May 2020

[David M]

Very nice, Phil, even if there is an element of tragedy regarding the deformed individual.

[millerd]

The first Painted Lady of 2020 on my local patch near Heathrow today (27th). Having seen Bugboy's reports of a couple, and Callum's mention of sightings on the Yorkshire coast, could there be another influx this year? Very unusual in consecutive seasons, but maybe the mild winter in Europe meant they didn't go so far south this year. By the look of this one it nearly didn't make it, bearing as it does the clear chomp of a birdstrike.

Dave

[Jack Harrison]

27 May - Nairn/Moray. Still many Orange Tips. It seems to be a good year for them. GV Whites everywhere, a few tatty Peacoks and two days earlier a Tortoiseshell.

Jack

[Matsukaze]

Small Blue in the garden this morning, drinking bird's foot trefoil nectar, patrolling, nuggling its wings and perching on its foodplant. A garden first, but it looks freshly emerged and I am hoping I may have a little colony. Photos to follow...

[Stevieb]

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries showing well this morning.

28th May

28th May

28th May

28th May

28th May

[David M]

Small Blue in the garden this morning, drinking bird's foot trefoil nectar, patrolling, nuggling its wings and perching on its foodplant. A garden first, but it looks freshly emerged and I am hoping I may have a little colony. Photos to follow...

Amazing! I found one on Fairwood Common this afternoon, Chris. Never seen one there before and I've never seen kidney vetch there either.

These little critters keep constantly surprising us.

[Matsukaze]

Small Blue in the garden this morning, drinking bird's foot trefoil nectar, patrolling, nuggling its wings and perching on its foodplant. A garden first, but it looks freshly emerged and I am hoping I may have a little colony. Photos to follow...

Amazing! I found one on Fairwood Common this afternoon, Chris. Never seen one there before and I've never seen kidney vetch there either.

These little critters keep constantly surprising us.

So the Small Blues are turning up on the SPBF sites, and the SPBFs are turning up on the Small Blue sites!

[Neil Freeman]

A Painted Lady in my Solihull garden this morning.

Also a Clouded Yellow reported yesterday in South Birmingham just a few miles from me.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Allan.W.]

Painted Lady for me also at "The Roughs" Hythe, Kent ,along with 3 Common Blues ,2 Small Heath ,2 fresh Small
Tortoiseshell , and one Small Copper and one Large Skipper and 8 Four Spotted moth.
Regards Allan.W.

[David M]

...So the Small Blues are turning up on the SPBF sites, and the SPBFs are turning up on the Small Blue sites!

Yep. You've summed it up very nicely there, Chris.

Been a strange year so far, for both we human beings AND the butterflies.

[David M]

A Painted Lady in my Solihull garden this morning.

Also a Clouded Yellow reported yesterday in South Birmingham just a few miles from me.

Great stuff, Neil (and a very nicely marked individual too).

They haven't yet reaches S. Wales to my knowledge but my senses are currently on full alert!

[Matsukaze]

Small Blue...

[Vince Massimo]

On Tuesday 19th May I was walking along the raised footpath that separates the River Adur and Shoreham Airport and noticed that the western side of the embankment (TQ 2069 0541) is covered in Kidney Vetch. I don't remember ever seeing any there before.
I looked for Small Blues, but it was a bit too windy and difficult, so will be keeping an eye on it.

Keep looking, Vince. This species is present along my stretch of coastline just about anywhere that has kidney vetch growing in profusion.

Thanks David. I've not been able to get back to Shoreham Airport to check on the Kidney Vetch growing on the embankment there since first reporting the find, but I have been advised by Jonathan Crawford that he saw two Small Blues there on 28th May and another today.

Adur embankment, Shoreham 19-May-2020

If anyone is intending to visit, please be aware that it's often very windy here because of the open nature of the locality, so conditions for observing and photography will be difficult.

As far as I'm aware the nearest Small Blue colony is about 5km to the north-east at TQ24973 07980 which is a lay-by alongside the A27, just east of the Southwick Hill tunnel. This lay-by is closed at the moment. If there are any closer colonies, I would be interested to hear about them.

Vince

[P.J.Underwood]

The marking of butterflies.
This week I have seen the Duke of Burgundy at Noar Hill,the end of the first brood Wood Whites at Botany Bay,and then today Adonis at Old Winchester Hill.The first two had butterflies that were natural and pure.Then today butterflies that were marked with a dye. What on earth is someone trying to prove? I know all about raddling in rams but that is done for a purpose. Can someone tell me what is happening here?
P.J.U.

[Pauline]

Hi Philip, I saw the same thing many years ago. I think it was on Oxenbourne Down and therefore was probably Chalkhill Blues. I did speak to the wildlife trust at the time and they gave me a perfectly plausible reason why they were marking the butterflies - if only I could remember what it was It might have been to do with measuring their range or some such factor. I probably have it in my notes somewhere but before I can locate it I bet you that there is someone on this site that can explain it.

[Pete Eeles]

It's usually done to support a mark-release-recapture (MRR) approach, to determine population size:

https://www.biology-fieldwork.org/a-lev ... recapture/

Cheers,

- Pete

[David M]

BH Monday 25th - an hour and a half spent on the Commons near my home saw me find 17 Marsh Fritillaries and 21 Small Pearl Bordered.

That's down on the peak from last year, but must be tempered with the fires that burned much of the prime breeding area in late March.

I managed to find my first female Marshie:

...and in the damp meadow a mile or so away I saw my first Meadow Browns (x2) of 2020:

[Pete Eeles]

I, too, saw my first Meadow Brown today at Lardon Chase on the North Wessex Downs, with spectacular views over Streatley and towards Goring. I was here for the Adonis Blue and really enjoyed spending my time watching females egg-laying, before the heat got too much for them (and me!). However, I did manage to get some closeups of eggs, showing the really lovely detail on their surface!

Cheers,

- Pete

[zigzag_wanderer]

Meadow Browns rapidly expanding in numbers in our local ...er...meadow.

Now rivalling Large Skipper and Small Heath numbers.

Took this snap of one just after 7pm today. Had a bit of a wing issue but didn't stop it flying around merrily.

[Medard]

Shapwick NNR.
A walk along the sweet track at Shapwick National nature reserve.
The  blackberry bushes were Covered by a mass of blooms,

an unusual sound overhead caused me to look up, my imagination decided I was looking at a pterodactyl in fact it was a juvenile Grey Heron,  instead of the usual colours this bird was black !

Juvenile Grey Heron.

Juvenile Grey Heron.

I had my first sighting of  Meadow Browns,

Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)

continuing along the track the first sighting of a Male black tail skimmer  soon after a fresh female B-t Skimmer

Female Black-tailed Skimmer

The  highlight of the visit was a first sighting of the year, a Large Skipper perched on a blackberry leaf, It made numerous little circuits always returning to the same perch,

Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus)

an interesting plant was pointed out by two gentlemen doing a butterfly transect.

Pedicularis sylvatica - Lousewort

Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)

Two emperor dragonflies seen , regrettably neither of them posed for the camera  
Returning to the entrance more Meadow Browns.

Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)

A good morning.

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