www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Now that we are approaching the end of the season, it might be a good time to look back at the highlights (and regrets!) of the butterfly year. Personally, I shall remember ...
1. A holiday in Hungary where I saw and photographed butterflies that I had previously only dreamed of!! Can't wait to go back!
2. My annual encounter with the magnificent purple emperors of Fermyn Woods. This is my favourite British butterfly and never fails to impress me.
3. Seing Silver Washed Fritillaries at new sites in my home county - how these have spread this year!
4. ...and, of course, finding and joining this site and being able to share in the joy and excitement of everyone else's butterflies. Thanks to you all and particular thanks to Pete!
My regrets? Not being able to connect with a UK Camberwell Beauty despite my best efforts. We saw them on holiday but it would have been special to see one nearer home!
What were your highlights - and regrets?
Alex.

Finding new sites for locally scarce/under-recorded butterflies - mostly Silver-washed Fritillary, too, but also Purple Hairstreak, Small Heath and Dingy Skipper.

Clouded Yellows being commonplace has also been enjoyable!

Discovering Hazelbury Common and photographing my first adonis blue during that first visit. I've revisited several times since and it's a very special place. Regretably, during August some visitors were careless as food and nectaring plants have been crashed through without due regard for the damage caused.
Another superb site was Somerford Common. The discovery of that single ride through the centre in July with so many species at once was amazing.
And Walton Common, although a little disappointed in not bagging a dark green fritillary there, I found the wildflower meadow itself was breathtaking.
Regrets? Missing out on Marsh Fritillaries. Apart from a brief glimpse of a purple hairstreak several years ago, I still haven't seen a hairstreak of any sort. But there's next year and I know where these places are now.

Going back to the point about damage, please everyone, take care when chasing butterflies for photos. When a butterfly settles, look around for the best way to approach it. This is doubly useful as the less stuff you crash into the less likely that you will disturb it. Try to use established tracks made by others or by animals. Sometimes you may have to tramp through vegetation to get to a butterfly so watch where you put your feet, and when you get your shot retrace your steps back out so that there's only one track. On clearer areas look out for and avoid trampling on vetches as these are food plants for blues. Also look out for other plants such as orchids. Butterfly larvae don't eat them but they are beautiful anyway and often rare.

Personal highlights for me were:
1. A Swallowtail that spent a couple of minutes drinking nectar from flowers right alongside the boardwalk at Hickling Nature Reserve, giving the opportunity to reel off a few photos. It was a slightly tatty specimen, but who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?
2. Photographing all three large fritillaries in a day during a trip to Gait Barrows. Biggest surprise was the Silver-Washed - I didn't realize the species existed up there and thought I was photographing a High Brown until I posted the shot on the website!
3. Clocking two new species at Chambers Farm Wood - Purple Hairstreak and White Admiral. Unfortunately the White Admiral did not hang around long enough for a photo.
4. Finding and photographing an unusual aberration of the Small Copper on a patch of grassland just half a mile from home.
Thanks to Pete for creating the website, which has enabled us all to locate rare species at the click of a mouse. Next year I plan to photograph Purple Emperor, White Admiral, Marsh Fritillary, Duke of Burgundy, Large Heath and Green Hairstreak, among others. I don't ask for much!

Thanks for all the kind comments folks!

My highlights:

1. Seeing Chequered Skipper at Glasdrum Wood. This was the last UK species I'd yet to see, aside from Real's Wood White.

2. Seeing the vast majority of UK species in a year. I failed on Mountain Ringlet (due to a lorry fire on the M6) and Real's Wood White (because I didn't get to Ireland!). I photographed them all too - except for White-letter Hairstreak. But it does show that photographing all species in a year is possible!

3. Visiting Hungary. Awesome place! And managing to see many of the rare visitors to the UK, such as Pale Clouded Yellow and Short-tailed Blue. High Brown Fritillary on the Buddleia in the garden was pretty awesome!

4. Seeing these forums, and the website in general, come to life. Thanks to all of you contributors out there!

5. Seeing that several species are expanding their range.

Regrets: I have a few. But then again, too few to mention

Cheers,

- Pete

My highlights? Apart from re-kindling my love of butterflies...

1) Finding ukbutterflies.co.uk (and Pete )

2) Getting Lafranches ID book in the post

3) Photographing the smallest butterflies I've ever seen...African Grass Blue.



Martin.

Nice one Martin. How big is it?

eccles wrote:Nice one Martin. How big is it?

There is quite a bit of variation but they average between a 1p and a 5p piece...the smallest being the size of my little finger nail!

Martin.