Neil Freeman

[Neil Freeman]

Many thanks for all the great comments Dave, Goldie, B'rex and Kev.

Checking back on my notes from last year it was around the end of April that Orange-tip numbers started to build up around here so hopefully we should all be seeing more soon.

Sunday 19th April

A cloudy and cool day for the most part, if fact it felt decidedly cold compared with the previous day. Later in the afternoon the clouds started to break up and the sun popped out a few times which raised the temperature a few degrees. This was just enough to tempt a few butterflies out in the garden, the first being a Holly Blue that passed though as they do.

A spot of white on my variegated Weigela shrub attracted my attention and on a closer look turned out to be a male Large White settled with its wings partly open,

Large White - Coverdale 19.04.2015

This was the first Large White that I had seen this year and brought my total so far up to 10 species which is just about all of the ones that I could normally expect to see in my garden and around my local patch at this time of year. I could only possibly add an early Small Copper, which would be really early for around here. Anything else such as Green Hairstreaks or Grizzled and Dingy Skippers means spreading the net (metaphorically speaking ) a little further around Warwickshire.

Anyway, as I was watching the Large White I noticed a Green-veined White settled a little higher on the shrub and as they warmed up they both took to the air which disturbed a second Green-veined White which was also on the shrub. I have noticed before that this variegated Weigela is a favoured roosting spot for 'whites' and they can be remarkably well camouflaged when settled on it with their wings closed.
The Large White disappeared next door but both the Green-veined Whites soon settled again, curiously enough choosing another variegated shrub (I forget the name of this one but it is also a favourite spot for Speckled Woods).

Green-veined White - Coverdale 19.04.2015

Green-veined White - Coverdale 19.04.2015

Green-veined White - Coverdale 19.04.2015

The clouds soon came back and it went all gloomy and cold again.

Bye for now,

Neil

[trevor]

HI Neil,

Many thanks for the reply. You certainly found a beautifully marked Green Veined White.
Down here they weren't stopping for anyone today !.

All the best,
TREVOR.

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Trevor, those shots were taken on Sunday when it was cloudy and much cooler around here. They were far more active on Monday...speaking of which.

Monday 20th April

My second week of jury service and it looked like I was going to be stuck inside again on what looked to be a glorious day. As it happened, I was not called for a case today (Monday) and along with others not on cases we were let go early to report back on Tuesday. This meant that I was back home by mid-afternoon which gave me a couple of hours to potter about in the garden, with my camera close to hand, just in case.
The first butterflies to attract my attention were the ever reliable Speckled Woods with two separate males squabbling over one sunny corner,

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 20.04.2015

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 20.04.2015

During the afternoon I was also visited by two different females…

Speckled Wood female - Coverdale 20.04.2015

…the second of which looked like the nicely marked female that I saw on Saturday, only now looking worse for wear and with chunks missing from her hindwings where it looks like she had a narrow escape, from a bird perhaps,

Speckled Wood female - Coverdale 20.04.2015

In the warm afternoon sun the males were often settled with their wings shut and angled to the sun so that both sides were in shadow. This gave me the chance to play around a bit and take some photos using fill-in flash and with different exposures to see how they turned out,

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 20.04.2015

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 20.04.2015

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 20.04.2015

I particularly like the results of these two taken against the background of the back of the house,

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 20.04.2015

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 20.04.2015

I had noticed a Holly Blue passing through a few times as it repeated a circuit and kept a close watch on it in case it decided to settle, which it eventually did after fluttering around one of my small Holly shrubs for a while,

Holly Blue female - Coverdale 20.04.2015

I just had time to sneak up and get a couple of photos before she took off and flew up the garden where, after fluttering around the Ivy there, she settled again briefly,

Holly Blue female - Coverdale 20.04.2015

I know that female spring brood Holly Blues are supposed to prefer to lay on Holly and summer brood females on Ivy but the way she fluttered around both plants made me wonder if she knew that

During the couple of hours that I was out in the garden I also saw singles of Green-veined White, Small White and Comma that stuck around for a bit plus a couple of Orange-tips and a Peacock that just passed through.

Small White - Coverdale 20.04.2015

Green-veined White - Coverdale 20.04.2015

Comma - Coverdale 20.04.2015

A total of seven species in all, not bad for an afternoon in which I originally thought I would be stuck inside

Bye for now,

Neil.

[David M]

After all these years, I'm still waiting for a fresh, springtime, female Holly Blue to behave considerately for my camera!

Well done on those images, Neil.

[millerd]

I envy you your garden, Neil. Lovely photos as always, especially that female Holly Blue.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Your garden is certainly producing the goods Neil Lovely Specklies as always

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks again guys for the great comments

Friday 24th April

My jury service came to an end yesterday (Thursday) with another early finish which saw me back home again by mid-afternoon and as before I retired into the garden to potter about, which to be more accurate consisted of mostly sitting there watching the butterflies passing through and listening to the birds singing
With wall to wall blue sky and warm sunshine the butterflies were very mobile until gone 4.30pm when they started to slow down a bit and would occasionally settle to refuel. There are some people I know who think that I am barmy for allowing dandelions to grow where they like in my garden, well I reckon that if dandelions came from somewhere like China and garden centres sold them, then these same people would be planting beds of them,

Orange-tip - Coverdale 23.04.2015

Orange-tip - Coverdale 23.04.2015

I also remember last year extolling the virtues of the common Forget-me-not, another plant which I find invaluable for tempting butterflies to hang around for a while,

Holly Blue - Coverdale 23.04.2015

With my jury service now finished it was back to work as normal this morning and as usual I finished at lunchtime and later went around with Jane to visit my Mom. By then It had turned much cloudier but I still went out for a short wander around the park by my moms house to see if anything was about. Last year there were good numbers of Speckled Woods here and with this being a species that will fly in cloudy conditions I figured there may be one or two about.
Sure enough I soon found a couple flitting about and in the space of just 30 minutes or so I found 4 different individuals, 2 males and 2 females,

Speckled Wood male - Langley Hall 24.04.2015

Speckled Wood male - Langley Hall 24.04.2015

Speckled Wood female - Langley Hall 24.04.2015

Speckled Wood female - Langley Hall 24.04.2015

The only other butterfly seen was a single Peacock that I disturbed and which took off at a rapid rate of knots into the distance.

I also saw a Green Woodpecker, the first of these that I have seen here, although I do see them at my other local spots. Unfortunately I was not close enough to see if there was anything riding on its back

Bye for now,

Neil

[Pauline]

That was a great shot with the weasel Neil, what are the chances eh?

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Pauline, what are the chances indeed?

Saturday 25th April

Today was a day of mixed weather with plenty of dark clouds, some rain showers, but also some nice sunny spells, in other words a typical April day.

After doing the usual Saturday morning shopping and stuff around the house, I was in two minds whether to pop out to one of my local spots for an hour or so this afternoon. Whilst I was deciding we had another rain shower which made up my mind to stay at home and potter about around the house and nip out into the garden whenever it brightened up.
During the afternoon the showers eventually stopped and although there was still plenty of cloud about and a bit of a breeze, the sun came out for some decent spells when it felt pleasantly warm. During these sunny spells I had what seemed to be a constant stream of Orange-tips visiting the garden but which in reality proved to be three different individual males repeatedly coming around. The alternating cloudy and sunny spells were ideal for getting some photos of these as they would settle when the clouds covered the sun. I could then wait for the clouds to pass and get a few shots as they opened their wings for a few seconds before taking to the air again.

The four shots below are all of same individual male but as others have said, you can’t have too many photos of Orange-tips ,

Orange-tip - Coverdale 25.04.2014

Orange-tip - Coverdale 25.04.2014

Orange-tip - Coverdale 25.04.2014

Orange-tip - Coverdale 25.04.2014

And these are the other two individuals that I identified by slight differences in the black forewing markings,

Orange-tip - Coverdale 25.04.2014

Orange-tip - Coverdale 25.04.2014

I also took a few underside shots when they were settled up during the cloudy periods,

Orange-tip - Coverdale 25.04.2014

Orange-tip - Coverdale 25.04.2014

Orange-tip - Coverdale 25.04.2014

As well as the Orange-tips there was also a male Large White that passed through a few times, a rather tatty Peacock, a Green-veined White with large chunks out of its wings, plus at least three different male Specklies doing their usual squabbling over the best basking spots.

Large White male - Coverdale 25.04.2015

We have lift off..

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 25.04.2015

There were also regular visits from Holly Blues but as with the Orange-tips I believe that it was the same one or two individuals that kept circling around. Unfortunately despite watching them carefully whenever they showed up, none of them settled in the garden today.

Bye for now,

Neil

[Wurzel]

Those OTs are particularly lushious Neil I'm not having much luck at the moment - I was desperate to get out today but instead I had to carry on knocking plaster of the walls ready for the Lime Plasterer Must be karma for those screwheads

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Fantastic photos Neil love the Orange Tips Goldie

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Wurzel and Goldie , I must admit that I am lucky with my garden in that the Orange-tips usually come to me and when the weather is a bit mixed they will often stay there for a while.

Sunday 26th April

The forecasts on Friday and Saturday didn’t originally look that good for Sunday but by the time the day itself arrived the forecast had changed and it looked like a cloudy morning would clear later for a sunny afternoon, albeit with a cool northerly breeze. So it proved to be and by 2.00pm I had decided to go out for a nose around some local spots.
First off I headed for Shadowbrook Meadows for my first visit there this year. During an hour or so I saw a couple of Peacocks, three or four Small Tortoiseshells and at least one, maybe two Green-veined Whites which were all quite active in the sheltered spots when the sun came out.

Small Tortoiseshell - Shadowbrook 26.04.2015

Most of my time here however, was spent watching a number of Orange-tips as they circled around the meadows. There seemed to be equal numbers of male and females with at least two, maybe three, of each in this quite small area. The females as usual were settling more often and nectaring regularly, mostly on dandelions,

Orange-tip female - Shadowbrook 26.04.2015

Orange-tip female - Shadowbrook 26.04.2015

Orange-tip female - Shadowbrook 26.04.2015

On a number of occasions again I watched as a male would get rejected by a female which had presumably already mated,

Orange-tips - Shadowbrook 26.04.2015

At one point I was staking out a patch of Ladies Smock when a male came along and flitted from plant to plant for a while which gave me the chance to get a number of shots,

Orange-tip - Shadowbrook 26.04.2015

Orange-tip - Shadowbrook 26.04.2015

Orange-tip - Shadowbrook 26.04.2015

Orange-tip - Shadowbrook 26.04.2015

Orange-tip - Shadowbrook 26.04.2015

After a while I decided to move on to Bickenhill where I had previously noticed another public footpath that I wanted to check out. This footpath runs back from Bickenhill in the direction of Castle Hills and is a couple of hundred yards to the south of the A45 where it has been moved to curve around the extension to the runway at Birmingham Airport.

Looking towards Bickenhill, the A45 and Birmingham Airport are a few hundred yards to the left.

On final approach to Birmingham Airport.

I only wandered a short way along this path but it was far enough to see three Small Tortoiseshells, a couple of Peacocks, three Orange-tips, and singles each of Green-veined White and Speckled Wood,

Green-veined White - Bickenhill footpath 26.04.2015

Small Tortoiseshells - Bickenhill footpath 26.04.2015

I will probably return here again as it looked promising for Small Coppers and the usual summer species.

Bye for now,

Neil

[Butterflysaurus rex]

Some fantastic stuff in your diary lately Neil! I love your Orange Tip's, they've been giving me a hard time lately. Hopefully I'll manage to get a decent photo before they finish up for another year.
That first Female Holly Blue shot is a cracker too!!

Best Wishes

James

[Goldie M]

Lovely photos Neil, the May flowers are certainly out where you live they're not that good here yet and we've no Female OT's yet, last year they were a good fortnight after the Males so there's still time with Males only showing up here in numbers in the last couple of days . If they came out now they'ed freeze to death Goldie

[Wurzel]

I agree with Rex - fantastic stuff Neil, the only problem is trying to choose my favourite shot!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Many thanks for the comments B'rex, Goldie and Wurzel

Not much happening here this week, it has been quite cool and windy most of the time, even when the sun has come out. Just a few whites seen passing through the garden late in the afternoon when I get in from work.

Green-veined White - Coverdale 29.04.2015

Grizzled and Dingy Skippers and Green Hairstreaks are only just starting to be seen in Warwickshire plus I have seen the first PBFs reported from the Wyre Forest so hopefully I will be able to go looking for some of these sometime over the next couple of weeks.

Cheers,

Neil

[Neil Freeman]

Sunday 3rd May

The Bank Holiday weekend got off to a dismal start yesterday (Saturday) with gloomy grey clouds all day and a pretty cold wind. After a fair bit of rain overnight it was still grotty this morning with a steady drizzle first thing and dark clouds for most of the morning. Just before midday the clouds started to lighten and break up a bit and the sun peeped out briefly a couple of times. During one of these short bits of sun I was looking out of the kitchen window and spotted an Orange-tip fly into the garden just as the sun disappeared again behind some clouds. This prompted him to settle and so marking the spot I grabbed my camera and went out to get some photos.
During the course of the next 45 minutes or so the sun continued to pop in and out from behind the clouds for very brief periods which encouraged the Orange-tip to flit about a bit but stay around the garden. This gave me chance to take some photos, both of his underside and, when the sun came back out, of the topside during those few seconds when he opened his wings before taking to the air.

Orange-tip - Coverdale 03.05.2015

Orange-tip - Coverdale 03.05.2015

Orange-tip - Coverdale 03.05.2015

Orange-tip - Coverdale 03.05.2015

Orange-tip - Coverdale 03.05.2015

Orange-tip - Coverdale 03.05.2015

During the afternoon the weather continued to improve with some longer spells of sun, although there were still a couple of short showers, and the other usual garden species started to show up. First off was a male Holly Blue that lingered around and settled a few times, possibly because he was not properly warmed up yet,

Holly Blue - Coverdale 03.05.2015

Holly Blue - Coverdale 03.05.2015

Holly Blue - Coverdale 03.05.2015

Holly Blue - Coverdale 03.05.2015

Other butterflies seen In the garden during the afternoon were at least one example of Large, Small and Green-veined White, Peacock, and of course a couple of Speckled Wood, all of which I got photos of although the Large and Small White ones were fairly ropey long distance record shots

Green-veined White - Coverdale 03.05.2015

Peacock - Coverdale 03.05.2015

Speckled Wood - Coverdale 03.05.2015

A total of seven species through the garden during the course of the afternoon which was something that I did not really expect today given the forecast and the miserable wet morning that we had.

Bye for now,

Neil

[Wurzel]

More lushious OTs Neil and the Holly Blues are great too - oh for a garden again

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

I absolutely love your Holly Blue on the Bluebell Neil. They are difficult to photograph anyway but what lovely compositions there. I would have been delighted to get those shots

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel, the garden is a godsend on those occasions that I don't have time to go out anywhere. Even on days with dodgy weather, it only takes a brief spell of sun and something often shows up

Thanks Pauline
To be honest the Holly Blues are cropped for that composition. The originals were taken in landscape, as are most of my photos, and then given a quick crop and resize for posting on here. A lot of my photos are 'snap shots' of what are usually active butterflies and so my usual method is to get the subject somewhere in the middle of the frame and tweak the composition to some degree afterwards to get rid of empty space or superfluous vegetation for example. I always have the originals saved to play around with at my leisure at a later date.

Cheers,

Neil.