www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

CallumMac wrote: ....I headed to Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, following some detailed directions from millerd in the hope of finally seeing White-letter Hairstreaks in a setting other than "distantly flapping around the top of a big tree"!

How I empathise with that, Callum!

Great that you got to see your first Black Hairstreaks, and what a treat to observe a mating pair. Excellent sequence of images.

I will look forward to reading about what followed.

Well you're having a fantastic time down here visiting lots of familiar sounding sites. I do have to leave a few on account of your mating WLH at my regular spot. 4 years visiting that site and yet to stumble across a mating pair and you do it on your first

Callum - I'm simply gobsmacked. Black Hairstreaks and WL Hairstreaks in-cop and your orchid haul, not to mention all the other stuff such as Wood Whites and Heath Frits. Amazing.

You deserve a lifetime achievement award.

You are having an amazing tour, Callum - like Bugboy I have yet to see a mating pair of WLH despite the numbers that site offers. Definitely worth a or two. Hockley is excelling this year with Heath Fritillaries too - three figures is no exagerration.

Best of luck with the rest of your trip (I hope Emperors feature somewhere... ) - incidentally Large Blues at Collard Hill were very easy at the weekend, and there will definitely be more to come if you intend to pop in there as well as at Daneway.

Cheers,

Dave

Thank you all so much for your kind words! This holiday is really becoming the gift that keeps on giving. On which subject...

25/06/2019 - Dorset coast

Most of today was spent at the RSPB reserve at Arne. Last year I visited only the Shipstal end of the reserve, and despite having a nice enough time, only saw one solitary Silver-studded Blue, reaching the conclusion that this reserve was pretty over-rated as a site to find this species. Today I visited the Coombe Heath end of the reserve and quickly realised my mistake! SSBs comfortably in three figures. The cloudy weather meant I was able to get that underwing shot of a fresh individual that my gallery desperately needed!
Other highlights from Arne included a Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth in the cafe garden, and my first ever Dartford Warbler.
I made sure to leave Arne early enough to permit a quick visit to Lulworth Cove. I paced up Hambury Tout and near the summit found the first Lulworth Skippers. Always a pleasure to see these little charmers!

Brilliant stuff again Callum Those Silver-studs are cracking and the Lulworths ace I used to visit Arne loads when I was a nipper and even then Shipstal was thought of as the place to send the Grockles/day-trippers while all the locals visited the other parts looks like you're now an honorary Dorsetian Greatly looking forward to the next installment

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Nice pair of Lulworths there, Callum, but the image of the Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth is impeccable. I doubt that can be bettered.

Wurzel wrote:looks like you're now an honorary Dorsetian

Cheers both. Well I have family in Dorset so I'm sure I could apply for citizenship! Glad the Lulworths stand out as I paid a heavy price for them - spending the next hour clearing ticks out of my boots!

27/06/2019 - Alners Gorse and Collard Hill

The combination of strong sun and strong wind didn't make for great butterfly-watching. I added White Admiral, Silver-washed Frit, Purple Hairstreak and Large Blue to my 'year-list' (if I actually kept one...!) but the only photos I have to show for it are of the first two - and the White Admiral was hiding at that!
28/06/2019 - Dartmoor

Up early this morning, hoping to beat the Fritillaries to Aish Tor. It definitely worked. The first one I managed to stalk turned out to be a Silver-washed, but after that I had amazing up-close encounters with a couple of High Browns. Wonderful!
Today was more about spending time with my step-grandma than seeking butterflies. She took me on a walk to the amazing ancient and twisted Wistman's Wood.
On the walk back, I spotted a late-staying Green Hairstreak flitting between the gorse and Tormentil. My gran - a very talented artist - was amazed by the colour ("it's malachite green! On a butterfly!") and promised to paint one from my photos.
Driving back to the YHA across the moors in the evening sunshine, I stopped to sit awhile with a group of Dartmoor Ponies and their frisky foals and reflect on my holiday so far. It's been a wonderful, relaxing (despite the high pace) trip. Hopefully I can round it off this weekend with a few more delights on the road northwards!

Well Done with the High Browns Callumac ,we,re visiting Aish Tor ourselves week after next ………………...hope they,re still
Around ! Regards Allan.W.

Your Grand Tour seems to be going well, Callum.
And clocking up some scarce species as well.
Envious of your High Brown Fritillary, great work.

Trevor.

Great photos from Dartmoor Callum. Those high brown's are delightful. Just as incredible are the number of Green Hairstreak sightings still being made as we knock on July's door. Nice find.

Regards
Kev

Thanks all! It was great to see those High Browns so clearly - last year I arrived on site at 8am and they were already fully zoomy!

29/06/2019 - Green Down and Kenfig

Today I started meandering my way back north, beginning with a return to the Poldens and a second crack at the Large Blues. They were already fully charged by the time I arrived, though, and I only managed to grab a few shots of closed-winged, egg-laying females...
I then headed west and into David M's territory. To my surprise it had clouded over by the time I arrived at my destination and was now quite cool. However, this didn't matter as my targets here were both orchid species I'd not seen before - Fen Orchid and Marsh Helleborine. After a little searching, and some help from locals, I was successful!

More fantastic stuff Callum, I need to know the name of your Tour Operator Cracking shot of the HBF and great late Greenstreaks which one is your step-nan going to paint? I'm left trying to work out what's next on the tour of the final homeward stretch?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wow. You're really showcasing Britain's 'rarest' lately, Callum. I keep getting an ever more pleasant surprise as I scroll down.

What next have you got in store for us?

trevor wrote:...Envious of your Dark Brown Fritillary, great work...

Aha! do we have a hybrid

Seriously though, great reports of 'Callum on tour', I have really enjoyed catching up with your travels.

Cheers,

Neil

Wurzel wrote:I need to know the name of your Tour Operator

Well, I'm weighing up between "CallumTrek" or "GreenMacs"... Rates are reasonable but you need to be able to walk 10+ miles per day without complaining!

David M wrote:What next have you got in store for us?

Neil Freeman wrote:great reports of 'Callum on tour'

Wurzel wrote:I'm left trying to work out what's next on the tour of the final homeward stretch?

Thanks all for your kind comments. I'm afraid this is now the final installment of 'Callum on tour'!

30/06/2019 - homeward bound

I had picked out three stops that could be made without major diversion from the best route between the Wye Valley and East Yorkshire. With some patchy cloud forecast I decided another early start was in order, and I found myself walking through the gate into Daneway Banks at 8am, an hour usually known only to birders! Although I'd already seen Large Blues (both this week and last year) I had still not managed to get that perfect photo of the upperside, so I thought I'd have one more go...

Walking through the reserve, there were a few Marbled Whites on the wing but not a huge amount else. I thought that was promising - my aim being to be in place before the first Large Blues started to wake! I headed to the top meadow, adjacent to the dew pond, which was where I'd seen the freshest individuals last year at a similar time of the flight season. I then set about walking slow laps of the meadow, and midway through the second lap, the first Large Blue appeared! Watching carefully, I managed to spot where it landed and sneak up for some pictures - a perfect, almost pristine male!
I spent another hour or so wandering the reserve, seeing plenty more Large Blues and managing to photograph some of them - including the pretty unusual sight of a Large Blue perched at eye-level in a hawthorn!
Time was already ticking on, and by 9.30 the Large Blues had switched into full zoomy mode, so I hit the road onwards to reach my next stop in time for lunch! Since I had already headed westwards by the time the Purple Emperors finally showed up at Knepp, this was the only big target for the week that I'd missed out on - so a visit to Fermyn Woods seemed worth a punt! I wandered the rides for about an hour and chatted to a few other butterflyers, but it was clear my luck was not in. No matter, there were plenty of other nice butterflies around, and you can't see them all every year!
Again, with little prospect of an Emperor suddently appearing, I decided to press on to maximise time at my final stop of the day. I turned off the M18 south of the Humber and headed to the car-park of Crowle Moors, a Lincs Wildlife Trust reserve and one of three reserves that collectively form the Humberhead Peatlands NNR. I walked through the reserve, eventually going over the bridge and through the gate that meant I was now in the adjacent Thorne Moors section (and, more importantly, back in Yorkshire!). Here, a grassy, flower-rich ride cuts through between an open bog on one site and a birch carr on the other. With this golden combination of lots of nectar surrounded by lots of Large Heath habitat, I was not disappointed!
Amongst several typical individuals, this very dark one stood out to me. Both the body hairs and the wing colour were distinctly closer to black than the ashy grey of its compatriots.
And that concludes my trip diary! Back to work for a rest tomorrow, and then normal service will probably resume with a Walmgate Stray update...

Fantastic stuff Callum I had a sneaky suspicion about Large Heaths featuring in your return journey What is that Large Blue doing - I think it's a little confused and it thinks it's a Holly Blue Great topside Large Blue shot - Daneways is a cracking reserve

Just in case for when CallumTrek/GreenMacs is up and running...I can easily do 10 miles a day without complaining

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I'm breathless just reading about all that, Callum!

So glad you got your Fen Orchid. It's a long way to travel to come away empty handed. They're also not easy to find so a bit of local knowledge comes in very handy!

A belated thanks, David and Wurzel... to be honest I was pretty breathless at times during it (especially on Green Down in 25C blazing sunshine!).

06/07/2019 - Bishop Middleham Quarry

After all of 5 days back in Yorkshire, on Saturday I headed up the A1 and across the border into Co Durham. I'd not visited BMQ before but had heard great things! As it turned out, several hours spent here didn't feel like enough to fully explore all the hidden corners of the quarry. Nevertheless, I saw lots of both of my targets for the day: Northern Brown Argus, and Dark Red Helleborine.

Cracking shots Callum of two species that I've never seen Is this NBA the 'Castle Eden Argus' I've lost track of the nomenclature ?

Have a goodun

Wurzel