millerd

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel - those Holly Blues are opening up every day I go out at the moment (probably because they need to warm up!).

Thursday 2nd May promised more than it actually delivered - though it was reasonably warm, the sun didn't really break through and my trip down to Denbies nearly resulted in a clean sheet. However, after a lot of wandering back and forth along the bottom of the slope, I found myself in the southwestern corner around one o'clock when the UV coming through the cloud would have been at its peak. Lo and behold, first a Grizzled Skipper and then a Dingy Skipper appeared.

Aside from a couple of Peacocks, Brimstones, Orange Tips and GVW, that was it. I once again failed to find any Green Hairstreaks in any of the usual spots.

Dave

[bugboy]

That's a very plump female Grizzlie!

[millerd]

Yes, Paul, she looked ready to pop!

Friday 3rd May was sunless throughout, but the morning of Saturday 4th looked more promising. The sun was out, and even early on it felt warm as I left home for my first 2024 trip up to Aston Rowant. However, I'd forgotten that up on this exposed Chiltern location it would be several degrees cooler...

It was a while before any butterflies appeared, the first one eventually popping up from the grass in front of me - a Green Hairstreak.

As the sun rose, and with it the temperature, more Hairstreaks appeared along the bottom of the slope. They mostly stayed up on the top of the hawthorns...

...but one obliging individual posed for me lower down.

The only other butterflies around today were Peacocks, GVW and Brimstones...

- very few flowers are out on the hillside as yet, and no sign of any skippers or coppers. Hopefully the promised sunny week ahead will change all that.

I returned home, and before cloud encroached (again), I had a short local walk as well. Today's highlight was seeing two Small Tortoiseshells (some way apart, on two separate expanses of lush riverside nettles that I suspect will be heaving with Peacock caterpillars in a few weeks).Risking a few nettle stings, I managed to get close enough to one of them to record the event.

Five of the seven Orange Tips seen today were female...

...and two were male.

Peacocks were most numerous again, but are beginning to get rather worn.

Also seen: Holly Blue, GVW, Small White and Speckled Wood.

Dave

[trevor]

I think that is a subject we once discussed at Chiddingfold.
Why are there some days when everything seems perfect, yet the butterflies fail to appear?
We met on such a day at Chiddingfold, Emperors were known to be out along with WA and SWF,
yet we saw very little. I'm sure humidity or the lack of has a bearing, but does air pressure play a part ?

Theories please!

[millerd]

Yes, answers on a postcard please, Trevor! The amazing day I had with the Emperors last year was sunny early on but clouded over while still remaining very warm. It was quite humid, but not oppressively so, and as well as the Purple ones there were plenty of White Admirals too. As for pressure - probably falling?

Sunday 5th May was another reasonably sunny one with a respectable high for early May of 19 degrees. I stayed on my local patch, and as is so often is the case, was rewarded with some thoroughly worthwhile sightings that I might have not seen when going further afield. I went out early again: there were Holly Blues from the outset of course...

...but the first real eye-catcher was a brand new male Speckled Wood, a rich orange and brown individual with none of the paler aspect of those that emerge first in the spring.

After this was another Holly Blue - a female this time, laying on goats' rue as I see them doing throughout early summer.

As always, she paused to recover and warm up.

An interlude followed as I wandered in the sunshine with various whites and the odd Brimstone passing by.

However, the highlight of the whole walk was finding my first Small Copper of the year - and in precisely the same spot that I'd seen the last one of 2023 back on 28th October.

A really good stay-at-home day: 50+ butterflies, nine species, and some crackers amongst them!

Dave

[Wurzel]

Brilliant Small Copper Dave and that is a very fecund Grizzlie I had a 'one of those' days on Saturday, perfect conditions only no-one had told the butterflies On other news...I saw a post on Face-the-book which featured a Marshie, as there were also some Duke shots I'm guessing Battlesbury...so hopefully by the weekend, with a few good weather days under the belt, there should be some at Cotley

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Great range of spring butterflies, Dave. It's almost like you've been on a different planet so far this year!

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel - the first Small Copper is always a welcome sight, and finding it right where the last one of 2023 was seen too. You might say they turn up like a bad penny...

Thank you, David. I think having the opportunity to go out almost whenever, and having a reliably productive area on the doorstep, have mitigated the less than ideal weather. A mix of sunshine and cloud also makes things easier from the photography perspective. The last couple of days with almost constant sun have made things harder work.

6th May was cloudy all day, and wet for some of it as well. However, the Met. Office were super confident that Tuesday 7th May would be sunny and warm all day - and they were absolutely spot on. I knew I'd be heading to Box Hill for a family walk in the middle of the day with butterflies not at the top of the agenda, so I went out early locally again. Even before 8am the Holly Blues were out - and it was a while before I saw anything else. In fact they dominated the walk, as is often the case.

Female Orange Tips and GVW appeared a bit later on, and then a few Small Whites and the ubiquitous Peacocks.

Those were the only five species I saw before returning home for coffee at ten.

Dave

[millerd]

Though my visit to Box Hill later on 7th May did not have butterflies as a priority, the walk we chose did run along the bottom of the viewpoint slope and along to the east from there. I couldn't help but notice that there were quite a few Dingy Skippers about down here, and managed to sneak a snap of one.

Then when two appeared to be having a scrap, it became clear that one of the two was much smaller and darker. It settled nearby and I could hardly not capture an image of a nice fresh Grizzled Skipper...

Finally, my first Small Heath of 2024 took off from the grass and once again a shot for the record was in order.

Also seen: lots of Brimstones, Peacocks, one or two Orange Tips and a couple of probable Green Hairstreaks.

Dave

[Wurzel]

That is a lovely looking Grizzlie Dave, a welcome sight after the late, late spring I got a bit ahead of myself with my comments as I see that you've grabbed some Pearls and Wood Whites since then so I'll have to come back later...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Nice to see that Grizzled Skipper, Dave. I should get to my local site for them soon before the weather turns again.

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel and David - that Grizzly was a great little butterfly and I only had the briefest opportunity to grab the shot. Funny how sometimes that can end up as a real cracker.

Wednesday 8th May rejoiced in a continuation of the sunny and warm theme, but I stayed local and went out relatively early again. The tally for the morning was 66 butterflies from 9 species:

Peacock 20
Holly Blue 15
GVW 12
Small White 5
Orange Tip 4
Speckled Wood 3
Large White 3
Brimstone 3
Small Copper 1

The Holly Blues excelled themselves once again, but I'll leave that until the end. Here are some of the rest.

One of the Brimstone females (there were 2f and 1m) was very pale...

...I caught her in flight, and there was only the faintest hint of lemon..

. Two of the Specklies were a complete contrast - a pale, worn female...

...and a vibrant bright new male.

The Small Copper was the same individual as the one seen a few days earlier.

A male Large White came down to nectar, and actually stayed on one flower long enough to be recorded.

Only one of the Orange Tips seen was male, and one of the females posed nicely...

...as did a GVW.

There were still some nice individuals among the many Peacocks.

Which just left the Holly Blues...which I will set aside for a separate post - again.

Dave

[millerd]

8th May - Holly Blues.

I've noted before that despite such a strong and accessible population of the species on my local patch, I hardly ever get a glimpse of a mating pair. The pairing I saw today would likely also have been overlooked if they hadn't been pestered by a succession of other males.

I had a moment of deja vu today - a week or two back I went out to post a letter and found a male Holly in the hedge alongside the main road. While on the same errand today, there was a female in the same hedge. She appeared to be laying, but I have no idea what the ornamental shrub is that she has chosen.

Elsewhere, females were about the same activity, but on more conventional greenery - the goats' rue.

A bit like female Brown Hairstreaks, Holly Blue females like to bask between depositing eggs, often providing the best opportunities for good upperside views.

Dave

[Katrina]

Lovely upper side shots

[Wurzel]

You're holding out on those Pearls Dave Sterling work with the mating Holly Blues - I've not seen this in spring, just a couple of times in the summer brood when they're a lot less prudish Keeping an eye on Cotley still

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Thank you, Katrina - I can't resist spending time with Holly Blues, waiting for them to open up like that.

I think I've only managed to see three pairings over all the time I've been watching the species, Wurzel - and that's probably several thousands of Holly Blues! Keep me posted on events at the Hill - the weather looks a little cooler in the week or so ahead, but there will still be some sunshine so they won't be discouraged from emerging.

The Pearls are only a couple of posts away - I'm not that far behind! However, Thursday 9th May started with a morning visit to Denbies again, only in much sunnier conditions than a week earlier.

To summarise, it was a morning of four species: Dingy Skippers, Grizzled Skippers, Green Hairstreaks and Small Heaths. There were reasonable numbers of all of these, mostly concentrated along the paths and hedge at the bottom of the main slope. That said, the first Hairstreak was actually seen in Steers Field, getting stuck into some buttercup nectar...

...and the last Grizzly was on the slope beyond there to the east, doing the same.

On the main slope, I'd say the ratio of Dingies to Grizzlies was about 5:2, but curiously the latter proved easier to photograph.

Harder than either of these were the Small Heaths, but I managed to find one perched further off the ground than usual (which seems to help). Curiously, its eyespot was really a streak of three tiny dots.

Other species seen, but only in ones and twos: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Peacock and Holly Blue (all of which I'd been seeing in far greater numbers at home).

Finally, among the numbers of day-flying moths, was one that is easily recognisable and is an honorary butterfly in many people's eyes: the Mother Shipton.

Dave

[David M]

Nice Holly Blues, Dave, but even better is that glorious Mother Shipton...an honorary butterfly if ever I saw one!

[Katrina]

I agree , great capture of the Mother Shipton - they are very tricky to photograph - normally fly away I find.

[trevor]

A very mrgreen worthy selection of shots and species Dave,
For me the Green Hairstreak on buttercup takes first prize, stunning!

[millerd]

I'm glad you agree about the honorary butterfly status I accorded the Mother Shipton, David - thoroughly deserved I feel.

Thank you, Katrina - I think they were just emerging and were consequently unusually docile. There are two different insects in those shots, and the second one in particular sat still for some time and even let me clear some bits of grass away before I moved in close.

That Green Hairstreak was almost inseparable from the buttercup, Trevor, and when it finally flew it was only to another similar flower. As you say, it made an eye-catching combination.

There was time on the afternoon of 9th May to fit in a quick local walk - just enough to see one or two of the usual butterfly inhabitants. I don't seem to end up with many shots of Small Whites, but this is one for a change.

Brand new Specklies are appearing, after the smallest of gaps since the last lot faded away.

Finally, another female Holly Blue on the goats' rue, but the lighting seems to have enhanced the blueness of the butterfly somehow.

Dave