Trevor

[trevor]

Many thanks everyone for your comments.

Good to meet you also, Leigh. Another face to a name. Not a bad day's work at Steyning.
David M, I hope the yellow theme will continue. Last year a pair of Clouded Yellows provided my last
Butterfly images for the year,.... on Nov. 2nd !.

Have a great remaining season,
Trevor.

[Allan.W.]

Hello Trevor,
Just catching up with the UK. Butterfly ,posts,good to meet you,( and Leigh,Jim and Dawn),at Steyning on Wednesday,looks like the Brown Hairs really came out to play
when we,d left,still that said was still very pleased ,to see the one female at close quarters( unfortunately tatty ),and a couple of individuals at distance,my 41st species for the season,didn,t have time for Newhaven tide mills,for Clouded yellows,but a few have started appearing in my neck of the woods (Kent),so hopefully if the weather improves a trip to Lydden (near Dover) will be in order ! Regards Allan.W.

[trevor]

Many thanks Allan, good to meet you.
I am afraid I have a history of that this year ie. people leaving early, then I see the best of the action!.

Just seen the BBC weather forecast for next week.
Tues. and Weds. Hot Sun with warm air from the Continent.
More migrants to extend the season ?.

Trevor.

[David M]

Just seen the BBC weather forecast for next week.
Tues. and Weds. Hot Sun with warm air from the Continent.
More migrants to extend the season ?

I've seen this too, Trevor. I hope you're right. Bad though 2016 has been, there's still time for things to come good even though it's late.

Fingers crossed.

[millerd]

Yes, a few Clouded Yellows wouldn't go amiss. Let's hope there are some on the other side of the Channel which fancy a trip north...

Dave

[trevor]

HI David m & Dave,
Some Clouded Yellows are already here, I counted 7 near Newhaven last week.
But there's still hope for more, and who knows what else may be tempted to channel hop !.

[Goldie M]

Catching up on some posts Trevor and your shots of the Brown Hair Streaks are super Goldie

[trevor]

It is very rare for me to out for Butterflies after lunch, the weather this morning prevented an earlier start.
My main aim was the Clouded Yellow, so my destination was Tide Mills.
Just like last Tuesday they weren't difficult to find, but very difficult to keep an eye on !.
They are strong fliers anyway and even faster with the help of a strong breeze, however I was fortunate
to see one land on the path some distance away, and have time for a few shots.

Within a few minutes of the Clouded Yellow came the surprise of the afternoon. A Humming Bird Hawk Moth.
This was the only occasion that I have seen one in mid air as opposed to nectaring. Even better it landed on the beach !.

Now one for the Birders. This very tall Bird was a very considerable distance from me, so the only hope of an image
was to rest the camera on a low wall, crouch down and use full zoom. I think it is an Egret, my first though was Heron
except this Bird was white.

[jenks]

Hi Trevor,

Love the photos. Dare we hope that the promised warmer weather spreading up from the continent by mid week will bring with it more Clouded Yellow, Hummingbird Hawk moths and even, perhaps, something blue with tails ?! It would be a great end to the season.

The bird by the way is a Little Egret. It`s out of breeding plumage, hence it`s lost its plumes. It`s always difficult with photos to gauge size, but if you blow up the picture you can make out in the water its yellow feet (Great Egret has black legs and black feet). Also that it has a ring on its right leg. Pity we can`t see the number on it, it would tell us where it was ringed.

Jenks.

[Jack Harrison]

Little Egret is a recent (in last 25 years or so) colonist in Britain but is now quite common in coastal southern England and East Anglia. Less common in north and in this part of Scotland scarce enough to be a twitcher's bird.

Jack

[bugboy]

Also you were right with your first guess at it being a Heron, Egrets are just types of Heron that (mostly) happen to be white

[Wurzel]

Great shots of the Hummingbird Hawkmoth - they rarely pose in such a fashion Hopefully the Cloudies are a taste of things to come - if you hear of any LTB's give us a holler

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[trevor]

Back to Steyning again this morning.
I arrived on site at about 10.30, by 10.40 a perfect female Brown Hairstreak had been located by what I assume
was a Husband and Wife team. They very kindly beckoned me over for what was the best behaved BH so far this year.
Neil Hulme arrived, and soon pronounced her to be a ' real stunna ', we agreed the this Butterfly was a ' super model '
and that tabloid terminology was appropriate .
On his scale of 1 to 10 , this one was a 10

[bugboy]

Yup, she wouldn't look out of place on page 3 of the BC quarterly!

[trevor]

Many thanks Jenks, Jack and Paul for the Bird ID. It's good to have confirmation.

Trevor.

[trevor]

I set out early this morning in order to stop off at Kithurst meadow, before continuing my journey.
On arrival the Sun was behind milky cloud and the grass very wet. Not surprisingly not too many Butterflies
were on the wing, nor were those I did find particularly keen to fly !.
First find was a very tired old Chalkhill Blue, followed by several fresh Brown Argus, a few Common Blues
were up and about, as was a very lively Speckled Wood.
The Flora in the meadow has transformed since my last visit in May. The Cowslips and Orchids have given way
to Hemp Agrimony, Scabious , Wild Marjoram and Harebells to name a few.

Trevor.

[Wurzel]

Specklies seem to be having something of a resurgence Trevor - they're all over the place down here at the moment

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[trevor]

My target species for today was the Clouded Yellow.
On a hunch I went to the BC reserve at Park Corner, here in East Sussex. There is a large patch
of Fleabane on the site, and this has proved to be attractive to Clouded Yellows in past years.
At least three Clouded Yellows were seen, two of which landed for photo's.
There was little else to be seen except a Brimstone and some Common Blues.

Trevor.

[Pauline]

Very nice Clouded Yellow shots Trevor. I'm seeing plenty on the move but struggling to find one that will stay still long enough for a single shot

[trevor]

Many thanks Pauline.
One ' trick' worth a try with Clouded Yellows is to find a site which is fairly confined, with a plentiful
nectar source, They usually favour yellow flowers ( Fleabane is excellent ).
Yes they will spend much time on the wing, but the chances of one landing nearby are improved.
Just as happened yesterday.