Northern Brown Argus - Favourite Photo of 2013

[Vince Massimo]

Week 12.

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

[IAC]

Northern Brown Argus had a very good season indeed this passing 2013 despite the cool early summer. The first ones I saw were on the 7th of June, a little later than normal. Numbers steadily climbed throughout June and peaked into July with very healthy numbers on the Berwickshire coast. Inland numbers were average at most sites, but still narrowly up on recent years. The inland sites successes and failures have more to do with grazing pressure than weather.
So my first sightings were from the 7th June and lastly on the 16th of August. I did hear though that the butterfly was still on the wing into September. I had 29 sightings of 365 butterflies in that period, the highest counts on the coast of 50 between July 10th and 14th at Burnmouth.
One of the photos below taken on the strand line north of Burnmouth was quite unusual. The butterfly seems to have very pale hindwings...not seen that before. It took me a while to catch up with it and get a photo...looked more like a moth in flight. It reminded me of the pallida Small Skippers I had seen a few years back.

Iain.

[David M]

Beautiful stuff, Iain. I really must get round to seeing this species next year.

[Goldie M]

I'm afraid the only Northern Brown I got a photo of was a bit worn and called "Salmacis" I believe. I took the photo on 21st of July at Gaits Barrow Goldie