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The downward trend in variety continued on Friday 22nd October - I saw nothing except Red Admirals, though I managed to count a respectable 15. On Saturday 23rd, for only the third day this month so far, I didn't see a butterfly at all.

Dave

After thinking the warmer days might have finished for the year, Sunday 24th October proved me wrong, with four hours of sun and a high of 16. The 13 Red Admirals seen today appreciated it......and I also found a single Small White (the first for a week or so). However, the butterfly that stole the show (as they often do at this time of year) was a fresh female Holly Blue. Dave

Despite higher temperatures (18 degrees) and more sun (five hours) on Monday 25th October, the number of Red Admirals seen dropped to eight. Maybe they've continued to migrate south in better weather and at last their numbers are no longer being replenished with many newly emerged colleagues.Three Holly Blues were flying today - and that's exactly what they were doing most of the time in the warm sunshine. By their interactions, I'd say all of these were males.Finally came today's surprise - a fresh Peacock (another second brood butterfly?). Dave

That Painted Lady from a few post back was in cracking nick Dave as was that gorgeous female Holly Blue - which hopefully will meet up with those active males It does seem to have been a better tail end to the season this year, last year it felt like it got to October and someone switched the butterflies off
Hope to see you next weekend all things going to plan!

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Cheers, Wurzel - that Painted Lady cheered me up no end after being unable to find that enduring Small Copper. You're certainly right about this year's end-of-season spectacular, as I saw butterflies on every day bar four in October, and I've now seen them on nine out of eighteen days so far in November. All of which means there are more posts to come...

I'm also very much looking forward to the get together - according to the current forecast it's going to be a tad chillier by then, so no butterflies on the day I suspect...

Tuesday 26th was largely dull, and though I found four Red Admirals, none were easily photographed beyond something for the record. Wednesday 27th October was rather better - 18 degrees again with some sun and additional bright spells. This inevitably led to more Red Admirals on my local patch (11 seen today) plus three other species which included not one but two surprises.

First one of the usual suspects......and today's Holly Blue, a male which was basking on the broad reflective leaves of a still very green sallow. The angle to the sun provided some less usual shots.The first unexpected sighting I initially dismissed as another late Small White, but something about the flight made me look a bit closer. It turned out to be a Green-veined White instead - still a late sighting (though not my latest as I found one in November a few years ago).The second surprise turned up out on the grassland area. I could see from the flight that it was a lycaenid of some sort, but having run through the possibilities the last one on my shortlist turned out to be what it was: a rather world-weary male Brown Argus.This season certainly still has a few tricks up its sleeve...

Dave

Thursday 28th October was still quite warm for the time of year (16 degrees), but lacked much sunshine. Seven Red Admirals were around locally today, responding to what brightness there was, but that was all.Friday 29th was another rare "blank" day, with nothing seen at all. There have not been many years when I could have made that kind of comment about October!

Dave

Saturday 30th October saw the return of the sun, temperatures remained buoyant as well, and these more favourable conditions led to there being a bit more variety around. I found another Peacock, presumably another recently-emerged second brooder feeding up in a hurry to stand a chance of making it through hibernation when the weather gets cold as it surely will.The sun also brought out a male Holly Blue - I've seen them resort to dandelion nectar at this time of year before when most other sources in this bit of my patch dry up.There were of course a selection of Red Admirals, ten in all today. I took advantage of the fact that they had largely relinquished the ivy flowers for a much wider variety of perches - including the flush of new dandelions as well.It is surprising just how new those butterflies appear to be: surely there can't be many more waiting to emerge...

Dave

Despite not dissimilar weather, Sunday 31st October was rather a contrast and I only managed to find four Red Admirals. One of them was a very smart individual however.No other species appeared at all. One might be tempted to think that here was indeed the end of the season, and that November sightings would be the subject of hope rather than real expectectation. Things seem to have turned out a bit differently, fulfilling the former handsomely and largely defying the latter...

Dave

Before moving on to November, I'll record a few stats for October. Weather statistics are those for Heathrow, just a couple of miles away.

October 2021 was certainly a warm month, with an average daily high of 16.9 degrees (worth comparing with May this year which recorded an average of only 16.5). The highest reached was 21 degrees on 19th, and the lowest high of 12 degrees just two days later on 21st. Aside from this day, no other days recorded highs below 14 degrees. Sunshine was nothing spectacular, averaging out at 2 hrs 40 mnutes a day, but a lot of the rain that fell (plus accompanying strong winds) seemed to happen overnight. There were no frosts, the lowest overnight low being 5 degrees early on the morning of 22nd.

These generally favourable conditions continued where September left off: though butterfly numbers dropped markedly (except for Red Admirals), there was still quite a bit of variety, with 13 different species seen. I saw butterflies on 27 out of 31 days this month, a surprising figure for the time of year. Red Admirals were exceptional at the start of the month, with 48 seen on 3rd and 41 on 6th, and numbers continued in double figures throughout the whole month: they were seen on every day I saw a butterfly. The next most frequently seen species was the Holly Blue, but no others stood out in this respect - and Small Copper sighting numbers were skewed somewhat by one individual butterfly... There were a few late surprises, with Painted Lady, Brown Argus, Common Blue and GVW all appearing towards the end of the month, plus some second brood Peacocks.

Dave

Good job those stats weren't presented at the recent COP26 gathering, Dave. They are quite extraordinary and much more akin to those you would expect in a decent September.

Even allowing for your location, to see butterflies on 27 of the available 31 October days is highly notable....freakish even.

I daresay November may be record-breaking too. Even here on the S. Wales coast we've had 13c and partial sunshine again today.

The Autumn stats generally have been unusual, David, with relatively warm conditions persisting from the start of September until yesterday really. Even with much colder weather promised for the remainder of November, I suspect it will prove to be a notable Autumn season.

Monday 1st November made a good start to the month, with plenty of sunshine and reasonable temperatures. I managed to find four different species locally today - two of which were unremarkable for November round here and the other two complete surprises.

There were 11 Red Admirals, and though some were still in reasonable condition, some were getting quite battered.There were at least two male Holly Blues, but as they moved around a fair bit and also chased each other, there could have been a third.Surprise number one was finding a Painted Lady on the thistle patch once again. With the chance of a ground frost in the forecast this evening (1st), I hope this butterfly managed to make its way quickly south. This is only the second time I've seen the species in November.The second unexpected sighting was finding a Speckled Wood, especially one as new as this one clearly was. This freshness meant the light reflected off the butterfly strangely, with a yellowy-green iridescence. Dave

Tuesday 2nd November was the first morning of the year when I had to scrape ice off the car windscreen first thing. However, the early 3 degrees soon warmed to 13, though this was down from Monday's 15. Nevertheless, the sun shone again, and the butterflies responded, with 18 of four species seen. These were not quite the same four as the previous day: one Holly Blue and twelve Red Admirals, plus two Small Whites and three Peacocks made up today's roster.

The Peacocks all appeared in the same general area, near where the previous day's Painted Lady had been seen (and also the last two Peacocks in October).The Small Whites appeared relatively close together too, but in part of the woodland. They chased each other at one point, but rather too high up for me to record the event.One particular bit of broad-leaved sallow has been very reluctant to change colour this autumn, let alone drop its leaves, and has become a favourite basking point. The shiny green of those leaves appears to reflect sunshine back onto the underside of basking butterflies, resulting in a bit of a localised heat trap. Both Red Admirals and Holly Blues have taken advantage and today was a good example. I spotted the Holly Blue first, sitting tight on its leaf, waiting for the sun to emerge properly from behind some thin cloud.I decided to wait as well, hoping that the Holly Blue (which looked new) would open up with the return of full sun. I then became aware of another butterfly - a Red Admiral had decided to join the party.To start off with, the latter butterfly sat a little way from the Holly......but then just as the sun became significantly brighter, it moved to place itself right between me and my target.Luckily, the Holly Blue hadn't responded yet, but seemed poised to do so at any time.As the Admiral had started to pose rather well, I took a few shots......before returning to the Holly Blue just in time. In the end, I needn't have worried, as the butterfly basked for quite a while and I took a lot of shots - it was absolutely brand new, and a beautiful sight.Eventually it flew, as did the Red Admiral, and I was very pleased the latter hadn't managed to disturb the former as I feared it might.

Another remarkable November day.

Dave

The temperature dropped to only 10 degrees on Wednesday 3rd November, and despite a bit of sunshine I encountered no butterflies while walking today. The following day I headed up to see my sister in Yorkshire for a few days, and though there was some sunshine from time to time and it wasn't particularly cold, I didn't see an adult butterfly. However, my sister's huge display of nasturtiums had largely escaped the slight frosts there had been up here, and on Saturday 6th November tucked down amongst them I found a Small White caterpillar.At the time of writing, I believe these plants have still to succumb to frost because of their sheltered sitation, so it is possible that this individual may have successfully pupated and joined the others of its species (and Large cousins) under the eaves and in other nooks and crannies here. At this time of year, everything counts!

I returned home on 7th, and hopefully went out locally on Monday 8th November, despite a lack of sunshine. I was surprised to see a couple of Red Admirals in flight, but didn't achieve any photos. The following day, however, brought a return to unseasonal conditions and rather more butterflies.

Dave

Brilliant set of posts Dave - to be seeing that range in November is cracking This could be the taste of things to come with climate change extending the season - hopefully those third broods will pay off next season See you Saturday all thinsg going well!

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

I've only just seen your male Holly Blue shots , Dave.
Maybe you could teach the ones around here to pose like that !.
There have been a few 3rd brood sightings in Sussex recently.

Great stuff, have another

Trevor

Thank you both!

Yes, it's been an unusually productive November, Wurzel. I usually see a few things, but this year the variety has been the striking aspect of it.

I'm not sure why I have been so consistently lucky with Holly Blue behaviour hereabouts, Trevor. It happens in all three broods, but it's often this third brood that offers the best opportunities as the sun is so weak that they need to bask in sheltered spots to warm themselves up.

Tuesday 9th November saw temperatures reaching 17 degrees, with a few hours of sunshine too. The Holly Blue theme continued today, with a surprising total of five at least seen - more in a day since way back in September. Unsurprisingly, I took a fair few photos - but none matched the pristine male of a week earlier. Once again, counting them was made trickier because they interacted quite a bit in the bright sunshine and set off into the sky while others lurked on the ivy flowers relatively unnoticed.I really never thought I'd be posting such a selection of shots from a day in the second week of November.

Naturally enough, there were still Red Admirals......and a Peacock enjoying the sun in the same spot as before (probably one of the three I'd seen last time).However, today's surprise was another species for the month here (no.7), a Small Tortoiseshell. This was the first I'd seen on my patch for about three months, and my guess is that it had been woken from hibernation by the sun in a house or garage nearby and may have struggled before making its way into the open air. It certainly seemed a bit battered. Dave

10th November was a "blank" day (which should be no big deal at this time of year, but with such an ongoing run of sightings it seemed otherwise! ). Thursday 11th and Friday 12th November were very similar, both with highs of 15 and a limited amount of sun. On both days it was enough to mobilise a couple of Red Admirals, plus a Peacock in the same spot as before - but no Holly Blues.

From 11th, firstly a Red Admiral......and today's Peacock, which posed particularly nicely both on its foodplant and on the apparently endless supply of ragwort.From 12th, the Peacock first (definitely the same individual as the day before)......and then one of the Red Admirals. She was seen flitting between young nettle plants, both in and out of the shade - behaviour I've seen before. I suspected the butterfly was laying eggs.A closer look at the second photo revealed the egg on the leaf behind the butterfly.I found one or two more, but the shady locations and the angle of the sun made it tricky to get anything better than this shot.After the laying activity, the butterfly basked nicely in the sun.Maybe a comparative lack of variety today, but made up for by some interesting behaviour.

Dave

This time, it was four days before the weather was good enough to maybe encourage a butterfly out. On Tuesday 16th November, the sun shone for a few hours again - though the temperature was only 11 degrees at best. Surprisingly perhaps, I counted five individual Red Admirals, plus a Peacock. The latter was in the same area as the other recent sightings, and though this one was missing chunks from its hindwings, looking at the photos in retrospect I think it was the same butterfly that I'd been seeing recently. At least it was still doing its best to feed up when it could to give it a better chance of surviving the winter, though at this moment it was simply basking on the path to warm up.Similarly, at least one Red Admiral was nestling down in amongst the dead leaves which warm up quickly and re-radiate heat......though another was in a familiar pose, nectaring on the ivy......and another (a little ragged now) was just basking on the broad buddleia leaves. The following day, Wednesday 17th November, was a bit warmer (13 degrees) and much sunnier (6 hours). Four Red Admirals were around today (but no sign of the Peacock).However, just as I made my last tour of the area nearest home, a smaller butterfly flew up in front of me and landed a bit of a way back in the brambles. This was a female Holly Blue. Though it is always a delight to see this species, especially so late in the year, I prefer not to see females - it would be better for them to wait until spring to emerge. That of course is when they would have a real opportunity to continue their line, whereas appearing in November is a real dead end. I'm not so fussed about seeing males at this time of year, as even if their spring numbers are depleted, those that remain will be able to breed with all the available females. All that said, this was a lovely butterfly to see. Dave

That is a very beautiful Holly Blue but I share your feelings about her emerging this side of Christmas

Yep I also echo your sentiments - mixed emotions about the Holly Blue
The damage on that Peacock is interesting as it seems to have lost a chunk from 'right between the eyes' I wonder if the bird wasn't scared by the eyes just annoyed

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel