Neil Hulme

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks, David. I'm sure I don't need to apologise for the following - four shots taken on the evening of 16 April at Slindon, in those magical few minutes before the sun finally dips below the horizon and the near-horizontal light sends the colours into a frenzy (no fancy filters used).
BWs, Neil

[bugboy]

Can you make the Sussex Bluebells hang on until next week!

[Neil Hulme]

Keep in touch, Paul - let's see if a meet-up and lift is possible.
BWs, Neil

[Chris L]

Sadly, the current trend means that it will become increasingly rare for our kids to enjoy such spectacles in the British countryside.

You wrote of the decline in snakes being the current trend Neil. I guess one could add to that the current trend for the child species preferring to be indoors with Smartphone and Xbox.

[Chris L]

I have written before about my eagerness to see a snake in the wild in my lifetime. You wrote Neil how finding someone from a local reptile society might be advantageous. Lo and behold I receive an unexpected email inviting me to a guided newt, frog and toad walk by the Derbyshire Amphibian and Reptile Group. The metaphorical net closes in on my quest to see a snake

[Matsukaze]

Whilst we're talking snakes, does anyone know if putting corrugated metal down for reptile surveys can be used to create bare ground for the establishment of butterfly foodplants?

[David M]

Thanks, David. I'm sure I don't need to apologise for the following...

Absolutely not, Neil.

One of the finest sights imaginable.

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Chris L. Yes, sadly the child species is more connected with social media than nature, these days. I try my best with my own kids, but it's a pandemic. Glad you've found some ARG folk to hang out with.

Yes, Matsukaze, anything similar will eventually kill off the vegetation beneath. If you need to create larger areas of bare ground, I'd just roll out a weed membrane.

Thanks, David. As I'm an obsessive Hyacinthoides non-scriptaphile, here are my last offerings of this season (honest). Again, taken at Slindon, but this time at first light; well worth setting the alarm for 4.30am!

[Chris L]

Fantastic photos Neil. Seems wrong to single one out but the second is particularly awesome.

Ps I saw an Adder today 56 and a half years of waiting is officially over.

[Benjamin]

Bloody hell Neil - they keep getting better! The sea of blue shot is staggering but I particularly love the penultimate one. Beautiful series.

[Chris L]

Yes, Matsukaze, anything similar will eventually kill off the vegetation beneath. If you need to create larger areas of bare ground, I'd just roll out a weed membrane.

This has got me thinking about one or two projects I have had in mind Neil and Matsukaze. How long does it take for corrugated metal or weed membranes to kill off what lies beneath so that one can put butterfly plants in?

[Neil Hulme]

Congratulations on your first Adder, Chris. Hopefully, the second will prove easier. Be warned, Adder watching is addictive.
I think you'll just have to experiment with the creation of bare ground by shading-out, as much depends on the starting point. For instance, you'll kill off grass much more rapidly than tougher plants such as Bramble or Ivy. Eventually, you'll just lift the cover and ... bingo!

Thanks, Ben. This year, I've put so much effort into trying to do Bluebells justice with the camera that I've deliberately left it in the car for my last two visits, preferring to just immerse myself in the moment; they'll soon be gone again.

Not much to report of late, thanks to this cold and miserable weather. I think this season is going to follow the pattern of 2010, when significant numbers of the spring species were delayed until well into May. I've continued chasing Adders, but even the short spells of sunshine and warmth required to get them going have been few and far between. I even failed to find any roosting Orange-tips in the gloom at Wiston today, although a lovely Green-veined White had made a poor attempt at hiding from me.

[Chris L]

Wow! Those 2 photos are beyond awesome Neil. I bet you are delighted with both. Congratulations!

[David M]

That is indeed a fabulous image of the Green Veined White, Neil, although it is somewhat eclipsed by your close-up of that magnificent adder.

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks, both - much appreciated.
In my opinion, there's only one British reptile more glamorous than the Adder ...
BWs, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

Sand Lizards

With the early part of the 2024 butterfly season still faltering, I've spent far more time chasing reptiles than I have in previous years. I've enjoyed this so much that I suspect I'll be doing more of the same in the future.

Having previously only seen the back-end of Sand Lizards disappearing into the undergrowth on Surrey heaths, I recently set myself the task of photographing the males in their spectacular spring plumage. Following information kindly provided by a couple of reptile enthusiasts I know, I've made several visits to a site in West Sussex, where the species has been successfully reintroduced.

The first couple I saw were females; impressive enough in their spotted livery of browns and yellow ochre. However, despite having seen many images of the males, nothing prepared me for my first good views of these mini-dinosaurs; they look like they've been coloured-in by an over-imaginative child with a green Stabilo Boss marker pen. I can feel yet another obsession developing.

[Chris L]

Wow! I like the mini dinosaur description for they truly are. The coloured by a marker pen description is equally apt. They are truly wonderful. I imagine that it was extremely difficult to photograph so you have done extremely well there Neil.

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks, Chris. Extreme stealth is required to get anywhere near them, but 55 years of butterflying has taught me how to move slower than a garden slug.
BWs, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

30 April 2024

At last ... wall-to-wall sunshine, and no wind! I spent a very enjoyable day at Fairmile Bottom and Rewell Wood with Paul Atkin (bugboy) and Patrick Moore, although things started slowly on the former site, which has suffered some serious mismanagement in recent years.

We clocked up an impressive 13 species including Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Green Hairstreak, Grizzled Skipper, Dingy Skipper, Orange-tip, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Brimstone, Speckled Wood, Peacock, Comma and Holly Blue. Of course, it was the Pearls we were targeting, with the handful we saw suggesting that they are only just starting there. Several Green Hairstreaks posed on Bluebells for us, providing the finest colour combination on the planet.

[trevor]

Sincere congrats for the Pearls. None at PCH as of Monday, very quiet generally in RW too.
Possibly my best ever shot was of a Green Hairstreak on English Bluebell, as you
say an ideal combination. They don't look too bad on Apple blossom either!

Hope things go mad soon!