Thank you, Trevor - she was a very nice butterfly. The females have definitely just started to appear more widely round here so I'm sure you'll see a few very soon.
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When you see one with wings wide like that, the resemblence to an owl's face is quite apparent - wide eyes with piercing black pupils, and the body mimicking the pointed beak. Without the orange warning colours of the male, this (and the underside camouflage) must be their form of defence.
Yes, Wurzel, the dandelion clock pose is one I've been waiting for a while now, and to have an Orange Tip elect to land on one right in front of me was a bit of luck.
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Loads of dandelions have seeded over the last couple of days, which has certainly increased the chances many times of course! Conditions this year have definitely made them more amenable as you say, David - there has to be a positive side to the cold weather somewhere!
The Small Coppers seem relatively unaffected by the cold, as they start to fly in temperatures of only 9 or 10 degrees if the sun is strong enough. There numbers are perhaps a fraction lower than in 2020, but it would be interesting to see how many appear on a
warm sunny day...
Wednesday 5th May started cool but sunny yet again, and with potentially showers promised later I needed to make a reasonably early start (too early and it would be too cold for anything to fly). I headed for Bedfont Lakes Country Park and the possibility of that rare commodity the Middlesex Green Hairstreak.
I started on the south side of the railway, always the more productive part in the past, and also much quieter and more pleasant in terms of layout and numbers of people around. Today, despite searches in all the usual spots, I drew a blank on hairstreaks; in fact there weren't many butterflies at all. I spotted a single Holly Blue (they have been numerous in the past) and only a single Peacock.
The most numerous butterfly was the Green-veined White: all the white butterflies I came close to were this species and the majority of those were females. I love the more subtle markings of the first brood females, almost as if they are drawn in the softest of 5B pencils.
There were also a few Speckled Woods...
...and several Brimstones (again mostly females).
I then drove round to the more public-oriented north side of the Country Park and walked a circuit roughly round the perimeter. There was again a scarcity of butterflies, though it was a bit warmer by now and several Orange Tips were awake and patrolling along with a Brimstone or two and a couple of Peacocks. The last time I saw a Green Hairstreak on this side of the Park was two years ago, and as I approached the very spot, almost like magic one appeared in the self-same shrub.
Just the one though... Rather pleased with the find, I carried on round and detoured through what is designated a "Nature Reserve" (just a gated length of sheltered path where dogs are excluded and children have to be on a lead - or something like that...
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). I have seen early Brown Argus and Common Blues here in the past, but today it seemed initially to be just a series of patrolling Orange Tips, until something buzzed me at head height - another Green Hairstreak.
I've never seen one in this spot before - they must be more widespread in the Park than I realised. No doubt they are completely overlooked by the many casual visitors and easy to miss even for the few folk actually looking specifically for them.
In taking a series of shots of the first individual, I managed to fluke one of it just taking off.
Not as good as the similar shot Bugboy posted recently unfortunately...
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It is however possible to make out the pale spot on the forewing that characterises the male of the species (which sometimes shows on the underside as a raised bump).
A worthwhile trip out (and not very far either).
Dave