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Hi Pauline, to answer David, Cathy saw a Monarch at Compton Bay on the Isle of Wight on 19th June. She was so devastated at not getting a photo, although she did had a chance, she asked me never to mention it in my personal diary, which, I have not. We don't know if it was a genuine migrant or a release, but it was definitely a Monarch! We've been over this time and time again, she will never forget it!
Sorry Pauline, you can delete this from your diary.

Mike

Pauline wrote:...and the stunning views in the other direction:

Hi Pauline

Unfortunately I was in the 'other direction' Perhaps I should have tried to get in on the Long Tailed Blue action I scrutinised every Blue I saw today , but mine were all Common. Lots of them though

This was a great find, I wonder how long it will hang around or if it will find any friends. Lets hope so

Thank you everyone for your kind words - the discussion that this has generated is very interesting and I shall try to pick up on it. Morning Wurzel - this was indeed a Hampshire sighting quite close to home at Hayling Island near Portsmouth. I think it might be around for a little while yet Paul. The reason I say that Neil is because the weather has not been that great down here (quite a bit of rain and cloud) so I was hoping (rightly as it turned out) that it hadn't gone far, just like my first Clouded Yellow at Bramshott. I understand that the Kent LTB's have bred and there are now some pristine examples if anyone cares to go further afield.

I, too, have heard of several Monarchs round here Mark, two in the same garden in fact (although not at the same time), a male and female. So, I promise you that I shall keep trying and you have directed me to some very promising sites .
Cathy I am so sorry you missed the opportunity (oops, perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned that!) but believe me we can all understand your dismay and frustration. It is also an incredible co-incidence that you were in that very same space Mike where we found the LTB. If you had known it was there you would probably have spent more time looking.

I couldn't agree more re the tiny CB's Mike. Mark and I have both previously commented on the very tiny Common Blues that are around at the moment at many of the sites we have visited. Sandy Point was no different and we came upon a tiny blue, so tiny it was astonishing. Mark took the flower head it was on to measure it to try to get an idea of wingspan. I was content to take a few photos with both butterflies on the same flower by way of comparison. The larger of the 2 butterflies is the 'normal' size for Common Blue. (No trick photography involved ). Not great photos but ones which David would kindly describe as 'functional' - ie to demonstrate a point:

Hi Pauline
Great shot getting those Two blues together. The flower head measured just 14mm across so I would estimate the wingspan of the "small" blue to be between 12&14mm and I think we both agreed that it was at least half the size of the normal common blue if not smaller. As we commented butterfly wingspans are extremely variable but this was quite extreme - smaller than most small blues and the only reference to wingspans I can find is in " Butterflies of Britain and Ireland" by Michael Easterbrook. He gives sizes for Small Blues between 18&27mm and Common Blues between 29&36mm which would equate with what we saw.
Interestingly in the Cockayne database there is a named abberation ab. minor Cockerell, 1889, that looks to be "dwarf" but I can't find a description.
Glad you saw LTB.
Kind Regards
Mark

Hi Pauline,
Sorry to put a poor pic on your pages but here is a mating pair of C. Blue with the female being really small, so I thought it might link in with your discussions!! This was just a couple of weeks ago. Incidentally I had a very small Wall Brown yesterday (male) and this morning a very small Holly Blue (female). I thought these mating blues was a Brown Argus mating with a Common Blue going by the size when I first saw them.
Bob.

Welcome to the discussion Bob. That is a great photo and further demonstrates this strange phenomenon. You'll probably recall Mark that when the 'small' blue opened its wings they didn't extend to the edges of the flower head so your measurements tie in well with your wing span estimate. I wish I'd taken an open-winged photo but I was too fascinated by this diminutive butterfly and dazzled by its vibrant colour. The reference to ab minor is very interesting and any further details or references would be gratefully received.

So, apart from Long-tailed Blue and tiny Common Blue what else can be found at Sandy Point? Well, the answer is lots! Too much to include in one posting so a few photos of Clouded Yellow and Painted Lady to be going on with - both of which are fast becoming part of 'the usual suspects'.
For quite a small gravel car park there was a whole lot more going on at this site largely due to all the nectar sources around the perimeter. Other species will be recorded later.

Wot No Monarchs yet

You see how you have raised expectations. You've been providing a whole series of super photos recently

Mike

Thank you Mike - I appreciate your views as always. Re Monarch --- just give me a few more days I'm currently trying to track down a Swallowtail for Mark

Swallowtail and Monarch noted just over the border in Sussex in the last couple of days and a nice warm southerly wind forecast ......... Keep your eyes peeled Mark

Tuts wrote:Swallowtail and Monarch noted just over the border in Sussex in the last couple of days and a nice warm southerly wind forecast ......... Keep your eyes peeled Mark

Tuts, that's just cruel!

May a little bit of a tease but as Pauline knows I believe we are in the middle of one of those ' migrant years'.' No 1947 perhaps, when 38 Bath Whites were captured in a single Cornwall field, but both swallowtail and monarch are being recorded weekly on the south coast at the moment so we are in the fortunate position of being able to specifically look out for migrants where we live - anyway Pauline owes me one Mark

Tuts wrote:May a little bit of a tease but as Pauline knows I believe we are in the middle of one of those ' migrant years'.' No 1947 perhaps, when 38 Bath Whites were captured in a single Cornwall field, but both swallowtail and monarch are being recorded weekly on the south coast at the moment so we are in the fortunate position of being able to specifically look out for migrants where we live - anyway Pauline owes me one Mark

Fair points, and I concur with your statement regarding the southern strip of England being well placed for immigrants right now - God knows, it's been long enough since we could all last say that.

I just hope the weather stays decent over the next four weeks, as if we aren't subjected to any unseasonably cold conditions then I believe we could be in for a real (and rare) late season treat.

Fingers crossed.

loving the banter! Hope you're right David.

Sandy Point - part 3.

As previously mentioned I had feared that the LTB had succumbed to the previous night's storms as some butterflies appeared to have done. Many Whites in particular looked like they had had a good battering:
There were several weary looking Holly Blues and some very autumnal looking Small Coppers (but no blue spots )
Interestingly, one of the coppers was even smaller than the 'small' Common Blue but his size didn't stop him from being one of the feistiest butterflies on his patch attacking everything that entered his space. Despite his worn and tatty appearance there was still quite a bit of fight left in him.

The weather was changeable and sunny periods were interspersed by cloud cover and heavy rain and it was during one of the showers that this Common Blue allowed its photo to be taken:
Close to the car park the shingle led down to the water front and it was here that I found a couple of Grayling. Another 'spot the Grayling' shot and then from one extreme to another:
There were lots of other butterflies in this relatively small area as well as many other insects - dragonflies, grasshoppers, moths etc and with so much to watch the time just flew. What a cracking little site - I can't wait to go back.

Not a lot to report today. My quest for migrants took me recently to Thorney Island - a first visit for me based largely on the (fairly) recent report regarding the many Clouded Yellow spotted there. I had looked the venue up online and it has quite an interesting and chequered history which is easily accessible so will not be replicated here. However, I was not prepared to be informed by the military that there were cameras all over the island so my presence would be monitored . I had an enjoyable walk, chatted with friendly locals, admired the bird life, but ..... the only butterfly I saw the whole time I was there was a single female Common Blue, despite glorious weather . So, a few shots of what I believe to be an Egret of sorts:
.... and tomorrow the search is back on

Nice shots of a Little Egret Pauline.

Identified by the black legs and yellow feet captured nicely in the second photo.

Thank you Paul. It's very kind of you to say so and lovely to hear from you.

A couple of nights ago I paid an early evening visit to Noar Hill and was just in time to bump into Mike and Cathy who were just leaving. We stopped for a chat about recent encounters and future aspirations and were soon joined by Nick - great to see you all. Despite it approaching 7.00pm there were still lots of butterflies on the wing. The very many Peacocks which could be seen a short time ago have now been replaced by Small Tortoiseshell which are everywhere. I can't remember seeing so many in one place - in fact, I don't think I have seen this many in my entire life. Some of the butterflies were worn but many were very fresh. A few photos from Noar Hill:
Today I have a poorly tortoise who will need some professional help. I use different vets for different creatures depending on their specialism, despite the fact that some might be many miles away. My tortoise vet is quite close to Shipton B. - a journey of approx 1 hour. It is going to be very hard, having gone that far, to drive past that vicinity without stopping to look for BH but the animals always take priority.

Hi Pauline

I always keep an eye on your progress and enjoy your photos. I hope the tortoise gets on ok and maybe you could leave for a while at the vets for a couple of hours at Shipton B.

Take care.

Re. Shipton Bellinger, I hope you have seen the post by Nomad viewtopic.php?f=8&t=7145&sid=47d014fad7 ... 612#p75712 warning of access difficulties this weekend. I also hope that the tortoise responds to treatment - for obvious reasons, they are difficult animals to treat!

I am slightly puzzled by the lighting on your most recent CY pics, which seems to be coming from below in the first pic. I guess it was late in the day, as the butterflies are not that well lit and rather lacking in contrast. This is a situation where I would turn to a touch of fill-in flash, to add the needed contrast, though it is difficult to do well and you need off-camera flash. Another topic to add to your list for study over the Winter

Mike

Thank you Paul but the big question is, am I making any progress????? I appreciate you asking after Houdini and the suggestion to leave him at the vet was exactly what happened.

Would you believe me Mike if I said that was exactly the effect I was trying to create??? No, I didn't think so My 'to do' list for the winter is getting ever longer Tortoises are indeed difficult to treat as you rightly comment which is why I use a specialist vet so I am confident that he is in the best (and most expensive ) hands. What I wasn't expecting was for him to be admitted for chest x-rays and other treatment. I will know more over the weekend but his hospitalisation left me free to explore Shipton B. I had already been warned about the dogs but hadn't realised that they would use the boundary hedge as a natural barrier for the dogs making it impossible to get anywhere close to the main hotspots. So, from Egrets to Malamutes, these were typical scenes from Shipton: