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Looking forward to your reports now that you are all Tech-ed out Trevor Check out the Species Favourite Shots threads if you're after some reminiscing to get you through the winter.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi! Trevor, it will be nice to talk to you instead of the many faces Goldie

Goldie M wrote:Hi! Trevor, it will be nice to talk to you instead of the many faces Goldie

Indeed! It'll be a bit of a culture shock at first.

I thought I would start my retrospective look at 2015 with one of the more memorable
events.

Back in July I paid several visits to Chiddingfold forest, mainly for Purple Emperor. After an early
start I arrived, one morning at 07.50. Although the sun had been out for several hours it was still
quite cool and the taller trees cast many shadows across the track. In the brighter spots the
Butterflies were quite active despite the early hour. As i continued my walk i noticed in one very
shady area a large triangular shape, that from a distance could have been a stone, as i got closer
I could see that it was a completely motionless Butterfly. I was quite shocked to find that it was
a PE!, A PE, on the ground, in the shade at 08.05 !.
As I took my photo's I became convinced that it had been there all night,and there was some
wing damage,so maybe a Bird had attacked it whilst it was at roost the evening before.
I later moved it into the sun hoping for an open wing shot but it took flight without opening up!.

Trevor.

That really is a great shot Trevor for early morning, did you manage to see any more PE through the season after that Goldie

A grounded Emperor all to yourself - does it get any better in the UK?

HI David and Goldie;

The whole idea of arriving so early was simply to have a relaxed start to the day, and yes I did have that
PE. to myself. Others were seen over the week, but not as many as last year.

All the best;
Trevor.

Some five or six years ago there was the usual scrum around the parking area at Fermyn Wood early one Saturday. Many people were quite blasé about the anticipation of seeing yet MORE Purple Emperors.

"You should have been here five minutes ago" some wit announced. "We just had a superb view of a newly emerged Purple Hairstreak over there on the grass."

That's always the way: "You should have been here five minutes ago".

And yes, plenty of Emperors but I had missed the big prize

Jack

Did you really mean 'some wit' Jack?

That must have been a fantastic experience Trevor, a Purple Emperor all to yourself. I've looked and looked but never had any real joy in 'discovering ' my own PE

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Another highlight of 2015 was a trip to East Blean woods to see the Heath Fritillary.
We chose June 8th for our visit, and this turned out to be a good choice, as the weather
was perfect, and after a little exploration we found a spot, which for us, was a new area
that we had not found previously where many Heath Fritillaries were flying.

I have chosen some different images of the day to those I posted at the time of our visit.
The other memory of that day, despite spending several hours at East Blean, we did not find
any other Butterfly species at all!.

Hope you enjoy,
Trevor.

Lovely shots Trevor, I missed out on the Heath F this year sadly by going to Kent in August but you can't be every where, so your shots are very welcome Goldie

Some great shots there Trevor When I made my first pilgrimage there this year we only managed three species all day - singles of Meadow Brown and Red Admiral and 100+ Heath Fritillry

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I had a similar range during my visit, singles of meadow Brown and Holly blue but who cares when you have oodles of Heath Fritillary fluttering around your feet! Great memories

I am lucky that the Pearl Bordered Fritillary can be found close to home, in Abbots Wood.
Although numbers have declined in the last three years my unscientific count this year
was about the same as 2014. So hopefully numbers will start to build.

Trevor.

That first one must be a named aberration.

Jack

One species that did me proud in 2015 was the humble Holly Blue.
This is a species that I am very guilty of ignoring in previous years. I was getting sick to death
of awarding Dave (millerd) mrgreens for his stunning open wing shots of Holly Blues. I had only
ever seen them perching closed wing and walked on by.... Big mistake!!.

Determined to get some open wing shots I thought I would take time to look more closely at
their behaviour. It became clear after nectaring or with newly emerged males ground searching
for (usually) bird droppings, they then very often fly onto nearby vegetation to bask,this I found
is when they are most likely to open up, usually very briefly before flying off.
The best shots I obtained this year were taken on days of broken cloud, the brief sunny spells
producing results!.

I'll be back for more next year.
Trevor.

Lovely open winged Holly Blue shots Trevor, roll on Spring Goldie

Some lovely images there, Trevor. That PBF ab is a cracker and, thankfully, I think we all got to see a few more Holly Blues than usual in 2015.

An image from my garden this afternoon.......

Those Holly Blues are terrific, Trevor. They are well worth the patience watching them and spotting when they are going to ease those wings open.

Dave