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A cry for help please!

Due to work and bad weather I seem to have missed the peak flight season for Glanvilles this year, and the forecast for this weekend doesn't look great so my next window is now probably 10days away or more

Can anyone tell me the current status of GFs on the Isle of Wight please - what sort of numbers are still on the wing? Have I blown my chances or has the recent rain effectively delayed the season

And what are the chances of a second emergence in August - I read that this occurs when there has been a good, warm Spring - can any of the experts online suggest whether I have a better chance waiting until the Autumn flight when I could perhaps combine a trip to the south coast with a Lulworth Skipper catch-up

Thanks everyone!

Jonno

Hi jonno,

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I would wait until next year now. By the time you get to the IOW the Glanvilles will have long gone. Planning ahead - the best time (averaged for most years) to see Glanville Fritillary on the IOW is late May to early June, and for Lulworth Skipper (around Lulworth Cove) early June to early July (note that books are out-of-date for LS flight period). The perfect time to catch both species, with some good specimens of each, would be about end first week June.

Neil

At least you made the right decision not to go this weekend:

Isle of Wight Festival: Floods cause travel chaos (BBC News)

Neil

Thank you. Thanks for confirming my fears.

So much to see, so little time to squeeze it all in. Note to self: need to create a week by week planner for target species / locations next year.

On that point, has anyone here done a Big Year List and created a 'Where to go' schedule? I would love to see a detailed year-plan (and I don't mean just the standard flight period charts...). Is anyone willing to share their planning notes with me by PM??

Best wishes

Jonno

Hi jonno,

Have a look at the Appendix in Patrick Barkham's excellent book 'The Butterfly Isles'. This gives the location and date where he found the first of each of the 60 species he saw in the summer of 2009. A feat not to be attempted in a summer as dire as this one!

Neil