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Duke of Burgundy - Favourite Photo of 2016

Week 5

Week five time 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

A species that was in the minority in 2016 as far as I can tell, numbers seemed to vary from pretty normal to above average judging by reports and comparing what I saw from last year in the Chiltons. This particular female was my seasons debutant, a freshly emerged female I discovered taking her maiden flight on a not particularly good day weather wise if memory serves, and I managed plenty of shots of her on the foodplant, always a bonus in my little OCD world

Every year, I enjoy a day in Denge Woods, Kent to connect with this delightful butterfly.

I took my photo of the Duke at Gait Barrow on the 22nd of May, it's what I've done for the last few years but this year was the worst year yet for them at GB with no more than a few being seen, I'm not sure of the cause for this as other species at GB are also fewer than they used to be, the weather may be a huge factor in this because of the wet Springs we've had over the last few years, hope fully things will improve if we get a cold Winter and a dry Spring next year.
My photos are of a very distant Duke because of the barriers placed around the Duke site, Goldie

Hi All,
Joy oh joy, the Duke of Burgundy was a lifer for me in 2016.
Although I live in the South of France, I do not have all species of butterfly landing at my feet all the time.
Thanks to a pointer from Roger, I was blessed with my first sighting of DoB in the month of May. I did have to drive 3 hours inland and upland from Marseilles to see this beauty. Thank you Roger.
Cheers, Chris

A visit to Rodborough Common on 8th May provided surprisingly few DoBs. Clearly, the cool spring had retarded their emergence somewhat.

However, what I missed in quantity was replaced by quality, with this pair observed in 'cop' for a good few minutes:

Photo from Heyshott - I like the way the vegetation frames it.

Some corkers on here already - congrats to all.

I've worked out (it's cheating I know) that it's easier for me to have a week's holiday in France than it is to go on countless 200-300 mile round-trips to see some of the UKs rarer butterflies actually in the U.K.

So here's a couple of Dukes snapped in Dordogne in late May.

Here is a cracker from Butser Hill in May - the Dukes had a pretty good year in Hampshire
Kind Regards
Mark

celery wrote:I've worked out (it's cheating I know) that it's easier for me to have a week's holiday in France than it is to go on countless 200-300 mile round-trips to see some of the UKs rarer butterflies actually in the U.K.

LOL!

Absolutely right, Celery, but there are some species that are possibly a bit trickier in France than in the UK (Large Heath for example). Still, as you say, there are times when you can see several British rarities en masse in a way that would be impossible here.

Only managed to find three,Dukes this season,i volunteered to help monitor a few of the smaller lesser, colonies( in Kent) and try to perhaps find a new one or two, but although I managed a few visits,to a few sites ,I only managed this male from the well recorded Denge wood (Kent),on the 1st May, and a worn female on a section of Wye NNR.,plus a very flighty male, who was constantly scrapping with the Dingy Skips,and wouldn,t allow close approach,one of the other small sites I visited normally turns up small numbers in most seasons,but never turned one up for me,although others were luckier here, hoping for a better Duke season in 17'

Probably the best remembered Duke moment of the year was seeing a mating pair for the first time at Noar Hill in late April. Before an audience of at least half a dozen, a male and female being separately observed became aware of each other and with virtually no preliminary activity at all settled down to mate. I also liked these two images taken on the same day in May, one at Totternhoe and one near Ivinghoe Beacon. Dave

Duke of Burgundy
With only two individuals seen on two separate visits to my Duke site this year my choice of Favourite shot was pretty easy this year. It was made even easier as for the last couple of years I’ve been trying for a closed wing shot of a Duke when it’s in really fine fettle and when its wings are really tightly closed. Hence this shot which ticked both boxes.
Have a goodun

Wurzel