Hoggers

[Hoggers]

I went down to Dungeness today and was delighted to discover that the third brood of Small Copper has begun!

My Copper-O-Meter detected 30

All but two were fresh

A female doing the "Turkey Strut" had a confused male Brown Argus for a suitor!

Among the beautiful Coppers there were a number of surprises, firstly this stunningly marked male

Gorgeous

And then this remarkable individual

To the eye he appeared to have just two spots (and if you look at the underside you can see why)

But also the general appearance was rather greasy

He reminded me of a couple of other Coppers that I've found in the past :

A rare and very interesting aberration

Then I stumbled upon my second radiata of the year

What a thrill! Such a beautiful variation my heart always skips a beat when I find one

So all in all a marvellous day at Copperness!

[Allan.W.]

Hello Hoggers ,
That Radiata is a beauty !! as is the other unusually marked individual ,had a flying visit there myself yesterday ,but only managed 3-4 ,+
A couple of Hummingbird Hawks . once again ,nice finds ! Regards Allan.W.

[Allan.W.]

Hello Hoggers ,
That Radiata is a beauty !! as is the other unusually marked individual ,had a flying visit there myself yesterday ,but only managed 3-4 ,+
A couple of Hummingbird Hawks . once again ,nice finds ! Regards Allan.W.

[Katrina]

Great work finding the radiata and a bonus ab!

[David M]

Your first aberrant is absolutely remarkable, Hoggers. I've never seen anything like that before. The undersides are particularly striking.

[Goldie M]

Hi! Hogger's, after the weather was so bad the second week and reports of very few Copper's about we decided being has I'd seen an ab on the first Sunday I was there to give Dungeness a miss and look for Clouded yellow instead having seen them at different places and not got a shot.
Your twelfth photo looks a lot like the one I got a shot of at Bossingham on the 16th of July it was lovely. Goldie

[Wurzel]

That is a cracking aberrant as all have commented Also your radiata but doesn't that also have some blue badges as well

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Hoggers]

Thank you all for your kind comments, much appreciated as always.

The second brood of Small Copper at Dungeness was abysmal. Numbers were far below normal. I've spoken to a number of people about this including AllanW (who I bumped in to there this morning) and David Walker (the reserve warden) and the general consensus is that the drought this Spring hit all small flowering plants, Sorrel included, very hard indeed and that this had a devastating effect on the second brood. Indeed, numbers were so unusually low that I feared there'd be no third brood at all.

So given this background it is little short of miraculous that not only has there been a third brood but that it has come thorough so strong

Today I counted 74 Small Copper

The few second brood did their job (and also the rain did eventually come to revive the Sorrel)

End result : a glorious,healthy third brood

I saw a few Blue Badgers today (always a pleasure)

Signs of bird strikes!

This Copper has held the same territory for at least 7 days now

I also came across this chap

He was chased quickly away by another Copper so I managed only 3 photos

He's clearly very similar to the one I found 7 days ago

I've tried to compare the two butterflies and I've concluded that it is not the same individual but if I'm wrong, he's had a very difficult week!

It's an interesting variation, reduced spotting and a greasy appearance. AllanW found one like it as well today. I wonder if the variation is pathological rather than genetic?

74 for the third brood is an excellent count

There's no keeping a good Copper down!

[David M]

74 for the third brood is an excellent count

74 annually would be good for most of us, Hoggers! Always a delight to see your Coppers. There's such a range of variation and it's nice to see individuals previously recorded turning up again.

[Hoggers]

Cheers David : by repeatedly visiting Dungeness over the years I've been able to watch male Small Coppers hold territories and some become familiar faces!

Today I counted 101 Small Copper

The rain came and revitalised the Sorrel just in time for the second brood caterpillars

Result : a bounteous third brood

Wing fluttering is something I see mostly among the female Coppers: here's a male courting a female

She wants nothing to do with him and so goes into the "Turkey Strut", wings all a-flutter

But I've seen males wing flutter too : these two were chasing each other about. Upon landing the first Copper (nearest in the picture) would crowd in on second

The response to this crowding was that the second Copper would take flight, whereupon the chase would begin again

But after settling and being crowded again, the second Copper fluttered his wings at the first, and the first then just left him alone

I've been noticing a number of Coppers that have sustained bird strikes, including this one

Now it might me my imagination, but this one looks like a radiata! It must have been magnificent before some bird came along and chomped off most of its hind wings!

I also came upon this stunner

Which makes an interesting comparison with this one

The most unusual Copper today was this

I'll be corrected if I'm wrong, but I think it's ab remota, where the spotting is thrown out towards the wing margins. It flew away seconds after I saw it so only two bad photos I'm afraid

But it's a striking aberration and the first I've ever seen.

A great day's Coppering!

[Katrina]

I am loving the last photo Hoggers. Well done also for finding another ab!

[Allan.W.]

Hello Hoggers,
Some great shots there as usual,must admit I,ve not seen a Copper like the Ab you posted ,very unusual ,nice find,and thanks for comments re; the Adonis Blues in the sightings section. I do enjoy looking through the Blues as they go to rest and they are generally very obliging in the evenings,
(as are the Common Blues in the gulleys Dengemarsh ). One small word to the wise ,I made the mistake of not spraying up with the "jungle" spray,whilst up on the downs and got bitten to pieces !! Once again nice AB. regards Allan.W.

[David M]

Your remota is most unusual, Hoggers. I've certainly never seen one like that before.

Nice to hit 3 figures in a day. I reckon it'd take me 3 years to do that in the UK!!

[Hoggers]

Many thanks for your comments, much appreciated.

The first day of this August Bank Holiday weekend dawned very warm and calm but overcast. I took my usual walk at Dungeness and immediately began finding Small Coppers

I was interested to note that the number of "Blue badgers" (either with a full set or the vaguest suggestion of blue) is very high

And indeed, over the past several years I've had the notion that this charming aberration turns up most often in the third brood

There are still many fresh Coppers about

But I noticed signs of wear becoming more evident

This female caught my eye

She was quite alone, descending whilst quickly tapping her feet

Then going into the "Turkey Strut" performance (even though I was the only male in the vicinity!)

I've watched females tap their feet on plants before, particularly when looking to lay their eggs, but I've not seen a female go so far as to copy the male's "Stalk Dance" routine

I bumped into the "remota" that I found last week, still in exactly the same spot

So he's been in this territory for at least 7 days. It's interesting to be able to get evidence like this of Small Copper behaviour.

I also saw this chap with a pencil thin hindwing band

Very smart!

And this one with yellow on the forewing

This chap roosting up in the bushes had a peculiar scale defect

On my walk noted how well the Sorrel is growing. This successful third brood (I counted 91 today ) after a near catastrophic second brood it is a testament to this little butterfly's ability to survive

The signs are there for a good fourth brood!

I also saw a Clouded Yellow

As well as several fresh Brown Argus.

[Allan.W.]

Hello Hoggers,
Some beauties there as usual,your individual with a scale defect also has a very large almost joined spots ,shame you never managed any more shots ,would have been good to see its full topside , was your "Remota " near the end of the Bird trap ? if so I think I may have spotted it
yesterday afternoon ,but it never hung around so was unable to get a shot ! was pleased with a count of 62 in about an hour and a half,with some absolute beauties on the wing . Some great pictures there Hoggers !.
Regards Allan.W.

[Maximus]

I'm glad that the Small Coppers have recovered their numbers in the third brood, Hoggers, and that the Sorrel is growing well too.
You've captured some little gems in your photos

[essexbuzzard]

Yes, some lovely coopers there, and good to see a bit of rain has revived both the foodplant and the butterflies. Fingers crossed for a nice autumn and a new brood of coopers!

[David M]

I know it won't win any techinal awards, but I just love that image of the male Clouded Yellow zooming by the wire fence - I guess it encapsulates how ephemeral this species is in the UK; you rarely get more than a passing glimpse as the butterfly motors along on its way.

[Hoggers]

Hello Allan, yes the chap with the scale issue did appear to have its dots joined but he was so flighty I just couldn't get a decent look at him! And the remota is where you say (again a very active little Copper!)

Hi Maximus and EssexB,the contrast between this year's second and third brood has been startling: during the former I'd stand forlornly by clumps of Ragwort and not see a single Copper; but now it's a case of if you see a sprig of Ragwort you are sure to find a Copper or two!

Hi David, soon after being buzzed by the Clouded Yellow I was stopped by two butterfly enthusiasts who asked if I'd seen any Clouded Yellows! I had to say that 5 minutes ago one had flown right by me and make do with pointing them in the direction it had disappeared (I hate it when you ask someone if they've seen what you're after and they say "Yes,It was right here 5 minutes ago"!!) I hope they caught up with it in the end.

I left home in brilliant sunshine this morning but by the time I reached Romney Marsh I was driving through a fog that Russell Thorndike would have been proud of! I expected Dungeness to be lost in a pea-souper and for my expedition to be a case of "Coppers in the Mist" but by the time I arrived it had just begun to lift and very soon it became hot

I decided to take a different route for my walk and began counting Coppers

I got to 88 when I decided to stop counting and just enjoy the butterflies

Blue Badgers are strongly represented in this third brood

This chap was very active and actually glinted a shade of green in the sun

And this one had a pale forewing

I watched some aerial displays

Always a joy

A sleek bird of prey flew right past me and I just managed to get a record photo

Is it a Sparrow hawk?

I saw a few Painted Lady too

By about 1130 it was getting too hot for me so I headed for home

It is wonderful to see so many Coppers again, a real joy

[trevor]

One of your best Copper images to date. ( the last one )
A real picture !. Small Copper on some Blackberries with a backdrop of blue sky.

All the best,
Trevor.