David M

[David M]

Monday 25th July – Purple Hairstreak...

It brightened up this afternoon, so at 3.15 I headed down to nearby Nicholaston Burrows to follow up a tip-off I’d had from fellow UKB member, Sylvie H, regarding the Purple Hairstreak colonies near the oak scrub at the base of the limestone ridge at this site:

Sadly, things turned fairly cloudy shortly after arriving, but I still managed to find two Purple Hairstreaks in the oaks:

The only other butterfly that I photographed was this Red Admiral, probably because of their paucity during my time in France:

[Goldie M]

Things are rather dried up here David , the only Butterflies flying seem to be the Gate Keepers and the Whites, Goldie

[David M]

Same thing round my way, Goldie – Dried out but silly numbers of Hedge Browns.

Tuesday 26th July – Repeat visit...

I thought I’d repeat my previous evening’s visit to the dunes at Nicholaston in the hope that there might be a female Purple Hairstreak or two laying eggs on the young oaks in the late morning.

Sadly, I didn’t find any, but I did record over 200 Hedge Browns, which seem to be having an imperious year round here:

This female Silver Washed Fritillary provided my first photo opportunity of this species in the UK this year:

I was also pleased to find 4 second brood Small Blues:

There were a couple of mint fresh Speckled Woods around:

This female Green Veined White was rather lovely as well:

I also came across this female Large White:

Other species seen were Meadow Brown, Common Blue, Small White, Red Admiral and Comma.

[Goldie M]

Hi! David , you've made me wonder if the SWF's are still out in Blean woods, I agree with you about the Gate Keepers ,they seem to be every where ,had loads in the Garden here Goldie

[Katrina]

Good to see the second brood Small Blue

[David M]

...you've made me wonder if the SWF's are still out in Blean woods, I agree with you about the Gate Keepers ,they seem to be every where ,had loads in the Garden here

Think your SE SWFs might have finished for the year, Goldie.They're on their last legs in SW Wales too, although Gatekeepers are still going strong here!

Good to see the second brood Small Blue

Sure was Katrina. Gave me a pleasant surprise. For some reason I always forget this species has a second brood.

[Maximus]

Have really enjoyed reading reports from your continental trips, David, you really do get around Must be really satisfying for you to deliver both for your clients and yourself

[Pauline]

That's a lovely image of the Speckled Wood David and more gorgeous scenery at your PH site Perhaps I should move to Wales - given what's happening here on the domestic front it's very tempting

[David M]

Wednesday 27th July – On a whim...

I’d stayed in Abergavenny the previous night and my plan was to go and find a few Essex Skippers on Castle Meadows in the morning. Sadly, the grass had all been severely cut and apart from a couple of Whites, all I saw was this Small Copper:

With it still being early, I reckoned that in an hour and a half, I could be at Swell’s Hill Bank, near Stroud, to see both Essex Skipper AND Chalkhill Blue.

So, just after midday I arrived in Gloucestershire, but although it was warm, the sky was mainly cloudy:

In spite of that, the Chalkhills were easy to find, with over 200 seen during the hour and a half I spent there:

I was surprised to find three Marbled Whites still hanging on:

It was then time to separate the Essex from the Small Skippers. It’s a lot easier when a male Essex shows his upperside:

I found time to get a head-on shot or two:

A few turned out to be Small Skippers:

This female was the tidiest of the ones I saw:

Other species seen were Meadow Brown, Common Blue, Hedge Brown, Brown Argus and Dark Green Fritillary.

[David M]

Have really enjoyed reading reports from your continental trips, David, you really do get around Must be really satisfying for you to deliver both for your clients and yourself

Thanks, Mike. I have to 'get around' because I'm not fortunate enough to live there!

Always nice to introduce people to such a plethora of butterfly species. The UK is just a backwater in comparison.

[trevor]

One of the trickiest tasks, sorting Small from Essex Skippers.
At least your journey to Stroud was worthwhile, a great selection.

Excellent Skipper shots.
Trevor.

[David M]

That's a lovely image of the Speckled Wood David and more gorgeous scenery at your PH site Perhaps I should move to Wales - given what's happening here on the domestic front it's very tempting

Thanks, Pauline. The Gower is a scenic place and I am happy to remain here. We also have over 30 species of butterfly, but no Purple Emperors, Dukes, Adonis & Chalkhill Blues, Silver Spotted Skippers, etc, which are present near where you live.

[Pauline]

OK! You've persuaded me not to move to Wales helped by the fact that the cat issue (I think) has been resolved

Pleased to see your lovely shots of the BH - especially the open wings; gorgeous!

[Roger Gibbons]

That's what I call dedication.
Spend most of the spring and summer in some of the most species-rich locations in Europe, a tick-list of several hundred, and then come back to England and go looking for Essex Skippers.
Roger

[David M]

One of the trickiest tasks, sorting Small from Essex Skippers. At least your journey to Stroud was worthwhile, a great selection.

Gets harder as you get older and your close up vision starts to deteriorate, Trevor!

Wednesday 10th August – Disappointing….

Although it’s always a rude awakening to return from seeing thousands of butterflies in Spain to low three figures in the UK, I hadn’t expected there to be only double figure numbers at Port Eynon dunes this morning.

I arrived just after 10am given the hot weather, but in a little over an hour, I only saw 50 or so Meadow Browns, about two dozen Common Blues, around a dozen Small Whites, and a few other species in single figures.

Conditions were excellent:

Normally, there are plenty of Small Tortoiseshells around, but I suspect most have gone into aestivation to avoid using up too much fuel prior to hibernation. The only vanessids I saw were a solitary Red Admiral and this Painted Lady:

The best sighting was this hummingbird hawk moth:

Large White, Hedge Brown and Speckled Wood were the other butterflies seen.

[David M]

OK! You've persuaded me not to move to Wales helped by the fact that the cat issue (I think) has been resolved

Pleased to see your lovely shots of the BH - especially the open wings; gorgeous!

Thanks, Pauline. You're normally good with 'cats', so I hope this one can be consigned to the recycle bin.

I see you've easily surpassed my efforts with BH, so I have some catching up to do!

[David M]

Thursday 11th August – Heatwave conditions….

With temperatures set to peak at around 30c again today, I was up and out very early to visit the Brown Hairstreak site in West Williamston, Pembrokeshire.

Even as I arrived prior to 9am, it must have been around 23 or 24c, and the horse in the field next to the car park had a full body cover with a hood to presumably protect it from the heat and flies.

A new fence had also been erected around the field perimeter:

I made my way down to the foreshore, and stopped at the ash tree near the dismantled gate where I saw at least 5 male Brown Hairstreaks active in the canopy:

There were disappointingly few butterflies during my walk to the limestone ridge, but by 10.45am I had arrived in a prime spot for female betulae and waited here for a few minutes:

Within 5 minutes, I saw what I thought was a Hedge Brown. I walked over to the scrub and saw it flying away over the blackthorn, but at the same time I disturbed another butterfly that was far fresher:

It’s always one of the highlights of the year to find your first female Brown Hairstreak, and I watched her potter about for over 20 minutes before walking back towards the site entrance.

I stopped in the thistle field just prior to the gate and found this Comma:

There were also a couple of Small Tortoiseshells:

One Painted Lady was seen too:

It was roasting hot by now, so I left prior to midday as I sensed that butterflies would likely be taking shelter from the heat. Other species seen were Large, Small & Green Veined White, Common Blue, Meadow Brown, Small Copper, Silver Washed Fritillary and a fly-by Peacock.

[Goldie M]

Lovely shots David of the Brown Hair Streaks especially the open winged one, it's just another on the list I've got to get yet , they don't seem to be near me in Kent, I'll have to venture further a field Goldie

[David M]

That's what I call dedication.
Spend most of the spring and summer in some of the most species-rich locations in Europe, a tick-list of several hundred, and then come back to England and go looking for Essex Skippers.

It's a strange kind of dedication, isn't it? For instance, I all but ignore Clouded Yellows on the continent given the huge numbers of them, but if I see one close to home I'll pursue it for as long as it takes!

Should point out that I wouldn't have travelled to Gloucestershire just for Essex Skippers. Chalkhill Blues made the difference!

[Pauline]

I see you've easily surpassed my efforts with BH, so I have some catching up to do!

Not any more, you don't! Fabulous shots in a year when it has been anything but easy to find this species