www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Dates of first sightings 2023:

1. Red Admiral – 30 January, Park Wood, Parkmill, Gower
2. Peacock - 19 February, Kenfig Dunes, Glamorgan
3. Brimstone - 14 March, Lower Kilvey Hill, Swansea
4. Holly Blue - 25 March, Cwm Ivy, Llanmadoc, Gower
5. Small Tortoiseshell - 27 March, Dan-y-graig cemetery, Port Tennant, Swansea
6. Comma - 27 March, Cwm Ivy, Llanmadoc, Gower
7. Small White - 27 March, Cwm Ivy, Llanmadoc, Gower
8. Speckled Wood - 3 April, Cwm Ivy, Llanmadoc, Gower
9. Small Copper - 17 April, Dan-y-graig cemetery, Port Tennant, Swansea
10. Orange Tip - 18 April, Park Wood, Parkmill, Gower
11. Green Veined White - 18 April, Park Wood, Parkmill, Gower
12. Green Hairstreak - 11 May, Fairwood Common, Gower
13. Small Heath - 12 May, Kenfig NNR, Glamorgan
14. Dingy Skipper - 12 May, Kenfig NNR, Glamorgan
15. Common Blue - 12 May, Kenfig NNR, Glamorgan
16. Small Blue - 12 May, Kenfig NNR, Glamorgan
17. Grizzled Skipper - 12 May, Merthyr Mawr Dunes, nr. Porthcawl
18. Brown Argus - 12 May, Merthyr Mawr Dunes, nr. Porthcawl
19. Large White - 13 May, Dan-y-graig cemetery, Port Tennant, Swansea
20. Duke of Burgundy - 14 May, Rodborough Common, nr. Stroud, Glos
21. Pearl Bordered Fritillary - 14 May, Ewyas Harold Common, nr. Pontrilas, Herefordshire
22. Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary - 2 June, Fairwood Common, Gower, Swansea
23. Large Skipper - 3 June, Welshmoor, Gower, Swansea
24. Meadow Brown - 4 June, Kenfig NNR, Glamorgan
25. Marsh Fritillary - 14 June, Fairwood Common, Gower
26. Small Skipper - 15 June, Alun Valley, nr. Ewenny, Glamorgan
27. Dark Green Fritillary - 15 June, Alun Valley, nr. Ewenny, Glamorgan
28. High Brown Fritillary - 15 June, Alun Valley, nr. Ewenny, Glamorgan
29. Ringlet - 15 June, Alun Valley, nr. Ewenny, Glamorgan
30. Marbled White - 16 June, Daneway Banks, Sapperton, Glos
31. Large Blue - 16 June, Daneway Banks, Sapperton, Glos
32. Adonis Blue - 16 June, Rodborough Common, nr. Stroud, Glos
33. Large Heath - 19 June, Cors Caron, Tregaron, Ceredigion
34. Grayling - 21 June, St Govan's Head, nr. Bosherston, Pembrokeshire
35. Silver Studded Blue - 21 June, St Govan's Head, nr. Bosherston, Pembrokeshire
36. White Letter Hairstreak - 21 June, Holyland Wood, Pembroke
37. Hedge Brown - 12 July, Nicholaston Burrows, Gower
38. Purple Hairstreak - 12 July, Nicholaston Burrows, Gower
39. Silver Washed Fritillary - 17 July, Fermyn Woods, Northamptonshire
40. White Admiral - 17 July, Fermyn Woods, Northamptonshire
41. Purple Emperor - 17 July, Fermyn Woods, Northamptonshire
42. Painted Lady - 19 July, Langrove Village, Gower, Swansea
43. Chalkhill Blue - 23 July, Swell's Hill Bank, nr. Stroud, Glos
44. Essex Skipper - 23 July, Swell's Hill Bank, nr. Stroud, Glos
45. Wall Brown - 25 July, Rhossili Head, Gower
46. Brown Hairstreak - 16 August, West Williamston, Pembrokeshire
47. Clouded Yellow - 3 September, Port Eynon, Gower

Last UK butterfly sighting: Red Admiral - 11 December, Limeslade Bay, Gower


UK butterflies seen on the continent in 2023 but NOT seen in the UK:

48. Chequered Skipper
49. Silver Spotted Skipper
50. Lulworth Skipper
51. Northern Brown (Mountain) Argus
52. Long Tailed Blue
53. Large Tortoiseshell
54. Glanville Fritillary
55. Heath Fritillary
56. Mountain Ringlet
57. Wood White
58. Swallowtail

UK species NOT seen in 2023: Black Hairstreak, Cryptic Wood White, Scotch Argus.

Non-UK species seen in 2023:

Tenerife, Canary Islands:

59. Canary Speckled Wood
60. Southern Brown Argus
61. Canary Large White
62. Canary Red Admiral
63. Bath White
64. Canary Brimstone
65. African Grass Blue
66. Monarch
67. African Migrant
68. Canary Blue
69. Lang's Short Tailed Blue
70. Canary Skipper
71. Geranium Bronze
72. Tenerife Green Striped White

Montes Universales, Los Monegros, Pyrenean foothills, Andalusia, Spain (April & May):

73. Mallow Skipper
74. Southern Marbled Skipper
75. Red Underwing Skipper
76. Sage Skipper
77. Rosy Grizzled Skipper
78. Spanish Festoon
79. Iberian Scarce Swallowtail
80. Iberian Sooty Copper
81. Green-Underside Blue
82. Black-Eyed Blue
83. Baton Blue
84. Panoptes Blue
85. Chequered Blue
86. Chapman's Blue
87. Turquoise Blue
88. Western Dappled White
89. Provence Orange Tip
90. Sooty Orange Tip
91. Berger's Clouded Yellow
92. Cleopatra
93. Large Wall Brown
94. Western Marbled White
95. Spring Ringlet
96. De Prunner's Ringlet
97. Queen of Spain Fritillary
98. Weaver's Fritillary
99. Knapweed Fritillary
100. Provençal Fritillary
101. Spotted Fritillary
102. Camberwell Beauty
103. False Mallow Skipper
104. Blue Spot Hairstreak
105. Provence Hairstreak
106. Common Tiger Blue
107. Lorquin's Blue
108. False Baton Blue
109. Southern Blue
110. Spanish Zephyr Blue
111. Monarch
112. Green Striped White
113. Desert Orange Tip
114. Black Veined White
115. Dusky Heath
116. Southern Gatekeeper
117. Spanish Gatekeeper
118. Spanish Marbled White
119. Cardinal
120. Aetherie Fritillary
121. Spanish Fritillary

High Atlas, Morocco:

122. Oberthur's Grizzled Skipper
123. Moroccan Small Skipper
124. Mediterranean Tiger Blue
125. Iolas Blue
126. Mazarine Blue
127. Spotted Adonis Blue
128. False Ilex Hairstreak
129. Moroccan High Brown Fritillary
130. Vaucher's Heath

Eastern Pyrenees, France (late May):

131. Tufted Marbled Skipper
132. Large Grizzled Skipper
133. Olive Skipper
134. Safflower Skipper
135. Scarce Swallowtail
136. Clouded Apollo
137. Apollo
138. Ilex Hairstreak
139. Violet Copper
140. Purple-Shot Copper
141. Sooty Copper
142. Osiris Blue
143. Geranium Argus
144. Escher's Blue
145. Amanda's Blue
146. Provence Chalkhill Blue
147. Meadow Fritillary
148. Two Tailed Pasha
149. Southern White Admiral
150. Pearly Heath
151. Great Banded Grayling
152. Bright Eyed Ringlet

Northern Greece:

153. Sandy Grizzled Skipper
154. Marbled Skipper
155. Orbed Red Underwing Skipper
156. Tessellated Skipper
157. Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow
158. Mountain Small White
159. Balkan Green Veined White
160. Eastern Bath White
161. Large Copper
162. Little Tiger Blue
163. Eastern Baton Blue
164. Eastern Festoon
165. Nettle Tree Butterfly
166. Common Glider
167. Lesser Purple Emperor
168. Freyer's Purple Emperor
169. Southern Comma
170. Map
171. Lesser Spotted Fritillary
172. Eastern Knapweed Fritillary
173. Marbled Fritillary
174. Lattice Brown
175. Northern Wall Brown
176. Oriental Meadow Brown
177. Woodland Ringlet
178. Balkan Marbled White
179. Balkan Grayling

French & Italian Alps:

180. Alpine Grizzled Skipper
181. Purple-Edged Copper
182. Spanish Purple Hairstreak
183. Sloe Hairstreak
184. Mountain Alcon Blue
185. Glandon Blue
186. Alpine Blue
187. Eros Blue
188. Mountain Dappled White
189. Peak White
190. Mountain Green Veined White
191. Southern Swallowtail
192. Small Apollo
193. Almond-Eyed Ringlet
194. Common Brassy Ringlet
195. Large Ringlet
196. Dewy Ringlet
197. Niobe Fritillary
198. Titania's Fritillary
199. Lesser Marbled Fritillary
200. False Heath Fritillary
201. Scarce Fritillary
202. Woodland Grayling
203. Rock Grayling
204. Darwin's Heath
205. Great Sooty Satyr

Hautes-Pyrénées, France & Spain:

206. False Dewy Ringlet
207. Lefebvre's Ringlet
208. Pyrenean Brassy Ringlet
209. Piedmont Ringlet
210. Large Chequered Skipper
211. Idas Blue

Montes Universales, Spain (July & Aug):

212. Chestnut Heath
213. Dusky Meadow Brown
214. Zapater's Ringlet
215. Esper's Marbled White
216. Iberian Marbled White
217. Black Satyr
218. Tree Grayling
219. Striped Grayling
220. False Grayling
221. Hermit
222. Twin Spot Fritillary
223. Cinquefoil Skipper
224. Spanish Argus
225. Mother-of-Pearl Blue
226. Azure Chalkhill Blue
227. Spanish Chalkhill Blue
228. Oberthur's Anomalous Blue
229. Ripart's Anomalous Blue
230. Damon Blue
231. Southern Small White
232. Mediterranean Skipper

SW Andalusia, Spain (September):

233. Zeller's Skipper
234. Plain Tiger

trevor wrote: ↑Thu Feb 02, 2023 1:17 pmWhen an image is posted of a Red Admiral on snowdrops there can be no dispute about the time of year the shot was taken! Great stuff David.

I’d like to think not, Trevor. There were no other obvious nectar sources so I suppose it had no choice.

Pete Eeles wrote: ↑Fri Feb 03, 2023 11:13 pmI can't say I've ever seen a butterfly on a Snowdrop. What a great series of shots that really epitomise the ability of the Red Admiral to overwinter on our shores these days! And so complementary to Vince's studies of overwintering eggs and Dave Miller's work on overwintering larvae. So much to learn and study... !

Red Admirals never cease to amaze, Pete. After those 10 solid days of harsh frost we had back in December, I didn’t think I’d see an adult until late April at the earliest! Shows how much I underestimated their resilience.

A look back at 2022

August cont….

Thankfully, the severe heat petered out during the second half of August, which gave me a much more comfortable experience during my second visit to Pembrokeshire for Brown Hairstreak.

Seven females were seen, and had it not been for the horse in top field following me around and causing me to abandon my search in this prime location after just 10 minutes, I am confident I’d have beaten my long standing record of 9, achieved in 2013.

It was still a pleasure to go hunting for this beautiful insect though:
To add to the all-round pleasure, I found this female Clouded Yellow amongst the sea asters near the high tide line:
This close encounter between two Pierids was also a delight:
Double figure numbers of Small Tortoiseshells were around too:
A visit to Port Eynon on the Gower two days later was a good one for migrants, with several Painted Ladies flying around the dunes:
As I had hoped, there was a fresh Clouded Yellow as well:
On the Bank Holiday Monday, I drove down to Kenfig Dunes where there were two dozen or so Painted Ladies:
The next day, at Cwm Ivy on the Gower coast, there were 6 Small Coppers nectaring from a large patch of wild mint just prior to the entrance gate:
There were also large numbers of Red Admirals, particularly in the sheltered glade on the ivy flowers:
Small Heaths hit double figures on the dunes:
There were even a couple of late Brown Argus hanging on:

Sunday 5th February - Injury time strike....

A fabulous day in terms of the weather: 8c, barely a breath of wind and clear blue skies. I thought butterflies would certainly be around and spent my first hour wandering around the south facing Dan-y-Graig cemetery where this patch of crocuses caught my eye:
I then moved on to the coastal site at Crymlyn Burrows, but although conditions were pleasant, there were still no butterflies on the wing.

As a last resort I drove beyond Mumbles Head to Limeslade Bay for one last brief attempt. Amazingly, as I stepped out of my car I could see a Red Admiral fluttering around the stretch of bergenia just prior to the path that leads to Rotherslade Bay:
This was almost 'added time on' and I considered myself fortunate to arrive in the right place at exactly the right time. The butterfly didn't stay nectaring for long, as this is a well-trodden thoroughfare and it was disturbed within a minute of me seeing it on these flowers:
It was a rather odd experience to be disappointed with just a single butterfly on a date as early as 5th February, but I guess that is a sign of the changing times.

Yes, Spring is definitely approaching. The Gloster birder website had a report, and photo as proof,of a Hummingbird Hawkmoth nectaring from flowers in a Gloucester garden. That`s quite ridiculous for February. I saw my first butterflies for the year on Tuesday, 14 FEB, 2 Red Admiral on flowers in Pontypridd`s park. Not quite in the same bracket as a HHM but I was happy for the sighting.

Jenks.

A hummingbird hawk moth in February seems crazy, Gareth. Mind you, we had southerly winds for several days so I guess it shouldn't be too much of a surprise.

jenks wrote: ↑Thu Feb 16, 2023 9:15 am The Gloster birder website had a report, and photo as proof,of a Hummingbird Hawkmoth nectaring from flowers in a Gloucester garden.
Jenks.

These early sighting have become more regular over the past few years. Much like Red Admirals, there seems to be increasing numbers overwintering here. I have seen something like a dozen reports so far this year, mostly from southern counties but there have been a couple here in the midlands.

Cheers,

Neil.

Hi! David, I've not seen any Butterflies yet, but then being near to the sea we've had some coastal winds, glad your seeing them, I've not seen any Crocus here yet, I'm certainly going to plant some for next year, I've got a few Daff's coming but they're not out yet.Goldie

A look back at 2022

September….

September started well with more Clouded Yellows on the coast at Port Eynon on 2nd, along with 50+ Painted Ladies:
Later that day, I had a first ever visit to my garden by a Small Copper:
Even better, my neighbour got a Clouded Yellow:
On 10th, amongst plenty of Small Whites, I found this reasonably tidy Brown Argus:
This was a beautiful, calm and sunny day, so I risked a trip up to the exposed headland at Rhossili and saw a couple of very fresh looking female Wall Browns:
This Large White was a nice one too:
On 16th, Nicholaston Dunes provided this mint fresh third brood male Common Blue:
This lovely caeruleopunctata Small Copper was present too:

That's a belting shot of the Wall David Goldie

Thanks, Goldie. A September female is much easier than a late April male!

A look back at 2022

September cont….

On 17th, there were plenty more butterflies at the National Botanic Gardens, including over two dozen Red Admirals:
It was nice to see this striking Comma enjoying the sedum:
On 19th, I escaped the depression of our Queen being laid to rest by decamping to Pembrokeshire, where I counted a respectable number of 53 Brown Hairstreak ova:
There was an added bonus in the form of a female still on the wing:
Three Small Tortoiseshells were seen, including this one that posed beautifully:
The rest of September was fairly lacklustre, with only Small Whites seen in good numbers. I did pick up 9 Speckled Woods on 23rd at Lower Kilvey Hill, including this attractive specimen:

A look back at 2022

October….

October got off to a surprisingly strong start with over 50 butterflies seen at Port Eynon on 2nd.

Just over half were Small Whites, but a dozen Speckled Woods were recorded, including this mating pair:
Numbers predictably began to fall away after that, though I got a nice surprise on 9th when I saw a hummingbird hawk moth on my neighbour’s verbena:
The following day, there was an even better surprise when this Clouded Yellow turned up at Nicholaston Burrows:
A Comma also appeared on the ivy on the walk back to the car park:
On 11th, a sign of the shift to mid-autumn was apparent when a return visit to Port Eynon produced just four Small Whites and a single Speckled Wood:
A week later, I was amazed to stumble upon four very fresh looking Common Blues at Dan-y-Graig cemetery:
Two days after, I found this Small Copper locally, which turned out to be my last of the year:
The rest of October then just saw Red Admirals, with this one on 28th being the last of the month:

Tuesday 14th February - Sunny and becalmed....

It's not often that a mid-February day in south Wales sees temperatures reach 12c and winds fall almost still. It was so unusual that I thought I'd drive to Lavernock Point, to the west of Cardiff, a place I've had on my radar for some while.

This is a rare, managed wild meadow although at this time of year there isn't much in flower - just the odd dandelion and celandine:
Just one butterfly was seen, a Red Admiral basking on some dried out leaves along the woodland edge:
Unlike the others I've seen so far this year, this one stayed put and allowed me to appreciate how good a condition it was in:
I thought the mild weather might have tempted one or two of the 'regular' adult hibernators out, but they still seem to need some convincing!

If I remember right, Lavernock is a good spot for migrating birds, so may be so for migrant butterflies as well. A shame there seems to be no horseshoe vetch on site, as it would make an ideal bridgehead for colonising blues.

Sunday 19th February - Kenfig...

I wouldn't normally travel to Kenfig so early in the season, but the weather forecast predicted cloud from late morning on the Gower, whereas further east it seemed to be set fair all day. With temperatures again set to reach double figures I made the decision to drive down the M4 beyond Margam and arrived at this dune site around 11am.

I spent a pleasant hour or so walking around the dune system, although being early in the season there were parts that were inaccessible due to waterlogging. When I returned to the car park I hovered around this spot as there were a few celandines in flower and plenty of dead wood for any early season butterflies to bask on:
Suddenly, I became aware of a large butterfly in flight. Straight away I realised it was not a Red Admiral at there was no white coloration on the forewing tips. As it briefly flew near me I could see it was a Peacock, but frustratingly it flew over the visitor centre roof:
I spent 15 minutes or so on the sandy track behind this building hoping to locate it, but eventually the sheer numbers of dog walkers and their pets made me realise it was a hopeless task.

Nice to see one of the 'regular' hibernators on the wing this early, and it was the earliest date I've ever seen this particular species.

Matsukaze wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 12:13 pmIf I remember right, Lavernock is a good spot for migrating birds, so may be so for migrant butterflies as well. A shame there seems to be no horseshoe vetch on site, as it would make an ideal bridgehead for colonising blues.

It is, Chris, given it's pretty much the first point of land jutting into the Bristol Channel. Don't know about the horseshoe vetch. Perhaps I'll take a look again later in the year when it's in flower.

A look back at 2022

November….

Time was, not so long ago, when November was a month where butterflies were unlikely to be seen. In recent years though, that has changed and this November was the second in a row where I have seen several species on the wing.

Unsurprisingly, most were Red Admirals, but on 4th I was lucky enough to bump into this Peacock at Dan-y-Graig cemetery:
On 12th, I found this torpid Brimstone resting on ivy at Park Wood:
It was the following day though, 13th, which was the most spectacular. Temperatures rose to 17c meaning I travelled 40 miles to Cosmeston Park in Cardiff to take advantage of these near unique conditions.

I was rewarded with five Red Admirals as well as another Brimstone:
Best of all however was this male Clouded Yellow, which was constantly flying in a lightly wooded gully:
Further Red Admirals were seen on 15th and 19th, before my final Red Admiral (and butterfly) of 2022 was seen resting on this tree branch in Abergavenny on 25th:
So, the last two Novembers have seen me record 46 different butterflies of 7 different species, with the Small Tortoiseshell in November 2020 making it 8 species in the last 3 Novembers.

The times are certainly changing!

Thursday 2nd March – Bright, sunny and cool….

A wonderfully sunny day, but temperatures only reached 8c which is marginal for early butterflies.

So it proved, with just a solitary Red Admiral seen in Dan-y-Graig cemetery, nectaring briefly on the Bergenia before flying off.

I had slightly better luck at Limeslade Bay, where another Red Admiral was present around the hebe which is now in full flower:
I then walked up Mumbles Head, where although I saw no more butterflies, there was the reward of a lovely view of Swansea Bay:

Tuesday 14th March – Frustrating weather continues….

This awful run of weather finally gave way to provide some sunshine today, but as has been the case lately, it was accompanied by strong winds which gave me little option except to visit the sheltered glade at Cwm Ivy.

Within a couple of minutes, I spotted a Red Admiral that had chosen a sunlit area in which to bask:
Out on the dunes the wind was even penetrating the most sheltered part of the site, with no butterflies to be found in this area, which has traditionally been the best here:
After a frustrating hour and a half, I thought I’d drive over to Lower Kilvey Hill and as I was walking through the entrance to the path above the cemetery, I spotted a male Brimstone about 30 yards away. Annoyingly, due to the rain we’ve had lately, this section of the path was waterlogged, meaning I had to tiptoe my way through, by which time I’d lost sight of the Brimstone.

A circuit of the cemetery was not an especially pleasurable experience with the strong wind making life very difficult, but I did briefly see another Red Admiral settle on the lawn near the office building.

It’s hard work right now looking for butterflies in these conditions. One wonders how much longer they can last.

Sunday 19th March – Still no change….

We’re now almost at the equinox but the weather continues to behave as if it’s winter.

Almost out of desperation, I ventured down to Cwm Ivy today but although winds were fairly light, the skies were mainly overcast:
In truth, it wasn’t a day for butterflies but I was, at least, able to take a look at the clearance work done in the woodland glade at this site. The bramble-dominated vegetation was starting to strangle the place last year but the authorities have sensibly cut most of it away on this right hand side:
This ought to regenerate within a couple of years and in the meantime, will make the pathway through this area a little easier to negotiate.
Just the one butterfly – a Red Admiral doing its best to find a sunlit patch in this forested glade:
It didn’t look in the best of shape but a tad jaded and ragged kind of sums up the mood at the moment.