millerd

[millerd]

I'm finding it difficult to judge this year so far, Wurzel. Some things are doing well (Commas and GVW near me have had a great spring), and others not so well - there have definitely been fewer Orange Tips aound here. Small Coppers are less consistent - they seem the same on my local patch, but noticeably down in numbers nearby at Staines Moor, and I've hardly seen one at either Denbies Hillside or Aston Rowant - which are normally very reliable.

Back to my local patch on 2nd May. A decent overall count (around 75-80 butterflies seen) but this was rather distorted by 33 of them being Holly Blues and 22 of the remainder being Green-veined Whites. I checked the vast majority of the white butterflies seen, and only a tiny number were Small Whites today - this seems very odd considering that a couple of days earlier numbers were more or less even. Here are two rather different males and a female.

Now a couple of butterflies that weren't Hollies of GVW...

With no Common Blues out yet to cause any possible confusion, the Holly Blue numbers are very encouraging - there are certain bits of brambly hedgerow under the trees where it is impossible to not see two or three of the species at the moment, usually more.

nectaring on willow

taking moisture in the shade

This rather obliging female had unusual dark markings along the forewing veins, crossing the dark border at right angles.

Finding one that seemed intent on taking minerals, I enticed it onto my finger, where it developed a liking for whatever was on my skin.

A drop of moisture proved particularly attractive.

This did allow for some nice close-ups.

There was a problem though: it proved really difficult to persuade the butterfly to leave my finger. Eventually I convinced it that a bit of bramble leaf was an acceptable alternative.

After this close encounter, I returned home and a few hours later managed to pour boiling water over my left foot while making tea. The resulting burn turned to be worse than I initially thought, and meant that for several days I had to rest the foot and in any case couldn't walk more than a short distance on it. I found the resulting spell of inactivity immensely frustrating (especially as the sun annoying decided to burst forth outside).

Dave

[millerd]

After three days with my foot up, I managed on Thursday 5th May to reach the nearest part of my local patch (a walk of no more than 50 metres at most), and succeeded in seeing (what else?) a few Holly Blues.

However, the amount of effort this took meant I regretted it somewhat, and at the next dressing change I was referred to a specialist burns unit in East Grinstead of all places - nowhere nearby! More days of inactivity followed...

Dave

[millerd]

Three days after the referral, I was able to see the burns specialist. It definitely felt as if things had improved in the interim, which was good as I had to drive over to East Grinstead and back in the end. The news was good, and I could set aside all the worrying thoughts of skin grafts and prolonged inactivity. The foot was healing nicely. Phew, as they say.

The following day, Tuesday 10th May, was blessed with decent weather, so I headed gingerly out on to my local patch for the first time in over a week. As expected, things had changed noticeably and I saw several species making their 2022 debuts on the site (Common Blue, Brown Argus and Small Heath). I slowly covered a good area, and managed a respectable 13 different species over all. A selection...

However, the best was still to come...

Dave

[millerd]

10th May: continued...

After seeing all those different species, as I left the main grassland area between the M25 and the River Colne I did remark to myself that I hadn't seen a Comma yet during the walk. Just as I entered the short sheltered path leading through to the subway under the A3113 T4 link, I glanced to my right and my eye was caught by something orangey-brown up on the brambles. Ah ha, I thought, here was the missing Comma. I took a few distant shots, and as I did so I started to wonder whether what I had here was actually a Comma or in fact something else.

To my complete astonishment, I realised that what I'd found was a Large Tortoiseshell. A rather careworn and threadbare individual, but a Large Tortoiseshell none the less. I managed a few more shots of it up on the bramble, using zoom and a slightly shaky hand, and then it flew off down the path.

I was amazed at how graceful in flight this butterfly is, with a long glides and the minimum of flapping - almost reminiscent of a White Admiral. As luck would have it, it landed on the path a little way ahead, and I was able to take a few more shots (again with a bit of zoom as I wasn't going to risk spooking the butterfly!). The lowish angle of the sun and the yellow tinge it has at this end of the afternoon didn't help, but I do at least have a reasonable record of an extraordinary encounter.

I had never seen one for certain before, and I definitely did not expect that I would do so on my local patch within a few minutes walk of my front door.

The condition of the butterfly does make me wonder if it had been lurking locally for several weeks, and only now our paths had crossed. It would have been good to see it looking a little fresher. One other question is whether it hibernated here, or arrived having hibernated elsewhere. I also have no idea whether it is a male or a female - if the latter, I had better remember to look out for progeny on the local buddleias come July!

Dave

[trevor]

A Large Tortoiseshell is what it is regardless of condition, always a stunning find.
Also enlarging your shots, the abdomen looks rather plump. If it is a female what
were her chances of finding a mate?. I am sure someone on here with more knowledge
could come up with some theories.

A great lucky find, just like mine.

Trevor.

[Katrina]

Congratulations - definitely a few
I shall be looking out for graceful Commas!

[bugboy]

a very fortuitous find and just shows they can turn up anywhere and often when you least expect. I'd be very surprised if there weren't some lurking unseen near me in Epping forest!

[Goldie M]

I bet you were well chuffed Dave when you saw the Large Tortoiseshell I know I would have been Goldie

[millerd]

An immense piece of luck, as you say Trevor. If it was a female, I have my fingers crossed that she managed to encounter a male somewhere. If the latest theory holds good - that the species has been migrating here post-hibernation rather than pre-hibernation - then hopefully she mated in the place she woke up before heading for the UK. You have to assume there was a better chance of meeting a male there than here.

Thank you, Katrina - yes, every largeish Comma falls under suspicion from now on!

They could be hanging around unseen in many areas of woodland for all we know, Paul, certainly if thye can turn up on my doorstep.

Well chuffed indeed, Goldie. Discovering a rarity by yourself certainly beats being given directions to a site where you end up queuing to see the butterfly! Not a moment I will forget.

Well, follow that, as they say...

Not really possible, so after a cool and nearly sunless day on 11th, on Thursday 12th May I decided just to start catching up with the week I'd missed and visit Denbies Hillside - principally to see the Adonis Blues.

I found a blue butterfly almost immediately, but it turned out to be a female Common Blue, and not a particularly spectacular one either.

There were quite a few Dingy Skippers darting around...

...and they and the Small Heaths were probably the most frequently seen species. There were also a few Grizzlies...

...and even a couple of worn Green Hairstreaks.

I was pleased to also find my target species. Males were dotted around the slopes, and I suspect that if it had been a bit warmer and/or a bit sunnier I would have seen rather more. As it was those I approached were pretty fresh...

...and I even found a velvety new example of the much more elusive female: they can be very hard to spot as they skulk low down investigating the horseshoe vetch for good spots in which to lay.

Before returning home, I popped into Box Hill for a quick look round. This was very disappointing - I saw very little of anything, though my spirits rose a little when I encountered a Speckled Wood and a Red Admiral having an altercation near the tea room. The latter won the scuffle and settled on the path nearby.

The afternoon saw an improvement in the weather, so another local walk beckoned. Who knows? I might encounter that Large Tortoiseshell again...

Dave

[Wurzel]

Fantastic find that Large Tort Dave If I'd been you I'd have been there every day for the next few days

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

I've dropped by the same area nearly every day since, Wurzel, but not a sniff. Still, it probably went unnoticed for a while before our paths crossed.

Looking at my photos, I now realise I've misremembered the day! I actually walked locally before heading off to the North Downs on 12th May - all the timestamps are early morning... The main feature of that morning walk was the sheer number of Holly Blues (again!). They definitely rise early on sunny mornings and are out there basking by eight o'clock.

One or two were stocking up on liquid from the morning dew.

I also chanced on some rejection behaviour by a female pestered by a male. I have often seen this, but the frantic wing-fluttering and evasive manoeuvres by the female butterfly usually make any kind of photo a blue blur at best. I was a bit luckier today.

I did see a few other species, but the Holly Blues outnumbered all the others put together this morning.

Dave

[millerd]

Friday 13th May turned out to be a sunny one, but a very strong westerly wind was blowing. Most of the sites on the Chiltern excursion I had planned had some shelter, but one of them turned out to be very exposed indeed.

I started at Totternhoe, hoping to see Small Blues, but I didn't encounter a single one. I haven't seen any here for a few years now, so I wonder if the colony has moved from its previous haunts or just disappeared. However, I did spot a few Dingy Skippers...

...and a Small Tortoiseshell.

There were also still fresh Dukes to be found.

Investigating an area which was only cleared of choking scrub and bramble a couple of years back, I found a Duchess hopefully eyeing up the site with a view to colonising. This was the first of the species I'd seen in this particular spot.

Finally, just as I left the last pit and set off back to the car, I came across this individual. At first I dismissed it as a worn example, but in fact it is in reasonable condition and may instead be at least halfway to being ab. leucodes. I came across a very pale one in the exact same location a few years ago, so it may be in the local gene pool.

Next stop - Steps Hill (near Ivinghoe) and a very windswept walk.

Dave

[millerd]

13th May: continued...

I parked at the NT car park for Ivinghoe and walked across the hillside to Steps Hill, and as I turned the corner I found myself facing the strong and gusty wind blowing straight across the Vale of Aylesbury. It was mostly sunny, though to start with haziness took the edge off a bit. Nevertheless, right down at ground level, there were good numbers of Duke of Burgundy darting around with the males finding themselves unable to indulge in their typical aerial battles because of the wind.

There were also both Dingy and Grizzled Skippers.

At one point I was following a Duchess low to the ground when she put up another, larger, brighter butterfly. This individual didn't stay airborne very long and I was able to spot where it had landed. Luckily in some ways the conditions meant that it didn't try to fly again for a while, and I was able to identify it as a fresh Marsh Fritillary - perhaps one of the freshest I've seen.

I had seen the species here in 2021, and had heard they had reappeared once more - I believe they may have been (re)introduced a few years ago now, and seem to be self-sustaining. I saw one flyby of one other, but as they were likely to be well hunkered down and out of sight on the scrubby hillside, I decided not to look particularly carefully or for too long - I was also conscious of how the roughness of the ground was treating my recuperating foot. I returned to easier (and more sheltered) paths over towards the Beacon.

Dave

[millerd]

I headed for one of the gullies below the Beacon itself for a brief look, and managed to find another couple of Dukes, including another reasonably fresh female.

The only other butterfly of note was a male Large White taking advantage of a bit of shelter down here.

My route home now took me close to Pitstone, so I popped into the old chalk quarry to see if more Small Blues had joined to one I'd seen here on the last day of April.

Dave

[millerd]

13th May: continued...

As I had hoped, the old quarry at Pitstone was relatively sheltered from the wind, especially in the northeast corner favoured by the Small Blues. I think I saw perhaps twenty or so of this species, though their diminutive size makes them easy to miss. They were mostly in the corner mentioned, but by no means exclusively - I saw them from as soon as the track from the parking spot emerges from the trees. By now, it was largely sunny, but one or two clouds abruptly obscured the sun changing the light levels equally suddenly. My camera struggles to autofocus on small dark objects with bright back grounds at the best of times, so all in all a great many shots failed to make the cut.

One highlight was coming across a mating pair.

Also seen here were Dingy Skippers, Small Heaths, Brimstones, a Peacock and several Green Hairstreaks. This was the best of the bunch, showing a peek of a sliver of its chocolatey upperside and demnostrating the subtle colour change as its angle to the light changes.

I finally headed for home, and in the late afternoon sun I spotted the species that rejoices in this time of day - a Red Admiral.

A busy day!

Dave

[Pauline]

Great shot of the mating Small Blue Dave - GH aren't half bad either!

[Wurzel]

Crickey Dave if I manage to get out even half as much as you when I retire I can't wait I'm not sure where to begin but the stand out butterflies, the ones I can still see in my minds eye as I type, are the gorgeous blue badge Small Copper, the very Marshie (the scales on the costa look ace) and the wonderful array of Small Blues - the poor old Dukes don't even get a look in!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

That pairing was a bit of luck, Pauline - they were the only Small Blues that kept still for any length of time too! More Green Hairstreaks to come...

Thank you Wurzel - it was indeed quite an array across the various spots I visited. I also don't think I've seen so many Dukes as I have this spring, or in quite so many places. If you cast your mind back to what comes next, you'll remember a few more!

Saturday 14th May. Another favourable weather forecast which stayed consistent up to the day itself. I had arranged to meet Wurzel at a site on Salisbury Plain which was quite a bit nearer for me to get to than Cotley Hill, and the sun was duly shining when I arrived.

Where to start? Wurzel will give a much better account of the day that I can, as he made notes - for me it just was a morning full of butterflies, many of them site specialists rather than those you might see anywhere. The MOD can be thanked for this!

One sheltered corner with plenty of hawthorn and dogwood played host to a selection of fresh Green Hairstreaks.

Grizzled Skippers looked in good nick too.

There were also plenty of Dingy Skippers, but the only one a managed a decent shot of was this curious individual. It was too worn to decide whether it was a true ab. or not.

The Wiltshire chalk must be one of the few inland spots in southern England where Wall Browns are still quite a regular sight - we saw a succession of the species, which was its usual unapproachable self.

Then there were the Dukes. They took a while to appear, but then kept popping up. There were some nice poses.

With plenty more to come, I think I shall split the post in two...

Dave

[millerd]

A day on the Plain - 14th May continued...

There were a selection of Blues. A few shining new Common Blues...

...the honorary Blue which is the Brown Argus provided two contrasting males...

...various Small Blues...

...a couple of fresh Adonis, of which this is one.

There were also a couple of Small Coppers. This was the newer of the two.

This left one more species, the one I normally visit Cotley to see: the Marsh Fritillary. We saw perhaps a dozen altogether, but there may well have been more hunkering down in the long grass out of the breeze. They looked pretty fresh, which with this species may well mean "emerged that day" since they wear so rapidly.

Three took to the air together at one point.

Another great day out, and many thanks to Wurzel for introducing me to another new and very productive site.

Dave

[Goldie M]

That's great shots of them flying in the air Dave, it shouts Summer is near Goldie