Neil Freeman

[Wurzel]

Cracking shots Neil, especially the 'obvious' Essex, that's a humorous greetings card that just needs a caption if ever I saw one

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Willrow]

Just catching up from Fermyn through to your latest - your enjoying a fine season Neil, posting some lovely images with great personal touch reports

BW's

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[millerd]

Likewise just catching up, Neil. A lovely array of photos from Fermyn, including that intriguing Meadow Brown. As Wurzel says, could it be a hybrid? The hind wings are pure Gatekeeper, and the forewings have two spots, not one. Fascinating. I am also envious of your Small Coppers, having seen so few this year, anywhere.

Dave

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers David, I’m still not seeing many Small Coppers around although things are still running a bit late around here. Loads of Commas though, like you say

Thanks Wurzel, getting the Essex shots was made a lot easier with them sitting on top of 4 foot high thistles instead of down in the grass.

Thanks Bill, I am actually finding the season a bit of a struggle sometimes this year. Most weekends seem plagued with cloud and wind and I have been caught out a bit with some species running a bit late…at least around my patch.

Cheers Dave, I don’t think that female Meadow Brown is a hybrid although given the reports of them mating with other species I guess it may be a possibility. She is a nice variation though…maybe an ab, I don’t really know. Regarding the eyespots, I see a lot of females around here with double pupils, maybe its a regional thing but I don't find it that unusual.

Saturday 25th July

After a really grotty Friday when it rained all day, Saturday started off much better with some nice sunny spells although the ever present blustery wind was still very much in evidence. After doing the usual Saturday morning household stuff I spent an hour or so pottering about in the garden, keeping my camera to hand as usual.
Sometime during the past week the two faded male Speckled Woods have been replaced by two new individuals who have taken over the same spots. It always fascinates me how successive males always pick the same spots in the garden year after year.

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 25.07.2015

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 25.07.2015

At least three Gatekeepers, two males and a female were down by the brambles along with a geriatric Ringlet.

Gatekeeper male - Coverdale 25.07.2015

Gatekeeper male - Coverdale 25.07.2015

Gatekeeper male - Coverdale 25.07.2015

Gatekeeper female - Coverdale 25.07.2015

I could have counted half a dozen or so Holly blues passing through but I suspect that in reality it was the same one or maybe two repeating a circuit around the gardens.

Holly Blue - Coverdale 25.07.2015

Large and Green-veined Whites are now being joined by Small Whites with all three species chasing each other around the garden this morning, often three or four together.

Small White - Coverdale 25.07.2015

A male Large Skipper zipping about and a brief visit from singles each of Red Admiral and Comma completed the tally for the morning.

With a couple of hours spare later in the afternoon I went out for a walk along the footpaths across my local site at Castle Hills. By this time although there were still some decent spells of sun there were also some thick clouds building up which made it quite dull when they blocked out the sun a few times.
All the usual suspects were around including large numbers of Meadow Browns but Ringlet numbers have now dropped with many of those seen being tired and worn. Gatekeepers have now emerged in large numbers with both males and females everywhere.

Gatekeeper female - Castle Hills 25.07.2015

Gatekeeper female - Castle Hills 25.07.2015

At one point I spotted a mating pair of Gatekeepers tucked into a large dock and as I was taking some photos another male attempted to intrude.

Gatekeeper pair - Castle Hills 25.07.2015

Gatekeepers - Castle Hills 25.07.2015

Gatekeeper male - Castle Hills 25.07.2015

This disturbed the pair who flew out and onto the nearby vegetation before they probably decided they were a bit too exposed and flew off through the hedge.

Gatekeeper pair - Castle Hills 25.07.2015

There must have been hundreds of Small and Essex Skippers in the open grassy areas with a lot of the Smalls starting to look worn and faded. The Essex Skippers tended to be in better condition due to the fact they emerge a bit later but even so there were some fresh looking Smalls and some faded Essex just to complicate matters. I didn’t do an accurate count but it appeared that the Essex are now outnumbering the Smalls.

Small Skipper - Castle Hills 25.07.2015

Most of the Marbled Whites were looking a bit worn and faded now although I did see a couple of fresh looking females that were being pursued across the meadows by amorous males.

Marbled White - Castle Hills 25.07.2015

Commas were patrolling most of the hedgerows and half a dozen summer Peacocks were busy fuelling up in readiness for their long winter sleep along with a couple of Small Tortoiseshells.

Comma - Castle Hills 25.07.2015

Peacock - Castle Hills 25.07.2015

Peacock - Castle Hills 25.07.2015

A single fresh second brood male Common blue was in one sheltered corner although no Small Coppers were seen here yet which ties in with things being a bit late around here.

Common Blue - Castle Hills 25.07.2015

As I write this it is raining outside and has been all day so far with that depressing mixture of light rain and drizzle that just seems to hang in the air. The next couple of days are looking pretty grim as well, maybe not a good time to be heading north which I am doing tomorrow for a few days…oh well, fingers crossed.

Bye for now,

Neil

[Wurzel]

Lovely shots as always Neil Great Holly Blues and Specklies and a great range of Hedeg Browns, including a couple of excessa

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

That Common Blue male looks a little unusual, Neil - the black spots along the hindwing edge are not something I've seen before. It's a nice shot, too.

Dave

[David M]

That Common Blue male looks a little unusual, Neil - the black spots along the hindwing edge are not something I've seen before.

Nor have I. It's definitely noteworthy.

[Wurzel]

I agree with both Davids, that is an interesting Common Blue, I was too mesmerised and green with envy at the Hedge Browns last time I read your PD so I missed it

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

Some vibrant and velvety looking butterflies in your recent posts Neil and yes, that Holly Blue is a stunner

[Willrow]

Top notch images Neil, lets hope your northern adventure goes well

BW's

Bill

"When in doubt - venture out"

[Neil Freeman]

Thank you Wurzel, Dave, David, Pauline and Bill for the great comments . Apologies for the delayed response, I just returned late yesterday from a few days away and now have some catching up to do, both with my own PD and everyone else's.

To be honest I didn’t notice the black spotting on the Common Blue at the time (should have gone to Specsavers… ) but now it has been mentioned I realise I have not seen one like it before either.

Tuesday 28th July – A few days up north part 1.

On Monday 27th July we set off up the M6 for a few days in the Arnside and Silverdale area, staying at a B&B right next to Gait Barrows National Nature Reserve. With rain forecast for most places on Monday we decided to take our time and didn’t set off until mid-day. The run up the motorway was mainly under a heavy grey overcast and we didn’t actually see any of the wet stuff until we had passed Lancaster but then it rained constantly for the rest of the afternoon. We headed straight into Arnside and had a coffee before carrying on and checking into our B&B and by the time we were settled in and freshened up we were ready to pop out for a meal.

With the weather for Tuesday looking like it was going to be more cloud and rain we decided to go to RSPB Leighton Moss which was just a minute or two drive around the corner from our B&B. We have been here before whilst up in the area and Jane likes it because there are good paths to some of the hides which she can manage with her walking frame. On the way in through the visitor centre one of the chaps behind the desk told us that there were two pairs of Marsh Harriers with juveniles that had been out most days when it stopped raining and also to look out for a Great White Egret that had been hanging around for a while.

After wandering along to the Tim Jackson and Grisedale hides and seeing a couple of Herons and some Lapwings out in the light drizzle we wandered back to the café at the visitor centre for a coffee. Coming back out onto the reserve again the rain had stopped so Jane went to Lillians Hide, which is the closest to the visitor centre whilst I went for a look from the new Skytower viewpoint which is close by.

The new Skytower at RSPB Leighton Moss

I had just got to the top of the tower when I saw a large white bird glide in and land on the far side of the pool to the front of Lillains Hide, albeit on the far side of a small Island which obscured the bird from the hide. From its size and exotic appearance, this was obviously the Great White Egret that we had been told about. I took a few long distance photos and went down to meet Jane in the hide and to see if it would come out from behind the island.

Great White Egret on final approach

View from the tower - the Great White Egret is a tiny white dot near the centre of the picture.

After a minute or two it came into view and spent a good twenty minutes or so wading up and down in a stately manner as if it knew it was the best looking bird in the pool.

Great White Egret - Leighton Moss 28.07.2015

Great White Egret - Leighton Moss 28.07.2015

Great White Egret - Leighton Moss 28.07.2015

Great White Egret - Leighton Moss 28.07.2015

At one point the Great white Egret took off and looked to be leaving but only went about ten yards before coming back down.

Lift off...but not for far.

After another ten minutes it took off again and this time flew off across the reed beds and out of sight.

Now it is on its way...

Shortly afterward, a Little Egret appeared on the far side of the pool, looking a bit shy as if it didn’t want to show up whilst its bigger cousin was stealing the limelight.

Has it gone?

We then wandered back down to the Tim Jackson Hide where there were a pair each of mute Swans and Herons just yards in front of the hide.

A pair of Herons flying off across the reserve.

One of the Marsh Harriers then flew across in front of the hide and was joined by a second. They both flew about a bit providing distant but good views before flying off back to the north across the reserve.

Marsh Harrier - Leighton Moss 28.07.2015

Marsh Harriers silhouetted against the grey sky

After spending a few hours at Leighton Moss Jane was now tired so later in the afternoon, whilst she was having a rest back at the B&B, I went for an hour up on Arnside Knott. There was still a lot of heavy cloud and occasional light drizzle with the temperature display in the car showing 15 degrees at most.

Grey skies over Arnside.

Despite the dull and damp condition it was just about warm enough for Meadow Browns and Ringlets to be flying in good numbers plus a fair number of Gatekeepers. I have noticed before that a lot of the male Gatekeepers here are on the small side and the individual below was quite a dinky little chap.

Dinky little male Gatekeeper - Arnside Knott 28.07.2015

At one point a bit of movement on the ground alerted me to a Common Lizard trying to warm itself up on a bit of wet wood.

Common Lizard - Arnside Knott 28.07.2015

Then, in one of the glades above the scree slopes I spotted a much darker, almost black butterfly lazily flapping across a clump of ferns. It landed on a fern frond and a closer look confirmed it to be a male Scotch Argus.

Scotch Argus male - Arnside Knott 28.07.2015

All in all a good day despite the cloud and occasional rain which actually turned out to be lighter and less frequent than forecast. Not only that but I had seen my main target of Scotch Argus, just the one so far but well chuffed with that given the dull and damp conditions…and the forecast was looking a bit better for the next couple of days.

Bye for now,

Neil

[bugboy]

Good stuff Neil, a nice variety for a drab, cloudy day

[Maximus]

Very nice photos of the GW Egret and Marsh Harriers Neil but that male Scotch Argus is totally stunning - what a beautiful butterfly

Mike

[David M]

Nice, fresh Scotch Argus there, Neil.

Shame the weather was predominantly unfavourable. I reckon you'd have seen hundreds of SA had it been largely sunny and calm.

[Pauline]

Sounds like you're having a great time Neil. Wonderful shots of the birds and that Scotch Argus is stunning. Looking forward to seeing more.

[Neil Freeman]

Thank you Bugboy, Mike, David and Pauline for all your comments

Hi David, the weather improved over the next couple of days and I did see more Scotch Argus but it was obviously still early days for them and I reckon another week was needed for the numbers to build up.

Wednesday 29th July – A few days up north part 2.

The weather forecast for today (Wednesday) was much better with sunny spells and cloud in the morning with a chance of the odd shower in the afternoon. After breakfast I decided to have a look round Gait Barrows NNR which our B&B was right next to the south side of. To save time getting to the area I wanted to look around, I nipped round in the car to the permit holder’s car park having had a permit emailed to me by Rob Petley-Jones, the Senior Reserves Manager for South-East Cumbria and North Lancashire NNRs, which I had printed off the week before driving up.

Heading from the car park to the areas of limestone pavement for which this reserve is famous for I soon started seeing the usual Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers, in fact many of the Ringlets were still in quite good condition compared to those back home in the midlands which reflects the later season in this part of the world.

Gait Barrows with Arnside Knott in the background

Gatekeeper female - Gait Barrows 29.07.2015

As the temperature slowly rose from around 15 to 17 or 18 degrees when the sun came out, I saw a couple of fresh looking Small Tortoiseshells and also three or four Graylings which did their usual hide and seek act on the limestone.

Small Tortoiseshell - Gait Barrows 29.07.2015

Grayling - Gait Barrows 29.07.2015

Grayling - Gait Barrows 29.07.2015

Small Skippers were buzzing about all over the place and at one point I watched a mating pair being hassled by a second male until he eventually gave up and left them in peace.

Small Skippers - Gait Barrows 29.07.2015

Small Skipper pair - Gait Barrows 29.07.2015

I also saw around half a dozen Northern Brown Argus which whilst a bit worn and faded were still in better condition than I expected. In fact I have been up to this area at the same time before, give or take a day or two, and not seen any NBAs as they are often pretty well finished by now. I guess this year the generally late season has resulted in them hanging in there later than usual.

Northern Brown Argus - Gait Barrows 29.07.2015

Northern Brown Argus - Gait Barrows 29.07.2015

Northern Brown Argus - Gait Barrows 29.07.2015

Northern Brown Argus - Gait Barrows 29.07.2015

Northern Brown Argus - Gait Barrows 29.07.2015

The NBAs found round this area are of the salmacis race which tend not to have the distinct white forewing spot that the Scottish artaxerxes race has. However, some individuals can be found here with partially white forewing spots although these are usually less distinct than those on artaxerxes

Northern Brown Argus - Gait Barrows 29.07.2015

Northern Brown Argus - Gait Barrows 29.07.2015

Northern Brown Argus - Gait Barrows 29.07.2015

As I was walking past the barn in the middle of the reserve, a Land Rover pulled up and the driver got out and as we started chatting he turned out to be the very same Rob Petley-Jones who had sent me the car park permit. We had an interesting chat about the state of the season this year and of some of the local butterflies, during which he said that the NBAs had started to emerge around their usual time but had then trickled out through the season which explained why there were still some reasonably good condition ones around.

He also said that Dark Green and High Brown Fritillary numbers had been worryingly low at a number of sites in the area this year, including Gait Barrows, and in fact during the morning I didn’t see either of these species. Apparently this is the second year that the weather has not been too good here during their flight period which has not helped matters.

I then wandered back to the car and went back to meet Jane before heading out for some lunch.

To be continued…

Bye for now,

Neil.

[trevor]

HI Neil,
I'd come away quite happy with an image of a Scotch Argus of that quality! . if only they would
come further south !.
All the best,
TREVOR.

[Wurzel]

Brill stuff Neil looking forward to the next installment

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Trevor At least they give a good excuse to visit a beautiful part of the country...and after all, you have a few species down south that I wish would come a bit further north

Cheers Wurzel I was going to sort through some more photos and post the next instalment tonight but some visiting relatives have scuppered that plan.

Neil.

[Neil Freeman]

Back to work this week and just seemed to run out of time the past couple of evenings but I finally managed to get some photos sorted for the next part.

Wednesday 29th July - A few days up North part 3.

Wednesday afternoon saw me back at Arnside Knott in better weather conditions than the previous afternoon. Well, most of the afternoon was better, but I did find myself sheltering under the trees at one point for about 15 minutes from a fairly heavy rain shower.
Just before the rain came down I had been watching a Small Tortoiseshell circling around its patch and as the first drops began to fall it tucked itself under a tree stump for shelter. When it stopped raining I went over and took a couple of photos, using flash to light up the shadow under the stump. He looked well camouflaged but would have blended in even better if he had landed the other way round so that the ‘grain’ on the underside of the wings had matched the grain of the wood.

Small Tortoiseshell - Arnside Knott 29.07.2015

As the sun came back out the ST began to vibrate his wings to warm up, took off, did a circuit around the stump and then landed back on top of the wet wood to bask and warm up properly.

Small Tortoiseshell - Arnside Knott 29.07.2015

I then carried on along the grassy slopes looking for Scotch Argus but before I found any more of these my attention was drawn to a small bright silvery object standing out against the green of a fern frond that turned out to be the underside of a Northern Brown Argus.

NBA ssp. salmacis - Arnside Knott 29.07.2015

NBA ssp. salmacis - Arnside Knott 29.07.2015

During the afternoon I saw a few more Scotch Argus, maybe half a dozen different individuals. Not that many considering the numbers that can be found here but they were all males and in fairly good condition, all of which indicated that it was still early days in their flight period.
I find this species can be difficult to approach and photograph, with the males in particular actively flapping about constantly looking for females. Either that or they settle deep down in the grass…or when they do settle in a good position for a photo, they seem to spot me from yards away with their large dark eyes and wait until I am just about to take the shot and off they go. Nevertheless, with a bit of patience and sufficient sneakiness I managed to get some photos.

Big dark eyes...

Scotch Argus - Arnside Knott 29.07.2015

Scotch Argus - Arnside Knott 29.07.2015

The two shots below are of the same individual, the first one taken when a cloud covered the sun and the second one taken a couple of minutes later when the sun was back out. I have posted them both together as I find it interesting how their appearance can change under different light conditions and I can't decide which one I like best.

Scotch Argus - Arnside Knott 29.07.2015

Scotch Argus - Arnside Knott 29.07.2015

There were some Fritillaries also flying about, mostly tired and faded Dark Greens from the ones that I managed to definitely identify along with a few Commas that at first glance do a very good Fritillary impersonation when in flight.

Dark Green Fritillary - Arnside Knott 29.07.2015

Comma - Arnside Knott 29.07.2015

Also of interest were a couple of what I think were Four-banded Longhorn Beetles, one of which flew into me and bounced off my jacket onto the grass.

Four-banded Longhorn Beetle - Arnside Knott 29.07.2015

I’ve still got a few photos to sort through for part 4...

Bye for now,

Neil.