Re: Neil Freeman
Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2024 7:26 am
Wednesday 31st July.
Another warm and sunny morning so I decided to pop over the other side of Solihull for a walk around Blythe Valley Park. I arrived at 09.30 under mostly blue skies with just a bit of thin high level cloud and the temperature on my car display already reading 21 degrees.
As expected, the first butterflies seen were Gatekeepers with loads seen all around my usual circuit. I stopped counting at 50 but there were probably twice that many, difficult to be acurate though as I zig-zagged around a bit and no doubt saw some of the same ones repeatedly. These were mostly females with many of the males now looking warn and faded.
Meadow Brown numbers are dropping now, in fact they have not reached particularly high numbers here this year. I only saw around 30 today with many of those well past their best now.
Half a dozen or so Speckled Wood were flitting around in the parts of the paths through the small wooded sections.
Lots of Small/Essex Skippers were darting around in the warm sun and although I managed to identify a few of each, most of them were just too active to get close to.
I was particularly on the lookout for Common Blues and was pleased to find a couple of fresh looking males, neither of which would open up despite me trying the trick of slowly moving the shade of my body over them. Just too warm I guess.
I was also looking out for summer peacocks and found just one flying from flower to flower fueling up in readiness of tucking itself away for the winter. This is the first and so far only summer Peacock I have seen locally although I did see one a couple of weeks ago down at Snitterfield Bushes.
A single Comma was the only other vanessid seen during the couple of hours that I spent here.
At least a dozen Green-veined Whites plus a couple of Large Whites were also seen this morning, mostly constantly onrth emove apart from the female below that settled briefly to escape the attentions of a male.
By 11.00 it was feeling very warm so I made my way back to the car and headed home, the car display reading 26 degrees on the way back. For the first time so far this year I also saw a number of random whites flying across the road on my way back home.
I suppose it is tradional British weather for a few warm days to be followed by thunderstoms but as I write this on Thursday morning we are having a cracker here and I am looking out of the window at the rain coming down like stair-rods.
Bye for now,
Neil.
Another warm and sunny morning so I decided to pop over the other side of Solihull for a walk around Blythe Valley Park. I arrived at 09.30 under mostly blue skies with just a bit of thin high level cloud and the temperature on my car display already reading 21 degrees.
As expected, the first butterflies seen were Gatekeepers with loads seen all around my usual circuit. I stopped counting at 50 but there were probably twice that many, difficult to be acurate though as I zig-zagged around a bit and no doubt saw some of the same ones repeatedly. These were mostly females with many of the males now looking warn and faded.
Meadow Brown numbers are dropping now, in fact they have not reached particularly high numbers here this year. I only saw around 30 today with many of those well past their best now.
Half a dozen or so Speckled Wood were flitting around in the parts of the paths through the small wooded sections.
Lots of Small/Essex Skippers were darting around in the warm sun and although I managed to identify a few of each, most of them were just too active to get close to.
I was particularly on the lookout for Common Blues and was pleased to find a couple of fresh looking males, neither of which would open up despite me trying the trick of slowly moving the shade of my body over them. Just too warm I guess.
I was also looking out for summer peacocks and found just one flying from flower to flower fueling up in readiness of tucking itself away for the winter. This is the first and so far only summer Peacock I have seen locally although I did see one a couple of weeks ago down at Snitterfield Bushes.
A single Comma was the only other vanessid seen during the couple of hours that I spent here.
At least a dozen Green-veined Whites plus a couple of Large Whites were also seen this morning, mostly constantly onrth emove apart from the female below that settled briefly to escape the attentions of a male.
By 11.00 it was feeling very warm so I made my way back to the car and headed home, the car display reading 26 degrees on the way back. For the first time so far this year I also saw a number of random whites flying across the road on my way back home.
I suppose it is tradional British weather for a few warm days to be followed by thunderstoms but as I write this on Thursday morning we are having a cracker here and I am looking out of the window at the rain coming down like stair-rods.
Bye for now,
Neil.