Neil Freeman

[millerd]

I'll add a to Trevor's for the Tortie, Neil. Gone are the days round here when the first spring days brought them out in double figures... Peacocks, however, are a different matter entirely! Great shots of the Orange Tips as well, and good to see the Specklies back in your garden!

Cheers,

Dave

[Chris L]

Great photos Neil. I have yet to see Speckled Wood or Orange Tip this year but as we are in the same butterfly time zone, this suggests that they are out there. Maybe today, when I have finished eating my all day breakfast

[Goldie M]

Lovely shots of the Orange Tip Neil, I've yet to see them, hope fully they'll arrive here before long

I use to see the Small Tortoiseshell in my Garden in the North before any other Butterfly great shots of them Goldie :

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks for the comments Trevor, Dave, Chris and Goldie. Very much appreciated

Saturday 13th April.

I don't know where the guy on the BBC weather this morning got his data from but he said that yesterday (Friday 12th) was the warmest day so far this year. Well, not here it wasn't. Thursday was warmer with yesterday being pretty much cloudy all day with a cool breeze keeping the temperature down.

Today was a bit warmer again but still mostly cloudy although there were some periods of thinner cloud during which the sun almost shone through. This made it warm enough to bring a couple of male speckled Wood out and I spotted them a few times as they squabbled with each other and boke apart to bask until the next round.

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 13.04.2024

At one point they even settled at the same spot and stayed there together for a few seconds until they took off and spiralled up again.

Speckled Woods - Coverdale 13.04.2024

A female also flew in and stayed around for a few minutes before continuing on her way. As so often happens here she was totally missed by the two males as they focused their attention on each other.

Speckled Wood female - Coverdale 13.04.2024

Although bright enough for the Specklies it didn't really warm up enough for anything else. It is looking to be a bit cooler again for the next few days but given the accuracy of the forcasts lately, we'll see.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Great to see that you had a good day at last (11th April) It's been one of those season so far with a definite East West divide Also good to see you back in amidst the Specklies of Coverdale

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Lovely to see those Speckled Woods perched together, Neil. Well done with the Orange Tips too. Things seem to be moving along a little for you now.

[Neil Freeman]

Great to see that you had a good day at last (11th April) It's been one of those season so far with a definite East West divide Also good to see you back in amidst the Specklies of Coverdale

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. Also a North South divide with the result that once again the south east seems to be well ahead of anywhere else.

Lovely to see those Speckled Woods perched together, Neil. Well done with the Orange Tips too. Things seem to be moving along a little for you now.

Thanks David. Once again it has been one step forward and two steps back. In fact this week feels like we have stepped back to February with some viciously cold winds keeping the temperatures well down, even when the sun has managed to break through the almost incessant cloud.

Speckled wood will fly in quite dull contitions if it gets warm enough but even they have gone back into hiding here.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Chris L]

Absolutely fantastic pristine Speckled Wood photos Neil. I particularly like the two together.

Does anyone, without fail, always think Whitesnake when we have Neil photos from Coverdale?

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Chris. I was a bit surprised to see those two together, even if it was just for a few seconds. Male Speckled Wood are usually very intolerent of each other, especially so at this time of year. Later on in the season they may tolerate each other a bit more, especially if they are tucking into over-ripe blackberries.

Does anyone, without fail, always think Whitesnake when we have Neil photos from Coverdale?

I know that Wurzel does. He asked me about the name a while back and I told him that it was just the name of my road which I use to label my photos. He suggested I could name any photos taken in the front garden as 'Gillan' so he obviously thought of Deep Purple as well


Friday 19th April.

A generally cold week here with strong winds and lots more rain. It finally bucked up today (Friday) but there was still a fair bit of cloud about and although the wind had eased off a bit it was still a bit nippy.
Nevertheless there was enough sun this afternoon to make it feel reasonably pleasant at times and so i spent some time trying to catch up on some jobs around the garden. Due to all the lousy weather we have been having here, I have not been able to keep on top of things in the garden as I would like to, after all even nettles and brambles take some management to prevent them spreading too far.

As usual, I Kept my camera to hand and took a couple of photos of a male Speckled Wood that was lurking about for a while, until a particularly dark cloud sent him off looking for somewhere to hide.

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 19.04.2024

Later on I was watching a couple of male Holly Blues, my first this year, chase each other about when a third one flew in and joined in until they all split up and flew off in different directions. I watched one of them come down and crept up just in time to catch his open up a bit before flying off over next door.

Holly Blue male - Coverdale 19.04.2024

I also saw a male Orange-tip pass through without stopping but that was it until the clouds built up into a thick overcast around 2.30pm and stayed that way for the rest of the day.

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Cracking Holly Blue shot Neil They can be right pains sometimes and at others the most placid posers out there, quite a contrary butterfly It sounds like this one feel into the first category so you did well to catch it out

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel. Yes, Holly Blues can be awkward little s*ds sometimes. In my garden they often settle higher up out of reach of the camera.

Saturday 20th April.

Borderline conditons at best today with a persistant chilly breeze which kept the temprature well down, even when the sun occasionally appeared from behind copious amounts of cloud. If anything it actually felt colder than yesterday despite the weather forecasts saying that it was going to warm up a bit.
This was reflected in the number of butterflies that I saw in the garden, just one each of Holly Blue and Orange-tip that both appeared mid-afternoon during one of the 'better' sunny spells. The Holly Blue didn't hang around but the Orange-tip fluttered up to a lilac bush at the side of the garden and settled long enough for me to grap a couple snaps.

Orange-tip - Coverdale 20.04.2024

The forecast is looking better for tomorrow...but then again todays forecast looked to be better than yesterday but it didn't pan out that way here

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

That is a beautifully marked OT Neil-love the contrast between the bright orange and the black 'edging'
"In my garden they often settle higher up out of reach of the camera." Ah that old Chestnut

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel. Yes, a lovely fresh looking example.

..."In my garden they often settle higher up out of reach of the camera." Ah that old Chestnut ..

I've got Privet, Hawthorn, Hazel etc. but no Chestnut...sorry Wurzel

Sunday 21st April.

A better day than Saturday although that chilly breeze was still there meaning that when a cloud did cover the sun it would still feel quite nippy. The sunny periods tended to last longer however meaning that between the cloudy spells it would become more pleasant, easily the best day of the weekend.
I was considering a walk down to Wagon Lane but given that more rain was forcast for Monday I really needed to continue trying to get on top of the garden so I spent most of the afternoon doing just that. As usual, I had my camera to hand just in case anything came along.

The first butterfly that I saw was a nice male Speckled Wood that set up his territory in one of the usual spots and hung around for most of the day.

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 21.04.2024

At least one male Orange-tip passed though a few times and I suspect there were possibly two different individuals given that one flew in from one side of the garden very quickly after one had flown out of the opposite side. It (they?) usually passed through without stopping but one was tempted by a herb robert flower just long enough for me to grab a quick shot.

Orange-tip - Coverdale 21.04.2024

A Comma also flew in at one time and lingered around for a few minutes before taking off and disappearing at high speed.

Comma - Coverdale 21.04.2024

The only other butterfly seen was a single male Holly Blue that flew along the side of the garden checking the shrubs before carrying on over next door.

As I write this on Monday morning it is indeed raining and it is forecast to last all day. The outlook for the rest of the week says turning increasingly unsettled...I think that is code for "we don't know what it will be like".

Bye for now,

Neil

[trevor]

Flowering Herb Robert is useful for patrolling OT's in full sun, as they will usually pause on it
for a moment, but the camera has to ready for action! Some of my shots have been obtained this way.

Good to see your Small Tortoiseshells, they seem to be even scarcer than usual around here.

[Wurzel]

"I've got Privet, Hawthorn, Hazel etc. but no Chestnut...sorry Wurzel "

Cracking OT shot Neil - I saw one at the weekend at it stopped at practically every single Herb Robert within sight- a very useful plant to have

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel and Trevor. Yes, Herb Robert is a useful plant at this time of year for attracting passing OTs. It springs up all over the place in my garden and can be a bit invasive but is shallow rooted so easy to control.

Friday 26th April.

A dismal week here with loads of cloud and a cold wind on most days that kept the temperatures well down in single figures. The only sun that we saw was usually early morning after clear and cold nights with some areas around the midlands seeing some frosts although we just about avoided those.

Today started off similar, that is clear and sunny albeit very nippy after another cold night. Although cloud started to build through th emorning, most of it held off long enough so that by early afternoon it was almost feeling pleasant in the sun, even with that cold wind.
For an hour or so in the early afternoon I pottered about in the garden and kept an eye out for anything turning up. As is usually the case, the first butterfly to appear was a male Speckled Wood that took up station in one of the usual sheltered corners.

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 26.04.2024

A little later another one appeared and there ensued the usual tussles whenever they caught sight of each other.

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 26.04.2024

A female also came fluttering through and stopped on one of the spanish bluebells for a top up before continuing on her way.

Speckled Wood female- Coverdale 26.04.2024

Both of the males had disappeared when she arrived, probaby involved in one of their squabbles that usually took them off into one of the neighbours gardens.

A single male Orange-tip also fluttered in and settled close to some herb robert although on this occasion he didn't visit the flowers...

Orange-tip - Coverdale 26.04.2024

...unlike a female, the first female OT I have seen this year, that visited the same herb robert plant about 20 minutes later.

Orange-tip female - Coverdale 26.04.2024

A single Holly Blue was also briefly seen but it didn't hang around.

About 2.00pm the gradually thickening cloud had built up into a blanket grey overcast and with that cold wind it once again became quite chilly so I headed back indoors for a nice cuppa.

It is looking to be a mostly wet weekend here but, as one of the weather forcasters said this morning...at least the rain should be a bit warmer

Bye for now,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Cracking shots Neil, especially the underside of the Specklie, very understated but attractive Hopefully you managed to duck out in between showers feels like we've missed out summer and gone straight to autumn

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Chris L]

That first Speckled Wood photo is perfect Neil, in terms of photo quality and the pristine appearance of the butterfly.

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel. Unfortunatly there were'nt any showers to duck out between, just a blanket grey overcast of doom or rain/drizzle all day.

Thanks Chris. I am fortunate with my resident garden Speckled Woods in that I can see a procession of fresh ones throughout the season.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Neil Freeman]

Saturday 27th April.

Dull grey overcast all day. Nothing seen.

Sunday 28th April.

More grey cloud but now with added rain or drizzle all day. Nothing seen.

Monday 29th April.

A little brighter but only in that there was some lighter grey cloud. Quite windy but at least no rain. Nothing seen.


Today (Tuesday) was finally a better day and despite a strong wind I actually saw some butterflies. Now I just need to sort through a few photos and write up a report.

Cheers,

Neil.