www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Great shots and an enjoyable read Dave- a lot of it echoed with me as I recognised Painted Lady from your accurate description and I've also been thinking where are the Meadow Browns?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Good numbers of Meadow Browns still flying at Denbies today, Wurzel, some quite fresh too. But first...

27th August part one...

I was later setting off today than intended and decided to go less far and look at an area of Bookham Common recommended by Philzoid (which I have visited during both 2011 and 2012 at this time of year). The sun burnt off the cloud cover almost as soon as I arrived, and it quickly warmed up. I followed the path through the trees to where it runs alongside a field, keeping an eye open all the way on the blackthorn on either side. Yes - this is Brown Hairstreak country. However, all I saw for some while were numerous Small Coppers, Meadow Browns, Common Blues and Speckled Woods, plus a couple of Commas, a Brown Argus, a few Green-veined Whites and one or two very worn Gatekeepers. After about an hour of hedge scrutiny, I wandered back the way I'd come. I spotted a couple of Meadow Browns sharing a thistle, and approached, wondering if I might get a decent photo of the twosome. Unsurprisingly, they both lifted off, but in doing so disturbed another butterfly that superficially at least looked similar. It settled again onto a bracken frond, and turned out to be a rather splendid female Brown Hairstreak. I always forget how large these butterflies are - this one was nearly as big as the Meadow Browns that had disturbed it. I managed a distant shot before the butterfly took off - but instead of disappearing as I expected it to do, it actually came closer, until it was almost under my nose. It found a blackthorn branch and started walking along underneath it, in and out of the leafy twigs in a very animated fashion. Whether it laid, I cannot say, because I couldn't find the branch later to check. After this side trip, it emerged and basked on the bracken again, this time about waist height, and after allowing a few open wing shots fluttered off at low level for a while before climbing up towards a small ash tree, where I lost sight of it. A splendid bit of luck, and my 51st species of the year (a personal best). I felt decidedly chuffed. After the excitement, I didn't see much else, except for an unusually large Speckled Wood sucking up blackberry juice and a female Brimstone tightly wedged into a bindweed flower. After the runner beans in York, this species will clearly try anything.

...part two

It's not far to Denbies from Bookham, so that was the second stop of the day. It's been three weeks since my last visit, and the scintillating clouds of Chalkhill Blues have gone. Well, the males are much fewer in number, certainly, but there were hundreds and hundreds of females. Their retiring habits and less prominent colouring don't attract the eye, but if a patch of marjoram is disturbed, they fly up in clouds. There were one or two fresh males still, demonstrating what a relatively prolonged emergence this species has. However, nothing (except perhaps Lulworth Skippers) competes with Meadow Browns on this front. Unlike other sites, there were still lots of this particular species about, with fresh individuals and mating pairs. I noted good numbers of Small Heaths across the whole slope, plus a few Common Blues and Brown Argus here and there. There were also Silver-spotted Skippers spread out over the hillside - a much lower density than prevails at Aston Rowant, but I still saw a dozen or so, including a reasonably fresh male. Last, but by no means least, were the Adonis Blues. Again, I must have seen at least a dozen (no obvious females yet), all still new and shining like jewels in the grass and such a contrast to the silvery Chalkhills with which they tussled from time to time.

A very good day.

Dave

"A good day! - I'll say - looks like you definitely had a "goodun" Dave, I told you it wouldn't be long until you were all Brostreaked up

Have a goodun (again)

Wurzel

Great stuff Dave, it certainly sounds like a great day.

I particularly like the last male Adonis Blue photo

Cheers,

Neil F.

28th August

Thank you, Neil and Wurzel! more Adonis coming up...

Another lovely day, so I had to spend my time off work and unusually free of children out in the countryside again. I started with a quick walk around my local patch before lunch, which produced nothing unusual: Speckled Woods becoming more frequent, Common Blues, Small Heaths and Meadow Browns all still soldiering on, plus all three varieties of Whites.
After lunch, I decided to go back to Aston Rowant. Having visited Denbies yesterday, it is interesting to make the comparison. Aston Rowant seems so much more concentrated: a smaller area, denser patches of wildflowers, more paths, and much greater concentrations of butterflies - though the species are largely the same. At Aston, the Chalkhill Blues have declined a bit more, with no fresh males and fewer females. However, to make up for this, I saw many more Brown Argus, Common Blues and Silver-spotted Skippers. I don't know anywhere else where you can see Brown Argus so widespread across a big area, rather than in pockets. They really were everywhere. There were lots of Meadow Browns and Small Heaths, again spread over the whole slope, and large numbers of Whites. At one point, I watched a group of four whites fly up together, only for them to be joined by more and more others until about a dozen became briefly embroiled in a white tornado until they sorted themselves out and dispersed. Along the bottom of the slope were numerous Brimstones of both sexes, busy building up reserves of energy for the long winter ahead, and a couple of Small Coppers. Small Tortoiseshells were around, but not in the numbers I saw last week, and there were no Peacocks. I imagine they have already started to hide themselves away until next spring. After the solitary Adonis Blue I saw last week, today was more fruitful, and I must have come across at least half a dozen individual males, all towards the lower part of the hillside. Finally, throughout the two or three hours I spent here today, I had more than a dozen encounters with various Clouded Yellows. I am sure some were repeats, but there were both males and females amongst them and at least half a dozen different individuals at a guess. They hardly settled, and then not for long, so photographs were all at a distance unfortunately.

Another good day!

A very good day and some lovely Adonis Blue shots, there are some beautiful fresh Adonis about at the moment. I know what hard work the Clouded Yellows can be, hardly settling for any time at all to nectar!

Mike

I agree with Mike about the Clouded Yellows Great Adonis and the second Cloudy shot shows the fore wing spots off to a tee, cracking

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks again, chaps - you can never see too many Adonis Blues in my book (or Clouded Yellows either: and the two together, sometimes squabbling - now there's a thing!).

29th August

An hour on my local patch was all I had the opportunity for. Speckled Woods dominated today, and they were concentrating on the huge supply of ever more rotten blackberries. I also saw Common Blues (scruffier than ever), Meadow Browns, Small Heaths, and Lots of Whites. Not a Nymphalid in sight.

30th August

The boys voted for the seaside again, so we drove down to Studland. The cloud cover was thin and patchy, and it was pretty warm - the sea was millpond calm, crystal clear and looked just like the Med. A bit cooler, perhaps, but very pleasant to swim in none the less. After holes were dug, brothers buried, and sand inefficiently washed off, we headed back to the car with the intention of a walk over at Durlston on the other side of Swanage. Plodding through the dunes, Toby spotted a Clouded Yellow. For once, it decided that now would be a good time to make a stop for nectar, and it hopped from yellow flower to yellow flower (ignoring the abundance of flowering heather), and eventually paused long enough for me to get a decent photo. Toby had lagged behind, and when I returned to show him the Yellow pictures, he countered with a Grayling I had apparently disturbed when stalking the Clouded Yellow. Other than these two, we saw lots of Small Whites over the dunes, and a gaggle of Small Tortoiseshells on a buddleia by the car park.
Over at Durlston, the headland was sitting under low cloud, so little was flying to start with. However, it burned off while we walked, and along the path down the valley to the lighthouse the Blues started opening their wings. Little bursts of violet-blue and then more eye-catching electric-blue signalled the appearance of dozens of Common and Adonis Blues. Small brown shapes were buzzing about in between then, which turned out to be numbers of rather worn Lulworth Skippers, so small as to be almost invisible when settled, and hard to photograph on the waving grass and flower heads. I was amazed to see a couple of really late Marbled Whites, one not even particularly worn, and to complete the picture out on the slopes there were Meadow Browns and Small Heaths. Returning to the visitor centre car park, we encountered Speckled Woods in the "tunnel" under the trees, and the buddleia next to the building itself was host to a dozen Small Tortoiseshells and a Jersey Tiger Moth.
A Wall basked briefly on the wall, paused for a very quick sip of nectar from the buddleia, and disappeared away back down the path.

A long day by the time we got back, but another good one.

Dave

31st August

Back to the local patch today, a day of almost unbroken sunshine. Nothing remarkable to report, just the same as the last few days here, with various Whites, Common Blues, Speckled Woods, Small Heaths, Meadow Browns and a couple of Commas being present. There were at least three equally worn-looking female Blues: At the end of my walk, I was buzzed by a Red Admiral, the first for a while. I hope a few more appear soon - September's and October's ivy flowers wouldn't be the same without them. Dave

I love the composition of the second Specklie from a post or two ago, that should be on a greetings card Great array of species over the last couple of posts Dave, nice to see the Graylings and Lulworths still going and I too am hoping for some Red Admirals to see me through the autumn

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thank you, Wurzel. I Like to get shots of natural behaviour when I can as it brings back more memories of the day when I look at the pictures on cold December evenings. If they turn out attractively artistic as well, it's a bit of a bonus. There are lots of Speckled Woods around near me at the moment - many of them are after the blackberries, so maybe there is a shortage of honeydew at the moment. Here's another, in a more common pose. 1st September

More of the same as yesterday around the local patch in sunshine again today (Sunday) - with the addition of a female Holly Blue that posed beautifully until the autofocus on the camera sent it up into the trees. There haven't been many of the second brood around, considering that the first brood was pretty reasonable given the weather at the time. I noted two more Common Blue females that were not seen yesterday - very little blue again on one of these, though the other did sport some blue scales. There continue to be plenty of fresh-looking Whites everywhere, with Small ones in the majority. One notable point of interest: on a mown piece of communal grass (I think the council cut it) near my house, I spotted a yellow patch on a "weed" of some sort. Closer examination showed this to be a clutch of Large White eggs, laid on the top of the leaf in full sunshine. I assume the plant to be a wild brassica of some sort, but given the location, it's difficult to imagine any surviving to become butterflies. Dave

4th September

I left work at four and headed straight for Bedfont Lakes Country Park, a mere five minutes walk away, on what has been another really hot and sunny day. Everywhere was looking distinctly arid, and flowers for nectaring butterflies were few and far between now. I made for the path next to the railway, where some marjoram was still blooming and there were a sprinkling of scabious as well. Initially, everything I saw was in energetic flight, but towards five o'clock what butterflies there were started to settle and nectar. Meadow Browns sought out the scabious flowers, whereas Common Blues and the odd Brown Argus preferred the marjoram, or settled on birds-foot trefoil plants. Small Heaths were more in evidence than a fortnight ago, the only species seen for which this was true. Most of the day this butterfly will only settle on the ground, or low in vegetation, and the best you can hope for is that it will perch on a dead stem. However, come the end of the day before they disappear to roost, they will spend a while nectaring. Having watched them last year and again this, I have noticed that some individuals (not all) will fidget and flick their wings open and shut whilst they are on a flower, and a glimpse of the upperside can be had. I spotted one today doing exactly this, and by taking multiple shots managed to get a couple of blurred images of the Far Side of a Small Heath. The flicking of the wings is obviously pretty quick. There were all three White butterflies around, and a bit of a kerfuffle amongst some of these resolved itself into a mating pair of Green-veined Whites being hassled by another male and a male Small White. The interlopers cleared off, leaving the couple resting on a bramble. The contrast in colour between the two was quite stark: the female was bright lemon-yellow underneath, the male plain white: both with grey veins. Finally, a couple of Clouded Yellows bowled by at speed and disappeared towards the sun and I lost track of them.

Dave

Hi Dave,

I have been away for a bit and have been catching up on all the reports; you have seen some amazing things and captured some amazing pictures.

A splendid bit of luck, and my 51st species of the year (a personal best)

I don't mind admitting that I was seriously jealous and dumbstruck when I read that!!!

I have managed to get to 45 (photographed) in my species count, but 51 is unbelievable, especially in one year! Well done you. Did you get any of the rare migrants?

Flutter on!

CJB

Thank you for your comments about the photos, CJB - I'm glad you find the observations interesting too. I always find the behaviour noted in others' diaries particularly fascinating.

There has been a lot of luck involved in clocking up 51 species to be honest, and for some I have only seen one or two at most. I have missed out on four of the northern ones (Mountain Ringlet, Chequered Skipper, Northern Brown Argus and Large Heath), plus the Cryptic Wood White in Northern Ireland, and of those within closer reach, I haven't seen Swallowtails (either subspecies!), Large Blues or Glanville Fritillaries. These three I have seen in other years, and by all accounts a big effort in the form of driving to Norfolk might still notch up the Swallowtail this year, but to be honest, I can't see it happening. Of the 51, I think I have a photo of some sort of 50 of them, dipping out on the White-letter Hairstreak which I almost always find elusive. On the subject of migrants, being in Dover when the LTBs were just a few miles away, and being unable to get over there, was a tad frustrating! Still, there are a lot of UKB fingers crossed that a new brood will emerge in October, and it would be great to see them.

Dave

Hi Dave,

I was up in Scotland at the end of July and missed out on all the local species which I was hoping to add to my tally of 45. However there are some easy ones to add next year like SSB's, DGF, HBF, WW and then it becomes a case of driving around to specific sites! Glasdrum here I come...

I am becoming more and more convinced that the bizarre Frit I saw in Cornwall was a Cardinal, but sadly without photographic proof I am on a thin wicket!

A great effort of yours though and I hope you notch up LTB before the year is out.

Flutter on!

CJB

Good Small Heath shot there, Dave.

I've seen one or two hold their wings slightly open momentarily but have never got an image.

5th September

I had to MOT the car today and had hoped for a happy outcome that would not dent the pocket and would allow a quick trip somewhere before I had to pick up Elliot from school on this last day of sunshine before the forecast deluge tomorrow. Alas, it was not to be - something complicated needed fixing, so I was restricted to local buses and my legs on this glorious day. I ended up walking down the old railway track that used to run from Colnbrook to Staines alongside Staines Moor. Butterfly sightings consisted of good numbers of assorted Whites; Speckled Woods and a few Commas in the shade. The Moor itself was very brown and parched, and a few Small Heaths had it to themselves. During a pause for a drink, I spotted a dragonfly settled close by so I took the opportunity to get a record of it. It is now a very warm summer's evening outside, soft and aromatic. Hard to imagine the change to come with the morning!

Dave

Great shots Dave , that Small Heath is tantalising It was lovely here today too and I can't believe that it's all set to change overnight - hopefully it'll cheer up for a bit next week to give the Cloudies a chance.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi Dave, it has taken me all week to catch up on everyones diaries and read them properly, great reports and photos as usual

Interesting that you saw a Jersey Tiger Moth on the Buddleia at Durlston, I saw one on what I believe is the same Buddleia last year, although I did not see any this year.

Cheers,

Neil F.

The weather has been so poor recently that any kind of opportunist excursion has been just not worth planning around work and other things. Butterfly sightings recently have been very limited.

7th September: A trip into Birmingham with all the boys was notable for quite a few white butterflies seen from the train on trackside buddleias, notably between Moor Street and Solihull. There was also this Small White spotted right in the City Centre near the Library where some ornamental beds have been planted with wildflowers. 12th September: My local patch at 4pm with some unexpected sunshine conjured some more whites, mostly high up around the trees. There was also one Red Admiral, but the pathsides had been rather unnecessarily mown taking away many of the last nectar sources for the remaining Common Blues in the process (none were seen).
14th September: My friend from Dover has just moved to Holmfirth in Yorkshire, and I went up to visit. On Saturday morning the sun shone though it was very chilly until nearly noon. However, one buddleia was continuing to flower, and had attracted a dozen Small Tortoiseshells. One repeatedly settled on her car. Dave