Cheers Wurzel. Probably equal numbers of males and female here now, although numbers are definitly down on recent years. From what I am seeing on social media there seems to be lots of nice butterflies around now, particularly for those that are prepared to travel to see the premium species. Unfortu...

Glad to see that you are seeing some nice butterflies Goldie

Cheers,

Neil.

That really is a cracking spot you have moved to Ernie, some great species on you doorstep and more within easy reach

Cheers,

Neil.

Hi Trevor, Sorry to hear that you have been ill but glad to hear that you are on the mend now. I have been suffering from a nast bout of hay fever this past week. This is something that I never used to get but in recent years has started hitting me, this year being particularly bad so far. As it hap...

With no Dukes, Glanvilles, or Marsh Frits, no Dingies & the last couple of Grizzlies left, and unlike near Heathrow there were no Large Skippers flying near Stansted, I had to make do with the limited diversity of the Butterflies of Essex at Tropical Hatfield Forest, where even the sweltering t...

Saturday 26th April. After a fairly quiet few days here, during which I got on with clearing out the garage plus some other stuff around the house, today (Saturday) was another mostly cloudy day. Around midday, the clouds thinned a bit to allow the sun to filter through and these brighter condition...

Tuesday 22nd April. Yesterday (Bank Holiday Monday) was pretty grim here with drizzle turning to proper rain all morning and grey skies that didn’t start to clear up until late in the afternoon to give us some nice late sun albeit too late to be of much use. Today was much better with clear skies a...

Cheers Wurzel. I was hoping she would open up a bit more but she didn't stay still for long and was soon off again. Sunday 20th April. After a couple of pretty grim days here with lots of rain from Friday afternoon into Saturday morning, Easter Sunday was much better with some good sun from early mo...

Cheers Wurzel, I was pleased with that Orange-tip shot, especially given the circumstances :) Thursday 17th April. This week has seen a return to more typical spring weather with it even feeling like a return to February at times with some strong cold winds. In between, there have been a few sunny s...

Wednesday 9th April. The bright sun was back all day today (Wednesday) although it took a while to warm up after a cold night. An early afternoon hour or so at my local spot by Wagon Lane produced around a dozen butterflies, these being Speckled Wood (3), Comma (1), Orange-tip (5), Green-veined Whi...

Large Tortoiseshell reported from Droitwich in the West Midlands on 4th April.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/westmid ... nservation

Cheers,

Neil.

Cheers Wurzel. She made it easy for me, all I had to do was stand there and wait for her to return a few times :D Tuesday 8th April. After another cold night, we had a sunny start to the morning but some cloud soon started spilling in from the east and by midday had built up to a total overcast. Thi...

Monday 7th April. I had an appointment at the opticians this morning during which I had drops in my eyes that dilate the pupils and prevent them reacting to light. For the next couple of hours my eyesight was very blurry and when going outside the bright sunlight made it difficult to see anything c...

Cheers Wurzel :D First Speckled Wood and Orange-tip of the year here yesterday (Sunday 6th) on what was otherwise an underwhelming weekend with activity largely suppressed by a chilly east wind despite clear blue skies. Singles of Holly Blue and Green-veined White also seen, all passing through the ...

Due to all the cold nights we have had, I have only run my moth trap on three nights so far this year, twice in March (6th and 20th) and then on Thursday night (April 3rd). The first night on March 6th resulted in 10 Common Quakers and nothing else and then the night of March 20th brought 11 moths o...

Thursday 3rd April. A similar day to yesterday but the cold breeze dropped a bit in the afternoon which made it feel a bit warmer. With so much growth recently, I decided to spend some time in my garden today and took my camera out with me in case something came along. Around 11.30am I spotted a sm...

Well done with the mating Peacocks Paul Something I have never seen despite numerous courtships over the years.

My favourite photos however are the Brimstones with the Primroses, lovely stuff

Cheers,

Neil.

Thanks Trevor and Wurzel :D I am expecting my first Specklie any time now Wurzel, hopefully along with Orange-tip, Green-veined White and Holly Blue. Just need that cold easterly wind to ease off a bit. Wednesday 2nd April. The past couple of days have been very similar here, that is plenty of blue ...

Monday 31st March. After a bit of a mixed weekend with a dull overcast on Saturday afternoon and a cold wind yesterday (Sunday) that kept temperatures down somewhat, a return to more settled conditions today made it feel a lot more pleasant. A wander around my local spot by Wagon Lane between 12.30...

Thursday 27th March. In a complete reversal of the previous forecasts, today turned out to be the day that yesterday should have been. Early cloud soon dissipated to leave us with mostly clear blue skies with some scattered white clouds and plenty of sun. I hadn’t originally intended to go down to ...