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Butterfly Sightings Archive - June to July 2007
Wednesday 1st August 2007 Richard Soulsby did the Swyncombe Downs transect today, 1st August, in very pleasant weather (for a change): "The main transect yielded a good number of species (20), but many of them in very low numbers. These included: Small, Essex, (probable) Large and 5 Silver-spotted Skippers, Small, Green-veined and Large Whites, Brimstones, 1 Small Blue, 2 Common Blue and 2 Chalkhill Blues, 1 Brown Argus, 1 Small Copper, 3 Dark Green Fritillary (worn), 1 Red Admiral, Meadow Browns, Ringlets, Gatekeepers, Marbled Whites, and 1 Small Heath. I followed this with a more intensive zigzag transect for only Silver-spotted Skipper and Chalkhill Blue and on this I had respectable totals of 21 and 13 respectively. With a couple of Peacocks and a Holly Blue in my garden on return, my total number of species for the day was 22." Ian Stevenson was inspired by a UTB contributor to attempt to count the highest number of butterfly species he could in a day: "I'm pleased to say I counted 25 different species today, 1st August, the highlights being a Purple Hairstreak and Adonis Blue at Lardon Chase, several Silver-washed Fritillaries at Homefield Wood and many Silver-spotted Skippers at Swyncombe Downs." Malcolm Brownsword visited Aston Upthorpe Downs and Juniper Valley on Tuesday afternoon, 31st July: "On the first 'real' summer day for 8 weeks, at the gate leading into Juniper Valley, we saw a Dark Green Fritillary and a hundred metres further on, a Silver-spotted Skipper. Also seen: Chalkhill Blue (about 30 in 2 hours), Small Copper (1), Marbled White (10), Gatekeeper (50+), Meadow Brown (50+), Small Skipper (10+), Peacock (1), Red Admiral (10) and Brown Argus (1)."
David Redhead went to Bernwood Meadows
late morning on 30th July: "I examined the ash trees north of the small
car park. There was a lot of activity in the first one including two Brown Hairstreak
and at least half a dozen Purple Hairstreak. One of the Brown Hairstreaks was
definitely a male and I am pretty sure the other was as well. Surprisingly the other
half dozen or so ash trees in this locality showed a much lower level of activity, in
spite of most of them being more sheltered from the breeze, with just a single Purple Hairstreak
being seen in two of them. I then went for a wander through the forest and a small ash tree
on the main ride had two Purple Hairstreak flying in it and the neighbouring oak about half
a dozen. But the real prize was to be found on the wild angelica at the first intersection down
from the main Oakley Wood car park. The flowerheads were covered in nectaring insects which
included a pristine male Brown Hairstreak. I then went to Stanton Little Wood
but had no joy regarding Hairstreaks but a Speckled Wood resting in unsuitable habitat
caught my eye (see photo). Other butterflies seen during the day included uncountable numbers
of Meadow Brown; numerous Gatekeeper; several Marbled White, Peacock and
Green-veined White; a few Essex Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Common Blue, Red Admiral
and Ringlet; and a single Large Skipper.
Late afternoon on 28th July Jim Asher was exploring an under-recorded area in SU49 around Milton: "I came across this white Red Admiral. When I first saw it, I thought I was seeing a White Admiral, except that the flight was wrong. Once it settled, it was clear what it was. The photo is an accurate reflection of its appearance, almost completely lacking the red pigment."
On Sunday 28th July Dave Wilton walked round to the disused railway line west of Westcott, Bucks during the afternoon: "I managed to record 15 species: Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, White-letter Hairstreak, Small Copper, Common Blue, Peacock, Comma, Marbled White, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper and Ringlet. The Meadow Browns (tired and battered) and Gatekeepers (pristine) were both plentiful, with well in excess of 100 of each recorded, but nothing else was present in the numbers that I would normally have expected at this time of year. There is a strong Common Blue colony at the site but this year's first brood was much smaller than usual and went over very quickly and all I saw on this visit was a single lonely-looking male from the second-brood. There was no sign of Brown Argus, nor of second-brood Dingy Skipper which has started to appear in the Chilterns, but the one rather battered White-letter Hairstreak seen on brambles does at least confirm the continued existence of the small colony found here last year." Monday 30th July 2007 David Redhead reports on two of the UTB "Save Our Butterflies Week - 25 Species in a Day
events which he led recently: "During 'Save Our Butterflies' Week the Upper
Thames Branch made two determined attempts to see 25 butterfly species in a day and, not
for want of trying, failed on both occasions. Our first attempt on Sunday 22nd July produced just 21 species. A week later on
Saturday 28th July we improved our performance with 24 species, partly due to better
weather and partly due to including a last minute third site on our itinerary. We had some
bad luck with expected species just not appearing. For example on the 28th in spite of some
60 person hours spent searching three noted butterfly sites we could not find a single
Large Skipper. Ironically if the day's programme had started in the Chairman's garden at
9am we would have achieved 25 species as a Large Skipper was to be found on his garden buddleia.
Details of the species recorded are given below with numbers seen for the key UTB species:
The following report from Chris Hazell was received via Richard Soulsby: "I went to Buttler's Hangings BBOWT Reserve, near West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire on 29th July. I visit this site regularly every year as it's fairly local to me and also a lovely reserve. Between 4.30pm and 7.00pm I counted at least 6 Silver-spotted Skippers." Tony Croft was in Rushbeds Wood on 30th July: "Whilst doing a transect at Rushbeds Wood this morning I came upon a rather unusual fritillary. After a lot of chasing I managed to get this photo and realised it was the valezina form of Silver-washed Fritillary! Other butterflies seen were: 122 Meadow Brown; 49 Ringlet; 47 Gatekeeper; 25 Peacock; 6 Green-veined White; 5 Small White; 5 Small Skipper; 4 Large White; 4 Comma; 4 Marbled White; 1 Purple Hairstreak and 1 Speckled Wood. At Aston Rowant this afternoon I saw 5 Chalkhill Blues; 2 Small Coppers; 2 Brimstones and 1 Brown Argus."
Dave Ferguson visited Lodge Hill on 29th July and saw: Gatekeeper (33), Meadow Brown (22), Marbled White (2), Common Blue (3), Small Copper (3), Peacock (8), Small Tortoiseshell (1), Red Admiral (3), Brimstone (3), Small White (4), Green-veined White(4), Large White (4), Essex Skipper (1), Essex/Small Skipper (6). Moths seen were: Six-spot Burnet (1), Common Carpet (2). Chris Iles (West Country branch)
was visiting relatives at Cumnor Hill in Oxfordshire at the weekend: "A walk on
the 28th July around Cumnor Hill
and the wooded area on Hurst Hill proved very
productive for butterflies: Small, Large and Green-veined Whites, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper,
Ringlet, Speckled Wood, Holly Blue, Small Copper (3 on Hurst Hill), Brown Argus
(1 on Hurst Hill), Red Admiral and Peacock. Notable was a dozen or more
Peacocks in the vicinity of a clump of buddleia bushes, some nectaring but half-a-dozen
or so basking close together on a small area of bare rubble nearby. On the 29th
we had a walk at Wytham Wood in the morning:
Gatekeeper, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Large White, Green-veined White,
Large Skipper and Marbled White seen. The Large Skippers are finished now
and the Ringlets far more worn in my corner of Somerset. Later, a Small White seen on
buddleia in Bampton." John Ward-Smith has been out
dragonfly recording recently and also saw the following: "I have had two sightings of Grayling.
On 22nd July, in Swinley Forest, near the Upper Star
Post Pond, three were on the wing. On 29th at Crowthorne Woods
I have seen two Grayling (as well as some other more common species)."
Mick Jones reported the following
recent Silver-washed Fritillary sightings at Dancersend: "
15th July - main ride running E-W past the meadow plots. Weather - moderate.
One butterfly (gender unknown) near areas of bramble in flower. 21st July
SW edge of Anthill. Weather poor. One butterfly (gender unknown) disturbed
when roosting and it took off along woodland edge despite light drizzle just starting."
News via Nick Bowles on 29th July
that Michael Hunt recorded 2 Silver-washed Fritillaries on
his 19th July transect in a wood in the Grendon area.
Andy King visited Aston Clinton
Ragpits on Friday 27 July: "Numerous Marbled White and Meadow Brown and
several Ringlets. 2 fresh looking male Chalkhill Blues. A couple of Small Skippers
(not Essex). A few Gatekeepers. Is it just me, or is there a dearth of Small Skippers
at the moment? What I have seen look a bit worn and I presume the weather is taking
its toll."
Dave Maunder has had a couple of
family outings in the last few days: "On Friday 27th
we went around Hartwell cemetery and saw Red Admiral (2),
Peacock (7), Comma (2), Brimstone (1), Large White (6),
Small White (6), Green-veined White (3), Meadow Brown (10),
Gatekeeper (8), Ringlet (1), Speckled Wood (3), Large Skipper (1)
and Holly Blue (2) - also a Shaded Broad-bar moth - a nice little sheltered
oasis for butterflies here! On Saturday 28th we went for
a walk around Coombe Hill and the monument and saw:-
Red Admirals (4), Peacocks (7), Brimstone (1), Large Whites (2), Small Whites (4),
Green-veined Whites (2), Meadow Browns (5), Gatekeepers (15+), Ringlets (4),
Marbled White (1), Speckled Wood (1), Purple Hairstreak (1), Large Skipper (1),
Small Skipper (1), Essex Skippers (3) and also Six-spot Burnets (6) -
no sign of any Common Blues - a very poor year for them so far!"
Saturday 28th July 2007 David & Jonathan Wright (Gloucester)
visited Bernwood Forest today, Saturday 28th July: "We managed to see the following:
Large White (3), Small White (3), Marbled White (5), Brimstone
(4), Meadow Brown (6), Speckled Wood (4), Gatekeeper (6), Ringlet (5),
Small Skipper (10), Peacock (30+), Red Admiral (2), Comma (1),
White Admiral (2), Purple Hairstreak (4), Brown Hairstreak (2 - both seen
on main ride on flowers, see photo). Also we may have spotted a Purple Emperor
in Waterperry Wood chasing dragonflies off! It flew
very quickly up the ride. Overall good considering the weather this summer!" David Gantzel sent the following
news today, 28th: "I had an Old Lady Moth in my garden at
Hazlemere on Wednesday July 25.
I've only one Red Admiral on the buddleia all week. A very poor year in the garden!"
Joanne Walsh and Darin Stanley visited
a wood in Oxfordshire today, 28th: "At 12.15 we saw 3 Brown Hairstreaks
along the main ride plus 4 Marbled Whites."
Wendy & Mick Campbell went to
Asham Meads this afternoon, 28th, where they recorded 3 male Brown Hairstreaks
in Ash trees along the hedge near the car park, plus one Purple Hairstreak. Two of
the Brown Hairstreaks were pristine but the third (upside down on an ash bud!) had a noticeable
slice out of its hind wing. Amongst other butterflies seen were a fresh Brown Argus, 2 fresh Small Coppers and
quite a few very active Peacocks.
Adrian Cadman spent this morning,
28th July, at the Lapland Farm drove road and adjacent meadow: "At 10:45
I noticed a hairstreak flying over a bank of bramble and blackthorn. It alighted on
a bramble flower conveniently close and at head height and turned out to be a male
Brown Hairstreak. It was actively nectaring for
about 45 mins before leaving. I then moved to an Oxfordshire Wood and eventually
found another male Brown Hairstreak which hadn't read the script and took up station on
hawthorn where it remained for at least an hour before I left." Phil Barnett took advantage of the
good weather on Tuesday 24th July and visited the area around Noke Wood.
He recorded 45+ Silver-washed Fritillaries (36 males, 9 females). Nick Bowles sent this report on
27th July: "On Monday of this week I saw at least one female
Silver-washed Fritillary in a wood in the Grendon area.
On Friday 27th in Wendover Wood (Hale entry) I saw a
male Silver-washed Fritillary right by the road and then a Dark Green Fritillary
on the buddleia, my first ever sighting of one in Wendover Woods!"
Yesterday, 27th July, Maureen Cross
reported seeing a second brood male Adonis Blue on
Lardon Chase during her transect there.
Wednesday 25th July 2007 Martin Harvey led the Homefield Wood
field meeting this morning, 25th July: "We saw 12 species, of which the
highlights were good close-up views of two White-letter Hairstreak and at least
10 Silver-washed Fritillary. Others were: Small Skipper, Green-veined White,
Large White, Small White, Comon Blue, Comma, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper,
and Ringlet. Non-butterflies included Striped Lychnis caterpillars in good numbers and
non-Lepidoptera included the Downland Villa bee-fly (Villa cingulatus), found by Laura Fennell
- representing the first Buckinghamshire record of this Red Data Book species (believed
to be a parasite of moth caterpillars)."
Dave Wilton sent this update
today: "Having had very little in the garden at Westcott over the past month
even though several of our buddleias have been in flower for a while, yesterday (Tuesday 24th)
we managed nine species: Large White, Small White, White Admiral, Red Admiral, Peacock,
Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper and Ringlet. This is the third year
in a row that we've had a White Admiral sighting in the garden. I've yet to work out
where they are coming from as the nearest known colony is a couple of miles away at Kingswood."
On 24th July, David Redhead sent
the following summary of his recent sightings of key species:
Dave Ferguson went to Dorney Lake
Rowing Centre yesterday, 24th, on a day of some sunshine and found:
Brown Argus (5), Common Blue (5), Meadow Brown (9), Gatekeeper (7),
Small White (1) and Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet (1).
Dennis Dell went to Finemere Wood
on Tuesday afternoon, 24th July: "I found one Silver-washed Fritillary
along the main ride - it landed briefly on the bramble blossom. Loads of butterflies about -
I guess they must have known that they are not going to get much more sun this summer! Also,
just one Purple Emperor at the high point in Greatsea Wood, landing at the
top of a wych elm."
Becky Woodell sent this news on
24th July: "At least the Peacocks are thriving. There were
10 in my garden in Oakley, Bucks, just now and
39 on my Whitecross Green Wood transect Sunday."
Mick & Wendy Campbell took advantage of
the better weather on Tuesday 24th July and walked from Ibstone Common to Penley Wood, Bucks:
"We recorded 16 species of butterfly, including a Purple Emperor on and around a large Sallow,
Silver-washed Fritillary (3) and Purple Hairstreak (7) in the wood. Others seen were:
Red Admiral (3), Meadow Brown (40+, too many to count on the Common), Green-veined White (5),
Ringlet (10+), Large Skipper (5), Small White (2), Marbled White (4), Large White (1),
Peacock (3), Comma (2), Gatekeeper (6), Small Tortoiseshell (1) and Small Skipper (6). Also
a Six-spot Burnet seen on the Common."
Friday 20th July 2007 Charlie Kew sent the following two
reports: "16th July: I spent last
Monday in Fence Wood near Hermitage, Berks. The morning
was was cloudy but warm with the sun finally breaking through by the afternoon. I managed
to record 16 different species of butterfly of which 6 Silver-washed Fritillaries and
3 White Admirals were the highlight. Other species recorded, in order of abundance,
were Gatekeeper, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Marbled White,
Peacock, Red Admiral, Large Skipper, Comma, Green-veined White, Speckled Wood, Small White
and Large White. 19th July: Thursday was a sunny
day and a three-hour walk around Maidenhead Thicket, Berks,
rewarded me with 17 species, consisting of Meadow Brown (41), Ringlet (31), Green-veined White (31),
Small White (21), Peacock (20), Large White (15), Comma (12), Speckled Wood (9), Gatekeeper (9),
Red Admiral (7), Silver-washed Fritillary (7), Brimstone (6), Holly Blue (4), Purple Hairstreak (3),
Small Skipper (1), Essex Skipper (1) and White Admiral (1)."
Becky Woodell did the Bernwood M40
transect yesterday, 19th July: "Just opposite the entrance to the track
leading to the site is a small area of bramble. About 1310 hrs as I returned to my car,
a Silver-washed Fritillary appeared briefly flying around the bramble, then took
off into the wood. I had a very brief, but satisfactory view of it."
Michael Pitt-Payne visited Lower Cadsden
Nature Reserve (Bucks) with his camera on Thursday morning, 19th July: "It was
rather cloudy but I saw Meadow Brown, Marbled White, Ringlet, Gatekeeper, Small White,
Small Tortoiseshell, Large and Small Skippers and Chalkhill Blues on the wing. Here is
my best picture which I thought you might like to use on the website." Tim Watts sent the following update
yesterday, 19th July: "Today Michael Hunt saw a Silver-washed Fritillary
around the car park area of the Calvert BBOWT reserve (permit required). Michael
has been recording birds, butterflies and dragonflies on this site for over 30 years and
the Fritillary is a first record for the reserve. He also saw a White Admiral, the first
records of these have been in the last two years."
Dave Wilton and Stuart Hodges joined
the hay-raking party at Whitecross Green Wood on Thursday, 19th July.
While walking along the main ride Dave saw a large female Purple Emperor come
out of a sallow, do a quick orbit of a clearing and then disappear over the tree-tops,
in view for perhaps 15-20 seconds. "A little later Stuart also had a brief view of a
possible Purple Emperor towards the far end of the long ride. Becky Woodell also showed
us some lovely pictures that she had taken of a male on the ground in the car-park here
on Monday of this week. I managed to get my Finemere
transect out of the way Wednesday afternoon and spent some more time looking for
Purple Emperor along the main ride and around the sallows in the central cleared area.
No joy there at all, I'm afraid. About an hour spent looking, mid-afternoon."
Dave Ferguson says his search at
Grangelands on Wednesday 18th July for Chalkhill Blues was unsuccessful.
"The butterflies seen were: Silver-washed Fritillary (2), Dark Green Fritillary (2),
Peacock (1), Comma (1), Small Heath (1), Holly Blue (1), Brimstone (6)
plus Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper and Ringlet."
Wednesday 18th July 2007 Peter Hall sent the following today,
18/7/2007: "At Whiteleaf (SP822038)
a Silver-washed Fritillary, right by the notice board for the tumulus." 18th July - Chris Brown sent this
update of his recent visits to Crowsley Wood looking for Silver-washed Fritillary:
"1 male Silver-washed Fritillary seen 28/06/07 (15°C Heavy Cloud/Light Breeze) - Ringlets
abounded and several Red Admiral, Comma and Meadow Brown were about their business. So
optimistically I staked out the end of the ride and waited...waited... Silver-washed Fritillary do not
like cool days with no sunshine it would seem. When a brief patch of sunshine made it into the
woods the temperature rapidly shot up to 20°C and within a couple of minutes the only sighting of a SWF, a male, came out from the trees,
fed briefly on bramble, patrolled the area for about a minute until the sunshine was gone and
then it returned to the tree canopy. With the sunshine not returning neither did the SWF
even though I waited.
None seen on 06/07/07 (17°C Heavy Cloud/Light Breeze).
1 seen on 11/07/07 (20°C Occasional Sunshine/Light Breeze) - With intermittent sunshine and warmer temperatures I was reckoning on
better chances. The number of Ringlet this year on this site is remarkable. I counted 52 along with other
butterflies as per last week. 4 Commas had staked out their patches and were basking. I am glad to report 1 Silver-washed Fritillary at least. An orange blaze, much
larger than the Commas which challenged it and a more powerful flyer which descended
from the trees patrolled the edges of the whole clearing and returned into the depths of the wood.
3 seen (1 male, 1 female & 1 unknown gender) on 18/07/07 (21°C Bright Sunshine/Light Breeze)
The best weekday weather for the past month today rewarded the sighting
of 3 Silver-washed Fritillary, including my first female of the season. Temperatures in the sun
were 5 degrees up on the shade which seems to have helped encourage them out into the open.
One other sighting to add was a Hummingbird Hawk-moth in my garden on 15th July."
Lloyd Garvey forwarded this photo
of the stunning Golden-ringed Dragonfly he saw at Bowdown Woods recently
(see report for Saturday 14th July):
Tuesday 17th July 2007 David Redhead reported on the 17th July: "I can recommend early morning butterflying. My early morning dog walking, usually lasting three-quarters of an hour between 7.30 and 8.30 am, during July has regularly resulted in 4 to 6 butterfly species being recorded. However with a slightly extended walk lasting an hour this morning I managed to record 55 individual butterflies from 10 different species. Rivermead Nature Park, Rose Hill produced a Ringlet and Meadow Brown settled on bramble leaves and a pair of Speckled Wood exploring a small ash tree. A Green-veined White was disturbed from the vegetation in the riverside marshland. 14 Gatekeeper, 8 Ringlet, 7 Meadow Brown, 4 Small Skipper, 2 Peacock, 2 Speckled Wood and a Red Admiral were all visible, with many in flight, in the rough grassland and scrub above my house. By the time I returned to the garden at 8.25 am the sun had broken through and the temperature was 15C and the garden buddleia catching the early morning sun had 6 Red Admiral, 2 Comma, 2 Green-veined White, a Speckled Wood and a Large Skipper nectaring on them. During July, in addition to the above ten species, Essex Skipper, Large White, Small White, Marbled White and Holly Blue have also been seen before 8.30am. This morning four moth species were also recorded, Small Magpie, Shaded Broad-bar, Mother of Pearl and Cinnabar caterpillars plus a Banded Demoiselle and a Grass Snake." Tony Croft did a transect at Rushbeds Wood/Lapland Farm on Monday morning, 16th: "I recorded 251 Meadow Brown; 180 Ringlet; 87 Marbled White; 50 Gatekeeper; 21 Small Skipper; 20 Large White; 15 Small White; 8 Peacock; 4 Large Skipper; 3 Speckled Wood; 1 Green-veined White; 1 Comma and 1 Silver-washed Fritillary." Martin and Dee Raper popped up to the Holies on Monday 16th July: "It was warm but cloudy. We saw very fresh Chalkhill Blues (4), Marbled Whites(4), a Peacock and a Red Admiral. Several Meadow Browns." Mick Jones led the morning joint Bucks Invertebrate Group/Upper Thames BC meeting at Dancersend Nature Reserve on Saturday 14th July: "Roger Kemp, Martin Harvey and his son, Dominic, joined me to explore the northern area of the reserve where we have cleared thick scrub and woodland to expose areas of old chalk grassland. We also visited the adjacent rich south-facing chalk slope of Coombe Hill which we now help to manage. It was overcast with sunny spells, but there was a strong, gusty wind for most of the morning. We failed to find Chalkhill Blue, which have been seen at the site in the last few years, but did manage to record Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Small Copper, Red Admiral, Comma, Speckled Wood, Marbled White, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Small Heath. Silver-washed Fritillary also evaded us, but was seen on the BBOWT walk the following morning. After lunch Roger and I examined the main areas where Dukes of Burgundy have been seen over the last few years. We proved conclusively that the Dukes are feeding on primroses at this site, finding four patches with clear larval damage on Anthill and two patches near the western edge of the meadow plots. These plants were close to the areas where I have observed males holding territory, and were mostly on the edge of annually mown paths, in slightly more open conditions that I'd been led to expect from reading the literature. At one patch of partially eaten leaves we were lucky enough to find a Duke of Burgundy caterpillar hiding on the underside of a leaf and I was able to get the attached photograph as it took a snack in broad daylight."
Lloyd Garvey was at Bowdown Woods (BBOWT reserve) on Saturday the 14th and saw the following species: Small White 2, Speckled Wood 1, Red Admiral 2, Meadow Brown 37 (I lost count after this), Peacock 1, Gatekeeper 5, Ringlet 7, Comma 1, Small Skipper 2, Purple Hairstreak 2, plus lots and lots of teneral Common Blue Damsels, a Common Darter and a Golden-ringed Dragonfly." Sunday 15th July 2007 Dennis Dell led a very successful
Purple Emperor Weekend in Bernwood on 14th and 15th July. It was
attended by 23 people altogether, including 9 members of the Chesham Natural History Society.
On Saturday they saw 16 Purple Emperors plus
18 other butterfly species: Purple Hairstreak, Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Meadow Brown,
Red Admiral, White Admiral, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White and
Marbled White, Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Essex Skippers, Comma, Gatekeeper, Common Blue (f),
Peacock and Silver-washed Fritillary. Also seen were Cinnabar Moth caterpillars.
David Redhead sent the following reports of
his weekend butterfly sightings: "Saturday 14th July:
I managed 19 butterfly species today - a record for me during this summer, if you
can call it that. A morning dog walk, including our garden and the rough grassland and scrub
by our house, produced 13 species : Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Marbled White, Gatekeeper,
Small Skipper, Speckled Wood, Essex Skipper, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Comma, Peacock,
Large White and Large Skipper. The last five were all seen nectaring on our garden
buddleia. The Shabbington Wood transect added 3 more species:
Small White, Green-veined White and White Admiral. A stop half way round at the
old Hell Coppice car park added Purple Emperor (2) and Purple Hairstreak (4)
in the oak tree canopy. My nineteenth species was a Brimstone seen on an early evening
dog walk back home.
Wendy & Mick Campbell went to BBOWT's Sydlings Copse reserve to look for Purple Emperors on 14th July. After a slow start they saw a reasonable amount of activity above the Ash and Oak trees and counted 4 Purple Emperors. 16 other butterfly species were seen including Small Tortoiseshell (7), Red Admiral (6), Gatekeeper (1), Purple Hairstreak (2), Peacock (2 - pristine), a White Admiral and a female Brimstone. On Becky Woodell's last transect in Oakley Wood, Bernwood, on 9th July, she saw a Silver-washed Fritillary at the crossride in Oakley Wood. "It didn't stop so I only saw it in flight, but it was very large, too big for a Comma, very orange, and very fast. I saw one in the same area last year." Friday 13th July 2007 Malcolm Brownsword visited two
sites recently: 8th July Aston Upthorpe Downs:
19C Cloudy but bright, Gatekeeper 10, Comma 1 newly hatched, Common Blue 1,
Small Heath 2 only, Meadow Brown 30+, Ringlet 15+, Marbled White 50+,
Small Tortoiseshell 2, Large Skipper 3, Small Copper 1. Also hundreds of
Pyramidal Orchids, 1 Cinnabar Moth and hundreds of 6-spot Burnet moths. Ched George led the Field Meeting to Buttler's Hangings and Bradenham Woods on 11th July: "We had 2 Dark Green Fritillaries together in cloudy cool conditions at Bradenham and 3+ at Buttler's Hangings. Up to 10 sightings altogether, but many could have been repeats. We saw 2 females potentially egg-laying and as one was the dark form it was clearly 2 separate individuals. No Chalkhill Blues 2-4pm in mainly sunny conditions there." Wednesday 11th July 2007 11th July - Dave Maunder says there's not too much to report from Aylesbury on the butterfly front: "Only the common stuff, but on Sunday 8th I was lucky to see 2 White-letter Hairstreaks flying near to a Wych Elm not far from Oxford road, so they're hanging on in there! I also found 7 newly-emerged Commas in a short stretch of ground." Late this afternoon, 11th July, Wendy & Mick Campbell went to Rushbeds Wood: After about an hour of scouring the tree tops they eventually caught sight of a Purple Emperor in the top of an Ash tree. It spent several minutes perching and then circled the top of the tree a couple of times before flying over the footpath into a neighbouring Ash tree and out of view. Other butterflies seen were Ringlets, Meadow Browns, Marbled Whites, Small Tortoiseshells, White Admirals, a Comma and Large Skippers. A small group of UTB members led by Species Champion Dennis Dell went in search of Purple Emperor yesterday, 10th July. Rather surprisingly, nearly three hours spent in Bernwood Forest, Bucks proved unproductive but after decamping to Piddington Wood and the footpath along the edge of nearby Little Wood in Oxon they managed to finish the day with sightings of five different individuals. These included lengthy views of three males perching and chasing one another around a "master" ash tree at Little Wood. The usual Skippers, Whites and Browns were in plentiful supply everywhere, while other species seen during the day included Purple Hairstreak, White Admiral, Red Admiral, Peacock and Comma." Monday 9th July 2007 Tony Croft sent the following report today, 9th July: "On a visit to Buttler's Hangings on Saturday 7th we saw three Dark Green Fritillaries. The sunshine was a bit intermittent and so they were rather inactive staying near the ground to afford excellent views. Whilst visiting friends in Langley Berks yesterday (Sunday) we saw a Holly Blue investigating the ivy in their garden and a Clouded Yellow passing through. On my transect at Rushbeds Wood today I recorded 210 Ringlet; 190 Marbled White; 145 Meadow Brown; 12 Large White; 8 Small Skipper; 6 Gatekeeper; 4 Large Skipper; 4 Speckled Wood; 3 White Admiral; 1 Small White; 1 Green-veined White; 1 Small Copper; 1 Red Admiral; 1 Small Tortoiseshell; 1 Small Heath." Dennis Dell visited Waterperry Wood on 8th July: "I had a (not very good) view of a male Purple Emperor leisurely following a female across the top of the oaks in Waterperry Wood today. This behaviour is very typical of their courtship flight. Also, these mating Ringlets were being chased and annoyed by a third so they flew into the wood and settled on this Oak to escape its attentions."
Nigel Partridge had his first Hummingbird Hawk-moth of the year in his garden in Loosley Row yesterday, 8-7-07. "This seems to have been a very good year for Marbled Whites, top count was 13 in the garden at once. Our first Gatekeeper also arrived 7-7-07."
Dave Ferguson made two 1 km transects of
a 1 km square centred on the village of Dunsmore near Wendover on 8th July as part of the *UKBMS pilot
survey of Butterflies in the Wider Countryside: "The habitats the transects
pass through are road verge, arable, hay meadow, woodland and a village. The butterflies
recorded were: Large Skipper (1), Small White (4), Red Admiral (2),
Comma (1), Speckled Wood (1), Marbled White (8), Gatekeeper (2),
Meadow Brown (29) and Ringlet (13), making a total of 61 individuals of 9 species.
I also saw a single Small Tortoiseshell while walking between the transects. Wendy & Mick Campbell walked a circuit around the edge of Stanton Great Wood on Sunday 8th July: They recorded 12 species of butterfly and were particularly pleased to see two Silver-washed Fritillaries, one of which settled very briefly on bramble (see photo below), Purple Hairstreaks and a White-letter Hairstreak nectaring on a daisy. Purple Emperor failed to make an appearance!
Saturday 7th July 2007 Thanks to Rupert and Nicky Perkins, Caerphilly, Wales for sending the following report of their visit to Bernwood on 7th July: "Sunny at last, but a little breezy, 14 species seen plus a probable Purple Emperor in the main car park, but it was high up and flew through very fast. Otherwise: Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Large Skipper, Purple Hairstreak (10+, mainly in the car park), White-letter Hairstreak (only 1 seen), White Admiral (4 seen), Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Gatekeeper. Also several Brown Hawker (one settled hanging from my left ear!) and many Common Darter." Dave Ferguson was in Bernwood Forest on 7th July: "As I was standing at York's Wood crossroads looking for Purple Emperors (without success, I might say) a female Clouded Yellow flew past so slowly that it looked like a large jaundiced Wood White. It landed on a flower, stayed briefly then flew up into a Sweet Chestnut where it remained for ten minutes until the sun reappeared when it descended to settle on a betony. After a few seconds here it flew away strongly through the wood. Other buterflies seen in Bernwood were: White Admiral (3), Purple Hairstreak (1), Large skipper (6), Small skipper (1), Green-veined White (4), Large White (5) and uncounted Meadow Browns, Ringlets and Marbled Whites. Dragonflies seen were: Beautiful Demoiselle (2), Common Darter (8), Southern Hawker (2). I met someone who had seen a Purple Emperor flying through the main car park." Welcome to the website Ian Stevenson who sent his first UTB report in today, 7th July: "I have just seen my first Clouded Yellow of the year near Dorchester Abbey, Oxon, in bright sunshine on Saturday July 7th while on a bike ride." Mick & Wendy Campbell have been
to a number of sites during the last few days, looking mainly for Hairstreaks and
Purple Emperor:
Wednesday 4th July - Bernwood Oakley car park (in very windy conditions), no Purple Emperors but a few
Purple Hairstreaks and White Admirals were seen, along with 8 other 'usual' species. On the way home
they stopped at the Honeyburge M40 bridge and were pleased to record a White-letter Hairstreak (on thistle)
and a Purple Hairstreak (in Ash tree). The following news was received from Helen Hyre on 2nd July: "I was in the fields at Bierton, Bucks on Monday afternoon, 2nd July, in a local field looking along the hedge, because there are lots of blackberry flowers coming out. In about 5 minutes I saw 3 Meadow Brown, 2 Comma, 1 Large Skipper, 1 Large White and 2 Small Tortoiseshell on or near the hedge and then a Clouded Yellow, maybe 8 feet away, but it didn't hang around! It flew over the nearby gate and disappeared into the next field, where I failed to locate it again." Thursday 5th July 2007 Adrian Hickman managed to find some butterflies on his Padworth Common transect today, 5th July, in spite of the weather! "These were my first Grayling of the year, 2 White Admirals, small numbers of Large and Small Skippers, Meadow Browns and a tatty Green-veined White. Earlier, at Wokefield Common saw a male Purple Hairstreak." Dave Ferguson visited a couple of
sites on 4th & 5th July: "On 4th July
the improved grassy meadows on the south side of
Church Wood, Hedgerley and the south edge of the wood produced the following:
Meadow Brown (307), Gatekeeper (3), Small Heath (1), Large Skipper (2),
Small Skipper (5), Red Admiral (2), Large White (1), Small White (2).
A short visit to the interior of the wood produced: White Admiral (1),
Green-veined White (2), Large White (2), Meadow Brown (11). Ringlets were
conspicious by their absence.
On Thursday 5th July Stuart Hodges and Dave Wilton walked the bridleway through Romer and Greatsea Woods on the Claydon estate in Bucks, searching for Purple Emperor: "There was no sign of the target species but plenty of other butterfly activity meant that 15 species were recorded in all: Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Large Skipper, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Purple Hairstreak, Red Admiral, White Admiral, Painted Lady, Speckled Wood, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper and Ringlet. There was nothing out of the ordinary but it was particularly pleasing to see so many White Admirals (20) and Marbled Whites (60+)." Ched George visited Yoesdon Bank and Buttlers Hangings on Wednesday July 4th: "I went to see if any Chalkhill Blues were out. None seen but a worn Small Blue was present at Yoesdon and at least 2 Dark Green Fritillaries were at Buttlers Hangings. Meadow Browns, Marbled Whites and Ringlets were more numerous at Yoesdon than Buttlers Hangings but I only saw 2 or 3 Small and Large Skippers at each site. A Gatekeeper was seen only at Yoesdon, plus Red Admirals, a Comma and a Small Tortoiseshell." David Redhead sent the following report for 3rd July: "At 12 noon my garden buddleia (in Oxford) had 3 Red Admiral, 2 Comma and a Small White nectaring on it. 5.00pm - a visit to the setaside field near the top of Heyford Hill Lane produced the usual suspects, in order of abundance, Meadow Brown, Marbled White, Ringlet and Small Skipper but no Large Skipper. The brambles on the southern edge of the field produced my first Gatekeeper of the year along with a Large White, Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell. Small Tortoiseshells continue to be in short supply in this locality - today's was only the second in the vicinity of my house this year and our first garden record is still awaited - hopefully the buddleia will attract one in." Sunday 1st July 2007 John Ward-Smith called in at BBOWT's Broadmoor Bottom reserve briefly this afternoon, 1st July: "The wind was very blustery and the sun only emerged occasionally from the clouds. Nevertheless I came across three male Silver-studded Blues, in the usual corner of the cattle compartment. Although these are my first sightings of the season, I know Des Sussex saw a singleton at the same site as far back as 12th June."
David Redhead spent Sunday 1st July in or around his house and garden on the edge of Oxford but still managed to record 11 butterfly and 3 moth species. His best spots were a Holly Blue in Rivermead Nature Park and 3 Scarlet Tiger moths in Heyford Hill Lane. Ringlets have taken over as the predominant species on the rough grassland and scrub near his house where a count produced 33 alongside 27 Marbled White, 5 Meadow Brown, 5 Small Skipper and 2 Large Skipper. Here, in the morning Burnet moths were noticeable by their apparent absence but numerous in the afternoon with all those identified being Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnets. A Cinnabar was also seen. Commas and Red Admirals along with the three Whites - Small, Green-veined and Large were seen flying in his garden with at least one Red Admiral, Comma and Small White spending some time nectaring on the buddleia. Mick & Wendy Campbell found only 8 butterfly and 2 moth species flying at Laplands Farm and Rushbeds Wood today, 1st July, in very cloudy and windy conditions: "Ringlet (59) and Meadow Brown (39) were keeping close to the ground - those that risked flying higher weren't able to steer in the strong wind. Marbled Whites numbered 15, but there were mostly only ones and twos of everything else: Large Skipper, Comma, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell (3) and our first Gatekeepeer of the season. 2 Straw Dot moths were recorded and nice additions were a Scarlet Tiger and a Toad." Saturday 30th June 2007 Maureen Cross reports seeing the first two Chalkhill Blues of the season at Lardon Chase on Friday 29th June. Friday 29th June 2007 The following news just in from Dave Wilton: "Some sunshine and reasonable temperatures on Friday 29th June meant that I was finally able to carry out the week's transect in Finemere Wood despite the strong westerly breeze. It was interesting to see just how well the butterflies seem to be coping with our current spell of dismal weather. I saw Large Skipper (50), Small White (6), Green-veined White (3), Bläck Hairstreak (7, five of them in remarkably good condition), Brown Argus (1, very battered), Common Blue (1, looking as if it had just emerged), White Admiral (3), Red Admiral (4), Painted Lady (1), Small Tortoiseshell (6), Comma (2), Speckled Wood (2), Marbled White (15), Meadow Brown (228) and Ringlet (53), along with moths Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet (3), Clouded Border (2), Marbled White Spot (1) and Silver Y (1). In the adjacent meadows the wind was much more of a factor and those butterflies seen were mostly disturbed from the grass by my passage. However, I still managed to count 38 Marbled Whites (many clinging for dear life to thistle flowers) and 128 Meadow Browns, while additional species seen were Small Skipper, Large White and Small Heath." David Redhead's Shabbington Wood transect on Friday 29th June produced a near record for the end of June with 207 butterflies recorded: "Admittedly over half of them were Ringlets (124) but a record count of 38 Marbled Whites was very pleasing along with 5 White Admirals. Others seen were Meadow Brown (only 14), Large Skipper (11), Small Skipper (7), Speckled Wood (4), Comma (2), Small White (1) and Green-veined White (1). I then ventured further into Bernwood Forest adding two further species, Red Admiral and Large White, before receiving my third soaking of the summer. By the time I got back to my car, in a rather sodden state, my Ringlet count was 211 - following the downpour they returned to flight within a minute of the sun reappearing. Back home a dog walk in the rough grassland above my house in Oxford produced a good number of Marbled White, Ringlet and Meadow Brown along with a Small Skipper and, to my surpise, a Common Blue. The latter made my species count for the day 13 unless you allow me to count the two Orange-tip caterpillars still residing on a Sweet Rocket plant in our garden."
Malcolm Brownsword visited Homefield Wood on 28th June (19C, 60% sun, pm) and recorded: "20 Ringlet, 14 Meadow Brown, 15 Marbled White, 1 Speckled Wood, 4 Silver-washed Fritillaries, 1 Comma (newly-hatched), 3 Red Admiral, 4 Large White, 2 Large Skipper. Also 1 hornet and a spectacular display of Pyramidal orchids!"
Mick & Wendy Campbell took advantage of the reasonably good weather on Thursday 28th June and went for a long walk in and around Waterperry Wood. "We recorded a surprising number of species (17 altogether) considering how windy it was. Many of the Meadow Browns were staying down low in the grass although, in the more sheltered interior of the wood, the White Admirals (19) were flying nicely, particularly around the Sallows for some reason. We found 2 rather tatty Bläck Hairstreaks on the bramble at Drunkard's Corner and, spurred on by this, decided to check all the blackthorn around the southern edge of the wood, locating one more Bläck Hairstreak along the way, this one in pretty good condition. White-letter Hairstreaks (11) were very active in the Elm in Smith's Lane, on bramble and in Elms along the perimeter of a nearby farm field. Disappointingly, only one Purple Emperor was seen as it flew a brief circuit around the top of a sallow tree. The full list of species was: Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Green-veined White, Essex Skipper, Comma, Marbled White, Large Skipper, Red Admiral, White-letter Hairstreak, Purple Hairstreak, Large White, Small White, Bläck Hairstreak, White Admiral, Speckled Wood, Purple Emperor and Small Tortoiseshell." 28th June - Helen Hyre reports that the sweet william in her garden in Aylesbury is attracting plenty of butterflies: "I have twice counted 6 Small Tortoiseshell at the same time." David Redhead sent the following
on 28th June: "I was rather annoyed that I had overlooked pruning the
garden buddleia during the winter. Usually I find early flowers are ignored by butterflies
and lack of pruning leads to early flowering. As a consequence the flowerheads on our
buddleias started to open a few days ago but this morning I had cause for my annoyance
to turn to pleasure: Wednesday 27th June 2007 This morning, 27th June, Wendy Wilson spent half an hour beside a bramble bush on the edge of Langley Park, Bucks (grid ref TQ 016 818) when the sun put in a rare appearance: "Talk about a Hot-Spot! I saw no fewer than 8 species on the one bush. They were 1 Comma, 2 Red Admiral, 1 Large Skipper, 1 Small White, 1 Large White, 1 Speckled Wood, 6 Meadow Brown and my first White Admiral of the year. This afternoon I went to Denham village, Bucks, behind the churchyard (TQ 044 871), for a brief visit between showers, and was excited to see and photograph my first Essex Skipper of the year, also there were 10 Meadow Browns, 1 Comma and 1 Red Admiral there. I'm pleased to report that the Orange-tip caterpillar I told you about on June 9th has now pupated in my insect cage."
Tony Croft walked his Rushbeds Wood transect this afternoon, 27th June: "I saw 168 Meadow Browns; 55 Marbled White; 48 Ringlet; 8 Large Skipper; 3 Small Heath; 2 Small Skipper; 1 Speckled Wood; 1 Common Blue; 1 Comma; 1 White Admiral and 1 Gatekeeper. Unfortunately it started raining heavily two thirds of the way through, so I'll have to do it again!" Robin Carr was at Dancersend this morning and saw 2 Silver-washed Fritillaries, Red Admirals, Peacock, Marbled Whites, Meadow Browns, Ringlets, Large Skippers, Large Whites and Speckled Woods. David Redhead sent the following report on 26th June: "This morning on a walk along the Ridgeway to the west of Nuffield, Oxon and back along the Chilterns Way Extension through Mongewell Wood, in spite of a strong breeze, the temperature not rising above 13C and the sun only shining fitfully, Charlie Kew and I managed to see nearly a hundred butterflies from 10 different species. In order of abundance they were Meadow Brown, Marbled White, Ringlet, Small White, Large Skipper, Comma, Small Tortoiseshell, Small Copper, Speckled Wood and Red Admiral. Also seen were a number of Peacock caterpillars and a Cinnabar moth." Seen by Jan Haseler on Tuesday 26th June at the side of a quiet lane leading into the woods at Beech Hill, Berks: 2 Silver-washed Fritillaries, 1 Purple Hairsteak, 1 White Admiral, 6 Red Admirals, 4 Commas, 3 Large Whites, 1 Green-veined White, 10 Meadow Browns. Day flying moths: 19th June, Bearwood College - Ringed China-marks and 24th June, Tilehurst - Hummingbird Hawk-moth. Wendy & Mick Campbell visited two sites on Tuesday 26th June and recorded 15 species of butterfly despite the mostly cool and cloudy weather (12-15C). In the morning they went to Moor End Common in Bucks where they saw Meadow Brown (5), Speckled Wood (1), Purple Hairstreak (5), Red Admiral (2), Marbled White (1) and Ringlet (1). The only moth seen was a Green Oak Tortrix. In the afternoon they visited Sydlings Copse where the sun did manage to break through the clouds occasionally. Numbers were better here: Large Skipper (2), Small Tortoiseshell (3), Meadow Brown (7), Marbled White (16), Ringlet (13), Red Admiral (2), Small White (3), Painted Lady (1), Green-veined White (1), Large White (1), Comma (1), Dark Green Fritillary (2) and, at last, their first confirmed White-letter Hairstreaks (7 : 4 in Elm, 2 in Ash and 1 nectaring on bramble). Also seen were an Emperor Moth caterpillar and the longhorn micro Nemophora cupriacella.
Monday 25th June 2007 Trevor Lawson glanced out of his office window (in Hyde Heath, Bucks) today, 25th June, and spotted what was almost certainly a Hummingbird Hawk-moth hovering by and feeding on the catnip flowers. "I dashed out to confirm it, but it was already away. Also, I saw a Marbled White on the grassy verge of the roundabout by Shardeloes, Old Amersham today. Not a great rarity but nice to see close to home. It's amazing to think of the resilience of these insects in the wake of such awful weather. Not sure that it's going to be a good year for the blues, though." Paul Bowyer led the Asham Meads field meeting on Saturday June 23rd and sent the following report: "A meeting within the UTB calendar of events took place in warm changeable conditions. There weren't huge numbers of butterflies but the following were identified:- Comma(5), Red Admiral (2), Small Tortoiseshell (1), Large Skipper (14), Green-veined White (1), Large White (1), Meadow Brown (45), Marbled White (7), Ringlet (11), Common Blue (5), Bläck Hairstreak (2) and White-letter Hairstreak (4). The latter were identified using the telescope of a Wiltshire member. We also saw the Forester and Blood-vein moths as well. The Forester was one of the target species of the field meeting." Jim Asher went out briefly on Sunday morning, 24th June, between (and in) rain showers, to a site just a mile north of Marcham, Oxfordshire: "Despite the rain, there were numerous Marbled White disturbed from the grass, several Meadow Brown, a few Ringlet, a Red Admiral and one fresh male Small Skipper (first for me this year). Dull damp weather is not a bad time to take a close look at Satyrids, if you don't mind getting wet!"
On 24th June David Fuller sent this update of his recent sightings: "Yesterday, 23rd, at Combe Gibbet near Hungerford, walking along the Wayfarers Way I saw the following: Meadow Brown 22, Large Skipper 3, Comma 1, Red Admiral 1 and Ringlet 1. On 4th June, along the Towpath by the River Thames at Maidenhead: Meadow Brown 3, Small Tortoiseshell 3 (I've never seen them here before) and Comma 1. Also, in my Maidenhead garden on 9th, 10th & 11th June I had Painted Lady and Red Admiral." Saturday 23rd June 2007 On Saturday 23rd June Martin & Dee Raper saw their first Silver-washed Fritillary in Moor Copse for this year. Also seen were Scarlet Tiger Moths(4) and Silver Y (1). Dave Wilton sent this news today, Saturday 23rd June: "Rather than travelling any distance and risking getting soaked, I had a look around my village of Westcott for an hour in the sunshine at lunchtime today. First stop was on the playing fields behind our house where there is a line of decaying elms and I managed to confirm a single active White-letter Hairstreak. I've been looking at these elms regularly over the past couple of weeks and this was the first sign of any activity there. Elsewhere around the village I found Large Skipper (14), Large White (2), Small White (1), Small Tortoiseshell (7), Marbled White (9), Meadow Brown (50+), Ringlet (4), Small Heath (2) and about 130 Peacock caterpillars at various stages of growth. The only moths seen were Yellow Shell (3) and Silver Y (1). Even our garden, which could almost have been described as a butterfly-free zone over the past month, had some activity today with Large Skipper (1), Large White (1), Small White (1), Red Admiral (1) and Meadow Brown (7)." Mick & Wendy Campbell visited Piddington Wood this afternoon, Saturday 23rd June. Within five minutes of arriving they managed to get their first definite sighting of a Purple Emperor in the usual ash trees when it flew up to chase a pigeon out of its territory. Further along the footpath at the top of Little Wood they quickly had good views of two more Purple Emperors in the top of a large ash tree where they were flying then perching despite the poor weather conditions. Maureen Cross recorded Dark Green Fritillaries in the Goring Gap earlier this week: "2 Dark Green Fritillaries seen on The Holies on 19th June. 1 Dark Green Fritillary seen on the footpath between Coombe Hill and the entrance to Hartslock reserve on 20th June. Also, a Scarlet Tiger moth seen in my neighbour's Berkshire garden on 21st June." Welcome to the website new contributor Richard James who sent this exciting report: "I thought you might be interested in a sighting of a single Purple Emperor on Wednesday 20th June, at Easthampstead Park conference centre near Bracknell. The specimen was actually trapped inside the window of one of the conference rooms and was subsequently released by me. Although only about 2 miles from Bracknell town centre, this is a converted country house with some mature trees in its grounds and surrounded by farmland and woodland." Vince Massimo travelled from Sussex to a visit a wood in Oxfordshire on Wednesday 20th June: "My visit between 11.30 and 14.30 in showery and windy conditions produced 10 Bläck Hairstreak in various locations, some nectaring on bramble. Other species were 5 White Admiral, 2 Wood White and 1 Small Skipper. There were abundant numbers of Meadow Brown, Marbled White and Large Skipper." These two reports were received
from David Redhead on 21st June: "Wednesday June 20th -
This morning the rough grassland and scrub above my Oxford
house produced a record count for Marbled White at 45 also several Meadow Brown and
Ringlet seen. Then a few hours spent in Bernwood Forest
including walking the transects in the M40 Compensation Area and Shabbington Wood increased my
species list for the day to 14 including my first White Admiral of the year. The total
butterfly count in Bernwood Forest and the M40 Compensation Area was 123 - Meadow Brown 38,
Marbled White 35, Large Skipper 22, Ringlet 7, Speckled Wood 5, Red Admiral 3,
Bläck Hairstreak 3, Comma 2, Small Skipper 2, Small Tortoiseshell 2,
Green-veined White 1, White Admiral 1, Common Blue 1, Painted Lady 1.
I also saw my first Six-spot Burnets of the year in the M40 Compensation Area.
Dennis Dell went to Aylesbury Park Golf course on 19th June (4-5pm, sunny): "Probably most of us have a site just a few minutes walk from where we live which we can monitor very frequently. This can be both very useful and a lot of fun, even though the species we may observe may not be 'very special'. By visiting a nearby site frequently, we can monitor first and last appearances, numbers, apex of flight period, and year on year fluctuations. None of this is easy to do with 'rare' species at sites which cannot be visited frequently. This golf course is 10 minutes walk from my house and has the largest areas of rough grassland and scrub than any other golf course I've ever come across: ideal for Satyrids and other grass loving families. I've been going there for the last three years, so it's too early to draw any conclusions. There are vast numbers of Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers, and Ringlets in July, and large numbers of Marbled Whites. I've decided to focus on the latter species since the numbers are 'manageable'. There is already something I don't understand: although the Marbled White can be found on almost all of the (separated) areas of grassland, there is one spot in particular where I see the most. I want to know why: is it because there is a predominant species of grass, found mainly there, which is favoured, or are there other factors? Seen today: Meadow Brown [53], Marbled White [13], Small Tortoiseshell [1], Ringlet [2], Large Skipper [11], Small Heath [2], Comma [1]." Wednesday 20th June 2007 At a bramble bush in a sunny clearing in the woods at Farley Hill today, 20th, Jan Haseler saw: 2 Silver-washed Fritillaries, 1 White Admiral, 1 Red Admiral, 2 Meadow Browns and 2 Ringlets. David Redhead sent the following
reports today: 17th June - An
expedition to the Bletchingdon area for
Bläck Hairstreak eventually proved successful with 2 seen. It also produced
my first Ringlet of the year with 9 seen. Another 11 butterfly species were also
recorded making my total for the day 13 - Marbled White (24), Meadow Brown (15),
Small Tortoiseshell (5), Large White (4), Large Skipper (2),
Small White (2), Brimstone (2), Red Admiral (1), Large White (1),
Green-veined White (1) and an extremely tatty Peacock. Cinnabar (2) and
a single Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet were also seen. Chris Brown has been keeping watch on the Crowsley Wood site in Berks since early March for whatever might be about. He sent this news on 19th June: "There were three Silver-washed Fritillary out today, very active and looking pristine. So much brighter than the Commas that were about. An interesting behavioural difference - there were a couple of Commas stationed about 25 yards apart, the Silver-washed Fritillary were patrolling along and across these Commas' "stations". The Commas kept challenging every intrusion across their patch, with each encounter 'spiralling sparring' as I call it, but only for about 5 seconds and generally they separated before rising more than 10 feet vertically. However when 2 of the Silver-washed Fritillary met and challenged each other, they would continue this for up to 30 seconds and rise all the way to the tree tops, about 40 feet above ground, before separating." At Black Park yesterday morning, 19th June, Dave Ferguson was trying to photograph White Admirals when he saw a Purple Hairstreak on a bramble leaf just a few inches from the ground. "It was there for a couple of minutes before it took off into the tree tops. This is my earliest ever. The tally for the morning was: Purple Hairstreak (1), White Admiral (11), Red Admiral (4), Comma (1), Large Skipper (3), Meadow Brown (7), Large White (1). Just for interest here are my dragonfly sightings for the morning: Emperor Dragonfly (5), Broad-bodied Chaser (2), Four-spot Chaser (1), Blue-tailed Damselfly (1), Large Red Damselfly (4), Common Blue and Azure Damselflies (30+)." The following report by Andrea Polden of a site visit to Holtspur Bank & LNR was received via Frank Banyard on 19th June: "Insects seen: Brimstones (male and female), a Burnet Companion moth, a Five or Six-spot Burnet moth sp., a cardinal beetle, a Comma, several grasshoppers, a ladybird, Marbled Whites galore, Meadow Browns likewise, Peacock caterpillars, a Red Admiral, a very new fresh Ringlet, Skippers both large and small, and a Small Blue. Plants and flowers: Agrimony, bedstraw (hedge and ladys), a bee orchid, birds-foot trefoil, black medick, bladder campion, centaury, clover (red and white), a cowslip (very late!), dark mullein, fairy flax, field forget-me-nots, garlic mustard, geraniums (doves-foot and cut-leaved), greater knapweed, green alkanet, hemlock, herb benet, herb-robert, marjoram, meadow vetchling, mignonette, milkwort, mouse-eared chickweed, mugwort, nipplewort, ox-eye daisies, plantains (hoary and ribwort), poppies, pyramidal orchids, quaking grass (and many other types of grass), restharrow, rosebay willowherb, salad burnet, sanicle, scabious, selfheal, silverleaf, sorrel, speedwell, St. Johns-wort, vetches (horseshoe and kidney), white dead-nettle, wild arum, woundwort, yellow-rattle and yellow-wort. Birds: Blackcaps (heard, but very shy of being seen), buzzards, a kestrel, a pied wagtail, red kites and a wren (heard)."
Jan Haseler saw her first SU76 White Admiral at lunchtime on 19th June at The Coombes near Arborfield. Tim Hearn visited Bernwood on Sunday 17th June, from 10.30am-Noon and recorded: White Admiral (9), Black Hairstreak (3), Ringlet (9), Common Blue (3) Very tatty!, Brimstone (1), Meadow Brown (4), Small Skipper (13), Speckled Wood (5) and Red Admiral (3). Mike Wilkins walked the Aston Upthorpe transect on 17th June: "The reward came quickly as just below the first section I put up my second Dark Green Fritillary. It cooperated and just settled to nectar on a nearby thistle where it spent some time. Unfortunately it was on the track between sections so won't count for the transect. I went on to record another 12 species on the transect as well as 6 macro-moths, including adult and larvae of Cinnabar. Other species were Silver Y, Yellow Shell, Burnet Companion, Latticed Heath and Six-spot Burnet. The last was everywhere and every flower had up to 6 or 7 on it, so I counted 186 on transect! The commonest butterfly was Small Heath (19) followed by Meadow Brown (15) and Common Blue (9). The others were Large Skipper (5), Grizzled Skipper (1), Brimstone (2), Small White (1), Green-veined White (2), Red Admiral (1), Painted Lady (2), Comma (1) and Marbled White (1)."
Sunday 17th June 2007 Tim & Colleen Watts saw a Dark Green Fritillary today, 17th June: "It's the first one we have ever seen. It was between 10am-12pm on BBOWT's Sydlings Copse reserve in Oxon. This was a total surprise as we were visiting the site for Scarlet Tiger Moth but no luck yet. We also saw loads of fresh Marbled Whites and Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet moths, plus Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell and Large White.
Dennis Dell visited Waterperry Wood today, Sunday 17th: "It was 20 degrees, about 50% sunshine. I am puzzled! I knew this wood in the seventies and it was excellent. These days it disappoints, both in numbers of species and absolute numbers observed. I am puzzled because the wood has been improved during the last 30 years, in particular, most of the rides have been widened, allowing more sunlight to penetrate. It demonstrates yet again how little we still know about the ecology of butterflies. Seen today: Meadow Brown [39], Large Skipper [17], Speckled Wood [12], White Admiral [3], Marbled White [1], Small White [7], Red Admiral [2], Large White [1], Bläck Hairstreak [1]. Jan Haseler reports that there was a Small Skipper at Holtspur Bottom this morning (Sunday 17/6), seen on the Reading and District Natural History Society field trip, led by Grahame Hawker. Highlight of the trip was seeing the caterpillars of Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral and Comma, all on the nettles at the side of the lane at the bottom. Gerry Kendall sent the following report on Sunday 17th June: "Penny and I went to Homefield Wood, hoping for White-letter Hairstreaks. Instead, we found a large hyperactive fritillary. When it finally sat down, it revealed itself as a Silver-washed Fritillary! We also saw Large Skipper, Large White, Green-veined White, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Comma, Speckled Wood, Marbled White and<> Meadow Brown." Stuart Hodges led a very successful Bläck Hairstreak field trip to Finemere Wood today, Sunday 17th June: He welcomed more than a dozen visitors, mostly from other branches, of whom several were hoping to get their first glimpse of our elusive local celebrity. The sun shone and in excess of 20 Bläck Hairstreaks were seen. Exceedingly close-up views of half a dozen butterflies were had while they nectared on privet, so even the photographers went away very happy! Other butterfly species seen included Large Skipper, Small White, Green-veined White, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood, Marbled White, Meadow Brown and Small Heath. Inside the wood at least one White Admiral and a handful of Emperor Moth caterpillars were also recorded by some members of the party. Dave Maunder went to Wendover Woods yesterday, 16th June: "I saw my first Small Skipper of the year and also my first Painted Lady back in our garden in Aylesbury. Today, 17th, I saw another Painted Lady (1); Red Admiral (1); Small Tortoiseshell (2); Large Skipper (7); Meadow Brown (6); Large White (1), and Small White (3). Another interesting sighting recently here in Aylesbury was a nest of the Tree Bumble Bee, Bombus hypnorum, a new species recently spreading north into our region according to Martin Harvey (this is only the third sighting in Bucks)! They are nesting in a bird's nest-box in my mum's garden, and today I got photos of the queen on flowers in her garden. I also saw two more specimens nectaring on Bramble blossom up in Wendover woods yesterday - they are very distinctive, so worth looking out for!"
David Redhead reports an enjoyable
two hour 'Butterfly Mentoring' event at Watlington Hill, although they were dodging
the showers, on Saturday 16th June: "Nicola Beeston found our first
Dark Green Fritillary of the year. I think it had only emerged in the last day or two
as it was in absolutely pristine condition. Unfortunately it did not hang around
long enough for everybody to get a close up view of it. Lloyd Garvey found what
will probably be my last Green Hairstreak of the year, obviously a rather faded
specimen this time. We also managed a number of Small Heath (8), Meadow Brown (4)
and singleton Brimstone and Painted Lady. Considering the weather conditions, six species
was not too bad. We also saw three Lesser Treble-bar or Treble-bar but the only one
we got a prolonged view of was too faded to decide which. Dave Ferguson's visit to Sydlings Copse on 16th June produced: Dark Green Fritillary (1), Small Tortoiseshell (1), Painted Lady (1), Red Admiral (3), Meadow Brown (15), Ringlet (1), Marbled White (25), Large White (1), Large Skipper (2), Common Blue (2), Brown Argus (1), Silver-Y (2). Friday 15th June 2007 Dave Ferguson sent some of his recent
sightings today, Friday 15th June: "On
15th June at Black Park: White Admiral (6),
Red Admiral (1), Meadow Brown (3), Speckled Wood (2). I attach a
photo of the most cooperative of the White Admirals.
This news was received from Nigel Partridge, Loosley Row, on 15th June: "Just spotted this Painted Lady feeding on the Deutzia outside our front door along with a couple of Red Admirals. We also had our first Small Tortoiseshell of the year today."
Jackie Tuckey reported seeing 2 Painted Ladies on Wednesday morning, 13th June, at Thomley in Bucks nectaring on Phuopsis Stylosa (Crosswort). Martin Kincaid sent another report from Milton Keynes on 13th June: "At around 11.30 this morning I decided to visit Stonepit Field (near Great Linford in north Bucks) in Milton Keynes, a site where I first recorded Small Blue in June 2006. This is a grassland site with a rocky limestone outcrop at its heart, which is absolutely covered in kidney vetch. In cloudy but humid conditions I found four adult Small Blues in about half an hour, two of which were females egg-laying on kidney vetch. The few other butterflies on the wing were Red Admiral, Meadow Brown and a couple of rather tatty Common Blues but there were literally hundreds of Burnet Companion moths buzzing around. This is one of the best wildlife sites in MK, situated just off Newport Road between New Bradwell and Newport Pagnell. It is managed by Milton Keynes Parks Trust which just happens to be my employer!" Dave Wilton had a successful day surveying Bläck Hairstreaks on 13th June. His search covered five of the important colonies in Bucks and his total count for the day was an excellent 90 Bläck Hairstreaks even though the weather was not ideal all day, being cloudy and overcast at times. Other butterfly species seen included: Large Skipper, Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown and Small Heath. Malcolm Brownsword sent these recent
Oxfordshire sightings reports on 13th June:
Robin Dryden visited a site in Oxfordshire for the first time on 13th June: "It was a very successful visit - seven Bläck Hairstreak and a single Wood White were new species for me! Also seen were four Marbled White, one Speckled Wood, one Common Blue and lots of Meadow Brown and Large Skipper. There was a Painted Lady at Witney lake on Monday 11th as well." Mike Wilkins sent this report on 13th June: "Luckily, I ignored the doom and gloom forecasts Tuesday 12th and delayed my transect walk at Swyncombe until the afternoon, when the sun came out producing a pleasantly warm afternoon with light winds. I managed 12 species plus two others off transect (Red Admiral and Brown Argus). The big surprise was a Dark Green Fritillary on the lower part of section 2, which paused briefly on a Musk thistle flower before dashing off further downhill. Having struggled so far uphill I was not inclined to chase back downhill to try to find it again. This must be the earliest I have ever seen one. Small Heath was the commonest, with 43 in six of the sections followed by 28 Small Blues. Only five Meadow Browns were recorded. Other species were in low single figures. No Marbled Whites seen." News just in from Don Otter today that he saw his first two Dark Green Fritillaries of the year at Ivinghoe Beacon on Saturday 9th June. Also two Small Blues and one Grizzled Skipper. Paul Bowyer led a UTB field trip to Greenham Common on Saturday 9th June: "Butterflies identified were Painted Lady (2), Red Admiral (4), Large Skipper (5), Grizzled Skipper (1), Small Blue (10), Brown Argus (1), Common Blue (12), Meadow Brown (3), Marbled White (4) and Small Heath (26). Moths identified were Cinnabar (1), Lesser Treble-bar (2) and Yellow Shell (4)." Wednesday 13th June 2007 Tim Watts sent this exciting report on 12th June: "I was very pleased to find a Blāck Hairstreak at a new site in Bucks today. In spells of sun I saw it 3 more times then it landed and I was able to confirm the id (see photo below). Also in the small Elm trees there were 3-4 small dark hairstreaks that were almost certainly White-Letter Hairstreaks."
Tony Marsh sent the following report on 11th June: "I visited a site in Oxfordshire on Sunday afternoon 10th June and recorded Blāck Hairstreak (8) in two separate locations, Wood White (1), Speckled Wood (4), Marbled White (1), plus Meadow Brown and Large Skipper. On Sunday morning as the sun came out at Westwell Gorse, also in Oxfordshire: Marbled White (2), Brimstone (1)."
Tony Croft sent this unusual report on 11th June: "Nothing to do with butterflies but I thought I'd share this with you. While doing my transect at Rushbeds Wood this afternoon I came upon this swarm of bees in the hedge of the western meadow. Needless to say I didn't hang around too long!"
Gerry Kendall went to Finemere Wood on 11th June: "Several Blāck Hairstreak were buzzing round the tops of the blackthorn. Very hard to know how many, but at least half a dozen and probably more. I got one good and a couple of borderline IDs of settled specimens through binoculars. Two Painted Lady on the approach track and several Meadow Brown." David Redhead went to the M40 Compensation Area on 10th June: "In an hour and forty minutes I had a total count of 35 Blāck Hairstreak including one unusually nectaring on an ox-eye daisy (see photo). In spite of all the privet in flower only one was seen nectaring on it. The total was a considerable improvement on the 19 I saw there last year although this must partly have been due to the better weather. Also recorded - Large Skipper (4), Red Admiral 1 (fresh), Meadow Brown 1, Brown Argus 1 and Burnet Companion 1."
Jim Asher went to several sites on 9th & 10th June: On 9th he recorded 10 Blāck Hairstreak at two sites in Bucks. On 10th June at a Berkshire site he found Mârsh Fritillary still flying (15), several Small Blues, including one attending closely to a horse dropping, three Adonis Blues and a few very worn Dingy Skippers. In the afternoon, in ideal conditions - hot, sunny and little wind - he went to two sites in Oxfordshire and saw 12 Blāck Hairstreak. "There were many more Large Skippers than last weekend, and Meadow Brown is increasing. I saw two Marbled White this afternoon."
Tony Croft visited a site in Oxfordshire on 10th June and saw the following: 10 Blāck Hairstreaks, 3 Marbled White; 2 Wood White; 2 Red Admiral; 2 Speckled Wood; good numbers of Large Skipper and a few Meadow Browns. Wendy Wilson sent this report on 9th June: Peacocks have been busy on our eastern fringe, I've seen no fewer than eight batches of thirty or so caterpillars in the last four days in "my square" (TQ09). One batch of 2.2cm larvae were in Chalfont Park. Four batches of larvae, under 1cm, were by the Chenies/Sarratt Bottom footpath. The other three, also under 1cm, were annoyingly on the nettles on the Herts side of the hedge which forms the Bucks/Herts border near Sarratt Mill. I also saw an Orange-tip larva in my Gerrards Cross garden on some Jack-by-the-Hedge I have been purposely not weeding. I also saw these in the Chess valley area between Chenies and Sarratt Mill: 1 Brimstone, 4 Small White, 6 Peacock, 5 Red Admiral, 2 Meadow Brown, 2 Common Blue, 3 Small Copper, 2 Speckled Wood and 1 Large Skipper."
6th June - Nigel Partridge photographed this Large Skipper in his Loosley Row garden on the red valerian.
Sunday 10th June 2007 On Friday afternoon Dave Wilton and Stuart Hodges searched various blackthorn hedgerows in Bucks: "It produced 15 adult Blâck Hairstreaks in all. One of them had literally just emerged from its pupa (see photo below)." On Saturday morning Dave walked round to the disused railway cutting west of Westcott airfield but saw nothing particularly remarkable there. "Common Blue and Small Heath were present in some numbers and I was pleased still to find Dingy Skipper (3), Grizzled Skipper (7) and Green Hairstreak (1) hanging on there. On the way back home I passed by some large nettle patches close to my house where I'd seen lots of Small Tortoiseshell caterpillars a few weeks ago. Five pristine adults were recorded there today. In the afternoon I cycled to Lapland Farm which produced Blâck Hairstreak (4), Red Admiral (1), Painted Lady (1) and Marbled White (1) as well as the usual suspects. Having heard that White-letter Hairstreak is now on the wing I got quite excited when I found a hairstreak buzzing around the top of an elm in the drover's lane, but once it settled it was clearly a Green Hairstreak! I've not seen one behave like that before. On the way home I called into another wood and managed to find another Blâck Hairstreak active in the sunshine."
Nick Bowles visited the woods above Dancers End, Bucks, on 9th June and saw the first Ringlet of the year. Then on 10th June he recorded two Blâck Hairstreaks at a location in Bucks. "Not a great deal else about but approximately 15 Meadow Browns in the wood showing a fairly rapid build up in numbers since last week's transect (none recorded)." Jon Mercer (BC Wilts branch) visited a site in Oxfordshire on 9th June and saw the following: 2 Blâck Hairstreaks, 3 Wood Whites, Speckled Wood, Large Skipper (and birds - Red Kite and Hobby). David Redhead sent this update on 8th June: "When the sun finally broke through in the Oxford area a female Orange-tip was observed egg-laying on the Sweet Rocket in our garden along with a fresh Comma." Adam Bassett sent the following report on 6th June: "My parents recorded a Green Hairstreak through their garden in Hurst, Berks on Saturday June 2nd. It was seen on Sweet Rocket amongst other flowers before flying on. This seems quite unusual to me, as I was not aware of any Green Hairstreaks in that general area. Also, 1 Painted Lady at Dinton Pastures CP, Berks, on Wednesday June 6th." Wednesday 6th June 2007 David Redhead recorded 17 butterfly species on 5th June: "In the rough grassland above my house in Oxford I saw Meadow Brown (my second of the year) and Small White. Then at a site in Oxford : Blâck Hairstreak, Red Admiral (fresh), Brimstone, Comma, Common Blue (pair mating). On my Swyncombe Down transect and kidney vetch/small blue egg survey: Speckled Wood, Small Heath, Small Copper, Small Blue, Peacock, Large Skipper, Large White, Brown Argus plus Brimstone, Common Blue, and Red Admiral. Late afternoon Wendy & I were in Chilswell Valley and we found a Marbled White plus Peacock, Meadow Brown, Common Blue, Large Skipper and Small White. Finally, in our garden this eveing we found an Orange-tip (female roosting on sweet rocket). Also seen during the day were: Cinnabar, Yellow Shell, Mother Shipton and Burnet Companion moths, Small Blue eggs, Peacock caterpillars, Bee and Pyramidal Orchids. Sadly no Grizzled Skipper, Dingy Skipper or Green Hairstreak were seen at Swyncombe which really would have made it a score. Surprisingly no Meadow Brown there either and a Green-veined White was an annoying absentee all day. Most peculiar behaviour was the Marbled White which at one stage flew 15 feet up into a tree - I've never seen one do that before (see photo below)!"
Richard Soulsby spent a very pleasant afternoon at Whitecross Green Wood on 5th June: "I saw Large Skipper (8+), Wood White (4), Meadow Brown (1), Red Admiral (1), Speckled Wood (4), and Mother Shipton (2)."
Mick & Wendy Campbell visited Laplands Farm for just over an hour on Tuesday 5th June: In the green lane they were pleased to find the Green Hairstreaks (6) were very active, while in the meadow they recorded Large Skipper (3), Common Blue (4), Small Heath (6), Meadow Brown (2), Painted Lady (1) and a Blâck Hairstreak (flying at the top of the blackthorn, then perched in an Oak tree just above the hedge). Moths were Burnet Companion, Straw Dot (2), Forester, Opsibotys fuscalis and Yellow Shell. On 5th June Thomas Merckx reports seeing a freshly eclosed male Meadow Brown at a field margin in Stonesfield (Oxon). On 5th June Dave Wilton went to north Bucks looking for Wood White in the company of Becky Woodell and Stuart Hodges: "The first site that we visited was the disused railway line near Salden Wood which produced 17 butterfly species: Large Skipper, Grizzled Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Green-veined White, Wood White (7, including an egg-laying female), Orange-tip, Small Copper, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Small Heath. We also recorded the following moths: Yellow Shell, Treble-bar sp., Chimney Sweeper, Latticed Heath, Common Heath, Cinnabar, Small Yellow Underwing, Mother Shipton, Burnet Companion, Timothy Tortrix/Aphelia paleana and Plum Tortrix/Hedya pruniana as well as several Mullein Moth caterpillars. We then went to College Wood where very little of anything was recorded apart from the day's second Painted Lady. Finally, the publicly-accessible parts of Leckhampstead Wood and Wicken Wood were visited, producing another six Wood Whites of which four were on the Bucks side of the county line and the longhorn moth Adela croesella." Dave Ferguson visited several
sites on 5th June: "Stoke Common
produced only one butterfly this morning - a surprise Painted Lady (see photo below). The walk down
to Fulmer Lake from the common produced just 3 butterflies:
2 Common Blues and a Meadow Brown. Then a try at Black Park
for a very early White Admiral resulted in yet another single butterfly - a Red Admiral!
The Meadow Brown was my 25th species of the year."
Jez Elkin reports that there were three Painted Lady butterflies flying around the monument on Coombe Hill on Saturday 2nd June. Monday 4th June 2007 Thomas Merckx saw his first Painted Lady of the year today, 4th June, basking on an arable field in Stonesfield (Oxon). Dave Wilton, Mick & Wendy Campbell visited a private Bucks site in this afternoon's dull, drizzly overcast. There they managed to find the season's second adult Blâck Hairstreak along with another which can only go down as a "probable" because it disappeared before the binoculars could be trained on it. The only other species noted were Green-veined White (1), Common Blue (1), Holly Blue (1), Red Admiral (1) and Speckled Wood (2). A moth, the Straw Dot, was the most numerous item with eight of them being recorded. Cinnabar (1) and Thistle Ermine (1) were also found, as were Yellow-tail and Mullein Moth caterpillars." David Chandler, Chairman of the
Herts & Middlesex Branch of Butterfly Conservation, sent the following report today,
4th June: "It was a very hot day (23c) on Saturday June 2nd and the
butterflies in the North Chilterns were whizzing around in the bright sunshine. My
sighting records in order of my visits: Dave Wilton spent some time in the Greatmoor area on 3rd June looking for Wall Brown without success: "However, thanks mainly to the Common Blue colony (40+ recorded) I did see quite a lot of butterfly activity in that area. Other species recorded there comprised Grizzled Skipper, Dingy Skipper, Large Skipper, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Brown Argus, Peacock and Small Heath but none of them in any great numbers. The bonus was finding a lone Forester and two Commophila aeneana. There were also several newly-emerged Narrow-bordered 5-spot Burnets flying around in the same area." Wendy & Mick Campbell walked to Waterperry Wood from Holton on Sunday 3rd June. They were looking mainly for Blâck Hairstreak but were unsuccessful. However, they managed to record 11 other butterfly species, plus a batch of about 200 first/second instar Small Tortoiseshell caterpillars. Moths seen included Forester and Commophila aeneana. There were countless Beautiful Demoiselles flying in the woodland. Also seen were two male and one female Reed Buntings in the water meadow approaching the wood. David Redhead sent these two
reports today: "Friday 1st June started
well - improved weather and a respectable Red Admiral had replaced the previous
very faded occupant of the vegetable garden. It ended well at 6pm when my dog flushed
my first Meadow Brown of the year out of the rough grassland by my house. But
things got a bit desperate in between as several hours spent in Bernwood
Forest and Shotover Country Park produced just 21 butterflies (12 Common Blue,
5 Speckled Wood, 2 Orange-tip, 1 Peacock and 1 Brimstone). Is
this dearth of butterflies what entomologists used to call the "June Gap" or is it just
the aftermath of the atrocious bank holiday weather? Saturday 2nd June 2007 Dave Wilton & Nick Bowles went to a wood in the Grendon area this morning, 2nd June: "We saw Large Skipper and Meadow Brown. We were hoping for Blàck Hairstreak, but there was no sign there, at Finemere or anywhere in between! However, that's two new species for Nick and one for me." Martin Harvey sent this news today, 2nd June: "There was a splendid Painted Lady in my garden (Great Kimble, Bucks) today, first one I've seen this year. A walk round Bradenham in hot sunshine produced just one Common Blue, one Peacock and a handful of Speckled Wood." Dave Wilton sent the following report on Friday 1st June: "Tom Dunbar & I visited two sites in Berkshire today. The first produced Dingy Skipper, Large Skipper, Green Hairstreak, Small Copper, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Small Blue, Màrsh Fritillary, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Small Heath and moths Forester, Grass Rivulet, Green Carpet, Yellow Shell, Cinnabar, Mother Shipton and Burnet Companion. Our very conservative Màrsh Fritillary count came to 22, some very worn but others still in pristine condition. At the second site we saw Dingy Skipper, Large Skipper, Brimstone, Green-veined White, Common Blue, Adonis Blue (five, including an egg-laying female), Small Blue, Màrsh Fritillary, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Small Heath and moths Grass Rivulet, Common Heath, Cinnabar, Mother Shipton, Burnet Companion, Cocksfoot Moth/Glyphipterix simpliciella, Opsibotys fuscalis and Thistle Ermine/Myelois circumvoluta. Just the one Màrsh Fritillary was recorded on here although another specimen was seen nearby. While no adult Dukes of Burgundy were seen we did find eight eggs on cowslips nearby." Yesterday afternoon (1st June) at Salsden Wood Railway Line Dave Ferguson recorded: Large Skipper (1), Common Blue (25), Wood White (5), Large White (2), Small White (3), Green-veined White (3), Orange Tip (3), Brimstone (1), Peacock (1) and moths Chimney Sweeper (10), Burnet Companion (5), Cinnabar (2). Wendy & Mick Campbell visited Rushbeds tramway and then Asham Meads searching for Blàck Hairstreak on Friday 1st June. In 30 minutes at Rushbeds they recorded Common Blue and Small Heath and moths included Burnet Companion, Silver-Y, Mother Shipton and Grass Rivulet. They then moved on to Asham Meads where the temperature was a humid 20C and recorded Small White, Common Blue and moths Silver-Y, Large Yellow Underwing, Forester and a Drinker Moth caterpillar. After 2 hours of watching the blackthorn they finally saw a Blàck Hairstreak fly out from the hedge and straight across the corner of the meadow. Fortunately it landed in the top of another blackthorn hedge where they had good views of it through binoculars for several minutes. Tim Watts reports a Painted Lady basking next to his car in Milton Keynes on Thursday 31st May. Friday 1st June 2007 Richard Soulsby sent the following report today: "I went to Lardon Chase this morning, 1st June, and found 6+ Adonis Blues (4M, 2F), 8 Common Blues, 7 Small Blues, 1 Brown Argus, 2 Brimstones (M & F), and one fresh Meadow Brown, plus one or two Yellow Shells."
In an hour-long sunny interlude between thunderstorms yesterday afternoon (Thursday 31st May), Dave Wilton went to Lapland Farm, Bucks to search for Forester Moth: "This time I was successful, with seven recorded in the eastern meadow. Other species active there in the sunshine comprised butterflies Grizzled Skipper (1), Large White (1), Green Hairstreak (1), Small Copper (1), Common Blue (62), Small Heath (13) and moths Grass Rivulet (4), Lime-speck Pug (1), Shoulder-striped Wainscot (1), Silver-Y (1), Mother Shipton (4), Burnet Companion (3), Hedya pruniana (2) and Opsibotys fuscalis (5)." Tom Stevenson reports that during a very wet bird survey yesterday morning, 31st May, he was extremely surprised to find a Large Skipper resting on an Ox-Eye Daisy. In the 3.5 hour survey of Battle Farm, Preston Crowmarsh, Oxfordshire, the only other butterfly he saw was a Small White in a brief sunny period. Wednesday 30th May 2007 30th May - David Redhead is pleased
to be able to report that butterflies in the Oxford area have survived one of the
wettest and coldest late May bank holidays on record! "In the fitful
sunshine of yesterday I managed to see Speckled Wood (2), Holly Blue (1),
Small Copper (1), Orange Tip (1) and Small White (1) along with
a couple of Burnet Companion moths.
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