www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Thursday 29th August.

With some time spare this morning I popped over to the other side of Solihull and Blythe Valley Park. After a cool night, it took some time to warm up this morning with the temperature on my car display reading just 15 degrees when I arrived just before 10.00am.
During the couple of hours that I spent there a mix of cloud and sunny spells warmed it up a few degrees to the high teens although a cool breeze would knock it back a bit when the clouds obscured the sun.

The most numerous butterfly seen was Speckled Wood with at least a dozen males seen along the hedgerows with some nice fresh looking examples along with more worn and faded ones.
Apart from the Specklies, it was very quiet with just a few faded Meadow Browns (8) tatty Gatekeepers (5) and a couple of worn male Common Blues seen.
There were also lots of Dragonflies about, mostly Common Darters but I did manage to ID a Ruddy Darter by it's all black legs.
All in all, this morning had a feeling of approaching autumn, something that was reinforced by some Canada Geese passing overhead.
Bye for now,

Neil.

Eekkk Geese flying in a V, almost time to put the macro lens away Hopefully they're just doing a practice run and there are a few more sessions left int eh season Neil

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman wrote: ↑Fri Aug 30, 2024 7:24 am,,,The most numerous butterfly seen was Speckled Wood with at least a dozen males seen along the hedgerows with some nice fresh looking examples along with more worn and faded ones.

Seeing a few more of these myself lately, Neil, including many silky-fresh ones.

September is probably the best month for them.

Wurzel wrote: ↑Fri Aug 30, 2024 5:55 pm Eekkk Geese flying in a V, almost time to put the macro lens away Hopefully they're just doing a practice run and there are a few more sessions left int eh season Neil

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. Just had a few good sessions down in your homeland despite some challenging weather.

David M wrote: ↑Sun Sep 01, 2024 9:41 am
Seeing a few more of these myself lately, Neil, including many silky-fresh ones.

September is probably the best month for them.

Thanks David. Yes, after a decidedly average year for them here, it is good to see a late surge in numbers. This often happens at this time of year but not always. Last year for instance, numbers remained average all through the season.


Sunday 1st September - Heading down to Dorset.

I mentioned a few weeks back that this year we fancied catching up with a few of our favourite places that we had been neglecting since our daughter moved down to Emsworth after getting married. Our visit to Cornwall at the beginning of August was the first of these and we had also decided that it was about time that we returned to Dorset, our last visit being in June 2021. We therefore picked a few days in one of our favourite B&Bs down that way which is on a farm between Corfe Castle and Kimmeridge Bay. We also went for the first week in September, a time we had often chosen in the past as it was a bit less busy with the kids going back to school around then.

So it was that we set out on the Sunday morning (Sept. 1st) for a leisurely drive down through the Cotswolds and past Chippenham and Warminster towards Shaftsbury where we took the road to Fontmell Down.

Fontmell Down.

After driving down in some pleasant weather consisting of high level clouds and warm sun, it was still like this when we arrived at Fontmell Down shortly after 1.00pm. We were aware however that thunderstorms were forecast to be heading up from the south during the day but the question was if and when we might see one. Jane stayed in the car reading her kindle while I headed off down the slope, noting the murky looking sky to the south.
I soon started to see lots of Meadow Browns, most of which looked to be aged and well faded, and then the bright Blue of Adonis Blue males.
During the time I spent here I reckon I saw something like 25-30 Adonis Blue males in varying condition plus a pair in Cop.
I only spotted a couple of other females but couldn't follow them on the steep slope.

Other butterflies seen included Small Whites, a few worn looking Common Blues and a dozen or so Small Heath. I also saw a Hummingbird Hawk-moth, my first this year, but it was impossible to keep track of as it flew off across the slope.

I failed to find any Silver-spotted Skippers, a species I had seen here in the past albeit only in small numbers and looking well past their best. I had seen a few reported from here last week but they were looking well worn and the recent weather may well have finished them off. In fact I spoke to a local chap there who told me that there was a heavy downpour just that morning.

To be honest, I probably spent as much time looking up as I did looking at the butteflies as a succession of light aircraft flew circuits from the nearby Compton Abbas airfield. These included a number of biplane types plus a two seat Spitfire.
After about an hour, I felt a few drops of rain and so started heading back up the slope. This rain became heavier on the way up so I paced it out and got back to the car just in time as the first flash of lightening and peal of thunder heralded the arrival of a heavy downpour.
From there it rained almost all the rest of the way to our B&B with us driving through a couple more proper thunderstorms.
The next few days proved to be 'unsettled' but I have still ended up with hundreds of photos to sort through so a few more reports to come in due course.

To be continued...

Neil.

You've captured those male Adonis just right, Neil.
You're plane sequence reminds me while photographing those Painted Ladies
on Wednesday I could hear a Spitfire performing areobatics in the distance.
I see one most days locally.
Nothing like a clap of thunder to send one scurrying back to the car!

Thanks Trevor.

trevor wrote: ↑Fri Sep 06, 2024 12:56 pm You're plane sequence reminds me while photographing those Painted Ladies on Wednesday I could hear a Spitfire performing areobatics in the distance.

The unmistakable sound of a Rolls Royce Merlin engine...great stuff!



Monday 2nd September - Durlston Country Park.

After breakfast on Monday we decided to head into Swanage as Jane wanted to visit a craft shop that she knows there and the dull and cloudy start to the day meant I was in no rush to go out looking for butterflies. We spent the morning there and then around midday carried on up to Durlston Country Park despite the weather remaining dull with occasional drizzle.
Although Jane can manage the good paths here, she decided to stop in the car and read her book as she didn't want to wander around in the drizzle so I headed off for a quick circuit to see if I could find anything.

I started off along the top path and for a while watched a Kestrel hovering above the slope below me.
I carried on to the top of the gully and began to make my way down. The narrow path down the gully was very overgrown compared to my previous visits (the last time being in 2021) and the wet grass made it a bit treacherous underfoot. Despite these conditions I managed to see a few butterflies, mostly Meadow Browns and Small Heath plus a few Common and Adonis Blues that I put up as I made my way slowly down the gully. These would usually settle again low down in the grass out of the weather but I did manage to take a couple of photos.
I had just reached the bottom of the gully when I felt some drops of proper rain so I started to pace it out back along the cliff path. On the way the rain became heavier and by the time I reached the car park I was soaked. I approached the car to be greeted by Jane looking out of the window at me with a big grin on her face...very sympathetic

By now it was mid afternoon and with the rain becoming heavier we decided to head back to the B&B where I could dry off and just chill out before going out for a meal later.

To be continued...

Neil.

The lighthouse shot has taken me back to when I visited with my sister so thank you for posting it.
Lovely Adonis photo too!

Thanks Katrina. It was a shame my visit was cut short by the weather but surprising what can still be found in these conditions.

Tuesday 3rd September - Osmington.

Tuesday was looking to be a better day, still dull to start with but with the possibilty of thinner cloud and brighter spells later in the afternoon. We drove round to Weymouth for the morning and then on the way back stopped off at Osmington just after midday so I could have a walk up the path that goes up to White Horse Hill (more of a brownish grey horse these days).

The first butterflies that I saw were Speckled Wood with half a dozen or so along the first part of the path that goes between two hedgrows studded with a mixture of trees.
It was still quite cloudy but feeling warm and where the path opened out I began to see other species including good numbers of Small Whites that included a male that made me look twice with his rather pronounced markings.
A few Large Whites were around but were easily outnumbered by the Smalls which seemed to increase in number during the hour or so I spent here.
Meadow Browns were also flying in good numbers with most of them looking well past it now.

I also started seeing Adonis Blues but numbers were way down on what I remember seeing here in the past with no more than a dozen or so seen during my time here.
I noticed that the grass had grown much longer than I remember which obscured the narrow paths that traverse the slope and hid small dips and hollows making it difficult underfoot. I reckon this grass had also shaded out many of the more delicate plants including the Horseshoe Vetch that the Adonis Blue relies on, hence the lower numbers.
There were also a dozen or so Small Heath and I realized that I had not taken many photos of these this year so I snapped away at a couple.
Two male Brown Argus were chasing each other around a patch of the lower slope, one of which was looking tatty but the other one looked quite nice.
During my previous visits to Dorset I have always managed to find a Wasp Spider or two and sure enough I found one here, a nice big female sitting in the middle of her web.
I then went back to meet up with Jane and we went and had a Cream Tea at the tea rooms at the dairy farm back on the main road.

To be continued...

Neil.

Lovely set of Blues Neil - this season has not been kind to certain species but hopefully they'll be able to bounce back should we get more clement weather next season, fingers crossed Incidentally was it a proper Dorset cream tea; in Devon and Cornwall they argue about what goes on first; cream or jam, but in Dorset we don't care so long as you pile on the toppings with a shovel

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Love those Spitfire images, Neil.

Reminds me of when I was arriving at Ronaldsway airport in the Isle of Man several years ago.

I suddenly heard an abnormally deep engine sound in the air, and looked up to see a Lancaster Bomber in flight.

A very touching experience.

Cheers Wurzel.

Wurzel wrote: ↑Sat Sep 07, 2024 6:37 pm Incidentally was it a proper Dorset cream tea; in Devon and Cornwall they argue about what goes on first; cream or jam, but in Dorset we don't care so long as you pile on the toppings with a shovel

Yep, going by that criteria it was a proper Dorset Cream Tea, lashings of jam with a great big dollop of clotted cream

Thanks David. There is something deeply satisfying about the sound of Rolls Royce Merlins, and the Lancaster has four of them


Tuesday 3rd September - Ballard Down.

We returned to our B&B just before 4.00pm as Jane wanted to have a shower and chill out for a bit before going out later for a meal, but with some thinning of the clouds allowing some sun to finally break through I decided to have a drive round to the large layby at Ulwell and have a wander up onto Ballard Down.

During the hour that I spent here I saw the same selection of species in similar numbers that I had seen earlier at Osmington although more of the Adonis Blue males here were worn, especially around the wing fringes.
Up until now I had only seen a few female Adonis but there were a few more here with around half a dozen seen including some nice fresh looking examples.
Brown Argus were more numerous here with at least 8 seen and there were also a few more Common Blues although both species were mostly worn and faded.
There were also a few more Small Heath here.
A couple of Red Admirals were also spotted flying past and disappearing up the hillside.

Once again I noted how long the grass was, a familar theme it seems this year

To be continued...

Neil.

Wednesday 04.09.2024 - Lulworth Cove.

Wednesday was forecast to be a day of mixed cloud and sunny spells and so after breakfast we decided to drive round to Lulworth Cove. We arrived just after 10.00 and parked in the main car park which has become quite expensive but as we would only be here the once this year I didn't mind so much as we didn't know how long we would be here and Jane would be within easy reach of the facilities when I had a wander up onto Bindon Hill later.

We started off by slowly wandering down to the cove with me stopping to check out all the clumps of red valerian growing out of various walls. In the past I have often seen Hummingbird Hawk-moths along here but it was not to be today, not suprising with the lack of migrants so far this year but you never know. When we came to the stream where there is a lot of red valerian growing out of the low wall we saw half a dozen or so Large Whites fluttering around it and stopping to nectar. This gave me some photo opportunties of a species that I have not seen that many of so far this year.
A bit later, around midday after I had been up on Bindon Hill, we wandered down here again and the Large Whites were still there with perhaps a few more in total now plus a couple of Small Whites.

As we were having a coffee down by the beach we also watched a dozen or more Large and Small Whites visiting various flowers just above where old path up the hill is now blocked off.

I also had a look by Stair Hole and saw some more Large and Small Whites around there.

In the end we stayed in Lulworth for most of the day which enabled me to go up onto Bindon Hill a couple of times which will be covered in the next report.

To be continued...

Neil.

Wednesday 04.09.2024 - Bindon Hill.

With some nice sunny spells developing I went for my first wander up onto bindon Hill just after 10.30am. I walked back up the main road past the cottages and then turned up the private road by the B&Bs opposite the convenience store to make my way up onto the hill. There was a cool breeze coming from the north which was quite noticable on the first part of the hill but making my way round to the south facing slopes above the treeline I found it to be a lot more sheltered.
A couple of Speckled Wood were seen on the way, then on the hillside itself Meadow Browns soon appeared, closely followed by Small Heath and then male Adonis Blues in reasonable numbers. I fired off plenty of shots trying to capture that lovely colour and sheen.
I also spotted a few Chalk Hill Blues, 4 or 5 females plus a faded male, these being the first ones I had seen this year and probably the only ones I will see too.
There were quite a few Brown Argus seen, at least a dozen with perhaps a few more, most of which were quite scruffy looking, as were half a dozen or so Common Blues.
A single Small Copper was just the second one I have seen this year as so far I have totally failed to find any around my local patch.
Quite a few Small Whites with one or two Large Whites were also seen with the ratio of these being the opposite of what was down in the cove.

After returning to Jane and spending some time down in the cove I went back up the hill for a second time just after 1.00pm. The butterflies seen were mostly the same, with most of them probably being the very same individuals, as I had seen earlier.

One exception was a nice looking Common Blue, those I had seen earlier all being well past their best.
As with earlier, the Adonis Blues were mostly fresh looking males but I did spot a couple of females this time.
A couple of Red Admirals were also spotted flying rapidly up the hill.

The surprise of the day however was a Lulworth Skipper, a nice conditon female at that. Unfortunatly, I was just lining it up in my viewfinder when a tatty Brown Argus chased her off and I lost her. I would have been less surprised if I had seen her at Durlston County Park which tends to be a late site for these and where I have seen examples in the past in the last days of August and first days of September. With Lulworth usually being an earlier site, these were not at all on my radar for here today. I suppose it just shows how some flight periods are all over the place this year.

After an hour or so I made my way back to Jane again and with our parking ticket also being valid for the car park at Durdle Door we decided to make the most of it and drive round there.

To be continued...

Neil.

"Yep, going by that criteria it was a proper Dorset Cream Tea, lashings of jam with a great big dollop of clotted cream " Good to hear shrinkflation hasn't affected the Dorset cream tea - if it had we'd be marching on Parliament!

Another cracking collection of Blues, the colour on those Adonis is awesome That Lulworth sighting is unusual but then there was a bit of a later start to the season this year Looking forward to the Durlston report

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel

Wurzel wrote: ↑Tue Sep 10, 2024 2:53 pm ...Looking forward to the Durlston report...

Durdle Door, not Durlston (they both begin with Dur!.. ). We never made it back to Durlston although it would have been interesting to see if I could find any Lulworths still flying there on a better day.


Wednesday 04.09.2024 - Durdle Door.

As mentioned in the last report, to make the most of our car park ticket we decided to drive round to Durdle Door.
We pulled into the car park and noting a couple of cars waiting for spaces close to the main path down to the beach we went straight to the far end of the car park where there was plenty of room and pulled into a space at the front with a good view over the sea. This was also closer to the gate at the far end which I wanted to go through for the path across the higher slope.

As usual, the first butterflies seen were Meadow Browns but a bit further along I spotted something a bit different which turned out to be a Grayling.
As I made my way along I spotted a couple more Grayings and then zig-zagged down the grassy slope towards the hollow above the rock arch that has always been a bit of a hot-spot here in the past.
In this area there were more Meadow Browns, half a dozen Small Heath, a few Adonis Blues, a couple of worn Common Blues, and a nice Brown Argus.
The Adonis males were mostly a bit more worn than those I had seen up on Bindon Hill earlier but there was also a nice female here.
I also spotted a Painted Lady that flew in from the sea and went past me up the hill without stopping.

I then made my way back up the hill seeing half a dozen Graylings along the way, probably including the couple I had seen on the way down.
I paused near the top to take one last shot of the rock arch before heading back to the car.
Finally, one last photo that I took as we were on our way into Corfe Castle on Tuesday for a meal when I pulled over to capture this view of the castle in the early evening sun against some dark clouds.
We left for home the following morning (Thusday 5th) in rain that lasted right up until we were approaching Stow-on-the Wold in the Cotswolds and then stayed drizzly after that.

All in all, a great few days in one of our favourite parts of the country and I saw most of what I was hoping for. A Silver-spotted Skipper on the way down at Fontmell would have been nice, as would a Clouded Yellow, but these were both long shots given the small numbers of SSK I have seen reported from Fontmell this year and the general lack of CYs. On the other hand the Lulworth Skipper on Bindon Hill was a pleasant surprise despite not getting a photo.

Butterfly numbers were generally lower than I have seen down here in the past with the challenging weather being not only directly responsible, but also indirectly thoughout the season in producing long grass growth which has no doubt shaded out a lot of the more sensitive foodplants. It remains to be seen how this will effect things next year.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Dur…messed that up Mind you I am on a number of meds at the moment and I’m falling asleep a lot so over the next few days I’ll need to remember to read back what I’ve just written
The long grass has been a bit of a thing this year - shading out and growing over everything but also constantly getting into the shot

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Monday 16th September

Last week brought a cold spell with a couple of frosty mornings and a proper nip in the wind along with some heavy rain. Temperatures were forecast to improve over the weekend but we remained under a stubborn grey overcast with Sunday in particular being a cold and gloomy day.

After a misty start to this morning, we finally had some good sun although I had to go into Solihull this morning and so couldn't take advantage of it until I was back home later.

After a bit of lunch I decided to have a look down at my local spot by Wagon Lane. To be honest, there was very much an end of season feeling in the air with a total of just 16 butterflies of 6 species seen consisting of Small White (6), Large white (2), Speckled Wood (3), Comma (3), a single Red Admiral and best of all a male Small Copper, the first one here this year and just the third one I have seen all year (the others were one in Cornwall and one in Dorset). He had a chunk out of his LH forewing and was very active in the warm afternoon sun but I managed to sneak up on him and get a couple of record shots.
I've got a few things to do this week but with the weather looking to be quite reasonable for a few days, hopefully I can juggle things around a bit and have a look at somewhere else around Solihull.

Bye for now,

Neil.

"Sunday in particular being a cold and gloomy day."..same down here Neil - last week was like Autumn had suddenly arrived and Sunday was the culmination...then toady it was back to shorts and t-shirts Great to see the Small Coppers out and about, I've been a bit worried about them

Have a goodun

Wurzel

That's a great view of Corfe Castle, Neil - that bit of Dorset is one of my favourite stretches of the countryside.

The difference in weather between where you are and where I am (which you have mentioned in the past) clearly continues. Every day here from 11th September has had at least 6 hours of sunshine, daytime highs have barely dropped below 17 degrees and we haven't had a grass frost. There was a bit of showery rain on 12th, but barely a drop on any other days. Quite a contrast. However, things look better this week countrywide.

Cheers,

Dave