Consistently small adults

[Jack Harrison]

Peacock has been perhaps the easiest butterfly to find since I moved to this part of northern Scotland (Nairn) in July and I have plenty of opportunity to watch them on local buddleias and gardens. Yesterday in Cawdor Castle gardens, they loved the flowers of inula (picture – not mine – here : Peacock has been perhaps the easiest butterfly to find since I moved to this part of northern Scotland in July and I have plenty of opportunity to watch them on local buddleias and gardens. Yesterday in Cawdor Castle gardens, they loved the flowers of inula (picture – not mine – here http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0200/1 ... e.jpg?1048) : that plant is a must for my own garden.

I can say that I have seen sufficient Peacocks here to conclude that they are noticeably smaller than S. England example. Here the males are barely Small Tortoiseshell size. This could be the result of unfavourable weather during the larval period this particular year and in other years the butterflies might be of more normal size. I cannot say. Is there any others evidence of smaller Peacocks in the north of Britain? Incidentally, old distribution maps show blanks in this area for Peacock and it is not a butterfly that is easy to overlook. So they are presumably relatively new colonists. They most certainly are not scarce in this area today.

I wait for Commas to appear here. Can’t be long.

Jack

[Mark Senior]

A few years ago now , I saw a noticeably enormous female Peacock in Newhaven ,East Sussex . Like several others seen at the same time it was freshly hatched and had twice the wing area of its presumed siblings .

[David M]

I wait for Commas to appear here. Can’t be long.

I don't think they're too far away, Jack, and it's good to know somebody like you is up there to keep us informed.

Are there any Speckled Woods in your 'patch'?

[Jack Harrison]

David asked:

Are there any Speckled Woods in your 'patch'?

Indeed there are with the odd one even through the garden (latest today). The usual sunny spots among trees are best.

Have only seen three Red Squirrels since arriving here but that is probably because I tend not to be out at dawn and dusk when I presume they are most active. No greys (yet and long may that remain so). Swallows have all but gone now but last month they were in enormous numbers the like of which I had never seen before. We now have cut a "Swallow entrance" in our outhouse ready for next year. But no House Martins and only one Swift at end of July over Grantown-on-Spey. Not yet seen a single Magpie and only two Jays. There are Collared Doves but relatively few. And if you are missing Sparrows in the south, I can tell you where they are - on our feeders and costing a fortune.

Jack