www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Hi Wurzel, there is also ssp.polydama which is found in between the ranges of scotica and davus and where these ranges overlap apparently there is some interbreeding which can give rise to a whole range of intermediate forms.

Thanks Goldie, when I was at Meathop on June 10th the Large Heaths had only been flying for a few days so they should be good for a while yet.

June 3rd -10th A trip up North part 6.

The Best of the Rest.

Going through the remaining photos from our trip, as I only have one or two shots of most things, I have decided that it is probably better to lump them all together in a round-up report rather than split them out into separate posts.

So here we go;

On the first couple of days, Dingy Skippers were seen at Warton Crag and Arnside Knott, some of them still in quite good condition.
Some fresh male Common Blues were also flying at Warton Crag and Arnside Knott plus a few were seen up in Scotland at Glen Loy.
At Cuil Bay on the shore of Loch Linnhe, I found a couple of worn and faded Marsh Fritillaries, These looked like they had been around for a while and was yet another indication that the season was well ahead up there.
Also at Cuil Bay there was a Painted Lady patrolling along the shingle beach and at the end of the week another one was seen at Latterbarrow in south Cumbria.
At Latterbarrow there was a fresh Small Tortoiseshell, the first of the summer brood by the looks.
Green Hairstreaks were numerous alongside the river in Glen Loy although they were mostly looking well past their best. The male Chequered Skippers were constantly taking off from their perches and chasing them in the warm afternoon sun.

On our return from Scotland to Silverdale we took a detour to Irton Fell where I spent an hour or so in warm but overcast conditions looking for Mountain Ringlets. I saw approximately twenty or so individuals, mostly males, many of which were looking quite worn and faded which indicated that they had been flying for a while. Although cloudy, the air temperature was warm enough for them to be quite active and when they did settle they would sort of crash land low down in the grass. I managed to find a few females that were in a bit better condition, but taking photos was a challenge in the conditions so I just took a few record shots and mostly watched them.
During the previous couple of days I had seen a couple of reports that the first Dark Green Fritillaries had been seen flying in the Morecambe Bay area so on our last Friday (June 10th) afternoon I went up to Arnside Knott to see if any were out there. A thick overcast had built up but it was still warm enough for SPBFs to be flying in the usual spots. Going down for a look in the lower meadows, I saw a bright orange butterfly much larger than the Small Pearls, and tracking it to where it landed I crept up and found a nice fresh Dark Green Fritillary basking on some low brambles.
The DGF made it a nice round twenty species of butterfly seen on our trip.

Other butterflies seen during the week included my first Large skippers of the year at Warton Crag (June 3rd) and Latterbarrow (June 10th) and a couple of Brimstones at Arnside Knott. There were also a couple of raggedy ex-hibernating Peacocks still hanging in there, one at Gait Barrows on the first Saturday (June 4th) and one at Meathop Moss on the last Friday (June 10th). A single tatty Small Copper was seen at Glasdrum plus Green-veined Whites of what I believe are described as ssp. thomsoni. These GVWs were also seen at various spots around Fort William and seemed to be more heavily marked than those I am used to.
Whilst up in Scotland I also saw plenty of Orange-tips, most notably along the single track roads leading from Glen Loy to Loch Arkaig, but also scattered around Fort William and Glen Nevis. This was in marked contrast to back home where they seem to have had a short flight period this year and had disappeared before we went north.

As well as the butterflies I also saw some nice day flying moths, most notably good numbers of Clouded Buff and Northern Eggar in Scotland.
The males of the latter species were often seen bombing about at high speed and I watched in vain to see if one would settle for a photo. During the morning in Glen Loy when I met Pete and Mark, we were looking for Large Heath when Mark called me over to where he had found a female Northern Eggar settled down in the vegetation. Whilst the males of this species fly by day, the females don’t take to the wing until dusk and this one just sat there while I took some photos. In fact she was so docile that she allowed me to gently lift her out of the vegetation to take some uncluttered shots, something I don’t usually do. These Northern Eggars are larger than their Oak Eggar cousins found further south and she really was an impressively large moth with a big furry body nearly as big as my thumb.
Many other day flying moths were also about, most of which would not stay still long enough to identify although I did get a close enough view of one Argent & Sable in Glen Loy as it fluttered right past me.

During our visits to various places there were also various birds seen including a few pairs of Ringed Plovers at Cuil Bay.

Also seen at various places around Fort William were Hooded Crows which Jane referred to as ‘Two-Tone Crows’. This species has its stronghold in north-west Scotland where it replaces the more familiar Carrion Crow.
During our stays at Silverdale, both on the way to Scotland and the return, we visited RSPB Leighton Moss which we often do when up in this area as there are good paths and hides which Jane can manage with her limited mobility. Among the birds seen here were Marsh Harrier, Little Egret, Reed Buntings and a large number of Black-tailed Godwits.
Finally, during a visit to Gait Barrows on the first Saturday (June 4th), I went to have a look at the Ladies Slipper Orchids which were showing well.
Whilst at Gait Barrows I had a good look for Duke of Burgundy on the off chance that they were still around, but without success. Talking to a couple of local chaps they told me that they had been seen a few weeks earlier but never in large numbers, apparently about half a dozen seen on one day in mid-may being the highest number seen this year.

So then…just over a week spent in some of the best locations these islands have to offer. The scenery alone makes these places worth visiting but throw in the butterflies and other wildlife and they are truly something special. I would never have expected to have such good weather, conditions of which had apparently been similar for a few weeks before we went, and really struck lucky with the timing of our trip.
As mentioned in my previous reports, the good weather no doubt led to me seeing some things that I did not expect to see which made for a truly memorable trip.
This also brought home to me how much the season can vary in different regions of the country and that you cannot always assume that things will be progressing in a similar manner as in your own area.

Bye for now

Neil.

I'd certainly settle for those Mountain Ringlet record shots Neil - and it only took you an hour to find them I'd been led to believe that they're the hardest of the UK species "to get"

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wow! You had a great trip, Neil, by the looks of it. Those Ladies Slipper Orchids have merely topped off what was already a glorious haul!

Glad you enjoyed your trip North Neil I've yet to see the Mountain Ringlet so you were very lucky, I've probably gone at the wrong time Goldie

Cheers Wurzel, I actually saw the first one within a couple of minutes of walking up onto the Fell. Irton Fell is the lowest altitude site for MR in England and they fly earlier there than at the higher altitude sites. Like a number of our more localised species, if you are in the right place at the right time and in the right conditions they are easy to find. Despite what the books say, they will fly in cloud as long as the air temperature is warm enough.

Hi David, yes it certainly was a fantastic week, better than I expected.

Thanks Goldie, The Mountain Ringlets are sometimes on the wing at Irton Fell in late May but this can vary somewhat depending on the weather in any given year. I checked the Cumbria BC sightings page before going to see if they had been sighted.

Wednesday 22nd June

Well, since returning home from our northern trip the other weekend, the weather has been shocking. Last week we had deluges of biblical proportions with bad floods in some parts of Birmingham. Things have settled down a bit this week but there is still a lot of cloud about on most days.

The only butterflies I have seen lately have been a couple of Speckled Wood in the garden when I have got home from work.

The Moth trap has been out in the garden on the nights when it has not rained too bad. In fact cloudy nights with drizzle or light rain seem to produce good results as opposed to clear nights when the temperature drops which keeps the moth numbers down.

A selection below of moths trapped during the past week or so;
Anyone who read this diary a few months ago may remember that I found a Lime Hawk Moth caterpillar wandering across the pavement outside my house. I put it into a container with some garden soil and leaf mould where it pupated the next day.
A few weeks ago I laid the pupa out in a cage ready for emergence and kept a watch on it. Whilst we were away up north, my son Chris kept popping in to keep an eye on the house and checked the cage. On the Sunday after we returned we went round to my moms for dinner and on returning home later found that the Lime Hawk had emerged. This could have happened anytime Saturday night/Sunday morning as I didn't check on it until later in the afternoon by which time it had caught itself in a corner of the cage and rubbed the back of its thorax on the netting. I took a few photos and when it started to get dark later I released it when it flew away with no sign of ill effects.
I had also been given an Elephant Hawk Moth pupa a few weeks ago by one of my uncles who found it in his garden and knows of my interest. This emerged this Sunday night and again I took a few photos before releasing it.
Both of the Hawk Moths were released in the back garden and I was interested if they would show up in the trap on any of the following nights but so far there has been no sign of either.

Bye for now,

Neil.

I am still in awe of your excursion to the sunny and warm North and all the things you got to see, Neil. Fantastic photos too. If only the weather could be guaranteed - it would be worth spending a fortnight up there every May! Your moth pictures are really interesting too - incredible variety and patterning, and I've always had a soft spot for hawk moths...

Dave

Thanks Dave, our landlady in Fort William reckoned that they often have a spell of good weather around late May/early June but this year was exceptional in how hot it was and for how long the good weather stayed around. Having said that, there were some thunderstorms when we were up there but they were very localised. When we were in Glen Nevis they had a sharp downpour less than a mile further up the glen while we stayed in glorious sunshine.

Friday 24th June.

Over the past couple of weeks I have not had much chance to get out around any of my local spots so after finishing work at lunchtime today and going round for my usual Friday afternoon visit to my mom, I was keen to have a look around the park by her house. As usual, whilst Jane and mom were chatting, I had the chance to go and for a look to see what was about. This is the normal sort of recreational park but there are some areas where the grass is left to grow with some small wooded parts and hedgerows with good patches of brambles.

It was a pleasant afternoon with mixed cloud and sunny spells and I soon saw a couple of Large Skippers chasing each other about, quickly followed by my first Meadow Browns and Ringlets this year. During the following half an hour or so I saw maybe a dozen of each of these species plus four or five Speckled Woods.
It was just a short session but it was nice to see some typical mid-summer butterflies after a couple of weeks of not seeing much at all since returning from 'up north'.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Monday June 27th – Great Orme part 1.

After a pretty uneventful past couple of weeks, our next trip further afield this year saw Jane and myself heading to North Wales and a couple of nights stopping in Llandudno. The reason for this was so that I could explore the Great Orme, a large limestone headland immediately to the north of Llandudno, and hopefully see the endemic two subspecies that can be found there, Silver-studded Blue ssp caernensis and Grayling ssp thyone. I was particularly interested in seeing the females of caernensis which tend to have far more blue on their upper wings than the normal ones.

So it was that we arrived at our B&B on Sunday afternoon after a wet drive through the welsh hills and after settling in and with it still raining we went out into town for a meal. The weather forecast for the next day (Monday 27th) looked like it would be the best day all week so the plan was for me to have a good look around two particular parts of the Orme.
Our B&B was ideally located just across the road from a small path that leads up to join a larger path that is known locally as ‘Invalids Walk’ and which runs up and across the south facing slope from West Bay to Haulfre Gardens. I had read that this was a good place to find SSBs and so after breakfast I went for my first look.
The conditions were cloudy to begin with and there was a stiff breeze from the west which was blowing along the slopes but there were a number of sheltered spots along the path where I first concentrated my search. It didn’t take long before I found a number of roosting SSBs and with the clouds thinning and the sun starting to peek through they started taking to the air in increasing numbers. During the next couple of hours I wandered along the path here and also along the yellow rock rose covered lower slope and saw absolutely loads of SSBs in all sorts of condition from really worn to fresh looking.
Once I had my eye in, I also saw many mating pairs, either down in the grass or in one of the small clumps of brambles. In fact every patch of brambles along here seemed to have its own group of SSBs in and around it. I have no idea how many there were in total but there were hundreds of them, many within feet of the main path itself.
I then went back to meet Jane at the B&B. We decided to drive up to the summit for a look, our reasoning on using the car being that if it was too windy up there we could easily drive back down. We were right; it was blowing a gale up there so after admiring the views and a having a look around the visitor centre we went back down.
We then went around to ‘Happy Valley’ which was the second spot that I wanted to look at. This is situated on the south-east corner of the Orme in a sheltered valley and there are some very nice gardens here where we just chilled out for a while with a delicious double cornet ice cream. I then went for a wander around the higher slope above the gardens. The slope here was again covered with the yellow flowers of Common Rock Rose and with the sun feeling warm, but not too hot, and the wind being far less noticeable, there were loads of SSBs flying and basking and again there were many mating pairs.
Between here and along the ‘Invalids Path ‘earlier, I really couldn’t say which spot had the highest number, suffice to say that there were hundreds, maybe thousands, at both places .

We then went for a coffee and as it was now gone 4.00pm decided to head back to the B&B as Jane wanted to have a shower and get ready before going out for a meal later (In truth, she is a big Tipping Point and The Chase fan and as we had a T.V. in our room…well! ). With the forecast for the next day not looking good, this gave me the chance to make the most of the moment and have another walk over to ‘Invalids Walk’. By now the clouds had built up a bit more and it looked as if most of the SSBs were settling down for an early finish, but a slight thinning of the clouds tempted some of them back into action.
During the day I had seen many females which exhibited a large variation in the amount of blue from very little to a bright suffusion on all four wings. There was also a large variation in the size and brightness of the orange markings on the hind wings, again some had almost none whereas others were particularly bright.

The other thing that struck me was the variation in size of both sexes with some being no bigger than a Small Blue and others being almost the size of a typical Common Blue.

I had read Pete Eeles excellent and very timely report on his recent visit to the Great Orme in his dairy before going and was particularly impressed by his photo of 15 (I think) SSBs in one frame. As I watched them late in the afternoon in one particular sheltered dip near the start of the path, I realised that I could possible get a similar shot. I reckon that I have managed to get at least 19 in the shot below...
…but this pales into insignificance compared to the photo I saw earlier on twitter and which also appears in the twitter feed here on UKB, absolutely amazing .

I had read before going that caernensis could be found here in some very large numbers but until you see them with your own eyes it is difficult to fully grasp how many individual butterflies there can be in these colonies. There were times when my foot snagged a trailing bramble shoot and a cloud of blue butterflies would rise around me, truly a day to remember .

As well as all the SSBs I also saw a good number of my second target, Grayling ssp thyone but these will follow in a second report before this one gets too big.

Bye for now,

Neil.

HI Neil,
Your report and images make me wish I had been there too. Take some mrgreens !.

The Orme is a lovely spot at any time, but I have yet to see it adorned with blue butterflies - your report and photos are astonishing and I really must go back.

Dave

Excellent report, Neil - and a lovely selection of photos! I wish I was back at the Orme right now, to be honest.

Cheers,

- Pete

Thanks for the great comments Trevor, Dave and Pete It was the first time I had been to the Orme for many years and I certainly won't be leaving it so long before visiting again.

Great Orme part 2.

My second target species for our visit to the Great Orme was the Grayling sub-species thyone. Unlike the Silver-studded Blue ssp caernensis which has been introduced into some other sites close by, as far as I am aware this race of Grayling is found nowhere else but on the limestone slopes of the Great Orme.
In appearance these apparently have less contrast to their markings than typical Graylings but the main difference is the size with thyone being noticeably smaller than the normal type. This population on the Great Orme also emerge much earlier than is usual for this species with a normal flight period usually from early June through to mid-July.

I found that on the examples that I saw, the undersides were very similar to the normal type although I cannot comment on the upperside markings due to their usual habit of settling with their wings firmly closed. Those that I saw were definitely smaller than usual, being no bigger than a Speckled Wood; in fact in flight it was easy to mistake them for a Specklie at first glance until you got a good look to confirm the ID. All in all I reckon I saw about a dozen examples of thyone scattered about along the slopes from West Bay to Haulfre Gardens and another half dozen or so around the higher part of Happy Valley.
The habitat further up the path along the south-west corner of the Orme looked ideal for these but with the stiff breeze coming from the west on the day I didn’t venture far that way.

The undersides of this species are ideally marked for camouflage amongst the rocky ground but we came across one individual who didn’t seem to grasp the concept. Whilst sitting on a bench in the lower gardens in Happy Valley enjoying our ice cream, a butterfly flew across in front of us and settled on the yellow lines on the road by the café a short distance away. At first I took it for a Speckled Wood but on walking over for a closer look I was surprised to see that it was a Grayling.
Other butterflies seen during the day included Speckled Wood, Small Heath, Meadow Brown and Ringlet. There were also a number of highly mobile Dark Green Fritillaries, mostly around the higher slopes above Invalids Walk, although one individual did come down to one of the clumps of red valerian by the path.
We were lucky that the Monday had been a day of good (albeit breezy) weather as the Tuesday was grey and wet with drizzle or heavier rain all day. We spent the morning at RSPB Conwy where we saw various birds including Shelducks, Lapwings and Oystercatchers plus some Bee Orchids by the path to one of the hides.
The afternoon was spent back in Llandudno where we had a wander around the shops which kept Jane happy and meant that my store of brownie points hadn’t taken too much of a hit on this trip .

Wednesday was another horrible wet day during which we drove home through some torrential rain. If the weather had been better we would most likely have stopped off at Prees Heath to look at the Silver-studded Blues there as a comparison to those I had seen on the Great Orme, but as I have been there previously and seen these before, and the rain was at its heaviest as we approached the turn off for Whitchurch, we carried straight on home.

Bye for now,

Neil.

More great stuff Neil - you're mopping up those species/sub-species Do the Great Orme Graylings fly before the other nominate sub-species/race as I haven't seen any reports down this way yet?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Fantastic shots Neil of both species, I looked for the Graylings at Southport and when I was at Gait Barrow no luck though, the weather here as been awful, really heavy showers, nothing we can do about it, but for the Butterflies this year is not very good up here. Goldie

Cheers Wurzel Yes, the Great Orme Graylings are usually on the wing a few weeks earlier than the other races.

Thanks Goldie I am sure they will be out there soon, I see there have been some recently reported from Arnside Knott.

Friday 1st July

Well, we are into July and it sure doesn't feel like summer yet. A constant succession of bands of rain and blustery winds on most days have kept butterfly activity well down in my garden with just the odd Speckled Wood putting in the occasional appearance last week.

Friday afternoon was not too bad with some decent sunny spells and during my usual half an hour or so round the park by my moms house I saw the same four species as last week, namely Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Large Skipper and Speckled Wood. The first three of these were all present in greater numbers with good numbers of females now flying. The four or five Specklies seen were all faded to some degree and were possibly all the same individuals seen the previous week.
Saturday 2nd July

Saturday was a mostly dull grey and windy day with a few showers of light rain during the afternoon but with a few brief sunny spells in the morning during which I spotted a couple of Holly Blues and a unidentified 'white' getting blown through the garden.

At one point I went down to check on the bramble patch and noticed a Hornet Mimic Hoverfly on one of the blossoms. This is only the second one of this impressively large species I have seen in my garden although I have seen them before on my trips further south. It appears that this is yet another species that is extending its range north, presumably as a response to climate change.
Sunday 3rd July

A decent afternoon with mixed cloud and sun and that infernal wind dropping somewhat saw me nipping out to my local site at Castle Hills near Solihull for a look around. I was specifically looking to see if Small Skippers and Marbled White were out there yet and during a couple of hours here saw good numbers of both, mostly fresh looking males but with a few females of both species also present.
I was particularly pleased to see so many Marbled Whites here as they have only recently colonised this site in their current expansion across Warwickshire.

Other butterflies seen were Ringlets and Meadow Browns, both of which were everywhere, Good numbers of Large Skippers, a couple of fresh Small Tortoiseshells, a single worn looking Red Admiral and a couple of worn and faded Common Blues.

There were also loads of Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet Moths buzzing about and at one point I noticed a bit of a gathering of these on a dead seed head. It appears that it was half a dozen males all jostling for a single female and after a suitor managed to succeed, the others dispersed and left them to it.
I will probably be back here again in a week or two to see if Essex Skippers are out as that is the usual gap between those and the Smalls appearing.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Just catching up with the Grayling photos from the Orme, Neil. Splendid stuff - I really must get up there again.

Dave

Hi Dave, I really recommend a visit but you need a full day at least to do it justice.

Friday 8th July

Another quiet week for me with regard to butterflies with just a few Specklies and Ringlets being seen in the garden on getting in from work.

The moth trap has been out in the garden a few times over the past couple of weeks and although some windy nights have kept overall numbers down I have continued to get new species with a few appearing at every session. I am now up to 77 species of macro moth plus 28 species of micro that I have managed to identify.

A selection of macros from the past couple of weeks;
The prize for most attractive moth in the garden has to go to Buff Arches of which I have had three now over the past few weeks,
I also continue to be fascinated by the variation shown by some species, a good example being Common Marbled Carpet of which I have had at least ten different individuals with no two being the same.
Bye for now,

Neil

Sunday 10th July

Another cloudy and blustery weekend with Sunday being the better of the two days by virtue of having a few more sunny spells and staying dry all day until we had a light shower around 5.00pm. During the morning I saw a couple of Speckled Woods and Ringlets in the garden plus a couple of summer brood Small Whites chasing each other about.

In the afternoon I had a run down to Snitterfield Bushes, just to the north of Stratford-upon-Avon, to look for Silver-washed Fritillaries and White Admirals. During a couple of hours here in the more sheltered spots in the woods I saw half a dozen or so SWFs, a couple of White Admirals, plus a couple each of summer Commas and Small Tortoiseshells.
Meadow Browns and Ringlets were also flying in good numbers abeit noticeably fewer of both species than I would normally expect. I also only saw two Gatekeepers, both male, whereas these would normally be well out by now.
There were also plenty of Marbled Whites in a meadow at the southern side of the woods but the wind was blowing a gale to that side and they were either down in the grass or getting whisked about if they ventured out.

An enjoyable couple of hours despite the cloud and wind but one that felt that things were a good week or so behind where they should be. It is difficult to tell as yet whether things are just late or whether numbers will stay low, the next week or so should give a better idea if numbers will build around here or stay low for this year.

Bye for now,

Neil

Thursday 14th July

After a few more wet and windy days this week it brightened up considerably today but being stuck in work I couldn't take advantage of the better conditions for most of the day.

It was nice however to actually see some butterflies in my garden when I got home later this afternoon. Apart from a couple each of Speckled Wood and Ringlets that will fly in the dull conditions and which I have seen occasionally through the week, today there were also Large, Small and GV Whites, Holly Blues and a Comma.
Nothing that special really but the lack of butterflies in my garden recently has been indicative of the poor season in general so far and just to see them was a lift to the spirits

Bye for now,

Neil.

I'm the same here Neil, no Butterflies in my garden at all yet which is very unusual, plus the fact also that my Boules mauve has died , too much rain, I just hope my BM in the front garden holds out Goldie