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Grayling - Favourite Photo of 2017


Week 6 - Looks like Autumn has gone and it's starting to feel proper cold...so relive the warmth of the spring/summer while you select your Favourite photos.

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

First of all is a mating couple I found at Chobham Common on 16th August.I also remember my attempts to capture the upperside in flight - if only this was seen more often, as the females especially are very attractively marked (and some of them are pretty big as well): this was at Dawney's Hill a few days later. Dave

After searching for the Grayling at Gait Barrows and in the Sand Dunes at Southport where I'd seen them before in early July and finding nothing I was pleased to find them when I visited Arnside Knot on the 5th of August, with going to Kent mid July I thought I'd missed them.
I'd put the fact I'd not seen them in early July down to the awful weather we'd had because I'd never seen the Dunes look so barren
then but now, looking back, I don't know of any one having reported seeing them at GB either in early July Goldie

Here are two Graylings from the south of France. The first from late September and the second from early October. The hind wing underside markings are quite contrasted.
Probably male: Probably female: Chris

I wasn't even going to try and single out one image for these, I had such a good year with these guys. One of several highlights of my year was watching and photographing egg laying in process, surprisingly easy for such a normally tetchy butterfly. Next year I plan to try and get a fully in focus profile shot of the act...

Other visits to Chobham Common gave me lots of reasonably well behaved individuals and plenty of well posed insects And finally, I noticed that the newly emerged ones had a very attractive oily sheen, showing as reds, orange and green from various angles, all very difficult to capture with my camera but this 'blue' Grayling was the pic of that bunch.

Grayling

This was taken at Godshill on one of ‘those’ summer days that we had; when it was cool and drizzling despite it being August. It’s my favourite for several reasons. First because I only spent one day with Grayling this year so this serves as a reminder to me that I need to spend more time with them next year. Second the butterfly was out despite the rain which cheered me no end and finally it’s one of the most contrasting Grayling that I’ve ever seen with a pure white stripe against an almost jet black back ground, cracking.
Have a goodun

Wurzel

I saw Graylings in three different areas during my travels in 2017, never in great numbers but scattered about in ones and twos.

The first ones were at Arnside Knott when I was up there for a few days at the beginning of August.
Later in August I was down in Cornwall for a family holiday on The Lizard where I saw a few along the coast paths around Kynance Cove and Kennack Sands.
Then in early September a few days down at Lulworth Cove produced a few on the grassy slopes at Durdle Door.
Cheers,

Neil.

I only had one shot at Graylings in 2017, on the Isle of Man of all places on 5th August: