www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Great to see, Janet! I think things have kicked off just about everywhere in the UK with this unseasonably balmy weather!

Good luck with your campaign. I used to live in Sale around the turn of the century and a few years ago went back and took a walk in the park opposite the Pelican pub at Broadheath. I was shocked and dismayed to find a new housing estate had been built beyond the far end.

With every passing year the concrete jungle extends and the traffic bottlenecks get worse.

I have to admit I'd hate to go back even though I loved the area at the time.

Thanks Wurzel - I think it had only just emerged so it was still recovering. I saw two more today, plus a Peacock but I'll have to get the photo off the camera tomorrow.

David M wrote:Great to see, Janet! I think things have kicked off just about everywhere in the UK with this unseasonably balmy weather!

Good luck with your campaign. I used to live in Sale around the turn of the century and a few years ago went back and took a walk in the park opposite the Pelican pub at Broadheath. I was shocked and dismayed to find a new housing estate had been built beyond the far end.

With every passing year the concrete jungle extends and the traffic bottlenecks get worse.

I have to admit I'd hate to go back even though I loved the area at the time.

Thank you David (sorry, I've only just seen this as it was on the next page!) The concrete jungle seems to encroach at a terrifying rate. There is still a nice little wildlife reserve off the canal near Timperley and I found birds and butterflies there last summer. We got chased by a goose, too..
Greater Manchester's 'Consultation' ended on Monday so we await results. The whole thing is developer driven - they would like to build 300,000 homes where there is need for 30,000, and of course the council looks forward to all the income from them.

I took our ramblers for a walk on the Moss today, and what a glorious day it was. Although the calendar says the first day of Spring is 21st March, astronomically today is the first day of Spring (this year). If you're interested you can read about it here https://www.fullmoon.info/en/blog/fullmoon-easter.html
The butterflies were about and my walking companions are becoming more and more au fait with them, which pleases me greatly! We saw three of each of Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock - two of the Peacocks were courting and were upset by a Brimstone barging in.
The Blackthorn was looking lovely and one of the Torts posed on it beautifully for us. I'm intrigued by the state of it though - looks like it has just woken up and forgotten to brush its hair.
Arriving home we sat in the garden and another Peacock came to enjoy the warmth of the wooden window frame.

Great to hear you're properly up and running Janet walls and other man made surfaces at this time of are great for g butterflies with bonus that you also get 'clutter free' interesting backgrounds to the shot

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I noticed the forecast yesterday reported fine conditions in parts of northern England and wondered whether any members might have made the most of it.

Seems you did, Janet. Great Peacock image. It's always nice to get one basking on a dull coloured background.

Our ramblers did a walk round the reservoir last Saturday (6th April) and despite the terrible weather during the previous week we had a glorious sunny day. As we sat for lunch we were 'inadvertently rescued' by two search-and-rescue men with their rescue dog, a Collie called Penny, who were actually out looking for a man who had gone missing. The butterflies were out and Gren and I managed to slow the ramble down while we chased after the Small Tort which wanted to bask low on the dead straw, and the Comma which was nectaring on the blackthorn. I chased after the first Orange-tip I'd seen this year, which hubby pointed out, but it friskily sped away and I would have lost the rest of the party if I had gone after it. I'm pleased that the other ramblers are taking such an interest in butterflies now - they are becoming familiar with the names and are keen to point them out if I've missed them. I even get excited reports from them about what they've seen themselves which is great. I was pleased to see a Chaffinch which was flitting between the hedgerow and a puddle on the path. I haven't seen many locally.

With the Moss under threat of development I've spent a lot of time walking and recording what I see there. I went out there on 4th April when the wind was howling across - far too cold for butterflies but I did achieve a reasonable photo of a Yellowhammer. I've never seen these birds before and apparently they are on the red-list of endangered species. Four days later I was there again and turned up the track by the barrier to the road that leads to Manchester United's training ground. The guard's hut is heated, sadly, by a diesel generator which puts out vast quantities of polluting fumes all day. I wasn't even beyond the stink of it before coming across the first of the orange-tips - a couple of males - who despite their environment looked nice and clean and fresh. As I progressed along the track - and out of the reach of the diesel fumes - I counted fully 25 O-tips of which only 3 or 4 were females. The males kept making advances but the females repulsed them, being interested only in nectaring on the dandelions. Several male Brimstones patrolled the stretch and had to share the dendelions with the Orange-tips. I didn't see any females though By the former orchard on Brookheys Road (still an old unmade lane and long may it remain so) the first of this year's Speckled Woods made their appearance Continuing the trail round to the old disused railway I watched a pair of courting Peacocks. One of them had evidently decided on the ideal spot to make a home and the pair danced around together, darting away and returning time and again, for twenty minutes. Suddenly they shot away over the hedge and although I waited a few minutes they must have changed their minds about the locality for they did not return.

A cracking set of shots Janet especially the female OT - something I've not seen yet this year And that really is a YELLOWhammer

Have a goodun

Wurzel

ps. you'll have to be careful walking round with your camera - they might think that you're a spy for Man City

Wurzel wrote: ps. you'll have to be careful walking round with your camera - they might think that you're a spy for Man City

I seem to have won the confidence of the man at the barrier, Wurzel! He assumes I'm out birdwatching..

Fabulous that you saw a yellowhammer, Janet. It just shows how precious Carrington Moss is for a variety of wildlife.

It saddens me to hear of potential further development. When I lived in Sale the moss stretched from Broadheath to Partington, and given how damp and marshy the bulk of it is, I never thought it could be transformed into housing estates (or anything else).

Another walk around the Moss and this time there were more females - all spoken for, it seemed, because they were rejecting the advances of the males. Also seen were Small Tortoiseshells and Peacocks, who were also courting. The Peacock pair were low in the vegetation and dropped further and further down until they reached ground level and disappeared from view.

My first Holly Blue of the year turned up in the garden at teatime and as I prepared the meal it kept reappearing and hiding as soon as I ran outside - so no photo of that today. I was out on the Moss at 7.30 am though - and what a glorious experience that was. Beautiful low light, birds singing their hearts out - and as the temperature rose the butterflies started to appear. We saw around 20 species of birds and to my delight a Yellowhammer flew into a nearby bush and posed for me.

Cracking stuff Janet - did the male OTs finally get the message or did they keep up with their unwanted advances? Great shot of the Yellowhammer Is that a female as it looks a it streakier on the side?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wurzel wrote: Great shot of the Yellowhammer Is that a female as it looks a it streakier on the side?
Wurzel

Hard to tell, Wurzel, but probably female - its face does look a bit darker than a male's.

All sounds positively idyllic, Janet. Good to know there's so much going on round your way.

Female Orange Tips are becoming ever more noticeable right now. I feel a bit sorry for the males as their pursuit is almost certain to be fruitless....doesn't stop them persisting though.

Hi! Janet, you make me wish I was back home not that I could do much, but I do get Butterflies in my Garden, nothing to speak of yet in my Daughters Garden in Kent Goldie

G and I took a trip to Eyarth Rocks to look for PBFs and it was our lucky day - not only greeted at the gate by a poser, there were dozens. We arrived before midday and found the frits were particularly attracted to the dandelions. By mid afternoon the dandelions had dried out in the hot sun and the frits were supercharged and not settling. One of them looked a bit darker and I thought it might have been a Small PBF, but I think it was just the colouring. Also a very pale fritillary appeared -
- is it a ab? Also seen were our first Small Heaths of the year, which settled on the short grass of the footpath and immediately angled themselves to the sun. A few very tired Peacocks were still around and an extremely ragged Small Tortoiseshell, but the Speckled Woods were nice and fresh and there was a good show of Orange-tips

Great shots Janet The pale Pearl looks good for an aberrant as it's more of a straw colour than a faded orange that you see on older specimens also the margins are all intact and it doesn't seem to show any signs of wear Great find

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Lovely PBF's Janet, sounds like a great site.