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Hi Neil,

Lovely composition of the Hairstreak; though the Darters have the edge for me, especially the male and close up.

Great stuff ...

Kind regards. Mark

Thanks Mark. Glad to hear you had a good holiday abroad - well almost. Catch up soon.
Best Wishes, Neil

In The Beginning

I was recently reminded where my interest in butterflies and moths originated. My father has always kept in touch with 'Uncle' Tommy, who is now 85 and still keen as mustard. Tommy Myall isn't an uncle, but an older school friend who took my father under his wing and engendered his interest in wildlife, which in time was handed down the line. Many years have passed since they cycled the country lanes of Nottinghamshire in the hope of finding a Large Tortoiseshell. He has always been a keen photographer but has resisted the digital revolution. He still breeds a few moths and recently sent us a beautiful photograph of mating Lime Hawkmoths. The scanned image below doesn't really do it justice.

Yet More Brown Hairstreaks

At midday today (6th September) I dropped in to Steyning Rifle Range for an hour, before heading off to survey a private site. A female Brown Hairstreak appeared almost immediately, providing yet another visitor with a 'first'. I'm pleased to say that Pauline also managed to get plenty of hairstreak action during her visit. Even in a relatively poor year this site consistently produces the goods. Most females are beginning to show significant wear and tear now, but there's still a chance of a really fresh one appearing.

Cracking shots as per usual Neil Is there some knowledge or trick I'm missing because I seem to do okay for closed wing shots but don't find them basking? Do they bask more during certain times of the day or due to certain climatic conditions?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wurzel, I've found that Brown Hairstreaks tend to rest wings open when merely basking rather than when egg laying or nectaring.

The one I saw last week in Pembrokeshire had her wings closed at first but when I deliberately cast my shadow over her she soon opened them.

Wildland

Today (7th September) I performed another survey over the Knepp Castle Estate, where Sir Charlie Burrell's re-wilding project has been running for more than ten years now. It's always an interesting place to visit, not least when you unexpectedly come face-to-face with a Tamworth pig or a herd of Longhorns. Despite seeing 12 fresh Red Admiral in my travels, the real star of the show today was the Comma. It emerged in good numbers throughout the morning and I ended up with a total count of 17. Beautiful as the topside is, it has always been the variable and subtly beautiful underside of this species which has always fascinated me. With good numbers of Comma now on the blackberries we are officially in autumn according to my personal butterfly calendar.

Thanks Wurzel. It's a straightforward case of thermoregulation, so when the female Brown Hairstreak is not ovipositing or feeding, her wings will be held in a position influenced by her body temperature. As David says, by casting a shadow you can effect a reduction in temperature, which may cause her to open up.

King Of The Butterflies

On Saturday (8th September) I seriously considered travelling to Portland to see the Monarch, which Pete had kindly tipped me off about the day before. In the end, having decided to go to Findon Sheep Fair in the afternoon, I returned to Steyning Rifle Range in the morning. Although the Brown Hairstreak females were slow off the mark, a total of 5 appeared in the hour and a half I was there. Amongst the visitors it was great to meet UKBers Dave and Mrs Brown, and to see Susie and John W again. I was particularly pleased that Dave scored after coming all the way from Ashford. Another chap had travelled over 200 miles to see Steyning's finest.

Much as I enjoyed the Sheep Fair my feet were getting itchy throughout the afternoon and evening. It had to be done, so on Sunday morning (9th September) I headed west. After almost completing the journey under clear blue skies I began to worry as an ominous bank of low cloud descended on Portland. I arrived to hear that the Monarch had disappeared over a garden fence about 90 seconds previously. For the next hour and twenty minutes the cloud thickened, the wind got up and the temperature dropped. I really thought my luck had run out.

Soon after 12.15 pm the cloud finally thinned and the weak sunshine began to warm things up. More Red Admirals, Large and Small Whites and a Painted Lady arrived almost immediately. And then it appeared, floating effortlessly over the fence, big as a bird. For two hours it put on a fantastic show, occasionally gliding around with barely a beat of its huge wings. As the weather deteriorated once more it finally retired to the lee side of a large conifer nearby. The next time the sun shines on Portland it'll be back on that buddleia.

You just couldn't resist it, could you! it is a really impressive wee beastie and you have produced some great photos despite the minor damage on the wings

Hi Susie,
I felt slightly dirty ..... but good.
Neil

Fantastic. They are lovely butterflies and their effortless flight is enchanting.

I'm so glad you managed to see this butterfly, Neil. Tell me though, how could you be so confident that it would be in the same place? These are the greatest migrators of all, and though I accept it will be desperate to feed up after its long spell in the air, surely its impulses will cause it to move on at some point?

What will actually happen to it (assuming it's not attacked by a bird)? Will it try to hibernate somewhere or will it move south as conditions get cooler?

Thanks David. You are correct in that most Monarchs tend to move on quite quickly, and it's quite unusual for one to stick around in one place for long. I regard this as a 'birders butterfly' as you really need to spend long periods on the Scilly Isles each year to have a reasonable chance of bagging one. So as it had already been around for a couple of days I reckoned the gamble was worthwhile, bearing in mind the potential difficulties in ever seeing one on mainland UK. I felt quite confident heading down there - until the weather changed for the worse.
As for its fate I really don't know. Even those with far more knowledge about the Monarch would probably end up just speculating. I can't imagine we have much in the way of data to go on.
Neil

Cats And Falcon

This afternoon (10th September), while tidying up the back garden, I decided to have a quick look for Holly Blue larvae on the ivy. Bearing in mind that the butteflies are regular and very welcome visitors, I was sure that plenty of eggs must have been carefully deposited on the developing flower buds. It wasn't long before I found the tell-tale boreholes and dead flower stalks. In about 15 minutes I located 2 well advanced caterpillars and a tiny first instar. I was pleased with the images I managed to get, one-handed while balancing on a step-ladder!

In the afternoon I headed to Chichester gravel pits to watch the long-stay Red-footed Falcon. Distance, light conditions and an under-gunned camera made anything but a dodgy record shot impossible, but it was great watching this stunning bird grab dragonflies over the water.

Hi Neil,

Super shot of the Holly Blue cat ...

Sussex Kipper wrote:I was pleased with the images I managed to get, one-handed while balancing on a step-ladder!

You go careful - a man of your age ...

Good hunting.

Kind regards. Mark

I'm green with envey about your Monarch BF You must have felt really up lifted to see such a lovely Butterfly.
I ask myself "WHY"do I live in the North Goldie

I was just getting to grips with the envy at the Monarch and then you go and get a Red Footed Falcon

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks all. Yes Wurzel, with a Monarch and Red-footed Falcon in quick succession I'm on a roll. I expect to trip and fall under Kate Moss next.
Neil

Faded Beauties

This morning (13th September) I started off at Cissbury Ring, where butterfly numbers are dwindling and everything is beginning to look rather faded and tired. Hopefully there should be another brood of Small Coppers to come, but today's tally on the SW corner of the ramparts included Adonis Blue (3), Chalkhill Blue (2), Common Blue (2), Brown Argus (1), Small Copper (2), Meadow Brown (15), Small Heath (3), Speckled Wood (1), Red Admiral (4), Large White (1) and Small White (1).

At Steyning Rifle Range the female Brown Hairstreaks were slow to start again, but from 12.30 pm onwards they left me in doubt that their season is still going strong. 7 different females were seen, although the 3 in mint condition refused to come within range of the camera. I suspect that these individuals are yet to start egg laying, having only recently been fertilised. Those that did spend time at low level were all fairly worn, but even those that have seen better days are still beautiful.