www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Thanks very much for the comments Pauline, Trevor, Wurzel and David. They really are a lovely moth, especially so when you can see them freshly emerged.

After my last report in which I said that 2 more had emerged overnight, another 2 emerged later in the morning. Later in the day I couldn't resist a group shot before they were released in the evening.

First Clearwings of the year.

Having recently seen some Clearwings being reported from around the midlands I decided to get my pheromone lures out to give it a try here in my garden.

The first one I tried was the FOR lure on Saturday and was rewarded with a single Red-tipped Clearwing that arrived mid afternoon.
Yesterday (Sunday), I put the VES lure out and had 2 Yellow-legged Clearwings, both of which arrived late afternoon around 6.00pm
With some more good weather forecast for the coming week I will try my other lures and see how I get on.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Monday 5th June.

Sometime overnight another male Eyed Hawk-moth emerged making it 7 males so far. This morning we popped out to do some shopping and on our return I found the first female had emerged and was hanging from the top of the cage with her wings already fully expanded. Later in the afternoon, after her wings had fully dried out, I took a couple of photos. I tried the tickling trick to get her to show her hindwings but she wasn't too cooperative, and just gave a teasing glimpse, typical female I suppose
Once the morning cloud had dissipated a bit I put the MYO lure out in the garden and within 15 minutes two Red-belted Clearwings arrived making it three species in three days. Interestingly, despite leaving the lure out all afternoon no more came to it, possibly due to the cold wind that kept the temperature down when a cloud covered the sun.
With some nice sunny spells I decided to have a walk down to my local spot by Wagon Lane although I wasn't expecting much today, especially as that cold wind was still very much in evidence.
I wasn't wrong and ended up with a grand total of six butterflies, these being three Common Blues, two Brown Argus and a distant unidentified white. The Brown Argus made the walk worthwhile as I only ever see small numbers here and didn't see any here at all last year.
Curiously, despite there being good numbers at other sites around Solihull, I never see day flying moths here.

It looks like the weather here for the rest of the week is going to be similar, that is cold nights, cloudy mornings and some sun in the afternoons...we'll see.

Bye for now,

Neil.

I rather like that Eyed Hawk-moth image and the way the forewing markings give the eye spots a sleepy look, pretty much telling you in no uncertain terms to 'leave me alone'

I really like that Eyed Hawk Moth quartet photo Neil.

Nice to go out and to be excited about returning home to see what developments there have been. In the lives of many, I imagine they are just wondering what to watch next on Netflix when they get back home.

Yes, that breeze is extremely crisp and quite icy in our part of the world isn't it.

bugboy wrote: ↑Tue Jun 06, 2023 9:24 am I rather like that Eyed Hawk-moth image and the way the forewing markings give the eye spots a sleepy look, pretty much telling you in no uncertain terms to 'leave me alone'

Thanks Paul. I see what you mean, a sort of 'hooded eyed glare'

Otep wrote: ↑Tue Jun 06, 2023 10:55 am Nice to go out and to be excited about returning home to see what developments there have been. In the lives of many, I imagine they are just wondering what to watch next on Netflix when they get back home.

Thanks Otep, the moths certainly help through the June Gap.

Otep wrote: ↑Tue Jun 06, 2023 10:55 am Yes, that breeze is extremely crisp and quite icy in our part of the world isn't it.

I can't remember having a cold wind last for so long. Yesterday (Tuesday) it was particulary biting, not helped by the thick cloud that persisted all day.

Wednesday 7th June.

After a cold and cloudy day yesterday (Tuesday 6th) that felt more like autumn than early June, this morning started off once again dull and cloudy. By midday however, the clouds had begun to roll back which gave the sun a chance to warm things up a bit, especially as that cold wind had eased off a bit as well.
I decided to have a walk to Sheldon Country Park mainly to see if I could find a couple of day flying moths that I have previously found there, both of which are local species in Warwickshire.
The first of these is Chimney Sweeper which I failed to find today, quite possibly I was a bit early given that most things seem to still be about a week behind here and it was mid-June when I saw them here last year.

I was more successful with the second species, Grass Rivulet which I saw in good numbers (20-25) This diminutive species can be a right pain to try and photograph as, in common with many day flying moths, they usually settle either down in the grass or upside down on the underside of leaves. With a little patience and perseverance however, I managed to come away with some photos I was quite happy with.
Easily the most numerous species seen today was Burnet Companion, most of which are now looking worn and faded. In lower numbers were Mother Shipton and Latticed Heath. All of these were increasingly flighty as it warmed up so I didn’t bother trying to photograph them.

The most numerous butterfly species seen today were Common Blue and Small Heath with about a dozen of each.
The Common Blues included a couple of females, both of which had been around for a few days going by the wear to the fringes of their wings.
A couple of fresh second brood Speckled Wood were flitting about in the dappled shade of one of the paths through a wooded section.
The only other butterflies seen were a couple of patrolling Orange-tip males and three or four unidentified whites fluttering along in the distance.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Well done with the Grass Rivulet, you’ve got some nice pictures there.

The male Common Blue is rather nice, too!

Thanks Mark. I reckon Grass Rivulets are often overlooked, they look very similar to the familar 'grass moths' when in flight.

Thursday 8th June.

A bit of a mash up post to keep up to date.

As mentioned previously, last year a number of people here in Warwickshire used the Ni Moth pheromone lure which attracted a surprising number of Dewick’s Plusia along with lots of Silver Y moths. It appeared that this lure was quite effective in attracting Dewick’s Plusia, far more so than they are attracted to either MV or actinic light traps and it looked like the they were actually more widespread than previously thought.
After getting one of these lures myself late last summer, I gave it a go here but just had a few Silver Y moths. Having seen a few being reported around Warwickshire a few weeks back I have been trying it here again but without success so far, although it has proved to be an effective Silver Y Moth lure with 22 to the lure so far and just 4 in the light trap. Of course there is no way of knowing if those in the light trap were not attracted to the garden by the lure in the first place.
Last night I put the lure out again and found no less than 9 Silver Y Moths this morning, even better, my first ever Dewick’s Plusia was sitting amongst them.
Given the cold winds that have been coming from the wrong direction and the numbers that have been reported this spring, it is tempting to think that it may be home grown. They are definitly breeding in the UK further south and it look like they may be up here too.

Later this afternoon I released it and he flew off a short distance and fortuitously landed on some brambles at the bottom of the garden where I couldn’t resist taking another shot.
This morning I also found another five Eyed Hawk-moths had emerged overnight followed by two more around mid-morning. This brings the total emerged so far up to 13 males and 5 females for a total of 18.
Apologies for posting more Eyed Hawk photos but they are just so photogenic.
Today was another one of those days that started off cloudy and cool but then the clouds rolled back to leave us with blue skies and by mid-afternoon it had turned into the warmest day this week.
I took a little wander down to Wagon Lane and found very similar numbers to my visit the other day, that is a couple each of Common blue and Brown Argus, most probably the same individuals that I had seen previously, along with a couple of actively moving whites and a tatty Small Tortoiseshell. There was one addition today in a fresh male Speckled Wood that wouldn’t sit still in the warm afternoon sun.
I was looking out for Large Skippers but since the one the other week at Castle Hills, I have not seen any more yet around here.

Before going down Wagon Lane I put the TIP lure for Current Clearwing out in my garden and after returning home kept an eye on it to see if it had attracted any. Nothing until around 5.15pm when I had a last look before bringing the lure in only to find a Current Clearwing had arrived. It hadn’t been there when I last checked about 20 minutes earlier.
That is the fourth Clearwing species here so far this year.
It looks like we are finally losing that cold wind at the weekend, just you watch, it will now get too hot

Bye for now,

Neil.

Please don't apologise for the Eyed Hawk moth photos Neil - just gorgeous as are the Clearwings.

Thanks Pauline. It is hard to resist taking a few more shots each time some more emerge.

Friday 9th June.

A glorious sunny day today but quite windy with it although the wind wasn't so cold. This morning we popped round to my mom's and whilst there I had a quick wander around her local park.
It was very quiet with just two butterflies seen, both Speckled Woods that kept well out of reach flitting about in the dappled shade on the sheltered side of some trees.

A single faded Burnet Companion flew off into the distance, or more like was whisked off in the wind, but a better condition Mother Shipton stuck around for a bit by keeping closer to the ground.
Back home in the afternoon, I gave the FOR lure another go, it being 6 days since I last put it out, and between 1.30pm and 5.00pm it attracted 4 Red-tipped Clearwings.
It seems we now have a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms from tomorrow into Sunday. I know we could do with some rain but...

Bye for now,

Neil

"thunderstorms from tomorrow into Sunday." we had one of those today and not a clap yet - just as well I ignored it and went out Cracking set of Moffs Neil. The Eyed-Hawks are a brilliant, as are the Clearwings. Really like the shot showing the Silver-Y's and the Dewick's as that's the type of view you'd expect to get in the field and it highlights what you'd be looking for really nicely Saying that I need to check that the Dewick's is the one closest to the edge between 8 and 9 o'clock

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. We escaped the thunderstorms in the end by heading east to Norfolk but apparently they copped for them on Sunday night into Monday morning back home.
You are right with the Dewick's. I was quite surprised by the difference in size compared to the Silver Y now that I have actually seen one.


11th to 15th June. Norfolk part 1.

Back in the cold dark days of winter, we were thinking about where to go this year and apart from a couple of visits down to see our daughter in Emsworth Jane mentioned that she would like to go back to the B&B in Norfolk where we had stayed previously. I looked back at my notes and was amazed to realise that it had been five years ago in 2018 since we were last there. I started looking at dates and was originally looking at the first week of June but noticed that the B&B was fully booked for then, probably due to it being around spring bank holiday week. They did have availability however for four days from Sunday 11th and so we booked for that.

Obviously, my main reason for going to Norfolk at this time of year would be to see Swallowtails and the B&B was perfectly placed for this being just a 10 minute drive from Hickling Broad. As the season developed I began to wonder about our timing and noted as we got closer to going that East Anglia had been suffering from that incessant cold wind blowing in from the North Sea as well as a lot of cloud. I saw the first Swallowtail reported from Strumpshaw Fen on 21st May, which was apparently a week later than last year, but then there was a lull of a week or so before I saw anymore reported. Then the weekend before we were due to go I saw some photos posted on Facebook and Twitter from both Strumpshaw and Hickling broad, although they did all appear to be of the same one or two individuals, especially those from Strumpshaw which could be recognised as being taken on those white flowers outside the reception and by the late Drs garden.

We left home around 9.15 on the Sunday morning and with plenty of time in hand before we could check in to our B&B we headed for Strumpshaw Fen where we arrived just after 12.30. The weather had improved vastly from the previous week and we pulled into the car park at Strumpshaw with our car display reading 31 degrees. Would it be churlish for me to say that this was too hot for me but I suppose that after the cold and gloomy weather that we had recently been experiencing then it was a turn for the better. I just wish that we could have some nice pleasant days instead of jumping from one extreme to the next which seems more and more to be the pattern over recent years.
Anyway, we set off on a wander around the reserve, which was quite busy, only to be expected on a Sunday. As we went round we were asked by numerous people if we had seen any Swallowtails and apparently no-one was seeing any. The best of the wet meadows was closed off as it had cattle grazing on it although you could still access the other meadows.
After wandering around for a bit we went back up to the visitor centre where Jane sat in the hide whilst I had a further walk around past the late Drs garden to check out the patch of waste ground just past there. There was nobody by the Drs garden, possibly too hot by now for anyone to linger around there, and there were no butterflies at all on the flowers. Carrying on to the patch of waste ground I was surprised to see that all the hawkweed that had previously covered this spot with yellow flowers had gone over to seed. It was also noticeable how dry and baked hard the ground was here.
I didn’t linger there but decided to go back onto the reserve through the nearby gate and over the railway line. Just inside the reserve I bumped into a couple that we had spoken to earlier who told me they had just seen a Swallowtail that was showing well down by the river albeit high up in the shrubs. I set off down that way and about halfway there a Swallowtail flew across in front of me from the reed beds on the right and disappeared at high speed across the reeds on the left. A fleeting glimpse but my first Swallowtail for five years. I carried on down to the river and it was obvious when I had reached the right spot as there were half a dozen people standing there pointing binoculars and big lenses up into a large sallow shrub. The Swallowtail was perched high up on this shrub and taking off occasionally to chase off a passing Brimstone or Bee before returning to one or two favourite perches. I took a few photos, all of which needed cropping a fair bit to show anything useful, but nevertheless I was quite pleased with the result which look a bit different to any Swallowtail photos I have previously taken.
I then returned to Jane and by now we could carry on to check into our B&B. When we arrived the lady owner told us we had timed it just right as all her guests the previous week had failed to see a Swallowtail all week due to the cloudy weather and cold wind.

After breakfast next morning we decided to pop round to Hickling Broad and after the short drive there we arrived at just after 9.15am. We entered the reserve and had a slow wander down to the ‘hotspot’ just past the boat trip departure point. There is a boardwalk here that circles around through the reed bed in an area with a lot of yellow flag irises which had apparently been attracting a few Swallowtails over the past couple of days. We lurked around this area and before long the first Swallowtail appeared and fluttered about the flag irises. After that one or two more appeared until later in the morning there were four fluttering around this one area at the same time. It was a very warm morning with some light high level cloud and plenty of sun and the Swallowtails were very flighty. They were going down on the irises quite regularly however, but more often than not they were some distance away and partially obscured by reeds and grasses. I took quite a few poor record shots until eventually one came closer and stayed still just long enough for me to be able to line up a window through the reeds without anything in the way.
After spending a couple of hours on the reserve we went back to the visitor centre and was eating an ice cream at one of the tables outside when a Swallowtail flew across the tables in front of us and disappeared at speed into the woods behind us. That made a minimum of five seen during the morning.

Later in the afternoon, whilst Jane was chilling out in the garden at our B&B, I went for a walk along the Weaver’s Way which passes along the south side of Hickling Broad. I saw another couple of Swallowtails along here but were flying across the reed beds and didn’t come close. That made a minimum of seven seen at Hickling today, five in the morning and two here this afternoon.

That’s enough waffle for one report, I think I will leave it there for now and continue with a few more Swallowtails in part 2.

To be continued ...

Neil.

That meadow in your report is where most of my Swallowtail images were taken.
It was the first week in June a few years ago, and they were all on the hawkweed.
Your excellent shots of the one on the Flag Iris is an iconic combination a for that!
That part of Norfolk had it's own personal grey gloom for several days whilst elsewhere
was bathed in sunshine, I met someone the other day whose visit to Strumpshaw was
ruined by the gloom and cold wind.
Pleased your visit was a success!

Trevor.

Interesting to read your report from Strumpshaw, I visited on the 8th and didn't see a single one despite there being plenty of sun in the afternoon. The hill behind the Dr's garden was however a sea of yellow hawkweeds, they must have gone over very fast! Looks like not many appeared at strumpshaw this year, I heard many people leaving having not seen one. I do remember visiting last year during the peak of the heatwave looking for ST larvae and being shocked how sun baked large areas of marsh were. I suspect the Milk Parsley largely died off before many caterpillars could complete their growth.

Thanks Trevor. That spot at Strumpshaw is where I had taken my previous best photos too, hence why I went to check it out this time.

I heard that most people visiting Strumpshaw last week failed to see any Paul. Informed opinion from staff and locals at the sites I visited was that they were only just getting going that weekend (10th-11th July) and had been held back by weeks of cold wind and clouds.


11th to 15th June. Norfolk part 2.

On Tuesday (13th) we decided to spend the morning at How Hill which was just a 15 minute drive from our B&B. We arrived at 9.30am and had a slow wander down to the river where Jane sat on a bench watching the boats go by whilst I had a look in the wet meadow that forms the first part of the wildlife trail that starts opposite Toad Hole Cottage.
This is often the best place to see Swallowtails here where they usually favour nectaring on the meadow thistles. Whilst I was there a chap arrived and set up a camera with a tripod and who told me that one had shown up in that spot the previous day around 10.00am. I hung around a little longer but with no sign of any Swallowtails turning up I went back to Jane and we had a walk back up the path and through the woods to the secret garden.
Later in the morning we wandered back down to the river and went a little way along the path that runs alongside the river and saw a couple of Red Admirals and a Peacock fluttering around the brambles along there. They were extremely active in the warm sun and on the few occasions that they landed it was always on the wrong side of the brambles for a photo.
Jane then had another rest on a bench by the river while I went for another look in the wet meadow. The chap from earlier was still there and he told me that there was still no sign of any Swallowtails and he was now trying for a good photo of a Norfolk Hawker, some of which were among the many dragonflies darting about this area. I watched for a while and spotted a couple of Norfolk Hawkers in flight as well as managing to identify Four-spotted and Broad-bodied Chasers, Hairy Dragonfly, Brown Hawker and Black-tailed Skimmers, all in flight as I rarely saw a dragonfly settle in the heat, and when they did they were up again before I could get close.
Around midday we made a move and had a drive around to Horsey Gap, stopping on the way for a coffee and a sandwich at a café. After spending a couple of hours at Horsey Gap (I will add a few details from here in the next report) Jane said that she wanted to go back to the B&B and chill out in the garden there and I could go off somewhere for a couple of hours.

I decided to pop back to How Hill as it was not too far and arrived back at the car park there just turned 3.30pm. I went back to the wet meadow and was just approaching the first patch of meadow thistle when I spotted a Swallowtail fluttering from flower to flower. This individual was a nice fresh looking example that spent a good ten minutes moving between a couple of patches of meadow thistles and gave me plenty of opportunities for photos although much of the time it was balancing at the flowers with constant fluttering of its wings like they do.
After eventually having enough it took off and did a couple of circuits of the meadow area before departing over the river. As it was doing these circuits a small group of three people arrived, one chap and two women so I pointed out the Swallowtail to them and they watched it fly around before departing. They turned out to live fairly locally and the chap told me that the Swallowtails this year were at least two weeks later at How Hill which is usually considered a later site anyway. This tied in with what I had heard from people at Hickling Broad the previous day where a ranger told me that they had a sighting in mid-May and then nothing until this weekend with the main emergence starting at least two weeks later than usual.

With Wednesday being our last full day in Norfolk we decided to go back to Hickling Broad as it was not only nice and convenient for us but it had also been the most productive site for Swallowtails. We once again arrived just after 9.15am and set off across the reserve. Just past the Cadbury hide we had our first Swallowtail of the day as one flew up the path towards us and passed close to Janes head before taking off at speed across the reed beds. We carried on down to the ‘hotspot’ by the Iris’s where we hung around for an hour or so and eventually saw four or five different Swallowtails coming and going. With not a cloud in the clear blue skies and a bright sun, if anything they were even more active than they had been on Monday. Once again, when they did settle it was usually on an Iris that was obscured by reeds or grass making for difficult photo opportunities. The best I managed to get was the shot below that still had a shadow cast by the grass stem above it but was much better than any of the other shots I managed here during the morning.
One individual kept returning to a particular distant grass stem where I got some distant underside shots which were a bit blurred as it swayed about in the breeze. By moving along the path I managed to get a distant topside shot, a roughly 50% crop of which resulted in the image below.
By lunchtime it was getting very hot so we went back to the visitor centre and once again sat outside with an ice cream. As on Monday, we were sitting there when a Swallowtail flew into the garden area. This time it checked out the brambles to one side and I thought it was going to settle but it didn’t and carried on up and over the visitor centre building.

We then left the reserve and drove round to a farm shop that Jane had spotted the previous night as we were returning from a meal at a local pub and which she wanted to have a look at. We then returned to our B&B and chilled out a bit in the garden there.

Later in the afternoon I asked Jane if she fancied a return back to Hickling Broad to make the most of it before we returned home the following day but she said she was happy chilling out and reading her book in the garden, but I was welcome to pop back if I wanted to.

I followed the paths back to the ‘hotspot’ to find that up to half a dozen Swallowtails had been coming and going but were proving very difficult to photograph in the heat, except for that one individual that was still posing on various grass stems in a similar spot to the morning. This time it was choosing stems a bit closer to the path but always with his topside facing away. Still, this gave the chance for some nice backlit underside shots.
I then wandered a bit further along the path and found a small group of people that were trying to photograph a couple of Swallowtails that were chasing each other around some brambles on which they were occasionally settling, but always on the far side of the brambles. Eventually one came closer but once again it was at a poor angle and only gave face on views.
Around 4.30pm it became very quiet and the Swallowtails all seemed to have disappeared, perhaps going to roost after flying about all day in the hot sun.

So, in the end I saw just 2 Swallowtails on Sunday at Strumpshaw Fen and a single one at How Hill on Tuesday afternoon. Hickling Broad had proved to be the most productive site, if I counted every sighting over all of our visits then it would be 20+ individuals but as many of these would be the same individuals seen on repeat occasions, then I believe a minimum of 8 different Swallowtails were seen here, this being my conservative count for Wednesday.

Apparently around 20 had been seen at Hickling on Sunday which was World Swallowtail Day apparently with the reserve being very busy. These sightings were from all around the reserve and included some seen from boat trips that can reach parts of the broad that are inaccessible by foot.

The cold weather prior to this week had held them back and the consensus among most of the locals that I spoke to was, notwithstanding a few earlier sightings, that they were at least two weeks late here with numbers not yet at peak. One of the staff at Hickling maintained that the main emergence had just started over the past few days and was three weeks late.

Of course, there are always other things to see so some random stuff to finish off with in the next report.

To be continued…

Neil.

A great read Neil and the cracking selection of shots is testament to patience paying off I've only ever seen the Continental ones which seem a little lighter overall than those

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. I have never seen a continental Swallowtail but I believe britannicus is slightly larger and a bit darker than gorganus.
They were hard work this time, very flighty in the heat and luckily some of that patience resulted in me being in the right place at the right time.


11th to 15th June. Norfolk part 3.

Apart from the Swallowtails, we did not see that many other butterflies in Norfolk, most likely as a consequence of the ‘June Gap’. Our stop off at Strumpshaw Fen on the Sunday (11th) produced half a dozen Brimstones, a couple of Speckled Wood and a couple of Red Admirals. Hickling Broad produced a couple of Red Admirals on each visit as did How Hill on the Tuesday along with a faded Peacock and a single Speckled Wood. These were all very active in the warm sun and the only photo I managed was of a female Red Admiral that appeared to be egg laying but was out of reach to be able to see if she actually deposited any eggs.
At Horsey Gap on Tuesday afternoon, we walked along the path behind the dunes where we saw half a dozen Small Heath and a couple of worn male Common blues.
The main reason for visiting Horsey Gap was to see the seals. It is usually better to visit here in the winter to see these when large numbers will come up along the beach, however they are here all year round and I remember seeing some here around this time during our last visit five years ago. Not surprisingly in the warm sun today, they were out in the water keeping cool but some of them would come quite close in and a couple even seemed to be enjoying ‘surfing in’ on the waves before waddling out again for another go.
During my walk along the Weaver’s Way to the south of Hickling Broad on Monday afternoon I had the feeling I was being watched and spotted a young deer peering at me from the side of the path.
Of course, being in the Broads, there were Dragonflies everywhere and I was especially looking out for Norfolk Hawkers. These were seen at Strumpshaw Fen, Hickling Broad and How Hill, mostly seen in flight with the best photo I managed being taken at Strumpshaw of a female that appeared to be laying just below the surface of the water.
Other Dragonflies seen included Four-spotted and Broad Bodied Chasers, Hairy Dragonflies, Brown Hawker, Emperor Dragonfly and Black-tailed Skimmer. Most of these were extremely active in the warm sun and on the occasions when they did settle were hard to get close to before they were up and off again.
Birds seen included Marsh Harriers, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Reed Buntings and lots of LBJs most of which I believe were Sedge Warblers. Cetti’s Warblers were also heard but not seen at Hickling Broad and How Hill. Along the path behind the dunes at Horsey Gap were Skylarks, Stonechats and Linnets.
The family of Swans below were seen on the river at How Hill.
Our B&B was on a working farm and when sitting in the garden we could watch Swallows swooping around above us and occasionally landing on the farm buildings.
All in all a great few days, most of which were under clear blue skies and warm sun. The hottest day was the first Sunday when it got up to 31 degrees with the following days reaching the mid to high 20s. This meant that the afternoons could be a bit much for walking about so we would retreat to our B&B and chill out for a bit until it got a bit more comfortable again later.
After breakfast on the Thursday morning we set out for home. I really mustn’t leave it another five years before returning again.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Since returning from Norfolk I haven't been far due to a combination of being busy and heavy rain showers and thunderstorms last week and then some more heavy showers this week. In between I have managed to squeeze in a couple of walks down to my local spot at Wagon Lane but it was very quiet there with my first Ringlet of the year seen on 19th along with a few Meadow Browns (8) and a couple of Large skippers (2).
A second visit yesterday (21st) produced a few more Meadow Browns (12) but strangly no more Ringlets or Large Skippers. I did have a flypast from a single Red Admiral and saw a couple of distant unidentified Whites but that was it.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Thursday 22nd June.

With a morning free I decided to drive over to the other side of Solihull and pay a visit to Blythe Valley Park. This was the first time I have managed to find time to visit here this year but with Marbled Whites now being reported from around the midlands I wanted to have a look as this is usually a good site for them, at least by local standards as we simply don’t get the high numbers seen further south.
I arrived just before 10.00am with the car display already showing 22 degrees but the forecast was for cloud building up later in the morning. As I set off along the first path I started seeing Meadow Browns and Ringlets along with a few fresh looking Small Skippers.

Continuing through the small wood between a couple of meadow areas I saw a couple of Speckled Wood dancing in the dappled shade but they stayed well out of reach. I then followed the path through the next meadow areas and saw lots more Meadow Browns and Ringlets and more Small Skippers along with just a couple of Large Skippers.
In the second meadow I spotted my first Marbled White of the year, quickly followed by a few more until there were 10-12 flying around this area followed by some more in the next meadow. These all appeared to be fresh males all ceaselessly flying about above the grass. As the clouds built up through the morning it became rather muggy and at first the butterflies remained very active but after 11.00am some darker clouds built up and the Marbled Whites started to slow down a bit.
Soon after, I felt the first few drops of rain and with banks of dark clouds heading over I made a move back to the car and home.

In the end I reckon I saw maybe 25+ Marbled Whites along with similar numbers of Small Skippers. Just two Large Skippers were seen which has been par the course for around here where they have been thin on the ground so far this year. Meadow Browns were all over the place with a conservative 100+ with around half as many Ringlets.
A couple of worn Common Blues made it just seven species seen but the Marbled Whites were my main target for the morning and with those that I saw all being fresh looking males, I reckon another visit in a week or so should see higher numbers along with a few more species.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Marbled Whites are a cracking species and you got some brilliant shots Neil It looks like the one in the final shot has picked up a hitch-hiker but I can't work out what it is

Have a goodun

Wurzel

That's a fine mix of wildlife you've presented from your last few posts, Neil.

Those Swallowtails are particularly impressive.