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Silver-spotted Skipper - Favourite Photo of 2015

Week 15

Sorry I'm a little bit late posting this week - the joys of Ikea and bed building that followed from it Anyway on with the Favourite Photo thread!

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

Thanks Wurzel,
These photos were taken on the mountain of Sainte Baume, South of France, in 2015. A nice souvenir of the summer months. Cheers, Chris

The one on the right (which I presume is the male given its greater wear) is very sparsely spotted, Chris. Is that a feature of this species in your part of the world?

It is always quite easy to sort though my photos of Silver-spotted Skippers as I only see them once a year at most and that is when I take a run down the M40 to Aston Rowant especially to see them. For the past couple of year I have been visiting both sides of this reserve and this year especially there seemed to be even more on the south side than there were on the north.

As usual I took quite a few photos but getting nicely posed ones can be a bit of a challenge. A couple of favourites from each side of the reserve below;
Cheers,

Neil

David M wrote:The one on the right (which I presume is the male given its greater wear) is very sparsely spotted, Chris. Is that a feature of this species in your part of the world?

As for the intensity of the markings, David, 2015 was my first encounter with Silver-spotted Skipper, so I'm not really in a position to comment. Perhaps this aspect will become clearer in 2016.
My new SSS site is not on my 'home or work' doorstep, which is why I have never seen them before. If I move 40 km inland and up to 650 m altitude, the change in the variety of species is amazing. I can simply double the number of species I can otherwise see on the coastal lowlands. I suppose the industry and pollution around the Etang de Berre does not help the diversity of species in central (lowland) Bouches du Rhone.
Chris

I was very pleased to find Silver-spotted Skippers on a very cool, blustery day at Bald Hill - the South-Western end of the Aston Rowant reserve.
Mike

I enjoyed these handsome little things at several of places last year, always fun to observe and a challange to get close to when the sun is shining

an old boy on Malling Down a young lady on Box Hill and a pair in 'courtship'. I say courtship but this is all they did, the male sat motionless a couple of cm's behind the female

I saw most of my Silver-spotted Skippers on Aston Rowant this year as usual. There is about a two-month window between mid-July and mid-September which gives plenty of opportunity for quick sprints up the M40 (if such things are possible... ). The best outing was on 7th August.
One unusual view was of a male with wings flat against the ground instead of in the normal angled skipper pose.
I think this could be the same one nectaring on a scabious: if so, he gradually adopted a more typical stance Dave

That's a really interesting shot there Dave - I've not seen that posture before in a Skipper

Silver-spotted Skipper

This year I finally worked out how to get to Broughton Down and man was I glad that I did and gutted that I hadn’t sooner! It’s closer to home than Stockbridge, close to Mottisfont so I can bribe the girls with a visit/play there after, the Skippers are easier to find as it’s a smaller site and I don’t have to go anywhere near ‘Snooty Town’ .

I made a number of trips there this year and so choosing a single Fave was extremely difficult. In the end chose this one as it formed part of my new ‘collection’. Over successive years I’ve built up collections of Stained Glass shots, ‘on poo’, and in cop. This year I started seriously working on ‘close ups’ hence this was my fave. Have a goodun

Wurzel