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Holly Blue - Favourite Photo 2019

Week 8

Happy Advent everyone and we are now on the countdown until the obese man in the red suit makes his annual visit!

Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos as then it will be easier to keep track of things? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As in previous years details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome as would any accompanying stories and anecdotes or other observations of behaviour and interesting other points.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Unlike others I had a particularly poor year with these this year, they turned up here and there quite often but only ever in ones or twos for the most part. My fave pic comes from Denbies when to get close enough I had to risk Bramble and Hawthorn on bare legs, the result was worth the pain I think

My favourite is another photo from a splendid holiday on the Scilly Isles. The islands are not a great butterfly location, with only 11 resident species, but Holly Blues were out in good numbers during our stay.
Mike

I was thrilled when on the 12th of August I found an Holly Blue enjoying the Lavender in my Garden .

I didn't see that many Holly Blues this year and the summer brood in particular were thin on the ground around my area.

Consequently, I only got a few shots including the female on hawthorn blossom below taken in my garden and which is probably my favourite this year.
Cheers,

Neil.

2019 was the third year on the trot that I saw this species in good numbers.

Males were seemingly everywhere in spring and I managed to fill my boots with them. Alas, females were much more shy, and I was unable to obtain a good image of the fairer sex.

Here are two males from Cwm Ivy in the spring:

Where to start? The species had its habitual good year on my local patch, with the season running from 25th March to 27th November and clearly encompassing three broods. It was the third most frequently encountered butterfly, outnumbered only by the Small White and the Meadow Brown. Daily counts during the late April warm spell exceeded 30, and these numbers were nearly matched in mid-August. The third brood produced an unusually late sighting on 27th November, probably the last one seen anywhere nationally.

As for a favourite photo, I particularly like this one of two males engrossed in taking minerals.There were several flying around this spot and regularly settling, but only two ever actually landed at the same time. The dry warm weather in the summer months here meant there was a good deal of this behaviour on display around any persisting damp patches of ground.

There were beautiful examples of females from all three broods, but I shall reserve these for the comparison post I am currently compiling. There is also still one other shot I'm keeping back for a few more days...Nothing spectacular, but very appropriate.

Dave

millerd wrote: ↑Thu Dec 12, 2019 9:54 am..with the season running from 25th March to 27th November..

That's an amazing statistic, Dave, possibly even a record breaking one.

Holly Blue

For many years now I’ve been green with envy about the Holly Blue Whispering technique employed by Dave Miller/millerd and the stunning results that he gets when photographing Holly Blues mainly because I was missing the bucket loads of open wing shots and most notably a decent open winged male shot from my collection like what he’s got. This year I visited Martin Down at the Sillen’s Lane end in the first week of June and managed to turn up early in the morning so I was on site at a little after 9am and I hit the motherlode! Along the narrow path bordered on either side by tall hedges there were Holly Blues all over the place – and all of them were down low enough to see and photograph and all were sitting wings spread! This one made it to the Fave list as it was the best of the bunch and nicely filled a gap on my list.
Have a goodun

Wurzel

Holly Blues have been frequent garden visitors the last couple of years, but are often reluctant photographic subjects. This one posed nicely, however.