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Overall Favourite Butterfly Photo of 2023

Week 20
The grand finale! The Overall Favourite Butterfly Photo of 2023 is here! I hope you enjoyed looking back as you made your selections and now farewell ‘til next year as it’s time to look forward to the new season. I hope, for everyone, that the selections for next year are problematic as we’re all be seeing so many cracking butterflies!

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

Overall Favourite Photo 2023

Well there were more than several choices for this category and in the end I couldn’t whittle it down to a single one so I’ll break my own rules and plump for two…

The first is from Compton Down (one of my new favourite sites) from the end of May. I just loved the pose that the Glannie was taking, almost sitting side saddle on the rock and so clearly showing off the wonderful under wing patterns as well as the delicate fringe of hair along the dorsum. Best of all there wasn’t a blade of grass or errant pebble getting in the way of the shot.
The second came from my family holiday to Corfu back in April 2023. I chose it for several reasons. The first is that it shows the underwing really nicely, held up high away from the body and with the light reflecting off, rather than through it. Secondly it laying eggs so provides behavioural interest and finally it’s off a cracking species; one which I could have seen a lot more of but still have wanted more.
Have a goodun

Wurzel

This is always a tough decision, but for me it has to be this male False Ringlet from near Bordeaux, back in June 2023. It just sums up a superb 4 day trip into the unknown, with the best possible results and great memories of close-up encounters with one of Europe's finest rarities, long sought after...

I do love a Sooty Copper. This one was photographed in a Nature reserve near Geneva on August 1st last year.

I started the Holly Blue season deeply unenthusiastic about trying to photograph them. I’d searched for them fruitlessly before, but this year they exploded all over Edinburgh. However, I wasn’t experienced at spotting them in the trees or working out where they’d descend. But this year, there were a lot of short rainy spells that I think washed the honeydew off the leaves and forced them to come down to the wildflowers, so they were easy to spot flitting about in the trees and I also got lots of floral photos.

This one is my favourite, though, because purple bird splat is just plain amusing, and because it was fascinating to watch this male keep on returning to this patch to take minerals. He was hanging about at Little France Park in Edinburgh on a sunny afternoon on 4 August.

Spanish Argus for me in a beautiful location , on a perfect warm morning, and on its food plant. A delightful , rare , and delicate species

Red admiral for me. Basking on a warm October afternoon at Logie Steading walled garden near Forres.

Bert.

The hedgerow surrounding my garden contains Elm suckers, mature Elms long gone. Every summer I hope to see White-letter Hairstreak and this year my patience was rewarded with a very tatty individual feeding on Ragwort. Not the best of photographs or butterflies but my favourite of 2023. Final garden list now 28, I moved house in October!

This one stands out for me because of the contrast in colours. It was taken on one of the transect routes at Gatwick Airport in July, where the species had a very good season.
Vince

I took quite a few photos in both the UK and Europe in 2023 including such goodies as Two-tailed Pasha, Nettle-tree Butterfly, Monarch, Canary Blue and Canary Brimstone but my absolute favourite is the Geranium Bronze below. Taken in La Orotava in Tenerife.

petesmith wrote: ↑Sun Feb 25, 2024 8:07 pmThis is always a tough decision, but for me it has to be this male False Ringlet from near Bordeaux, back in June 2023. It just sums up a superb 4 day trip into the unknown, with the best possible results and great memories of close-up encounters with one of Europe's finest rarities, long sought after..

That really is one for the ages, Pete.

Ticks all the boxes.

David M wrote: ↑Tue Feb 27, 2024 9:31 pm

petesmith wrote: ↑Sun Feb 25, 2024 8:07 pmThis is always a tough decision, but for me it has to be this male False Ringlet from near Bordeaux, back in June 2023. It just sums up a superb 4 day trip into the unknown, with the best possible results and great memories of close-up encounters with one of Europe's finest rarities, long sought after..

That really is one for the ages, Pete.

Ticks all the boxes.

Thanks David - I couldn't have wished for a fresher specimen or a better pose - a truly unforgettable moment!

In the end my choice of overall favourite butterfly photo of 2023 came down to two images. The first, of an incoming Silver-washed Fritillary, showing its underside, joining a nectaring one showing its upperside, I added to the specimen photos. The overall winner is this image of a Brimstone nectaring within brambles. I chose it not just for ascetical reasons, it is a wonderful looking specimen in its own right, but also for ecological reasons. For me, it shows perfectly one of the Brimstone's techniques of avoiding predation. Both the leaves of the bramble and wings of the Brimstone are backlit by the sun showing the same hue. There is even a similar marking on one of the leaves to the right. The surrounding leaves hide the Brimstone within the foliage, so perfectly blended are fauna and flora.
all my photos are taken using iPhone 11 Plus

Some lovely choices so far. More of a favourite butterfly highlight than a great photo but I’m going to add Hewitson’s ringlet from a summer trip to the Kackar in NE Turkey. I’ve seen this species in previous years but this fresh female was so beautiful and under fairly gloomy conditions she posed so nicely that on her own she made a fairly arduous hike well worth all the effort. I had no opportunity to attempt any Padfield style photography so I’ll add some separate habitat shots and you’ll have to combine them in your mind - it’s a special place.

Benjamin wrote: ↑Wed Feb 28, 2024 10:27 am IMG_6438.jpeg

Some lovely choices so far. More of a favourite butterfly highlight than a great photo but I’m going to add Hewitson’s ringlet from a summer trip to the Kackar in NE Turkey. I’ve seen this species in previous years but this fresh female was so beautiful and under fairly gloomy conditions she posed so nicely that on her own she made a fairly arduous hike well worth all the effort. I had no opportunity to attempt any Padfield style photography so I’ll add some separate habitat shots and you’ll have to combine them in your mind - it’s a special place.

IMG_0816.jpeg

IMG_0807-compressed.jpeg

That’s fabulous, Benjamin

Some excellent (and interesting !) shots in this thread ..............must confess ,haven,t heard of a couple of them !
And sorry folks ,but try as i may I couldn,t pick from two for my favourite shot ...............so i,ve posted them both ! .
One from Dungeness on a garden escape beside the lighthouse garden ,and the other ,beside the monument at St.Margarets bay.
Allan.W.

Benjamin wrote: ↑Wed Feb 28, 2024 10:27 am...I’m going to add Hewitson’s ringlet from a summer trip to the Kackar in NE Turkey...

Martin P showed me some images of this at the recent EBG meeting. A fabulous insect...like a De Prunner's on steroids!

Indeed it is David! I’m not surprised to hear Martin was enthusing - he was great company throughout the trip.

Seen so many different butterfly species this last year that it's hard to pick a favourite.

However, I've chosen this Blue Argus from north Greece in June, principally because it's rare, it's precious, and for once I managed to get the right distance from the butterfly whilst it posed very nicely:

David M wrote: ↑Thu Feb 29, 2024 9:42 pm Seen so many different butterfly species this year that it's hard to pick a favourite.

However, I've chosen this Blue Argus from north Greece in June, principally because it's rare, it's precious, and for once I managed to get the right distance from the butterfly whilst it posed very nicely:

2.BlueArgups(1).jpg

Lovely shot David of a real beauty and, as you say, a very precious species!