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Common Blue - Favourite Photo of 2016

Week 4 - Normal service has resumed...

Week four and another opportunity to showcase your favourite shots of 2016! Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos - just to make it easier to organise and keep everything on track so that we can enjoy this throughout the winter months? 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 butterfly had a poor year in this part of Somerset, and I only seem to have photographed it once - a female that wandered into our garden and was nectaring from another species' foodplant.

I took quite a few photos of this species during 2016 and have spent some time going back and forth, trying to decide which to choose as 'favourite'

I saw several very 'blue' females, achieved a long-standing aim of photographing Common and Adonis Blues together, in the same shot, and photographed several pristine males.

I settled on this shot because it brings out the bright, crisp markings and the fine hairs surrounding the body also show well. I felt it wasn't just a 'run of the mill' portrait.
Mike

Hi Folks,
Mike has given me the idea of dragging out these photos again from this year, from the South of France. A Common Blue and an Adonis Blue mud puddling together.
The underside shot particularly reminds us of how useful the chequered fringe of the Adonis is in rapidly distinguishing between the species. Cheers, Chris

I like the shot I took in Kent of the Common Blue, it was the 18th of August at Temple Ewell, I took lots of shots there hoping one of them was an Adonis Goldie

Like many others, I found this species did seem to be pretty scarce this year. Although there did seem to be a bit of a recovery later in the season it's a bit of a worry when I have to hop on a train and go on one of my treks just to catch sight of them! Anyway, Down on the south coast I found this male posing on some Tufted Vetch and though the Blue on blue looked rather eye-catching

Common Blues had a poor year generally, and my local patch was no exception, even though they seemed to have fitted in a third brood right at the end. Very hard to pick out favourites, but here are a few. Firstly is the ab flavescens individual from 14th June: a colour variation I have seen before here. Next are a pair of contrasting females - a traditional brown one (9th August) and a lovely blue one (28th May). Finally, a nice fresh male (26th May) and a mating pair (6th August). Dave

I guess this has to be my favourite, taken on 4th August at my hermit site in the Jura.



Guy

Common Blues were seemingly badly affected by the unusual weather here in Notts. First brood arrived late and disappeared early, second brood was more plentiful - but again arrived rather later than would normally be expected.

I saw fewer Common Blues in my garden this year than usual. The first photograph is of a female, that I saw in late August that may give rise to better numbers in 2017.
However, at a nearby site in early August they were quite numerous. This settled male did not relinquish his perch despite repeated attempts by his rival to dislodge him. Every time he was approached he opened his wings giving a flash of blue.

In a season when numbers of a number of species appeared to be well down around my local patch, Common Blues seemed to be holding their own with reasonable numbers about in both broods.

The first ones I saw were on a run down to Bishops Hill on a showery day in May...
...and It was another week before they showed up at my local spots around Solihull.
Cheers,

Neil.

Another indifferent year for this species on my patch, although not quite as bad as 2012 when I feared they might be obliterated.

My favourite in terms of attractiveness was this female spotted at the Ayres nature reserve on the Isle of Man on 5th August:
This male looked pristine a week earlier at Whiteford Burrows on the Gower peninsula:

I had a good season,with the Common Blues,and found them at many Kentish sites, in recent years I have been finding a lot more "blue" (ish) females
and fewer Brown individuals, was particularly pleased with these two. They were both taken at Dengemarsh gulley,near Dungeness,and on at least a couple of occasions,I had a hundred plus counts,along with the numerous Small Coppers at Dungeness,it is also an exceptional area for Small Heath and Grizzled Skipper.
Regards Allan.W.

Common Blue

After a slow start I had a reasonable year for Common Blues this year. This one was taken at The Devenish and is my favourite as it had an interesting (discoidal?) spot on the fore wing, it looked a little like the marking shown by a Clouded Yellow on the hind wing, with one smaller spot in front of another larger one. At the time I hadn’t seen a Cloudy for my yearly tally and so I was tempted to count this towards it as half mark .
Have a goodun

Wurzel

Far too many good encounters with Common Blue to pick one out specifically in 2016. I shall plump for this one, a rain soaked individual that had found shelter from an industrial downpour on the Lamberton coastal path in south east Scotland. Unfortunately I had no such cover and sat absorbing moisture like a sponge for a half hour taking the odd snap when the rain lightened up a little. The Butterfly stayed still beautifully, though it had little choice. As the showers passed and the sun regained its superiority the Common Blue shook of the rain drops and warmed up as I scrambled around for anything dry in my rucksack. As the Butterfly flew off, I called a halt to my day...

Iain.

Not from this year, but whilst looking through my Common Blue photos I turned up this one from Draycott Sleights in 2009, which has a mildly aberrant underwing pattern and has acquired three hitch-hikers.