I suspect the latter, Lawts. This poor weather has even held up the emergence of more Orange-tips and Green Hairstreaks, in a stuttering start to their seasons. In Sussex, Pearls and Dukes are stuck in the waiting room. More LTs should be seen when the weather finally warms up again.
BWs, Neil

Hi Chris L. Yes, sadly the child species is more connected with social media than nature, these days. I try my best with my own kids, but it's a pandemic. Glad you've found some ARG folk to hang out with. Yes, Matsukaze, anything similar will eventually kill off the vegetation beneath. If you need t...

Keep in touch, Paul - let's see if a meet-up and lift is possible.
BWs, Neil

Thanks, David. I'm sure I don't need to apologise for the following - four shots taken on the evening of 16 April at Slindon, in those magical few minutes before the sun finally dips below the horizon and the near-horizontal light sends the colours into a frenzy (no fancy filters used). BWs, Neil UK...

Thanks, Trevor. "We hit the jackpot, not only an Adder but a Grass Snake and Slow Worm were there too!". Full house! I hope your grandson enjoyed the day.
Catch up with you soon - PBF might be out this weekend.
BWs, Neil

14 April 2024 On Sunday morning I revisited one of my local chalk hills where I've been monitoring the Adder population with my brother. A dedicated father and son team work the lower slopes of the site; our study areas are quite separate, so we can combine our data. We matched our best 2024 tally ...

13 April 2024 After spending a couple more happy hours watching Orange-tips at Wiston on Saturday morning, I headed to Chantry Hill near Storrington in the hope of seeing my first Green Hairstreak of the year. The wind was blowing in an unfavourable direction (almost the opposite to forecast), but ...

Thanks, David. Spring has officially sprung, but it's in danger of becoming a rusty spring at this rate. I don't recall an October - April period with so little sunshine or so much rain. :( Thanks, Chris. There are two techniques for getting nice open-wing shots of Orange-tip. The least good is to g...

Orange-tips Spring 2024 officially started for me on Saturday 30 March, with my first Orange-tip of the season; at least two males were relentlessly patrolling along the margins of a damp meadow at Wiston. I returned to the site today, with my brother, where we spent several enjoyable hours watchin...

Thanks, Chris. I suspect that Adders are far more localised and much rarer in your part of the world than mine, although it appears that you travel quite widely. You might consider joining your local Amphibian & Reptile group - most will run events for members. Either way, you will have a much b...

Spring Adders During that period when rare spells of warm sunshine bring the Brimstone, Peacock, Comma and tortoiseshells out of hibernation, but the butterflies of true spring such as Orange-tip and Holly Blue are yet to get going, feelings of anticipation can sometimes become overrun by impatienc...

Well done from me too, Allan. What a lovely example. Delighted for you.
BWs, Neil

Thanks, Trevor. Your story reminded me of the old song: Fancy that to swallow a cat! She swallowed the cat to catch the bird, She swallowed the bird to catch the spider, She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die! I recall, zigzag! What a lov...

A Large Tortoiseshell was photographed in private woods near West Chiltington (West Sussex) on 8 March by owners Mike and Jacky. Their image shows a territorial male, which I sadly failed to relocate the following day.
BWs, Neil

Thanks, Mark. While talking glamorous birds, this beautiful male Sparrowhawk visited my back garden a few times in January. The photographs were taken from my office window.
BWs, Neil

Now that's better! I've got some work in the woods to finish off tomorrow, and the weather looks fine, so I'm hoping for similar.
BWs, Neil

Waxwings By mid-January, and with all the fun of Christmas, New Year and Wassail now over, I was getting thoroughly fed-up, as I'm sure many other butterfly enthusiasts and lovers-of-summer were. Following weeks of wet and windy weather, the clear blue skies and strong sunshine on 19 January provid...

Winter 2023/2024 Work Parties - BC Park Corner Heath & Rowland Wood Every spring and summer, large numbers of people visit these reserves in Sussex, to enjoy the lovely butterflies, fantastic reptiles and wonderful flora. However, other than those directly involved, I doubt that most people app...

10 October - 5 November 2023 The 2023 Long-tailed Blue season started to gradually wane over this period, with counts generally being in single figures from sites including Lancing Ring, Seaford and Eastbourne (several seafront locations). My last really fruitful day with this species occurred on 2...

4 - 9 October 2023 This period saw a continuation of the Long-tailed Blue festival on Lancing Ring. On 4 October, I started the day at Pagham beach, where a modest 6 adult males were patrolling over the extensive stands of Broad-leaved Everlasting-pea. On the journey back to Lancing Ring, I stopped...