Charles Nicol wrote: ↑Thu May 02, 2024 3:24 pm the Grizzled Skippers are out at Little Paxton Nature Reserve

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i saw about 6

there was some sunshine, but mainly cloud + high humidity

Hmm, I looked to see where this was. 85 miles away from me. Have Grizzlies, will travel.

Best day of 2024 for me today in terms of numbers:

21 Orange Tip
7 Brimstone
5 Speckled Wood
4 Peacock
3 Green Veined White
3 Large White
2 Holly Blue
1 Red Admiral
1 Comma

And for most on the forum the numbers and species varieties will probably be considered crap

Good to read that Pearls are out. This means I will shortly be making my annual pilgrimage to a small patch of Bugle near Bewdley, a piece of ground the size of a penalty area, just to see a dozen or so Pearls. Not my favourite butterfly outing of my season. It feels like I could drive quicker from ...

Thanks, Chris. Extreme stealth is required to get anywhere near them, but 55 years of butterflying has taught me how to move slower than a garden slug. BWs, Neil I am getting better and better each year with the stealth. Friends comment on how quiet and skilled I am at getting close to butterflies....

Wow! I like the mini dinosaur description for they truly are. The coloured by a marker pen description is equally apt. They are truly wonderful. I imagine that it was extremely difficult to photograph so you have done extremely well there Neil.

This chat about Herb Robert has educated me. I don't know much about wild flowers, or much about anything really. :lol: I thought the little flowers I have seen recently that I now know to be Herb Robert were Red Campion. :oops: Your account of the weather and butterflies is identical to my own Neil...

Wow! Those 2 photos are beyond awesome Neil. I bet you are delighted with both. Congratulations!

I made a return to Incombe Hole today (30th) in beautiful weather, and as well as a handful of Dukes and quite a few Green Hairstreaks...DB1 300424.JPGDB3 300424.JPGGH1 300424.JPG...I saw my first Grizzled Skipper of 2024.GS1 300424.JPGBy the time I left there were quite a few folk there looking at...

Cheers Wurzel. Unfortunatly there were'nt any showers to duck out between, just a blanket grey overcast of doom or rain/drizzle all day. Thanks Chris. I am fortunate with my resident garden Speckled Woods in that I can see a procession of fresh ones throughout the season. Cheers, Neil. Do the numbe...

That first Speckled Wood photo is perfect Neil, in terms of photo quality and the pristine appearance of the butterfly.

Very striking vibrant Green Hairstreak examples Trevor. Thank you for sharing those.

Great selection of photos BB and accompanying narrative. Dukes? That Night Nurse I have been glugging is good stuff. I seem to have woken up in mid May. Is that normal for them to appear mid to late April where you are?

Lovely photos and an enjoyable narrative as ever to read Dave. I saw a quite pristine looking Red Admiral yesterday which suggested it was a new overseas arrival. Grim tale about the Crab spider snared Speckled Wood. That's nature I guess

I have also read the aroma of a Meadow Brown being akin to old, smelly socks.

Yesterday I encountered some people who I think had pheromones on them to attract Emperor Moths, judging by the conversation I overheard. Could one potentially put a scent on one's person to attract butterflies? I have read about the Marbled White being musky, the Wall smelling like chocolate cream,...

However, the April flowering of the Bluebells is real, as they were a May flower in the 80’s and 90’s. Interestingly, they still do flower in May in Cornwall. I joined the thread to make a comment on Bluebells. Here in South Derbyshire they have been flowering in early to mid May until very, very r...

Yes, Matsukaze, anything similar will eventually kill off the vegetation beneath. If you need to create larger areas of bare ground, I'd just roll out a weed membrane. This has got me thinking about one or two projects I have had in mind Neil and Matsukaze. How long does it take for corrugated meta...

As EB wrote above, it is about fine margins for the butterfly enthusiast. Yesterday I went out for a day under the cloud forecast expecting to see an all day breakfast and a cappuccino. The sun being out resulted in me driving past the cafe at speed on a whim for an extra 35 minute drive for 18 Gree...

Fantastic photos Neil. Seems wrong to single one out but the second is particularly awesome.

Ps I saw an Adder today 56 and a half years of waiting is officially over.

Thank you for your contributions Dave and Jack. Today was a BBC classic. Patchy sunshine until 11am and then white cloud for the rest of the day was the forecast. The reality was that it was pretty much sunny all day :roll:. I always find it amusing that the forecast showing online is sometimes inco...