I came a cross this lovely fellow at Maldon Wick Nature Reserve - the first recorded sighting of a Wall there. 2025.05.02 Wall Maldon Wick.jpg It had been relatively quiet up to that point, apart from 20+ Speckled Wood along a 100 metre stretch of disused railway line cum nature reserve. I decided t...

Unlike Dave & Paul, I spent 8 hours in the sweltering heat of Tropical North Essex. As has happened on the previous days, my plans were thwarted, this time by military maneuvers at Middlewick Ranges, that prevented me from completing a full survey, and worst still training prevented me from ente...

The Butterflies of Essex Site Locations Thames Estuary Path Site visit 30.04.2025 2025.04.30 Thames Estuary Path.jpg 2025.04.30 Recorded Sightings by Species.jpg It is time to walk down the Thames Estuary Path south of Mucking Marshes Landfill to observe the first brood Wall at their peak. There ar...

With no Dukes, Glanvilles, or Marsh Frits, no Dingies & the last couple of Grizzlies left, and unlike near Heathrow there were no Large Skippies 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 te...

It ended up being Ladies Day on my local patch today, with female butterflies of several species hogging the limelight. However, the butterfly that completely stole the show today was a female Large Skipper, very new so that her wings were still slightly limp. This may well be the earliest I have e...

The remaining local Grizzle site has started producing a few Grizzles .....They,re not easy to find ......but they're there ! All credit to the team that got stuck in over winter to try and save the site from completely scrubbing over and becoming unsuitable,Very close by on another site we worked ...

essexbutterflyer wrote: ↑Tue Apr 29, 2025 4:26 pm Adonis Blue! And both male and female…

An absolutely amazing day!

Glad you had an amazing day, Zayed.

Your Grizzlie shots are getting better too - very artistic

28.04.2025 Belton Hill Nature Reserve via Hadleigh Castle Country Park to Benfleet Downs Yesterday's trek took me passed the Brassica spp. Field at Hadleigh Farm, which also contained Medicago sativa [Lucerne or Alfalfa] and of course it was a Whites day 182 [conservative estimate] of the 240 recor...

I was there at around 2pm and found only one Grizzlie. I’m just glad I’ve seen an Essex one! I really must go to one of the sites you visit, I’d love to see more than 100 butterflies in a day (although recording that would be a nightmare (did you know you are the number one recorder for irecord but...

Not quite wall-to-wall of Wall on the [sea]wall along Thames Estuary Path but Wall are up to 20+. Strangely enough they were all on the seawall, unlike when I discovered the third brood last year which were all on the paths and flowers and I saw none on the wall. Finally then, I got a Wall-on-a-wall...

Good day down along the sea wall near East Tilbury: GVW 63 Peacock 49 Orange-tip 32 Small White 23 Wall 11 Large White 9 Speckled Wood 3 Green Hairstreak 2 Small Copper 1 Painted Lady 1 Good numbers and variety, Paul - looking forward to something similar tomorrow [plus a few Clouded Yellow, of cou...

millerd wrote: ↑Sat Apr 26, 2025 7:47 pm … in full view I found a nest of at least 100 Small Tortoiseshell caterpillars - a most welcome sight. Tucked in among the throng was a single Red Admiral caterpillar.

That’s great news, Dave - I’m hoping to find the same over here too.

Lovely shot of the female Brimstone nectaring on Bluebell flowers, Goldie - a very special experience

The Butterflies of Essex Site Locations Baddow Meads Site visit 24.04.2025 2025.04.24 Baddow Meads Recorded sightings.jpg 2025.04.24 Recorded sightings by species.jpg After the excitement of Grizzled Skipper, Brown Argus, & Small Heath within the meadows at Langdon Hills Country Park, it was ba...

Tuesday 22.04.2025 Langdon Hills Country Park Yesterday was a great day for me personally, and a tremendous day for the conservation of butterflies in Essex. :D :D :D Our critically endangered Grizzled Skipper, which remains on the verge of extinction from the last known site in Essex, made it to 2...

It is amazing what you can find when the day is overcast with rain in the air, thundery showers forecast, but the sun peeps through the cloud cover for a few brief moments. Of course, I rushed out as soon as I noticed some sunshine. Between 11.15 and 12.00 I saw 16 butterflies, mostly Speckled Wood,...

Thanks Dave, makes sense - nice spot. The females I have seen had positioned their ova at the base of the leaf bud. I expect with the weather, the buds broke early and they laid them on the leaf directly. I agree about the Comma, as here in Essex they did very well this Spring, and I loved seeing th...

The last sighting of a Large Tortoiseshell in [the vice-counties of] Essex was March 2022 at Wanstead Park, so technically in London. And a year before that in Romford near Zayed's patch at Harrow Lodge Park [Again, technically in London]. I have been looking though this year in places like Hatfield...

I managed to find nine species, but unusually one of them wasn't a Comma…. I conducted an Easter egg hunt. Out of the 10 species I had seen up to yesterday [make that 11 now with the Holly Blue later in the day 😀], the one species I did not see was Comma also, Dave. It was unusual for me too, altho...

I just noticed the record on iRecord and came here to congratulate you :D :D . Let's hope that the following months prove to be better than the prior weeks. Thanks Zayed, indeed. I am hoping that they will be in sufficient numbers this Spring throughout Essex to recover. Next weekend I would recomm...