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Great Swallowtails, Dave, they always provide plenty of entertainment!.
Perched on a tall stem they're easy, nectaring a nightmare, they never stay still.
Your efforts were rewarded with some nice shots.

See you soon!.
Trevor.

Cheers, Trevor. It was well worth going up there to see these amazing butterflies, and it makes you wish their continental cousins would get a wiggle on and set about crossing the Channel in earnest. I'm sure Sussex could cope with them don't you think?

The plan for the next day, Thursday 10th June, was to head south to the Southend area and catch up with Heath Fritillaries. I had a strange feeling of deja vu, as I had done the same thing two years ago and the weather had decided to repeat the pattern of 2019 as well. There was a bit of sun when I left, but once into Essex it had become largely cloudy, though remaining warm and generally bright. I was not too bothered - I remembered that in identical conditions two years before, the fritillaries had been pretty accommodating. I parked at Hockley Woods and made my way down the eastern perimeter track to the bottom path - where I once again encountered DaveO'B. He had already seen a few Heath Frits and pointed me at the right areas to be looking (cheers, Dave!). However, it turned out to be fairly easy - there was a relatively newly cleared area with plenty of cowwheat......and here and the nearby paths were hosting a selection of the target species. They were to be found basking under the bright overcast - if the cloud thickened they shut their wings; if the sun popped through, they would gently take to the air. The butterflies varied a lot in how darkly-coloured they were, and it was interesting to see the darker ones (capable of absorbing more heat) remained open-winged longer under cloudier skies.

For all their dark (sometimes very dark) uppersides, the underside of these butterflies is beautifully bright and colourful.Now some of the darker ones......some not so dark......and one in between.Another great day - entirely different in character from the previous ones! Dave

Brilliant stuff Dave - Swallowtails and Heaths my cup of runneth over! My folks have just bought a camper van so maybe I'll be able to borrow it next year...

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Some great images lately, Dave. Those Swallowtails are gorgeous (even if they can be a pain to photograph - their size and fluttery wings don't help).

The Heath Fritillaries are particularly impressive. If I saw those darker ones on the continent above 1,300m, I'd be convinced they were False Heaths (athalia in the Alps is nowhere near as dark as our UK specimens).

You're clearly hunting down some of the rarities. What have you got next for us?

Cheers, Wurzel - though it's not exactly in a straight line, it makes sense to go via Heath Fritillaries on the way home from Swallowtails! Quite a contrast between the two...

Thank you, David - the Swallowtails were indeed a bit tricky. They were easiest when the sun went in during their morning nectaring sessions on the yellow hawksbit flowers. Though they posed nicely on reeds later, these were blowing back and forth in the wind and were in some cases well out into the fen and not safely approachable. Still, if it were all easy, it wouldn't be so much fun, would it?

I'm afraid that on Friday 11th June it was back to more mundane matters on my local patch. The weather returned to sunshine for the most part, but though I counted over 80 butterflies again, only seven species were represented and half the total were Common Blues. In among the throng were once again some nice females, all varieties on the "blue" theme.The majority seen were males, however, and they were still emerging. One luckless new arrival was obviously broadcasting the pheremones associated with emergence that seem to trigger excited reactions in other males, and was being accosted quite violently by such an individual who seemed clearly intent on an impossible enterprise. Those of a sensitive disposition should probably look away now... Eventually the assailant realised the futility of his efforts and disappeared. The victim needed a bit of time to recover, and was grateful for a helping hand from the depths of the vegetation.Another interesting bit of behaviour captured!

Dave

Love your shots of the Common Blue Dave, especially the one of it resting on your finger Goldie

Thanks, Goldie - the poor thing didn't know if it was coming or going I think.

Saturday 12th June was another warm day, and for the third time of asking I visited Fairmile Common in search of the first Silver-studded Blues.

After finding a few Small Heaths, a Small Copper......and a very amenable but somewhat battered Green Hairstreak......I eventually found two of the target species, one of which allowed a photo to record the event. I returned to my local patch later on, with similar results to those of 11th - but with a couple of exceptions. I saw my first Meadow Browns of the year, playing hard to get in the long grass as the first ones always do.There were also a couple of new brood Small Tortoiseshells, a welcome sight when they are so few and far between these days. Dave

On Sunday 13th June, it looked as if it might be one of those days that starts sunny but ennds up very cloudy by lunchtime. I luckily woke early and headed up to Aston Rowant while it was still distinctly cool. Small Heaths were the predominant butterfly and it turned out that this would be where the interest would lie today. Most of the blues flying were becoming worn, though there were a few Adonis males that looked in good condition.There were undoubtedly females flying as well, though they are far more difficult to spot. I think this is an Adonis too.You can almost guarantee a Small Copper here, and so it proved though I only found the one.I did see a few Dingy Skippers, but this one was typical - worn to compete with the most threadbare-looking of carpets.One insect that was a common sight was the Forester moth. I'm not sure what sort this is, and though most were a much greener shade this one was more gold than green. However, the star of today's show was a striking Small Heath: ab. alba. I had spotted the butterfly in flight, and initially dismissed it as a moth of some sort, but then it began tangling with a "normal" Small Heath in the same way as any two of the species would. Once they went their separate ways, I followed the pale one and managed to get quite a few shots of it, including some backlit examples.Out of hundreds flying that morning I count myself lucky to have stumbled on this one!

Dave

I have several mrgreens for you Dave. Firstly for the Heath Frits , a species I will miss this year.
Also your Small Heath ab , a species we tend to ignore as the season progresses.

The weather is not looking too wonderful for next week .

Trevor.

I was doing some catching up and scrolling down through your posts Dave - noting the cracking blue female Common Blue, the Silver-studded Blue and the great shot of the Small Tort but that Small Heath blew them all out of the water - never said that before

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Cheers, Wurzel. Fresh blue female Common Blues are like little jewels in the grass - they must be commoner than they used to be or the Victorians would have amassed vast collections of them, like they did with various other species. That Small Heath was another real piece of luck - it makes you wonder how many abs of various sorts go unseen on all the bits of fields, hills and woods we don't visit...

Thank you, Trevor - I squeezed in another session of Heath Fritillaries yesterday as another afterthought, but they are worth the trek. If you go up to see the Swallowtails again, the Essex sites are not much of a detour off the M25. As you say, this week of weather looks a bit mixed, and doesn't really look favourable until next weekend at the earliest. I have a trip north planned first, but my fingers are crossed that when I return, it will be to the resumption of proper summer and several days of fruitful commuting to Chiddingfold.

Monday 14th June was a hot one (28 degrees hereabouts). I stuck to my local patch, but the heat subdued things somewhat - with one exception. I managed to count 43 Common Blues (which currently still remains the highest total this year), over half of all the butterflies seen. The only one I photographed was a male taking moisture next to a large puddle where a few days before I had seen a Holly Blue doing the same thing.There was another 2021 first today as well, for my local patch and for me generally - a lovely new Large Skipper.One butterfly that was hiding in the shade of course was this Speckled Wood.Meanwhile, overhead activity has been gently increasing. I managed a shot of the BA A319 aircraft in BEA "heritage livery" today - a bit of an anachronism, but very smart. Dave

Cracking Large Skipper shot Dave Surprisingly I found my first on (one of) my local patch(es) on exactly the same day - normally I'm about a week behind

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

My Large Skippers were rather late this year, and as they are never very prompt anyway that probably explains why we saw them on the same day, Wurzel.

With the warm sunny weather continuing, on Tuesday 15th June it was time for another one of my traditional annual excursions, down to the Polden Hills in Somerset to see the Large Blues. I had intended to investigate Green Down, but somehow missed the turning and rather than backtrack I just carried on the extra few miles to the familiar steep slopes of Collard Hill.

You could see how wet it had been earlier in the year - the cattle paths had clearly been deep mud, but were now solidified into hard ridges and troughs making the "quarry" area almost impossible to negotiate. It also meant that there was a lot of unusually long grass around, but at least there was a lot of thyme in flower this year.

Shortly after chatting to a group of NT rangers, who confirmed that there were Large Blues around, I came across my first couple - which was indeed what they were. I realise in retrospect that despite quite a few visits here over the years, this was the first mating pair of the species I had actually seen.A great way to start the day! However, it was a day of continuous strong sunshine, as as I feared, this kept the other Large Blues I found (there were well into double figures I'd say) with their wings firmly closed. Nevertheless, they almost all seemed fresh, and they frequently posed well displaying their attractive undersides.Just once I found an individual that opened up a wee bit, and whether it was the angle to the light or it was just unusually obscurely marked, I'm not certain.With the general lack of uppersides on view, I decided to attempt the "shade the butterfly" technique which certainly can do the trick if used carefully... (I see David M made successful use of it the following day with the same species). I did achieve some success: getting the settings right when a halo of surrounding background is in brilliant sunshine nearly defeated the limitations of my little camera. However, a some work on the computer later on allowed for some reasonable images in the end. Artificial clouds aren't a patch on the real thing!There were a few other butterflies around: Common Blues, far more worn than their Large cousins and quite clearly smaller and paler in flight; Small Tortoiseshells in decent numbers, tearing about madly in the sunshine; Meadow Browns and Small Heaths; a single Marbled White when usually I see several; a Painted Lady.

However, the visit ended as it began, with another mating pair of Large Blues. Not such an immaculate couple as the first pair, with the male showing some wear, and they were more restless.He was left dangling helplessly at one point.It was a shame to leave this terrific location. Dave

I managed two mating pairs at Collard a few years back,
but no open wing shots, so a for that!.

Great shots,
Trevor.

The open-wing views were rather contrived this time, Trevor, but I have some nice ones from previous years, so not to worry. Two pairings does make up for it a bit too.

Having seen one or two reports on here relating to Small Pearls at Priddy Mineries I worked out that it couldn't be very far from Collard Hill over on the Mendips. As I had drawn a blank with the species at Park Corner Heath/Rowlands Wood I elected for the detour on my route home on 15th June.

I found the site without much difficulty; I guess its name relates to now-distant days of coal-mining here (the Mendips are carboniferous limestone) and the landscape is not entirely natural. The ground was very wet in parts, and was dominated by a large pond and numerous dragonflies and damselflies - as well as numerous more aggressive insects. One view over the pond produced a striking multicoloured banding effect caused in part by the high mineral content of the water.However, the most likely area for butterflies (thus far I had seen a handful of Small Heaths and nothing else) seemed to be down a path in a roughly southward direction.It turned out I was right: a Red Admiral flew past at speed, then an even speedier Painted Lady, and then following more sedately (though still not stopping) was a smaller orange butterfly. Along this path, mostly up to the right over tussocky grassy mounds, I saw half a dozen or so Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries. The uninterrupted sunshine kept them moving almost continuously, paying no heed to my presence and so passing tantalisingly close but without stopping. I attempted to capture in-flight images, but aside from confirming their identity, this was a bit of a failure.There were one or two small clumps of trefoil which they very occasionally and unpredictably visited, but always with grass spoiling the view.So, a bit of a mixed success. On the plus side I managed to see the species, and at a completely new and interesting site. However, on the downside, the very sunny conditions and my limited camera (not to mention the limited skills of the wielder of said kit!) meant that I didn't come away with any decent shots.

The cross-country drive over to the A303 at Wylye proved a surprisingly easy one, and the overall journey home ended up being very straightforward. On balance, worth the detour.

Dave

The forecast for Wednesday 16th June seemed to indicate that it might be the last sunny day for a while, so somehow I managed another fairly early start to make the most of it, but went somewhere a bit nearer home. This was another new site for me: Epsom Common and its recently revealed population of Black Hairstreaks. Word has it that they have actually been seen here (and adjoining areas) for a good many years, and this is therefore the only Surrey location with all five UK hairstreaks.

Pauline was kind enough to furnish me with excellent directions: they proved 100% accurate and the butterflies were in the spots she said they would be... except mine were higher up and I didn't see any in low-down poses suitable for decent photos. These were the best I could manage (well-zoomed), females on egg-laying sorties I think. Dave

Brill set of Large Blues Dave - though the couple of times I visited Collard I found the site a bit slippy Interesting to see Priddy Mineries - looks like I might need to investigate it a bit more closely if things continue as there are at Bentley Wood You did well with the Blackstreaks too - they sound a bit closer than Ditchling for me so if I could tap you up for some directions that would be great for next season

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Handy to have a fairly local site for Black Hairstreaks rather than having to travel to the East Midlands to get an audience with them, Dave.

Well done too for finding those Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries at Priddy Mineries, although it looks like they gave you the runaround during your visit (they can be extremely tricky in warm, sunny weather).

Cheers, Wurzel - a lot of Collard is quite steep, and some of it was a bit wet this year, but the Blues were not being too difficult I'm glad to say. I'll certainly let you have more details about Epsom next year: interestingly I was told by someone from Surrey BC that Black Hairstreaks have been there (and at adjacent connected commons) for quite a few years. Certainly the habitat looks completely suitable for them. As for SPBF, the Priddy site was fascinating (good dragonflies as well) and having just visited northern locations where they thrive, I'd say Priddy more closely resembled them than Bentley Wood, or Park Corner Heath in Sussex.

And on the subject of SPBF, up north under cloud cover, 15 degrees and only a bit of brightness, they were much more amenable, David. But that's another post in about a fortnight!

However, back to the rest of the very warm and sunny 16th June. Next stop was Fairmile Common agai, where I suspected there would be many more Silver-studded Blues. Almost immediately I came across a female, though strangely it was the only one I saw amid a host of males.Rather like the Large Blues, the Silver-studs preferred to keep their wings closed in the strong sunshine......though some did open up a bit for passing clouds.Even allowing for the varying light levels, there was quite a bit of variety with the intensity of the blue colouring.

Long June days mean the opportunity to look at more places, so there was plenty of time for another visit and perhaps another new species for the year.

Dave

Towards the end of the afternoon of 16th June I ended up at Box Hill. As I stepped from the car, an orange butterfly settled briefly on some nearby brambles - a Dark Green Fritillary. It was too quick for me, but I had hopes that I would soon find one or two more on the slopes of Burford Spur. I did, but just the one - though it proved amenable to the concept of a few photos.Another visit a bit later in the month would no doubt be more fruitful.

Dave