www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Great stuff Trevor, especially the Cloudies Is the first 'colour marked/tagged' or has it lost the hairs on it's head as instead of the usual pinky barnet it looks much darker, almost black?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi Trevor
Looks like you had a decent result at Shoreham with those Clouded Yellows . I was there last year looking for Long Tailed Blues on the day everyone else was at Brighton Racecourse . I don't think I saw a single butterfly there that day.

Good to read your comments Gentlemen.
There does seem to be a good Clouded Yellow population along the South coast at the moment.
Wurzel; Click on that image twice, and make up your own mind, it does seem to have a black head.
There is a lot of ' Pea ' at Shoreham, so those Common Blues were chased and watched with anticipation until
they landed, then examined closely. Although their colour was wrong in even in flight.

Hope everyone is making the most of the fine weather.
Trevor.

A VERY CLOUDIE DAY !.

I decided on a return visit to Shoreham Harbour for today.
When I got into the car the thermometer only read 12c., but as the cloud was breaking up nicely,
I thought the trip was worth the risk. On arrival the temp. was only 13c. Despite this a Small Copper
was spotted almost immediately, within five minutes a male, and a beautiful female Common Blue
were in the bag.
I had really come for Clouded Yellows and they didn't disappoint , with about ten in residence.
It was a pleasure to meet Dave Cook with his two Dogs. It was very appropriate for him to spot
a Painted Lady, as he featured in the BBC FOUR film about this species earlier in the week.

With so much action today I had to remind myself that it was October and not August !.

Trevor.

Nice to see you had a good day Trevor, looks like all your CY's are males, maybe most of the females have already flown to lay their eggs in warmer climes? It was a bit breezy today, not easy for photography, two CY's in the same shot is nice to see.

ATB

James

A pretty decent haul there Trevor and very nice Cloudies

Great work Trevor, lovely to see so many butterflies still out there.

Many thanks James, Katrina and Paul.
The variety of species seen yesterday was almost unbelievable given the time of year.
If anyone wishes to visit the site for Clouded Yellows ( they are quite easy going here ), turn left
at the bottom of the concrete steps, and head for the distant fuel tank enclosure. The CL's have
confined themselves to a small area between the sub station, on the left, and the spiked fence
on the right. With the temperature now quite cool they regularly settle to bask or nectar.

Trevor.

Most impressed with your cloudie haul, Trev. I've only seen two in Essex this year, the south coast seem to be providing most of the sightings this year. So enjoy them if you can!

I couldn't resist another visit to Shoreham Harbour today.
I am only too aware that October 15th is half way through the month, and the season can't last too much longer.
The Clouded Yellows were in their usual place, and as the temperature was warmer than Thursday
they were a little more active. On this visit some were showing slight wear, with a few nicks here and there.
Quite a few tatty male Common Blues were seen, some ' Whites ' and a non stop Red Admiral.
I left the site in bright sunshine, but arrived home to a torrential downpour.

PS. You should have come today Dave !.

Trevor.

So I should, Trevor, by the look of those lovely Cloudies! I left it too late to travel, unfortunately...

Dave

Beautiful Cloudies Trevor - I don't think I've ever seen any as yellow as that

Have a goodun

Wurzel

A day of very blustery showers here, but when the sun shone it was very warm.
During one of the sunny periods I headed for the old railway, which, owing to the
low sun was largely in shade. One small area in full sun produced a basking Red Admiral,
and quite a few ageing Speckled Woods.

Trevor.

The weather this morning was just about good enough to risk a trip to Shoreham Harbour.
Solid cloud cover was gradually breaking up, later, large areas of blue sky appeared in the
distance as I drove towards Shoreham.
On arrival only one Clouded Yellow was found, sheltering low down, waiting for the sun's warmth.
It was not too long before more CL's were active, with no fewer than four seen in the air together.
Common Blues were doing their best to find somewhere in full sun to warm up.
Surprise of the day came in the form of an immaculate Speckled Wood, not a species usually
found in a coastal environment. It did however manage to evade my camera.

Trevor.

Much as I enjoy reading about your site visits, Trevor, I can't escape from the sadness of the ever diminishing returns you are reporting.

We are now right at the end of the period where we can reasonably expect to see butterflies. Ahead of us lies a four month void before it all starts again in late February.

Good to see the Cloudies continue, Trevor. If the weather doesn't get significantly worse, they may well persist into November - they seem quite resilient, especially on the mild south coast.

Dave

Many thanks Essex Buzzard. As you can see, I have continued to enjoy the Cloudies.
David M, The season's not over' until the fat lady sings ' ie. a hard frost !.But it is
very much on the wane now.
Dave (millerd), as you can see they're still performing, and well worth a visit.

All the best,
Trevor.

Fabulous photos of Clouded Yellows.

Iona

Many thanks Catriona, If you like Clouded Yellows, read on. I went out again today !.

A perfectly cloudless blue sky tempted me over to Tide Mills this morning.
As often happens, my Sun drenched patio lulls me into thinking that it is a lovely warm day.
The shock came when I got into the car, which is always parked in the shade. Only 8c !.
This temperature remained constant until I reached Alfriston, when it went up to 10c.
On arrival at Tide Mills I was very surprised to see my first Clouded Yellow actually flying.
It would seem that this species responds to sunshine rather than temperature, as on milder days
with little sun, I have seen none at all.
Today a rough guess would be about eight Cloudies on the wing, maybe more, not less.
The real surprise Butterfly of the morning, however was a very fresh Small Copper, I only
managed two shots, before it was lost, the resulting image is slightly out of focus.
Two non stop Red Admirals were also seen, as was a worn Small White.

Trevor.