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Neil Freeman wrote: ↑Tue Apr 30, 2024 5:54 pm Cheers Wurzel. Unfortunatly there were'nt any showers to duck out between, just a blanket grey overcast of doom or rain/drizzle all day.

Thanks Chris. I am fortunate with my resident garden Speckled Woods in that I can see a procession of fresh ones throughout the season.

Cheers,

Neil.

Do the numbers of your garden Speckled Woods fluctuate much year on year Neil? Good to have a resident species in one's garden to monitor.

Hi Chris. Yes they do fluctuate from year to year with numbers down slightly in the past couple of years from their high point of 3/4 year ago. Numbers are usually pretty consistent in the spring but vary more in the summer, especially later in the year when they sometimes have a late flourish in September into October.

Tuesday 30th April.

After the lousy weather of the past few days, today (Tuesday) looked to be much better, albeit with strong wind still. Jane had an appointment for one of her regular check-ups in the morning and after that we did a bit of shopping and returned home just before midday.
After having a sandwich and a cuppa, and after spotting a Speckled Wood and Holly Blue flitting around in the garden, I decided to have a walk down to Wagon Lane to see what was about.

There was plenty of blue sky and nice sun but it was very windy although that wind was not as cold as it has been recently. I particularly wanted to look out for whites as, although I have seen a (very) few random whites so far this year, I had still not got close enough to any of them to confirm what species they were.
I soon spotted a couple flying along the first hedgerow and one settled just long enough for me to confirm my first Small White of the year.
In the end I saw maybe half a dozen different whites, most of which proved to be Small Whites apart from one that I managed to confirm as my first Green-veined White this year. I just managed the one poor record shot before it was up again and lost to the wind.
Flying past rapidly in the wind were also half a dozen or so male Orange-tips. Checking out one sheltered corner I found a couple of large patches of Herb Robert where I hung around for a bit hinking that if anywhere was likely to slow an Orange-tip down today, then this was it. Sure enough, after a few minutes, a male OT came along and spent some time fluttering from flower to flower, stopping only briefly but often enough to allow me to get a number of photos.
A little later, in another part of the site I found a female, only my second so far this year.
Five Peacocks, three Small Tortoiseshells and a single Comma also appeared at various points around the site. Unlike the whites and male OTs which were doing their best to keep patrolling in the wind, these were sticking to their sheltered corners and staying low down.
Three male Speckled wood were seen holding territories. They were mostly settling in awkward postitions but one of the few passing clouds induced one of them to open up nicely.
Also seen were a couple of Holly Blues and a single Brimstone, again rapidly passing with the assistance of the blustery wind.

Despite the winds, a much better day with something like 28 butterflies of 9 species seen.

As I write this on Wednesday (1st May) morning, we had a load more rain again last night and once again we are sitting under a grey overcast.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Lovely Orange Tips, Neil. Herb robert is something they seemingly can't resist and once you find a patch it's just a question of waiting until one passes by.

This chat about Herb Robert has educated me. I don't know much about wild flowers, or much about anything really. I thought the little flowers I have seen recently that I now know to be Herb Robert were Red Campion.

Your account of the weather and butterflies is identical to my own Neil. It is generally either cloudy, icy cold crisp breezes or both. Occasionally the sun appears briefly. I have had an unusual spring with the whites. The Small White, Large White, Green Veined White and female Orange Tips have generally been giving themselves up for identification purposes. The aforementioned prevailing weather conditions have been behind that.

Thanks David. Yes indeed, especially when you find a nice large patch like I did the other day.

Thanks Chris. It has been a poor spring for the whites here, last Tuesday was the first time I saw more than a couple and they were mostly Small Whites. I have still only seen the one confirmed Green-veined White and no Large White as yet.

Wednesday afternoon brightened up nicely but I was stuck in Solihull hospital with my mom attending a clinic for her eyes (lots of age related problems).

Thursday and Friday were back to thick cloud and a mixture of drizzle and light rain. Today (Saturday) looks to be brightening up later but I have some running about to do before we head off down south tomorrow to see out daughter in Emsworth. Fingers crossed for some breaks in the weather down there so I can do a bit of butterflying.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Great to see that you got onto some Whites and the Orange-tips The weather is finally set to improve from from Tuesday, hopefully your visit will be a long enough one. If you can get to Stockbridge I've seen some good reports from there

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. Tuesday and Wednesday did indeed improve greatly and I managed to find all my targets for down there (just!).

Cheers,

Neil.


Sunday 5th May.

We left home on Sunday morning in quite pleasant warm sunny weather for the drive down south to see our daughter and family in Emsworth during which we would be stopping for a few nights at our regular B&B in Bosham. The weather remained pleasant with temperatures showing 16-17 on the car display until we passed Newbury when we drove into banks of cloud that steadily became thicker and we started passing through some rain and drizzle.

Old Winchester Hill.

I had planned on going cross country from Winchester to head for Old Winchester Hill and with plenty of time in hand I decided to still do this despite the deteriorating weather. The temperature had been steadily dropping the further south we went and as we pulled into the car park at OWH my car display was showing just 12c. I decided to stretch my legs anyway and Jane stopped in the car to read a book as I made my way down the hill in a light drizzle.

I figured that, at best, I might find a roosting Dingy or Grizzled Skipper and after about 10 minutes of seaching along the bottom of the slope was surprised to find a Duke of Burgundy sitting there with his wings open.
I took a few shots and disturbed him a couple of times as my feet caught the vegetation as I tried to change postion to take a photo from a different angle. He fluttered about in the cool drizzly conditions until I lost sight of him over a large patch of brambles.

I carried on searching and a few minutes later caught sight of what I originally thought was the same DoB just a few feet away from where I had lost sight of him. I took a few more photos until I lost him again behind some scrub. I had been surprised to find a DoB in the very unfavourable conditions and was therefore doubly surpised when I had a closer look at the photos on my laptop later at our B&B and saw that there had been two different individuals.
These remained the only two butterflies that I found in the hour that I remained there, the only other things I saw were a couple of Common Carpet Moths, not really day flyers but so easily disturbed during the day that they are often considered so.

We then continued on to Sarah's where we stayed for a couple of hours before continuing on to check in to our B&B.

Monday 6th May.

Bank Holiday Monday and it rained on and off all day down there, ironic really as we found out later that it had been a nice day back home, oh well!

We decided to spend the morning at RSPB Pagham Harbour but even there we found some of the usual paths that Jane can manage to be very muddy and so we only did a shorter version of our usual route.
We spent some time in the Ferry Hide during the heavier spells of rain and watched numerous Shelducks, half a dozen Avocets, and a few Redshanks amongst the birds I recognised in the pool.
There were also a couple of Lapwings performing acrobatics over adjacent fields.

Tuesday and Wednesday were forecast to be much better so I was hoping to be able to get out and find my targets for down there.

To be continued...

Neil.

Tuesday 7th May.

After the dismal weather on Monday we were greeted on Tuesday morning by wall to wall blue skies with the sun rapidly warming things up. After breakfast, Jane said I could disappear for a couple of hours while she chilled out in the garden at our B&B, as long as we could go out somewhere later.
Having seen that the first Pearl-bordered Fritillaries had been reported from Sussex, I decided to pop round to Stansted Forest which is only a 10 minute drive away to have a look. I parked up and made my way along the avenue and up the central ride towards the spot where I had seen half a dozen nice fresh males plus a couple of females last year.

The first thing that I noticed were Speckled Yellow Moths which appeared everywhere but as usual were extremely flighty and difficult to approach.
Unfortunatly, despite a good wander around the areas that Mark Tutton had indicated to me last year, I failed to find any PBF this time. Looking at my notes, I saw them on May 11th last year and given that those were fresh examples and I believe that numbers built up after that, then I reckoned that I was just a bit too early here this year, especially with the poor weather on Sunday and Monday.
In fact, given what would seem to be ideal conditons, that is warm and sunny with just a very light breeze, there were very few butterflies seen. My tally for the morning consisted of a few each of Small and Green-veined White, a couple each of Orange-tip, Brimstone and Peacock and singles of Speckled Wood and Holly Blue.
There was also a single Red Admiral, my first of the year, which remained out of reach on the far side of some brambles before taking off into the distance.

A few Green Tiger Beetles were also spotted as I wandered around. Both these and Speckled Yellow Moths are species that I usually associate with seeing Pearl-bordered Fritillaries but on this occasion it was not to be.
I then returned to Jane and we drove into Emsworth where we had a walk around the harbour and then went back to Bosham Quay where we sat for a while enjoying an ice cream and spotted a couple of passing whites and Orange-tips.

Later in the afternoon, after returning to the B&B, I went for walk along the lanes and footpaths opposite. Right outside the B&B I spotted a female Orange-tip visiting some straggly looking Rape flowers (I think?, happy to be corrected) and appeared to be laying on it, or going through the motions as I couldn't find an egg afterwards.
I saw more butterflies along these paths with one particular stretch of hedgerow alongside a farmers field playing host to half a dozen male Orange-tips that continuously patrolled back and forth along it. They would generally keep moving even when the occasional cloud obscured the sun or at most settle briefly and then be up again almost straight away. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time for one of the few occasions that I saw one stay still long enough to grab a couple of quick shots.
Another occasion was when a small clump of Herb Robert once again proved it's worth.
A single faded Peacock was holding territory in one spot and chasing off anything that came into view.
Although I can fill my boots with Speckled Wood back home, I can never resist a nice fresh example anywhere and so it was with a lovely fresh looking male seen here.
The whites seen here were mostly Green-veined with a couple of Small Whites and I also saw my first definite Large White this year although it didn't stay still long enough for a photo.

A single Holly Blue completed the tally for the afternoon.

A strange day with lower numbers of butterflies than expected in apparently perfect conditions in the morning but redeemed somewhat in the afternoon albeit by the usual common and widespread species that I could see back home.

I still had most of my targets to find and with Jane and Sarah going off on a girlie day tomorrow (Wednesday) and with more good weather forecast, I was feeling hopeful.

To be continued.

Neil.

Good to hear that you got your targets Neil, I look forward to seeing them in the next installment I had a similar experience with my Dukes, less than ideal weather yet there were still out and about,much more robust than we give them credit for

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. Just goes to show that you never know what you may find, even in the most unlikely conditions.

Wednesday 8th May - morning

We woke up on Wednesday to be greeted by low cloud and mist although the forecast indicated that it would soon burn off to give another warm and sunny day. The plan for today was that I would drop Jane off at Sarah's house and then I was off the leash until I picked her up again, not later than 4.00pm.

I had decided that my first port of call would be Butser Hill and on the way there the cloud did indeed start to thin until by the time I arrived at the car park at Butser Hill at around 9.45am there was almost wall to wall blue sky with just a few thin wisps of cloud remaining.
I started to make my way down the hill towards Rake Bottom and had not gone far when I spotted a Green Hairstreak flitting about a hawthorn.
I managed to get a photo before it flew off towards another group of hawthorns and although I hung around for a bit it did not return.
I carried on down the hill and spotted a small dark butterfly zipping about a clump of dandelions, a Grizzled Skipper.
So far I had only been there about 15 minutes and had seen two of my targets, things were definitly looking up.

Rather than going straight down the hill I headed off along a trail that leads diagonally across towards one end of Rake Bottom where I then began a slow wander along the valley.
I spotted another couple of Grizzled Skippers and then a Duke of Burgundy, quickly followed by a few more DoB.
With three out of the four species that were my targets for here this morning seen, it just remained for me to find Dingy Skippers, which I did from about half way along the path along the bottom.
In the couple of hours I spent here I reckon I saw around a dozen or so DoB, including 2 Duchesses, both of which looked to be more worn than most of the males.
Similar numbers of Grizzled Skippers were also seen along with half a dozen each of Dingy Skippers and Green Hairstreak. It seemed like more but there were a lot of repeat sightings as I made my way back and forth along the path.
The only other butterflies seen were a couple each of Brimstone and Orange-tip and a single Peacock.

Rake Bottom is quite open and a bit of a sun trap and with no breeze to speak of by about 11.00am it was getting very warm so I decided to head for somewhere else.

To be continued...

Neil.

Wednesday 8th May - Afternoon

I forgot to mention in my previous report that I also saw my first Small Heath at Butser Hill.

Whilst thinking about where to move on to next, I initially considered going to Old Winchester Hill but figured that I would be seeing the same species there that I had already seen that morning. Then I remembered that, after I failed to find any Pearl-bordered Fritillary at Stansted Forest on Tuesday morning, I had messaged Mark Tutton to let him know and he replied saying that he was thinking of having a look on Wednesdy. I decided to call Mark and the upshot was we decided to meet up at Stansted Forest about an hour later.

Arriving at Rowlands Castle just after midday, I walked through the wood and out onto 'The Avenue' and spotted a familiar figure wandering along a short distance ahead.
We made our way to the central ride and up to the area where I had initially looked on Tuesday. At first we only saw Speckled Yellow Moths but then Mark called out "there's one" and sure enough a bright orange Pearl-bordered Fritillary was skimming back and forth along the ride. By now it was very warm and the PBF was not stopping so we watched it until we lost sight of it.

We then spent the next couple of hours checking out other locations around the wood that had apparently been good for PBF last year but without any further success. Other Butterflies seen included a few Whites, Brimstones and Orange-tips, a couple of Peacocks and a single Holly Blue but overall, similar to Tuesday morning, numbers seemed to be on the low side.

We returned to the ride where we had seen the PBF previously and once again a fresh looking male, probably the same one as before, was flying rapidly back and forth. This time it stopped briefly on some bugle and I just had time for a couple of record shots before it was off again.
We watched as it approached another patch of bugle but it was chased off by a small dark object which proved to be a Dingy Skipper, the first of these that Mark had ever seen here.
Mark then spotted something fluttering down in the grass which turned out to be a mating pair of Pearl-bordered Fritillaries. At first we thought that the male was likely to have been the same one that we had already seen but a close look at the photos on my laptop later on back at the B&B showed it to be a different male.
These remained the only three PBF that we saw but for me it was the icing on the cake to a great day with all five of my targets seen.

It was obvious that the Pearls were only just starting there and a few more days should see numbers build, in fact the poor weather down there on Sunday and Monday had probably held them back a couple of days, such are the unpredictabilities of our butterfly seasons.

Bye for now,

Neil.

That sounds like a blinder of a day Neil And have another one or three for the unusual sighting of a pair of Pearls in cop

Have a goodun

Wurzel

That trip sounds like the first half of my Spanish tour a couple of weeks ago, Neil - trying to find ways to avoid the poor weather and also some serious searching to get the target species.

Looks like you achieved all that in the end. Well done!

Thanks Wurzel, t'was indeed a cracking day

Thanks David. Yes, it all came together on the Wednesday

I've not seen much since my return home last week. During our few days away, the warm weather after lots of previous rain, had led to a spurt of growth of everything in the garden so most of the weekend was spent with catching up with that. Various other other stuff and running about has meant that I have not had time to get out although I have seen a couple of Brimstones and a few Holly Blues and Speckled Wood in the garden.
The weather this week has become more unsettled and cooler again with a return to lots of cloud and showers with some sunny spells thrown in, in other words more usual for this time of year.

In the meantime a few moths from down south.

Bosham Moths

I took my portable suitcase trap down to Bosham with us and although most nights were not really good conditions for moths I did run it on the night of Tuesday 7th in the small garden area outside of our room.
Clear skies and a substantial drop in overnight temperature led to just 6 moths. It was a case of quality over quantity though with a couple that I have never seen back home plus my first Hawk-moth for the year.

The first species that I do not get at home was a Light Brocade, a local species of dry open habitats. I am unlikely to see this one in my garden but given what has turned up in recent years, you never know.
The second one that I have not had at home was a Nut-tree Tussock. This one is widespread in southern England but far more localised further north. In Warwickshire it has tuned up a couple of times in the south of the county and appears to be another species that is steadily spreading north so one to look out for here in the coming years.
Species number three was my first Hawk-moth this year, a Poplar Hawk. Probably the most common Hawk-moth but always a favourite due to it's size and unusual habit of holding it's wings.
The other three were singles of Brimstone Moth, Common Marbled Carpet and the ubiquitous Light Brown Apple Moth, all species that I see in large numbers in my garden.

As I write this on Thursday (16th) morning it is a dull cloudy morning again and we have heavy rain heading in for this afternoon. Tomorrow and the weekend looks to be better so fingers crossed.

Bye for now,

Neil

Saturday 18th May.

A pleasant day, especially when the sun was out although we did lose it behind cloud for some extended periods this afternoon. A walk down to my local spot by Wagon Lane produced very little, just half a dozen Green-veined/Small Whites, a couple of Speckled Wood and a tatty female Orange-tip, none of which tempted me to take my camera out of the bag.

I did take the camera out however for a pleasant surprise that awaited me as I walked onto the drive back home when I spotted a nice Painted Lady nectaring on my red valerian.
It hung around for about 10 minutes before suddenly departing at high speed in a north easterly direction.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Some interesting posts on this page, Neil.
Five target species in one day is great by any standards .

Thanks Trevor. Due to my limited opportunities these days I always like to plan to try and get the best return for my time. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, luckily on that day it worked out nicely

Garden Moths.

I have not been running my garden moth trap that much this year, mostly due to a lot of unfavourable overnight weather.

I went for it on the night of May 2nd with a result of 23 moths of 10 species. The only moth of note was a Puss Moth, only the second one I have ever seen here.
The night of May 11th produced better numbers of 58 moths of 18 species but again they were mostly the usual common stuff for here.

Some promising conditons on the night of Friday 17th tempted me to go for it again with the result of my best tally so far this year with a total of 58 moths of 26 species. These were mostly the usual suspects again but also included 3 Lime Hawk-moths and a single Poplar Hawk-moth.
I was especially pleased to see these as Poplar Hawk was absent here last year and Lime Hawk was only occasional until last year when I had half a dozen in total.

I also had the Ni Moth lure out on Friday and it attracted 4 Silver Y Moths (along with 1 in the light trap). Along with the Painted Lady in the previous report, this would seem to indicate a level of immigration going on.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Great to see the Painted Lady influx has made it to your neck of the woods Neil - hopefully there will be many more to come

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. Fingers crossed for a few more.

Neil.

At the end of November last year, I had a female December Moth to my garden moth trap that left me a few eggs. I overwintered these in the garage and they hatched in late March.
The larvae of this species will feed on a number of deciduous shrubs and trees but I raised them on hawthorn which I have a plentiful supply of in the garden.
I began with 11 tiny larvae but having lost a couple along the way, now have 9 almost fully grown larvae. Their appearance has remained consistent throughout their growth and they are now approximately 5 to 6 cm long. They have also maintained a habit of congregating along the hawthorn twigs where they can be remarkably well camouflaged, resembling swellings on the wood.
I believe they usually pupate under bark or amongst leaf litter on the ground before emerging later this year in November/December.

Cheers,

Neil.