Late afternoon at Bonchurch Down today the following were seen:
Wall 4 (first of season for me)
Brown argus 8 ditto
Small white 3
21 degrees C at 18.00 in April on the coast- not bad!
No Adonis blues yet though.
April 2011
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Neil Freeman
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Re: April 2011
Thanks Chris......my Dragonfly knowledge has just gone up 1 notch from zeroChrisC wrote:your him is a herfemale broad bodied chaser.
Chris
Re: April 2011
Had a tip off from Lee Hurrell that there were masses of Wood Whites at Chiddingfold, so rushed through work, picked Sam up from her work and dropped into Oaken Wood. In 2 half hours we managed 36 Wood White, 23 Brimstones, 5 Grizzled Skippers (4 were together!), a Green Hairstreak, 6 Speckled Woods, 3 Orange-tips and 2 Red Admirals. Also many Adela reaumurella, Micropterix calthella, a few Speckled Yellows, Brown Silver-lines, 4 Nightingales and a Cuckoo. No sign of any Bee Hawks though.
Most pleasant...except Lee managed SIXTY SIX Wood Whites!!!
Gibster and Sam.
Most pleasant...except Lee managed SIXTY SIX Wood Whites!!!
Gibster and Sam.
Raising £10,000 for Butterfly Conservation by WALKING 1200 miles from Land's End to John O'Groats!!!
See http://www.justgiving.com/epicbutterflywalk or look up Epic Butterfly Walk on Facebook.
See http://www.justgiving.com/epicbutterflywalk or look up Epic Butterfly Walk on Facebook.
Re: April 2011
I also visited Oaken Wood from 8:30 - 1:30 anticipating the Wood Whites might be out. Having never seen one in the UK before I thought if I saw one I'd be doing well. The first one turned up around 9:30, and was swiftly joined by a second. I was well chuffed Then I could see another couple off into the distance as the place began to come alive. There must have been easily 30 well distributed through the woods.
Also added to them about 10 Grizzled Skippers which was a nice bonus as I didn't realise they had them there, and they were my first of the season. Probably about 15-20 Brimstones, 2 Green Hairstreaks (battling for perch control on a small bush for most of the day!), 6 Speckled Wood, 6 Orange Tips, couple of Large and Small Whites, one Holly Blue and one Small Heath.
Also heard my first Cuckoo of the year There was a birder there first thing that was there for the Nightingales... probably heard some of those but dunno what a Nightingale sounds like! 
Then I could see another couple off into the distance as the place began to come alive. There must have been easily 30 well distributed through the woods. Also added to them about 10 Grizzled Skippers which was a nice bonus as I didn't realise they had them there, and they were my first of the season. Probably about 15-20 Brimstones, 2 Green Hairstreaks (battling for perch control on a small bush for most of the day!), 6 Speckled Wood, 6 Orange Tips, couple of Large and Small Whites, one Holly Blue and one Small Heath.
Also heard my first Cuckoo of the year
There was a birder there first thing that was there for the Nightingales... probably heard some of those but dunno what a Nightingale sounds like! Re: April 2011
Well, taking your haul and the ones I saw not far away at Botany Bay between half four and half five this afternoon, this area of woodland must contain hundreds at the moment. There were quite a few last year, with the first brood lasting into July and a notable second brood. Very encouraging for them as long as we get some rain to keep the vetches from shrivelling up.Gibster wrote: Most pleasant...except Lee managed SIXTY SIX Wood Whites!!!
Gibster and Sam.
Dave
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Lee Hurrell
- Stock Contributor
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Re: April 2011
Indeed I did (compared to 59 on 15th May last year). Plus the most Brimstones I have ever seen - over 40Gibster wrote:Had a tip off from Lee Hurrell that there were masses of Wood Whites at Chiddingfold...
Most pleasant...except Lee managed SIXTY SIX Wood Whites!!!
I was there between 11.30 and 14.00. I also had my first Cuckoo and Nightingales. Photos and report to follow in due course but I'm still sorting through Saturday's photos of Dukes and PBF and haven't even got to Sunday yet...Cheers
Lee
To butterfly meadows, chalk downlands and leafy glades; to summers eternal.
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Lee Hurrell
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Re: April 2011
I would also like to add that the photos on this thread are outstanding. Lovely to see and all in April!
Cheers
Lee
Cheers
Lee
To butterfly meadows, chalk downlands and leafy glades; to summers eternal.
Re: April 2011
I went to Botany Bay this morning (took me an hour and twenty minutes to get there, s*dding tomtom!! 
and less than half an hour to get home using just my common sense! Technology, grrrrrrrr) Anyway, despite being chilly when I first got there the birds were singing well (check out my diary entry later and have a listen) so I hung around and spotted one wood white. The little blighter wouldn't sit for a photo and then disappeared. About 45 minutes later it warmed up and suddenly they were everywhere. I am not sure if I like them or not but when they're courting it quite romantic. Unfortunately both suitors were rebuffed fairly quickly and didn't get to mate. However there were at least six egg laying females that I saw at lunchtime. I really don't know how many I saw this lunchtime but I was seeing eight to ten at one time at one point so probably easily the 60+ mentioned above.
Species today at Chiddingfold: Wood white, green veined white, brimstone, orange tip, grizzled skipper, speckled wood, holly blue.
Late this afternoon I went to Kithurst Hill in search of more dukes. I was unlucky there but found a pristine small copper, peacock, red admiral, brimstone, green veined white, grizzled and dingy skippers.
P.S. Anyone know what raptors are at Botany Bay at the moment. Now I am rubbish at identifying raptors but some ruddy great beast flew out of the trees by the car park at head height just as I was walking up to my car. It made me jump out of my skin! All I got to see of it was that it was brown and huge.
and less than half an hour to get home using just my common sense! Technology, grrrrrrrr) Anyway, despite being chilly when I first got there the birds were singing well (check out my diary entry later and have a listen) so I hung around and spotted one wood white. The little blighter wouldn't sit for a photo and then disappeared. About 45 minutes later it warmed up and suddenly they were everywhere. I am not sure if I like them or not but when they're courting it quite romantic. Unfortunately both suitors were rebuffed fairly quickly and didn't get to mate. However there were at least six egg laying females that I saw at lunchtime. I really don't know how many I saw this lunchtime but I was seeing eight to ten at one time at one point so probably easily the 60+ mentioned above.Species today at Chiddingfold: Wood white, green veined white, brimstone, orange tip, grizzled skipper, speckled wood, holly blue.
Late this afternoon I went to Kithurst Hill in search of more dukes. I was unlucky there but found a pristine small copper, peacock, red admiral, brimstone, green veined white, grizzled and dingy skippers.
P.S. Anyone know what raptors are at Botany Bay at the moment. Now I am rubbish at identifying raptors but some ruddy great beast flew out of the trees by the car park at head height just as I was walking up to my car. It made me jump out of my skin! All I got to see of it was that it was brown and huge.
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Jack Harrison
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- Contact:
Re: April 2011
I'm in Herefordshire at the moment with very iffy internet in the hotel.
Haugh Wood today - overcast. Waited two hours in the hotspot recommended by by David M (can't be sure who it was as I might lose my connection if I try to look it up). A 30 second burst of weak sun and immediately two PBFs. Then no more.
Returning in the morning.
Jack
Haugh Wood today - overcast. Waited two hours in the hotspot recommended by by David M (can't be sure who it was as I might lose my connection if I try to look it up). A 30 second burst of weak sun and immediately two PBFs. Then no more.
Returning in the morning.
Jack
Re: April 2011
Forecast is brighter for tomorrow, but only from late morning onwards. Maximum temperature for Hereford is 15C so I daresay you'll get away with studying them in the afternoon.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Re: April 2011
A rather belated post this... and I still haven't sorted any pictures to show...
On Easter Monday the weatherman predicted it would 'grim up North' so I ventured down to the glorious south(ish) for my first ever visit to Bison Hill at Whipsnade in Bedfordshire.
The National Trust car park was barricaded up to allow the newly-resurfaced mud to 'settle'. Apparanently it's been like this since the 1st of April... and if you're planning on going anytime soon I'd seek alternative arrangements... the car park still looked some way from completion.
Anyway... a short stroll in beautiful sunny (if a trifle windy) conditions revealed Green Hairstreaks in profusion. Followed by Orange Tips, Small Whites , Brimstones... then PAYDIRT!... Dukes in front of me, Dukes behind me, Dukes to the left and to the right of me. Happily settling in the mid-afternoon sun.... so many that even a ham-fisted clutz with a happy-snaps camera like me could get a decent photo.
I wended my idle way a little further and was greeted by some other charming little fellows... the Dingy and the Grizzled Skipper. Then the less exciting but equally respendent Speckled Wood, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock.
And all within a half-mile stretch on the lower slopes of the hill where hundreds of Easter revellers licked ice-cream and watched the kite-flyers duel. I could hear the innumerable squeals of children, and the parents' shouts of encouragement and admonishment from not far away... yet, I barely bumped into a soul, just a friendly local walker and a sighting of a woman on horseback using the bridal path below. Splendid stuff.
Total Sightings:
Green Hairstreak - 60+
Duke of Burgundy - 40+ (at at least 3 distinct locations)
Grizzled Skipper - 10+
Dingy Skipper - 6
Brimstone - 40+
Orange Tip - 20+
Whites - 20+
Speckled Wood - 5
Small Tortoishell - 2
Red Admiral - 1
Peacock - 3
On Easter Monday the weatherman predicted it would 'grim up North' so I ventured down to the glorious south(ish) for my first ever visit to Bison Hill at Whipsnade in Bedfordshire.
The National Trust car park was barricaded up to allow the newly-resurfaced mud to 'settle'. Apparanently it's been like this since the 1st of April... and if you're planning on going anytime soon I'd seek alternative arrangements... the car park still looked some way from completion.
Anyway... a short stroll in beautiful sunny (if a trifle windy) conditions revealed Green Hairstreaks in profusion. Followed by Orange Tips, Small Whites , Brimstones... then PAYDIRT!... Dukes in front of me, Dukes behind me, Dukes to the left and to the right of me. Happily settling in the mid-afternoon sun.... so many that even a ham-fisted clutz with a happy-snaps camera like me could get a decent photo.
I wended my idle way a little further and was greeted by some other charming little fellows... the Dingy and the Grizzled Skipper. Then the less exciting but equally respendent Speckled Wood, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock.
And all within a half-mile stretch on the lower slopes of the hill where hundreds of Easter revellers licked ice-cream and watched the kite-flyers duel. I could hear the innumerable squeals of children, and the parents' shouts of encouragement and admonishment from not far away... yet, I barely bumped into a soul, just a friendly local walker and a sighting of a woman on horseback using the bridal path below. Splendid stuff.
Total Sightings:
Green Hairstreak - 60+
Duke of Burgundy - 40+ (at at least 3 distinct locations)
Grizzled Skipper - 10+
Dingy Skipper - 6
Brimstone - 40+
Orange Tip - 20+
Whites - 20+
Speckled Wood - 5
Small Tortoishell - 2
Red Admiral - 1
Peacock - 3
Re: April 2011
Two Frits in one day yesterday,,, one of which is a 'lifer'. 
PBF Bentley wood (Eastern clearing). Arrived 9.00 am, and wasn't disappointed. Only 'topshots' really possible, unless you were very lucky, but they were settling for quite long spells. I suppose this is a male, but really unsure. Thanks to all who gave me great info, and directions.
Afternoon at Giant's Hill, Cerne Abbas (lower slopes). Fresh Marsh Frits in quite good numbers.
Finally, a Grizzled Skipper nectaring on Speedwell. (Lower slopes, Giant's Hill, Cerne Abbas)
PBF Bentley wood (Eastern clearing). Arrived 9.00 am, and wasn't disappointed. Only 'topshots' really possible, unless you were very lucky, but they were settling for quite long spells. I suppose this is a male, but really unsure. Thanks to all who gave me great info, and directions.Afternoon at Giant's Hill, Cerne Abbas (lower slopes). Fresh Marsh Frits in quite good numbers.
Finally, a Grizzled Skipper nectaring on Speedwell. (Lower slopes, Giant's Hill, Cerne Abbas)
Last edited by Zonda on Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Cheers,,, Zonda.
Re: April 2011
Woohoo that means I'm heading West this weekend then!Zonda wrote:Afternoon at Cerne Abbas (lower slopes). Fresh Marsh Frits in quite good numbers.
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Jack Harrison
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Re: April 2011
27 April
A very successful few hours in Haugh Wood south. See my diary:
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4056&p=43998#p43998
Jack
A very successful few hours in Haugh Wood south. See my diary:
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4056&p=43998#p43998
Jack
Re: April 2011
A couple of shots from my trip to Bison Hill on Easter Monday (25-04-11) as promised above.
Bison Hill, Whipsnade, Bedforshire. Duke, Grizzled, Dingy, Green Hairstreak habitat.
A furtive Green Hairstreak seeks refuge on a blustery hillside.
Duke of Burgundy. I saw as many as 25 males just in this one small area.
Another Duke from a different area half a mile further down the track.
One last Duke. Very near the car park. A little cooler and cloudier but still he just loves to pose.
I seem to have got the camera stuck in 'portrait' mode. cheers, celery
Bison Hill, Whipsnade, Bedforshire. Duke, Grizzled, Dingy, Green Hairstreak habitat.
A furtive Green Hairstreak seeks refuge on a blustery hillside.
Duke of Burgundy. I saw as many as 25 males just in this one small area.
Another Duke from a different area half a mile further down the track.
One last Duke. Very near the car park. A little cooler and cloudier but still he just loves to pose.
I seem to have got the camera stuck in 'portrait' mode. cheers, celery
Re: April 2011
I know what you mean. Green Hairstreaks and Dukes are so obliging you can safely keep your settings on close up.celery wrote:
I seem to have got the camera stuck in 'portrait' mode.
Re: April 2011
That No3 Duke pic is top notch celery. I hope to be taking similar pics tomorrow. If i knew where the hotspot at Buckland wood is. 
Cheers,,, Zonda.
Re: April 2011
Fouldon common Norfolk today produced 30+ Grizz Skips, 4/5 Dingy's, 3/4 Brimstone & GV whites, several small copper & orange tip. I managed to get photos (passable but not as good as those photos I see on this site!) of a small copper pair mating & also a Grizz pair mating. Eric
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Glostopcat
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Re: April 2011
I visited Prestbury Hill Nature Reserve near Cheltenham this afternoon following the morning spent photographing bluebells in nearby Queens Wood. I saw a good number of Duke of Burgundys, two small blues the first i've seen this year, several dingy skippers, one small heath on a footpath on Cleeve Common, numerous orangetips, brimstones, speckled woods, small whites, large whites and green veined whites, all when the sun came out in the afternoon. Other species seen so far this year: holly blue; peacock, small tortoiseshell; red admiral; comma all in good numbers.