Yes, it’s been a glorious spring for both butterflies and people. So far…

Yes, we’re already one of the most wildlife depleted countries. And the destruction of nature continues apace.

Well, I’m delighted to say my earlier concerns about the lack of peacocks were unjustified, for have emerged in excellent numbers during the last few, sunny weeks. They have found the wild cherry blossoms much to their liking. P1760204.jpeg The abundant blackthorn blossoms have gone down well, too, ...

Hi Guy, I found the same in GBZ last year. It’s getting rather expensive to go walking on the upper rock these days! The dried up river bed in Malaga very flooded in the autumn, just after the infamous Valencia floods. Apparently, it was pretty much full to overflowing, and probably wiped out any in...

Well, yesterday the sun actually came out on my day off, at last! Numbers of hibernators remain very low in these parts, with only the Comma bucking the trend. So I opted for a walk along the river Roding, near Ongar where I used to live. Nettle beds line the river here and, having seen just one Pea...

Good luck in Andalucia, Guy. They’ve had a lot of rain down there in the last couple of weeks, which should have freshened up the local plant life. This might help with nectar sources, I look forward to seeing how you get on.

Thanks for all your comments, everyone. Always appreciate it.

Commas have now emerged in my local woods. Several seen. Also a Small Tort at work Wednesday and again yesterday. Still no Brimstones or Peacocks. Unfortunately, I’m working this weekend. I’ll try again on Monday, if the weather holds.

My first Small Tort at the local garden centre this lunchtime. Near Harlow, Essex.

And we are off! Perhaps surprisingly, my first butterflies of the year were Red Admirals. I say surprisingly, because there really weren’t that many around last autumn. This winter has been colder and less wet than recent years, perhaps this has helped them survive. Red Admirals, as we all know, don...

Welcome to the meteorological spring! Having survived the winter, we can now all look forward to exciting things, as everything comes back to life. Flowers, blossom, migratory birds and, of course, butterflies. It’s one thing after another. As well as longer, warmer days! Having spent the winter sav...

Hi David. Hadleigh Castle County Park has, indeed, seen a decline in WLH. I used to visit regularly, but the butterfly there faces three threats. Firstly, some of the elm was sacrificed to make way for the mountain bike trails following the London 2012 games. More recently, more was lost to increase...

Hi David, my comments above are not meant as a criticism of you or anyone else. Far from it. Rather, it is a plea for recorders in the county- myself included - to record what they see, and try to make the Essex maps a little more complete. I’m not particularly computer savvy, but does the iRecord w...

Seconded. The distribution maps in this species, as well as many other common butterflies such as Orange Tips, show the location of observers and recorders, not of butterflies. If there were enough observers, I expect almost every tetrad in the county would eventually produce a Purple Hairstreak sig...

They are lovely, Guy.

A reminder of what we are missing!

A very enjoyable read Buggy. Must have taken a while to write up, so thank you. Your observations are broadly similar to mine overall, though there are exceptions. For me, Green Hairstreaks and Dingy Skippers were very poor in spring, and the same goes for Chalkhill Blues in summer. However, this is...

Hi David. The Orange Tip is widespread and fairly common throughout the county, but the number of adults varies each year. As you have said, the main caterpillar foodplant in Essex is garlic mustard but, being biennial, the amount of it each year is highly variable. It was scarce in 2023, but there ...

Hi David. Overall, I have not found the Brimstone to be particularly common in the county, due to a lack of foodplant. But there are pockets of high population here and there. One is, as you say, the Danbury area, where Alder Buckthorn is common . Another is the Grays area, where Purging Buckthorn i...

Hi Guy, it’s definitely not a buzzard,which have a plump, more compact appearance. What you have there is a juvenile hawk, which have streaked underparts , and lack the barred front of the adults. So the only question is which species, and I think Bugboy is right. Based on your description of size, ...

Happy New Year, everyone! Looking back, I think we all have a pretty good idea of how 2024 was for butterflies! But it wasn’t all bad. Heath Fritillaries had their best season for many years, and Ringlets bounced back to excellent numbers during the wet summer and should continue to build in 2025, a...

Seasons greetings from Essex, too!