www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Hi! Mike, Your right about the Butterflies up here but you've got to admit there's far more variety in the South

I feel much better now, you can tell by my last posting I was pretty fed up at the time Now I'm planning to see the PE, hope fully next week , We'll have to book a couple of nights though so I'm hoping their out when we go . Goldie M

Good luck with the Purple One Goldie, I've only had two very fleeting encounters so far and still no piccies

I saw my first of the year Small Skipper yesterday at Hall-Lee-Brook that was a relief No Gate Keepers yet but no doubt they'll be along shortly. Loads of Meadow Brown's though

last time I was at HLB I saw a couple of Tortoise shells, yesterday , they were every where and very busy hunting down a mate, I tried lots of shots to catch them but had to settle for the one I posted, they all seemed to like the long grass

The Large Skippers were also there many more than before, no Peacocks yet, but I don't think they'll be long now either(hope fully)

I saw one Large White, which made me hope I'd see some more but that was it, this years been a very bad one for them also the Small Whites and even the Green Veined were very few and far between here, I don't know if it's been the same all over the country are not.

Any way I'm hoping to catch a few more shots next week of some Butterflies we don't see lots of in the North, I know we get Ringlets at Gait Barrow, but some one on Lanc's Butterfly has reported them at a site in Rochdale for the first time, so maybe we may get some different ones locally before long.Goldie

Great Small Skippers Goldie. Hope you get lucky with the butterflies

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks Wurzel, I've just cancelled going to Corby this week, the weather forecast is worse there than here,( which is unusual) it's a long way to go if the weathers not good so it looks like the Lakes for us Ha! Ha! may be I'll get to see an High Brown instead.Goldie

Hi Goldie, glad to see you are seeing some butterflies up there. It looks like you are running a bit behind this year like us here in the midlands, most things seem to be a week or so later than usual around my local patch. No Peacocks yet for me either but should be soon based on the timings of everything else around here.

Cheers,

Neil

Sorry you've had to cancel your PE trip - the weather always goes downhill once the school holidays start

Mike

That's a shame, Goldie. The forecast for here (Heathrow) looks pretty reasonable from about Wednesday onwards - but I don't know how far north that spreads...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/7284876

Dave

Sorry to hear about your trip cancellation Hopefully you'll get some HBFs as compensation

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks everyone, hope fully I'll get to see some thing tomorrow

Today I got a real shock, I'd finished doing the Garden( the weather was great in the afternoon) and after we'd had a cuppa we decided to pay HLB a visit, has we approached I could hear the sound of a mower, to my absolute horror I saw the meadow where I'd only the day before seen loads of the Meadow Browns being cut.
I'm afraid I lost it, like a mad women I ran up to the tractor ( which was not for stopping) to ask him who on earth had said to cut it.
The man was furious with me and I got some abuse at first, but I'm afraid I didn't care, I looked around and could see the Meadow Browns scrambling in every direction and I could have hit him
When we'd both calmed down he apologised and my Husband said (which was perfectly true) that the man was only doing his job.
All the same I was upset, he said the people in the surrounding houses had complained about the length of the grass and he'd been told to cut it, also other people had told him off it seems and that's why he was short with me.
(To cut along story short) I took a photo of the Meadow and managed to see a couple of MB take to the Hedge of the field where he'd said he'd not cut it which did make me feel better, but I'll report it to Lanc's Conservation has HLB is a Nature Reserve (not that I think I'll get any where but it will make me feel Better Meantime, I took a few shots for the Diary.Goldie

Good for you,,Goldie!

Best wishes

Hoggers

I think I'd probably have done the same as you, Goldie.

What point is there in 'tidiness' when it transforms what was hitherto a wildlife oasis into a useless green field?

Put your complaint in. The likelihood is that nothing will be done, but if you don't, then it's certain nothing will be done.

Good for you for expressing your frustration the way you did. I support you 100%.

Good for you Goldie. I hope someone takes note and, that the meadow is left to nature in future, and you......

All the best, Nick.

Well done, Goldie. Maybe someone will take note. A great piece of meadow close to me was mown flat a few weeks back - with it being so dry, it has barely come back since and is just a yellow, dusty bit of field. It was full of flowers and butterflies I'd not seen there before, too. They'd even kept paths mown round the edges earlier, so why did it have to be cut at all?

Dave

Well done Goldie, someones got to stand up to this kind off madness!

I share your dismay Goldie, sadly I've seen this kind of thing happen all to often. It's hard not to take it personally when you care so much about the flora and fauna that we all feel such a strong connection towards.

So much of this destruction is needless and unwarranted, but ignorance of the natural world abounds making the world a poorer place for all of us.

When you complained you did so on behalf of many others besides yourself.

Best wishes

James

I too feel your frustration Goldie, I've just written a post (from two weeks or so ago ) where a similar thing had happened. One minute there are lot's of butterflies, the next none and in their place a tidy 'lawn'. What makes me even more irrate is the people that complained to the farmer in the first place!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks everyone for your backing, it seems the only positive responses I got was from Butterfly lovers . I reported it to the Council but got very little response back, I will mention to them that if they put a dog warden or some thing to patrol the Nature Reserve they'd make a fortune in fines for dog fouling!!!!
I also reported it to Lanc's BF's and got a response to visit Face Book or Twitter, I'll work that one Shortly

Anyway on a happier note, I went to Gait Barrow yesterday and got 5 firsts for this year, one I'm not sure of, it could be DGF, or HBF, I'm swayed for HBF because in photos I've taken of them before (which was at least 3/4 years ago) I seem to remember the HB's spot on the wing was slightly higher, I'm hoping I'm right but if I'm not I'm happy with the DGF

The other 4 I managed were Northern Brown, Grayling, Gate Keeper, Ringlet.

I also took photos of the Small Skipper's mating it was really funny to watch,( three to one) but the expression on the face of the winner was some thing else . Goldie

Great stuff Goldie - your Hedge Brown is an 'excessa' as it has a couple of extra spots - I haven't seen one of those yet this year And based on no experience whatsoever I reckon that you're right to go with HBF (well it's a 50:50 punt )

Have a goodun

Wurzel

That's great news if it"s a HB Wurzel, It was hard to photo it was whizzing about really enjoying being alive I say it, there were two or three rising up to the trees landing back down on the Ferns, Fantastic to watch when one landed in front of me I couldn't believe it, I think I took the shots too quickly

Looks like I hit the jackpot, a Hedge Brown, different and unusual, great day, Goldie