David M

[selbypaul]

Giving everything that is going on with climate and pollution, who knows!

[David M]

A look back at 2024

January & February

Of course, on New Year’s Day 2024, no-one could know that the year was to turn out to be one of the most abysmal for butterflies in living memory.

In fact, for me, it got off to the finest start ever with a Red Admiral seen on the Gower coast on the absurdly early date of 5th January:

Two more were to follow on 26th January in local woodland, and it was in this same location where I ended up seeing a further two on 10th February, then another one the following day:

It wasn’t until 26th February that I saw my first adult native over-winterer, with a Brimstone being recorded in the woodland behind the Gower Inn.

Rather unusually, this one was a female:

At that moment in time, things appeared to be on track and I was hopeful for a good season.

[David M]

Giving everything that is going on with climate and pollution, who knows!

I fully expect some weird event to occur weatherwise this year, Paul, but so long as it's not as extreme as last year, I'll be happy.

[David M]

A look back at 2024

March

Every year, there is a day when things seem to collectively wake up. In 2024, that day was 6th March.

With sunshine and 12c temperatures, I saw four different species. Red Admirals were once again on the wing, along with my first male Brimstones of the year:

Both Commas and Peacocks also made an appearance:

A brief window of sunshine on 11th saw 3 more Brimstones and 2 Commas locally at Pennard:

It was another week before conditions were again suitable, and at Kilvey Hill I saw 10 Brimstones and my first Small White:

With a week long trip to Tenerife beginning on 19th, I was keen to notch up a Small Tortoiseshell prior to leaving the country. Historically, this has been a straightforward task, but this year it took some effort, with just one individual seen along the banks of the stream that cuts through the area close to my former workplace:

Easter weekend was cool but fairly sunny, meaning that on both 30th and 31st I saw Brimstones, Commas and Peacocks:

It hadn’t been a great month, but it was significantly better than the washout March of 2023.

[David M]

A look back at 2024

April

April was again rather cool, but things weren’t quite as late as they were in 2023, so I was able to sweep up the remainder of early-mid spring species before I decamped to Spain on 21st.

Speckled Woods were first out of the blocks, on the opening day of the month:

Half a dozen Peacocks was a nice surprise too:

Cloudy conditions then proved frustrating, though there was sufficient sunshine for me to see my first Holly Blue of the year on 4th April:

Five days later, in woodland close to my home, I saw my first Green Veined White:

Just like last year, that left only Orange Tips, and I took no chances given how cloudy it had remained on the Gower. A decent forecast for the Cardiff area saw me head down to Lavernock Point on 12th, seeing my first whilst I was there, and a couple more later in the day at nearby Cosmeston:

Irritatingly, temperatures were not to exceed 13c until 18th, when I took advantage of a clear morning to catch up with my first Small Coppers of the year at Nicholaston Burrows:

In the afternoon of that day, I was disappointed by how few butterflies there were around at Cwm Ivy, although this female Holly Blue provided some solace:

On 20th, I had one last trip out in the UK, choosing to go to Crymlyn Burrows where female Green Veined White and male Orange Tip were the
highlights:

[David M]

A look back at 2024

May

It wasn’t until 10th May that I was able to get out in the UK again.

Unsurprisingly, this resulted in several new firsts, such as Large White:

…and Brown Argus:

….and Small Heath:

…and Dingy Skipper:

The above were all seen at my regular spring haunt, Cwm Ivy, but I had time to stop by at Welshmoor on the way back home where I chanced upon a couple of Green Hairstreaks:

The following day, I made my annual visit to Merthyr Mawr Dunes for Grizzled Skipper, but before I had found one, my first Common Blue of the year introduced itself:

Just one malvae was recorded, which was disappointing:

The next day, I ventured across the English border to Siccaridge Wood, a site where fellow UKB member, ernief, had seen Pearl Bordered Fritillaries. Sure enough, there were over a dozen there:

That was handy, as in previous years I’d always visited Herefordshire for this species, so to be able to see them in Gloucestershire saved plenty of miles, as it was only a short drive to Rodborough Common for a Duke of Burgundy fix:

Before flying out to Romania, I was determined to catch up with two more species. I got lucky with Wall Brown, with one solitary female seen at Rhossili on 16th May.

This was, up to this point, the finest day of the year weatherwise, so I made the most of it by calling in at Oxwich Bay in the afternoon. Small Blues were hard to find (they were particularly late on the scene in 2024), but eventually I managed to see two, although neither were in the mood to allow close approaches:

[David M]

A look back at 2024

May cont….

With just a single day in between trips to Romania and France, I was fortunate that on 26th, conditions were decent and I was able to get out on my local Commons to check if any Marsh & Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries were around.

Just two Marsh Fritillaries were seen, although both were fresh specimens:

A solitary SPBF was recorded too, and a welcome few minutes of cloud saw it settle long enough for me to get close:

Overall, spring had once again been poor and butterfly numbers were hugely disappointing.

[David M]

A look back at 2024

June

I only had one day to get out at home in early June, which was 3rd of the month where I saw half a dozen species at Crymlyn Burrows, including Small Blue which I was able to photograph rather better than I did the previous month:

Trips to Greece, Italy and France took up all but a few days of the rest of the month, leaving me only a small window back in the UK.

On 20th, I saw my first Meadow Browns locally, with both sexes posing with open wings, which is unusual:

A couple of days later, it was the turn of Large Skippers to make their bow for me:

Amazingly, Marsh Fritillaries were still around. I’d never seen one after midsummer’s day before:

June was the saviour of 2023, being warm and mostly dry. Not so this year. The dismal weather had persisted.

[David M]

A look back at 2024

July

Domestically, July almost passed me by. Having spent up till 20th in the Arctic and then the Hautes Pyrenees, it wasn’t until 23rd of the month that I managed to get out locally.

Nicholaston Burrows was the site I visited, and straight away I was greeted by both male and female Hedge Browns:

I’d come here mainly for the Purple Hairstreaks which can be found amongst the oaks near the beach, and whilst I did find some, they proved almost impossible to photograph as they remained high in the tree canopy:

Rather easier was this second brood Small Blue:

I was delighted to find a few Marbled Whites out on the dunes; their distribution is patchy on the Gower:

On 26th, we had the rare pleasure of a sunny day with virtually no wind, meaning that Rhossili Head was on the agenda. The wild flower meadows were nowhere near as replete with butterflies as in 2023, but there were still plenty of Meadow & Hedge Browns, and, notably, just my third Small Tortoiseshell of the year:

There were also a couple of welcome Painted Ladies:

There were three ‘firsts’ for the year. First up was Small Skipper:

Next to appear was Dark Green Fritillary:

Two Graylings were also seen on the rocky cliffs:

[David M]

A look back at 2024

July cont…

We actually had a decent few days of weather towards the end of July. This meant I was able to go looking for a few other species I hadn’t seen in the UK yet.

First up was Ringlet:

Then, it was off to Old Castle Down to catch up with High Brown Fritillary. I almost missed out completely on seeing these, with just one photographed nectaring from some roadside thistles:

I saw Silver Washed Fritillary too, but only in flight.

Another first was White Letter Hairstreak, with a handful of ageing specimens seen in the elm and ash canopy:

Numbers everywhere were spectacularly disappointing, and with August about to commence, there was precious little time for things to improve.

[David M]

A look back at 2024

August

My first domestic outing on 11th was a shock – just 6 species were seen at Port Eynon dunes, with numbers being pretty low too.

Meadow & Hedge Brown, Large & Small White, Small Copper and this Common Blue were the ones present:

The following day, I had hoped things would be considerably better at Swells Hill Bank in Gloucestershire, but again the species range was very restricted, with just half a dozen species seen again.

Thankfully, the commonest butterfly was my main target, Chalkhill Blue:

Adonis Blues clearly hadn’t emerged, although it was nice to see a handful of Brown Argus.

[David M]

A look back at 2024

August cont…

The middle part of August was undoubtedly the highlight of the year for me, domestically.

On 16th, a fine, sunny day tempted me down to West Williamston where I saw several Brown Hairstreaks, including, unusually, a nectaring male:

Two days later came the best moment of the year, and a totally unanticipated highlight given it was such a bad year for butterflies.

I’d been desperate to see American Painted Lady in Tenerife during my two recent visits to that island. I never imagined I’d end up seeing one less than two hours drive from my front door:

There weren’t many other butterflies around that day, but a handful of Wall Browns was a nice surprise too:

[trevor]

Congrats for the American Painted Lady. The underside is familiar,
but open wing WOW ! Release or storm assisted over Atlantic ?

Hopeful of a decent new season.

[bugboy]

Congrats for the American Painted Lady. The underside is familiar,
but open wing WOW ! Release or storm assisted over Atlantic ?

Hopeful of a decent new season.

Almost certainly natural from Iberian populations. There were at least 3 recorded around the same time accompanied by some moths which also originate from the same region.

[David M]

A look back at 2024

August cont…

The rest of August was rather underwhelming, with butterfly numbers much reduced in comparison with other years.

That said, there were plenty of Meadow Browns and Common Blues around at Oxwich Bay on 26th:

On 30th, I visited Aberthawe Beach where many Clouded Yellows had been recorded last year. None around this time, although this Green Veined White and Comma were welcome sightings:

Heading back, I stopped off at Kenfig Dunes where I saw a couple of Wall Browns:

And that, as far as summer was concerned, was it! I hope I’ll never experience one as bad here again.

[David M]

..Release or storm assisted over Atlantic ?

I don't believe it was a release, Trevor, as at least three were sighted over a wide area (including one on the Gower).

[David M]

A look back at 2024

September

In the run up to September, the forecast had suggested warm, sunny weather for the first few days of the month. This, however, did not materialise and it wasn’t till the 13th when conditions were suitable for butterflying.

During this initial outing at Port Eynon, I was encouraged by finding 14 Small Tortoiseshells, seemingly refuting earlier statistics in the year suggesting they were becoming very scarce:

Small White numbers were decent, with 60+ seen, whilst half a dozen Painted Ladies was also very welcome:

On 17th I visited the National Botanic Gardens of Wales. Normally, this is something of a butterfly-fest, but not this year. In spite of the huge array of nectar sources, butterfly numbers were the lowest I’ve ever known at this location.

It actually got off to a good start, with both Small Copper and Peacock in the walled gardens:

However, fewer than 40 butterflies seen all day kind of summed up the year so far!

[David M]

A look back at 2024

September cont…

The remainder of September was run-of-the-mill, although a visit to Rhossili Head on 18th was notable for the three-figure numbers of Small Whites:

Further along the coast at Port Eynon, there were half a dozen Painted Ladies:

A couple of Small Tortoiseshells turned up too:

On 19th, a visit to Oxwich saw further good numbers of Small Whites, but the best sighting was this male Brimstone:

A Small Heath was also welcome:

On 23rd, I headed to Spain for a few days, meaning my next domestic fix wouldn’t be till October.

[David M]

A look back at 2024

October

Unlike the previous year, there was no mini heatwave at the start of October, nor any Clouded Yellows gracing the part of Wales where I live.
That said, there were a few Painted Ladies around, like this one seen on 4th:

Other vanessids were around too that day:

It was much the same line-up five days later when I returned to the same site, although Small White numbers were starting to diminish.
I had one last go at finding a Clouded Yellow on 17th, at Aberthawe Beach, however the only butterflies seen were Small Whites:

My last Small Copper of the years was seen two days later, during the lunch break at the SW Butterfly Conservation AGM at Kenfig:

I only got out twice more during the month, seeing just a solitary Red Admiral on 23rd, although as per usual these last few years, Hallowe’en was productive with 6 Red Admirals seen:

There were also 3 Speckled Woods still going, including this one that looked as though it hadn’t long emerged:

[David M]

A look back at 2024

November

After seeing a record 61 butterflies in November 2023, this year was the polar opposite.

It didn’t help that the first 10 days of the month (the most likely period for butterfly sightings) was spent under permanent grey cloud.

Sure enough, as soon as the sun did return on 11th, I saw a Red Admiral near Mumbles Head:

Two days later, I saw four more butterflies, one of them a Peacock flying around a thatched roof. The others were all Red Admirals, as was the sole butterfly seen on 14th, which was found basking on an ivy leaf close to my home:

That was the last butterfly image I took in 2024, as the two final Red Admirals which I saw the following day were both fly-bys.

We then ran into a cycle of stormy weather which put paid to any further sightings during the month.