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Week 12 - The final week of 2014

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

I'll kick off with a young couple enjoying each other's company on 31st March:



She let him know he was welcome to sit there but he shouldn't try and get too friendly:



Guy

Always a difficult choice as every year I take lots of photos of this lovely little butterfly. Here are a few, all from my local patch near Heathrow which hosts good numbers most years. In 2014, I saw them from the end of March until the end of May. Dave

My photo's were taken at Hall-Lee-Brook near where I live on the 27th / 29th April and the 3rd of May, I had a great time I was there nearly every day Roll on Spring Goldie

Lovely photos Guy and Goldie,
Just to change a bit, in my photos they are not flying.
The Orange Tip flight period in the Marseilles area starts end of March and lasts for 8 weeks, and this year this species was on time compared with 2013, and was not disrupted by the previous mild winter.
Here are some OT eggs on Arabis hirsuta (Hairy Rockcress) and a Caterpillar on the same plant about 3 weeks later.
Chris

This specimen was seen during a highly enjoyable morning observing Chequered Skippers at Glasdrum Wood, Argyll, on 27th May:

Ah yes, the one species that more than any other encapsulates the essence of Spring

There were good numbers around all my usual local spots last spring...
...and regular visitors to my garden which is where I took most of my photos of this species. One patch of Forget-me-nots would often tempt the wandering males to linger a while, particularly later in the afternoon when they would stop more often to re-fuel,
Looking forward to the coming spring and the re-appearance of this most beautiful species,

Neil.

The first Orange Tip of spring is always a favourite moment! It is, however, one thing to see one and another altogether to find one that will sit still for a photo. On this occasion, I was fortunate that the butterflies were temporarily 'grounded' whenever a cloud obscured the sun for a while.
Mike

Orange-tip – Kingston Lacey 21-04

This was my favourite of 2014 as it was one of the four times I’d managed to photograph a male and was the closest I got to one all spring. The warmer spring weather seemed to keep the OT’s bombing along almost incessantly. So most of my OT sightings were of the ‘there’s one, there it goes’ variety. I think I was spoilt a few years back when the cool and wet spring dampened their verve for their usual high speed patrolling. I suppose the way to get plenty of shots is to find a regular roost although I haven’t achieved that yet. So in the meantime until I do shots like this will probably remain contenders for faves. Have a goodun

Wurzel

A happy day by the River Mole Flood Relief Channel 4th May 2014. I grew up fishing along this stretch of river (Chub mainly).
For me this was a near perfect moment captured as best as I could. I know photographically this picture is not superb but I think taking pictures of butterflies in flight can give an image a very unique quality that can be hard to reproduce again in a similar way (At least I got one Orange Tip with it's wings open)

Although I've posted this before, my favourite photo of the Orange-tip (possibly my favourite butterfly photo of the year) has to be this male desperately trying to court a female when he should've been getting his head down for the evening. Taken along the Basingstoke Canal towpath only 200 yards from home, I was lucky the encounter coincided with a lull in the cyclists tearing by and spoiling the fun

Quite appropriate that this image should be your favourite of the year, Phil. Stunning!

Lots of amazing pics of my favourite native, I'm ashamed to say I don't have any recent pics. Particularly like the courting pairs by Padfield & Philzoid.