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Grayling - Favourite Photo of 2016

Week 6

Week six and we're close to a third of the way through the 'Favourite shots of 2016'! Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos - just to make it easier to organise and keep everything on track so that we can enjoy this throughout the winter months? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As like last year details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome as would any accompanying stories and anecdotes or other observations of behaviour and interesting other points.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I didn't see much of this butterfly this year, again because the weather wasn't great during July and early August. However, I did see a couple at Chobham Common on 31st July, and here is the inevitable "Grayling on Denim" pose. Dave

I had a couple of good days with these. I find a day with some cloud cover helps get close to these flighty buggers, and I got nice and close to this particular individual on Chobham Common! the following day I had travelled some distance and found several flying on Arnside Knott, looking somewhat paler and browner

I was looking for Silver-studded Blue on our day out with my granddaughter at Westleton Common, they were past their best, the Grayling was a bonus and we had time for paddling at Dunwich 20.07.16 She was so keen, bless her, it was difficult to hold her back before they flew off

The Grayling have had a hard time this past few years with very few coastal sightings numbering around the 100 mark rather than the thousands that there should be. This one is from the well known stronghold at St Abbs Head NNR. This Butterfly can be an incredibly shy and difficult to photograph subject, then suddenly it will fly towards you quite happily clowning around perching quite happily upon the shirt or trouser leg. Many occasions I have had a Grayling attached as I wander off and they will stay put if otherwise undisturbed.

Iain.

This is my favourite shot purely for the 'bee' photo-bombing the Grayling.
Grayling (and bee), July 4th, South of France: Cheers, Chris

When I go to Gait Barrow and see the Grayling they're always difficult to take shots of because they melt into the back ground so well, it's only when they fly that you see them and then have to glue your eye's on them till they land I think these two shots are my favourites, one shot because the Grayling was really close and looking at me and in the other shot it actually stayed still after a chase Shots taken 12th of July Goldie

I managed to spend a bit of time with this species whilst on the Isle of Man in early August. This female was particularly nice:
Unsurprisingly, she soon attracted the attention of this male:

The Grayling is a pretty scarce beastie down here in Kent,with records of one or two from just one site(Folkestone warren),most seasons.I don,t think things are a lot better over the border in Sussex,with perhaps 2-3 sites. In the seventies ,I found them on a couple of occasions near Fairlight (East Sussex) but I think their long gone from there these days. My pic; is from our summer holiday ,down in Cornwall at the fabulous Kynance cove,in early July,we saw two or three there in all,this one settled next to a
bit of Serpentine stone. Regards Allan.W.

Just the one this year, which had wandered down from the heather on the top of Twmbarlwm to enjoy some track-side buddleia in the woodlands.
Allan - the species is reasonably easy to find not too far from you, in the dunes at Le Touquet.

Grayling

This was taken at Godshill in the New Forest (near Fordingbridge) at the very start of August. I really love this species as they seem to have it all (behaviour, habitat, timing – when the weather is great etc). This is my favourite shot as I was able to get up really close and enjoy the stripey eyes and hairiness.
Have a goodun

Wurzel

Most of the Graylings that I saw in 2016 were on the Great Orme at Llandudno in North Wales which is home to the endemic subspecies thyone. My visit in late June was especially to see these and the other Great Orme speciality, Silver-studded Blue ssp caernensis.
The Great Orme Graylings are on the wing a good few weeks earlier than the usual type and are also noticeably smaller with most of those I saw being similar in size to a Speckled Wood.
Apart from those on the Great Orme, the only other Graylings I managed to see during this season were a couple of worn examples at Kynance Cove in early September.

Cheers,

Neil

It took me a while to find this fellow at Risby Common, near Scunthorpe in late July - Graylings seem to be the best in the business at camouflage.