Large Tortoiseshell.

[Allan.W.]

A Large Tort; was seen and photographed in Orlestone Forest today ,giving nice views as it basked on the rideside vegetation ......I missed it by about 2 minutes ! But did see 3 each Brimstone,Comma,Peacock.

[David Lazarus]

Wow....what I sighting.

Large Tortoiseshell
Birchett Wood 05/03/2025
Copyright: Alan Cooper

At grid reference TQ99123540

Edit: apologies date corrected on image

[David M]

Excellent! March is probably the best month to see this species.

[Allan.W.]

Large Tort again today on my local circuit in Orlestone ,singles are now turning up in other sections of the forest. At another wood Hamstreet Wood (Bourne Wood ) another was noted.

[bugboy]

Large Tort again today on my local circuit in Orlestone ,singles are now turning up in other sections of the forest. At another wood Hamstreet Wood (Bourne Wood ) another was noted.
P1400611.JPG

From the look of that picture I think I might have been standing next to you!

[Allan.W.]

Glad you got to see one Bugboy........As I recall ,I took a couple of shots ,and got out of the way ,there were a couple of chaps at my shoulder I thinkl........If i,d have recognised you i,d have said hello ....... did you walk from Hamstreet station ? had I known I,d have offered you a lift ! Allan.W.

[bugboy]

At least 2 Allan. I thought I was going to miss them but the stars aligned so I got there. Walked from Ham Street but found a better route than walking along that main road

[Allan.W.]

Are you on this pic Bugboy ?

[bugboy]

Haha, no luckily, I was meant to be at work today...

[purplepalpatine]

I’m in the background of that one
Thank you David Lazarus for including a grid ref in your original post, without which I wouldn’t have had a clue where to start on an unfamiliar patch. And with an 8 hour round trip from Bristol, I really needed to maximise my chances of a sighting!
After 3 hours of waiting, spent a joyous hour watching 2 large torts - my first ever! (Which means I’ve already seen 1 more large tortoiseshell this year than I saw small tortoiseshells in the whole of last year. Let’s hope the smalls have a better 2025).
For anyone visiting tomorrow unfamiliar with orlestone, the best sightings today were in birchett wood between 1 and 2pm, around 3-400m further up the ride (north west) from the grid ref at the start of this thread

[Allan.W.]

pleased you managed a couple Purplepalpatine ones and twos have now been reported from several sections ,for anyone visiting its well worth a look in Longrope wood (across the road ) puts me in mind of a gent that had travelled from West Cornwall a few years back for Long-tailed Blue (at Kingsdown,Deal) As he was leaving ,having been unsuccessful ,we were also leaving and I stumbled across a male ,which we all enjoyed !

[MrSp0ck]

We had the first one down on the track after 1pm, 1.16pm on this log, signaled all the others who had been looking from 11.30am with no luck, then good sightings until 3.30pm ish. Good to bump into you all again. The Group photo at peak with 2 together and a comma 1.58pm

[David M]

Really good to see such a twitch so early in the year. Long may it continue!

I wouldn't be surprised if they turned up in Wales over the next couple of years.

[Kevin64]

pleased you managed a couple Purplepalpatine ones and twos have now been reported from several sections ,for anyone visiting its well worth a look in Longrope wood (across the road ) puts me in mind of a gent that had travelled from West Cornwall a few years back for Long-tailed Blue (at Kingsdown,Deal) As he was leaving ,having been unsuccessful ,we were also leaving and I stumbled across a male ,which we all enjoyed !

Strangely enough we saw our first one of the day at 9.00am on the other side of the road, sunny itself in a small clearing( W3W tint.refreshed.indicate)
Amazing to see these beautiful butterflies, had 3 for the day and watching them fly was a real joy, lifers for us.

[MrSp0ck]

Strangely enough we saw our first one of the day at 9.00am on the other side of the road, sunny itself in a small clearing( W3W tint.refreshed.indicate)
Amazing to see these beautiful butterflies, had 3 for the day and watching them fly was a real joy, lifers for us.

Yes we heard of that early sighting when we arrived, lots of people were looking out with no luck, there was a cool breeze until after 1pm, lots of commas sunning everywhere, then it warmed up just a tiny bit and LTs were sunning to the delight of all the people waiting.

[Allan.W.]

VERY busy in Orlestone earlier .........never seen the car park more or less full .O ne or two Large Torts still around in at least 3 sections .I visited a section which I felt would be a bit quieter ......it was .As I approached a large patch of Primrose ,and looking through the bins it held 2 Comma and 2 Brimstones ,lowered the bins took another couple of steps ,and almost trod on..........a Large Tort ! curiously its flight was very lethargic .....and I thought it was going to re-ground......but sadly it disappeared up into the trees ! I wonder if it was a newly wakened individual.

[Butterfly_Julian]

Are these sightings coming from someone doing a release ?

[bugboy]

Are these sightings coming from someone doing a release ?

There've been regular sightings for a number of years now here so whilst releases can never be ruled out, it does seem to be a self sustaining colony. There's also a few similar sized woodlands nearby which don't get as much attention but do have sightings recorded. Allan W is local to the area so would know more details.

[Butterfly_Julian]

Thanks for the reply bugboy.
I will have to look at doing a quick trip over the bridge next year to see them.
Or maybe one will pop over and see us in North East Essex. Had a Small Blue do this a couple of summers ago. We will keep a look out.

[Lawts]

Were there records from the Orlestone/Hamstreet area last year? I don't recall seeing any. I remember Knepp and Portland, I think it was but not here.
Also, how long might one expect to see them at this site, given the right weather conditions, before it goes quiet again?
Thanks.