millerd

[Wurzel]

Cracking sequence of shots Dave - really interesting to see those behavioural images and also get perspective on the colossal increase in size that they go through during their development

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel - that butterfly made an interesting study and it was very helpful that she stayed put for so long.

16th September, Sussex - continued.

Up at High & Over the first obvious things up high and over the top of the Downs were a large flock of parascenders making the most of the thermals generated by the warm sunshine. While everyone else in the area was looking up, I was looking down and seeking third brood Wall Browns.

There were several around, patrolling the steps and the hedgerows and as usual being hard to pin down. The sun became a lot hazier and it became cooler, and eventually a worn male sat on the ground with its wings open.

There was an underside view of a somewhat damaged butterfly...

...but rather better shots were forthcoming of a different individual - but again just the intricate underside.

I didn't see much else up there, aside from a couple of Red Admirals and Speckled Woods, so set off back westwards via Alfriston and the A27 only to be delayed for some while by a rather nasty accident on the other side of the road. By the time I reached the Shoreham area, I was running out of time and high cloud had disappointingy veiled the sun. I did a circuit of Mill Hill before heading for home, but there was not much left to see here either: a few more elusive Walls, some very worn Adonis, a Small Copper.

However, none of the spots I had looked at today turned up a Clouded Yellow, which was quite unusual for this time of year.

Dave

[millerd]

The weather cooled down slightly over the next day or two, and with this and other activities interfering it actually wasn't until 21st September that I went butterfly-hunting again on my local patch. There was a decent amount of sunshine, though there were storms not too far away.

Numbers were down a bit (except for Small Whites and Red Admirals) but there was still some variety.

This Comma looked a bit unusual, with smaller than usual orange spots on the dark hindwing borders.

Dave

[millerd]

A very similar day on 22nd September - sunny spells and more seasonal temperatures. I saw fewer butterflies locally, but still managed to connect with some of them, probably because the lower temperatures made things a bit easier.

Both female and male Small Whites.

A nice view of a Specklie underside.

All three of the Small Coppers seen today.

A somewhat chewed Brown Argus, though actually the better of the two I saw.

Finally, a few Red Admirals.

Also seen: a Holly Blue and a GVW. Curiously, especially considering what I was to see a day later, I didn't come across any Common Blues on 22nd.

Dave

[Wurzel]

That was a lovely looking Comma Dave I've been staring at the second Small White for a while now...the black wing tip markings seem to run down to in line with the wing spot which is slightly concave...could that be a Southern? Or does it have the wrong wing shape? Might be worth passing that onto someone with more experience just in case?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel! I try and get shots of as many Small Whites as I can, but for most of the year they are almost impossible to get close to. There are also rather a lot of them most of the time. Who knows - one may turn out to be something different one of these days, and you certainly made me wonder about that one from 22nd Sept.

23rd September was another fairly sunny day, and still reasonably warm again. After seeing not a single Common Blue on 22nd, it seems they'd been holding themselves back twenty-four hours. Today I counted eleven, including a series of shining new males heralding a definite arrival of a third brood. First, some undersides.

There was a single female among all the males...

...but the latter really stole the show today.

Despite spending so much time with the Common Blues, I also managed to find five Small Coppers. The strange thing is that each time I go out locally I see a few, but rarely do I see exactly the same set on consecutive days. There are always individuals I've not seen before that have enough wear and tear to show they've been around for a while. The overall population at any point is probably two or three times the number I count.

To finish off, there was another approachable Small White...

...and another half a dozen species - making nearly fifty butterflies seen on the day.

Dave

[Wurzel]

No worries Dave - I spotted a Southern Small White masquerading as a Small today on Facebook but it was from Corfu I've also had one or two this year that have gotten me ding a double take - I'm tempted to put them as if from foreign parts and then if they're accepted do a big reveal as it were
Lovely set of Common Blues - you're spot on in that they stole the show on that last post

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel. Those third brood Common Blues started a month ago and they are still going strong (one or two of them anyway...). I also spotted a very possible/maybe/probably not Small White today (posted in the October sightings thread).

If 23rd was a Common Blue day, then 24th September belonged more to the Small Coppers. It was several degrees warmer, though hardly sunny at all, but the Coppers aren't daunted by these kinds of conditions. One bright new female in particular hogged the limelight.

I saw perhaps half a dozen others as well, but they didn't compare.

The Common Blues were around, but elected to roost.

Also seen: Red Admirals, Speckled Woods, Brown Argus and Small Whites.

Dave

[bugboy]

That Small Copper is VERY dark and contrasting, very eyecatching

[millerd]

That Small Copper is VERY dark and contrasting, very eyecatching

Yes, with the lack of bright sunshine it particularly stood out - almost a luminous shining red against the green of the grass. A beautiful insect.

25th and 26th September were very similar days - goods spells of very warm sunshine again, and a reasonable selection of butterflies flying on my local patch on both.

Dave

[Wurzel]

A wonderful constabulary recently Dave I had a look at the could it be/might it be White butterfly...very tempting I found it a lot easier on Corfu earlier in the year as both species fly there so any 'probables' generally were not like over here

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Indeed, Wurzel, the Coppers have been out in force this Autumn round my way. Though the population density is low (more than two in any one spot is highly unusual), they can be found almost anywhere on the whole site. They demonstrate perfectly the strategy of males setting up compact territories quite often well-separated from each other, and waiting for females to wander through. I often see recognisable individual males for weeks on end, but rarely see any female more than once. I've noticed that when I've seen a female in a particular spot, any male which has had a territory nearby for a while will be absent thereafter. I wonder if having successfully answered his reproductory imperative, he gives up the ghost. I don't know if male Small Coppers mate more than once.

27th and 28th September were largely cloudy, though not cold, but over the two days I only went out briefly on 28th and saw very little. A Small Copper of course, and a few Red Admirals.

Though I'd been seeing the odd one or two of the latter flying purposefully sunwards over the previous week or two, I didn't expect the surge in numbers I'd see over the next few days.

Dave

[Wurzel]

I had a quick google about the Small Coppers and it appears that they mate just the once. Apparently to avoid further harassment the females will close their wings and sit still and then male will leave her alone and return to his perch. Looks like the Coppers are a bit quicker on the uptake than the Whites, Brimstones in particular

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel. Interesting info about the Coppers.

29th and 30th September were reasonably warm and largely sunny days - still more like summer than a month into autumn. On both days I found around 50 butterflies or so, but the large increase was attributable in no small part to a sudden upsurge in Red Admiral numbers.

Since the eye-catching northward migration in July, there had always been a handful around, but now there were a couple of dozen on each day. I had already noted ones and twos flying purposefully sunwards, but now there appeared to be a steady stream as well as increased numbers nectaring on the ivy in preference to anything else.

The odd Painted Lady appeared to have joined the push south...

Not all the Admirals were migrating. One individual had set up a territory and asserted its rights when I dared stand in the middle of it.

I saw eleven species over the two days. Aside from the Admirals, also of note were the Small Coppers. Numbers had been reasonable for a few days now, but peaked on 30th with nine individual butterflies counted: in fact this turned out to be their best showing of the year.

A few of the rest from the tail end of September. A rather tatty Specklie...

...a well-marked female Small White...

...fresh third brood Brown Argus, one male and one female...

...a very brown female Common Blue easily distinguished from the Brown Argus despite its lack of blue...

...male Common Blues...

...and a Peacock.

No sign of things tailing off just yet.

Dave

[millerd]

Before moving into October (and the erroneous feeling that I'm catching up with things), here's a quick overview of September.

As was widely highlighted in the news, September 2023 was exceptional weatherwise, especially in the south of the UK. It was the second warmest month after June, beating both July and August. Here are the rough average daily maxima for Heathrow, with the long-term averages in brackets: 1991-2020 first, and 1961-1990 next, just to show how things are changing.

June 25.3 (21.6; 20.4)
July 22.9 (23.9; 22.5)
August 23.0 (23.4; 22.0)
September 24.4 (20.2; 19.3)

Sunshine was slightly above average at 168 hours, but noticeably above July's total of a paltry 150. Considering how much longer July days are, the difference is significant.

All the warm and reasonably sunny weather meant that third broods of likely butterflies were pretty well a given, with Brown Argus, Common Blue and Holly Blue all contributing. Numbers of other species remained buoyant as well and mid-month maximum counts of around 80 butterflies were reached, with up to 13 species seen on any one day. Over the month, 15 species made an appearance - for two of these (Meadow Brown and Small Heath) it was their last of the year. Notable numbers: Small White - 30+ on 11th; Red Admiral - 27 on 29th and 25 on 30th; Speckled Wood - 14 on 14th; Common Blue - 11 on 23rd; Small Copper - 9 on 30th.

It was disappointing not to encounter a Clouded Yellow - they usually turn up at this time of year, but they have been few and far between everywhere in the south of England this year. Painted Ladies were disappointing too, with just a couple spotted amidst the dozens of southward-migrating Red Admirals at the end of the month.

With temperatures only dropping a little and butterfly numbers still high for the time of year, things boded well for the start of October...Here goes!

Dave

[millerd]

In the end, 1st October wasn't anything to write home about. It was warm enough (22 degrees isn't bad for the time of year) but lacked the important late season ingredient of sunshine. I only found a handful of butterflies of just four species today. The lack of Red Admirals after the previous days (and looking ahead at subsequent ones) was a bit mystifying. Five Small Coppers were the most numerous butterfly seen - a very rare accolade for the species here.

Things would soon improve...

Dave

[trevor]

You've found some very vibrant, late season, Small Coppers Dave.
You mention Clouded Yellows. I was fortunate to see two at the Worthing ' Hot spot ',
and that was it! none since. Look forward to your shots from Oct 8th at Lancing, what a day!

Trevor.

[David M]

..Here are the rough average daily maxima for Heathrow, with the long-term averages in brackets: 1991-2020 first, and 1961-1990 next, just to show how things are changing.

June 25.3 (21.6; 20.4)
July 22.9 (23.9; 22.5)
August 23.0 (23.4; 22.0)
September 24.4 (20.2; 19.3)

Interesting statistics, Dave. Certainly, September has become far warmer than it was in my youth (as have October & November).

Surprising that July and August are actually cooler (or am I misreading things)?

[millerd]

You've found some very vibrant, late season, Small Coppers Dave.
You mention Clouded Yellows. I was fortunate to see two at the Worthing ' Hot spot ',
and that was it! none since. Look forward to your shots from Oct 8th at Lancing, what a day!
Trevor.

The Coppers continued to perform right through October too, Trevor - a great late season species. As for Cloudies, as you may have seen in another thread, one finally turned up on my local patch yesterday. My only one of 2023. A week's worth of posts to go before Lancing, but I look forward to writing that one - a real highlight of the year.

3rd October was quite a bit cooler than the 1st, but the all-important sun was back - along with the butterflies. I counted just over 50, with nine species represented; half the total were Red Admirals again. A single Comma was amongst them (but no Painted Ladies today).

The third brood Common Blues continued, but they tend to get ragged quickly in the autumn, as if they are not as robustly built. The layer of wing scales seems thinner and less vibrant somehow, even when they are quite new.

I only found one Brown Argus - they fly in the same spots as the Common Blues, and at the same times of year, but some days I see more of one, and other days more of the other. Over the whole year the Brown Argus is more numerous though.

More Small Coppers today. They seem to happily sit out several bad weather days and reappear again afterwards.

Large whites were becoming more approachable, and had eschewed their usual practice of patrolling high up along the trees and were nectaring - any yellow flower by preference.

Throughout September there had been a steady stream of Specklies, and this continued into the new month.

I managed to find a fresh male Holly Blue with the Red Admirals on the ivy at a sensible height.

That just left the Admirals themselves, some of which were very large and very new.

I once again made the mistake of standing still in the wrong place, and attracted the attention accorded a territorial trespasser. However, I was soon found to be of use as a source of nutrients.

Dave

[millerd]

Interesting statistics, Dave. Certainly, September has become far warmer than it was in my youth (as have October & November).

Surprising that July and August are actually cooler (or am I misreading things)?

No, you're quite right, David. The Met Office say that as far as they can tell, this is the first time on record that July has been the fourth warmest month of the year. The order (June, September, August, July) is unprecedented. I find it interesting that though July was slightly cooler than the average for the most recent reference period (1991-2020), it was actually warmer than the previous one (1961-1990). Things are waming up...

Dave