Cheers, Wurzel - the Hollies seem to keep going when all else fails. :) Especially when Bugboy has gone and jinxed the weather... :wink: :) I optimistically went out on 23rd April under brightish cloudy skies, but low temperatures meant nothing was flying. I resorted to that usual bad weather staple...

Speaking as a connoisseur I'd say that is a top-notch female Holly Blue, Trevor! I may have dozens of Holly Blue images, but they rarely sit on flowers for me...

Cheers,

Dave

Just one butterfly today (23rd) during the briefest of bright moments on another cool and very cloudy day: a very new male Green-veined White.Dave

Sunday 21st April was a close repeat of Saturday, but most of the sunshine was early and late, and I was unable to get out as early as I would have liked. Butterfly numbers were markedly lower today, with only 15 seen: Holly Blue 6 Speckled Wood 5 GVW 1 Red Admiral 1 Small White 1 Orange Tip 1 I sa...

That is fascinating information, Ben. It accords with my own experience of Small Tortoiseshells locally, where sightings now are almost all confined to areas next to the River Colne where the nettles remain lush all year, even in the bouts of searing heat we have had almost every summer recently. Nu...

Saturday 20th April was forecast to be a sunny morning, with cloud quickly building from the northeast by lunchtime and then clearing again towards the evening. It was going to be another rather cool day despite the sunsh :( ine (and I see that despite 5 hours of sun, it didn't get above 11 degrees...

Thank you, Chris. :) To be honest, it's surprising how rarely you actually come across butterflies being predated. It probably happens far more often than we see. Cheers, Wurzel - I do hope my local patch continues to deliver things worth seeing, as the opportunities to go further afield have been v...

Continuing chilly weather with probably less sunshine today (21st) - but both Holly Blues and Speckled Woods seem very resilient and make the most of what there is.There was not a lot else today - even the Peacocks were hiding.

Dave

The rest of your day turned out pretty well, Paul. You did well to spot that caterpillar - I'd never have seen it! Some nice Orange Tips to finish with as well.

Cheers,

Dave

Who knows, Neil - there's certainly been no shortage of spring butterflies this year. :) Cheers, Wurzel - there seems to be steady stream of new Holly Blues popping up every day despite the recent cooler weather. A bit of sunshine and they appear. :) No Grizzlies yet, though... I had a look for them...

Whereas here near Heathrow, the Met Office prediction of a sunny start with cloud building from the east by lunchtime and into the afternoon, and then clearing as sunset approached turned out to be almost 100% accurate. They overestimated the temperatures a degree or two though - it was very chilly!...

That first Hairstreak is a lovely well-marked individual, worthy of the name!

Cheers,

Dave

Thank you Trevor - that was a particularly fresh Holly Blue, and very willing to pose as well. :) I'm not entirely sure why things have been so bountiful round this way, Chris. There has been at least an hour's sunshine every day since late March (except for a couple of days), and there are certain ...

A favourite topic of mine, Chris! :) I use the Met. Office forecasts pretty well all of the time. They appear to be by far the most professional forecasters. The BBC are good second, and all others way behind in my view. It is worth subscribing to the Met. Office YouTube channel as you get: 1. Routi...

Tuesday 16th April . More strong winds, a fair amount of sunshine, but some big showers too. The local butterfly population took advantage of the best bits of the day again, with 56 individuals counted and 9 species. One of those seen was probably the same Green Hairstreak from Saturday, but I coul...

For a change this morning (18th), I thought I'd go down to Denbies and see if things were underway down there yet. Well, despite fair amounts of sunshine and a good deal of looking at likely spots, The sum total for the ninety minutes or so was two Peacocks and a Speckled Wood. It was noticeable tha...

...this is the strange story of my Marsh Fritillary...It was on the 26th of May, 2020... Hi Rob, May 2020 was during the COVID lockdown, and around this time (if memory serves me aright... :) ) someone was releasing Marsh Fritillaries all across South East England. The resultant introduced populati...

...in fairness if I were a Welsh butterfly I wouldn't be out in 11c temperatures and 22mph winds... I imagine with a strong southwesterly blowing, the South Wales coast is pretty exposed, and with those sort of temperatures it must feel quite unpleasant, David. However, the forecast for the coming ...

Another day of cool winds in my neck of the woods on 17th, with a few bursts of strong sunshine and a lot of cloud - actually not bad conditions for finding amenable Holly Blues. HB3 170424.JPG HB2 170424.JPG They were even nectaring on the willow flowers - either alone... HB1 170424.JPG ...or in co...

16th April: Despite some hefty showers and a cold wind, every time the sun came out, so did my local butterflies. A taster... Dave