October 2023

[Stevieb]

The ivy in the garden is still producing the goods yesterday and today with Red Admirals still in double figures

Melksham, Wiltshire

[Allan.W.]

A few bits and pieces from yesterday . Our "Saturday" visit to Dungeness became our Friday trip ! for one reason or another .The weather was pretty warm albeit quite breezy ,we decided to do another Small Copper count ,and from the main car park we crossed the shingle by the old station remains and headed out towards the "Desert " counting as we went ,many Small Coppers plus the odd Small White and Red Admiral .For the birders we noted 4 Black Redstarts ,possibly a family party (they breed on the Power Station ) and one interesting moth that we see from time to time ,a very smart Vestal .

.
As we continued on we started finding more and more Coppers ,they still appear to be emerging.

Also very pleased to see 5 Common Blues .............not been a good season for them ,in our "neck of the woods " at least 2 fresh males ,2 worn males
and a single female variety which seem fairly Common at Dungeness which is dark Blue .

In all we counted a respectable 212 Small Coppers in a 4.2 k walk . Finally one for the train enthusiasts The Green Goddess at Dungeness station.

Just as a matter of interest i had a late visit to my local wood, in glorious weather(23 degrees ) where high numbers of Peacocks have been showing for a couple of weeks ,last weekend i counted around 15 ,a drop in numbers from 2-3 weeks back (42 found ) ,but still about in reasonable numbers . Today .....albeit late afternoon ,
an hour and a quarter visit .............................none ,just 1 battle worn Small Copper. All gone into hibernation ?
Regards Allan.W.

[David M]

...In all we counted a respectable 212 Small Coppers in a 4.2 k walk...

[millerd]

Eleven species seen locally this morning, as a confused Brimstone added another to yesterday's list. It was cruising up and down the hedgerows as if it were spring and came nowhere near being photographed. A couple of female Brown Argus joined the males today, and one had clearly done exactly that as it appeared to be looking for somewhere to lay.

The other one looked very new.

The Brown Argus were almost invariably in the same spots as Common Blues and Small Coppers, and three-way tussles between males kept them all occupied.

A Comma posed for me a few metres from my front door...

...and a Speckled Wood provided first hand evidence for why sitting on barbed wire is a bad idea...

Another had been more careful in choosing its perch, though this spot is likely not far from a hornets' nest, as there were quite a few flying in the vicinity.

Summer continues - at least in this part of the country...

Dave

[Allan.W.]

Forgot to mention in my last post ............we also saw 1 Large White a Peacock and 2 worn Small Heath at Dungeness.
Allan.W.

[aeshna5]

Nice to see a smart male Brimstone on Michaelmas Daisies in Cambridge Botanic Garden yesterday along with more expected fare such as Red Admiral, Small White & Holly Blue, though surprised not to see a Speckled Wood.

[David M]

Sunday 8th, Port Eynon, Gower:

Red Admiral 4
Small White 3
Painted Lady 2

[Vince Massimo]

Today there was more evidence of a Red Admiral reverse migration. This time I was at Lancing on the Sussex coast, rather than 25 miles in-land in Crawley. Over a series of timed counts, on or very close to the coast (in Lancing and Shoreham) I observed 120 butterflies in flight over a cumulative period of 3 hours and 5 minutes. This equated to one butterfly passing me every 1 minute and 32 seconds (on average). The predominant direction of flight for 84 butterflies was to the south-west, which was into the light prevailing wind. However, 16 others were going in the opposite direction to the north or north-west, flying with the wind and seemingly coming in off the sea. 18 more were flying in a westerly direction along the beach, with two others going south-east. 21 more were either feeding or at rest, giving a total of 141 butterflies. By 5pm flying activity had stopped in my location.

Other species seen were: 14 Small White, 1 Large White, 1 Brimstone, 2 Speckled Wood, 1 Comma, 3 Humming-bird Hawk-moth and 1 Box-tree moth. Yesterday I also had a Clouded Yellow in the garden, but it moved-on very quickly.

Vince

[millerd]

Today there was more evidence of a Red Admiral reverse migration. This time I was at Lancing on the Sussex coast...
Vince

Along with a number of others, I was just inland from you at Lancing Ring, Vince. Though we were mostly devoting attention to the Long-tailed Blues, you couldn't help noticing that there was a steady stream of Red Admirals heading towards the sea. This has been noticeable all week on my local patch as well, so there must be thousands (millions?) of butterflies involved. It really has been their year.

The Long-tailed Blues were good value too, with a mating pair and several other males varying from very worn to quite fresh, and demonstrating some variety in the depth of blue colouration.

Dave

[David M]

Excellent LTB images, Dave.

[David M]

Sunday 8th, Park Wood, Gower:

Red Admiral 10
Speckled Wood 4
Large White 1
Comma 1
Small White 1
Small Copper 1

[millerd]

Excellent LTB images, Dave.

Thank you, David. I am pretty certain that many (if not all) the others down there came away with better images than I did - Trevor has posted some already! It was well worth the trip: glorious weather, excellent company and Long-tailed Blues.

Back home today to discover that almost all the ivy-nectaring Red Admirals had obviously sensed the impending end to the summery weather and had disappeared. It is quite possible they were among the ones seen heading to the seaside in Sussex yesterday. There were still one or two, and a dozen or so were seen airborne in determined and rapid flight south. I actually find it quite awe-inspiring (humbling even) to be witnessing this fairly major southward migration of a charismatic butterfly.

The exotic blues of yesterday gave way to more ordinary fare today: new male Common Blues are still appearing in ones and twos on my local patch...

...and I did get a glimpse of a female too.

Dave

[bugboy]

Excellent LTB images, Dave.

Most of which had vanished at some point between then and this morning, today there were just a handful of worn individuals. Like the other migrants they will be taking advantage of the current calm conditions.

Down on the Worthing coast you couldn't help but notice a steady stream of Red Admiral flying out to sea.

[bugboy]

Stayed local today and saw a handful of butterflies, most of whom were Red Admirals flying into the wind in a south or southwest direction, the exodus continues.

[millerd]

In order to make the most of what was likely to be the last real summery day of the year, I spent a few hours on my local patch again in glorious warm sunshine.

I managed to see eleven species today, including the first Painted Lady of the month. They haven't been exactly numerous here in 2023, but I've seen at least one in every month since April.

Among the handful of Small Whites today was one male Large White that evaded me, and a rather ragged female Green-veined White that didn't have the energy to do the same.

Amongst other butterflies were a posing elderly Small Copper...

...and a Speckled Wood that paused briefly between chasing falling leaves.

However, a few more fresh male Common Blues were probably the highlight.

It looks like sunshine will return at the weekend, but with temperatures ten degrees cooler, it's actually going to feel like autumn.

As always, a proper account of today's outing will turn up in my PD fairly soon.

Dave

[David M]

....I managed to see eleven species today, including the first Painted Lady of the month.

That's excellent given the time of year.

[David M]

Monday 9th, Nicholaston Burrows, Gower:

Red Admiral 25-30
Painted Lady 2
Speckled Wood 1
Small Copper 1

[millerd]

One final warm day was promised by the Met Office for the southeast of the UK today (13th). They were right (it reached 21 degrees this afternoon), and around 1400 the sun even made an appearance, so despite a stiff breeze I headed out optimistically onto my local patch.

Almost immediately, a Holly Blue sailed past on the wind and ended up too high in a tree for anything but the blurriest of record shots.

I managed to count seven Red Admirals, most of which were females egg-laying on the carpets of lush fresh nettle growth.

This egg was laid by the first of these two while I took the shot.

Next to be seen was a fresh female Small White, the first of five of the species counted today.

Common Blues were probably the highlight today, with one each of female and male, both very new-looking.

Last of all was another fuzzy record shot of a butterfly from some way beneath - this time a Speckled Wood.

As I type this only five hours later, the band of rain heralding the arrival of much colder air has just cleared through. I suspect summer is finally over.

Dave

[Bertl]

I was out trimming the hedge and cutting the grass, hopefully last cut now before spring next year!!

Had to wear my fleece as temperatures here in Aberdeen alot cooler now.

Still managed to spot a couple of red admirals on the go.

Bert.

[David M]

Definitely looks like true autumn is taking hold, Dave. Been dreadful but for a half hour spell when watery sunshine broke through the rain clouds round here.

Amazingly, during that brief interlude, I saw a Small Copper and two Red Admirals on my estate.