Chequered Skipper - Favourite Photo of 2011

[celery]

A thread in which to post your favourite photo(s) taken in 2011 of Chequered Skipper.

Part of a series inspred by ChrisC's thread about 'Favourite Photos' and hopefully growing throughout the winter until all 58 British species have been covered.

Details of places, dates, times and circumstances also appreciated. Feel free to contribute observations of behaviour, personal encounters, anecdotes, anything really...

[ChrisC]

another one to add to the long not seen list.

[Wurzel]

I'm with Chris again on this one...if I ever intend to try and see all the British species this will probably be one of the last...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Rosalyn]

I listened to the horror stories too. This year Phil and I decided to give it a go and found them easily. Within a few minutes in fact, and it was raining I would post a pic of us in our wet weather gear but I haven't got the hang of that yet

[celery]

No pictures yet! ...and nothing to offer from me either I'm afraid.

Come on folks... we must have some Scottish members on here... surely not everyone comes from the Home Counties

Rosalyn.. please figure out how to post a picture pronto - you could be this thread's hero and saviour...

[Rosalyn]

Hope This works. Wet few days, got soaked a few times but worth it

[PhiliB]

Here are some pics of Rosalyn enjoying the Scottish weather and my favourite CS shot.

[celery]

Wow That was definitely worth the wait.... and made my mind up that that's a trip I must do next year.

Fabulous pictures - thanks so much Rosalyn and PhiliB (my heroes)

[John W]

Seeing those three Chequered Skippers on a single stem illustrates how locally abundant even the rarest species can be. Think of Heath Fritillary at Blean Wood or Large Blue at Collard Hill. I guess it just goes to show that habitat is all...

[Michaeljf]

Rosalyn and Phil,
those are all lovely shots. I like the 'scene-setting' ones too Phil. I'm hoping to go next year: just a matter of timing (and money!).
Michael

[Lee Hurrell]

Completely agree - lovely shots of a species I am yet to see.

Cheers

Lee

[MikeOxon]

my favourite CS shot

and I was pleased to get just one on a Bluebell! Super shot of the three!!

as John W commented, seeing many rare (resident) species is mainly a case of being in the right place at the right time but getting photos like these needs a bit more skill.

Mike

[lee3764]

Good old Glen Loy!!!! Been there many times & slept in my car many times during the 80's & 90's whilst locating & studying them. Must say that your fortunate to find them in the rain as they usually are very difficult to find unless the sun is out. Well done indeed & hope you gained as much enjoyment as I did over the years. See my report on this site somewhere put on by Pete Eeles in May 2010. It is (I think!) called " Rediscovering a colony of Chequered Skippers in Glen Loy during 2008". I drove my family up there & shared the wonder of Glen Loy & the Western Highlands with them. Incidently, we rented a cottage for a week as the sleeping in a car & roughing it has been resigned to my younger years when costs were kept down to an absolute minimum!!! (Petrol was massively cheaper too!!!) as it came into it as I drove 640 miles each way from Cornwall. No speed cameras then either 20 odd years ago!! Those trips to Glen Loy that I made all the way from Cornwall were amongst the most fulfilling & enjoyable during my near 40 years of watching & following my interest in British Butterflies! Don't just go to the well known reserves indicated in booksguides or shown on the internet.............Go and find your own colonies and add to the discoveries that can still be made in the countryside! I did & please locate & read my report if you can find that article which must still be on this UK Butterflies website somewhere.
Cheers all,
Lee Slaughter (Cornwall).

[PhiliB]

Your article was the reason that Glen Loy was at the top of our list of places to visit.
Like you, this trip turned out to be one of my most rewarding & enjoyable butterfly experiences.
Many thanks Lee

[essexbuzzard]

Lee, i have read your article several times now and it is excellent. Now i've taken the long drive up from East Anglia a couple of times,and had the pleasure of seeing them myself,your experiance really rings true-i've even got my own T-shirt! I would advise anyone from the South thinking of visiting, to go in late May. The weather is often better in May than in June(average rainfall at Fort William is 3 and a half inches in May,5 inches in June), and the adults are fresher on average.
It was great to see you at Breney in june,Lee-and all those Fritillaries can't be wrong!
Cheers all,
Mark.

[Rosalyn]

I don't discount an element of luck but our success rate has been due to Phils diligent research and our Perseverance. I wonder how many people would have looked out of their hotel window and thought, not worth looking. We had about dozen parked up on their Bluebells, Photos taken 7th June btw

[lee3764]

I don't discount an element of luck but our success rate has been due to Phils diligent research and our Perseverance. I wonder how many people would have looked out of their hotel window and thought, not worth looking. We had about dozen parked up on their Bluebells, Photos taken 7th June btw

Rosalyn....Well done for your persiverance! Mind you, with travelling all that distance it would be daft not to go & have a look! Try sleeping in your car driven into & parked for the night amongst the bushes along the narrow single track road in Glen Loy with no sanitation & sixty billion midges for company after spending 12 hours driving up from Cornwall?! PS....only 3 hours darkness at night up there too at Chequered Skipper flight time
Good times!
Cheers,
Lee Slaughter.