www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Thanks Mike , I agree and will be looking at the options.

Cheers

At last! - some warm Spring sunshine, in marked contrast to the dull, wet days of late.

Today, I made my second visit of the year to the Dry Sandford Pit reserve at Cothill. Even on my short journey there, I saw several Brimstones flying by the roadside and visiting clumps of wild flowers on the verges.

At the entrance gate to the reserve, there was a Muntjac deer, which seemed equally surprised by the warmth, and loped off rather lazily as I approached. Just inside the gate, there is a large patch of Primroses and, unlike on my earlier visit, these were now being attended by several Brimstones.

I mentioned in an early post my intention to try out the so-called 'pro-capture' mode of my Olympus E-M1 Mk.ii camera (in this mode, the camera continually cycles shots through a buffer while the release is half depressed. Then, when you actually release the shutter, up to 35 shots from before the release are also captured) There is something almost surreal about taking a photo before you actually press the button but that is what happens! I had set the camera to take 8 pre-shutter frames, with an overall limit of 25 frames, and a maximum rate of 18 frames per second. In the event, the first movement of the butterfly appeared in the 6th frame, it was airborne in the 7th, and had disappeared out of shot by the 8th. - a really fast mover!
Since I was keen to see what other butterflies might be about, I didn't spend time on further experiments but moved on to the sun-baked sandstone cliffs, where I found both Commas and Peacocks.

The Comma was perched on the edge of the sandstone cliff in a perfect spot for spotting any passing intruders.
The Peacocks were also enjoying the warmth from the stones at the base of the cliff. I am always surprised how bright they look after having spent the Winter in hibernation:
One of my shots of a Peacock illustrates how intimidating such a dramatic eyed-creature might look to a potential predator.
There were plenty of other signs of Spring, with many bees attending the catkins and a bee-fly (Bombylius major) demonstrating its very long proboscis, used for finding nectar deep inside the Primrose flowers.
Let's hope that temperature now start to rise and more Spring species appear on the wing soon.

Mike

Glad you had a rewarding day too, tomorrow looks reasonable as well.
Good to see a Brimstone open wing for a change.

Trevor.

Interesting experiments with that camera, Mike: nice Brimstone. My own (very primitive) attempts have also revealed just how quickly they move!

Dave

Nice Brimstones Mike, looks like we're all off to a good start Goldie

Great stuff Mike. Interesting to see that camera mode in action.

Cheers

Thank you for your comments, Trevor, Dave, Goldie, and Andrew. I was very pleased to get some camera action at last Having got such a 'clever' machine, I'm keen to see if I can find some different 'angles' in my photography.

I might add that I was fascinated to observe the different structure between the butterflies and the bee-fly - broad, deep wings versus narrow 'blades' and yet both types work!

Mike

Great set of shots Mike especially the in flight Brimstone and the very scary Peacock

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I'd like to see a few more images from your 'pro-capture' mode, Mike. They look to be sharp and of high quality.

Try it out with Green Hairstreaks when they emerge (that'll be a challenge)!

Thank you, Wurzel. I hope your girls like the 'scary' peacock too.

I'm also looking forward to more 'pro-capture' experiments, David. I've a lot to learn about optimising the settings.

What a difference a few days can make! I escaped the worst of the heat yesterday by visiting the Durlston Reserve, near Swanage. Not many butterflies on the wing there, apart from a few Peacocks, but I photographed Early Spider Orchids and, as a surprise bonus, got some shots of a Peregrine Falcon, busy preening on a cliff ledge.

While I was processing my photos from that trip, this afternoon, I noticed a pair of Holly Blues in amorous pursuit around my garden. After a few false attempts at finding a suitable landing-spot, they finally settled down to pair, high in a shrub outside my 'office' window.

I say 'settled down' but there was quite a prolonged period of circling around, while coupled, and moving back and forth across some leaves. This all presented a considerable photographic challenge, since the sun was strong and, as they rotated, the wings moved rapidly from direct sun to deep shadow.
In such circumstance, the electronic viewfinder in my Olympus E-M1 offers a considerable advantage over a DSLR, since I get a direct indication of how the sensor is responding and can, therefore, adjust exposure accordingly. Also, although the butterflies were rather distant from my window, I could select a magnified image in the viewfinder, to check and maintain focus. I preferred to use manual focus, because they were constantly moving between leaves that easily distract AF systems.

After several minutes, they ceased moving about quite so much but they also attracted the attention of other Holly Blue voyeurs. These visitors did not stay around for long but I managed to take a few photos of three butterflies together. Although the photos were taken through glass at rather a long range (~ 5 m), I believe that they show some interesting aspects of behaviour.
Mike

A gorgeous set of photos, Mike - I especially like the last one.

Many thanks for looking in, Janet, and I'm pleased you enjoyed the photos It's amazing what can happen with a couple of days of hot sunshine. The Holly Blues are usually rather elusive, keeping out of sight, in the tops of the shrubs in our garden, so I was delighted when this pair chose to land in full view of my window - even if rather distant.

Hi! Mike, just fantastic the shots of the Holly Blue's coupling, it's not easy to get shots like that, I'm still waiting to see just one Goldie

Hi Goldie, When I looked back through my digital photo collection (since 2004), I found no other photos of Holly Blue couplings, so I think I was very lucky to have been able to spot these from an upstairs window. Even so, they kept dodging behind the leaves, so I was grabbing shots whenever I could.

From looking at the file data, I took my first photo at 14:39 and the last at 14:56. They went their separate ways a few minutes later, so I guess the coupling lasted for around half an hour. As I mentioned in the original post, they were very active at first, seemingly pushing each other backwards and forwards, as well as pirouetting around each other.

The recent hot weather seemed to break, with thunderstorms last night, but the morning was sunny once again. As well as Holly Blues, an Orange Tip visited my garden but passed through too quickly for any opportunity to take its portrait.

My son phoned to suggest a walk along the Evenlode Valley, North of Witney, after lunch, mainly in search of the Yellow Star of Bethlehem (Gagea lutea), in which we were unsuccessful. It clouded over but this was a help when we spotted a male Orange Tip, 'grounded' by the sudden chill.
I find the 'marbled' pattern of the underwings fascinating, especially as the apparently green colour is, in fact, the result of a juxtaposition of black and yellow scales, as shown in the close-up view below:
It seems that we can now expect the weather to adopt a more normal pattern for late April - sunshine and showers.

Mike

Great Holly Blue sequence Mike, well captured.
And very nice Orange-tip, a macro shot of the underwing is definitely something I would like to get.

Cheers

Great Holly Blue sequence Mike, rally interesting to see the contortionist approach they have to take Love the really close up close up of the OT

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi! Mike, love the composition shot of the Orange Tip and your photo, I always try to get shots of the closed wings if I can because of their remarkable pattern Goldie

Many thanks for your appreciative comments, Andrew, Wurzel, and Goldie. Let's hope that the warm spell has been enough to ensure the survival of these spring species