Butterflysaurus rex

[Pauline]

Smashing shots of the Green Hairstreaks esp the 1st Welcome back

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Smashing shots of the Green Hairstreaks esp the 1st Welcome back

Many thanks Pauline, I'm very lucky that Green Hairstreaks are such little posers. They can be difficult to photograph when they angle themselves towards the sun. Avoiding my own shadow is often a real challenge!

ATB

James

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Precious Pearl's

With the possibility that I won't be able to get out again this week I decided to go and see what I could find in my local woods. As it turned out the first thing I saw was not a Butterfly at all but Trevor! (a first for me this spring) the next thing we saw was to be another first for me this year, my first Pearl Bordered Fritillaries of 2017.

In all we saw (a rough estimate of 7) all showing some small signs of wear, meaning they had probably been out for a couple of days.

The highlight of the morning was undoubtedly when I spotted an ab which showed beautifully for us despite the strong and chilly breeze.

Whilst admiring the Pearls a female Orange Tip landed briefly for a second or two.

And it was nice to see the numbers of Green Veined Whites increasing locally at last.

I think Trevor would agree with me if I said we both had a very pleasant morning.

Thanks for looking,

James

[David M]

What a way to get your PBF season going, James! There were quite a few PBF aberrations posted last year. Looks like we might see a few more.

[Neil Freeman]

Hi James,

Beautiful image of the PBF ab and that is a lovely photo of the GVW too

Cheers,

Neil

[bugboy]

Lovely pictures James, looks like I shall be making my annual pilgrimage to Abotts Wood soon

[trevor]

Yes we had a great morning. Early signs are that the Pearls are shaping up for a bumper year.
My only fear is this exceptionally dry April. Knowing how our weather has a habit of evening
itself out, are we in for a period of deluge after deluge ?. Very much hope not.

Hope to see you before the Long tailed Blue season !.
Trevor.

[Butterflysaurus rex]

What a way to get your PBF season going, James! There were quite a few PBF aberrations posted last year. Looks like we might see a few more.

Thanks David Oddly enough I found a similar but less heavily marked PBF ab on my very first visit last year! I'm sure we will see some more aberrations before long, there are so many eyes on the lookout that if any do emerge they are likely to be spotted quickly.

Hi James,

Beautiful image of the PBF ab and that is a lovely photo of the GVW too

Cheers,

Neil

Good to hear from you Neil, it was an unexpectedly good day. I got lucky with the ab, the weather was not the best for photographing Pearls. I just managed to snatch that GVW shot on the way back to the car. As you know some nice photos can happen that way.

Lovely pictures James, looks like I shall be making my annual pilgrimage to Abotts Wood soon

Cheers Paul, probably still a little bit early to travel just yet, we only saw between 5 and 7. When the numbers build up a bit more you'll be able to maximize your photo oportunities. I know it's not the easiest place to get to from the train station - hope this helps.

Yes we had a great morning. Early signs are that the Pearls are shaping up for a bumper year.
My only fear is this exceptionally dry April. Knowing how our weather has a habit of evening
itself out, are we in for a period of deluge after deluge ?. Very much hope not.

Hope to see you before the Long tailed Blue season !.
Trevor.

It was rather good wasn't it Trevor Shame we didn't locate that Green Hairstreak but as you said the conditions were not ideal for Greenies. I hope the weather holds, I'm concerned by the reports of a cold snap with night frosts next week! I hope this will not cause too much harm if the forecast is correct.
We shall meet again long before the LTB season arrives, hopefully many more lovely days in the sunshine to enjoy before then.

My best wishes all.

The tale of the lonely Grizzled Skipper:

After the delivery I was waiting for arrived earlier than expected I decided to dash out and see if my local Grizzled Skipper spot had started up yet. This tiny site can be highly productive but the Grizzled Skippers always start emerging a bit later than most other sites.
It did not look hopeful when I arrived, I watched and waited for about 20 miutes before I saw that familiar whirring flight we all know so well. for the next two hours I tried to keep track of this Skipper all the while hoping I would spot another. From time to time I would loose sight of it and whenever I thought I saw another one it always turned out to be the same little chap! I was just about to give up and go home when on my way out of the tiny little Grizzly Grotto (as I call it) I saw a Grizzled Skipper at roost, on closer inspection 'you guessed it' it was the same lonely little Skipper. The odd thing is he was relatively worn, obviously he had been out for several days - maybe even a week. Where were all the others? I can only hope this lonely little chap is joined by some more friends soon.




On the way home I saw quite a few Comma's they appear to be doing well after a dismal few years locally, very nice to see.


Thanks for looking

James

[millerd]

Those PBF are splendid, James. I particularly like the ab., which is more extreme than some.

Cheers,

Dave

[Goldie M]

I second that James and especially like the 2nd photo of the Grizzled Skipper Goldie

[Wurzel]

Absolutely brilliant Rex - what a beauty of an ab. Pearl With the change in the weather it might be a while until I manage to catch up with this species.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Those PBF are splendid, James. I particularly like the ab., which is more extreme than some.

Cheers,

Dave

Thanks Dave, when I found it I thought it was very similar to the ab I saw there last year. When I got home and compaired the two I was quite surprised to see that this one was even more heavily marked and the pattern is prettier on this one as well. A very nice specimen indeed.

I second that James and especially like the 2nd photo of the Grizzled Skipper Goldie

Hello Goldie, thank you for the kind comments, I do love the underside of a Grizzled Skipper I hope to see some more Grizzlies soon 1 is never enough.

Absolutely brilliant Rex - what a beauty of an ab. Pearl With the change in the weather it might be a while until I manage to catch up with this species.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel, yes the weather does look pretty awful this coming week. Hopefully you'll see your first Pearl soon, a big highlight of every spring I'm sure you'll agree.

Many thanks all.


A variable day.

Yesterday I met up with Badgerbob for a walk around our home patch. The day started off unexpectedly with clear blue skies, that wasn't in the forecast! By the time we met at High and Over thick clouds were overhead and we could see rain falling over the hills further inland. Despite the deteriorating conditions I saw my first Wall Browns of the year, and quite a few beautifully fresh Cinnabar Moths were emerging.

Despite the temperature falling with some drizzle in the breeze we continued onward hoping the weather would improve. Just as it was starting to look a bit bleak I saw my first Small Copper of the year, it wasn't in great condition but under these circumstances it was a very welcome sight.

By this stage nothing was flying as it was feeling rather cold in the north easterly breeze, just as were starting to wonder if this excursion of ours was a good idea I spotted a slightly worn but still lovely Green Veined White sitting on a dandelion clock.

By now we were past the point of no return so it was a relief to see some blue sky on the horizon. Soon the sun had returned bringing some very welcome warmth to both us and the butterflies. Reaching the furthest point of our walk Bob spotted a very fresh looking Small Copper, I spotted another close by and then another! Now that the sun was shining the Coppers were so active we couldn't get close enough for a photo. I still hadn't seen a Dingy Skipper this year so we decided to look for those instead. It wasn't long before Bob spotted one flying past, we followed and watched it land close by in the grass.

By now it was late afternoon and the Dingy was starting to look for places to roost.

At this point it was approaching dinner time so we decided to call it a day, as we started on the walk back Bob saw a Small Copper going to roost. We couldn't resist one last phot of this gorgeous little butterfly.

Yet another great day in great company.

Thanks for looking

James

[Pauline]

Having seen that last shot of the Dingy Skipper James how could I not comment - amazing composition from a great photographer. I shall be embarrassed to post my Dingy now

[Wurzel]

Lovely shots Rex especially the Small Copper The weekend weather didn't turn out anywhere near as bad as forecast so i did get my Pearl

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Having seen that last shot of the Dingy Skipper James how could I not comment - amazing composition from a great photographer. I shall be embarrassed to post my Dingy now

Goodness me Pauline, you've gone and made me blush! I bet your Dingy Skipper photo is great. I still have much to learn, it can be very frustrating at times but when you get a nice photo it makes the effort feel worthwhile. Many thanks for your very generous comment.

Lovely shots Rex especially the Small Copper The weekend weather didn't turn out anywhere near as bad as forecast so i did get my Pearl

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Many thanks Wurzel I'm really pleased with the Small Copper, all thanks to Bob's keen eyesight. The weather here on Saturday did get pretty grim for a while! Really glad to know you got your PBF, I look forward to seeing your photos. Seems the weather is going down hill this week, I hope it improves again soon.

Best wishes.

James

[David M]

Some great images there, James, including some species that haven’t emerged yet where I live.

Thankfully, the season is just beginning, so I hope to catch up with them soon.

[Goldie M]

Lovely shot's James of the Dingy and love that last Copper shot, nothing like that here yet but hope fully we'll catch up. Goldie

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Some great images there, James, including some species that haven’t emerged yet where I live.

Thankfully, the season is just beginning, so I hope to catch up with them soon.

Thank you David shouldn't be long before you see these now, they are still in low numbers here. I think after this cold snap has passed things should really take off.

Lovely shot's James of the Dingy and love that last Copper shot, nothing like that here yet but hope fully we'll catch up. Goldie

It's a shame the weather this week is set to be a bit grim Goldie. On the other hand I suppose we some rain, it hasn't rained properly for weeks now. Hopefully it makes the spring last a little bit longer.

All the best

A breezy afternoon with the Pearls.

Late yesterday afternoon I decided to go and see how the Pearls were doing since my last visit earlier on last week. With a chilly breeze blowing it was difficult to work out how many were flying. After I'd spoken to a few others I guessed there had been a modest increase with an estimate of 10 - perhaps a few more.

As I entered the forest the Bluebells were looking wonderful I couldn't resist a quick shot.

On the way to see the Pearls I saw a male Orange Tip.

And then another, when I got home and looked closer at the photos I counted 5 Orange Tip eggs and a spider lurking on the Garlic Mustard.

And then finally I managed a few shots of a stunningly fresh Pearl-Bordered Fritillary, it proved to be very difficult getting a decent photograph as the strong and chilly breeze was blowing the poor Pearl all over the place. All things considered I was lucky and pleased with what I took in the end.
Hopefully this will be a really good year for this stunning butterfly.

Thanks for looking,

James

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Slim pickings:

With a brief spell of better weather last Monday morning I popped over to my local patch to see if the Grizzled Skippers were doing any better. The whole thing turned out to be a bit depressing, the Wall Browns that used to be plentiful there have all gone, I didn't find a single Speckled Wood. And to my dismay I only found 2 Grizzled Skippers there, one tatty and another reasonably fresh one. I can only hope they are later than usual and more will emerge soon, this can be a late site for Grizzlies anyway so I've not given up all hope.

On the plus side I saw a few more Dingy Skippers than usual, and the welcome sight of a few fresh Red Admirals cheered me up.

This Dingy looked very fresh!

One of only 2 Grizzled Skippers seen.

And lastly I saw a few Crab Spiders about, hopefully they're not putting too big a dent in the local Skipper population.

Here's hoping for improved weather and a lot more butterflies soon.

Thanks for looking,

James

[Gary.N]

Hi James.

You may have had slim picking but you found that lovely Red Admiral and a great shot of it.

Gary