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Orange-tip - Favourite Photo of 2015

Week 12

I hope everyone had a great Christmas/seasonal holiday of their choice! Here continues sequence of posts giving one and all the opportunity to showcase their favourite shots of 2015!

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

This species was the commonest amongst the 40 or so I saw in the south east of France in mid-April. I was paying much more attention to their Provence relatives, but still found time to get a few images:

So many species to see in the south of France, David, and all at the same time .

This species died out in May in the area of Marseilles, but it was still flying one month later at 1500 m altitude in the Pyrenees.
I thought this couple was kind of cute: Cheers, Chris

This was one of the first photos that I took of an Orange Tip in 2015 and also my first 'session' with my Olympus E-M5 camera, so a 'favourite' for several reasons:
Mike

Hmmmm favourite Orange-tip picture, thats a difficult one with these delicate little springtime gems. I think they had a below average year, probably due to the rubbish May we had, but my first trip out to specifically find them proved rather fruitful, only a few individuals but I managed to find one early in the day still roosting and a second flying around but not quite warm enough to be continuously patroling.

Here's a female on 6th May in my home village of Huémoz:



Guy

I saw my one and only Female Orange Tip of the year at Gait Barrows on the 30th May , they were a big disappointment this year locally .
My other two photos were taken at Hall-Lee-Brook one on the 26th of April and the other on the 8th of May of the three photos which are all my favourites I like the last best Goldie

Orange-tips didn't seem to have such a good year in 2015 compared to the previous few seasons and didn't seem to last quite as long as usual. I also started seeing females at the same time as males instead of a week or so later as I normally do.

The first ones were seen in mid-April around my usual local spots...
I also had a few passing through the garden and the changeable spring weather meant that they would often stay around during cloudy spells which gave me good opportunities for photos.
Cheers,

Neil.

Your penultimate female is particularly attractive, Neil. She looks beautifully camouflaged on that bloom.

My offering was taken on a local walk where I live. There were plentiful numbers seen, including my first encounter with a mating pair (in fact at one point there was a threesome).
Kind Regards and Happy New Year

Kev

I got just three pics of Orange tip this spring, on the 16th May, all three were of the same specimen, taken on burst mode (6.5 frames per second).

The first one is below, the second pic shows the forewings slightly furled and about to depart, proboscis still extended, the third pic is just the flowerhead: half a second and gone.

This was the year I realised that the Orange-tip probably owes its beautiful scaling to roosting in Cow Parsley. I found 3 or 4 in early evening roosting in this plant in the second half of their flight period. Although the close up is on Garlic Mustard.

Orange-tip

I generally spend much of the early spring being frustrated by Orange-tips. Seeing them patrolling along the hedges and verges is spectacular but their patrolling nature makes them very tricky to photograph. There are certain tricks to enable you to get great shots of this species and I’ve employed any manner of them. This one however was achieved through no strategy and without any planning. It was just the luck of the draw that I was in the right place, at the right time when this male decided to take a brief pause from its usual patrolling. I can’t work put why – the sun was still out clear from the clouds and there wasn’t a nectar source. Perhaps it was just taking a breather or was picking up the scent of a female that had recently passed by? Personally I like to think that he was rewarding me for so making many stop-offs at this site specifically for this shot – a male open winged, still and filling the frame.
Have a goodun

Wurzel

A lovely species and the the true curtain-raiser to the season in my book. I always end up with a disproportionate number of photos of roosting Orange Tips, as there are a number of spots near me where they like to bed down for the night. Afew favourites...

The first one of the year (7th April)... ...and the last (3rd June) A couple of females And finally two undersides, the second one taken with flash Dave