www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

My first butterfly of the year today, a Red Admiral basking in glorious sunshine at a disused railway line at Pwll, Llanelli.

In almost the same place, within a few feet, a Comma was basking on dead bracken today. Nearby an embankment covered with thick ivy may be their roosting place.

Today I saw a Red Admiral in flight at Pembrey Country Park, but no sign of Comma or Red Admiral at Ffordd y Wagen despite the higher temperature.

I must say it is really nice having one's very own thread

Visited Usk Reservoir today. It straddles the Carmarthen/ Breconshire border at just over 1000ft elevation. Was quite surprised to see a Red Admiral belting along the track towards me, especially as there was still frost on the approach road! I also " pished " out a Great Grey Shrike from an area of clearfell to the highest barest tree in the area. This leads me to the question of luring butterflies. Birds are easy, pishing is a repeated shh.. sound that arouses the bird's curiosity and it needs to find out what is making the strange sound. You can be in an area supposedly devoid of birds, when two minutes "pishing" will have you totally surrounded by scolding birds! Tape lures of bird calls also work well with some species, though some consider this unethical. As a beginner I would like to know how to lure butterflies, apart fom banana skins, dog poo, or a bucketfull of nectar, any suggestions?

Back at Ffordd y Wagen today, a Comma and 2, maybe 3 Small Tortoiseshells. Bird of the day - a male Goshawk.

Sorry to interrupt your soliloquy.
Butterflies use sight and scent to find nectar sources. Pishing won't work, unfortunately. You usually have to go where the butterflies are rather than get them to come to you, their location depending on the larval food plants as well as potential nectaring sources. Buddleia is an old favourite nectaring source that you can plant in your garden to attract masses of late summer butterflies.