Maximus

[Maximus]

Thanks Hoggers and Goldie Wurzel, you could well be right about how much you need to get Having had time to think about it David, there are probably not enough LTB's to make another visit worthwhile

[Maximus]

A day out in the glorious October sunshine, in the Hampshire Avon valley, found me hard pressed to follow the piscatorial enticements or the obvious lepidoptera and various other attractions!

Pristine Small Copper

Fresh Comma

Faded Red Admiral

Little Egret?

[Wurzel]

Cracking shots Mike and that is indeed a Little Egret - they used to be considered a rarity (I remember twitching a pair at Arne 24/25 years ago )but now breed all over the place - if only the same could be said for Camberwell Beauties

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Maximus]

Thanks for the Egret ID conformation Wurzel and how times change I sometimes dream of Camberwell Beauties, I once knew one

[Maximus]

For various reasons it's a bit of a late start for me this year. It was the worst winter ever (in loads of ways), and it's now followed by a spring that has yet to get going properly! Spring butterflies as a result seem to be a bit thin on the ground, at least here in Hampshire. However in spite of this, during the course of several trips the following species were seen.

The Duke of Burgundy took a bit of finding and was the only one seen, and that was at 4pm. The Grizzled Skipper was one of four seen and was the only photographic opportunity, the strong cool wind not to their liking. Also seen but not photographed were Holly Blue and Small White. Red Admiral was the only hibernator not seen.

[Pauline]

Welcome back Mike - some smashing shots there . No doubt we will run into one another soon.

[bugboy]

Lovely stuff, hopefully this current cold snap will be the last we'll see of winter for several months and the season can get going properly!

[David M]

Good to see you back, Mike, and a nice array of early season images to go with it, especially the Duke.

[trevor]

Good to see that you are off the mark, and in style !.
Unfortunately it looks like the weather is going to put Spring on hold, for now.

Looking forward to your new season reports,
Trevor.

[Maximus]

Thanks Pauline (I'm sure our paths will cross soon), bugboy, David and Trevor. It's good to be back.

[Wurzel]

A great array of butterflies Mike, a 'proper' start to the season, none of this dribs and drabs for you

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Maximus]

Cheers Wurzel


5th May

After a previous visit to Noar Hill had only afforded us one Duke of Burgundy sighting, we were encouraged by the sudden spell of warm weather to venture out again today to see if any more had emerged there. It was early afternoon by the time we reached the reserve, and with the sun's intense heat and not a cloud in sight we only saw fleeting glances of a couple of passing male Brimstones, clearly intent on finding themselves a mate, and one or two male Orange-tips following suit. Fortunately, when we spotted the first two Dukes they were males defending their territory and were quite content to perch long enough for us to take some pictures.

We were lucky enough to then spot a Duchess settled on a cowslip leaf, but as we approached she took flight and we only just managed to keep her in our sights until she settled again and we were able to take a photo, after which she promptly disappeared. As we continued looking we spotted a second Duchess sat on a blade of grass, and as she seemed fairly settled we were able to take a few pictures before she too flew out of sight.

Our third and final Duchess we spotted weaving in and out of the undergrowth with a very persistent male in pursuit. I managed just one shot of them out in the open where the male was clearly trying to mate with her, his abdomen fully curled round towards her. All to no avail, as she rebuffed his advances and took off, leaving the poor Duke staggering around in the grass in search of her.

We watched this same female settle on a cowslip further up the slope and curl her abdomen under a leaf, only then realising why she'd rejected the Duke's advances. When she moved on we took a careful look under the leaf and discovered two shiny white eggs near the edge. A first for us

The Cowslip looked quite ordinary, and was in full sun

In all we saw 12 Dukes throughout the reserve today, 3 of which were females, all looking very fresh.

A little later in the afternoon we stumbled across our first Green Hairstreak of the year posing nicely on a patch of brambles. Although we looked thoroughly it seemed to be a solitary specimen. We also found about half a dozen Dingy Skippers at various spots on our way out of the reserve which finished off our day rather nicely.

[bugboy]

Some great Duke images there with some nice behaviour shots, they all help make the day more memorable

[trevor]

That's what I call a quality day out Mike, with some good finds,
and images to match. You did well finding those eggs.

[Goldie M]

Great Duke shots Mike, wish I'd been has lucky at Gait Barrow, but we had snow last week so things moving slowly up here, the Dingy shot is a great one as well Goldie

[Wurzel]

Beautiful Duchess Mike and great behavioural shots of the egg-laying

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Maximus]

Cheers bugboy, it's nice to get different types of shots sometimes.

Cheers Trevor, a quality day at Noar it was and finding the eggs was a bonus.

Thank you Goldie, you'll get them in the end, if the weather improves of course

Thanks Wurzel, just got lucky with the egg-laying



12th May

A visit to Heyshott Escarpment today upped our species total by five, to seventeen.

Red Admiral

Green-veined White

Small Heath

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Brown Argus

The Cowslips did not appear to be as abundant as they were last year, however we saw about fifteen Dukes, all males, with most showing signs of wear.

Dingy Skippers were quite numerous and we also saw two Grizzled Skippers.

However the beautiful Green Hairstreaks stole the show!

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Mike,

Just catching up on your recent posts, some great reports and superb photos, particularly those Green Hairstreaks

Cheers,

Neil.

[bugboy]

Those Greenies are picture perfect!

[Pauline]

I am green with envy over your Green Hairstreak shots Mike -Oh, and the rest of them aren't half bad either