckled Wood playing dead. Something i have never witnessed, so well done for capturing the moment. But my favourite has to be the first photo of the Poppies, just brilliant.

All the best, Nick.

Thanks so much Nick, no match for your outstanding LTB photos of course but just seeing one was all the reward I could hope for. Perhaps I can find one thats a little less "turbo charged" for a photo oppertunity one day.

The Speckled Wood drama was facinating to watch, it was quite a performance and a privilege to observe.

I love Poppies they are so photogenic

Wurzel wrote:Congrats on the Long-tailed Blue Rex Now you've found that one you'll be tripping over them

Have a goodun

Wurzel

If only that were true Wurzel, it was lovely to see one, I hope it won't be my last

Congratulations B. rex. Top bombing. A self-found LTB away from the crowds is a great achievement.
BWs, Neil

Sussex Kipper wrote:Congratulations B. rex. Top bombing. A self-found LTB away from the crowds is a great achievement.
BWs, Neil

Thank you Neil, very kind of you to say that, to say it made my day would be an understatement

Retrospective Diary Pt 4: JULY 2013

After the short June gap it was 5 4 3 2 1 BLAST OFF!! A veritable Butterfly explosion erupted having me running around like mad trying to keep up! It was so hectic I had to cancel my planned trip to Blean woods for the Heath Fritillary and Ashdown Forest for the Silver Studded Blue... ah well hopefully I'll maker it next year.

Early in July Small Tortoiseshell's were everywhere, I'd not seen so many for a very long time, I think it's safe to say they have had a very good year.
Gatekeepers also did quite well popping up in all sorts of places, not the best numbers I've ever seen but still very good indeed.
Next on my list was the Small Blue, our smallest Butterfly... I love these little guys
I'd been eagerly awaiting the emergence of fresh Marbled Whites and this year didn't disappoint with really good numbers of this lovely (and hard to approach) Butterfly.
Meadow Browns are so ubiquitous that it's easy to take them for granted, out on the downs they are like a constant companion, it wouldn't feel like summer without these little chocolate coloured fellows.
In these parts it seemed to me that Small Skippers did a lot better than large, my photos bear this out with a lot more Small Skipper pictures and only a couple of the large.
If you recall my last entry June was great for poppies, well this carried on over into July and when I'm passing I can't resist taking a shot, maybe it's because red is one of my favourite colours!
By now we all know what a fantastic year it's been for the Purple Emperor! Not wanting to miss out on his royal majesty I made a couple of trips to Southwater Woods and within 5 minutes of arriving he descended and we had an audience with his royal purple-ness. Unfortunately a nice open wing shot was denied, my camera had just managed to focus and he snapped his wings shut. I only managed to get a side shot this year, I hope to do better next time.
Of course it wouldn't be July without some Chalkhill Blues. There weren't quite as many over at Friston Gallops this year after last years Chalkhill explosion but numbers were very still high.
On my travels through various woodlands I saw plenty of Ringlets and Silver Washed Fritillaries this year.
As the month was drawing to a close it was time to look for the Silver Spotted Skipper once again, this year was a great one for the SSS they were popping up everywhere, even in some new places where I'd not seen them before.
June was so good for Butterflies that I have far too many photos to post here and some species have been omitted like the Dark Green Fritillary. So to bring this wonderful month to a close I tried to find a photo that would sum it all up. To my surprise the one I felt captured the feeling of this golden month the best was one of a humble Meadow brown.
See you in August

B,saurus

It certainly was a hectic July everything seemed to come at once! Great shots throughout Rex and after much internal debate my second fave is the Small Skipper the fave being the awesome finale - that is an absolute cracker

Have a goodun

Wurzel

PS If you want to get close to Marbled Whites try early in the morning on a grey day.

It's the Meadow Brown for me, B'Saurus:Wonderful! It's a butterfly so common as to be almost invisible and your photograph has given it centre stage. That photograph will brighten me up when Winter comes.

Wurzel wrote:It certainly was a hectic July everything seemed to come at once! Great shots throughout Rex and after much internal debate my second fave is the Small Skipper the fave being the awesome finale - that is an absolute cracker

Have a goodun

Wurzel

PS If you want to get close to Marbled Whites try early in the morning on a grey day.

I must admit that had a lot of help from the evening light Wurzel but thank you're most kind. I will certainly remember that evening for a long while. Everything did come at once didn't it! I honestly didn't know which location or species to try for next, in the end I just took it day by day throwing all of my plans out the window

I'm far too lazy to get up early in the morning Wurzel my trick for Marbled Whites is to wait until they've gone to bed that's how I managed to get my MW picture above.

Hoggers wrote:It's the Meadow Brown for me, B'Saurus:Wonderful! It's a butterfly so common as to be almost invisible and your photograph has given it centre stage. That photograph will brighten me up when Winter comes.

I'm really pleased you like it Hoggers, it's not the tidiest picture with that seed head drooping towards the Meadow Brown but nature seldom is tidy. The evening light was just wonderful and I would highly recommend going out to photograph roosting summer butterflies (I'm sure you've done this too) the light can be great for photography at that time of the day.

MY LUCK FINALLY IMPROVED!

As some of you know I've been searching at every possible opportunity for another Long-tailed Blue since my very brief sighting near Beachy Head last week. I not only wanted a closer view but I dearly hoped I would get a better photo too.

Well thanks to a friend of a friend I was permitted access into his private garden where there was a good amount of Everlasting Pea. Unfortunately I'm unable to divulge the location as the man understandably wants it to remain strictly private.

Well to say I got my wish of seeing a LTB at close quarters was granted would be a bit of an understatement! Although I didn't see any newly fresh examples I was still overjoyed with what I saw and the photos I took.

Anyway I think I'll let the pictures do the talking - it's an afternoon I shall never forget!
Some wishes do come true!

B,saurus

Strewth - buy a lottery ticket right now! Possibly the first actual observation of a mating pair in the British Isles, and almost certainly the first photo of the event! Really well done

Anyone on or near the south-east coast should check their everlasting peas!

Cheers,

- Pete

Well done James, excellent find

These butterflies seem to have come through the recent spell of cool wet weather without any problem, so this sighting bodes well for the coming sunnier days in any location where the larval food plant is found.

Vince

(I have sent you a PM)

Who's got some great friends then Great photo's Goldie

Well done Rex, i`m really chuffed for you. Brilliant.

All the best, Nick.

Rex, you are already a legend of this forum after a mere 90 posts!

I salute you. Tremendous images (again).

History in the making. Utterly amazing. Congratulations - and thank you for the albeit vicarious thrill of sharing the experience!

Dave

Simply stunning

Have a goodun

Wurzel