www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Just read your diary Mike, great stuff

Looks like the Clouded Yellows were back in time for you

Cheers,

Neil.

Great photo's Neill, I fancied going to Dorset this October for a week, don't expect too much a round though so thought I might wait until next year. Goldie

Great read and photos again Neil I just read Mikes post about Durlston and asked "where to go" and now you've answered that question - the gully it is Isn't September a bit late for Marbled White, I haven't seen any for a fair number of weeks now?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi Goldie, from what I saw there may well be another generation of Clouded Yellows around in October, just depends on the weather between now and then I suppose.

Hi Wurzel, I did see some faded Marbled Whites on Bindon Hill last year in early September and this year there were some in surprisingly good nick both at Bindon Hill and Durlston.

Tuesday 3rd September

Ever since she was a little girl my daughter Sarah has always liked ‘old stuff’ like vintage cars and steam trains and such like. When she came to Dorset with us last year we went into Swanage on the Steam Railway and she was keen to do so again this year. I told her that if she was a good girl and behaved herself (she is 22 )we would see about it.

So it was that on Tuesday morning we drove to the Park & Ride at Norden to catch the Steam Train to Swanage for a couple of hours.
Whilst the women had a wander around the town and shops I wandered off for a bit of a walk. I toyed with the idea of making my way to Ballard Down but didn’t really have time to make it worthwhile so I wandered up to Peveril Point instead.
On top of the point there is a large area of mown grass with some longer grass around the edges where I saw some Common Blues and a couple of Wall Browns. The constant breeze from the previous couple of days had dropped and there were loads of Whites plus half a dozen or so Clouded Yellows patrolling backwards and forwards across the short turf and occasionally settling to nectar on the stumpy wild flowers in the close cropped grass.
This was a popular spot with dog walkers and more than once I had an overfriendly hound come bounding up to me so I didn’t stay too long. Even so I managed to get a couple of record shots before making my way back.
Walking back I went past a couple of Buddleias, one of which had more Small Tortoiseshells on it than have ever seen. I managed to count 40 before giving up but there were many more than that, the trouble was I would get so far across the bush before the fluttering about made me lose my count.
Meeting up again with the others we made our way back to the station to catch the train back to Norden.

Back at Osmington Mills later, at around 4.00pm I went off for another walk along the SW Coast Path, this time in the other direction to previously.

Walking past a couple of farm fields I came to a meadow area that had a couple of large patches of Fleabane where I found Common Blues, Small Tortoiseshells, the usual Whites and a couple of Clouded Yellows fluttering about and nectaring in the afternoon sun.
As I made my way slowly around the flowers an odd looking butterfly took off from the grass in front of me and flew towards some shrubs a few yards away. As it lumbered through the air I realised that it was pair of Clouded Yellows in cop and the female was a helice, it was the combination of sunshine yellow and whitish grey that had thrown me for a moment.
I took a few photos and backed off to leave them in peace but with one eye constantly on their perch in case they separated which they did about fifteen minutes later. I watched the female helice settle in the grass and approaching slowly managed to get a couple of shots before she took off again on her way.
The male went towards the Fleabane where he spent a few minutes nectaring before he too went off on his merry way.
Returning back down the path and up the lane with the Buddleias there were more Small Tortoiseshells plus another Painted Lady. I did wonder if the Painted Lady may have been the same one that I saw on our first day still lurking about but comparing photos there are slight differences in markings that confirm it is a different individual.
Another great day, it was still only Tuesday and the weather forecast was looking good for another couple of days yet

Bye for now,

Neil

Great shots and report on the continuation of your Dorset trip Neil, particularly nice find of the Clouded Yellow pair in cop, especially with the female being helice Yes we were lucky the CY's were back at Durleston during our visit

Mike

Cheers Mike, I was quite chuffed with that CY pair myself

Wednesday 4th September

The women fancied another few hours in Weymouth doing the shops and beach thing so we agreed that I would drop them off and do my own thing again for a while . I figured that I could get to Alners Gorse from Weymouth in an hour or less and be able to spend a couple of hours there before returning to meet up again.
I arrived at Alners Gorse just before 11.00am with some morning cloud rapidly being burnt off by the warm sun. Walking down the track to the reserve I noticed a number of Speckled Woods and Whites and at the bottom corner a nice fresh looking Small Copper.
I then followed the hedgeline around to the gate in the corner and continued through, looking out for Brown Hairstreaks. I did a couple of circuits though the more wooded area through the gate and around the outer hedges seeing plenty of Whites and Speckled Woods, a couple of Brimstones and half a dozen or so Small Coppers but unfortunately no Brown Hairstreaks.
I then went into the more open area in the centre of the reserve where there were large patches of yellow Fleabane which were being visited by numerous Whites and 3 Clouded Yellows. The Clouded Yellows were settling frequently which enabled me to take some photos including the first backlit ones that I had managed.
There was also a single Painted Lady which didn’t hang around plus a couple of Small Tortoiseshell and a few faded Meadow Browns.
I bumped into another couple who had not had any success seeing any Brown Hairstreaks here and who commented how quiet it seemed. In truth I had been thinking myself that the reserve had a bit of a ‘winding down‘ feel to it and that I was really a week or so too late.
I did one more circuit and had one possible sighting of a Brown Hairstreak high above the Blackthorn just inside the first gate but not a good enough view to be confident and after little while longer I decided to make a move, the time being just before 2.00pm.

Later that afternoon after meeting the others and returning to Osmington Mills I decided to go out for another walk. I had previously read on the Dorset BC website that there were Adonis Blues up around White Horse Hill so I jumped in the car and drove to the other side of Osmington and found a footpath up towards the hill.
As I went along the path as it went up the hillside I began to see good numbers of Butterflies including Adonis and Common Blues, Meadow and Wall Browns and Small Heaths.
There were at least half a dozen clouded yellows along the hillside and as the time approached 5.30pm they began to slow down and settle more often. I watched as one settled on a bit of bramble and approaching slowly to take a photo noticed a second one already settled a few inches above it.
Adonis Blues were plentiful all along the path including some very nice fresh looking females .
As the time approached 6.00pm and I started back down the path I noticed increasing numbers of Adonis until I reached an area of longer grass that was sheltered behind some shrubs and bramble where there must have been hundreds basking with their wings open in the lowering sun. A truly magical sight and one which sounds similar to that described by essex buzzard at Ballard Down.
I tried and failed dismally to get a photo that did justice to the spectacle, just managing to get a few shots of individuals that weren’t obscured by grass stems or shadows.
By 6.30pm the Adonis were closing their wings and everything else had tucked up for the night so I made my way back.

A bit of a long post but I didn't want to split it up as I still have Thursday and Friday to cover.

Bye for now,

Neil

Thursday 5th September

Thursday morning started off with glorious sunshine and we decided to drive round to Ringstead bay. Earlier in the week I had nearly reached here in one of my walks along the coast path and thought that it would be worth a look.
We drove down to the car park by a beach café/shop and walked down a short lane and onto the pebbly beach. I took with us a couple of fold up garden chairs that I carried in the boot of the car and whilst the others sat on the beach enjoying the sun and scenery I had a bit of a wander along for a short way in each direction behind the beach itself.
By now it was mid-morning and getting very warm and the usual Whites were about in large numbers along with at least half a dozen or so Clouded Yellows.
I make no apologies for posting more Clouded Yellow photos, I figure it is going to be some time before I see them in numbers like this again.

Also seen here were some Small Tortoiseshells, although numbers of these seemed to be dropping as the week went on, a single Red Admiral and some Wall Browns and Common Blues with Speckled Woods around the trees on the walk from the car park.

Around mid-day we went back up to the café and had a bit of lunch before leaving. We then had a bit of a drive around the area, just looking at the scenery, before heading back to Osmington where the women just wanted to chill for a couple of hours before going out for something to eat later.

This gave me another couple of hours free and I decided to go for another walk up White Horse Hill where I had been the previous afternoon at around the same time.
It was another beautiful late afternoon and the butterflies were again around in large numbers, if anything there were more Clouded Yellows along the hillsides. I fact today was to be the day that I saw the most Clouded Yellows all week, possibly 20 or so, including those at Ringstead in the morning and now here with a few in between.
As described in my last post I had seen and photographed two Clouded Yellows settled together on some brambles the previous afternoon and I now had another similar experience only this time there were three close together .
As I took another photo of these three, another Clouded Yellow flew into shot so I just managed to get a photo of four in the frame at the same time . I don’t think I will manage anything like that again for a while, if at all.
The fourth one put the other three up into the air in flurry of golden yellow and they flew of in four different directions. One of them settled again a short distance down the path where I took a few more photos, including a couple that were back lit by the sun and I tried flash to fill in the shadows on the near side.
I also saw another helice female that settled a couple of times before flying further up the hill.
Adonis Blues were still around in large numbers…
I hung around until around 6.00pm but although there were large numbers basking in the sun again, the impact was not quite the same as previously, maybe a slight difference in the light but they didn’t seem to glow in the grass like they did the previous afternoon. They also seemed to be lower down in the grass, although there wasn’t much wind, and the photos that I took had grass stems and shadows getting in the way.
Nevertheless, I quite like the colour in the shot below.
Another great day with lots of butterflies but the forecast for the next day (Friday) was not looking so good so we didn’t make any plans but decided to wait and see what the weather would do.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Four Clouded Yellows in a single frame is something special in this country, Neil.

You've actually managed to eclipse by one the total number I've SEEN at all!

David beat me to it Neil, great report and accompanying photos from your Dorset trip who knows when we will see so many CT's again

Mike

Cheers David and Mike, the four Clouded Yellow shot was one of those lucky split second things that I was very fortunate to capture

Friday 6th September

Following some overnight rain, Friday morning started off dull and cloudy so we took our time over breakfast and just relaxed for a while. By mid-morning the clouds had started to break up and bits of blue sky were showing so I went for a little walk along the coast path to see if anything was about.
I soon started to see Whites and Speckled Woods and reaching the meadow area where I had seen the Clouded Yellow pair in cop the other day, Common Blues and Meadow Browns were nectaring on patches of Fleabane and Wild Mint.
Returning to the caravan, the others had decided that we would have some lunch and then, if it stayed dry, we would nip round to Lulworth Cove again. Well, not only did it stay dry but by early afternoon there was wall to wall blue sky and it had turned into another beautiful day so back to Lulworth Cove we went .

As with earlier in the week there were plenty of Whites on the Valerian growing out of the walls on the way down to the cove along with a couple of Brimstones.
I left the others tucking into ice creams at the cove and nipped up the path to Bindon Hill for an hour or so. As I came out onto the Hill, along with the same profusion of butterflies that I saw the other day, there were a couple of Kestrels hovering over the slopes, one of which I managed to get a shot of at full zoom.
I spent about an hour up on the hill and then went back down to meet the others back by the heritage centre.
Before heading back to the car we went and had a look at the Herb/Wildlife garden where there were loads of Whites on a couple of clumps of Lavender. My daughter, Sarah, called me over and pointed out a butterfly that had settled on her leg that turned out to be a Grayling. I had seen a number of Grayling up on Bindon Hill both on Monday and today but not managed to get any reasonable photos. This one took off from Sarah’s leg and settled on a Buddleia that had just about finished flowering where I took some backlit photos before it moved again.

When we had arrived on the Saturday, the first Butterflies I had seen where Small Tortoiseshells and to come full circle the last butterfly photos that I took in Dorset were of some more Small Tortoiseshells.
It had been a fantastic week with the weather being great from the first day right up until the last afternoon. Although a family holiday, the fact that my wife, daughter and mom were company for each other meant that I had loads of chances to get out butterflying .
Highlights were the numbers of Small Tortoiseshells seen, particularly at the beginning of the week, the Adonis Blues up on White Horse Hill, the numbers of Clouded Yellows, most of them seen around the area where we were staying, and the sheer number of butterflies on Bindon Hill.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Great photo's again Neill, the Small Tortoise's have had a great year, I've had loads in the garden and just took some more shot's today, not has many Red Admiral's as last year though even down in Kent I only saw 2 or 3 Goldie

Hi Neil, those Chalkhill Blues on Bindon Hill look in fabulous condition Nice end to your Dorset report and nice shots, you certainly timed your visit well

Mike

Hi Neil,sounds like you had a great time down there. Glad the weather held as well,and you got the chance to experiance those Adonis Blues ahead of roosting-they are a wonderful sight when seen in numbers,aren't they?

Some great pictures,too.

Sounds like you saw more Clouded Yellows than me,though...

Fantastic reports and shots Neil - you've made me feel quite homesick Sorry Alners didn't deliver - perhaps it's an early site? Lovely backlit Cloudies and I notice you managed to fit in some Specklies

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks all for the comments, very much appreciated as always

Hi Goldie, yep, the Small Tortoiseshell have had a great year . I have not seen many Red Admirals anywhere this year, I reckon only about half a dozen so far.

Hi Wurzel, Alners Gorse looked like a very interesting site and although I did not see any Brown Hairstreaks, at least not that I would claim as definite, it did deliver on other butterflies. The Clouded Yellows especially posed nicely for me
It was just that compared with the numbers of butterflies that I was seeing at the coastal sites it seemed a little bit quieter.
I can always manage to fit in some Specklies, especially as they were everywhere all week in good numbers

Hi Mike, I was quite surprised at the good condition of some of the Chalkhill Blues. I was there at the same time last year and only saw a couple of tatty individuals then.

Hi Essex, those Adonis Blues are certainly a sight to remember when the evening sun catches them just right Strange thing with the Clouded Yellows was that I saw them everywhere except Lulworth and only one at Durlston, most were within a mile or two of where we were staying at Osmington.

Cheers,

Neil.

Sunday 22nd September

The past couple of weeks have been pretty dull and cloudy most of the time with a fair bit of rain and drizzle so being stuck in work has not really bothered me that much.
There have been a couple of days when the sun has made a feeble attempt to come through and there has been a couple or three Speckled Wood flitting about in the garden when I have got in from work but that has been about it.

Last weekend was a washout but this weekend has been much better with some warm sun breaking through late yesterday afternoon and again today from about mid-day onwards .

We went to my Moms for Sunday lunch today and whilst having a nose around her garden noticed a Speckled Wood and a couple of Small Whites pass through. Something a bit larger then circled round and landed at the bottom of the garden…a nice looking Peacock . Most of these tucked themselves away for the winter some weeks ago but I usually see the odd one around here right up until the end of September.
The afternoon turned into a nice sunny one so I decided to nip around to Castle Hills and see what was still about.
During the couple of hours that I spent there I saw numerous Speckled Woods, half a dozen or so Whites which I believe were all Small and half a dozen Small Tortoiseshells. Three or four each of Small heath, really raggedy Common Blue and Small Copper, a couple of Commas and another Peacock brought it up to eight species seen, not too bad for late September.
As is usual at this site my visit was accompanied by the calls of Buzzards circling around above me.
There is only likely to be another weekend or maybe two left of this season around here so fingers crossed that I will have another chance or two to get out again.

Bye for now,

Neil.

That Peacock is practically jumping out if my iPod Neil We've still got the Red Admirals to come Neil so there's still something to look forward to ( I saw 3 today - my highest count all year), good luck over the next couple of weeks.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel,

I noticed today that most of the Ivy around here, including in my garden, is not quite flowering yet. There are a couple of good clumps at Castle Hills that attracted numerous Red Admirals last year, hopefully I will be able to check them next weekend.

Cheers,

Neil.

Sunshine, Neil - I'm envious! None to speak of here all day...

Dave

Great photos Neil, especially the Speckled Wood on the Blackberries, [last pic] excellent.

All the best, Nick.