Neil Freeman

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Wed Apr 02, 2025 8:11 pm

Me too Neil

- although I think I'm still in the 'flurry' of Commas-they appear to have emerged in good numbers this season round this way

Looking forward to seeing your Specklie shots soon

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Thu Apr 03, 2025 7:32 am

Thanks Trevor and Wurzel

I am expecting my first Specklie any time now Wurzel, hopefully along with Orange-tip, Green-veined White and Holly Blue. Just need that cold easterly wind to ease off a bit.

Wednesday 2nd April.

The past couple of days have been very similar here, that is plenty of blue sky and nice sun but with a cold easterly breeze.
An hour or so wandering round my local spot by Wagon Lane early this afternoon produced just 8 butterflies, five Peacocks and singles of Comma, Small Tortoiseshell and Brimstone. The numbers were no doubt held down a bit by that chilly wind which today was blowing directly into the normally more sheltered spots.

The blackthorn in the photo below, which is now in full blossom was catching the wind today. I spotted a Peacock getting blown about on it and managed a couple of shots before it took off and went deeper into the blackthorn.

: Blackthorn blossom - Wagon Lane 02.04.2025

: Peacock - Wagon Lane 02.04.2025

On the way back past this spot a bit later I spotted what looked to be the same Peacock basking low down on the grass.

: Peacock - Wagon Lane 02.04.2025

The single Small Tortoiseshell was seen fluttering about another bit of blackthorn blossom but an intervening bramble patch prevented me from getting close. I took a couple of photos from a distance with the one below being cropped by about half.

: Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 02.04.2025

Last week the corner below was playing host to up to three Commas that were busy scrapping with each other but it was empty today with once again that wind blowing directly into it.

: Sheltered corner - Wagon Lane 02.04.2025

It looks like the weather is going to be very similar for the next few days, perhaps getting a bit warmer, but it also looks like we will also be keeping that cold wind for a while too.

Bye for now.

Neil.

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Thu Apr 03, 2025 5:14 pm

Thursday 3rd April.

A similar day to yesterday but the cold breeze dropped a bit in the afternoon which made it feel a bit warmer.

With so much growth recently, I decided to spend some time in my garden today and took my camera out with me in case something came along.

Around 11.30am I spotted a small blue butterfly flutter in, my first Holly Blue of the year and also the first butterfly seen in my garden this year. A gust of cool wind prompted it to settle where it remained while I grabbed my camera and took a few shots as it shuffled about changing its angle to the sun and opened its wings partway before warming up enough to tale off again.

: Holly Blue male - Coverdale 03.04.2025

A bit later a white butterfly also flew in and while I would have liked to claim it as my first Green-veined White of the year it was too far away to be certain. After going in for some lunch, I went out again later and what was likely to be the same white butterfly flew in again but this time plonked down long enough to get a couple photos to be sure this time that it was my first confirmed 2025 GV White, a nice female.

: Green-veined White - Coverdale 03.04.2025

A male Brimstone also fluttered past a couple of times and then a female that investigated my alder buckthorns and appeared to be laying but more likely just ‘oviposturing’ as I couldn’t see any eggs. Not much to lay on either as the buds are still tightly furled.

: Brimstone female - Coverdale 03.04.2025

Still waiting for Orange-tip, Large White and Speckled Wood here but I feel confident that they won’t be long now.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Sat Apr 05, 2025 8:00 am

Due to all the cold nights we have had, I have only run my moth trap on three nights so far this year, twice in March (6th and 20th) and then on Thursday night (April 3rd).
The first night on March 6th resulted in 10 Common Quakers and nothing else and then the night of March 20th brought 11 moths of 3 species, these being Common Quaker (6) Hebrew Character (3) and Common Plume (2).
Thursday night was a bit better with 18 moths of 5 species, Common Quaker (13) Clouded Drab (1) Hebrew Character (1) Brindled Beauty (2) and Common Plume (1).

: Brindled Beauty - Coverdale 03.04.2025

Friday 4th April.

I spent another couple of hours in the garden this afternoon with the first butterly seen being a rather faded looking Comma that flew in and out again before I had a chance to grab my camera.
A bit later a female Brimstone, probabaly the same one as on the previous day, once again spent some time fluttering around my alder buckthorn and appeared to be occasionally egg laying.

: Brimstone female - Coverdale 04.04.2025

This time I did manage to find some eggs and after struggling to get some photos as they swayed about in the breeze, eventually managed a reasonable result.

: Brimstone eggs - Coverdale 04.04.2025

Every so often a gust of wind would catch the brimstone and she would settle briefly before taking off again to explore the sides of the garden.

: Brimstone female - Coverdale 04.04.2025

The photo below shows the current state of the bottom end of my garden. This contains native trees such as hawthorn, privet, hazel, alder buckthorn, sallow, holly, plum and wild cherry, some of which are self sown and some of which I have planted. There is also Ivy and Bramble both of which need controlling to prevent them taking over as do areas of long grass that are allowed to grow around the edges.

: Bottom end of garden.

I allow various self seeded nectar plants such as dandelions, celandines, forget-me-knots and herb robert to grow underneath and around the edges along with spanish bluebells that have been there since we originally moved in but can be quite invasive and require some controlling.

: Celandines under some old plum trees.

I also have some cowslips from a couple of small plug plants that I planted at the side of the lawn a few year ago and which have benefitted from last years cool and wet summer. I always hope to see a Brimstone or Orange-tip settle on these but so far have not seen a single butterfly use them although they are popular with bees, bee-flies and hoverflies.

: Cowslips at edge of lawn.

No sign of any rain in the forecasts, just sunny days and chilly nights for all of next week. I cannot make my mind up if that is a good thing or a bad thing, I suppose only time will tell.

Bye for now,

Neil

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Sun Apr 06, 2025 8:17 pm

Cracking Holly Blue Neil

I managed to find one at Martin Down today but it must have heard the focus motor and was offski

Still it wouldn't have been as good a shot as yours

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Mon Apr 07, 2025 7:22 am

Cheers Wurzel

First Speckled Wood and Orange-tip of the year here yesterday (Sunday 6th) on what was otherwise an underwhelming weekend with activity largely suppressed by a chilly east wind despite clear blue skies.
Singles of Holly Blue and Green-veined White also seen, all passing through the garden and not stopping so no chance of any photos.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Mon Apr 07, 2025 5:58 pm

Monday 7th April.

I had an appointment at the opticians this morning during which I had drops in my eyes that dilate the pupils and prevent them reacting to light. For the next couple of hours my eyesight was very blurry and when going outside the bright sunlight made it difficult to see anything clearly.
When this eventually wore off in the afternoon, I had a wander down to my local spot by Wagon Lane. With totally clear skies and the cold breeze from the past few days having eased off considerably it was a warm afternoon and the butterflies that I saw were very active.
These included Peacock (5), Comma (3) and Small Tortoiseshell (3) with these species habit of returning to favoured territories making them the only ones that I managed to photograph and even then, I had to be quick before they were off again chasing each other or some fly or bee that ventured close.

: Peacock - Wagon Lane 07.04.2025

: Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 07.04.2025

: Comma - Wagon Lane 07.04.2025

I also saw at least three Orange-tips, all males that were ceaselessly patrolling the hedgerows along with half a dozen or so whites, just one of which came close enough to get a positive ID and which proved to be my first Large White of the year.

The Large White brings me up to 11 species seen here now which is the highest tally I have ever had for here for this time of year. This is due to the single Red Admiral that I saw here a couple of weeks back and which remains the only early spring RA I have ever seen here. I still do not consider Red Admiral to be a spring butterfly here but the way things seem to be changing, perhaps it will be within the next few years.

Back home later in the afternoon I watched a female Brimstone paying repeat visits to the alder buckthorn and laying more eggs. Having carefully compared photos to those from the other day she appears to be the same individual back again.

: Brimstone female egg laying - Coverdale 07.04.2025

: Brimstone female egg laying - Coverdale 07.04.2025

: Brimstone female egg laying - Coverdale 07.04.2025

I also watched her settle on a berberis darwinii to nectar, the first time I have ever seen this species nectar on the flowers of this evergreen shrub.

: Brimstone female - Coverdale 07.04.2025

I also watched a male Orange-tip fly through on repeated visits, I believe it was the same individual due to the regularity of it returning, every twenty minutes or so and appearing from the same direction but never stopping.

This week looks to be more of the same with temperatures rising in the second half.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Mon Apr 07, 2025 7:40 pm

Those are cracking Brimstone shots Neil - brilliant clarity

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Tue Apr 08, 2025 4:53 pm

Cheers Wurzel. She made it easy for me, all I had to do was stand there and wait for her to return a few times

Tuesday 8th April.

After another cold night, we had a sunny start to the morning but some cloud soon started spilling in from the east and by midday had built up to a total overcast. This was not at all what the forecast had indicated for here and indeed, a look at both the met office and BBC websites still showed the full sun symbol while we were under grey skies

By around 3.00pm the clouds had started to thin out again and it soon warmed albeit a bit too late to raise the temperature above the mid teens at most.

I had already seen my first Speckled Wood of the year (on Sunday) but it was only a fleeting view and I failed to get a photo. I had better luck this afternoon while I was pottering about in the garden and saw two different males and a female when the sun finally came back out. The cooler conditions today meant they were slowed down somewhat giving me a few opportunities for photos.

: Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 08.04.2025

: Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 08.04.2025

: Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 08.04.2025

: Speckled Wood female - Coverdale 08.04.2025

A male Holly Blue also flew in a few times but each time one of the males quickly chased it off again.

No sign of the female Brimstone today, nor any other ‘whites’ for that matter. I reckon it didn’t quite warm up enough to tempt them out.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Thu Apr 10, 2025 5:17 pm

Wednesday 9th April.

The bright sun was back all day today (Wednesday) although it took a while to warm up after a cold night.
An early afternoon hour or so at my local spot by Wagon Lane produced around a dozen butterflies, these being Speckled Wood (3), Comma (1), Orange-tip (5), Green-veined White (1), Small White (1) and Holly Blue (1) along with a couple more whites that stayed too far away to ID. Curiously, no Peacocks seen today.
Everything was very active in the bright sunshine with nothing settling for photos.

Thursday 10th April.

A very similar day to Wednesday but with a lighter breeze it eventually got a bit warmer this afternoon. It still took a while to warm up after yet another cold night and it was 11.00am before it felt pleasant enough to do some pottering about in the garden.

The first butterfly seen was a Speckled Wood that turned up around 11.30 and then 15 minutes later a male Orange-tip fluttered slowly past me. It looked like it was still warming up so I grabbed my camera hoping that it would settle, which it did a bit further down the garden. I crept up and just managed to get one photo before it was off again, possibly spooked by the fly seen in the photo. Not my best Orange-tip photo but the first I have managed to get so far this year.

: Orange-tip male - Coverdale 10.04.2025

I did wonder about going down to Wagon Lane again but as I needed to get on with some gardening, I decided to spend some time doing just that. Also, I figured that anything that I saw at Wagon Lane would be too active for photos again. This did indeed prove to be the case as during the afternoon, the butterflies that I saw were mostly passing through with out stopping. These included a couple of male Orange-tips (or the same one paying repeat visits), three male Speckled Wood plus one female, and singles of Holly Blue, Green-veined White and Comma. I did get a few chances with the Speckled Woods however before they got too active.

: Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 10.04.2025

: Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 10.04.2025

The female spent a few minutes nectaring on the small flowers of what I think is a white currant plant.

: Speckled Wood female - Coverdale 10.04.2025

The Comma, a female, arrived later in the afternoon when the sun was getting a bit lower in the sky.

: Comma female - Coverdale 10.04.2025

: Comma female - Coverdale 10.04.2025

The female Brimstone was also back again and I couldn’t resist getting a few more shots.

: Brimstone female - Coverdale 10.04.2025

Looks like more of the same for tomorrow and into the weekend with maybe some cloud coming in later on Saturday, we’ll see.

Bye for now.

Neil.

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Fri Apr 11, 2025 7:14 am

I would class that OT shot as a "one shot wonder" Neil

I wouldn't have minded if that had been my first shot of one for the year

Great to see the Specklies booming in Coverdale

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Thu Apr 17, 2025 5:17 pm

Cheers Wurzel, I was pleased with that Orange-tip shot, especially given the circumstances

Thursday 17th April.

This week has seen a return to more typical spring weather with it even feeling like a return to February at times with some strong cold winds. In between, there have been a few sunny spells but it has remained cool and cloudy for the most part here with the only butterflies seen being a couple of Speckled Wood and unidentified whites in the garden.
Today (Thursday) was better with some nice sun this morning although the cloud soon started building up again and it would feel cool when the sun went in. I had a few jobs to do, between which I went out into the garden with my camera during the nicer spells and managed to see a couple of Speckled Wood and singles of Large White, Orange-tip (female) and Holly Blue.

: Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 17.04.2025

: Orange-tip female - Coverdale 17.04.2025

: Large White female - Coverdale 17.04.2025

The female Orange-tip was the first I have confirmed this year although I might have seen one last weekend during the last day of the warm period, but like everything else at that time it didn’t stop and I couldn’t be sure.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Mon Apr 21, 2025 6:29 am

That is a beautifully marked Large White Neil

What a cracker

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Mon Apr 21, 2025 7:38 am

Cheers Wurzel. I was hoping she would open up a bit more but she didn't stay still for long and was soon off again.

Sunday 20th April.

After a couple of pretty grim days here with lots of rain from Friday afternoon into Saturday morning, Easter Sunday was much better with some good sun from early morning although it took a while to take the chill from the air.
As it happened, we were having my Mom over for the day and by the time I had picked her up, then cooked Sunday dinner and and played the dutiful son, I did not have much time for anything else.
We did sit out in the garden for a bit in the afternoon during which time I spotted a nice male Green-veined White flutter in and settle briefly.

: Green-veined White male - Coverdale 20.04.2025

A couple of male Speckled Wood were also in their usual spots.

: Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 20.04.2025

I quite like the way that the sun is catching the hairs on this one.

: Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 20.04.2025

As I write this on Monday morning it is grey and drizzly outside with more rain on apparently on the way. It looks like a mixed week ahead with perhaps warmer temperatures returning towards the end.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Tue Apr 22, 2025 5:08 pm

Tuesday 22nd April.

Yesterday (Bank Holiday Monday) was pretty grim here with drizzle turning to proper rain all morning and grey skies that didn’t start to clear up until late in the afternoon to give us some nice late sun albeit too late to be of much use.

Today was much better with clear skies and full sun to start the day with some cloud building up during the morning.

This week my job is clearing out my garage in preparation for having a new roof fitted in the next week or so. This is a flat roof along the side of the house that needs re-felting along with new joists and the inside reboarding and skimming. Like a lot of men, I have accumulated loads of random junk, just in case it may come in useful sometime, and this needs to be sorted out and most of it dumped to give access to the inside of the garage roof.

I spent the morning in the garage and after a sandwich for lunch decided to go for a wander down to my local spot by Wagon Lane. I had seen a few Orange-tips there last week before the weather turned but they had not been stopping in the bright sunshine and so I was hoping that the cooler weather and mixed cloud and sun today would give me a chance to get a few photos.

I had just arrived when I spotted a male Orange- tip flying over the meadow and suddenly drop down into the grass. Aha! I thought, he has found something, possibly a female, although they will drop down like this to investigate other pale objects such as blossom petals. He stayed down and creeping up slowly I found that he had indeed found a female hunkered down in the grass. I watched as he edged closer until she flashed him the rejection pose and took off with him in pursuit over the nearby hedge.

: Orange-tip pair - Wagon Lane 22.04.2025

: Tuesday 22nd April - Orange-tip pair - Wagon Lane 22.04.2025

I continued on my circuit and ended up seeing a minimum of 8 Orange-tips with an equal split between male and female. I did the usual trick of trying to have one in view as one of the increasing clouds covered the sun and managed to catch a couple settle during these times.
I did find however, that today they would be more inclined to be off again as soon as the sun reappeared without that brief period of opening up first. Still, I managed to get a few photos although more than a few of them were of a blur disappearing out of the side of the frame.

: Orange-tip - Wagon Lane 22.04.2025

: Orange-tip - Wagon Lane 22.04.2025

: Orange-tip - Wagon Lane 22.04.2025

: Orange-tip female - Wagon Lane 22.04.2025

I spent most of the hour or so I spent here concentrating on the Orange-tips but also saw a few other whites with at least one each confirmed of Large and Green-veined White. The rest were too far away and could just as easily have been female Orange-tips. I also saw Brimstone (2), Peacock (3), Small Tortoiseshell (1), Comma (1), Speckled Wood (5) and Holly Blue (1).

The Small Tortoiseshell was spotted attempting courtship with one of the Peacocks, something that I have seen a few times in the past with these two species, in every case it being the Small Tortoiseshell that was confused.

: Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell - Wagon Lane 22.04.2025

The Single Comma was looking a bit tatty and faded now, not surprising really as these were first out around here.

: Comma - Wagon Lane 22.04.2025

We were forecast some possible showers for this afternoon but in the end, we missed them although we did get some threatening looking clouds come over during the afternoon. It looks like some heavy rain coming is coming in again overnight but each time I look at the forecast it has changed so we’ll see.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Sun Apr 27, 2025 9:02 am

Saturday 26th April.

After a fairly quiet few days here, during which I got on with clearing out the garage plus some other stuff around the house, today (Saturday) was another mostly cloudy day. Around midday, the clouds thinned a bit to allow the sun to filter through and these brighter conditions soon brought a couple of butterflies out in the garden.

The first seen was a male Orange-tip that flew down one side of the garden until it reached my large lilac bush which tempted it to stop.

: Orange-tip - Coverdale 26.04.2025

It then dropped down to the spanish bluebells that are close by before lifting on again and going up and over into next door.

: Orange-tip - Coverdale 26.04.2025

A male Speckled Wood was also in one of the usual spots.

: Speckled Wood - Coverdale 26.04.2025

The clouds soon built up again and the rest of the afternoon was a return to a dull grey overcast, so it was back into the garage.

From today it looks like most of the country is going to be basking under clear skies and bright sunshine for a while. I have to say I wish it wouldn't keep swinging from one extreme to the other but it looks like that is now the pattern these days.

Bye for now,

Neil

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Mon Apr 28, 2025 12:01 pm

Interesting to see the Peacock/Small Tort interaction Neil - the two times I've seen this the Small has also been the pursuer - perhaps that have a liking for the more 'voluptuous' females

Cracking to see the OT's - I've only (knowingly) seen a single female so far

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Fri May 02, 2025 5:51 pm

Cheers Wurzel. Probably equal numbers of males and female here now, although numbers are definitly down on recent years.

From what I am seeing on social media there seems to be lots of nice butterflies around now, particularly for those that are prepared to travel to see the premium species. Unfortunately, this past week, during the really warm weather, I simply had too much on to be able to travel far and was limited to what I could see in my garden plus a couple of wanders down to my local spot by Wagon Lane and also a quick walk around the park by my mom's house on Tuesday. Butterlies seen in these spots were a number of Speckled Wood, Orange-tips and unidentified Whites plus a few Brimstones and Holly Blues. In all cases they were far too active in the bright and warm sun to try and photograph apart from some poor record shots. I was actually quite surprised at how few butterflies I have seen here this week. Perhaps it was too warm for them and they were hiding in the shade, after all, our spring butterflies have evolved to cope with more changeable and generally cooler conditions than what we have seen this week.

Garden Moths.

Since I mentioned back in early April that I had only run my garden trap 3 times this year, I have since then run it just 3 more times, these being the nights of April 12th and 26th and then last night (May 1st).
The night of April 12th was fairly underwhelming with 13 moths of 10 species, all common stuff that I would expect for the time of year.

The 26th April saw an improvement in numbers with 33 moths of 18 species. These included a Lunar Marbled Brown, just the second one I have ever had here with the first one back in 2019. This is a supposedly common and widespread species that can be found anywhere that Oak trees grow but my nearest Oaks are some distance away which is presumedly why I don’t see many Oak feeders here.

: Lunar Marbled Brown - Coverdale 26.04.2025

Last night was forecast to be mild with part cloud and clear spells and the chance of the odd shower. Well, with these promising looking conditions I put the trap out only to find that we had a fair bit of rain overnight. Mind you, moths are not put off by a bit of rain as long as it is not too heavy or cold and I ended up with a decent tally for here at this time of year of 60 moths of 31 species identified. This did not include a couple of Pug Moths that were too worn to identify.

A nice selection included the first Hawk-moth of the year, a nice Lime Hawk.

: Lime Hawk-moth - Coverdale 01.05.2025

Another Lunar Marbled Brown made it the third one here after the second one last week.

: Lunar Marbled Brown - Coverdale 01.05.2025

The rest were an interesting mixture with a few such as examples of Common Quaker, Hebrew Character, and Clouded Drab still turning up alongside later flying species that I do not usually see in the trap together.
Some examples shown below,