Bugboys mission

[bugboy]

Thanks for the comments guys, I think the sun was catching them at the perfect angle, perhaps being lower in the sky it helps to bring out the rich colour? 3rd year in a row now I've managed to break the 50 species in a year barrier

9th September, Shoreham part 2

My route to Mill Hill is slightly different to most others, being on foot. Last year I found a footpath that avoids the pavementless direct route and takes me around a horse field whose edges are generally left to go a bit wild. There’s always something to find here, this time last year the path was chock full of fresh Red Admirals. Today there was just a single RA who gave me the slip but a stonking Comma made this detour more than worth it.

At Mill Hill, just a few of miles inland from where I was an hour previously, it was distinctly cloudier with very little sun to speak off. Nevertheless it was plenty warm enough with good numbers of little Brown jobs flitting around. A few male Adonis were still here, looking somewhat more past it than my last visit in the company of Millerd. Of the little Brown jobs that did settle it would seem the majority were female Adonis but I'm sure Brown Argus and Common Blues were mixed in with them too.

My attention was however elsewhere, a Cloudie was busy quartering the ground. Rather annoyingly staying inside a taped off area that was cordoned off due to the on-going herbicide treatment.

After watching him land several times far out of reach I moved on to the far lower corner where most activity seems to happen here. Today was no different and despite the overcast conditions it was a hive of activity of little Brown jobs (and the occasional blue job of both Adonis and Common Blues). Meadow Browns were also rather numerous, mostly females and nearly all busy laying eggs as if it were going out of fashion.

Also spotted was the distinctive playful flight of a Wall. A fresh female 3rd gen who made photography very difficult.

She was being typically Wall like and I soon lost her. A few minutes later I thought I'd relocated her only to find I was now following a fresh male.

Whilst all this was going on Cloudie numbers had increased with at least three, possibly four, quite literally flying rings around me, again all males. I managed to get up close to one who settled long enough but for the most part I was a spectator to their activities. Not that I was complaining, these little rays of sunshine are a joy to watch this late in the season. Occasionally two would meet and would spiral up into the air or pester each other down in the turf but I'm pretty sure no females were present.

At one point a male seemed to take a dislike to a Hawkweed flower and proceeded to dive bomb the innocent and defenseless flower several times.

All this plus a visitation from a Peregrine

Had the wind not been so strong I probably would have explored higher up around the top car park but having managed the target for the day I decided to leave early and try and get home at a decent time .

[millerd]

Good to see you found a couple of Walls there, Buggy, something I failed to do the following day - and there was only one Clouded Yellow as well. That sheltered corner you mention is a real hotspot of activity!

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cracking fresh Walls Bugboy You did really well to get an in-flight shot of a Peregrine normally by the time you've got the lens on where they were they've long gone

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

That is indeed a 'stonking Comma', BB, and the supporting cast is none too shabby either. Wall Browns & Clouded Yellows in the same post are indicative of a very productive day!

[Goldie M]

Glad your still finding lots of Butterflies Bugboy, I particularly like the Cloudy who dislikes the Hawk Weed But your Wall's do it for me Goldie

[Old Wolf]

Hello Bugboy, I am catching up on diaries and when I reached yours, I realised it is more like a full time job! You have been busy
You have managed to snap too many great shots to comment on but I have to say, some deserve a particular shout out:

The electric blue Adonis pictures are well, electrifying I haven't seen one so didn't realise just how blue they were. Hopefully I will get to see one next year.
I also am fond of the BHS and Wall shots as once again, I haven't seen either of those. Do you see a trend here
And finally the Clouded Yellows, now I have seen one, once but haven't seen one since so it was great to see your pictures.

[ernie f]

Butterfly pics - lovely, but the Peregrine in flight - now that is not something you get to photograph every day!

[Andrew555]

Very nice Clouded Yellows Bugboy. Hope I can get some closer sightings.

[bugboy]

Thanks for all the comments and ummm sorry Old Wolf . I've not been able to get out much recently but there's still a bit of life in the season yet, at least down here in the south anyway

25th September, Bookham

It feels like an age since I've been able to get out and about (work and inclement weather combining to keep me away from the butterflies) but my half day this week coincided with a lovely afternoon so it was off to Bookham for a relaxing few hours. Despite the warmth, very little was about at first. A slightly worn Small Heath finally breaking my duck but he was quickly overshadowed by a surprise appearance from a male Brimstone. He was busy looking for somewhere to roost for the night but I'm not sure why he wasn't already tucked up for the winter?

A White fluttered past and another Heath appeared but these were also overshadowed, this time by a beautiful female Common Blue.

I had another White encounter, possibly the same individual, who turned out to be a male Small but he went on his merry way before I could get close enough.

Next up was the closest thing I had for a target for the afternoon, a female Small Copper. She found a solitary Sorrel leaf and my eyes were immediately drawn to the eggs already on it. She didn't add to the collection so I got up close for a few closeups of these microscopic golf balls when she fluttered off.

As I was getting up a couple approached asking what I'd found so I pointed out the eggs and showed them my images. They were suitably amazed at the tiny works of art . As I left they mentioned that a Hobby was about. Apparently, it had flown directly over me as I was taking the pictures of the eggs, which was a shame since it’s been a few years since I've seen a Hobby!

Since my last visit a fair bit of work has been done to the open scrubland, much more than in previous years with large areas 'leveled'. These areas are where I find a lot of copper and blue action at this time of year, not to mention where I find much of my Brown Hairstreak eggs, so it was with some disappointment that I wandered through the now seemingly barren landscape. I know it's all for the greater good and come next year it will again be teeming with life and some patches have been left.

an untouched patch

Seemingly lifeless...

I've kept a close eye on my little Small Copper nursery over the summer, and watched it mostly wither and die back. Today however it was back to it's lush self and had a smattering of eggs on it. There's six (one hatched) visible in the picture below.

Banks common was the obvious next place to investigate but here I found just three or four Coppers and a few Speckled Wood.

A wander into the wood produced nothing else but stopping off to check on my purple Hairstreak eggs near the car park I did find this marvelous looking weevil. It's most likley Curculio glandium, the Acorn Weevil, and judging by the length of the 'nose' a female. The two remaining Hairstreak eggs were still in place and looked healthy.

During the slow wander back to the station, through the wastelands, I managed to find some Devil's-bit Scabious that had escaped the destruction, complete with three Coppers happily gorging themselves.

It was good to get back out in the field but I suspect the majority of my trips final trips may well be further south now until the season finally ends.

[Goldie M]

Love the Copper shots Bugboy, they've certainly had a very good season they seem to be everywhere Your Common Blue Female is lovely too ,:D Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cracking set of images Bugboy, great Brimstone, lush Coppers but the star of the show has to be the female Common Blue, what a beaut!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Nice report, BB. You were clearly on a 'mission' after your enforced absence from butterfly pursuit!

That's a beautiful Common Blue, but I agree, the notable feature was the appearance of a Brimstone. They're far commoner in March than September!

[bugboy]

Thanks for the comments again guys. Unfortunately I'm not sure when I'll be able to post again since my laptop seems to have had an unexplained death Very frustrating

[bugboy]

Like a Phoenix my laptop seems to have arisen from it's premature death last night and is now working just fine so here's what I got up to on Wednesday.

26th September part 1, chasing the sun

A whole day off with a clear blue sky and temperatures predicted to reach low 20s in the second half of September, it could only mean a trip into Sussex. A stop off at Shoreham harbour before a wander around Mill Hill where I was expecting to find a few familiar faces.

It didn't take long for the action to get started, my first Cloudie, a fresh looking male, scooted past as I set up a shot of a female Common Blue. There was little wind to speak off today so unlike my previous visit the butterflies were more spread out along the strip of green. Common Blues were relatively numerous although mostly past their best but my focus was primarily on the golden yellow things shooting about. Definitely two, probably three and from the look of things in pretty good nick. Most of the action was at the eastern end, where the main nectar source from last time, the buddleja, had mostly gone over. There was however plenty of Ox-tongue to replace it and it was on this that a couple of Cloudies were breakfasting on. Now began the usual chase, stalk, focus, click and repeat that will be so familiar to all of us. They were actually being quite well behaved and I focused my attention on trying to get that all illusive open wing shot. The end result being that after an hour or so I had over 300 very similar shots in the bag.

My technique, which is probably fairly standard, was to ramp up the shutter up to warp speed, keep my finger glued to the shutter button until the butterfly had moved on and don't be too close so it stayed in frame when it did. Even so all I can say is thank God for digital photography, I'd have shed genuine tears with the number of images that fell foul of the delete button if I was still using slide film. Anyway, after sifting through them I found I did manage a small handful of uppers, still room for improvement though.

The morning was book ended by a couple of nice Common Blues.

Other species seen today were singletons of Small Heath and Red Admiral plus the usual collection of Whites with Large and Small being positively ID'd. Now off to see who was up at Mill Hill

[trevor]

Great effort with your attempts to get some Cloudie upper side shots.
It is strange that they have evolved to always keep their wings tight shut when at rest,
given their beautiful colour/markings. But then they would be rather conspicuous, even
from a distance with that bright yellow upper side.

Frustrating for us though !.
Trevor.

[Neil Freeman]

Great series of cloudy shots Bugboy I have attempted that in the past but my FZ200 (or me perhaps) is just not quick enough.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Old Wolf]

More Cloudies and some uppers too! I am very jealous indeed

Glad to hear your laptop has resurrected itself.

[David M]

Yes, it's great fun experimenting with the camera and trying to grab the open winged shots of this species, BB. I often do likewise with Cleopatras when in France but my results aren't as good as yours.

Doesn't look like any have got to south Wales this year, sadly. Normally I get to see one or two.

[bugboy]

Thanks Guys, it's always good to give yourself a challenge

26th September, part 2, chasing the rainbows

I made good time getting to Mill Hill, catching a train as it pulled into Southwick, and just half an hour after taking my last picture at the Harbour I was pointing my camera at a huge Red Admiral on the path around the horse field on the south side of the bypass. She was a flighty lady and wouldn’t sit for me but then my attention was taken by the distinctive flight of a couple of Walls. One of these returned and very politely sat down on the path in front of me.

This is the ninth place I’ve seen Walls this year and I’ve not even been to what was my usual spot between Eastbourne and Beachy Head!

Ten minutes later I was on Mill Hill and watching a small gaggle of dodgy looking figures loitering around a patch of scrub halfway up the slope . Regulars will already know who they were, having already seen their posts. I duly joined the group and took some pictures of the countries most famous pupae, making the Peacock the second species I have wild pictures of every stage (the first being the Comma). I won't worry about posting my effort since it's nearly identical to everyone else's

Dave Cook and Katrina bid us farewell but Millerd, Trevor and I made our way to a large clump of Hemp Agrimony which was in full flower and rumoured to be covered in butterflies. The rumours were indeed true, a kaleidoscope of Red Admirals, Peacocks and Painted Ladies all gorging themselves to get ready for the long flight south or the big sleep kept us all entertained.

We spent nearly half an hour here and even then it was difficult to pull ourselves away but in the end Dave and I wandered off to see what was going on down on the lower slope. On the way down we came across another couple of adult hibernators enjoying the Indian summer, a Brimstone and a Comma.

Down on the Bottom slope we found an assortment of species, Lycids, Browns and a handful of very active Clouded Yellows. Most of them were somewhat past their best and some I struggled to identify but a few were picture worthy.

For the final portion of the day we decided to have a look around Broadwater Lagoon, following on from Vince’s report from the previous day. I didn’t take any pictures here and we only saw one (or possibly two) Cloudies, but Common Blues seemed to be quite numerous and I saw what was almost certainly a Wall… site number 10! All this and I still managed to leave early enough to miss the London rush hour, a bloody marvelous day !

[millerd]

I'm glad to hear your laptop came out of its sulk, Buggy. Those brilliant Cloudie shots from Southwick were worth waiting for! Those were an excellent couple of hours at Mill Hill too. You got some of the ones I didn't - it's always good seeing someone else's take on the day.

Dave