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Silver-washed Fritillary - Favourite Photo of 2019

Week 15

So here we are deep into January and the start of the season tantalisingly close – so now is the time to start brushing up on your ID skills ready for the new season. What better way to do this by finishing off your selecting for the final few Faves posts?

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

I had several good moments with this species in 2019. A mating valezina was one of my favourite butterfly encounters of the year.


http://eastsussexwanderer.blogspot.co.uk

Here is courting pair from the south of France on the 24th of July. Chris

downland boy wrote: ↑Sun Jan 19, 2020 11:50 pm...A mating valezina was one of my favourite butterfly encounters of the year.

Great shot, DB. You seem to excel at pulling rabbits from the hat.

Two Photos of two seperate abs taken minutes apart

Hi David, no trick rabbits...just the usual right place and right time.

bugboy wrote: ↑Mon Jan 20, 2020 10:37 pmTwo Photos of two seperate abs taken minutes apart

Definitely right place, right time there, BB.

Saw loads of these on the continent in 2019 but precious few in the UK.

By the time I can devote a little acknowledgement to them, they're faded and on the wane, such as this female in Pembrokeshire on 15 August:

A splendid pair of abs there, Buggy - must have been on one of they days I didn't bump into you down at Bookham...

The SWF I remember best from 2019 was down at Chiddingfold at the tail end of June, just before the Purple Emperors appeared. I found a nearly new male repeatedly covering the same ground over a patch of bracken, swooping majestically in wide circles. As I stood in one spot, it became less and less wary and began to settle ever closer.I also like this juxtaposition of male and female seen immediately after the Emperors had finished at Chiddingfold, in mid-July. Dave

I saw my first Silver-washed Fritillaries of 2019 during our few days in the Heddon Valley in late June when I saw a few fresh males although these mostly stayed out of reach of my camera.
A visit to Oversley Wood a couple of weeks later produced good numbers including the nice male below,
Cheers,

Neil.

Silver-washed Fritillary

I have several “collections” of butterfly shots (in cop, stained glass, on Orchids, on poo etc.) but I must confess to a slightly ‘stringy’ shot in my ‘In the hand’ collection. It was of this species but it was actually sitting on my daughters’ hat and not actually on a hand let alone my hand. Well luckily this year I managed to rectify this with a cracking female from Bentley Wood. She was sitting, desperately trying to soak up what little sun was filtered through the cloud (the Beeb reported glorious sunshine! ) so when I offered her my finger she eagerly clambered aboard to benefit from the warmth of my fingers. Hence her presence here as my Fave.
Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman wrote: ↑Fri Jan 24, 2020 7:42 pm...A visit to Oversley Wood a couple of weeks later produced good numbers including the nice male below..

What a cracking specimen that is, Neil. Those dark markings around the sex brands are quite striking.