www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Thanks for all the comments Dave, James, Mark, Buggy, Hoggers, and Goldie It was great to see so many in such a beautiful location.

From other reports, it seems that Small Coppers are doing a bit better in these later broods than they did earlier in the year at a lot of places.

3rd-10th September - Cornwall Part 3.

As mentioned in my earlier report, I also saw half a dozen each of Painted Ladies and Red Admirals. Four of the Painted Ladies were seen at Kynance Cove where they were spending some time nectaring on the patches of fleabane and wild mint,
One of those seen at Upton Towans was a really tatty example but the other one was a nice condition individual that spent a good twenty minutes on one small patch of fleabane,
Of the half a dozen Red Admirals seen during the week, most were moving rapidly and I only saw the one individual at Kynance Cove that settled briefly before carrying on,
Four Small Tortoiseshells were also seen, two at Kynance Cove and Two at Upton Towans,
I also saw a single Peacock at Upton Towns on the Tuesday but it was very flighty and I could't get anywhere near it. I watched it for a while from a short distance until all of a sudden it disappeared down one of the many rabbit burrows that are in this area. I stuck around for a while to see if it would come back out but that was the last I saw of it. I have read before about Peacocks hibernating in rabbit burrows so I guess that was its winter quarters.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries regularly have a second brood in Cornwall, usually during August but I was curious to see if there would be any still around. I did indeed find a few at Upton Towans but they were all very worn and faded. I also had a good look for them between Kynance Cove and Lizard Point but without success, I reckon I was just that bit too late for them there.
Bye for now,

Neil

Yes,probably a bit late,as they usually fly in the first half of August . I'm surprised there were any left at Upton Towans by September, if I'm honest. Glad you found some though. Your Red Admiral count is quite low for west Cornwall, thought there would be more. But it's quality over quantity.

That first Small Tort. is a particularly vividly marked attractive animal

Nice painted Ladies Neil, Goldie

Hello Neil,
Some great photos there Neil,particularly enjoyed your Small Copper shots,we were down in Cornwall,for a week back in early July,for our 25th,and like yourself took in Kynance Cove (path),what a fantastic site,but didn,t see a single Copper ! a case of the right place at the wrong time( ie; between broods),that said Silver-studded Blues,Grayling,
Small Pearls,Dark Green Frits,and some great plants,more than compensated........ we'll be back! Brilliant Speckled wood shots too,unfortunately I can,t say their doing so well down here in my part of Kent,i,ve really struggled to find them this season,don,t reckon I,ve seen more than 8-9 all season. regards Allan.W.

Hi Mark, I must admit I did expect to see a few more Red Admirals down there. Numbers have certainly shot up at home this week...I had 6 together on my garden buddeias when I got home from work on Wednesday afternoon

Cheers Buggy, that one stood out nicely against the sand.

Thanks Goldie, I am always pleased to see Painted Ladies due to the unpredictability of them turning up.

Hello Allan, I walked that stretch of coast last year as well, in early June when the stone walls were festooned with sea pinks and there were plenty of fresh Small Pearls. I reckon that it would be a great spot to visit at any time.

3rd-10th September - Cornwall Part 4.

During my wanderings around the dune system at Upton and Gwithian Towans I also saw good numbers of Common Blues, in all sorts of condition from some that were that faded they were nearly transparent to some nice fresh looking examples. This made me wonder if they had overlapping broods here similar to the Small Coppers, unlike back home in the midlands where there is a clear gap between the first and second brood.
Common Blues were also present along most of my walk between Kynance Cove and Lizard Point although here the males were all pretty well worn with just a few females still in reasonable condition.
Brown Argus were also scattered about in many of the sheltered dips on the Towans, most of these being well past their best but with a couple not looking too bad.
Between the main beach access points there is a long stretch of sand that is almost deserted and a couple of times I walked back along here, especially if I had wandered through the dunes further than originally intended as it was a straighter and quicker walk back. During these walks I saw a number of small flocks of cute little birds which I believe are Sanderlings and managed to get a few shots of them.
And a couple of scenery shots to finish with,
Bye for now,

Neil.

Beautiful photos all round Neil especially the Sanderling though - they're one of my favourite birds as they always seem like little children playing 'chicken' with the waves

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Lovely to see those 2nd brood Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries, Neil. Must have given you quite a shock to your system?

Cheers Wurzel, great description of the Sanderlings...that is exactly what they looked like

Hi David, not that much of a shock to be honest. I was aware that they have a second brood which usually flies in early August down there and was on the lookout for any late stragglers still hanging on.

3rd-10th September - Cornwall Part 5.

One last report from my week down in Cornwall, this time focusing on the moths I saw there. A couple of months back I had splashed out and treated myself to a second moth trap, a mobile 40w actinic which packs down into its own carrying case, which I was planning to take on some of our trips. As we were staying in a caravan next to Upton Towans I was hoping that I would get the chance to run it and see if I could catch some species that I would be unlikely to see back home.
In the end I ran the trap on three nights and attracted 23 species of macro moth which included a few that I was well chuffed with.
There was also an assortment of more common species that I am used to seeing in my garden trap back home;
Amongst various assorted micros were a couple that I had never seen before;
I almost overlooked the drab looking micro below until I noticed it down in the bottom of the trap and thought it looked a bit different to the rest so I decided to take a couple of photos to try and ID it. I was glad I did when I managed to identify it as Nothris congressariella, a rare and very localised species, occurring only on the Isles of Scilly and a few localities in the South-West. Drab it may be but I was quite excited to find that one
My last trip of this season and not only did I see some good butterflies with the Small Coppers being the stars of the week as in my earlier report, but I also saw some good moths including some that I would not get at home.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Friday 23rd September

Being at work during the week and keeping up with jobs around the house has meant that I have not been out anywhere lately. I did noticed however, along with most areas it seems, that there was marked increase in numbers of Red Admirals over the past couple of weeks with some in my garden to greet me on my arrival back home from work on nearly every afternoon. On a couple of late afternoons there were at least 6 different individuals spread over a couple of buddeias that were still in flower, one in the front garden and one in the back.
This more than doubled the numbers of Red Admirals I have seen so far this year.
As well as the Red Admirals, the Speckled Woods are still in residence and there have been a fair number of Small Whites passing through.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Love the Admirals Neil, especially the second shot - such subtlety

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Lovely shots of the Admiral's Neil, I've had them in my garden but only odd ones , it's still been great to see them though. Goldie

I've just been catching up with the last part of your Cornish adventures, Neil. A great selection of Coppers, a smashing Painted Lady and then all those blues... (not to mention a SPBF in there as well). Lovely photos, all of them!

Dave

Thanks for the comments Wurzel, Goldie and Dave. Not having the chance to get out lately it was good to see the Red Admirals in the garden.

Not much to report since last week with another busy weekend which meant I have not had chance to get out and see if there is anything around my local patch still. The garden Specklies are still hanging in there but are mostly looking a bit worn now and Small Whites are still passing through regularly as are Red Admirals, but not as many as last week.

A rather nice sunset over the garden earlier this evening brought the curtain down on another day...
Bye for now,

Neil.

A few issues with my computer the other week led me to getting a new desktop PC at home which meant some time spent copying and backing up files and photos and setting up the new PC to how I want it. This meant that I have not been on UKB (or anywhere else for that matter) for a short while and I now have loads of catching up to do. At least with the season coming to an end I have some time to do this.

The only butterflies that I have seen for the past couple of weeks are the last of this years garden Specklies with a couple of faded males stubbornly hanging in there.

I am still running the moth trap a couple of times a week but numbers have dropped considerably although a few autumn specialities are turning up and I will probably keep running it occasionally as unlike butterflies, there are a few species of moths that fly through the winter.
With the nights now drawing in and the favourite species photo threads now started, it is time I started looking back through my notes and photos and getting my thoughts on the season sorted ready for a looking back report or two.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Looking forward to your round-up Neil

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I wondered where you'd been, Neil.

Good moth selection there. I particularly like the Barred Sallow.

Cheers Wurzel, likely to be a little while yet...something to cheer me up on the dark winter nights

Thanks David, in truth I've not really been anywhere, the time has just flown by recently and I didn't get chance to get out anywhere else before the season just came to an end around here. Then I spent some time sorting and backing up files and photos when I changed PCs and before you know it another week or two has passed
I quite like the Barred Sallow myself, they provide a nice splash of colour in the trap

Bye for now,

Neil.

I have been seeing the BBC weather forecasts on the T.V. have been commenting on the 'abnormally' warm autumn again. That may well have been the case for some parts of the country and admittedly it was nice and sunny for a couple of days with the temperature reaching the giddy heights of 15c around here but I have to say so far it has been a fairly normal autumn in these parts. I woke up to a frost this morning, and not for the first time this autumn either, and it looks as if the next few days are going to be colder.

With no Clouded Yellows or third broods of anything to extend the season around here I reckon I saw my last butterfly of the season a couple of weeks ago, fittingly enough a Speckled Wood in my garden.
Of course I may yet see the odd hibernator but there is always the chance of that in any season.

With the onset of Autumn there has been more bird activity in the garden with all the usual species visiting the feeders including the regular Great Spotted Woodpeckers.
I often get Magpies and Jays picking up bits of food that have fallen to the ground under the feeder but occasionally they get fed up of waiting and try and knock some down themselves...
A couple of weeks back I spotted a Fox watching me warily from one of the borders,
And the Squirrels are often sizing up the feeders but they are just out of reach,
I am still putting the moth trap out on occasional likely looking nights and getting a dribble of new species, the latest of which was this Feathered Thorn from Monday night,
Bye for now,

Neil.

I love that Jay picture, its the best time of year to get close to them now what with them busy stashing (and more often than not forgetting where they put) acorns for the winter