Neil Freeman

Nick Broomer · Post by **Nick Broomer** » Tue Jul 16, 2013 7:49 pm

Lovely reports and great photos as usual Neil. Another one with a magic paint brush hidden within their camera, beautiful Small Tortoiseshell. And the blue on the Purple Emperor, out of this world, brilliant.

All the best, Nick.

Pauline · Post by **Pauline** » Tue Jul 16, 2013 8:13 pm

I had to login specially Neil to comment on your mating pair of SWF but all I can think of to say is WOW! I have never seen that before and I have never seen a photo of it. Incredibly well spotted. You are getting some great shots and green is the only colour that comes to mind right now

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Tue Jul 16, 2013 8:29 pm

Nick, Pauline,

Thank you for your great comments, I really appreciate them

Nick, I was lucky with the Purple Emperor, he only stayed down for a minute or so and flicked his wings open just the once which I was fortunate to catch.

Pauline, as with the PE, the SWF pair was a bit of luck. One of them flicked its wings and the brief flash of orange attracted my attention otherwise I would have walked past them oblivious to their presence.

Cheers,

Neil.

Maximus · Post by **Maximus** » Thu Jul 18, 2013 4:10 pm

Lovely photos Neil, great shot of the mating pair of SW Fritillaries.

Regards

Mike

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 7:17 pm

Thanks for the comments Mike

Thursday 18th July.

My son Chris and myself had both booked a day off work to go to Fermyn Woods today (Thursday), Chris having never been there before and his only previous sighting of a Purple Emperor being a fleeting flypast last year at Oversley Wood.

I had seen the reports and tweets from Mathew Oates and Gillian Thompson and their 100+ PE sightings on Monday and Tuesday and so was hopeful that there would still be a few around.

We arrived and parked up by the gliding club at about 08.15 with about a dozen cars already parked there and set off down the main ride which was still in shadow with the sun lighting up the higher reaches of the trees.
We had only gone a hundred yards when a Purple Emperor took off from the ride right in front of us

. We had nearly trodden on it as we were chatting and not expecting to see anything in that first stretch on the ground which was still in the shade.

We walked on through Fermyn Wood, seeing a couple more Purple Emperors flying around the sunny upper reaches of the trees and carried on to Lady/Souther Woods.
Gillian Thompson had very kindly e-mailed me the location of some promising animal droppings that had been ‘laced’ with shrimp bait, including some Fox scat that we first made our way towards. On our way we saw a few more Emperors including some on the ground being photographed by fellow enthusiasts and took some photos ourselves.
We found the fox scat easily thanks to Gills directions and approaching slowly were pleased to see it occupied by three PEs with a fourth one on the ground a few yards away.

: Purple Emperors - Fermyn 18.07.2013

: Purple Emperors - Fermyn 18.07.2013

: Purple Emperor - Fermyn 18.07.2013

We had already taken some photos of Purple Emperors on various ‘piles of pooh’ but I was keen to get some more shots on different backgrounds if possible, so we carried on, at one point meeting Sussex and UKBs own Neil Hulme on is little bike who stopped for a brief chat, great to finally meet up in such a fantastic place.

We had already noticed a few dried up patches on the paths that looked like they had been baited over the past few days and at one junction towards the southern end of the woods found one such patch occupied by two male Purple Emperors and a Red Admiral.

: Emperors and Admiral - Fermyn 18.07.2013

This gave Chris a chance to prostrate himself in worship of HIM, and take a few photos whilst he was down there.

: Chris prostrating himself before HIM

I also got down but the articulated screen on my FZ150 made things a little easier for me.

: Purple Emperor - Fermyn 18.07.2013

: Purple Emperors - Fermyn 18.07.2013

: Purple Emperors - Fermyn 18.07.2013

We then retraced our steps back to the Lady/Souther/ Greenside circuit and wandered around there for the rest of the morning seeing loads of PEs, often up to four down within view along the rides at once. By mid-morning they were tending to keep their wings closed in the heat and only briefly flicked them open, even when we put our shadows over them.

: One in the foreground, one in front of Chris and another out of shot in the trees to the left.

: PE cleaning proboscis on leaves.

: Purple Emperor - Fermyn 18.07.2013

: Purple Emperor - Fermyn 18.07.2013

We also met Neil Hulme again in Lady Wood where we spent a while enjoying the benefit of his experience.

: Demonstration of technique

: Purple Emperor - Fermyn 18.07.2013

Around 1.00pm it was getting very hot so we made our way back to the car to have a bit of lunch and get some more water before heading out for a second session.

We wandered back to the Lady/Souther block still seeing plenty of PEs on the way but with most of them now flying higher up although some were still coming to ground, most noticeably in patches of dappled shade rather than full sun.

We did a slow circuit of the rides but after 2.00 things had noticeably quietened down although we did see some good aerial displays, usually of two or three male Emperors swooping and diving around each other. We also still saw a few on the ground, which normally would have been a good result but far fewer compared to the morning.

By 4.00 we felt like we were melting in the heat and we were on our last drops of water so we decided to head back to the car and home.

Whilst it was apparently a quieter day than Monday or Tuesday, both people wise and with fewer Purple Emperors being seen or coming to ground, this is a very relative thing and I still saw more PEs in one morning than I have ever seen in total up until now.

I have no idea how many individuals we actually saw and definitely saw some of the same ones more than once as we wandered about but we spoke to one chap who said he had counted sixty which is probably about the number we saw in total with a couple of dozen of those on the ground.

As well as the Purple Emperors there were also hordes of Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Whites, lots of Commas and Large Skippers and a good scattering of White Admirals and Silver-washed Fritillaries. We also saw a few Purple Hairstreaks flitting about high up around some of the Oaks.

All in all, an excellent day and definitely one of the highlights of my butterfly season this year, one to remember

Bye for now,

Neil.

Pauline · Post by **Pauline** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 8:04 pm

Seems like an amazing day Neil and some really lovely photos there of His Majesty. With such an abundance of PE at Fermyn I feel like the poor relative scratching around in the wastelands in the hope of the odd, lucky shot

. Glad Chris enjoyed it too - haven't seen any posts from him recently.

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 8:24 pm

Hi Pauline, thanks for the comments

Chris hasn't been able to get out as much this year due to the hours he has been working, he works for Mencap, lots of unsociable shifts involved. He is also off to America in September to do Route 66 and saving his holiday and money for that.

Cheers,

Neil.

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 10:30 pm

You know Neil you can go off people! First there were Heath and High Brown Frits as well as a brief stop-off for Large Blues - and now this

Fantastic shots, great report I only wish Fermyn was nearer to me

I hope Bentley produces this weekend - wish me luck

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 8:55 pm

Hee Hee

Sorry Wurzel

I am indeed fortunate that in living in the Midlands there are sites such as Fermyn just 90 minutes away. I have also been very lucky this year with some of my holidays falling just right for some species and enabled me to make the most of some later than normal flight times.

Cheers,

Neil.

Nick Broomer · Post by **Nick Broomer** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 9:22 pm

Another great report Neil. What a place Fermyn wood is, 60 PE in one day, wow! i would be lucky to see that many in two years on my local patch. Great photos to match a great day.

All the best, Nick.

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 9:34 pm

Thanks Nick

We didn't do an accurate count, the figure of 60 was from someone we were talking to but it sounds about right for what we saw and still only half of the numbers reported on Monday and Tuesday. It was more than I have ever seen in total up until Thursday.

Thursday 18th July - addendum

The amazing numbers of Purple Emperors at Fermyn Woods this week have been the obvious focus but the fact is that this is a great place in its own right with plenty of other butterflies. As mentioned in my previous report from Thursday there were plenty of Ringlets, Meadow Browns, Large Skippers and Commas with White Admirals and Silver-washed Fritillaries putting in regular appearances.
We also saw a few Purple Hairstreaks flitting about high up around some of the Oaks around the rides. With a couple of Red Admirals and Small Tortoiseshells also being seen, on another day anywhere else, all these butterflies would have counted as a good day.

: Large Skipper - Fermyn 18.07.2013

: Commas - Fermyn 18.07.2013

: Commoners instead of Royalty on some piles

: White Admiral - Fermyn 18.07.2013

: White Admiral - Fermyn 18.07.2013

: White Admiral - Fermyn 18.07.2013

: Silver-washed Fritillary - Fermyn 18.07.2013

Bye for now,

Neil.

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 9:53 pm

Cracking shots Neil - especially the last Silver Washed that is just lush

Have a goodun

Wurzel

essexbuzzard · Post by **essexbuzzard** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 9:58 pm

Missed you by a day,Neil! You're right of course,Fermyn is a fantastic place.Glad you had the chance to go,and it was successful.
As you say,even without the PE,Fermyn would be great for butterflies! But with them-wow!

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 10:21 pm

Cheers Wurzel, that SWF was the only one that stopped still for more than a couple of seconds. Another full arm stretch job taking full advantage of the FZ150s articulated screen

Thanks EB, it was certainly a great day

Cheers,

Neil.

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 3:33 pm

Saturday 20th July

With my recent trips to Devon and Fermyn Woods taking up most of my available spare time lately, I had not had much chance to check out any of my local spots. Yesterday (Saturday), having done the domestic stuff for the day by early afternoon, I decided to nip round to Castle Hills by Solihull. It was a few degrees cooler than of late with a covering of cloud but still warm and muggy so I was hoping that the butterflies would be a bit less hyperactive than recently.

I walked along a footpath that goes alongside hedgerows between some farm fields and out into some meadows full of long grass and flowers including patches of thistles and knapweed. Along the hedges there were good numbers of Speckled Woods, Ringlets and Gatekeepers and the meadows were swarming with Meadow Browns and Skippers.

I had seen Essex Skippers here in previous years so I began to take photos of as many small golden skippers as I could to try and identify them (and get it right this year

). This proved easier said than done as there was a fair bit of a breeze which meant that although they were settling often, it was usually down in amongst the grass so I got lots of photos with grass stems across them. These were good enough for identification purpose however and it soon became apparent that were good numbers of Essex Skippers as well as hordes of Small and some Large Skippers.

: Essex Skipper male - Castle Hills 20.07.2013

: Essex Skipper male - Castle Hills 20.07.2013

: Essex Skipper male - Castle Hills 20.07.2013

: Small Skipper female - Castle Hills 20.07.2013

: Small Skipper male - Castle Hills 20.07.2013

: Large Skipper male - 20.07.2013

In one meadow there were at least half a dozen Small Tortoiseshells which was good to see as these have been a bit scarce around here in recent years.

: Small Tortoiseshell - Castle Hills 20.07.2013

I was also pleased to see a good scattering of Marbled Whites, I had found one here last year which was a first for me at this site and it was good to confirm their presence here

: Marbled White - Castle Hills 20.07.2013

: Marbled White - Castle Hills 20.07.2013

With a single Small Heath, Large and Green-veined Whites plus a couple of Commas, this made a total of thirteen species seen, possibly fourteen if I count a couple of whites that may have been ‘Small’ but I am not absolutely sure of. Nothing really out of the ordinary but what was impressive was the numbers of butterflies, especially Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers and Skippers that were about

: Gatekeeper - Castle Hills 20.07.2013

: Gatekeeper with less Orange on hindwing and reduced spots

: Comma - Castle Hills 20.07.2013

A very pleasant couple of hours with outstanding numbers of butterflies

Bye for now,

Neil

Pauline · Post by **Pauline** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 7:24 pm

Evening Neil

I don't think Mike will mind me saying that we were discussing your photos today (whilst waiting for 1 of the 54 PE's to come down

) and what great shots you brought back from Fermyn. What impressed both of us though was how sharp your white butts are in that communal shot. I know how difficult that is having photographed several Wood Whites mud-puddling and probably failing to get a single one in focus whilst they were all facing different directions. I am assuming that to get such a good depth of field you were not using your close-up lens?

Nick Broomer · Post by **Nick Broomer** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 8:10 pm

More lovely photos Neil, and i see you to have a magic paint brush hidden within your camera, brilliant Small Tortoiseshell.

All the best, Nick.

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 9:18 pm

Thanks Nick, I don't know about a magic paint brush, those nice new Small Tortoiseshells don't really need any help

Hi Pauline, Thank you for your, and Mikes, comments

You are correct, I was not using the close up lens. I am finding that for most day to day use I prefer to use the FZ150 without the lens fitted and use the zoom to give me a longer working distance. I find that this works better for me, especially when the butterflies can be harder to approach when warmed up. Most of my photos this year have been taken without the close up lens.
There are times when I will still use the close up lens, usually when I can spend a bit of time with the subject such as with roosting butterflies or early stages like the recent shots of the Peacock larvae in my garden.

Cheers,

Neil.

Wurzel · Post by **Wurzel** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 9:39 pm

Great shots Neil

I would like the Gatekeeper with the reduced oceilli in my collection

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman · Post by **Neil Freeman** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 7:33 pm

Cheers Wurzel, I thought of you when I saw that one

Tuesday 23rd July

Towards the end of last week the Peacock larvae on the nettle patch in the garden started disappearing, hopefully to wander off and pupate. I had a look to see if I could find any pupae without success but wasn't really surprised, Jeremy Thomas says in 'The Butterflies of Britain and Ireland' that he has yet to find a Peacock chrysalis in the wild.

At the same time my captive larvae also began to pupate. Despite a timely message from Vince Massimo to provide twigs for them to pupate on, most of them wandered up to the top of the cage and pupated on the netting

, all except one that chose a nettle stem. This has made it difficult to take photos of most of them which are of the dark/brownish form as I suppose the netting resembles bark.

: Peacock Pupae - 22.07.2013

The pupa on the nettle stem is the yellow/green form and being able to take the stem out of the cage makes it much easier to photograph.

: Peacock Pupa - 22.07.2013

: Peacock Pupa - 22.07.2013

When I got home from work this afternoon, I noticed one of the pupa had fallen from its position on the netting and was lying on the floor of the cage. When I gently picked it up the abdomen section wriggled a bit so it was still live. I did not really want to leave it lying loose as I wondered if it would survive like that and if the butterfly would be able to emerge properly.
After giving it a bit of thinking about, I got a small piece of sticky double-sided tape (one of those things that just happens to be lying around a blokes garage

) and gently attached it to one of the twigs in the cage. Not sure if this will work but I am hoping it will last long enough to complete its development and emerge properly.

: Peacock Pupa - 22.07.2013

: Peacock Pupa - 22.07.2013

On a different note, as well as all the butterflies that the recent warm spell brought out, there have been plenty of moths flying around at night and up against our windows, including the nice Swallow-tailed Moth that flew into our back room the other night.

: Swallow-tailed Moth - 22.07.2013

Bye for now,

Neil.

Neil Freeman

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