** May to June 2006
Archive **
(Photos
have been removed to save space.)
Sunday
2nd July 2006
Phil Coles went to
Starveall Farm (Stone – Bucks) today, July 2nd and recorded the
following: Large Skipper 3, Large White 1, Small
Tortoiseshell 1, Comma 2, Speckled Wood 1, Gatekeeper 1,
Meadow Brown 100+, Ringlet 4, Small Heath 1.
Dennis Dell went to
Wendover woods today, 2nd July: “No Purple Emperor
yet, but three Silver-Washed Fritillaries (not around the buddleia, as
it’s not flowering yet).”
Paul Bowyer and Wendy & Mick Campbell visited Penley Wood today. No luck with Purple Emperors, but a single Silver-washed Fritillary was a nice compensation. Also seen were Painted Lady, 4 Purple Hairstreaks in the Ash trees, 2 Small Skipper, one Small Heath, 4 Speckled Wood, 3 Red Admiral, 4 Comma and good numbers of Ringlet. Meadow Brown, Marbled White and Large Skipper, but surprisingly no Gatekeepers. Moths included Yellow Shell, Cinnabar and Straw Dot. A fresh Small Tortoiseshell was also in their garden later in the afternoon.
Dave Wilton spent 1hr 45mins at Rushbeds Wood this afternoon, 2nd July: “33C, so said my car thermometer, and wall-to-wall sunshine. Purple Emperor was found flying around a small gap in the ash canopy above the track just inside the wood from the Lapland Farm Meadows entrance (exactly the same place as last year). When I got there at 3.55pm a single male was patrolling the spot. He chased off another similar-sized butterfly - possibly a Red Admiral but I couldn't get binoculars on it in time - then carried on patrolling and perching for as long as I stood there (he was constantly in view for 20 minutes, after which neck-ache got the better of me!). Most of the perching was done with wings closed, but then for the last three or four minutes he started sunning himself. There was no sign of activity at the railway bridge, along the other tracks or at the central "cross-roads". The heat didn't seem to put off other species either and I recorded Large Skipper (6), Small Skipper (1), Brimstone (1), unidentified Whites (2), Purple Hairstreak (1), Red Admiral (1), Comma (6), White Admiral (2), Marbled White (1), Speckled Wood (4), Meadow Brown (30) & Ringlet (34) along the various rides.”
Sunday 2nd July Martin Raper sent this news: “Just a short note to say that today's work party saw two Silver-washed Fritillaries in Moor Copse over bramble. This complements our first ever sighting for Moor Copse last June.”
Robin Carr saw two male
Silver-washed Fritillaries on his transect yesterday Saturday 1st
July.
David & Wendy Redhead went to Brasenose Woods on Saturday morning and saw 7 White Admirals along with Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Comma, Large Skipper and a fresh Small Tortoiseshell.
Phil Coles went to Rushbeds Wood and Lapland Farm on July 1st: Small Skipper 1,
Small/Essex Skipper 7, Large Skipper 27, White Admiral 3,
Painted Lady 1, Comma 1, Speckled Wood 11, Marbled White 97,
Meadow Brown 100+, Ringlet 100+, Small Heath 7, S/GV White
1.
At 6.30 on Friday evening, 30th June, Dave Wilton had another very pleasant surprise in his garden in Westcott: “This time I had the camera ready! It spent about five minutes resting on the laurel then moved to some bramble flowers before disappearing over the fence. That's two years running I've had a White Admiral in the garden. I did a butterfly count for BBOWT at Woodsides Meadow this afternoon (no WLH, the one tree left has succumbed to Dutch Elm). Also called at Piddington Wood on the way back and spent 20 minutes at "the spot" there and another 20 minutes at the entrance to Little Wood, but no sign of Purple Emperor. Saw two Bläck Hairstreäk along the footpath, one on brambles (I think that's the first I've seen nectaring this season!).”
News from Ched George that Dark Green Fritillary are now flying at Bradenham with 2 seen Friday afternoon, 30th.
Large numbers of Burnet moths, the majority were 6-spot. No sign of
Gatekeeper yet.”
Dave Ferguson’s walk in Black Park on 29th June
produced: White
Admiral (5), Red Admiral (1), Marbled White (1), Meadow
Brown (15), Ringlet (5), Speckled Wood (3), Large Skipper (3).
“As I drove along Hedgerley Lane by Bulstrode Park a
White Admiral flew across the road! The flowery spoil heap by the M40 at
Hedgerley produced: Marbled White (30), Meadow Brown (40), Large Skipper (3), Burnet
Moth sp (30).”
On 27th June, whilst out speculatively looking for Bläck
Hairstreäk (following up a reported 1990's sighting), David Redhead came
across a rather nice setaside field above Chilswell Farm near Oxford: “This field gave me my first Small Skippers of the season (see
photo at top of this page) along with numerous Meadow Browns, some Ringlets
and Large Skippers and a fresh Comma. On the way back to my
car a Red Admiral flew by but I never did find a Bläck
Hairstreäk.”
Thursday
29th June 2006
Ched George reported the following today, 29th June: “2 possibly 3 Dark Green Fritillaries flying in a south
Bucks location this morning. Also seen was a fresh Small Tortoiseshell and
worn Brown Argus. Marbled White and Meadow Brown abundant,
plus a few Large Skippers and Common Blues.”
[Please
report sightings of Dark Green Fritillary to Ched George, UTB Species Champion for
DGF.]
Dave Wilton visited Finemere
Wood today, 29th June: “Having been at work all last
night I didn't really feel like going out this afternoon but as I still had
this week's transect to do at Finemere Wood I
thought I'd better make the effort. A wise move as it turned out, because I
managed to add four new butterfly species to my list for this year. Two of them
were Small Skipper (3), seen along the wood's main ride, and Marbled
White (5), present in the central meadow area. Half an hour spent staring at the oaks near the turning circle
produced no sign of Purple Emperor (nor Purple Hairstreak for that matter), but
having completed the transect I did a butterfly count for BBOWT in the new
meadows and one of the first species that I saw there was a Purple Emperor!
It was on the ground close to the wood edge in an area where there is a lot of
bare earth. It was disturbed by my passage, took off and did three or four
large lazy circles around me at grass-top height and then shot off up into the
wood canopy. Marvellous! The icing on the cake came as I walked back up to the
road from the wood because four pristine White-letter Hairstreaks were
charging around the tops of the elms on both sides of the track at the usual
spot a few hundred metres from the road. I'd spent 15 minutes staring at those
self same elms a couple of hours earlier on my way down to the wood and seen
nothing at all.”
Caroline Steel sent the following on 28th June: “Today I was thrilled to see a White
Admiral flying over the hedge (full of honeysuckle!) in my front garden in
Leiden Road, Oxford. The garden is only
50 metres from Madgalen Wood which has had White Admirals in the past. The last
record for my garden was in 1992!”
Phil
Coles
visited Shirburn Hill (‘Open Access Land’) on June 28th and
recorded: Large Skipper
12, Speckled Wood 2, Marbled White 8, Meadow Brown 23,
Ringlet 15, Small Heath 20.
Tuesday
27th June 2006
Dennis
Dell received the following exciting news from Liz Goodyear on Sunday: “Just had a phone call from a
Herts & Middx member who was out cycling with his son in Black Park this morning (25th
June 2006). He had stopped to adjust his son's helmet and saw what he thought
was another White Admiral on the ground - on closer inspection he realised he
was looking at a very smart male Purple Emperor! Time was about 11.30am.
[To
join the hunt for Purple Emperor, or to report a sighting, please email Dennis Dell, UTB
Purple Emperor Species Champion.]
David Redhead sent this report for Saturday's Butterfly Walk in Bernwood Forest: “The joint Upper Thames Branch/Woodstock Naturalists Society walk in Bernwood Forest on Saturday morning, 24th June, was a great success. Fourteen gorgeous White Admirals were the stars and four were seen flying together in a ride side scallop created by Upper Thames members at a winter workparty several years ago. Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Large Skippers were all seen in good numbers along with several Marbled Whites. Being recently emerged all these butterflies were in a pristine state and they enabled our guests to practise their identification skills. Singleton Common Blue, Speckled Wood, Red Admiral and Large White also seen. One probable Bläck Hairstreäk was seen flitting through the blackthorn canopy but it never settled in a convenient place to allow definite identification. On the moth side a female Orange Moth, spotted by Lyn Matthews, was very much the star and an addition to my UK list. Also seen were several Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnets along with a Six-spot Burnet and Cinnabar.”
Monday
26th June 2006
Andy Reynolds sent the following recent
sightings on 25th June:
23rd June at
Bernwood Forest – White Admiral (5)
and Comma (1).
24th June at a wood
in Bucks – Bläck Hairstreäk (maybe 4 or 5) and about three times as many satisfied
human spectators.
24th June at
Piddington Wood – White Admiral (2).
In the adjacent eastern meadow – Small Skipper (10) and Ringlet (20).
25th June at Ardley
Quarry – Gatekeeper (1).
On 24th June Juliet Gudge saw a Silver-washed Fritillary on an orchid in a wood in Fingest. Also seen in the area was a Small Blue.
Welcome to the website Tony Marsh who sent the following report: “I spent a few hours in fine weather photographing many species at Whitecross Green Wood on June 23rd, amongst them my first sightings this year of White Admiral (2), Marbled White (6) [see photo below], and newly-emerged 5-Spot Burnet moths. I was very confident that I had seen a Small Blue, however its foodplant does not grow there. It is possible that it was carried in during the recent windy weather, or perhaps it was a variant small female common blue without any orange markings on upper- or undersides. Other species included many Meadow Brown and Large Skippers, and a tired-looking female Brimstone still surging up and down the rides.” On June 24th Tony made another visit to a site where he had good sightings of Bläck Hairstreäk, including one female laying eggs [see photo below], White Admiral (9) and Marbled White (28), plus a single Red Admiral and a fresh-looking Comma.
Friday
23rd June 2006
Welcome to the website new contributor Andy Reynolds: “I'm new to Oxford and this is my first sightings email to you. A June 22nd afternoon walk around Wytham Wood in Oxford furnished me with two personal firsts for the year - Marbled White (several) and Ringlet (1). Also flapping around were dozens of Meadow Browns and Speckled Woods, several Large Skippers and Red Admirals, 1 Comma and 1 handsome Hummingbird Hawkmoth.”
This afternoon, 22nd June, the combined efforts of David
Redhead, Stuart Hodges & Mick Campbell discovered a new colony of Bläck
Hairstreäks with
the sighting of two adults at a site on the edge of Bicester.
Dave Wilton was very pleasantly surprised to discover a Silver-washed Fritillary on the edge of Noke Wood on 22nd June. “It was accompanied by a pair of White Admirals and the inevitable Painted Lady. I had it in my sights for about ten minutes before it disappeared into the wood.”
[Please
email Mick Campbell,
Silver-washed Fritillary Species Champion, with all sightings of the SWF. Thank
you.]
Peter Bugg sent this news on 22nd June: “I had my first sighting of White Admirals flying in the Bernwood rides this afternoon. Please let me know of your sightings of White Admirals, with grid references if possible - Peter Bugg, White Admiral Species Champion.”
Dave Wilton sent the
following on 21st June: "’I may have the body of
a weak and feeble woman...’ (with apologies to Elizabeth I !!). This tired and
decrepit Painted Lady was found in a field at Dorton, Bucks on 20th June but she could still fly well
enough. Also, a freshly-emerged Comma seen at Piddington Wood, Oxon today, 21st June. Then on
returning home to Westcott I espied something small and brown clinging on for
dear life to a buttercup on our front lawn. It turned out to be a Small
Heath! Not very exciting really, but it is the first example which has been
noted in our garden and brings our all-time species tally here up to 25.”
Dennis Dell has visited a number of sites during the last few days:
“At Aylesbury Golf Course on Tuesday afternoon, 20th,
it was rather windy, but sunny and about 21-22 degrees.
First Marbled Whites [4] for this habitat and a Ringlet. Others
seen were: Meadow Brown [62], Large Skipper [5], Painted Lady [1],
Speckled Wood [1], Comma [2], Red Admiral [1]. Yesterday,
I went round Finemere meadows, and the Meadow Browns were rising from the grass in front
of me as I walked along: a wonderful sight, in spite of it being one of our
commonest species. I stopped counting after 100!”
At various sites in North Bucks he saw six Bläck
Hairstreäks on 14th at a blackthorn hedgerow
junction; on
the 16th he recorded fifteen at known territories and on the 18th about 15 more. “What was
particularly interesting at the last site was the presence of a large Aspen which
was an attraction - about 6 Bläck Hairstreäks were flying round and landing on this tree.”
David Gantzel visited Aston Clinton Ragpits on Tuesday June 20th
where
he recorded one Painted Lady, one Ringlet, several Large
Skippers and Common Blues.
Dave Wilton visited a site
in the Brill area for a couple of hours on Tuesday 20th June while checking on
local Bläck Hairstreäk colonies.
“I found Large Skipper (1), Bläck Hairstreäk (4), Painted Lady
(1), White Admiral (3), Speckled
Wood (4), Meadow Brown (18, including two mating pairs) & Silver-Y
(1), while noted in the set-aside field to the south were Large Skipper
(2), Painted Lady (1), Speckled Wood (1), Meadow Brown (31) &
Ringlet (2) with moths Latticed Heath (1) & Mother Shipton
(1).”
On 20th June
Mark Calway sent the following: “This is just to advise that the White-letter
Hairstreak has been seen flying in our area so this is a good time
to keep your eyes peeled. Bramble and Hemp Agrimony are popular nectar sources
- when they decide to come down from the trees! It is worth looking out for
adults pretty much anywhere as they will wander. The sighting and photo (see
top of this page) were by John Notton on 15th
June 2006.”
[Please
email Mark Calway, White-letter
Hairstreak Champion, with all sightings of the White-letter. Thank you.]
On 20th June Tom Dunbar reported that the blustery wind seemed to put a cap on butterfly action at Finemere Wood late this afternoon. He located 24 Bläck Hairstreäks in the shelter of the wood, a further 10 in the 'hotspot' area and just 2 in a sheltered spot on the New Meadow hedge. Small Heaths had a strong presence in the New Meadow with a small number of Marbled Whites and countless Meadow Browns.
Pete Eeles popped into Finemere Wood on Monday afternoon (19th) and, despite the overcast
conditions, managed to see 13 Bläck Hairstreäk, together with 9 Painted Lady,
8 Meadow Brown, 2 Ringlet and a Speckled Wood.
19th June - Tony
Croft sent this photo of his first “face to face” encounter with a Bläck Hairstreäk:
Sunday
18th June 2006
Martin Harvey sent the following report today, 18th: “During a brief visit to Burnham Beeches this morning I found what I
assume must have been a freshly emerged Purple Hairstreak. It was
sitting on one of the tarmac roads through the Beeches, walking around but
making no attempt to fly. We lifted it on to nearby vegetation to prevent it
getting run over by the bikes.”
On Saturday 17th June, Martyn Godfrey visited Bernwood Forest: “There were very few butterflies in the main rides, but the meadow was looking good: Common Blue (55), Large Skipper (4), Speckled Wood (7), Brimstone (1 - male), Painted Lady (3), Meadow Brown (26).“
During a survey of a number of sites in Bucks on Saturday, 17th,
Tom Dunbar reports seeing a single Marbled White.
Derek & Cathy Brown sent the following sighting on 17th June: “We had our first Painted Lady of the year in the garden last night which is pleasing as we didn't see one in the garden at all last year.”
Dave Ferguson spent 3 hours Friday morning, 16th, in the
Cockmarsh/Winter Hill area: “It produced only 7 butterflies: 4 Common Blues, 1 Green
Hairstreak, 1 Painted Lady and 1 Meadow Brown. The hairstreak
seems to be a new record for the site.”
Thursday
15th June 2006
Tom Dunbar sent the following report on 15th June: “I saw a Ringlet at 3.15
this afternoon on a bridleway in the Greatmoor area.”
During a visit to a wood in Bucks Thursday morning, 15th, Mick Campbell and David Sommerlad saw 8 Bläck Hairstreäks. Other butterflies recorded were: 3 Green Hairstreak, 1 Purple Hairstreak, 20 Meadow Brown, 5 Common Blue (surprisingly few!), 3 Small Heath, 4 Painted Lady (faded), 12 Speckled Wood, 1 Ringlet and 1 Grizzled Skipper. Moths were Mother Shipton, Burnet Companion, several Yellow Shells and lots of Silver-Y.
On 15th June David & Wendy Redhead paid an early morning visit to one of the sites in Oxfordshire that he surveyed on 11th: “I took Wendy to see her first Bläck Hairstreäks. In 40 minutes we amassed a total of 23. Most were very lively, counting was difficult and the reported total is probably conservative. Also we only covered three-quarters of the core area. Nearly as exciting was our first Purple Hairstreak of the year flying in one of the oak trees on the edge of the woods. Also seen were 3 Speckled Wood, 2 Red Admiral & 2 Common Blue. My total Bläck Hairstreäk count is now a staggering 52 - although some of today's 23 were probably among the 8 seen on Saturday.”
Tony Croft went to a private wood in Oxfordshire on 13th June and saw 4 Bläck Hairstreäks. “I had to turn tail and walk quickly to avoid a soaking but will return soon for a more thorough search.”
Derek & Cathy Brown visited a wood in Bucks on 12th June and saw 1x Meadow Brown; 1x Large Skipper and a single Bläck Hairstreäk - luckily a nice fresh one low down that allowed a photo (see below).
David Redhead has been to several
sites in the last few days surveying for Bläck Hairstreäk:
“On Friday 9th & Sunday 11th June I drew a blank, but managed 7 Speckled Wood - new brood just out. But I have had some compensations - Saturday 10th at Swyncombe Downs: 196 Small Blues plus a Grizzled Skipper and a Green Hairstreak and good numbers of Common Blue, Brown Argus and Small Heath. Also this morning (11th) a group of us surveyed Pyrton Hill (with the permission of the Beechwood Estate) and got 13 Grizzled Skippers, 3 Dingy Skippers, 3 Green Hairstreak and good numbers of Common Blue, Brown Argus and Small Heath but not one Small Blue. At Otmoor on the 12th I saw two Bläck Hairstreäks in pristine condition. Also my first Large Skippers (3) and Meadow Brown (1) of the year.”
On 11th June Dave Wilton went to a site in north Bucks: “I spent a quick 45 minutes this evening searching for Bläck Hairstreäk and counted 20 (and that was a conservative count!). Unfortunately they preferred the tops of the blackthorn but maybe when they've got the mating out of the way they'll come down to camera level! My first Meadow Brown as well today (by co-incidence I saw my first Bläck Hairstreäk and Meadow Brown on exactly the same date last year).”
Gerry Kendall reported seeing one (perhaps two) Bläck Hairstreäk in a wood in Bucks this morning, 11th June.
Paul Bowyer and Mick Campbell went to Asham Meads on Sunday 11th June where they recorded: Bläck Hairstreäk 5, Meadow Brown 1, Painted Lady 3, Red Admiral 1, Common Blue 12, Brown Argus 1, Speckled Wood 2, Green Veined White 1, Large Skipper 4, Small Copper 1, Large White. Day-flying moths were numerous Silver Y 50+, Forester 30+, Mother Shipton 1, Burnet Companion 2.
Wednesday
14th June 2006
Bläck Hairstreäk is on the wing! The first sighting was reported by Stuart Hodges, Bläck Hairstreäk Species Champion, on 10th June. Several more sightings have since been reported and will be posted soon.
[Please
send any Bläck Hairstreäk sightings you may have in the
coming weeks to Stuart Hodges.]
Dave Ferguson’s visit this morning, 13th June, to
Yoesden Bank produced a similar result to Saturday: Adonis Blue (32), Common
Blue (47), Small Blue (22), Green Hairstreak (1), Meadow
Brown (10), Small Heath (7), Dingy Skipper (2), Large
White (1), Silver-Y (1).
Ali Latham saw the following today on her transect at Seven Bärrows: 1 Red Admiral, 4 Small Copper, 20 Dingy Skipper, 12 Small Heath, 10 Small Blue, 5 Common Blue, 20 Märsh Fritillary - now mostly tatty looking, 5 Cinnabar Moth and 6 Brown Argus.
On 12th June
Dave Ferguson went to Wilton Park, Beaconsfield: “2 Large
Skippers this morning, my first of the year.”
Dave Maunder sent this news on 11th June: “Nothing exciting to
report from Aylesbury, but it looks like it may be a good summer for Silver-Y moths,
also Painted Ladies after this recent hot spell. Today I had a Painted Lady on
my garden Scabious and saw another nectaring on Thistles- both a bit worn, like
newly arrived migrants, and the Silver Y moths were nectaring on Comfrey
at dusk last night - a nice sight! Other butterflies seen include Small
Tortoiseshell, Comma, Brimstone, Orange tips, Green-veined Whites, Small
Whites, Large Whites, Speckled Woods, Meadow Browns (my first two seen today),
Holly Blues, Common Blues, and Small Coppers.”
Jan Haseler sent the
following report on 11th June: “We saw a Meadow
Brown at Moor Copse this morning,
together with Large Skipper, Common Blue and a male Orange-tip -
I'm surprised that Orange-tip and Meadow Brown are on the wing at the same
time.”
Monday
12th June 2006
Märsh Fritillary sightings at Seven Bärrows have been
suppressed for 2 weeks to provide some protection to this fragile colony. The
following reports were received:
On 28th May, Ali Latham was the first to send in a report of a Märsh Fritillary sighting: “I thought you might like to know that I saw 5 fresh Märsh Fritillaries at Seven Bärrows today - in between the cloud and cool breeze.”
28th May: Derek & Cathy Brown reported seeing 8 Märsh Fritillaries at Seven Bärrows today (see photo below):
Tony Croft sent this out of area report on 28th May: “I took this picture this afternoon at a site in Wiltshire whilst visiting the in-laws. It's only my second ever sighting of Märsh Fritillary so it was a truly magic moment.”
Ali Latham carried out her
transect at Seven Bärrows on 31st May and recorded 15
Märsh Fritillaries.
Dave Wilton visited Seven
Bärrows on 2nd June: “I recorded 26 Märsh Fritillaries as
well as numbers of Dingy Skipper, Large White, Green-veined White, Small
Copper (including a mating pair), Brown Argus, Common Blue, Duke of
Burgundy (a single very faded example), Peacock and Small Heath.
I couldn't find any Small Blues but I did meet someone else there who had seen
two or three.”
Tom Dunbar recorded his first Märsh Fritillary at Seven Bärrows on Sunday 4th June.
On 7th June Dennis Dell and Dave Wilton spent three hours at the Pewsey Downs NNR in the Marlborough Hills, Wiltshire: “We went just to see what ‘vast numbers’ of our rarest local butterfly, the Märsh Fritillary, really looked like, and what a wonderful experience it was! There were literally hundreds of them everywhere, a sight which has to be seen to be believed. Some were newly emerged and several mating pairs were seen, but lots more were beginning to look rather old and frail now (somewhat like their observers!). Other species present included Dingy Skipper, Green Hairstreak, Brown Argus, Adonis Blue, Common Blue, Small Blue, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Wall Brown and Small Heath. Moths were in good supply as well, including Cistus Forester (50+ seen), Five-spot Burnet sp., Yellow Shell, Wood Tiger, Cinnabar, Treble Lines, Silver-Y, Mother Shipton & Burnet Companion.”
Allen Beechey & Kathryn
Graves visited Seven Bärrows on 11th June and
recorded 42 Märsh Fritillaries.
Robin Dryden went to Seven Bärrows on Saturday morning, 10th,
and had a very successful time: “Pride of place goes to Märsh Fritillary - about 20
were seen. Also about were Dingy Skipper - 2, Small Copper - 1, Small
Heath - 6, Brown Argus - 8, Common Blue - 15 and Painted
Lady - 1. Moths included a Mother Shipton and a couple of Silver
Y.“
Saturday
10th June 2006
Phil Coles visited Asham Meads
(Murcott Meadows SSSI) on June 10th where he recorded: Small or Green-veined
White 3, Large White 10, Common Blue 23, Brown Argus 1, Small
Copper 2, Small Tortoiseshell 1, Speckled Wood 1.
At Swycombe Downs today, 10th, David & Wendy Redhead saw 241 butterflies from 11 species: 196 Small Blue, 52 Common Blue, 52 Small Heath, 19 Brown Argus, 4 Brimstone, 4 Large White, 3 Speckled Wood, 2 Holly Blue, 2 Painted Lady, 1 Grizzled Skipper & 1 Green Hairstreak. Also seen 11 Silver-Y, 2 Silver-ground Carpet, 2 Burnet Companion, 2 Cinnabar, 1 Small Yellow Underwing, 1 Yellow Shell & 1 Mother Shipton.
Tom Dunbar went to 2 sites today, 10th June – at a site in the Greatmoor area he saw a Meadow Brown and
in Finemere a Large Skipper.
Dave Ferguson sent the following report today, 10th
June: “Yoesden Bank this morning was amazing - at least
31 Adonis Blues including 4 females. Also my first Meadow Browns of
the year. The count was: Adonis Blue (31), Common Blue (60+), Small
Blue (38), Meadow Brown (3), Small Heath (4), Brimstone (3), Large
White (1), Dingy Skipper (2 -very battered), Burnet Companion (5),
Silver-Y (1).”
Yesterday afternoon, 9th June, David Redhead went to
Brasenose Woods/Slade Camp: “I saw 3 Brimstone, 3 Common Blue, 2 Comma
and several whites but no energy to chase them in the heat.”
Tony Croft went over to Wytham Wood on Wednesday 7th to look for Green Hairstreaks and
found 3 on one of the small areas managed for the species and then another 2 at
Watlington Hill on Friday 9th. “Saturday
morning at Gomm Valley there
was hardly anything airborne, just 8 Brimstone, 2 Large White, 3 Common
Blue and 3 Speckled Wood. At Buttler's
Hangings only three species but perhaps it was getting a bit hot by
then (27C). There were 3 Brown Argus, 49 Common Blue and my first
Meadow Brown of the season.”
Friday
9th June 2006
David Chandler, Chairman of
the Herts & Middlesex Branch sent the following sightings report:
“I had a holiday from work on June 9th and visited four of my
favourite butterfly sites and, despite it being in the June gap, saw seventeen
different species during the day. It was a very hot day and the butterflies
were whizzing around in the bright sunshine.
At Ivinghoe Beacon: Browns: Small Heath [40] Speckled Wood
[5] Whites; Green-veined White [3] Small White [2] Brimstone [3]
Large White [1] Orange Tip [5] Blues:
Small Blue [1] Brown Argus [25] Common Blue [20] Green Hairstreak [2] Skippers:
Grizzled Skipper [1] Dingy Skipper [2] & Others: a
possible Duke of Burgundy (but it didn’t stop to be positively identified). I
think the Dukes season might now be over despite reports from Upper Thames
branch last week that some fresh emergences took place in June. There was no
sign of any new hairstreak activity at any of the sites excepting those now
quite old & tatty-looking Green Hairstreaks left.” Click
here to visit the excellent Herts & Middx Branch website.
Phil Coles went to Aston Rowant NNR
(Linky Down) today, June 9th. He recorded Large
White 1, Small or Green-veined White 2, Common Blue 46, Speckled
Wood 5, Small Heath 19, Brown Argus 6, Small Copper 2
and Brimstone 1.
Dave Wilton saw his first Large Skipper of the season at Finemere Wood on Thursday afternoon 8th June.
Tom Dunbar forwarded the following sighting: “Niamh Frith who is 7 years old was in Micklefield Woods yesterday, 8th June. She saw a brown butterfly with little rings on the edges of its wings. She knew it was a Speckled Wood because she has seen them before. Niamh's favourite butterfly is the Peacock.”
At Shirburn Hill (‘Open Access’ land) on June 7th 2006,
Phil Coles saw Brimstone 30,
Common Blue 41, Small Heath 1, Speckled Wood 1 and Brown
Argus 7.
Allen Beechey & Kathryn Graves took a trip down to Lambourn on
7th June: “The weather was fantastic and there were many active butterflies. It
was as if they were happy to see us as we'd no sooner got out of the car when
we were buzzed by a couple of Small Blues and a Dingy Skipper. We saw the
following butterflies: 7x Small Blue, 9x Dingy Skipper, 22x Common
Blue, 25x Brown Argus, 19x Small Heath and 3x Small Copper.”
At Bernwood Meadows on 7th June, Tim & Colleen Watts recorded the following: c25 Common Blue, 1 Small Copper, 1 Large White and 1 Forester moth. Granborough: 2 (worn) Painted Lady.
On Tuesday 6th
June Adrian Hickman went to Greenham Common: ”Ironically the
most productive area was the herb rich patch of grassland just west of the
Control tower car park! I recorded Common Blues, Small Heath, Brown Argus,
Green Hairstreak, Grizzled Skipper, Dingy Skipper and Painted Lady.
Couldn’t find any Small Blues despite finding areas of Kidney Vetch in various
places to the SE of the runway crossroads. As previously reported Treble Bar
moths were frequently seen. Of the c30 seen managed to net 3, of which 2 were Lesser
Treble Bars. Other moths seen include Mother Shipton, Burnet
Companion, Cinnabar and Yellow Shell.”
Monday
5th June 2006
Frank Banyard sent the following report for the Holtspur Valley
Reserves Field Meeting held on Sunday 4th June:
“Sunday was
an excellent day, with the Holtspur Bottom reserve looking great. Species recorded were; Small Blue,
Common Blue, Holly Blue, Brown Argus, Small Copper, Green Hairstreak, Red
Admiral, Painted Lady, Comma, Peacock, Brimstone, Orange Tip, Small White and
Speckled Wood. Large White and Green-veined White were almost certainly
additions, but could not be positively identified amongst a profusion of female
Brimstone, Orange Tip and Small White. Moths recorded were Burnet Companion (abundant),
Treble-bar, Silver-Y, Latticed Heath; Mother Shipton and Cinnabar.”
Thanks to Frank for leading a very enjoyable walk.
Yesterday (4th June) Steve Pash visited Aston Rowant Nature Reserve (north) from 14.00 to 17.00hrs and recorded the following species: 25+ Common Blue, 15+ Brown Argus, 4+ Dingy Skipper, 2 Small Heath, 7 Brimstone, 4 Orange-Tip, Peacock and Red Admiral.
David Redhead went to Whitecross Green Wood on 4th June: “I saw numerous Grass Rivulets flying
as I was leaving at about 4pm. Also saw 5 Wood White, 1 Common Blue,
1 Speckled Wood (very worn and faded), 1 Comma and 3 Burnet
Companion.”
On 4th June Tom Dunbar reported: “Some excellent weather at last! On the 28th May a joint visit with Andrew Middleton and Andrew Palmer of Herts & Middlesex to a Bucks site north of Tring delighted us with 50 Small Blues. Late in the day at Ivinghoe we located 19 Duke of Burgundy eggs, the adults having roosted for the night. On the 31st I located 12 Adonis Blues at a site near Whitchurch. The 1st June took me to the New Forest for two days. Highlights were 38 Pearl Bordered Fritillary with the usual suspects i.e. Painted Ladies and Clouded Yellow. Hordle Cliff failed to deliver Glanville Fritillary at its mainland site. Is it still there folks? On the 3rd June there were good numbers of Dingy and Grizzled Skippers at two sites west of Aylesbury, a joint 77 and 36 respectively. I managed 6 sites today; including three local ones where I formerly found Wall Brown but to no avail on this occasion.”
Saturday
3rd June 2006
Tony Croft carried out his surveys at Gomm Valley and Buttler's Hangings today, 3rd June: “At Gomm Valley; 8 Brimstone, 1 Large White, 1 Small White, 1 Green-veined White, 2 Orange Tip, 3 Common Blue, 2 Red Admiral, 1 Small Tortoiseshell and 2 Peacock. Then at Buttler's Hangings; 1 Dingy Skipper, 5 Brimstone, 1 Large White, 1 Small White, 3 Green Hairstreak, 2 Brown Argus and 30 Common Blue.”
At Whitecross Green Wood yesterday, Tony also
recorded 6 Wood White, 2 Common Blue, 1 Red Admiral and 1 Peacock.
[Whitecross Green is a wood
carefully managed by Becky Woodell and a team of volunteers. This excellent
wildlife site includes several species of rare butterfly. All visitors are
welcome but please ensure your visit has as little impact as possible in order
to protect the delicate habitat which is essential to these rare species. Thank
you.]
Derek Brown sent the following photos today, 3rd
June, of Adonis Blue at Lardon
Chase and, just outside the UTB area, a Small Pearl Bordered
Fritillary at Pamber Forest:
Tom Stevenson recorded several Small Blue at Swyncombe
this afternoon, 3rd June.
Richard Soulsby also went to Swyncombe this afternoon, 3rd, to carry out his transect. He recorded lots of Small Blues plus plentiful Common Blues, Brown Argus, Small Heaths, one Green Hairstreak, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma and Red Admiral.
Welcome to the website new contributors Adrian Hickman and partner Ali Futter, who sent the following report on 2nd June: “Ali and I went to Lardon Chase today (2nd June). In beautifully warm and sunny conditions we saw the following: Common Blue (30+), Adonis Blue (4-3 of which were males), Small Copper (1), Brimstone (several sightings), Large White and Painted Lady (1). Good numbers of Crambus pascuella and several nicely marked Thisanotia chrysonuchella.(both Pyralid moths).””
Dennis Dell sent this interesting report on 2nd June: “I went to Ivinghoe Beacon this afternoon, June 2nd.
On the last really fine day (May 11th) before today, I saw six Duke
of Burgundies here. Because of the atrocious weather during the last
fortnight in May, I thought that we would not see the Duke again: mistaken!
Robin Carr saw nine here this morning, and I saw four this afternoon. To my
surprise, at least one of them was quite fresh [see photo below],
indicating that they are still emerging, which implies a flight period of
almost one month. This may be prolonged because of the bad weather. Eggs were
found by Tom Dunbar, Nick Bowles and colleagues from the Herts/Middlesex branch
here a few days ago. Others seen: Large and Small Whites, 11; Dingy
Skipper [6]; Brimstone [8], Common Blue [2], Brown Argus [1],
Small Heath [23], Peacock [8], Orange Tip [2], and Green
Hairstreak [1].
Dave Ferguson reported these sightings at Yoesden Bank on Friday 2nd: Adonis Blue (1), Small
Blue (24), Common Blue (47), Brown Argus (1), Green
Hairstreak (1), Brimstone (5), Orange Tip (1), Green-veined
White (2), Small White (1), Large White (3), Peacock (4),
Dingy Skipper (4), Small Heath (3), Mother Shipton (4), Burnet
Companion (2), Silver-Y (1), Treble-bar (1).
Wendy & David Redhead’s visits to Greenham Common and Swyncombe Downs on Friday 2nd produced an interesting comparison although the latter site was helped by the temperature being 4 degrees higher and continuous sunshine as opposed to intermittent: “At Greenham Common: 7 species, 10 butterflies - 3 Small Blue, 2 Common Blue, 1 Grizzled Skipper, 1 Green Hairstreak, 1 Small Copper, 1 Small Heath & 1 Large White. At Swyncombe Downs: 14 species, 165 butterflies - 71 Small Blue, 22 Small Heath, 21 Common Blue, 16 Brown Argus, 13 Brimstone, 4 Grizzled Skipper, 4 Green Hairstreak, 3 Small Copper, 2 Dingy Skipper, 2 Small Tortoiseshell, 2 Red Admiral, 2 Painted Lady, 2 Peacock & 1 Speckled Wood. Small Blue was the "winner" at both sites and it was nice to confirm the continuing presence of this species at Greenham Common. The most prevalent species at Greenham Common was the Lesser Treble-bar/Treble-bar with at least a dozen being seen - definite id of only one was possible and that was a Lesser Treble-bar. The Cinnabar moth made an appearance at both sites with 1 at Greenham and 3 at Swyncombe - in the latter case these ranged from extremely fresh looking to extremely tatty and faded.”
On Friday 2nd June Richard Soulsby recorded the following: “Common Blue, Small Copper, Dingy Skipper at Aston Upthorpe at lunchtime and Painted Lady, on my way home from work today.”
Thursday
1st June 2006
David Redhead was looking along the Bicester railway embankment
yesterday afternoon, 31st May, and recorded 4 Common Blue.
Ali Latham went to Seven
Bärrows on 31st May and recorded 6 Brown Argus,
12 Small Heath, 10 Dingy Skipper and 1 male Brimstone at
the gate at 3pm.
Still searching for that elusive Red Admiral (without success) Tom Stevenson
went to Hartslock on Wednesday afternoon, 31st May: “Odd ones or twos of Green-veined
White, Large White, Small White, Brimstone, Grizzled Skipper and Brown
Argus. 2 Green Hairstreak, c20 Small Heath, c10 Dingy
Skipper and 100+ Common Blue.”
Jan Haseler sent the
following report on 31st May: “While our car was
having its MOT done, I had a walk round a South Reading industrial estate.
Amongst the discarded bicycles and beer cans of a neglected part of the Makro
car park, I saw a Brown Argus, a Large White and a Yellow
Shell. Is SU7070 a new tetrad for Brown Argus?”
Dave Wilton’s umpteenth
visit to the Calvert drains over the past few weeks finally came up with the
goods yesterday, 31st May: “A single Wall Brown was seen there late in the
afternoon. It was very active even when there was no sunshine, patrolling a
hundred-metre strip of grassland and stopping occasionally to feed from
buttercups. Other butterflies active in the area included Dingy Skipper (14),
Grizzled Skipper (12), Common Blue (2) and Small Heath (2).”
Ched George visited Yoesden Bank late on Wednesday 30th May: “In fairly cloudy weather I scored differently to Dave Ferguson as follows: Small Blue 2, Dingy Skipper 2, Grizzled Skipper 1, Common Blue (males only) 11, Small Heath 1 and the Treble-bar sp. 1 not sorted.”
On Monday 29th May, Dave Ferguson went to Lodge Hill and
saw: 2 Brown
Argus, 2 Common Blues, 3 Small Coppers, 1 Green-veined
White, 1 Dingy Skipper, 8 Small Heaths and a Cinnabar moth.
Dave
Maunder saw the following butterflies on 28th May: “My first Painted Lady of
the season and a Small Copper.”
Sunday
28th May 2006
Tom Stevenson sent the following report today, 28th: “Considering the weather, not too
bad a list at Swyncombe this afternoon: Brimstone,
Small Tortoiseshell, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Small
Heath, Green Hairstreak but the only one new to my list Dingy Skipper.”
Derek and Cathy Brown were in Lambourn today, 28th, and managed several new species for the year: “We saw numerous Small Heath, 2 Small Coppers and a couple of Brown Argus there. All new for us this year. We then went to Lardon Chase after lunch and saw a single Small Blue and numerous Common Blues, but unfortunately no sign of the Adonis today.”
Dave Ferguson managed to do a bit of butterflying today, 28th,
after a week away in Norfolk where Wall Browns were the commonest butterfly in
Holkham Woods!
“At Stoke Common: 1 Common Blue and 2 Small Coppers, then at Yoesden Bank: 32 Common Blues, 2 Small Blues, 1 Green Hairstreak, 1 Orange Tip, 1 Brimstone, 1 Green-veined White, 1 Small White, 1 Painted Lady, 1 Peacock, 2 Small Heaths, 10 Burnet Companions, 4 Mother Shiptons, 1 Treble-bar. There were also hundreds of small bronze beetles whizzing about.”
Ali Latham went to Lambourn today, 28th
and saw: 2 fresh Brown Argus, 5 Dingy
Skippers, 1 Small Copper, 2 Small Heaths, 2 Small White and
2 Cinnabar Moths - in between the cloud and cool breeze.
Two photos from Dave Wilton’s site visits of 25th
May:
Stuart Hodges walked his transect in the Grendon
area last Thursday 25th and recorded two new species for
the year - a Grizzled Skipper and a Small Heath.
The Aston Rowant field meeting on 24th May met with some
poor weather.
However, during a 20 minute window of sun in the morning, five species of
butterfly were seen: Brown Argus, Common Blue, Small Copper, Dingy Skipper and
Grizzled Skipper. An extremely good result considering the awful weather!
Thanks to Paul Huckle for leading the meeting.
Friday
26th May 2006
Tom Dunbar took advantage of the glorious late afternoon weather on Thursday 25th May and visited 3 sites on his way home from work - Prestwood Picnic Site, Grangelands and the Rifle Range: “Dingy Skippers were present at all three sites - I have the impression they are having a good season. I saw 4 Grizzled Skipper at Grangelands, which is well above average for me at this site and I was pleased to see a total of 9 Common Blues shared between Grangelands and the Rifle Range, my first CBs for the season. I thought a Brown Argus might have been a possibility but it was not to be. I failed yet again to find Duke of Burgundy at either site despite reliable reports that small numbers had been seen in recent years.
Have Small Heaths been adversely affected by the recent poor weather? I only saw 2 today, well down on 2 weeks ago.”
Maureen Cross recorded four more Adonis
Blue at Lardon Chase today (25th
May): “They were males this time. Also one Small Blue and 49 Common
Blues. A good day for Blues.”
Dave Wilton sent the following report for 25th
May: “With the Met Office threatening a dull, overcast day, a
quick look at the early morning satellite images suggested that the forecasters
had been a tad pessimistic, so I decided to go out anyway. What an excellent
day it turned out to be! I must be the last UTB member to go to Hartslock this
year. Butterflies seen in an hour's visit comprised Dingy Skipper (8),
Brimstone (4), Large White (2), Green-veined White (1), Common Blue (80+, including
several mating pairs) & Small Heath (6). No sign of Adonis Blue
there. Across the Thames at Lardon Chase another
hour spent searching clumps of horseshoe vetch was again unsuccessful so far as
Adonis was concerned and all I found there were Brimstone (2), Large White (1),
Small White (2), Orange-tip (1) & Common Blue (17). My final
stop was Swyncombe Downs which, as
usual, came up with an interesting selection of butterflies: Grizzled
Skipper (3), Dingy Skipper (1), Brimstone (14, including a mating pair),
Large White (4), Orange-tip (3), Green Hairstreak (1), Small Copper (5),
Small Blue (2), Brown Argus (3), Common Blue (1), Small Tortoiseshell
(5), Peacock (1), Comma (1) & Small Heath (1). A pleasing 16
species for the day, of which four were new to my list for this year.”
Tuesday
23rd May 2006
Today, May 23rd, Maureen Cross located her first Adonis Blue of the season on Lardon Chase: “Female and newly emerged. Interestingly it was the semiceronus aberrant form, often seen on this site.”
[Please send
any Adonis Blue sightings you may have in the coming weeks to Maureen Cross, Adonis Blue Species
Champion.]
The following was received from Dave Wilton
today, 23rd: “Despite the high winds and low temperatures this
morning, at least there was some sunshine for once so I decided to head north
in search of Wood White. The two sheltered locations that I chose to visit were
College Wood near Nash and the disused railway line
to the east of Winslow. Both places came up trumps, with one Wood
White being seen at College Wood (see photo below) while another
five were found along the railway cutting.”
In some desperation Richard Soulsby reports that he took the
"window of opportunity" to do the Swyncombe transect at lunchtime
today: “Weather
pretty poor, but forecast is worse.
Dodging the showers, I saw very little, but what I did see was mainly
new for me this year, namely 4xGrizzled Skippers, 1xSmall Heath
and 1xBrown Argus, plus a Mother Shipton (and two Brimstones).”
Tom Stevenson sent this report in today, 23rd: “I spent a super hour and a half up at Swyncombe this morning between the showers. These species were new for my list this season: Grizzled Skipper (6), Brown Argus, Common Blue, Green Hairstreak and Small Heath. Quite a few moths but the only ones I managed to identify were Common Carpet and Cinnabar. Also two caterpillars of the Drinker (enormous!) and a family of Fox Cubs.”
Saturday
20th May 2006
Chris Raper saw the first Adonis
Blue of the season at Hartslock today,
20th. It was sitting near Horseshoe Vetch.
Rosaleen and Tom Dunbar accompanied Ali Latham to the Bucks / Herts borders today, Saturday 20th: “During a brief sunny spell at College Lake we only managed one butterfly, a Green Hairstreak. Despite searching no Small Blues were seen there. However at another Bucks site just to the north of there we had better luck; 12 Dingy Skippers, 1 Small White, 2 Small Blues and 3 Small Heaths.”
Dave Wilton sent this report on 19th
May: “I've been trying to concentrate on visiting local Grizzled
Skipper sites as much as possible over the past few weeks. Thursday morning I called at the Kirtlington Quarry Local Nature Reserve, Oxon
while on my way to work. A few butterflies were quite active in the sunshine at
this small site, which is quite sheltered from the wind, and I found Grizzled
Skipper (1), Brimstone (3), Large White (1), Small White (1),
Orange-tip (2), Red Admiral (1) and Speckled Wood (1)
in an hour's visit.”
Thursday
18th May 2006
Tom Stevenson managed, at last, to catch up with a Small White this afternoon, 18th, at
Mill Brook Mead, Benson.
Wednesday
17th May 2006
Dave Wilton sent the following report today, 17th:
“Another quick trip along the disused
railway line west of Westcott Airfield this morning, to check on the Dingy and Grizzled
Skipper populations (both doing well) produced more moth species than
butterflies. Seen there were Burnet Companion (1), Cinnabar (1), Common
Carpet (3), Common Heath (5), Green Carpet (2), Lesser
Treble-bar (3) and one of the Pyrausta sp. moths which disappeared
before I could be sure of its identity.”
17th May - Dave Maunder has seen the following
butterflies around Aylesbury recently: “Peacocks (2), Small
Tortoiseshells (2), Brimstones (3), Large Whites (4), Small
Whites (7), my first Green-veined Whites (2) of the year on 11th;
Orange Tips (18), Holly Blues (9), and Speckled Woods (2).”
Tuesday
16th May 2006
At a work party at Dancersend on Sunday (14 May),
Mick Jones reports that there was a brief period just after lunch when it brightened
up a bit: “I went on a quick Duke of Burgundy search and saw
three separate individuals, all in areas where we've recorded them for some
years now, so I feel slightly relieved. Also, the condition of the primroses is
probably better than we've seen for at least three years, so as long as they
get a chance to lay eggs I wonder if we might see a bit of a revival. If you
add to this the fact that we are adjusting the grazing plan now so two of these
areas will not get any summer grazing from now on, perhaps we can be hopeful. I
also saw Brimstone, Orange tip, Silver Y and Mother Shipton, but
that's all - showing just what a dismal day it was!”
David Redhead reports on the caterpillar crawl field meeting at the RSPB Otmoor Reserve held on 12th May: “Just four searchers found 14 Brown Hairstreak third instar caterpillars of which the longest was just 4mm. Six of these were totally new finds and this increased the caterpillar inventory to 35. May Webber also spotted a Drinker moth caterpillar in the undergrowth and waited patiently for it to uncoil when it measured in at 60mm making it almost full grown.”
Sunday
14th May 2006
Tom Stevenson, just back from a week in Devon, saw a pristine Painted Lady at the Ewelme
watercress beds on Saturday afternoon, 13th May. Then
today, 14th, he found it very quiet up at Swyncombe in the afternoon but managed to find his first Small
Copper of the year.
David Redhead sent the following report today, Sunday 14th: “I legally visited the railway
embankment east of Bicester, where a
footpath crosses the railway line, trying to replicate a last year's Grizzled
Skipper sighting but without success. However, I did have my first Small
Heath and Latticed Heath sightings of the season plus a couple of Silver-Y's.
In the locality I also saw several Orange Tips and Speckled Woods plus
a Brimstone. Most of the Cuckooflower plants I looked at bore an Orange
Tip egg and several bore more than one. I think Orange Tips have been
laying quite heavily this year - my garden count is now 10 on Garlic Mustard
plants whereas last year I found only 2 on a similar number of plants. In other
areas near where I live I have found good numbers whereas last year I was
struggling to find a few."
Despite the cool and overcast conditions on Saturday, 13th
May, there was an excellent turnout of 18 people for the Duke of Burgundy Field
Meeting at the Dancersend Reserve. The sun did manage to show itself for about 20 minutes
and the group, which included a couple from Warwickshire hoping to see their
first Duke of Burgundy, were very pleased to get three Duke sightings
altogether. Pip Holland, aged 9, was able to get the photo below:
Other species seen on the day were Orange Tip (1) and
Speckled Wood (2), Longhorn moth Adela Reaumurella (5) and
a Green Carpet. Thanks to Robin Carr for
leading a most enjoyable field meeting.
After attending the Duke of Burgundy field meeting at Dancersend on
Saturday, Tom Dunbar went on to visit a Small Blue site but failed to locate his target
species. However, at Ivinghoe he managed
his first Large White of the season and also recorded 2
more Duke of Burgundy. Then
at the disused railway line near Winslow
today, Sunday 14th, he saw 9 species of butterfly in two hours:
Dingy Skipper (3), Grizzled Skipper (4), Orange
Tip (6), Large White (1), Green-veined White
(2), Wood White (4), Small Copper (1), Peacock
(1) and Speckled Wood (1).
On Friday May 12th Maureen Cross
reported that she found a Small Copper on Lardon Chase on Wednesday 10th. Then
on 12th at Churn Knob near Blewbury she
was rewarded with, amongst others, 5 Green Hairstreaks and a Painted
Lady.
Stuart Hodges recorded a Dingy
Skipper at Calvert on Wednesday 10th
and a Green-veined White at Simms farm near Chesterton
on Thursday 11th.
Friday
12th May 2006
Mick & Wendy Campbell paid another visit to the disused
railway line near Winslow this morning, 12th May. They were
pleased to find that the first Wood Whites (3)
of this small colony had emerged, although it took about 20 minutes of chasing these
beautiful little butterflies up and down the track before they settled,
allowing a positive identification. Also seen were Grizzled Skipper (6),
Orange Tip (4), Brimstone (5), Peacock (3) and one each of
Green-veined White, Dingy Skipper, Small Tortoiseshell and Large
White. Moths seen were Silver-Y (2) and a Burnet Companion.
Tom Dunbar spent a half-hour at Prestwood Picnic site on Friday 12th May between 5.30 and 6 pm. “In that time I managed to add Small Copper to my list making a total to date of 16 species. The Large White and Duke of Burgundy still elude me but hopefully will be added very soon. It was good to see Dingy Skipper at this site - a resident species. As ever in May the downland is a carpet of Cowslip. I always take some time to visit Ron Beaven's memorial seat - it has recently been restored. Ron was the driving force behind the development of this wonderful jewel of a site and a very active member of the branch."
At Grangelands yesterday, 11th, Francis Gomme recorded
good numbers of butterflies: “Dingy Skipper, Grizzled Skipper, Green
Hairstreak, Holly Blue, Green-veined White, Small White, Orange Tip, Brimstone,
Peacock,
plus Small Tortoiseshell (1), Comma (1) and a lone Duke
of Burgundy.”
On 11th May Maureen Cross walked
through the new “Right to Roam” land between Goring and Hartslock BBOWT reserve
(SU 615 798) which is steep chalk grassland, partly south facing. She was
delighted to see 5 Dingy Skippers and 2 Grizzled Skippers without
even trying, in addition there were 5 Small Heaths.
Thursday
11th May 2006
Wendy & David Redhead had a glorious time doing the transect at
Swyncombe Downs this afternoon with a total of 79 butterflies from 14 species (although
all of them did not qualify for the transect count). They saw their first Green
Hairstreak, Dingy Skipper and Small Copper of the season. The
breakdown of their sightings was: Brimstone 40, Green Hairstreak 9, Large
White 5, Grizzled Skipper 4, Peacock 4, Small Copper 3, Dingy
Skipper 3, Green-veined White 3, Holly Blue 2, Small
Tortoiseshell 2, Red Admiral 1, Small White 1, Orange Tip 1
& Speckled Wood 1. They did well for day-flying moths with lots of Pyrausta
purparalis on the wing, along with several Silver-ground Carpet and
a Cinnabar, Mother Shipton & Silver-Y.
Tom Dunbar went to Grangelands today, Thursday 11th: “I added
2 Small Heaths to my site list for this season. There were probably 5 or
6 on the wing but only 2 definite positive IDs. Dingy Skippers were also
active but no Grizzled Skippers on this occasion.”
Today 11th, Ched George sent the following report: “Rape fields on approach to Lodge Hill were alive with Whites, Large?, Small?, no, I was astonished to find that all that I checked were Green-veined Whites; around 15 in all. On the hill I saw 15 Grizzled Skippers, 6 Dingy Skippers, 2 Small Copper and 2 Small Heath. There were many Brimstones, a few Orange-tip, a few Peacock, 2 Holly Blue, 3 Green Hairstreak and 1 Small Tortoiseshell. Back in Radnage I had 3 Speckled Wood and a Holly Blue.”
Chris Raper was working on Hartslock today and saw the first Common Blue of the season along with Small Heath, Orange-Tip, Brimstone, Peacock, Dingy & Grizzled Skippers, Holly Blue, Cinnabar moth and Pyrausta nigrata. “I also noted that Diplolepis rosae (the gall-wasps that cause the Robin's Pincushion gall on roses) was ovipositing on Sweet Briar. Its commonest parasite (Orthopelma mediator, a 3mm ichneumon) was also in good numbers.”
In a circular walk from Bledlow today, through a
mixed habitat of damp meadows, unimproved chalk downland and farm field edges,
Mick & Wendy Campbell recorded over 100 butterflies from 17 species. The most
abundant species were as follows: Brimstone (20+), Orange Tip (18),
Grizzled Skipper (11) and Small Tortoiseshell (9 – 1 of which was
very tatty). Also seen were Small Heath (4), Small Copper (5),
Painted Lady (2) and a single Duke of Burgundy. The Painted
Ladies were observed along the edge of a warm south-facing crop of Rape, flying
amongst Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells and Red Admirals. Silver-Y
(7) was the only moth species recorded.
Dave Ferguson called in to Turville Hill today, 11th, where he saw the following: 13 Dingy Skippers, 3 Small Heaths, 1 Red Admiral, 1 Orange Tip, 5 Brimstones, 2 Green-veined Whites, 1 Small White, 3 Silver-Y, 1 Mother Shipton.
Nick
Bowles recorded a single Dingy
Skipper at Aston Clinton Ragpits at about 5pm today on his
way home from work. Also, a Painted Lady, hurtling north through the
Ragpits.
Dennis Dell sent the following report today, 11th: “Last week, no Duke
of Burgundy at Ivinghoe Beacon, and none seen yesterday there by Tom Dunbar, in fine
weather. I went today and saw 6 along a 'hotspot' stretch, which is a sunken
path below the beacon on the west facing slope. I saw none, however, in another
'hotspot', lower down on the same slope where it is more sheltered, which I
find strange. Others seen: Brimstone [8], Small White [4], Peacock
[5], Green Hairstreak [3], Orange Tip [2], Silver Y [7].”
Jan Haseler saw 2 Small Coppers at Green Park, Reading at
lunchtime today, 11th May.
Wednesday
10th May 2006
Tony Croft did his BBOWT surveys at Gomm Valley and Buttler's Hangings again today, 10th: “At Gomm Valley I saw 13 Brimstone, 3 Large White, 6 Green-veined White, 5 Orange Tip, 1 Holly Blue, 2 Small Tortoiseshell, 1 Peacock, 1 Speckled Wood And 1 Silver-Y Moth. At Buttler's Hangings I saw 9 Dingy Skipper, 12 Brimstone, 1 Large White, 2 Green-veined White, 4 Orange Tip, 4 Green Hairstreak and 6 Peacock.”
10th May - Dave
Wilton carried out a transect at Finemere in this afternoon's glorious
sunshine: “There was little of note to be seen apart from a Red
Admiral and six Small Tortoiseshells along the track leading to the
wood and a Holly Blue in the adjacent meadows. Other species present
were Brimstone, Large White, Green-veined White, Orange-tip, Peacock and
Comma (not a single Speckled Wood was recorded). Of interest along the Calvert drains were
three Grizzled Skippers and a mud-puddling Holly Blue, while the
bridleway past the wood produced another Holly Blue sunning itself on the
blackthorn. Final stop was the disused railway
cutting west of Westcott Airfield where
I found an egg-laying Green Hairstreak as well as reasonable numbers of
Grizzled Skipper (11) and Dingy Skipper (7).”
Dave Ferguson sent the following report today: “This morning (10th May) at chalk grassland/scrub near Princes Risborough: Duke of Burgundy (5), Grizzled Skipper (2), Dingy Skipper (5), Green Hairstreak (2), Speckled Wood (2), Brimstone (5), Green-veined White (2). Also, at Lodge Hill: Grizzled Skipper (4), Dingy Skipper (1), Green Hairstreak (1), Brimstone (15), Green-veined White (5), Orange Tip (2).”
Wendy & Mick Campbell visited Bradenham Bank
today, 10th, hoping to see the return of the Duke of Burgundy to
this site. They weren’t able to find any and were disappointed to see
that most of the bushes and scrub had been cleared from the area the Duke of
Burgundy used to be found. However, the sun did get a good number of
butterflies on the wing and they recorded 11 species, of which the Brimstone
(12+) was the most numerous. Other species seen were Green Hairstreak (7
– all very active), Red Admiral (2), Orange Tip (4), Peacock (3),
Dingy Skipper (3) and singletons of Painted Lady, Small
Tortoiseshell, Grizzled Skipper, Holly Blue and Speckled Wood. Moths
seen were Silver-Y, Burnet Companion and their first Green Carpet of
the season.
Robin Dryden had another walk at Wraysbury Gravel Pits yesterday, 9th
May: “I had a
couple of what I consider to be unusual sightings. The first was a Painted
Lady alongside the railway line and the second was a Clouded Yellow in the middle of the scrub
area. I can only assume that both these species have been brought here on the
southerly airflow we had last week. I was particularly surprised at the Clouded
Yellow as I only recall ever seeing them in mid to late summer before.
Also about
were Brimstone (6), Orange Tip (5m 3f), Peacock (2), Comma
(2), Speckled Wood (4) and Small White (3).
9th May - Richard Soulsby recorded his first Large White in central Oxford.
Sunday
7th May 2006
Derek and Cathy Brown tried Aston Upthorpe again around lunch-time today, 7th: “In 20 minutes of sunshine we had Peacock (7); Small Tortoiseshell (3); Green Hairstreak (1); Comma (2); Grizzled Skipper (2); Dingy Skipper (2); Green-veined White (6); Brimstone (5); Orange-tip (8) and best of all 2 Duke of Burgundy. Also had a Green Carpet there which I think is new for the UTB moth species list. Before we went to Aston I also saw Speckled Wood in the garden at Beenham.”
Tom Dunbar sent the following sightings report
for Sunday 7th May: “Taking a risk with the weather paid dividends
today. I managed Grizzled Skippers at three sites namely Ludgershall Railway Cutting; the adjacent Laplands Farm; and finally Calvert Jubilee Reserve. However numbers were low
1:1:2. Dingy
Skippers made a showing at CJR - 3 in all. Calvert played an ace with
a magnifique Painted Lady only to be trumped by a Nightingale.
A local birder, Colin Oran - I met him previously at Piddington Wood - drew my
attention to its tentative song. On my return to the spot an hour later I was
lucky enough to get a full view and earful of its full-on mating call. While
its song held up to its glorious reputation the attendant body language was
absolutely hilarious. Silver-Y moths were rather overshadowed today but
they did appear in low numbers at all three sites.”
[Note: Calvert
Jubilee is a BBOWT permit-only reserve.]
On Saturday 6th May Ali Latham went to Moor Copse
BBOWT Reserve: “I arrived there at 0845 while there was some sun.
Driving through Tidmarsh I saw 2 male Brimstones and a Small White
flying across the sheltered sunny lane I was driving down, then in Moor Copse,
I saw a Comma, 3 Speckled Woods, 5 male Orange Tips and 3
male Brimstones before the clouds arrived and then down came the rain.
The Bluebells are at their best and a stunning sight in this copse.”
Nick Bowles sent the following report: “I saw Holly
Blue, Orange Tip and Speckled Wood in Aylesbury
on Friday evening while I waited for a lift in the car park at work.
On Saturday 6th I went to Dancersend and
saw 2 Green Hairstreaks, Duke of Burgundy, Orange Tip, 3 Peacocks basking
on the path and several Brimstones. More interestingly there was a fresh
Silver-Y and a fleeting glimpse of Red Admiral. Still no sign of
Dingy Skipper, but the weather was poor. Then back home about 6pm I disturbed a
Small White from the flower border.”
Chris Raper sent the following news today: “On a
sunny evening on Friday 5th May I
saw a Painted Lady chasing a Brimstone around the orchid slope at
Hartslock.”
Ched George went to Yoesdon Bank on May 5th: “Butterflies included one each of Dingy
and Grizzled Skipper, and 3 Green Hairstreaks.”
Saturday
6th May 2006
Derek and Cathy Brown
tried Aston Upthorpe for Duke of Burgundy on Saturday: “But, of
course, as soon as we arrived the cloud started to thicken and by the time we
left it was starting to rain. Needless to say no Dukes, although we had singles
of Holly Blue, Brimstone, Green veined White, Peacock and Grizzled
Skipper.”
Dick Bodily sent the following sightings report today, 6th:
Linford -
Speckled Wood, Holly Blue, Large White, Comma, Peacock.
Willen - lots of
male Orange Tips near the hide.
6th May - Dave Maunder has seen a number of butterflies
around Aylesbury town during the last two days: Peacocks (5), Small Tortoiseshell (1),
his first Large Whites of the year (2), Small Whites (12), Orange
Tips (5), Brimstones (2), and Speckled Woods (3).
Tom Dunbar sent the following report: “I spent
this morning, Saturday 6th, in a private wood in the Grendon area. After a
slow start I finally managed just 7 species. These included 8 Grizzled
Skippers and my first Green Hairstreak of the season. A single Brimstone
and a half dozen Orange Tips were the only whites despite reports from Surrey of
a suspected migration of Large Whites in recent
days. I was pleased to see 4 Small Tortoiseshells - a butterfly that will
hopefully make a better showing this season. I did manage one Speckled Wood, my first
in 3 recent field visits. There were no Dingy Skippers which was
surprising since there is normally a good colony at this site.”
Friday
5th May 2006
Mick & Wendy Campbell went for a walk today, 5th,
which took in Dancersend, hoping to confirm the presence of the Duke of
Burgundy for next week’s Field Meeting (on 13th). They met Robin Carr, Duke of Burgundy Species Champion,
who was just leaving, and he was pleased to have seen a single Duke of Burgundy on
site. They carried on round the site and managed to find a Duke of Burgundy
sunbathing in the grass. Other species seen on the walk were Small
Tortoiseshell, Orange Tip, Brimstone, Peacock, Green-veined White, Speckled
Wood and Red Admiral.
Phil Coles sent the following reports
today, 5th:
Thursday 4th Swains Wood (BBOWT – permit required), late
afternoon – Peacock 4
Friday 5th Rushbeds Wood & Lapland Farm (BBOWT) – Peacock 1, Speckled
Wood 2, Small or GV White 1.
5th May - Francis Gomme found good numbers of Grizzled Skippers, Dingy
Skippers and
Green Hairstreaks at Hartslock this morning. “Fewer of each at Grangelands this afternoon. No
Dukes seen yet at sites around Princes Risborough despite intensive searches
yesterday and today!”
On Friday 5th May Tom Dunbar completed a
hat-trick of Grizzled Skipper days with a visit to Grangelands between 5 and 6
pm. He added
his first Dingy Skippers of the season. “I’ll will be watching
the Eagles tomorrow!”
David Redhead sent the following report: “Yesterday (4th) I returned in much better conditions to Watlington Hill after seeing nothing there on Bank Holiday Monday. It still took me nearly an hour to find my first Grizzled Skipper of the season, on my way down towards the White Mark. A second was found immediately below the White Mark. A dozen Brimstones, nearly all males, were seen around the site plus two Peacocks. So still not the greatest of hauls. But the best sighting of the day, although a common species, occurred as I walked up the hill alongside the White Mark but you will have to turn to the moth sightings page to discover more. Meanwhile back at home we continue to see a wider range of species with up to three Holly Blues, several Orange Tips - I found 7 Orange Tip eggs on the garden garlic mustard on my return from Watlington, and the Speckled Wood has now made an appearance but in only one of its three usual haunts.”
Stuart Hodges reports: “I saw a Holly
Blue outside Buckingham Hospital yesterday, 4th, and Linda saw
one in the garden here at the Green”.
Thursday
4th May 2006
Encouraged by reports from localities south of Bucks of the first
Duke of Burgundy sightings, Dennis Dell went, optimistically, to the slopes
below Ivinghoe Beacon today, in superb weather. “No Dukes yet [and none
at Dancer's End as the species champion, Robin Carr reports]. Saw one Green
Hairstreak, Brimstones [17], Peacocks [4], and a Small White.”
David Redhead went to Watlington Hill this afternoon, 4th,
and recorded two
Grizzled Skippers and a Silver-Y Moth.
Dave Wilton recorded his first Holly Blue
of the season in the Grendon area yesterday. On his
way home from work this afternoon he visited several sites on the Berkshire
Downs looking for Duke of Burgundy: “None was seen. In fact,
despite 27 degrees in wall-to-wall sunshine, there seemed to be very few
species active apart from Brimstone, Orange-tip, Large White and Peacock!
The only unexpected sighting was of five Silver-Y moths, probably
brought in overnight on the southerly winds (it was apparently a good night for
immigrants).”
On Thursday 4th May Tom Dunbar
dropped into Wotton disused railway line en route from Wycombe to
Aylesbury. He was very pleased to see 4 Grizzled
Skippers between 5 and 6 o' clock. Other
species seen were Brimstone (5) Orange Tip (4) Peacock 6).
Various unidentified Whites were also noted. “Was it too hot for the Speckled
Woods?”
Robin Dryden went for lunchtime walks at Horton and Wraysbury
Gravel pits the last two days: “I’ve been pleased with the abundance of Butterflies - Wraysbury (3/5/06) had Brimstone c10, Orange
Tip c25, Peacock 3, Comma 4 and at Horton (4/5/06) had Brimstone 8, Orange Tip 12, Peacock 6,
Comma 3, Holly Blue 1 and Green-veined White 2.”
Tony Croft sent the following report: “I did my BBOWT surveys at Gomm Valley and Buttler's hangings today. In spite of the superb weather there wasn't that much about. At Gomm Valley I saw 15 Brimstone, 3 Large White, 1 Green-veined White, 3 Orange Tip, 4 Peacock and 1 Speckled Wood. At Buttler's Hangings where the wind was quite a bit stronger I saw my first Grizzled Skipper of the season also my first Green Hairstreak. Others were 9 Brimstone, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 3 Peacock and 1 Comma. At home there was 1 Holly Blue.”
David Gantzel saw a single Holly Blue at Bassetsbury Manor
yesterday, May 3rd, and several Brimstones.
Wednesday
3rd May 2006
Stuart Hodges walked his transect in the Grendon
area this afternoon and added a few more species to his list for this year: Speckled
Wood, Large and Small White. “I called in at Calvert on the way. The
Grizzled and Dingy Skippers do not seem to have emerged there yet, the food
plants are still very small so it is probably best for them to be late!”
Dave Maunder has at last seen his first Orange Tips (2) in Aylesbury today; 3rd May. “Other butterflies seen
were Brimstone (1), Speckled Wood (1), Peacocks (3), Comma
(1), Small Tortoiseshell (1) and my wife saw a Holly Blue -
not surprising on such a nice warm day!”
On 3rd May Tom Stevenson saw Green-veined White and Speckled Wood in Mill Brook
Mead, Benson.
On Wednesday 3rd May Tom Dunbar dropped into Coombe Hill on the way
home from work between 5.35 and 6 PM. Species seen were Brimstone (4) Comma
(2) Peacock (2) and his first Grizzled Skippers (2) of the
season.
Please
send any Grizzled Skipper sightings you may have in the coming weeks to Tom (Grizzled Skipper Champion). He can also supply
members with details of Grizzled Skipper sites that need monitoring.
Mick & Wendy Campbell went to the disused
railway line near Winslow this afternoon, 3rd, and were pleased to
see good numbers of butterflies: Orange Tip (10+ – male
& female), Brimstone (7), Large White (2), Peacock (7),
Comma (1), Small Tortoiseshell (1) and Green-veined White
(1). Two moths were seen – Burnet Companion and Ruby Tiger.
They also went to the Calvert drain but only found Peacocks (3). Back at home,
two Holly Blues (1 male & 1 female) were basking in the evening
sun on ivy.
Dave Wilton sent the following report on 2nd
May: “I was fooled into going to Finemere
this afternoon when the sun came out - it had of course become
completely overcast again in the ten minutes it took me to get there. I
disturbed one Speckled Wood and noted three Orange-tips perched
on Lady's Smock (they'll probably still be in the same positions next week!). A
quick search for Orange-tip eggs produced eight in all, although a lot of the
plants seemed to be missing their flower heads (rabbits/muntjak?).”
Tuesday
2nd May 2006
1st May - Welcome to the website new contributor Tom
Stevenson from Benson. He reports that so far this year he’s seen the
following:
5th April - Ewelme watercress beds - Brimstone
21st April - Ewelme watercress beds - Large White, Holly Blue, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma
23rd April - Benson garden - Orange Tip.
Pete Eeles visited Midgham lakes on 1st May and saw 5 male Orange-tips and,
at home, saw 2 Brimstone (both male) and his first Large White (male)
of the year.
Derek Brown sent the following sightings on 1st
May: “Cathy and I went to Hartslock after
lunch today, 1st May, seeing 9x Dingy Skippers, 2x Grizzled
Skippers and a single Green Hairstreak, along with a Comma, a
Holly Blue and a couple of Brimstones.”
Monday
1st May 2006
On Saturday 29th April, UTB held its first butterfly
Field Meeting of the year at Moor Copse and, despite the cool and cloudy
weather conditions at the start of the walk, there was a good turnout of 11
people. The sun
did eventually break through the cloud and 8 species of butterfly were
recorded: Orange Tip, Comma, Peacock, Green-veined White, Small White,
Brimstone, Holly Blue and finally a Speckled Wood. Also seen was the
longhorn moth Adela reaumurella and the moth larvae of Scarlet Tiger,
Yellow Tail, Drinker and Lesser Yellow Underwing. Birds included a Buzzard,
Grey wagtail and several Garden Warblers. The bluebells were
just starting to open and are well worth a revisit in a week or two to see them
in full flower. However, there were several Early Purple Orchids in
flower and the noteworthy fungus, Dryad's Shoulder was seen. A selection of photos is shown below. Thanks to Dee Raper and
her son Chris for leading a highly enjoyable and successful field meeting.
~~
ooOoo ~~
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