www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

The Small Blue seem to be doing ok in the area, so any work to help by the Warks BC Branch seems to be paying dividends

Your not the only one that seem's to be getting regular soakings...I'm a fellow sufferer too Nice report Dave

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

Thanks for the kind comments, chaps. Small Blues do seem to respond well to a bit of help in this way.

Sunday 8th June. A lovely sunny morning, and the first task was to release another Red Admiral, patiently sitting next to his empty chrysalis. Another lovely underside photo will be the lasting record of this one. Elliot and I went south today, down to Box Hill for the first visit this year. We ventured first out onto Burford Spur, where there were a few Common Blues around, mostly females like this one. There were a couple of Meadow Browns, some Large Skippers dashing about in the sun, plus Brimstones, Small Tortoiseshells (new ones I'd say) and Speckled Woods. Elliot spotted a couple of bees which he declared to be dead on the ground, but were anything but: the female and male were quite different to look at - I hope the beemeister Wurzel can identify them for us! We then wandered back past the throngs of lycra-clad would be Touristes de France (one Bradley Wiggins lookalike spoiled the effect somewhat by puffing on a fag), beyond the viewpoint slopes and out onto the area known as Dukes. There were quite a few folk sunbathing in this area, so the sight of us heading diagonally down the hillside, camera in hand, was perhaps a bit disconcerting. This also meant that when an unmistakable Marbled White appeared in amongst the scrub at the top of the slope, giving chase was not an option. This was the first one I'd seen this year, and it was quickly followed by another first - a Dark Green Fritillary at the bottom of the hillside, flying up into the trees and back in a highly energetic fashion. Hot sun is not the best weather to make close observations! There were a few other butterflies - Small Heaths, Meadow Browns and a Blue or two. I think the fringes on this one make it a female Adonis, but I'm happy to be corrected. We headed for home. The M25 traffic at 4 o'clock was surprisingly light, so I risked a minor detour to Fairmile Common. It was worth it as we quickly found two, maybe three male Silver-studded Blues in the area across the road from the car park. After investigating the area in the other direction, we returned to find Lee Hurrell just arriving. Together we relocated a male, and Lee spotted a female as well. Where next Lee? Your prediction was uncannily accurate!

Dave

Lovely Silver Studs Dave - I'll have to wait a week or two before they're out here so to keep me busy...your Bees...a Queen and male Bombus lapidarius, they might have introduced themselves but were obviously to engrossed in each other

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Lovely photos, Dave! Great to see you once more.

I predict....Botany Bay or Denbies. I will go back to East Blean too.

I must crack on with my photos....so much summer, so little time. The summer emergences are coming thick and fast now.

PM me if you'd like to actually arrange a meet.

Best wishes,

Lee

Ditto the others comments Dave...can we keep up with it all

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

Thanks once again for your kind comments all of you. You're right, Bill - how to keep up?

10th June. One way is to take a last minute day off work and head round the M25 for Essex. The 75 mile trip was done in even time and I was at one of the Heath Fritillary sites near Rayleigh by 0930. There was intermittent sun only to start with and it was a while before the butterflies appeared. To be honest, I didn't see all that many (ten to a dozen at most) - there were many more last year apparently, but I could not find any cow-wheat in any of the clearings. If that disappears, so will the Heath Fritillaries. Most of those I saw showed signs of wear, but there were one or two fresh ones. The strong sun later in the day may have brought out some more. As well as the Heath Frits, I saw a few Meadow Browns and Speckled Woods, a Large Skipper (looking paler than its Middlesex cousins), a Small Tortoiseshell and an energetic Red Admiral which paused briefly to take minerals from my trouser leg. Finally, I discovered a female Holly Blue circling around a coppiced sweet chestnut. A pity she was a bit worn, as she posed rather nicely. She then landed on a trefoil plant, and looked for all the world like she was laying an egg. A close look afterwards revealed this was indeed the case. Looks like anything will do... Back in Middlesex early afternoon, I popped into Harmondsworth Moor to look for early Marbled Whites. There were none around as yet, but Meadow Browns had emerged and quite a few Common Blues were being blown around in the wind. I did come across a Silver Y moth, which is always a sign of high summer to me. Finally, I had time to look round my local patch. Not a great deal, really - Speckled Woods, Small Tortoiseshells, Large Skippers, Small Heaths and several Red Admirals. Finally, with summer in full swing, a ghost from last year appeared - a very decrepit Peacock, still flying amazingly well considering its apparent lack of aerodynamic capability.

Dave

Cracking report Dave - those Heaths are mighty fine You do seem to have a special talent at attracting Holly Blues as well

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks, Wurzel. It's time I tried some West Country Heaths - Essex/Kent are getting a bit routine, however rewarding it is to see them. Oddly enough I hope to be in Taunton over the coming weekend, though whether excursions to deepest darkest Exmoor are likely, I'm not sure.

11th June: I managed another trip out after work today (thanks to British Summer Time - imagine how much better still it would be if we were on the same regime as France, with extra evening daylight in the summer...). Bearing in mind the glimpses I'd seen at Box Hill on Sunday and the prospect of a National Trust cup of tea, I headed southwards to the downs. It was pretty warm, but largely cloudy, and I chose to go out onto Burford Spur, the top of which would be catching the best of the warmth from the late afternoon sun (even if it was behind the clouds). Most notable to start with were the Large Skippers, perching on almost every shrub, and with quite a few down in the grass as well. Next in evidence were good numbers of male Meadow Browns, all new and characteristically dark at this time of year. However, a burst of bright sunshine brought out a beautiful pristine Marbled White, a mixture of freshly cut chalk and black velvet. After a while it became evident that there were three or four around at the top of the hillside, though none elsewhere yet. Before long, this area should be awash with them. Immediately after my sojourn with the first Marbled White, I was distracted by a flash of bright orange down in the grass, too large to be yet another Large Skipper. Hunkering down, and not looking at all comfortable, was a Dark Green Fritillary. I managed a very average underside photo before it decided to fly. Under bright cloudy skies it performed a varied series of aerobatics up and down the slope, but amazingly it eventually returned to a spot very close to its starting point - where I still stood. It settled, opened its wings for a few seconds, and then took off again who knows where. Having achieved the objectives for the trip, I strolled gently along the various paths across this slope. In the shelter of the dip towards the east, several Common Blues and one or two Small Heaths were roosting. I disturbed what I took to be a diminutive female Common Blue: the impression in the air was of a deep worn blue. However, the flight was entirely wrong, and the perching position that it took up upon landing was wrong too. This was a Small Blue, a rather worn female. It is fascinating that something silvery underneath and worn brown on top should appear inky blue in flight. This is the first Small Blue I have seen in innumerable visits to Box Hill over more than ten years: The NT "Box Hill Book of Butterflies" declares them extinct on the hill since 1996, though it probably needs a bit of revising! I remember that Philzoid saw them here a couple of years ago, so somewhere there is some kidney vetch with a colony of Small Blues. A very heartening thing to see.
All in all, it was a most successful visit and once again Bill's (Willrow) advice held good: always go out - you never know what you might see. Dave

Cracking stuff Dave - two more species I've yet to see this year! I ran the idea of visiting Haddon Hill past my wife and the 200 mile round trip didn't go down well But when I suggested that next year we could find a B&B she seemed much more up for making the trip - so Heath will go from a 2014 target to 2015

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Stunning Marbled Whites, Dave. Absolutely gorgeous. I saw my first of this year this evening, unexpectedly, along with some Meadow Browns.

I wonder where we will meet next...

Best wishes,

Lee

Thanks for the appreciative comments again, chaps. I found the brand new Marbled Whites particularly impressive - even more than the DGF to be honest, and a fresh one of those is a beautiful sight.

Sunday 15th June: Well, Lee, I fully expected you to heave into view when I popped into Collard Hill this afternoon on my way back from a weekend in Taunton with an old school chum. That might have been one coincidence too far, but I did meet LancsRover all the way down from the North West - good to meet you and chat for a while!
It was around four, the sun was coming through a fair bit and it was hot on the slopes. There was not much flying at all, which was disappointing, but I did get to see two, perhaps three, Large Blues - which was not disappointing at all! They were very fresh male butterflies, and with the sun out were very reluctant to stay still, charging along the slopes at top speed before executing right angle turns up the hillside just as I thought I might have caught up. The first one I saw did briefly stop to nectar, and flashed a tantalising glimpse of its upperside. The other one I approached closely perched unhelpfully on a breeze-bedevilled stalk, after a brief spell down on the grass. Hopefully this is the vanguard of a good emergence, and with reasonable weather forecast the signs are good. Also seen were several Small Tortoiseshells, Meadow Browns, Small Heaths and Common Blues, plus a couple of Marbled Whites and a Painted Lady. The latter flew from thistle plant to thistle plant, pausing on each for a few moments. I would guess that it was egg-laying, so in a week or so it may be worth checking for larvae.

Dave

Excellent stuff Dave - I've never seen Large Blues - guess where I'll hopefully be going next weekend

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Go for it, Wurzel - shouldn't be difficult to get to from you. At least you will avoid the road chaos on the A303 next weekend caused by the solstice - you're already well past that when you join the road.

Dave

Catching up on your diary again Dave, great reports and photos , especially the Heath Frits... and the Marbled Whites...and the DGF...and all the rest

Congrats on the Large Blues, from what I have been reading they are just beginning to fly and not many have been seen so far.

Cheers,

Neil

Thanks again, Neil - I will continue to envy you your Mountain Ringlets and the NBA though!

Tuesday 17th June: Part One. With a sunny day forecast, I managed to squeeze out another day off work. After dropping Elliot at school, I sped off towards Oxford and arrived at Whitecross Green Wood soon after ten. With the sun breaking through nicely, I headed for the hotspot near the pond, and within a few minutes had seen half a dozen Black Hairstreaks. They started to come down onto the dogwood flowers and posed quite well, though most seemed rather worn. I was joined by a gentleman from the Midlands whose first visit and sighting of this butterfly this was - he was very pleased to find them so easily. We in turn were joined by another group of folk, including the Chair of Butterfly Conservation, David Dennis. We were then treated to some unusual behaviour from the butterflies. Two Hairstreaks came down to the ground and settled on the grass, one of them for several minutes. No one could fathom out what they were doing before they returned to more characteristic perching high in the blackthorn. I then spotted a much newer individual on a dogwood on the other side of the path, and it sat there happily nectaring for some while as many pictures were taken from every angle. The consensus was that this one was a female. I decided to investigate one of the side paths off the main one, and it quickly passed through a thicket of mature blackthorn. Emerging into a sunny gap with brambles, I soon encountered several more Hairstreaks, one worn male on a bramble flower and a newer female sitting low down on a leaf. The latter then flew into the blackthorn opposite, and spent a long while low down just wandering amongst the branches. Returning to the main path, another group of enthusiasts had appeared, and were admiring another Hairstreak on the dogwood - this one seemed fresher than any of the others I'd seen earlier. All in all, I must have seen at least a dozen different butterflies, and for the first time got some reasonable photos.

Whitecross is not all about Black Hairstreaks: there were dozens of Large Skippers (Not one of the Skippers I looked at was a Small or Essex Skipper, so they appear not to be out here yet), including a mating pair. I also glimpsed two different White Admirals flying high up in the trees, and there were Meadow Browns, Ringlets, Speckled Woods, Small Tortoiseshells and Marbled Whites. Finally, I saw both a male and a female Brimstone, and back at the car park a Red Admiral was cruising around. With the afternoon ahead, I decided to stop off on the way back at Aston Rowant (Part Two coming up...)

Dave

Good choice to visit Whitecross, Dave. many of the females are still looking good, although the males are invariably tatty by now.

17th June: Part Two. On the way back from Whitecross I stopped off at Aston Rowant. I usually leave it until a bit later to visit, once the Chalkhills are out, and there wasn't as much to see just yet. Many of the flowers were still to come out, with the marjoram just poised to open and the thyme just starting to bloom. The slopes were quite breezy near the top, though more sheltered lower down. Two distinct types of bright orange blurs were whizzing up and down the hill: Small Tortoiseshells and Dark Green Fritillaries. The former species were pausing to nectar from time to time, the latter were diving down to hide in the grass. The former were spottable but unapproachable, and the latter were almost impossible to find except by inadvertently disturbing them from their hiding places. I pretty well gave up trying, but did track one down to its grassy nook. I also saw a sprinkling of new Marbled Whites in the more sheltered areas, plenty of Meadow Browns, a few Small Heaths and Speckled Woods, and a cluster of Brown Argus chasing anything else that moved. There were no Adonis Blues that I could find, though this was made up for by a beautiful blue female Common Blue which posed very nicely. There were a few other Common Blues as well. As I moved on from the female blue, I noticed a chap who had been standing for a while in a spot just onto the hillside from the entrance. I thought he was probably a fellow enthusiast, so headed in his general direction to chat. However, he rather self-consciously moved away and headed back to the gate, and I realised that the various bits and pieces he was carrying appeared to me to include a net rather than a camera. As there is no butterfly species on this hill that cannot be readily identified, I have to jump to the worst conclusion... And no, I didn't get a photo!

17th June: Part Three. There was still time to circumnavigate my local patch once I got home. This is still currently dominated by the thriving colony of Large Skippers, with several females emerging now to keep the males busy. I saw at least a dozen altogether in what is a relatively small area. There were more Small Heaths than last time, looking new and therefore perhaps a new brood - they seem to appear pretty well continuously until October now. Elsewhere, the walk was quiet, tough there were three different Red Admirals each actively patrolling and defending their patches of sunlit path. All looked fresh, and could well be local-grown examples (all four of the caterpillars I had nurtured were released here last week - they would no doubt have had wild siblings emerging a little later). Dave

Great set of reports Dave Those Black Hairstreaks are brill and another butterfly I have still to see I don't know how you do it - I have to beaver away earning brownie points all week just for a few hours of butterflying

Have a goodun

Wurzel

millerd wrote: Well, Lee, I fully expected you to heave into view when I popped into Collard Hill this afternoon on my way back from a weekend in Taunton with an old school chum. That might have been one coincidence too far

It wouldn't have been while my mum still lived in north of Taunton! You are racking up the miles, Dave but great reports and photos. See you at Chiddingfold soon then

Best wishes,

Lee

Thanks again, Wurzel! Careful planning is the trick (and a generous manager!).

How curious, Lee. My mum (sadly no longer with us) lived for some 40 years in the Taunton area (Crowcombe first and then Trull). I went to school there, hence the odd visit back to see friends. Could well be Chiddingfold next time round - depends which day I can be let off work again!

Thursday 19th June: a strange weather day with sun early then warm cloudiness for most of the remainder. I needed to pick up Elliot in West Drayton at half six, so worked out I could fit in a quick visit to Black Park between leaving work and the child collection. I walked the mile to the Strawberry wood area, hoping that the sun might burst through and bring out something interesting. As it was, this didn't happen until the last possible moment, close to six o'clock, so I didn't see anything special. The cloudy conditions didn't put off Meadow Browns and Ringlets, and there were quite a few of both. I also saw the inevitable Large Skipper - they are everywhere at the moment. Just as that burst of sunshine blasted through the clouds, I spotted a smaller golden dart amongst the foliage: this resolved itself into my first Small Skipper of the year. A few quick photos and I had to walk extremely fast to get back to the car and then whizz off to the rendezvous, which was only 10 to 15 minutes drive. Phew!

Dave