www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Your diary is most certainly about butterflies; and it is your personal diary!
(Many people over in the UK are also looking for work; many more are self-employed, or on short-term or part-time contracts which leave them struggling to pay for just the basics of life. Perversely, many also have more time to spend out-and-about exercising their passion; cash-poor but time-rich! I can understand your frustrations.)
That said, your list is very impressive for a local patch; some of us, I'm sure, are wishing we could be over where you live to see those butterflies too! Have you considered organising trips for enthusiasts to visit? Guide for a Czech tour company offering wildlife and walking holidays? Just a thought; no doubt you have enough of your own!
N

It's my long-term nightmare to be time-rich during the Winter.

Tour companies: IIRC, there isn't such a thing in CZE, I even lost the wwws of the UK one. It sounds great, imagine the possibilities. It also sounds very Summer-oriented.

I just need to settle in some proffesion / at some place where I'll be relatively happy. I have only one life available, not nine lives like a cat!

Thanks for you post, Nick.

Enough of personal bullsh.. and back to butterflies.

I took advantage of two confused Clouded Yellows.



For me, Yellows are the most common Fall butterflies.



A forgotten Purple Emperor detail from July 1st.



Two new things happened in my village: I've seen first Autumn third generation Wall in my life and made my first record of Hummingbird Hawk-moth, apparently a widespread species.

Also, third generation of Dingy Skippers occurs from time to time. Again, I didn't know.

Great pictures Marek. I enjoy your mix of quality butterfly pictures, close-ups and landscapes. I hope you manage to sort out a job somewhere. If you come to Scotland it rains all the time and you will only see about 20 species of butterflies. Everywhere is flooded today after a very stormy night!

NickMorgan wrote:Great pictures Marek. I enjoy your mix of quality butterfly pictures, close-ups and landscapes. I hope you manage to sort out a job somewhere. If you come to Scotland it rains all the time and you will only see about 20 species of butterflies. Everywhere is flooded today after a very stormy night!

20 species per day, or per season?

Some days ago I found this unusual What's going on in the bramble photo in my camera. (Lesser Marbled Fritillary, June 2012)



Short-tailed Blue basking on a June sun.



And shabby October Peacock. How does he want to survive the Winter in a condition like this?



Many Clouded Yellows are still emerging in a hot but windy Autumn days. Four days ago I've seen a Queen of Spain Fritillary, so they didn't yet left the Central Europe.

Those close-ups are very impressive, Marek!

Is that really a short-tailed blue, with those conspicuous discal marks? If so, that rather scuppers upperside ID of this species (separating it from Eastern STB, that is)!

Guy

padfield wrote:Those close-ups are very impressive, Marek!

Is that really a short-tailed blue, with those conspicuous discal marks? If so, that rather scuppers upperside ID of this species (separating it from Eastern STB, that is)!

Guy

It's possible, but not probable, both species are present round about, both are spreading fast, but argiades is much more abundant and less local than decoloratus that I safely discovered at two abandoned mining locations and one mesophile meadow only, often with a lot of luck.

A pleasant problems, I believe.

This icarus pretty much represents where the season is going.



Coilas crocea, "Punk Head Yellow"



After that I pinned a rusty nail right into my sole. We still heat the house with the wood, it's relatively unusual here at present, but I love it

Our house is getting a new "coat".



A parkour hall north of the house.

I got a job today and already went on my first shift!

I work manually and probably for a ridiculous money, but much less ridiculous than by now. Hopefully my astonishing intellect will not be wasted and my hands survives the shock

Hi Merek,

Congratulations on getting a job, i`m really pleased for you. I am sure your astonishing intellect will not be wasted, and you can always wear a pair of gloves to protect your soft hands

All the best, Nick.

Some October photos of mine, including non-butterfly stuff.







Croceas are dominant now.







(Here are horses everywhere...)

That's a superb Clouded Yellow image, Marek.

Hi Brits

I'm quite happily employed very close to Hyundai car production, for money you'd probably never work for, but I still do have enough money to cover the whole 2013 butterfly season and even to purchase some equipment.

I bought erebia.cz domain for the future and created a Deviant Art gallery of photos I feel that might prove timeless during my future photo career All of them are reworked (desharpened, brightened, made smaller, changed composition).

I decidedly plan to continue with local butterfly monitoring, all last year's contracts seems to be prepared to be prolonged, which is a VERY pleasant surprise. My secondary goal is to "push through" my photos into various butterfly books and publications if they prove to be good enough. My small dream remains the same, to be a local butterfly guide, but I feel this one might be a lump.

P.S. if you thought that bloody damn Czech with Large Coppers just behind the back garden is already butterflying, you were far from the truth. In fact, we could be giving snow for free these days:

I've seen first butterfly in April 14 and today they're already flying in solid numbers. Commas tend to sit on various 'bokeh-friendly' spots so I shoot them and not the others. (3) (4)

Of course I'm heavily looking for either Large Tortoiseshells or Camberwell Beauties. Today I discovered an excellent site for (presumably) both of them in a cut down corner of an alluvial forest (just by the newly found Brenthis ino biotope). Counted three LT individuals fighting for the sap and territory determinated by a young remaining trees.

Made three shots (2) but just to fill the dust bin, since I have to resharpen it to achieve a reasonable detail. To equal last year's photos (1) I just have to come back...

I continued observing the site seeing a fresh Camberwell Beauty just the day after - but only one shy individual.

Large Tortoiseshells prepared me a different scenario, being reasonably common at the site but still a hard targets. I made a dosens of shots I mostly considered as crap, though.

I'd like to focus on shooting them open winged at the weekend. Before they're gone.

I also snapped some Peacocks and so with, I hope, solid result.

The season looks good so far...

Czech nature is waking up fast. How could it not be - it's up to 25 C everyday.

As always, photos might have been better, maybe saving #3 (just hatched Celastrina argiolus).

I've seen around a dozen of Large Tortoiseshells this Spring but the only Camberwell Beauty - that rare they are here outside mountains.

Humorously, I found two Large Tortoiseshells having territory right in my back garden. One of them hell of a butterfly, having wingspan up to 8 cm (photo).

Yesterday I finally achieved a solid shot of a fresh Map (see that fantastic unblemished shades of blue on the rear wings). Can't imagine I would get any photos if they weren't that common. I've also met some Swiss couple discovering Czech nature (or finding a good spot for lovemaking). Guy, maybe?

So far I've noticed urticae, rhamni, io, polychloros, c-album, antiopa, argiolus, napi, brassicae, cardamines, levana, reali, rapae, atalanta and machaon. Sorted by date.

Numbers of Large Tortoiseshells and Holly Blues pleased me this year.

That map is a brilliant photo, Marek. It's just exactly what I wanted to get this spring but the last two weekends have been write-offs because of the weather and this weekend is looking poor too. You're lucky to see maps commonly - they're not at all common here.

It wasn't me you saw, I should add.

Guy

padfield wrote:That map is a brilliant photo, Marek. It's just exactly what I wanted to get this spring but the last two weekends have been write-offs because of the weather and this weekend is looking poor too. You're lucky to see maps commonly - they're not at all common here.

It wasn't me you saw, I should add.

Guy

I'm nearly satisfied but not fully. The photo I'm happy with the most is that fresh ground Holly Blue.

I could do more Maps f. Prorsa till they're fresh, but I'm much more focused on photographing Festoons (I love Festoons!) and Clouded Apollos in the end of the week. I do understand reasons why they are sought after, but they are really common for me as far I can remember.

The Swiss couple seemed to travel by car through local system of meadows which is not exactly the way I'd like to hold attraction in the foreign country, but I like being tolerant for any (drastically looking) disturbation management for Short-tailed Blues and Dingy Skippers They looked to be surprised seeing me, however I was smiling as usual.

Unfortunately, the weather is too unpredictible to run south for Festoons and so on. On the other hand, I could surprise Orange Tip males more easily, waiting for the short sunny moments after the last rain drops.

The black flies of unknown origin (for me) has been pretty calm and numerous after the rains. So I experimented a bit.