David M

[trevor]

I couldn't agree more David, the first Orange Tip sighting is one of the highlights of the hobby.
They are also a symbol that winter is behind us ( even if the winter weather continues ).
Even better most of us don't have to travel far to see them.

[David M]

Agreed, Trevor. Same with Provence Orange Tip which I've been seeing these last few days in Spain.

[David M]

Friday 12th April – Cosmeston…

After leaving Lavernock, it was only a short drive to Cosmeston Park, where I was hoping to see more Orange Tips.

I had to pass through some drier areas before reaching the likeliest spot for them at this site – a damp area near the woodland at the back of the site.
A Comma and a Peacock distracted me as I made my way there:

Sure enough, there were a couple of males flying near the damp track, although the only image I could get of either of them settled was this:

After walking into the medieval village half an hour later, I was fortunate to have one stay put for about a minute:

The 48 different butterflies seen on the day was easily my best of this miserable spring.

[David M]

Sunday 14th April – An improvement…

I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular today, since the weather remained fairly cool at around 12/13c. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the butterfly returns at Cwm Ivy with Holly Blues the top performers with a total of 15 seen, although all were males:

The blackthorn blossom was undoubtedly at its peak:

I also saw quite a few orchids in flower:

There were 4 Red Admirals about:

There were also 4 Commas and 6 Peacocks:

Brimstones just hit double figures with 11, there were 5 Speckled Woods and 4 male Orange Tips, none of which settled long enough for a photo.

[essexbuzzard]

Good to see the sun was shining somewhere, David. You’ve definitely had the best of it on that side of the country again this spring!

Good to see the Holly Blues, I wonder how they will do this year? They have yet to get started over this way, but had an excellent 2023, so I’m hopeful.

[David M]

Tuesday 16th April – Going colder…

Seems we’re back to the cool, cloudy and windy routine that has characterised this spring.

At just 11c and with an 18mph wind blowing, my only choice was to visit the sheltered woodland near my home today.

Peacocks were the most frequently encountered species, with 7 seen. Brimstones numbered 6 whilst a couple of Orange Tips braved the conditions in a sheltered clearing:

With no real warmth on the horizon, things are becoming quite depressing.

[David M]

Good to see the sun was shining somewhere, David. You’ve definitely had the best of it on that side of the country again this spring!

Good to see the Holly Blues, I wonder how they will do this year? They have yet to get started over this way, but had an excellent 2023, so I’m hopeful.

Been pretty grim everywhere so far this spring, Mark. As for Holly Blues, they always do well at my local site but it's difficult to make comparisons when they have had so few opportunities to be active this year.

[David M]

Thursday 18th April – Copper mining…

I don’t normally visit Nicholaston Burrows at this time of year, but given that it’s a reliable spot for Small Coppers I thought I’d give it a once over to see if I could find my first of the year.

Pleasingly, I ended up seeing three, two of which turned up in a sheltered spot just before the dunes give way to the beach:

Not much else about – two Speckled Woods, a male Green Veined White, a Peacock and an Orange Tip.

[David M]

Thursday 18th April pm – Numbers remaining poor…

After leaving Nicholaston, I headed to Cwm Ivy to see if butterfly numbers had improved.

Sadly, they hadn’t, with no species exceeding 6 in total. Of the half dozen Holly Blues though, one was a very welcome female:

Red Admirals, surprisingly, also reached half a dozen:

There were 5 Speckled Woods and 5 Peacocks, but just one Brimstone and a solitary male Orange Tip:

[David M]

Saturday 20th April – Last chance…

With a 19 day trip to Spain commencing tomorrow, this was the last day I had to see a few spring species at home.

A visit to Dan-y-Graig cemetery didn’t generate much so I moved on to Crymlyn Burrows, where the first notable thing I saw was a male Small White harassing a female Green Veined White. After several minutes of chasing the two stopped for a rest:

Eventually the Small White left, leaving the GVW in peace:

Brimstones led the way with 11 seen, whilst Orange Tips numbered 5:

Six Small Whites in all and a couple of Speckled Woods in the wooded area. It’s been such a dismal spring I won’t de sorry to decamp abroad for a while.

[David M]

22 April to 8 May – Spain…

The first half of this trip was based in central and northern Spain, where conditions had been unusually warm since Easter, but went cold the day after I arrived, with some near zero nights and daytime highs merely in the 12-15c range.

This caused me to play safe by visiting one of the Spring Ringlet sites on the first afternoon prior to checking in at my hotel. I was concerned that the night-time temperatures at 1,350-1,550m where the sites where might be fatal for them so I was grateful to see around 15 flying low to the ground in fairly windy conditions on that first afternoon:

The next three days were rather tricky, as temperatures didn’t reach double figures till lunch time, meaning that very few butterflies were seen prior to 1300h.

Even the day spent at Los Monegros wasn’t particularly warm, with highs of around 20c, but it was nice to finally go butterfly hunting in a T-shirt for the first time this year.

On 26th, it got to a ‘balmy’ 15c by mid-afternoon, meaning that Iberian Sooty Copper was on the wing:

[David M]

22 April to 8 May – Spain cont…

Moving north to the foothills of the Spanish Pyrenees didn’t do anything to improve the weather, although given the lesser altitude it was a little milder at night and first thing in the morning.

The first of my two full days here was wet and barely an hour was spent outside, although this paid dividends in the shape of a few Spanish Festoons:

The forecast for my final day here wasn’t good, but in actual fact it turned out quite reasonable, with decent sunny spells which made things feel warm in the 15c air temperature. Green Underside Blues responded to these interludes:

[Katrina]

That Green Underside Blue is very attractive - good shot!

[David M]

22 April to 8 May – Spain cont…

Travelling to Andalusia from Valencia took a whole day, and the poor weather even persisted there (at least for one day), meaning that until the sun started to come through on the afternoon of 1st May, only a handful of roosting butterflies were seen.

One of them was this very welcome Green-Striped White:

This butterfly soon stirred once the sun began to shine:

So did this Western Dappled White:

Briefly, they shared the same flower:

A quick stop near to the hotel provided a few Spanish Gatekeepers:

From the following day though, things were to change markedly.

[David M]

22 April to 8 May – Spain cont…

Finally, on 2nd May, the weather warmed up, the sun came out, and the rest of my trip was an absolute delight.

Desert Orange Tips were about in Castell de Ferro and the following day, plenty of Common Tiger Blues were seen in Retamar:

After last year’s exceptionally dry spring though, butterfly numbers were rather scant. Although there had been a fair bit of rain around Easter, this south east corner tends to see weather systems blocked by the high Sierra Nevada to the west.

African Grass and Long Tailed Blues, as well as Geranium Bronze were all seen locally, as were numerous green parakeets which had clearly set up home in one of the town’s parks:

The vegetation further west from 5th May proved far more green and lush, and butterflies were numerous.

[David M]

22 April to 8 May – Spain cont…

West of the city of Granada, the landscape transformed into a green utopia, and I spent three extremely enjoyable days exploring it.

Southern Marbled Skippers were seen regularly:

This morning roost of an amazing 9 Black Veined Whites was quite a sight (there is another out of shot at the base):

Fresh Sage Skippers were irresistible:

A handful of tiny Lorquin’s Blues were found:

The big target, Spanish Fritillary, obliged in its traditional location (and was seen at another site too):

Aetherie Fritillary was around in relatively small numbers:

As ever, Monarchs were a welcome sight:

This Provence Orange Tip was a delight:

The only minor disappointment was not getting to the site for Two Tailed Pasha due to wind and cloud near the coast on the final morning, Aside from that, the week was a resounding success.

[selbypaul]

Glad to hear things improved down in Andalucia David. It is a wonderful part of the world, and loved my trip there with you last year.

Interesting to know the Lorquin's Blue's were much easier to see this year, there were very few around last year.

[David M]

That Green Underside Blue is very attractive - good shot!

Certainly a species that lives up to its English name, Katrina.

They are exceptionally beautiful when fresh.

[Maximus]

A mouthwatering selection of species, David, it would be good to see just a few of those. That's a lovely shot of the roosting Black-veined Whites and the Spanish fritillary is a stunner

[David M]

Glad to hear things improved down in Andalucia David. It is a wonderful part of the world, and loved my trip there with you last year.

Interesting to know the Lorquin's Blue's were much easier to see this year, there were very few around last year.

Thanks, Paul. The season was ahead of what I would consider 'normal' but not as advanced as last year. There were more Pierids too than last year.

A mouthwatering selection of species, David, it would be good to see just a few of those. That's a lovely shot of the roosting Black-veined Whites and the Spanish fritillary is a stunner

Thanks, Mike. It’s a great area for a large number of restricted-range spring species. Spanish Fritillary is, in particular, to die for!