Neil Freeman

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks for the comments guys

David, the truth is I just pointed the camera and took a few shots, it all happened too quickly to think about what I was doing. Definitely more luck than judgement

Wurzel, I have got a full stock of brownie points due to some recent running about on family stuff, in fact I used some on that very afternoon

Sunday 19th May, Part 2 - Afternoon.

During the afternoon a few clouds bubbled up but it was still nice and warm so I made a last minute decision to go back over to Ryton. I arrived about 3.00pm and walked through the wood towards the meadows, seeing a number of 'whites' and Orange Tips and a couple each of Brimstones, Peacocks and Speckled Wood.

At one point I was watching a female Brimstone when she doubled back towards me and landed on a small buckthorn and prompty started laying

Brimstone female - Ryton Wood 19.05.2013

One of my main reasons for coming back to Ryton was to look for Green Hairstreaks. A few had been seen here before the heavy rain and hail of last week and seeing the reports of good numbers appearing down south and further north I figured that ours were just waiting for a decent bit of weather to show themselves.
Walking through to the meadow I headed straight for the best spot and almost immediatly spotted a couple flitting about above a hawthorn. Looking further along the hedge line there were a dozen or more in twos and threes mostly around the tops of hawthorns.

Whilst I was waiting to see if one would come down lower into photo range, I started to look at the seed heads just back from the hedge and was pleased to find a Dingy Skipper posing nicely, my first of the year .

Dingy Skipper - Ryton Wood Meadows 19.05.2013

This coincided with a large cloud coming over and the Dingy Skipper stayed where he was for some time, in fact looking again about an hour later he was still there.

Dingy Skipper - Ryton Wood Meadows 19.05.2013

Getting back to the Hairstreaks, at around 4.30 the sun was out again and they started occasionally coming down a bit lower and presenting some photo opportunities.

Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 19.05.2013

It wasn't until I was going through these photos earlier that I realised that there is a second hairstreak in the photo below, just shows how well they blend in with the leaves........or how bad my eyes are getting

Green Hairstreak(s) - Ryton Wood Meadows 19.05.2013

Over the next hour or so I took photos of a number of different individuals including a couple of what I believe are females that were flitting about by the cowslips and birds-foot-trefoil a little further back in the meadow.

Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 19.05.2013

Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 19.05.2013

Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 19.05.2013

Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 19.05.2013

Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 19.05.2013

Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 19.05.2013

I was really glad I made the decision to go back to Ryton, it is just a shame that the weather was not so good the previous day for the Warks BC open day.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[millerd]

Hi Neil - great photos!

I'm glad Ryton has a good crop of Hairstreaks again this year. My next chance of getting there will be on 8th June - they will probably still be around in this very late season.

Dave

[Wurzel]

You had to go and do it didn't you Neil Cracking shots. Perhaps I'll make the journey it could be the only way I get to photograph one this year.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

Ryton Woods seems a smashing place Neil and you have some great shots. I see you got your Dingy - certainly worth waiting for - but my favourites are your sequence of OT images showing behaviour so clearly. Wish I had taken them

[Neil Freeman]

Hee hee , Sorry Wurzel. I did think of you when I was writing the post but couldn't remember if you had seen any this year yet.

Hi Pauline, I was well chuffed with those Orange Tip shots myself

Hi Dave, Sunday was the first day that Green Hairstreaks had been seen in any numbers at Ryton so probably good for while yet. They usually appear here around same time as the Hawthorn(May) blossom is starting to flower, most of the blossom was still in bud on Sunday as shown in the photo below.

Green Hairstreak on Hawthorn - Ryton Meadows 19.05.2013

Cheers,

Neil.

[Nick Broomer]

Hi Neil,

just caught up with your diary, you`re posting a lot of lovely photos. The Orange-tips, Dingy Skipper and Green Hairstreaks are beautifully photographed, a joy to see, keep them coming.

All the best, Nick.

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Nick,

Thanks for the comments, very much appreciated

Bye the way, I noticed some of the comments in your diary....I am another Lumix user an FZ150 in my case

Neil.

[Nick Broomer]

Hi Neil,

i had a feeling you used a Lumix, but was`nt 100% sure, you are certainly another photographer on this forum thats a credit to the camera. Your 2nd Dingy Skipper with its softer, lighter colours, and the 5th photo of the Green Hairstreak are two of my favourites taken of these species this year.

All the best, Nick.

[Neil Freeman]

Saturday 25th May

A lovely sunny day here in the midlands, I rushed through the usual domestic stuff this morning, popping into the garden occasionally as the usual selection of 'whites' Orange Tips and Specklies fluttered about

Some of the earlier Speckled Woods are getting a bit worse for wear now but there seems to be a steady emergence of fresh ones to replace them. This year the normal emergence of early SWs from pupae followed by the later one from overwintering larvae seems to have merged together more than usual due to the late start.
I am also seeing more variation in markings. Whereas the early spring emergence is usually noticeably brighter than the later ones this year there seems to be a mixture of brighter and darker individuals emerging together, again probably down to the late start.

Saturday morning in the garden

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 25.05.2013

Speckled Wood female - Coverdale 25.05.2013

In the afternoon I had a couple of hours free so I decided to have a trundle around my local spots to see what was about. I did my usual circle around Solihull starting at Castle Hills, then stopping off at a couple of public footpaths, then ending up at Shadowbrook Meadows.

At all the spots the butterfly activity was similar, consisting of plenty of whites and Orange Tips plus a few Speckled Wood, Peacocks and Commas, the latter two species mostly looking a bit worn and faded by now.

Green-veined White - Castle Hills Solihull 25.05.2013

Small White ovipositing - Solihull 25.05.2013

Green-veined White - Shadowbrook Meadows Solihull 25.05.2013

Comma - Shadowbrook Meadows Solihull 25.05.2013

One Comma kept returning to a favourite perch on an old bulrush which made for an unusual setting for a photo.

Comma - Shadowbrook Meadows Solihull 25.05.2013

Last August I saw a good number of Peacocks at Shadowbrook and posted some photos of them at the time. It is a strange thought that I may well have seen the individual below at that time when freshly emerged, a good nine months ago.

Peacock - Shadowbrook Meadows 25.05.2013

As well as the butterflies, I saw my first day flying moths this year, singles of Mother Shipton and Cinnabar and a couple of Burnet Companions.

Cinnabar Moth - Solihull 25.05.2013

No rarities like Pearls or Dukes around here and too early still for Small Coppers or Common Blues but it was a good couple of hours noteworthy for the numbers of the usual suspects that were about, indeed Orange Tips especially seem to be doing well around here

Bye for now,

Neil.

[David M]

Amazing that you're still seeing Commas, Neil. I haven't seen one myself for over a fortnight and don't expect to do so until late July.

[Neil Freeman]

I saw two or three Commas and at least one Peacock at every place I stopped this afternoon, also had a Comma in the garden this morning as well but that was a tatty looking individual.

It still feels like early days around here David albeit a nice sunny one today, meadow plants are still very short, hawthorn just starting to flower and leaves on Oak trees just starting to unfurl.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Cracking shots Neil, that Comma is a beauty The Cinnibar ain't too shabby either

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Wurzel

Sunday 26th May, Part 1 - Morning

Another day of two halves with me being on domestic duties this morning which started with clear blue skies and as soon as the sun hit the back garden around 09.30am I noticed a couple of Speckled Woods circling about each other above the lawn.
Around mid-morning I went down the garden with my camera to see what photos I could take and noticed a male Specklie posing on a nettle.

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 26.05.2013

As soon as I had taken the photo he launched himself at another Speckled Wood that had flown over the nettles but instead of going into the normal 'dogfight' he just seemed to knock it out of the air and they both fell into the nettles.
Intrigued by what I had just seen I carefully looked under the nettles to find that the other SW had been a female and the pair were now in cop. With all my watching of the Speckled Woods in my garden this is something that I had never seen with this species before. With a few careful contortions and using the articulated screen on my FZ150 I managed to get a few photos.

Speckled Wood pair in cop - Coverdale 26.05.2013

Speckled Wood pair in cop - Coverdale 26.05.2013

Just before going back in a Green-veined White stopped to nectar on the Garlic Mustard and I couldn't resist taking a couple of shots.

Green-veined White - Coverdale 26.05.2013

Green-veined White - Coverdale 26.05.2013

For the rest of the morning the sun continued to shine and it was a repeat of the previous day with a steady procession of whites and Orange Tips passing through. There was also a single Holly Blue. I have noticed that so far this year there are noticeably fewer Holly Blues passing through the garden than last year, I have only seen 3 or 4 so far whereas last year I would see that many in a day.

Due to the hours and shifts that he has been working my son Chris has not been able to get out butterflying so far this year.
He finally had a day off today which fell with good weather and so we decided that in the afternoon we would go down to Bishops Hill to look for Small Blues and then over to Ryton to see Green Hairstreaks which would be a first for Chris.
We saw 25+ Small Blues at Bishops Hill and a dozen or so Green Hairstreaks at Ryton plus half a dozen or so Dingy Skippers and a single Grizzled skipper at both places. Next post to follow once I have sorted through the loads of photos taken.

Bye for now.

Neil.

[Neil Freeman]

Sunday 26th May, Part 2 - Afternoon.

With family stuff over the bank holiday and jobs to catch up with around the house, it has taken me until this evening(Tuesday) to get around to finishing off Sundays report.

As mentioned in the last post, with the weather staying good for Sunday afternoon my son Chris and myself decided to take a run down the M40 to Bishops Hill for Small Blues and then loop round to Ryton for Green Hairstreaks which would be a first for Chris.

Arriving at Bishops Hill at about 2.00pm it was very warm with full sun and within a few feet of walking into the site we saw our first Small Blues, about half a dozen fluttering about in one corner. We took a few photos and then carried on looking, spending about an hour and a half here during which time we saw 25+ Small Blues plus half a dozen of so Dingy Skipper and a single Grizzled Skipper as well as 'whites' and a couple each of Brimstone, Orange Tip and Peacock.

In the heat of the afternoon the Small Blues were very active but they don't fly far and did settle regularly, albeit briefly, and it was a case of getting a quick shot before they took off again.

Small Blues - Bishops Hill 26.05.2013

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 26.05.2013

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 26.05.2013

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 26.05.2013

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 26.05.2013

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 26.05.2013

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 26.05.2013

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 26.05.2013

Whilst taking photos of the Small Blues a flash of brighter blue alerted me to my first Common Blue this year

Common Blue - Bishops Hill 26.05.2013

The male Dingy Skippers that we saw were beginning to look a bit worn and 'Dingy' (what else ) but there were a couple of fresh looking females that did insist on settling down amongst the vegetation instead of perching up high like the males.

Dingy Skipper - Bishops Hill 26.05.2013

Around 3.30pm we decided to head over to Ryton which is about 20 minutes or so drive from Bishops Hill.

As usual I parked in the Warks Wildlife Trust car park off the A423 and we walked through the wood to the meadows.

Chris walking through Ryton Wood

I wasn't long before we found the first Green Hairstreaks in the same place that I had seen them the weekend before.

Green Hairstreak - RWM 26.05.2013

Green Hairstreak - RWM 26.05.2013

Green Hairstreak - RWM 26.05.2013

Also seen at Ryton were another half dozen or so Dingy Skippers and another single Grizzled Skipper. This seems to be the common ratio of Dingys to Grizzled so far this year with the Grizzled emerging first but in low numbers.

Well, despite me saying the other day that it still felt like early days around here, Sunday felt like things were actually getting going. I also said it was too early for Common Blues and Small Coppers and not only did I see my first Common Blue but a couple of Small Coppers were seen at Ryton, just not by us and in another part of the meadows.

I am off work this week and am taking advantage of the grotty weather to catch up on some jobs around the house, would be tempted to go out otherwise Hopefully I can get finished for later in the week when the weather is showing signs of improving.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[David M]

Simply love that first shot with the Small Blue mid-air..

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks David

It was my very first shot of the afternoon, just a few minutes after arriving. I was just lining up on the Small Blue to the left when the other one came into shot so I shifted aim and click....my favourite shot of the day

Cheers,

Neil.

[essexbuzzard]

Great Greenstreak pics as well,love the sequence from last week.
Cheers.

[Pauline]

You're taking some really lovely photos Neil and even tho they show the butterfly with its environment the composition doesn't suffer and there is no background distractions. In fact I am enjoying your photos so much I have been looking back thru them again and your Greenstreaks of 19th are really lovely. What surprises me most is the variation in colour from very plain individuals to butterflies with a very distinctive white 'streak' and also very dark edges. That definitely looks like a very special place to visit. Have you stopped using your close-up lens?

[Goldie M]

Hi! Neil, I love your shots of the Green Hair Streaks, infact all your photo's are superb I'm put to shame Goldie

[Wurzel]

I agree with David that first Small Blue shot is an absolute belter Glad to see that Chris found some Greenstreaks

Have a goodun

Wurzel