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Hi! David, Vaccine for me Thursday, not saying how old I am, still able to do the things I love Goldie

Well you've given your age away to a certain degree, Goldie.

Good for you, and let's hope with 2m per week scheduled to receive it that in a couple of months things will notably improve for all.

A look back at 2020

2020 was undoubtedly a strange year and one that will not be forgotten. The loss of hitherto taken for granted freedoms has taken its toll on just about everyone and I sincerely hope that 2021 will see us slowly return to something resembling normality.

The year from a butterfly perspective was…shall we say….different, although one benefit of Covid restrictions was the opportunity to pay more attention than I would normally to our own indigenous species.

Spring

In stark contrast to 2019, things were late to get going in 2020. On 6th February, I travelled to Worcester for an EBG Committee meeting on a beautiful day, but thereafter the weather took a dismal course, with gales, rainclouds and floods lasting well into March.

The mild conditions brought the spring flowers out early, but the first butterfly I saw wasn’t until 16th March, which is a good 10-14 days later than my usual first sightings.

Four Commas on a lunchtime stroll gave me a lift, particularly given that by then clouds of a different sort were starting to gather. One week later we would be in lockdown:
On that same stroll, I also came across my first Small Tortoiseshell of the year. Normally, there are precious few celandines around when I see this species in late February/early March, but this time the banks were covered in them:
The following Sunday (22nd) was the first real opportunity to get out properly, with sunshine, mild temperatures and an absence of wind. Down at Cwm Ivy on the NW Gower coast, butterflies were eager to get active – I saw at least three dozen Brimstones:
I also had the honour of seeing my first ever mating pair (although the couple were regularly harassed by other males):
There were plenty of Commas about, but their numbers were eclipsed by those of Peacocks, my first of the year:
There was a brief appearance of a Holly Blue which sadly escaped my camera lens, but the following Wednesday (25th) I returned and found 11 of them, all males:
The most welcome (and surprising) sighting on this day however was this female Orange Tip:
There was also a Small White, which brought my tally to 7 species by the end of March:

Hi! David,What can I say about age( It's just a Number ) lovely shots of the Brimstone's, I saw only one last year, that was in my Garden in Spring, I was surprised at that, because I don't usually get more than one a year in the Garden and that's usually in August.
When I was in Kent I expected to see loads in Blean Woods but I saw none. Goldie

Enjoying the retrospective David, and with the spring focus yours is particularly appetite-whetting! Fingers crossed for the coming months, both at home and further afield.

Cheers,

Ben

When I saw your piece about mating Brimstones, I though what mating Brimstones ?.
But your image needs careful scrutiny as they are so closely tucked into one another!.
It's amazing how lone males, of many species, seem to able to locate a mating pair.

Great report, stay well!.
Trevor.

trevor wrote: ↑Fri Jan 22, 2021 12:10 pmWhen I saw your piece about mating Brimstones, I though what mating Brimstones ?.
But your image needs careful scrutiny as they are so closely tucked into one another!. It's amazing how lone males, of many species, seem to able to locate a mating pair.

Thanks, Trevor. Yes, they were lying low, and for good reason - they only came to ground because their first location following pairing was up in the trees and they were persistently harassed by passing males:
Once on the ground, they were fairly inconspicuous but that didn't stop them being regularly interfered with. I guess these rogue males must be able to detect strong pheromones:

Goldie M wrote: ↑Thu Jan 21, 2021 6:55 pmHi! David,What can I say about age( It's just a Number ) lovely shots of the Brimstone's, I saw only one last year, that was in my Garden in Spring, I was surprised at that, because I don't usually get more than one a year in the Garden and that's usually in August.

When I was in Kent I expected to see loads in Blean Woods but I saw none.

Thanks, Goldie. Brimstones round my way are plentiful in early spring but scarce in summer. I think the Welsh climate sends them into hibernation early!

Benjamin wrote: ↑Thu Jan 21, 2021 9:07 pmEnjoying the retrospective David, and with the spring focus yours is particularly appetite-whetting! Fingers crossed for the coming months, both at home and further afield.

Thank you, Benjamin. Yes, the return of our winged friends is not far away, but the return of our freedom is yet to be given a date. Ideally, I’d like both to coincide.

A look back at 2020

Spring cont….

April was a fine month weatherwise, although restrictions on travel meant that one was only able to travel a limited distance from home.
On 4th, I ventured up the lower part of Kilvey Hill and saw my first Speckled Wood of the year:
In the cemetery at the foot of the hill, there were a small number of Orange Tips flying round the cuckoo flower, and the part cloudy conditions meant that they were easier to approach than normal.
On 7th, I visited my favourite spring site, Cwm Ivy on the north Gower coast. Sadly, this was my last trip there until autumn as the authorities had closed the only car park due to the pandemic making it near impossible to get to. Such a shame as the blackthorn blossom still had a few days to go till reaching its peak, but that didn’t stop Holly Blues from appearing in serious numbers, certainly at least 40, including this pristine female:
Having never previously seen this species in cop, I concluded that I must have simply timed things fortuitously, as I saw three pairings:
Although Easter was again sunny and mild, and by this time I had seen all three Whites, as well as my first Red Admiral, it wasn’t until 21st April that I found my first Green Hairstreak on Fairwood Common which is my local patch:
The following day, more in hope than expectation, I climbed to the top of Kilvey Hill where I saw two male Wall Browns, the earliest date in the year I’ve ever seen this species:
The largely fine spell of weather continued and on 23rd, I saw my first Small Coppers at Crymlyn Burrows, a dune site on the coast:
There was still time to welcome two more species for the year, both seen on 26th. Firstly, a handful of Dingy Skippers on an old industrial site opposite my workplace (although by now my home had been my place of work for over a month) followed by a Small Heath on the coast:
Given how awful April was from a pandemic perspective, I was so grateful that the weather allowed me to get out and about locally, keeping my spirits up in the face of seeing any overseas travel written off for the year.

Some excellent shots there David particularly like the Small Copper ...................cracking that one !
and very envious of the in-cop Holly Blues ,with the open winged male ......................Nice one !
Allan.W.

Envious of your Holly Blue shots, I've not seen a mating pair yet.
Also a fine shot of the Orange Tip. It's very difficult to capture the mottling
of the hind wing, if the Sun is bright the white causes glare and if there is
no Sun they don't open up!. They do give the greatest assurance that Spring
has arrived though.

Stay safe and well,
Trevor.

Well I’ll go for the Small Heath - so easy to overlook but look at that colouring - lovely photo.

Benjamin wrote: ↑Sun Jan 31, 2021 5:11 pm Well I’ll go for the Small Heath - so easy to overlook but look at that colouring - lovely photo.

Thanks, Benjamin. I'm sure it had just emerged, as it couldn't fly strongly and looked a bit darker than what one would naturally expect to see.

Some lovely shots David, the Small Copper and Holly Blue really stand out colour wise. Did you get any Snow this week? Goldie

Goldie M wrote: ↑Sun Jan 31, 2021 10:59 pmlovely shots David, the Small Copper and Holly Blue really stand out colour wise. Did you get any Snow this week?

Thanks, Goldie.

We had decent-sized flakes of snow on Sunday for a couple of hours, but it turned to rain very quickly and we once again avoided a covering.

Allan.W. wrote: ↑Sat Jan 30, 2021 7:26 pmSome excellent shots there David particularly like the Small Copper .....cracking that one ! and very envious of the in-cop Holly Blues ,with the open winged male ....Nice one !

Thanks, Allan. Never had I seen mating Holly Blues before, and the singleton males would often stop and perch nearby but they never interfered physically, unlike the male Brimstones which would literally try to muscle in.

trevor wrote: ↑Sun Jan 31, 2021 3:22 pmEnvious of your Holly Blue shots, I've not seen a mating pair yet.
Also a fine shot of the Orange Tip. It's very difficult to capture the mottling of the hind wing, if the Sun is bright the white causes glare and if there is no Sun they don't open up!. They do give the greatest assurance that Spring has arrived though.

Cheers, Trevor. We take so many images of Orange Tips that eventually we get one that shows something a bit different. I look forward to taking many more come April. Roll on!

A look back at 2020

Spring cont….

Given the warm April, it was no surprise that Orange Tips had a superb season, and there were plenty of them about in May, including this bizarre aberration on the Swansea coast on 2nd:
On that same day, I spotted my first Small Blues of the year, although they were strangely less common than usual even though May itself was a good month weatherwise:
All three Whites fared well, with Large White numbers well up on the previous few years. Small Whites were very common but Green Veined had a fairly ordinary spring season:
On 6th, I encountered my first Brown Argus of 2020, and this species went on to appear in good numbers during both broods:
Three days later, the first Common Blues emerged, although their flight season was rather truncated due, I suppose, to the sunny, warm period that extended through much of the rest of May. They literally burned themselves out:
Mid-May is always a much anticipated time of year locally, as the populations of both Marsh and Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries close to my home begin to emerge.

Small Pearls were out on 9th May and were around in average numbers:
I saw my first Marsh Fritillary the following day, and although they were slightly down on the last couple of years, I put that largely down to some of the prime breeding areas on my local common being torched during the back end of March:
On 15th May, I managed to get over the border into England and wasted no time visiting Ewyas Harold Common, in Herefordshire. The Pearl Bordered Fritillaries were coming towards the end of their flight period, but I managed to find one female who was still in good nick:
A short journey to Haugh Wood near Fownhope then followed. It was overcast but I was able to find a single, roosting Wood White, the first time I’d seen this species in the UK for 5 years:
The afternoon was spent at Rodborough Common, near Stroud, where a dozen or so Dukes of Burgundy were seen, including this mating pair:
Four Adonis Blues were also seen at the same spot, one of them being an aberrant:
Given that both April and May were generally rather warmer and sunnier than normal, I suppose it wasn’t a surprise that a few species which are normally early summer ones managed to squeeze themselves into the spring review. One of these was Meadow Brown, seen on 25th May:
Another was Large Skipper, on 28th:
And finally, and most surprisingly, Dark Green Fritillary, four of which were seen on 31st May, easily my earliest ever sightings of this species:

A look back at 2020

Summer….

The summer period began in spectacular style, with a visit to Old Castle Down, near Bridgend, seeing good numbers of both Dark Green AND High Brown Fritillaries.

Normally, the bracken is around chest height when these two species get going, but the warm spring saw them emerge a good 10-14 days earlier than usual meaning the vegetation wasn’t even waist high and was easy to negotiate at this dense, wild site:
There were still plenty of Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries flying too, making for quite a spectacle, and one which I only had a single day to enjoy, as from the following day the weather turned wet and cool, meaning I didn’t get out again till 13th, where I saw my first Small Skippers of the year:
There was warmer weather forecast for 15th, so I undertook the long journey to Shropshire, arriving at Prees Heath just after 9am. Unfortunately, the reality didn’t match what the forecasters had predicted, and everywhere was blanketed in a thick layer of cloud.

That didn’t prevent several Silver Studded Blues being found, for at this site they can be reliably found roosting on the heather:
With the skies clearing towards midday, I headed over to nearby Whixhall Moss where hot and humid conditions saw the Large Heaths extremely active. There were hundreds of them but I managed to see the odd one settle:
On 19th June, I needed to stay overnight in Berkhamsted which gave me the opportunity to visit Bernwood Meadows en route. It was 6pm by the time I got to the meadows, but there were plenty of Marbled Whites still active:
The following day I spent the morning and early afternoon there. There were plenty of Ringlets about:
Large Skippers, Meadow Browns and Marbled Whites were also very common, but Silver Washed Fritillaries numbered only half a dozen or so, being clearly at the beginning of their flight season:
Surprise of the day was a species I hadn’t expected to see given that it has a short flight period and first sightings had been made in late May – Black Hairstreak. I was pretty sure I’d had a fleeting glimpse of one the evening before, but this time there was no doubt.

Blues, fritillaries and hairstreaks, hoping to see plenty of these in 2021!

It's those Large Heath that really get me salivating, still not had a good session with that species! Those HBF aren't to be sniffed at though

Great stuff David and I agree with Paul - Large Heath and High Brown will be high on my list if foreign travel is again difficult this year. The site by Bridgend sounds brilliant and actually I don’t think I’ve seen High Brown on home soil so may have to make the trip....