Padfield

[robpartridge]

What stunning pictures of clouds and mountains.

[Padfield]

Thanks David, Paul and Rob. I take far too many shots of the mountains and skies, but they are just so wonderful. I first moved to Switzerland in 1989 and still wake up each morning in wonder at the beauty of it all.

The latest iPhones (and I'm sure Samsung and the rest ...) have opened up a whole new world of night photography too. I used to take 15-second exposures with my camera on a tripod and get mediocre star pictures. Now I do 3-second hand-held exposures on my phone and the software does the rest. This was the evening of 1st February, with stars, clouds and the lights of the village all perfectly balanced without any skill on my part:



It has been very mild here recently, with red admirals in the vineyards below Leysin on 27th Jan and my first altitude butterfly - a small tortoiseshell in the Leysin cemetery - on 29th. Today was very warm and sunny, so we went off to the Rhône Valley vineyards again in the hope a Queen of Spain might have woken up. Surprisingly, none had, but during our walk we saw probably 20 small tortoiseshells. Most were sunning on banks in the vineyards but some had discovered the newly flowering Bulbocodiums.

This small tortoiseshell had greatly diminished yellow and looked rather distinctive:



Others were more typical:







The big surprise of the day was a male brimstone. It never stopped, but I snatched a flight shot for proof:





This is the little wine village of Branson that we walk through on our way to the vineyards - and where the people are incredibly friendly:



Here is Minnie at our first stop, and then a shot across the vineyards. The Swiss produce a lot of excellent wine - much of it organic - but I've never seen it on sale outside the country. We drink it all ourselves ...





Guy

[Wurzel]

Those Brimstone shots look familiar Guy -my first ones of the season are often like that Interesting looking Small Tort, the yellow/white is so reduced for a fraction of a second you could almost be fooled into thinking it was a Large Tort

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

...The Swiss produce a lot of excellent wine - much of it organic - but I've never seen it on sale outside the country. We drink it all ourselves ...

Yes, same with a few other countries like Austria, South Africa, Portugal, Morocco, et al....

Great to see so many Small Tortoiseshells on the wing.

It's grey and dreary here in the UK (at least, in my part of it), but it's mild so hopefully the next time we have a sunny day I'll have a similar opportunity to see a few of our winged friends.

[Padfield]

Thanks Wurzel and David.

The balmy weather continues here, to the extent that small tortoiseshells were quite common around Leysin today, between about 1200m and 1400m altitude. Mostly, they were to be seen zooming around singly or sparring in groups of two or three, but in the cemetery they were coming to ground and nectaring avidly on the heather. All these were in the cemetery:









It's a nice idea, having winter-flowering heather there:



The calls and drummings of black woodpeckers were a constant background accompaniment to the songs of the tits (now in full spring mode!) and for once I managed a distant shot of one more or less in the open:



One day, I'll get a decent picture! The problem is, they're normally in the evergreen canopy and very difficult to get a clear view of.

Guy

[David M]

...One day, I'll get a decent picture! The problem is, they're normally in the evergreen canopy and very difficult to get a clear view of.

Looks pretty good to me, Guy, along with the Small Tortoiseshells on the winter-flowering heather.

Things still sluggish here. Another 2-3 weeks should make a difference.

[Padfield]

Thanks David - I'm still hoping for a better picture of a woodpecker, though!

By Wednesday, things were cooling down, and yesterday and today were distinctly unfriendly, butterfly-wise. I photographed this amorous couple on Tuesday, and it was clear they were both up for it, though I didn't see the mating (I never do with this species):



Here's another enjoying the fine weather while it lasted:



Here are some deer in Leysin yesterday, against the backdrop of the Dents du Midi:



Today I went to Lausanne - to buy Indian spices apart from anything else - and took a walk down to the lake while I was there. There were loads of pochard near to shore - not the red-crested pochard I see more commonly nearer to home - and goosander too. I was very taken with one goosander and his wife. She had obviously just had a brand new hairdo and was looking very smart.


(pochard)


(Mr Goosander)


(Mrs Goosander)



Guy

[Wurzel]

For a 'big' bird the Black Woodpecker can be tricky to see. The only one I've seen was in Poland and it was still hard to find despite hanging around in a clearing of dead trees - mind you that may have been the after effects of the Tyskie and Vodka the night before
Cracking wildfowl shots - the Pochard is another one of those under rated species to my mind

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Love the image of those deer, Guy, and Mrs Goosander looks like she's had the blow dryer on full power.

[Padfield]

Thanks, Wurzel and David. Yes, black woodpeckers don't hog the limelight! I hear them every day and see them most days (in flight, between trees) but very rarely get any kind of a photo.

Today was the first day of the second sixty years of my life.Yes - my 60th birthday. Weird - I don't feel any different from when I was 30! I had to work much of the day, but I cycled Minnie to the cemetery at lunchtime because that's where the butterflies are these days!



As usual, and despite the fact the sun was at best hazy, the small tortoiseshells were out in good numbers, wishing me a happy birthday:











Some, admittedly, were more interested in their own nuptials:



The day had a distinctly spring-like feel to it:



This picture, taken just above the cemetery, shows how much high cloud there was - though pictures taken into the sun always exaggerate this:



I look forward to another 60 years of butterflying!

Guy

[Wurzel]

Happy belated B'day or "Joyeux anniversaire" Guy Good to know that you only feel 30, long may that continue

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

...I look forward to another 60 years of butterflying!

Careful! I'm not sure there'll be many left in 2084, Guy.

All the best for your special birthday. May there be many more!

[Padfield]

Thanks Wurzel and David. It's not every day you turn 60 ...

As I had to work yesterday, I took today as the real butterfly day, and headed to Italy, where the sun was forecast to be shining all day. I caught the early train, arriving in Domodossola at 08h13, to give us time to walk the 6km to where the butterflies begin (I'd left the bike at home, because full trains in the ski season can be awkward with bikes). At that stage of the day - during our walk up into the hills - it was actually very cold, and when we got there nothing at all flew until 11h10, when Minnie put up a large tortoiseshell. That one got away, but soon after another one was more amenable:





Until about 11h45, that was all we saw, and we started back, intending to go to another site lower down. Just as we left the woods a male brimstone appeared, stopping briefly:



Then a peacock put up and landed on the track some distance away, and just as I was creeping in to get a photo of it, a green-veined white flew past and took me in the other direction:





We carried on down, seeing small tortoiseshells, red admirals, more brimstones and a single comma on the way:









Finally, at the second site I found a fair few Queens of Spain, my 8th species of the day (and the year). Here are two different individuals:






(the sheltered patch of ground where early Queens always fly)

A quite stunning array of species for 17th Feb!

We then headed back early to Switzerland, where my god-daughter and her family had laid on a surprise birthday party for me, rounding off an excellent day.

[Pete Eeles]

A belated Happy Birthday, Guy! I’m sure you’ll be going strong for quite some time!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Roger Gibbons]

Today was the first day of the second sixty years of my life.Yes - my 60th birthday. Weird - I don't feel any different from when I was 30!

Happy birthday, Guy.

I would have a small wager that you will say the same thing when you hit 90.

Roger

[Padfield]

Thanks Pete and Roger!

If we’re both still around, Roger, I look forward to losing the bet!

When I was 21, in the winter of ‘85-6, I watched Halley’s comet creep through the constellations. When it faded from sight in the spring, I said, ‘See you again!’ That requires me to live to 97…

Guy

[Roger Gibbons]

I'd be happy to win the bet, especially as I would be 107.

Not sure I thought that through....

Roger

[Wurzel]

Brilliant to see the Queens and Large Torts Guy I'd love for a Large Tort to add to my four species of this year

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

...When I was 21, in the winter of ‘85-6, I watched Halley’s comet creep through the constellations. When it faded from sight in the spring, I said, ‘See you again!’ That requires me to live to 97…

I recall doing a similar thing, calculating how old I would be by the time it came round again.

Unlike you, I don't think I'll make it into my 90s - too much hard living and hard drinking!!

[Padfield]

Thanks Wurzel. I have no doubt large tortoiseshells will become a regular part of UK springs in a few, short years - as indeed they were in the past.

Funny - I've never found drinking hard, David. Or living, for that matter ...

I had intended to go hunting brown hairstreak eggs on birch again today, but again there were replacement buses along the valley (engineering works ...) and I couldn't face cramming in with hundreds of holiday-makers. So I went to the vineyards again to see what was flying there.

It was cold - 1°C when I arrived, rising to a maximum of 6°C - and there was a chilly wind. On top of that, clouds were always threatening and there were periods of overcast as well as periods of sun:







Despite this, butterflies seemed to be everywhere. Admittedly, they were mostly small tortoiseshells, but I saw many dozen during the day:





This one, photographed at a great distance, had taken an inappropriate shine to a red admiral. I actually thought they were going to become an item, but in the end she blew him off:



I saw just one large tortoiseshell ...



... but probably five small whites, my first of the year:





Queens were around, but not yet in great numbers - I saw probably 10 during the day:





Finally, a single brimstone was drifting around at one point.

A few groups of crag martin were swooping low over the village and the vineyards. I pointed my iPhone at one and got this shot:



Spring is very definitely on the way now, but winter has not had its last word. We have had snow in Leysin for the last couple of days and I have no doubt more is coming.

Here is the second full moon of 2024:



Guy