April 2025

[millerd]

Back to my local patch for a full day of non-stop sunshine with a pleasant breeze to freshen things up (it actually felt a bit muggy yesterday). 100+ butterflies counted, with 10 species flying. Here are a few highlights, with the rest to follow in my PD in a few days.

Dave

[David Lazarus]

...still no cuckoo flower... in past years I've struggled to find any here

Cuckoo-flower Cardamine pratensis has just started flowering here - this is taken in Baddow Meads. I have never seen a single Orange-tip on it. I think it is perhaps because it is in the open grassland area of the wet meadow and is not sheltered enough. It is better close to a hedge or woodland edge; along a ride in a wet woodland, or along a ditch I would suspect which allows a bit of shelter.

Cuckoo-flower Cardamine pratensis
Baddow Meads 05/04/2025

I have flowering Garlic Mustard Alliaria petiolata in the woodland garden that I manage here but I haven't seen much of it elsewhere yet. I am really worried about the dry weather. It could be a problem if we do not have sufficient rain to keep the tall herbs lush.

[David Lazarus]

I had another wonderful day out in South Essex - this time a visit to Langdon Hills Country Park incorporating One Tree Hill [Hawksbury Bush, Johnson's Meadows, & Martinhole Wood], Northlands Wood, Willow Park, and Marks Hill Wood Nature Reserve. The day was good anyway, but at 4.15 I walked down a butterfly super-highway along the lane running down the western edge of Northlands Wood. The high point of my year so far. West-facing, it caught the late afternoon sun perfectly, and sheltered from the east-north-east wind, the ideal micro-climate was created and the butterflies who like to frequent that time of day loved it. I managed to see all 5 of the common whites in a day for the first time this year. And out of the 142 butterflies, the single Small Tortoiseshell I found at Hawksbury Bush was by far the happiest moment - saddened by the fact there was not a second or a third on a butterfly mound covered in nettles and other lovely 'weeds'. A great day - Langdon Hills has finally started.

Green-veined White female
Willow Park 05/04/2025

Green-veined White male
Northlands Wood 05/04/2025

Green-veined White male
Northlands Wood 05/04/2025

Peacock
Hawksbury bush 05/04/2025

Comma
Northlands Wood 05/04/2025

Small Tortoiseshell
Hawksbury Bush 05/04/2025

The woodland plants are all out now, so the perfect day of Peacock nectaring on Bluebell, Brimstone on Primrose, and Orange-tip on Greater Stitchwort is possible, plus the carpets of Wood Anemone are at their best & the Lesser Celandine, Red Campion, and Ground Ivy.

There were again large numbers of Peacock [64], with 21 Comma, as well as the largest count of the whites so far, 21 Green-veined, 15 Large, and one short of double-figures for male Orange-tip.

[Butterfly_Julian]

I am lucky to see a single butterfly a day up here in North East Essex. Been so cool and windy.
Found this Large White hidden in our hedge this afternoon.

Large White

A very sad man
Julian

[Charles Nicol]

i went to Sundon in the Chilterns. it was quite breezy but the sun was out. there were several Orange Tips flying briskly. also some vigorous Peacocks, one of which landed on my jumper.

i was delighted to see the first Cowslip of the year

[David Lazarus]

I am lucky to see a single butterfly a day up here in North East Essex. Been so cool and windy.
A very sad man

I feel for you Julian. I had planned to visit Great Holland Pits and The Naze today but saw the temperatures were so low I headed south. Here’s to hot days at the Pits soon.

[David M]

...There were again large numbers of Peacock [64]...

Phenomenal count! They've been scarce so far in S. Wales; I've only seen half a dozen thus far.

[David Lazarus]

Phenomenal count! They've been scarce so far in S. Wales; I've only seen half a dozen thus far.

Yes, pretty good David. As you can see by the following, numbers of recorded sightings have been very healthy ***. Peacock started slow, as I mentioned previously, quite a bit later than Brimstone and Comma, but have now taken off and show no signs of diminishing. And this is everywhere I go in Essex! As others have commented, there are a lot of fresh-looking individuals who will probably last a while yet.

Peacock
2025 number of recorded sightings per site

Peacock
2025 number of recorded sightings by date

I will add though, I am carrying out these site surveys full time and it involves comprehensive surveys at chosen sites where [mostly] I expect to see large numbers of butterflies. And obviously, at this time of year I am walking the type of habitat that Peacock love and site conditions have been optimal plus the microclimatic conditions, including protection from the chilly spring winds, have all contributed to these sightings.

I haven't produced the figures for Small Tortoiseshell, and the preferred habitats are not exactly the same as those preferred by Peacock, but the comparison is stark. I fear that the significant decline in Small Tortoiseshell butterfly populations in Essex can partly be attributed to the arrival and spread of the parasitic fly Sturmia bella. That is most likely the cause of the drastic situation here in the floodplain of the River Chelmer where the habitat is ideal for Small Tortoiseshell. I realise, as others have commented, that this species experiences boom and bust years, but I have gone down from seeing 100 annually to tens and twenties at most. I do not think the climate is to blame and that colonies are moving north.

And this dry spring we are experiencing now is not going to help.

I will just add, Comma numbers have been excellent this spring too.

*** Peacock recorded sightings: 469 out of a total for recorded sightings of all species [10]:1044 - 45% of all recorded sightings up to April 5th 2025.

[Stevieb]

Peacocks by far the most numerous species on the hill this lunchtime. Beacon Hill, Wiltshire

Brimstone (4)
Large White (3)
Green-veined White (4)
Orange-tip (3)
Holly Blue (1)
Peacock (20+)
Speckled Wood (9)

6th April

6th April

6th April

6th April

6th April

Plus Holly Blue in the garden this afternoon

6th April

[David Lazarus]

A female Wall sighting reported at Two Tree Island, South Essex on Friday.

[David Lazarus]

A quick trip to the shop for cat food via Baddow Meads & Meadgate Fields Open Space produced a few firsts with 33 seen of 7 species - the best locally during 2025. The first Speckled Wood was seen at Meadgate Fields Open Space in a popular territorial area; first Orange-tip along the River Chelmer in a known hotspot, as well as first sightings of Large & Small White. Another 18 Peacock, an ovipositing Comma, but I could only find one more Small Tortoiseshell and it was very tatty which means it is probably past the peak for this stage of their lifecycle in Baddow Meads - sadly, this only makes 15 recorded sightings here, far lower than the 100+ a few years ago.

Speckled Wood male
Meadgate Fields Open Space 06/04/2025

Large White female
Meadgate Park 06/04/2025

Peacock female
Baddow Meads 06/04/2025

Comma female ovipositing
Meadgate Fields Open Space 06/04/2025

Small Tortoiseshell
Baddow Meads 06/04/2025

No Holly Blue still - even down the walkway formally known as Holly Blue Alley & still no sighting of a butterfly in the gardens I manage here

And there are recorded sighting of Wall at Two Tree Island already - I was there 4 days before

[millerd]

Another good day locally, and though I was initially looking at some behavioural aspects rather than counting, I'd guess at 70+ butterflies of 10 species. Today's highlights included watching a series of female Green-veined Whites laying close to the River Colne, and finding one of the results.

An extra short walk at the end of the afternoon to catch up with the local Red Admirals (their favoured time of day) resulted in finding a beautiful brand new female Speckled Wood.

One of the Red Admirals was scrapping with another Specklie, a male, and their energetic acrobatics disturbed a Holly Blue attempting to settle down for the night. When I followed it trying to land again, I found that there were actually three of them tucked down in the brambles. I've found they often roost in loose knit groupings like this. The disturbed individual elected to have one last bask before bedtime - not the most pristine, but a great sight nonetheless.

Dave

[David M]

Real bonanza at Cwm Ivy today, with around 150 butterflies of 9 different species seen:

Speckled Wood 50-60
Holly Blue 45
Orange Tip 27
Comma 6
Peacock 5
Small White 5
Large White 4
Green Veined White 2
Brimstone 2

[David Lazarus]

Real bonanza at Cwm Ivy today, with around 150 butterflies of 9 different species seen:

Speckled Wood 50-60
Holly Blue 45
Orange Tip 27
Comma 6
Peacock 5
Small White 5
Large White 4
Green Veined White 2
Brimstone 2

Great numbers, David. I don’t think I will get to see 50 Speckled Wood, 45 Holly Blue, & 30 Orange-tip at any of the sites I visit in Essex this spring. That’s individually, let alone together

What I can’t understand, though, is that the numbers of the other species are so low in comparison. These are the species that I record high numbers, as you’ve seen.

I wonder why that is? So different. And very interesting.

Habitat, larval food sources, weather conditions…

[MrSp0ck]

Dingy and Grizzled Skippers seen 6th April at Hutchinsons Bank, also a fully grown Glanville Caterpillar marching off to pupate, things early this year, but it is a warm site.

[David M]

...What I can’t understand, though, is that the numbers of the other species are so low in comparison. These are the species that I record high numbers, as you’ve seen.

I wonder why that is? So different. And very interesting.

The Peacock situation is a mystery, David. They were one of the few butterflies to do well here last spring but so far in 2025 I've seen just 11.

Those species that hibernate as pupae are easier to explain. For once, being in the west of the country has been an advantage as the winds have been easterly for quite a while now. This has led to clear, sunny days since late March with daytime highs of 15-18c. Speckled Woods, Holly Blues & Orange Tips have made the most of those warm conditions and have appeared in numbers. It was 17c here yesterday but I noted that coastal areas in the east of the country were a mere 12c with moderate winds coming in from the cold ocean. Unsurprisingly, that has retarded the emergence of several species but in time things will catch up.

[Lawts]

A female Wall sighting reported at Two Tree Island, South Essex on Friday.

The first sightings page often seems somewhat lagging behind, e.g. no Grizzled Skipper yet. Is that because they have to be corroborated?

Grizzled Skipper
Dingy Skipper
Wall

to add.

[millerd]

Good numbers of Green Hairstreaks and a couple of Grizzled Skippers up at Aston Rowant this morning.

No other butterflies except for a few Peacocks, but I also spied what appeared to be the wrong kind of predator. However, I was at the bottom of the slope and in no position to enquire, but the routine sweeps of the ground with a large net where the Hairstreaks were flying didn't on the face of it look like scientific research to me. I could be entirely wrong of course...

Dave

[David Lazarus]

The first sightings page often seems somewhat lagging behind, e.g. no Grizzled Skipper yet. Is that because they have to be corroborated?

Grizzled Skipper
Dingy Skipper
Wall

to add.

I think it depends where you live. The County Recorders have different methods of doing things, plus some sighting pages are done by other members of the branch. For Essex, the sightings page is not updated immediately although sometimes it can be updated on the day of the first sighting. I couldn’t comment on how or why that is. Personally, all recorded sightings should be uploaded via iRecord which are then corroborated by the County Recorders and goes through to the Butterflies for the New Millennium Online site. Branch sightings pages should be for information only to give suggestions of where to go to see certain species.

[David M]

The first sightings page on the Butterfly Conservation website are always a few days behind. I guess it's similar for many (if not all) of the local branches.