Small Skipper - Favourite Photo of 2013

[Vince Massimo]

Week 18.

Here is the opportunity to post your favourite photo(s) of a particular species taken in 2013 (or the last time you saw one!).

This is part of a series of topics which will grow over 20 weeks throughout the winter, eventually covering all 59 species which are regularly found in the British Isles. The intention is to showcase three species per week (in alphabetical order), so please wait until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos. Our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants.

Details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome and please feel free to contribute observations of behaviour, stories of personal encounters, anecdotes or other interesting points.

Vince

[Wurzel]

Small Skipper

Having found my first Small Skipper on a flying stop-off at The Devenish I was anxious to have more encounters so the next weekend I flipped a coin and made my way to Middle Street instead of Five Rivers. Almost immediately I found my target in a slight depression bordered by reeds and larger grasses.
After sitting on a blade of grass he tilted his body slightly presumably to catch the sun and in the process revealed the strongly marked, kinked androconi. Definitely a Small and male! After completing a few circuits round the dip he settled down again giving my fave shot below; nonchalantly leaning on a blade of grass as if leaning on the bar.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

My favourite comes from a visit to Botany Bay on 4th July - in a normal year, this would have meant White Admirals, Silver-washed Fritillaries and a likely sighting of a Purple Emperor. However, with things so late, it was an odd sort of trip, and I came away with a selection of shots of a Grizzled Skipper and a few Wood Whites. As I approached the car, at last a hint of something more summery - a fresh Small Skipper.

Dave

[Chris Jackson]

This is what I think is a Small Skipper on Viper's Bugloss, in Corrèze, France. Please correct me if it is not!
Chris

sylvestris, Corrèze, France

sylvestris, Corrèze, France

[Goldie M]

My Small Skipper photo's were taken at two different places. The first one, the paler one, was taken on the !st of August in Southport Dunes.
The second one in my side garden on the 29th of July both our my favourites Goldie

[CFB]

This is my favourite Small Skipper of 2013, seen on June 24 at 200 metres altitude in the Alpes-Maritimes:

--
Colin

[Neil Freeman]

Most of my Small Skipper photos last year were taken at my usual local sites whilst looking to confirm whether they were 'Small' or Essex. Consequently most of them were not particularly good with grass stems and such like all over the place.
I did manage a few that I quite liked however...

Small Skipper - Castle Hills 20.07.2013

Small Skipper, Burnet Moth and 'bug' - Castle Hills 20.07.2013

Small Skipper - Shadowbrook Meadows 27.07.2013

Neil.

[Maximus]

This Small Skipper seen in Surrey on 25th June, was the first I saw in 2013, and therefore it is my favourite photo.

[Trev Sawyer]

I've always found skippers particularly difficult to photograph successfully and their characteristic x-wing jet-fighter stance isn't generally conducive to the relatively thin depth of field treatment we may give the other UK species. This shot came as a bit of a fluke on a trip to photograph Marbled Whites in a nearby village during a dull (but windless) day. This insect had obviously only recently hatched and although it did fly around a bit, it kept landing on this blade of grass and stayed long enough for me to move around and get into a suitable position from which to get its eyes and antennae tips in focus. I thought I'd missed my chance the first time, when my tripod knocked a nearby grass-stem which sprang back and scared the butterfly off, but luckily it came back a few seconds later. I like the way the wings drop slowly out of focus and the way the black and straw bordering to the wings changes so abruptly to orange. It is just about as symmetrical as I could hope to get and I doubt I'll get another chance like that again

Trev

[IAC]

The Small Skipper has quite suddenly become a staple July butterfly in my part of the world. First making an appearance in the Scottish Borders around 2006. Since then many new sites have been found holding at times very large concentrations of the species. Last year it was confirmed as far north as the East Lothian northern coastline in numbers after initial sightings in the area in 2012. For whatever reason the Small Skipper seems to be doing much better than the Large Skipper at dispersing northwards. I just dont know why. The Large Skipper has far fewer habitat requirements as far as I can see. In 2013 I counted only 35 butterflies in eastern Scottish Borders compared to 25 in 2012 and 142 in 2011. The numbers here are misleading, as I tend to look in new areas rather than the confirmed high concentrations.
This Small Skipper was photographed in mid July in a well known quarry site in east Berwickshire.



Trevs photo above is a classic, well done Trev....I am always looking at finding new angles for the Skippers, but always end up with virtually the same shot different year scenario...


Iain.

[Roger Gibbons]

Chris, I suspect yours is Essex. The clues are diffuse margin, short weak sex brand and the black underside of the antennal tip. Mostly these two species are fairly straightforward to tell apart but as is usually the case there are specimens that fall into the overlap area. There will be other UKBers that are far more expert than me on this. It has certainly the darkest underside I have seen.

Strangely, both Small and Essex are not recorded as being in the vicinity of Marseille (I note that you saw this one in Corrèze) according to the PACA Atlas, although Lulworth is. Lulworth is perhaps more common in the littoral regions of PACA (basically the south-east corner of France).

Here is a photo of part of a group of Small and Essex Skippers taken in the Alpes-Maritimes a couple of years ago. There were about 300 Small/Essex, about evenly split as far as I could ascertain, in a group of 500 butterflies puddling at that spot. I counted 50 species within a 30m radius of that spot.

It is also worth considering the possibility of Pygmy Skipper, another littoral species, which is now thought to be extinct which, if true, would make it France’s first extinction. It is similar to Large Skipper but much darker, as your dark underside made me think of this.

Roger

[Chris Jackson]

Roger,
Thank you for your explanations. These Skippers do require some experience to differentiate them, and perhaps clearer photos of the antennae.
Your skipper photo is impressive - it looks like an aerial view of tourists on a packed beach in the height of the summer!
I have just ordered the PACA Atlas via the FNAC. It should help me identify BFs down my way by eliminating unlikely candidates.

Chris

[badgerbob]

A male and a female from High and Over. Both taken on the same day 12th July late afternoon.

Female Small Skipper

Male Small Skipper

http://bobsbutterflies.blogspot.com

[MikeOxon]

My Small Skipper was seen on a day when the main target was its Silver-spotted cousin. I find all the golden skippers very attractive, as they buzz from flower to flower:

Aston Rowant NNR - 1st August 2013
Nikon D300s with 300/4+1.4X TC - 1/350s@f/9.5 ISO400

Mike

[David M]

This was the first Small Skipper I saw in 2013, taken at Crymlyn Burrows, Swansea on 29th June: