Small Heath - Favourite Photo of 2024

[Wurzel]

Small Heath - Favourite Photo of 2024

Week 16

The week of diminutive! Which is what I said last year but when we get to the Smalls you know that the end is nearing!
Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos as then it will be easier to keep track of things? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As in previous years details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome as would any accompanying stories and anecdotes or other observations of behaviour and interesting other points.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Bertl]

Another scarce species for me in 2024. Seen around half a dozen at Cambus o may on Deeside on 19th June.

Bert.

[David M]

Not the most photogenic species, so I rarely bother with them. This one was one of the few butterflies around on a sandy stretch of Oxwich dunes in September, so I thought I might as well make an attempt:

[David Lazarus]

Small Heath had an excellent season during 2024 in both the vice-counties of North & South Essex but especially in the South. They came 6th in my table of abundance with a staggering 913. It was not as if I was searching for them or in their favoured habitat for much of the year. They were pretty much everywhere in Essex but it was Johnson's Meadow West in the first week of June where numbers were ridiculous. 150 plus on one visit As they are not one of the easiest of species to photograph, especially with an iPhone, I was surprised how many decent photographs I managed to get. This is my favourite moment with them during the time clouds were flying over the floriferous meadow at One Tree Hill - Johnson's Meadows - very rare to get a Small Heath in cop and in focus...wow, how fortunate I reckon there may have been around 300-400 in the meadow and 150+ was a very conservative number counting the ones flying up with every other step. A great memory of 2024.

Small Heath pair in cop
Johnson's Meadow West 06/06/2024

As with the other 34 species, I will go into more details in The Butterflies of Essex 2024 Year in Review shortly in my PD

[David M]

...I reckon there may have been around 300-400 in the meadow and 150+ was a very conservative number counting the ones flying up with every other step...

[Goldie M]

I was lucky last year with the Small Heath, it seemed to do very well in my area unlike the other Butterflies for instance, the Small Tortoiseshell which I didn't see at all , my first shot was taken at Reculver on the 24th of May and my second at Monkton NR on the 20th of June Goldie

[David M]

Looks like you managed a close approach with that first one, Goldie.

Not an easy thing with this species.

[Neil Freeman]

I didn't take a lot of photos of Small Heath in 2024, they were present at most of the places that I would have expected to see them although I was usually looking for something else and so tended to overlook them.
The highest numbers I saw were in Dorset in early September where the following two photos were taken.

Small Heath - Osmington 03.09.2024

Small Heath - Bindon Hill 04.09.2024

Cheers,

Neil.

[bugboy]

A freshly minted one sporting an extra ocelli photographed close to where I found my Marshie ab. in deepest Wiltshire.

[David T]

I like this one as it the closest I have to showing the rare upper-side of the wing.

Small Heath - Totternhoe 11th May 2024 @ 11:53am

[Wurzel]

Small Heath

My Favourite shot of this species came from Priddy Mineries back in early June while looking for Small Pearls. Once I’d seen it I felt several things one after the other. First up was shock from the look of it, then elation at witnessing something so unusual. Next up was surprise that a Small Heath would usurp the attractive Small Pearls for butterfly of the day and then finally satisfaction that the Favourite Photo was sorted and in the bag. Not only was it distinctly lacking in colour but it was also 'blind' to boot!

Have a goodun

Wurzel