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Large Heath - Favourite Photo of 2017

Week 9 - Advent is upon us so while you're musing over what butterfly related gifts to ask for from Father Christmas at the same time you can come up with your 'Favourites' for this weeks selection

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

Another memorable day (although not necessarily all for the right reasons) at the end of June saw me catching up with another lifer at Whixhall Moss on the Welsh Borders, with the first one I saw being this attractively marked individual

We went to Foulshaw Moss on the 17th June to look at the Osprey, I thought we were too early for the Large Heath but I was really pleased to finally see them after last year when they were all in hiding because of the awful weather , I did get some aerial shots last year but nothing out standing.
It was one of the hottest days of the year and the LH were taking advantage of the heat, when one landed pretty close to us doing a few acrobatics on a flower I managed a couple of still shots before it was off again
One shot I've included, I like because it shows some nice colour which I didn't think they had Goldie

Early start to get to Crowle Moor before the Large Heath get over active. 19.06.17 late in the season.

Tricky species is this. I aim to find and observe it every year but in 2017 I had only one opportunity, and that was on a steaming hot day (28c) on 21st June at Cors Caron in mid Wales.

I saw quite a few, but I only came away with a handful of images given this species' propensity to fly incessantly (even the females):