Near perfect weekend.....
It’s not often you get a full weekend with hardly a cloud in the sky worthy of the name….much less during the month of March.
After the lovely spell a fortnight ago, are we risking becoming spoiled?
Saturday 25th March – Castle Meadows, Abergavenny
Domestic commitments meant I couldn’t get out till almost 1pm, but my frustration soon gave way to near total contentment during my hour and a half’s wander round Linda Vista Gardens and the adjacent Castle Meadows.
Probably the most notable moment was the sighting of my first Small White of the year. Thankfully, the cuckoo flower has already come out and this female spent a few minutes nectaring from one:
The first of the 25 Small Tortoiseshells seen was just beyond this particularly attractive spot in these ornate grounds:
Many more were observed cavorting around the nettle growth near the stream that runs through this site:
This stretch is always popular with them. The stream is just to the right of the fence meaning the nettles are always well watered and consequently grow most vigorously:
9 Commas were seen, including these two in much closer proximity than is usual:
These two, however, didn’t like one another’s company at all and provided several aerial skirmishes for my delectation:
I especially like the darker undersided individuals with that
Verdigris sheen:
Four Peacocks were about too:
I tried for 10 minutes to get an underside of this individual but it insisted on keeping its wings slightly open:
Sunday 26th March – Kilvey Hill, Swansea
Just as sunny today but a fair bit windier, so in the main I kept to the sheltered path at the bottom of Kilvey Hill. This place is a real heat trap and butterflies are irresistibly drawn to it:
I saw a male Brimstone before I was out of my car. It may well have been the same one I encountered half an hour later after doing a quick circuit of Dan-y-Graig cemetery, where my only sightings were 2 Commas and another Brimstone. Few things are lovelier than a spring Brimstone….but one thing lovelier is a spring Brimstone on a spring Primrose:
To my great delight, I saw at least 2 male Holly Blues. I spent considerable time on the track near the evergreens they favour, and eventually one came down just in range of my camera:
The biggest surprise came late on, just as I was about to leave. A butterfly caught my eye fluttering weakly, and after a while it made a second flight whereupon it landed and briefly flashed its wings open:
This is only the second time I’ve seen a Speckled Wood in March, and without doubt the first time I’ve seen 7 different species during a March weekend! Hopefully this is a good omen, although the last time we witnessed these early emergences, April proved to be a washout and the butterflies never really recovered.
Let’s hope it’s different this time.
