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Week 11 - Christmas Week!

So continues sequence of posts giving one and all the opportunity to showcase their favourite shots of 2014 (or the last time you saw one)!

Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As like last year 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

One or two from me of this nearly ubiquitous butterfly. Firstly a nice male from Box Hill on 11th June when the first Marbled Whites and DGF were stealing the show. The second is a female from Denbies on 21st July showing a second white pupil in the forewing spot - not that unusual I believe. Finally, an open-wing shot from 5th July: a cloudy drizzly day at Ryton Country Park. This one has a bit of the bleached effect on the hindwings that can sometimes be much more dramatic than this one! Dave

My first Meadow Brown sighting this year was on May 7th. Here is one from the South of France, also with a second pupil, barely discernable. Chris

My favourite photo of a Meadow Brown was taken in Bently Woods Hampshire on the 6th of July, I was looking for the PE when I saw it and couldn't believe just how perfect it looked Goldie

It seems a common fate of the Meadow Brown to be photographed while waiting for something 'better' to turn up! In my own case, I confess that this was taken while I was looking for Silver-spotted Skippers at Aston Rowant NNR. Even so, they can be very handsome when the colour is strong:
Mike

Although I have taken a number of decent female Meadow Brown photos over the past few years, I don't have many open wing shots of males. With this in mind I was on the lookout this year for any opportunity to take photos of males and managed a few that I quite like.

First a couple taken at two local spots on the same day in June,
and an underside from the same day,
As usual,I continued to see Meadow Browns all through the season with fresh examples seen at most places that I went to right up until early September when there were loads on the grassy slopes of the downs around Durdle Door in Dorset which is where the male below was seen. This example has a small double eye-spot on the upper front wings, not that unusual on the underside but I have not seen many with the double showing on the upperside before.
Cheers,

Neil.

Nice shots of fresh specimens, Neil, which show the scent scales very clearly.

Meadow Brown Godshill 20-07

This was taken on my excellent Grayling visit to Godshill. It’s my favourite as the underside colouration made it look more like a Meadow Blonde than a brunette. Over the course of this year I really started to notice the subtle variation that Meadow Browns exhibit so definitely a species for further study next year. That is if I can tear myself away from the Hedge Browns! Wurzel

As is usual, I paid lip service to Meadow Browns in 2014. That said, as is ever the case, I take note whenever I spot a female with a touch of orange on the hindwing ups: