www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

I too am surprised to see that Ringlet, Neil, although your Peacocks and Painted Ladies are to be expected in that lovely part of the country in early August.

Like you say, still a bit of life to be squeezed from the season...

Cheers Wurzel, I know what you mean about the WiFi, even in this country it can be a bit flaky so I don't usually bother when we are on our trips. Those Silver-spots were early in their flight period at Aston Rowant and from reports that I have seen there are still plenty about.

Hi David, those photos were from my garden before we went to Cornwall so the Painted Ladies were not really expected in my garden. Having said that the numbers of those that we saw in Cornwall were unexpected too as described in the report below.

Some wet and wild weather here today has at least given me the chance to throw a report together.

Sunday 4th to Friday 9th August – Cornwall part 1.

Painted Ladies.

Last Sunday (4th August) we set out for Cornwall with five nights booked in a B&B in Lizard Village. On the way down the M5 we stopped off again at out youngest son's new house in Bristol where he mentioned to me that he had been seeing quite few Painted Ladies around and about and in fact during our brief time there we saw four (plus a Peacock and a Small Tortoiseshell) on a small Buddleia in his garden.

We carried on our way and duly arrived on the Lizard by about 3.00 in the afternoon, a little too early to check into our B&B so we headed for Kennack Sands for an ice cream. Whilst there I had a little wander behind the beach where I noted at least a dozen Painted Ladies. This was already more than the total I usually see in a 'normal' year (whatever one of those is).

We then went on and checked into our B&B which being to the south of Lizard Village was ideally placed to pop out for a walk along the coast path, something I did a number times, both west towards Kynance Cove and east to Church Cove, over the next few days. After unpacking and settling in, I went for a little wander to stretch my legs and circled around a couple of paths down to Lizard Point and back. By now it was past 5.00pm and a bit of a stiff breeze was blowing in off the sea but I noticed something like 20-25 Painted Ladies around Lizard Point and a few more as I walked there and back.
The next morning was a cracker with beautiful blue sky and so after breakfast I walked down to Lizard Point again and then along the coast path in the direction of Kynance Cove. Although I had seen a good number of Painted Ladies the previous afternoon, nothing prepared me for what I would find this morning. Painted Ladies were all over the place, basking on the paths and feeding up on the extensive patches of knapweed which can be found by the sections of dry stone wall along this stretch.
I soon gave up counting but some of the larger areas of knapweed must have played host to hundreds of individual butterflies and although I didn't go all the way to Kynace Cove on this occasion I reckon it is no exaggeration to say that total numbers along this stretch of coastline must have run into thousands.

I then returned to meet up with Jane and we walked up into the village where we had a coffee before carrying on down to the Lighthouse and the most southerly point in Britain, seeing many more Painted Ladies along the way.

Later in the afternoon I returned to the parts of the Coast path where I had been earlier in the morning to experience again the spectacle of so many Painted Ladies. If anything there appeared to be even more flying about and basking on the grassy paths away from the main path.
On Tuesday afternoon I walked the coast path in the other direction past Housel Bay and towards Church Cove. Painted Ladies were again seen all along the paths although not the hordes I had seen the previous day to the north of Lizard Point.

On Wednesday morning ( 7th August) we had a drive over to Upton Towans and again saw plenty of Painted Ladies. By this time however I am almost ashamed to say that we had become a little blasé to them and whilst looking for other species it had become a case of 'Oh!, its just another Painted Lady'. Nevertheless I took a few shots as the opportunities presented themselves.
Everywhere that we saw them, the condition of the Painted Ladies varied from pale and faded to very fresh looking. With this in mind and given the amazing numbers seen, particularly in the areas just to the north of Lizard Point, I am inclined to think that some of them were home grown individuals but that numbers were also reinforced by further immigrants, quite possibly descendants of the waves that came up across the continent earlier in the year, that had recently emerged just across the channel.

Although I had seen some reports over the past couple of weeks of large numbers of Painted Ladies in some areas, mostly in the north-east and Scotland, it appeared that sightings were a bit patchy elsewhere around the country. I never thought that they would be the most common species to be seen during our stay on the Lizard.

Anyway, one of my original targets for this trip was second brood Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries so they will be the subject of the next report.

To be continued....

Neil.

Fantastic sightings Neil - one of those individuals has to be an Ab surely? Fresh looking but very pale, lacking the salmon colour?

I was thinking just what Pauline was Neil Cracking sets of shots - as I was away I've yet to witness the 'invasion' for myself - I can't wait Looking forward to the Small Pearls

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wow, those are serious numbers of Painted Ladies, Neil.

Do you think the fact that you were at a coastal site explains how common they were? How many have you been seeing near to your home?

Pauline wrote:Fantastic sightings Neil - one of those individuals has to be an Ab surely? Fresh looking but very pale, lacking the salmon colour?

Wurzel wrote:I was thinking just what Pauline was Neil Cracking sets of shots - as I was away I've yet to witness the 'invasion' for myself - I can't wait Looking forward to the Small Pearls

Thanks Pauline and Wurzel. I assume you are referring to the lower one in the shot with the two individuals, one above the other. Unfortunately I didn't get a closer/better look at that one so cannot really say if it looked like an ab or just faded. I did notice that with so many flying together there was a noticeable variation on display, in colour, markings and even size.

David M wrote:...Do you think the fact that you were at a coastal site explains how common they were? How many have you been seeing near to your home?

I think that you have hit the nail on the head there David. Although I have seen more than usual back home, I have not seen numbers anywhere else like I did along that one stretch of coastline.

Sunday 4th to Friday 9th August – Cornwall part 2.

Second Brood Small Pearls.

The Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary is known to have an occasional partial second brood in some parts of it's range, particularly in favourable years, but this is a more regular occurrence in Cornwall where the species appears to have a full second brood in most years. I have seen these before during previous visits in August but have been a little late to see them at their best which is usually during the first couple of weeks of the month.

With the timing of our trip this year I was confident that, weather permitting, I would be able to catch up with these second brood Small Pearls and hopefully find some nice fresh examples.
It didn't take long for me to find the first one which I spotted during the short walk I took after settling in to our B&B later on the Sunday afternoon when I circled round to Lizard Point and back. This was a fresh looking, and very small, male that I saw on a grassy area on the cliff top just to the west of Pystyll Meadow. A quite stiff breeze was blowing in off the sea in this exposed location and the Small Pearl was taking short flights and settling low down in the grass so I only managed a couple of ropey record shots.

As described in my previous report on the Painted Ladies, the following morning I walked along the coast path in the direction of Kynance Cove. I wasn't actually planning to go as far as the Cove itself but was heading for an undercliff area that I had visited in previous years and which had produced SPBFs of both first and second broods in the past. As it happened I got a bit sidetracked along the way when I came across the spectacle of all the Painted Ladies previously described.
I also found a few Small Pearls when I checked a couple of spots along the path where I had seen them in past visits but as with the previous afternoon the breeze made it difficult to get a decent photo with them settling low down in the grass. So far all those seen were males and some tiny examples at that with wingspans little larger than the average Small Copper. I have read before that second brood SPBFs can be quite a bit smaller than first brood but I must admit that this was the first time that I had noticed such a difference.

Anyway, I made my way along to the undercliff area and was only half way down when I started spotting SPBFs flitting about above the vegetation with their distinctive flight. Reaching the bottom it was obvious that there were quite a few flying and I spent about 45 minutes or so at this spot during which I reckon I saw maybe 20-25 Small Pearls, both males and females. Many of them looked to be very fresh although there were also a few raggedy looking examples which indicated they had been emerging for at least a week or so here. It was also a bit more sheltered here so I finally managed to get some photos without bits of grass in the way.
I returned to this spot again later in the afternoon and if anything saw a few more flying including some fresh examples that I had not seen in the morning indicating that they were still emerging.
At one point I watched what appeared to be two males indulging in what looked like some sort of communication involving touching antennae. I have no idea what was actually going on but they stayed like this for a couple of minutes before going their separate ways.
On another occasion I watched as two males chased a female to ground and after a brief scuffle she made her getaway with neither male being successful.


On the Wednesday (7th August) morning we paid a visit to Upton Towans near Hayle on the north coast where I found a couple of dozen Small Pearls flying around in the sheltered areas behind the dunes. I have noticed before that they appear to emerge here a little earlier than those down on the Lizard and many of the males here were already looking worn and faded although the females were mostly in better condition. The butterflies seen in this population were nearer to normal size as opposed to the ones seen on the Lizard which were for the most part appreciably smaller than those I am more used to seeing.
So far, apart from a bit of rain on Tuesday morning, we had enjoyed some decent warm weather with Monday and Wednesday in particular being warm and sunny all day. The weather was set to change later on Thursday but before the threatened high winds and rain arrived I had another walk along the coast path to the undercliff area I had visited on Monday.


One of those seen this time was a female that despite being a bit worn was still a nice looking butterfly and the largest example seen here as well.
By mid afternoon the weather was beginning to turn and some dark clouds were building up along with a freshening of the the wind. I watched as the Small Pearls disappeared into the vegetation and kept my eye on a couple as they went to roost which gave me the opportunity for some underside shots.
As I was taking these photos the rain started to fall and so I beat a retreat back up the slope and hastened my way back to our B&B. As I paced it out back along the coast path the rain came down more heavily and with the increasing wind it was not so much coming straight down as blowing sideways. By the time I got back to the B&B I was soaked, a fact that Jane found quite amusing, especially as I reminded her of our conversation before I went out.

“Go out for another walk while you have the chance” she said.
“ You might as well make the most of it before the rain arrives” she said.

Oh Well!, I couldn't grumble. Apart from the bit of rain on Tuesday morning, we had been lucky with the weather up until now and we were heading home in the morning.

Plus, I had seen loads of butterflies and other wildlife.

To be continued...

Neil.

Brilliant Small Pearls Neil - especially the final shot and shot number 4, that's a hell of a shot I reckon I'd class the large but worn female as an aberrant - I've not seen them with such light/almost white markings like that before I'm trying to rack my brains to work out what you up your sleeve next, something a bit yellow possibly

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Fabulous, Neil. I really should take a look on the Common near where I live to see if my area gets a second brood. After all, there are good numbers of SPBFs here in the latter part of May/early June.

Hi! Neil, lovely shots of the Pearl, I don't think we get second broods up here in the North mores the pity,
Goldie

A veritable feast of SPBF, Neil - some great shots there. Interesting to hear about the very small ones too - hard to tell from the photos of course, but Small Copper size is tiny in comparison to the regular version! A weather-related phenomenon in some way? The Painted Ladies earlier were excellent too - it's not just the North of England that has them in numbers obviously.

Cheers,

Dave

Wurzel wrote:... I'm trying to rack my brains to work out what you up your sleeve next, something a bit yellow possibly ...Wurzel

Sorry to disappoint you Wurzel, nothing yellow this time unfortunately. In fact I have only seen a few yellow sightings reported so far this year.

David M wrote:Fabulous, Neil. I really should take a look on the Common near where I live to see if my area gets a second brood. After all, there are good numbers of SPBFs here in the latter part of May/early June.

You never know David, second brood have reported very occasionally from the midland colonies so you could be in with a good chance.

Goldie M wrote:Hi! Neil, lovely shots of the Pearl, I don't think we get second broods up here in the North mores the pity,
Goldie

Thanks Goldie. No, I don't think you get second brood up there but you never know what might happen with climate change.

millerd wrote:A veritable feast of SPBF, Neil - some great shots there. Interesting to hear about the very small ones too - hard to tell from the photos of course, but Small Copper size is tiny in comparison to the regular version! A weather-related phenomenon in some way? ...Dave

I am not sure what the cause is Dave, maybe the weather or maybe related to the shorter development cycle in the summer. I notice that Neil Hulme commented on the small size of the ones in Sussex too.

Sunday 4th to Friday 9th August - Cornwall part 3.

As well as the Painted Ladies and Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries, I saw another 18 species of butterfly down in Cornwall to make a total of 20. Most of these were seen on and around the coast paths, either going from Lizard Point towards Kynance Cove or in the other direction past Housel Bay and towards Church Cove. Others were seen in the dune system at Upton Towans on the Wednesday morning, or were spotted whilst we were generally out and about. Some were numerous (Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers, Common Blues) whilst a few were just single individuals or in low numbers (Small Skipper, Brown Argus, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell).

I thought I might see one or two old and faded Dark Green Fritillaries hanging on and indeed did see a couple of raggedy examples on the coast path to the west of Lizard Point. I was a bit surprised however to find good numbers still flying at Upton Towans on the Wednesday (August 7th). There are some wild buddleias dotted about amongst the dunes here and most of these played host to one or two DGFS as well as some Red Admirals and the ubiquitous Painted Ladies. Others were seen on patches of red valerian or flying at high speed across the dunes.

Most of the Dark Greens were looking well past their best with that almost transparent look that ageing butterflies have, but a few females were still looking quite reasonable and at least one male was still a definite orange.
One female in particular was still looking in good condition apart from a damaged forewing and must have been a particularly attractive butterfly when freshly emerged.
I had reckoned that Red Admirals were likely to be around in fairly good numbers and this proved to be the case with these being one of the species that turned up everywhere we went.
One individual was hanging around the gateway to our B&B every day we were there and often flew around our heads to check us out as we passed by.
A couple of Commas were seen on the walk up from our B&B to Lizard Village plus a couple more on the walk from the village to Housel Bay.
Single examples of Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell were also seen whilst walking up to Lizard Village plus another Peacock was seen amongst all the Painted Ladies on one of the large patchs of knapweed along the coast path.
A species that I am always on the look out for on our trips is Wall Brown. I remember these being common around Solihull back in the 1970s although sadly they are no longer found in Warwickshire.They can still be found further afield around the midlands but inland sites are few and far between these days. I was pleased therefore to find a good scattering around the coast paths and saw a few every day.
One good spot to see these was along the coast path between the Lizard Lighthouse and Housel Bay, although I couldn’t get close to them there as the path is quite narrow along that stretch and they kept flying off down the steep drop between the path and the sea.
A few were also seen on the path from Lizard Village down to the most southerly point where they would be patrolling the pedestrian path which runs between the vegetation covered stone walls.
I also found half a dozen Wall Browns at Upton Towans with a couple spotted feeding up on the previously mentioned buddleias and others scattered about behind the dunes.
A few Graylings were seen on the coast path towards Kynance Cove and around the top of the undercliff area. These areas tended to be more exposed to the breeze coming in off the sea and consequently the Graylings usually settled low done amongst the vegetation or else flew off down the cliffs where they couldn't be followed.
I will save the rest for the next report before this one gets too long.

To be continued...

Neil.

Really enjoying reading/seeing your Cornish reports Neil - that was a lovely dusky DGF, definitely living up to the 'dark' bit of the name but not perhaps the 'green' as there's a definite purpley tinge there You did really well with those Walls especially to get such a close view of the female - normally they're gone when you get to within a metre Looking forward to the next report.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

You've certainly filled your boots with some very desirable species, Neil.
I thought for a moment that your SPBF shots were a retrospective look back to Spring,
then I noticed the date!. What a second brood!.
Lovely female Dark Green Frit then three female Wall Browns, obviously a great area for butterflies,

Well worth a good soaking,
Trevor.

Wurzel wrote:...You did really well with those Walls especially to get such a close view of the female - normally they're gone when you get to within a metre ...Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel, there were plenty that I didn't even get as close to as a metre (although I still think in terms of yards...it's an age thing ).

trevor wrote:...I thought for a moment that your SPBF shots were a retrospective look back to Spring, then I noticed the date!. What a second brood!...Trevor

Thanks Trevor, I think that Cornwall is still the only area that currently has a reliable second brood although it appears that a partial brood at least is happening more often these days in other locations, particularly those in the south.

Sunday 4th to Friday 9th August - Cornwall part 4.

Common Blues were seen in good numbers with a few in nearly every sheltered grassy area along the coast paths in both directions from Lizard Point. They were also pretty well spread out behind the dunes at Upton Towans and half a dozen or so were seen to the back of the beach at Kennack Sands. They were in varying condition with some males in particular looking really old and faded but also a good number of fresher examples about too.
The females that I saw were mostly of the brown colour forms but nonetheless included some very attractive examples.
A single Holly Blue was also seen to the back of the beach at Kennack Sands.
Small Coppers were also about in fairly good numbers, not as many as I have seen between Lizard Point and Kynance Cove in previous visits later in August or early September, but appearing in ones and twos at most spots.
I have only ever previously seen Brown Argus in Cornwall at Upton Towans and was on the lookout for them on our visit there on Wednesday morning (7th August). I ended up seeing four different individuals. Three of these were males that were all worn to some degree but also a nice fresh looking female but sods law meant that I only managed to get photos of a couple of the worn males.
A number of species were seen but not photographed for various reasons, maybe they were too tatty or stayed out of reach, or I may have just got a ropey record shot to confirm the ID, or they may even have been a species that I see plenty of back home so I just didn't bother to photograph them.
As it was I came back with well over a thousand photos to sort through.

Large, Small and Green-veined Whites were all seen but only in small numbers with a few examples of all three species appearing at random on most days.
Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers were both numerous with Meadow Browns being seen in the greatest numbers in the grassy meadow areas along the coast path between Lizard Point and Kynance Cove whereas Gatekeepers were more numerous along the stone wall and hedge lined paths that lead down to the coast path from various points around Lizard village..
Speckled Woods were also dotted about along the connecting paths, especially where they passed through trees or higher hedges.
A few Small Heaths were seen scattered about around Lizard Point and Kennack Sands and two elderly Small Skippers were seen behind the beach at Kennack Sands.

I said in my first report from our trip to Cornwall that I had seen twenty species but I had forgotten the single Holly Blue at Kennack Sands which actually makes it a total of twenty one species seen.

That covers all the butterflies seen on our trip to Cornwall but there was a variety of other stuff that I will probably put into a final round up.

Cheers,

Neil.

Another great read Neil with brilliant photos Love the really fresh Common Blues and some of those Small Coppers are sporting brilliant tails - they'd give a Long-tailed Blue a run for it's money!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Brilliant stuff there, Neil.

Sadly, we haven’t been able to get there in August this year.

The SPBF alone is worth the trip down at this time of year, as the second brood is more or less unique to West Cornwall. However, even more impressive,perhaps, are those Painted Lady numbers. They have been fairly common in East Anglia and the southeast, but nothing like you had on the Lizard.

Hi! Neil, fantastic shots again, you've given me my holiday plan for next year ( visit Cornwall in August !!! ) I can't pick out which I like best they all look great Goldie

That's a cracking part of the UK, Neil. I really must get round to visiting some time.

Love your first Common Blue image. It is radiant!

Thanks for the comments Wurzel, Mark, Goldie and David

Sunday 4th to Friday 9th August – Part 5.

Like most of us here on UKB, when I am out looking for butterflies I will often see other interesting wildlife and will attempt to take photos when the opportunities arise. This other ‘stuff’ usually includes various birds and as we were staying within spitting distance of Lizard Point, one bird that I was looking out for was the Cornish Chough. I have seen these occasionally in previous visits here but have never managed a photo as they would usually be flying around the cliffs or otherwise out of reach.

On the Monday afternoon, I had taken a path from the end of the lane outside our B&B to pick up the coast path at Pystyll Meadow which is just a short distance to the west of the old disused lifeboat station at Lizard Point. Just before joining the coast path I noticed a small group of four large black birds on the other side of a wire fence just ahead of me and as I moved slowly forward I saw the red beaks and legs which confirmed that they were Choughs. I carefully approached a bit closer and spent the next ten minutes or so watching them and taking photos. Although I didn’t manage to get all four birds in the frame together I did manage a few shots with two or three of them in before they moved further up the field.
I saw this group of Choughs flying around this spot a couple of times over the next few days but didn’t manage to get so close again.

Other birds seen around the coast paths were Rock Pipits, Stonechats, Wheatears and Linnets. I think I have these IDs correct but as always would welcome correction if I have them wrong.
Some boisterous gangs of Sparrows were noticeable around the hedgerows with these being more numerous than I usually see back home these days.
Quite a few Swallows were swooping around the fields around the lighthouse and one afternoon I spotted some fledglings sitting on fence posts whilst the parents came back and forth to feed them.
There were also plenty of Rooks and Jackdaws around and later in the afternoon on most days they would congregate on the farm fields opposite our B&B.
When we walked down to the most southerly point on the Monday (August 5th) there was a National Trust chap with a spotting scope set up by the NT shed. This was aimed at some seals that were lazing around in the water by the rocks just out from the old lifeboat station and both Jane and I enjoyed some good views. At that time the seals were too distant to get a photo with my kit but I also saw them later in the week from the coast path by Pystyll Meadow where they were a little closer and I managed to get a few shots from there.
During my walks along the coast paths I would often see a few lizards although the view was usually just of a tail disappearing into the vegetation as they saw me before I saw them, or more likely felt the vibrations from my big feet.
That's it from Cornwall, another great few days in a beautiful part of the country with plenty of butterflies and other stuff seen .

Bye for now,

Neil.

Excellent Neil. I have often found the Cornish Choughs quite approachable. Choughs are special birds anywhere, but especially in Cornwall, since they returned to their traditional home in 2001.