www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Thanks for the comments Mike and Wurzel .

The best of the weather didn't quite reach us on Saturday but Sunday was a cracker that certainly felt like the season was here . Just hoping that we don't get too much of a good thing too soon and the weather doesn't turn on us again, plenty of time yet for it to turn nasty again.

Cheers,

Neil.

Saturday 15th March

The past week has seen some frosty mornings with me having to clear ice off the car windscreen a couple of times at 6.30am to go to work. Once the morning fog and cloud had burnt off though there were some cracking afternoons which, being at work, I was unable to take advantage of but had me looking forward to this weekend.

A nice pair of Bullfinches have been lurking around the back garden for a few days now, occasionally visiting the feeders but so far I have only managed a couple of quick shots through the back room window as usual.
Today started off looking fairly promising with some decent sun but still feeling cool and with a bit of a breeze and by the time I had some time to spare a layer of cloud had built up which combined with the breeze put the dampers on the day a bit.

Nevertheless I decided to have a quick shufty round to Shadowbrook Meadows for the first time this year, as much to get a bit of fresh air as anything else. I spent about an hour there during which time the sun made a couple of half hearted attempts to break through but nowhere near long enough to raise the temperature. There was also a band of blue sky which frustrating stayed just above the southern horizon and refused to come anywhere closer.
Coming to the conclusion that it was too dull and cool for me to see any butterflies today I made my way back to the car and was nearly there when a Small Tortoiseshell flew out of the hedge to the side of me and settled again a few feet away. I just managed to get a couple of record shots as it sat there vibrating and trying to warm up before it took off again and went over the hedge.


So in the end just the one Small Tortoiseshell today but It got me thinking about last year and how I had a couple of inches of snow on my back lawn during the last week of March and how one ST would have still been a result then as late as early April.

The sky finally started clearing earlier this evening and as if to make up for the afternoon gave a rather nice sunset over the back garden
Bye for now,

Neil.

Great shots of the Bullfinches Neil - they're easily spooked The sunset is lush too - remember Red Sky at night, I'd be out again tomorrow if I was you

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel, Red sky at night indeed...

Sunday 16th March part 1 – Morning in the garden.

After yesterdays cool and cloudy afternoon, today started off much better with wall to wall blue sky and by mid-morning it was starting to warm up nicely. As is usual for me, I had some ‘domestics’ to do in the morning but managed to mix this in with a bit of pottering about in the garden.

At around 11.00am things started to get going with my first butterfly of the day, a Peacock, which fluttered up to a tall old Sallow that overhangs my garden from next door.
This was soon followed by a Small Tortoiseshell and then by a second example of each of these, all busy nectaring and trying to chase each other away before getting stuck in again. Due to the height of the Sallow getting photos was tricky but I managed a few at full zoom which I have cropped rather tightly for the shots below.
Occasionally the butterflies would flutter down to the ‘wild’ end of the garden and bask for a while where taking photos was easier.
All in all during the course of the morning I identified at least three different Peacocks by varying amount of wear plus the same number of Small Tortoiseshells which at one time were all on the Sallow together.
There was also a Comma buzzing about which would not settle for long plus a male Brimstone which passed through at least three time. Or maybe that’s three different Brimstones which passed through once each guess I will never know.

The forecast was for cloud moving in during the day but by early afternoon there was still blue sky for as far as the eye could see and I now had a couple of hours free…

Bye for now,

Neil.

Looks like the old folk wisdom paid off, and then some, lush photos Neil

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Nice stuff, Neil. That third Peacock is in remarkably good nick. Must have found the perfect hibernation spot.

Cheers Wurzel, it certainly did
Thanks David, it is surprising how fresh some of these post-hibernators look after the wind and rain this past winter, like you say, some must have found well sheltered spots.

Sunday 16th March part 2 – an afternoon walk.

After enjoying the butterflies in the garden on Sunday morning and finishing the ‘domestics’ I now had the rest of the afternoon free. With unbroken blue sky and good sun still I decided to make the most of it and pop out to one of my local spots.
I figured that wherever I went to I would be seeing more Small Tortoiseshells, Peacocks and Commas but couldn’t make my mind up whether to go back to Shadowbrook Meadows where I had been on Saturday when it remained stubbornly cloudy, or to Castle Hills where I went last week.

During the past couple of years I had noticed that it was possible to follow a footpath past Castle Hills Farm and continue through to Bickenhill and Shadowbrook Meadows but had not actually walked this all the way through before, usually driving between the sites instead.
Well, I decided in the end to park up and find my along these paths and see how long it would take me to get to Shadowbrook Meadows.

There were numerous Small Tortoiseshells, Commas and Peacocks along the way, each stretch of hedgerow being patrolled by one species or the other who often met up and spiralled up into the air in twos, threes, fours on a couple of occasions and even once in a furball of five Small Tortoiseshells.
I reached Shadowbrook an hour or so later and then spent about 30 minutes doing a quick circuit of the meadows seeing more of all the above three species. The butterflies here were lively but settling frequently to bask in the sun although, despite the calm conditions, usually low down with grass stems making it difficult to get any good photos so I just took a few record shots of each species.

Whilst here I also saw my first ‘white’ of the year, almost certainly a ‘Small’ by its strong flight compared to the weaker more fluttery flight that GV Whites tend to have. It didn’t settle but flew close enough past me for me to be 99% certain of its ID before disappearing over the shrubs at the side of the meadow. Checking my notes this is a good 5 weeks earlier than last year but only 1 week earlier than 2012.

I then retraced my route back past Castle Hills Farm to where I started, the whole walk taking around two and a half hours. I did not actually make a count of the butterflies seen but a rough estimate must have been around 2 dozen Small Tortoiseshells, a similar number of Commas, definitely more than last week, and slightly fewer Peacocks plus the single Small White.
No Brimstones this afternoon, in fact the only ones that I have seen so far this year have been males during late morning in my garden both last Sunday and this. Mind you that is more than I have seen by this time in the past couple of years when it has seemed to take me ages for me to see one, I remember commenting about it being all Peacocks and Commas for me in 2012/13.

After the butterflies in the garden in the morning this was a great afternoon which more than made up for the gloomy Saturday.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Great report there,Neil. I too saw my first Small White on Sunday. I was at work,when a white butterfly fluttered past. I didn't think it would stop for id,but there is an ornamental plum in bloom nearby and,thankfully it landed on if for a feed and, for me,a chance for a good look-Small White.

Aren't you just loving seeing all these Small Torts,Neil?

Loving the shots Neil especially Peek a boo, that's a cracker

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel, rather like that one myself

Thanks eb, yes, I am certainly loving all the Small Tortoiseshells that are about at the moment. I have seen good numbers of early Commas and Peacocks for the past couple of years and this year there are even more about but the STs are the highlight so far. I don't ever remember seeing so many coming out of hibernation, even back in the 1970s when they were one of the commonest butterflies about.

Sunday 16th March - a nice little finisher.

Having arrived back home after my afternoon walk, I grabbed a mug of coffee and went into the back room to download my photos onto the PC and have a quick shufty through them. As I was doing this I had one eye looking into the back garden and watching the usual procession of Tits, Blackcaps and Robins visiting the feeders as the shadows lengthened from the sinking sun.

As I was watching, the pair of Bullfinches that have been around for the past few days came back again and grabbing the camera I managed a couple of quick shots through the window,
These were soon spooked by the shadow of an approaching bird which turned out to be a Greater-spotted Woodpecker, a female I believe by the lack if the red patch at the back of the head, instead of the male that usually visits.
After taking a couple of shots, again through the window, I watched her for a while until she departed and I was just going to put the camera down when a couple of Goldfinches arrived, the first of these that I have seen in the garden this year.
After such a great day with the butterflies in the garden during the morning and then on my afternoon walk this short period of 15 minutes or so made a nice little finisher to the day just before the sun went down

Bye for now,

Neil.

Love your photos of the butterflies on Sallow and blossom Neil. A reminder that Spring is really here despite the grey weather today.

Thanks Pauline

Back to typical early Spring weather around here the past few days, colder mornings and a cool breeze and some hefty rain showers through the day as well as some sunny spells.

Cheers,

Neil.

Sunday 23rd March

Too cool and windy for any butterflies around here lately with frequent showers and sunny spells. The temperature all weekend has been half that reached on the past couple of Sundays, barely reaching 8 or 9 degrees at most.

Mind you, it is still appreciably better than the same date last year when there was still snow on the back garden as in the photo below...
I have a Berberis darwinii that has started flowering, a good month earlier than last year. This usually begins to flower in my garden about the same time that the Specklies start to appear so finger crossed...
No butterflies today but loads of bird activity with more species going around in pairs. The Tits especially are pairing up instead of going around in the loose little gangs made up of different species that they have been.

I ventured out into the garden a couple of times over the weekend to do a bit of tidying up but didn't stay out long, my extremities started feeling the cold wind so I retreated back indoors. Things looked much better from indoors so between the chores I contented myself with watching the coming and going of the birds and taking some shots through the windows.
I watched the Country file weather forecast for the week ahead earlier, looks like a week of mixed weather ahead, so pretty much typical for March around here. I am starting to firm up some plans for later in the year and booking time off work so hoping that things are neither too early or too late, fingers crossed as always.

Bye for now,

Neil

Great Bullfinch photos Neil, one of my favourite birds

Mike

I agree with Mike, great shots of the Bullfinches Bit of a contrast this spring to last - but it it is going to get a bit worse this week - still that's kinda what you'd expect for March. I hope the Specklies arrive soon

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks for the comments Mike and Wurzel

The Bullfinches are cracking birds, I used to get occasional glimpses but this year is the first that they have been regular visitors

Looks like I will have to wait a bit longer for the Specklies to show up, weather has gone all scabby again this week and not stopped raining today. Mind you, I don't mind so much being stuck in work so much.

Neil.

Saturday 29th March

This past week we have had just about everything in the way of weather, cold winds, heavy rain, wintery showers with sleet and hail, frosty mornings and a bit of sun thrown in, but not enough to raise the temperature much above single figures….so, pretty much typical March then

Yesterday (Friday) things started to improve and today has been a cracker with nice sun all day and feeling much warmer even if bit breezy still.

This morning I did the usual early shopping and stuff around the house and from mid-morning started to see butterflies in the garden, with a passing Brimstone being the first, then a couple of Commas high up on the sallow.
There was also a passing visit by a ‘white’ which I am fairly certain was a Green-veined by the way it fluttered low down along the border. A quick walk down to the shops at the end of our road produced a Peacock basking on a stone wall.

Wanting to make the most of the weather, I finished off the household stuff and had an early lunch before heading around to Castle Hills. Starting off along the usual footpaths there was a blustery wind blowing but in the more sheltered stretches of hedgerow it felt pleasantly warm and I soon started to see Commas, Peacocks and Small Tortoiseshells.
During the next couple of hours I slowly followed one of my usual circular routes finding all three species in very good numbers all over the site. I didn’t even try to do a count, the way that these species will patrol backwards and forwards along a hundred yards or more of hedge line makes counting difficult, suffice to say that all three were everywhere with overlapping territories that meant that I often had multiple individuals in sight together.

A selection of photos below from the many taken this afternoon...
I also saw a single Brimstone not long after arriving early in the afternoon but none after that, they seem to disappear around here soon after about 1.00pm.

I had wondered if I might see a Speckled Wood today but no such luck. It can’t be long now, last week of March or first week of April is when they usually show up in these parts.

After the weather of the past week or so I had wondered how all the post hibernators that were around a couple of weekends back had fared but if anything there were even more around today than then .

A great couple of hours .

Bye for now,

Neil.

Some lovely shots there Neil. I particularly like the last Comma, the Peacock on Bramble and the ST's on blossom. What with checking on all these cats I haven't had time to get out and see what's outside

I too am still Specklie-less but it won't be long now Mind you these great shots must serve as ample compensation - the first Peacock is brill, it really stands out

Have a goodun

Wurzel

A lovely set of photos there Neil, can't be long before we start seeing Orange Tips and Speckies joining in the fun