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Butterfly Sightings Archive - June to December 2009
[No butterfly sightings were reported during December 2009.] Thursday 26th November 2009 Dave Ferguson reported the following today, 26th November: "On a bright, rather cold, breezy morning (26th Nov) at Shardeloes in Bucks, I saw this Comma land briefly on a fence post."
Tuesday 24th November 2009 Dave Maunder sent this news on 21st November: "An update today from the Willows in Aylesbury, Bucks - a Small Tortoiseshell from Roberts Way enjoying some unseasonable very warm lunchtime sun!" Helen Hyre reported the following on 21st November: "On 15th November from 9.40 there was a Comma in our Bierton garden (in Bucks) for 3 hours. Just after 12.00 I saw two Painted Ladies. Both looked pristine and were not the PL which I saw on 12th November, which had slight wing damage. One flew off southwards after 15 minutes, the other went up over the house roof, approx north. At 1.15 there was a Painted Lady for approx 20 minutes. Also, on Tuesday 17th November, a Comma from 11.05 until 12.40." Friday 20th November 2009 David Gantzel sent the following report on 19th November: "I saw a Red Admiral on the outside ledge of a shop window in Buckingham High Street, Bucks on November 12th." Wednesday 18th November 2009 Dave Maunder reported the following on 16th November: "A few more recent sightings here in Aylesbury, Bucks, have been:- Red Admiral (1, Monday 16th November), another Painted Lady last Thursday 12th, also my first (and probably last!) Hummingbird Hawkmoth of this year yesterday 15th, disturbed from a pile of bean-poles on my allotment in town." Nick Bowles reports on last Sunday's first conservation work party of the season: "Holtspur Bottom's first work party of the season took place in wonderful weather (as promised at Member's Day) on 15th November. A group of 6 smiling members carried out a number of tasks - click here to see photos and read the full report. Hopefully, others would want to put our next few Holtspur 'work morning' dates into their diaries and join the fun: 06.12.09, 17.01.10 and 21.02.10. These dates will see a variety of tasks, including bonfires, where we will try to cook potatoes - we would be happy to see you there and share a jacket spud!" Richard O'Dare sent the following sighting on 15th November: "After yesterday's storm, I was surprised today to see this Painted Lady enjoying the sunshine in my garden in Little Marlow, Bucks."
On 16th November David Redhead (UTB Brown Hairstreak Species Champion) sent the following update on this year's Brown Hairstreak egg hunts to date: "We have now completed the first set of Brown Hairstreak egg transects at Shotover Country Park in Oxon and they have been very successful. The combined count showed a 45% increase on last year and since the transects started five years ago there has been an increase in the total count each year. This site is on the very edge of the known range of the only remaining population in the three counties and before the transects started there was no evidence for its presence. I think we can now definitely say this butterfly is on the march and has got its feet well and truly under the table at Shotover Country Park with individuals completing their life cycle there and using the local ash and oak trees for mating."
Friday 13th November 2009 Helen Hyre sent this report today, 13th November: "On Thursday 12th November there were a few sunny periods in Bierton, Bucks. I saw one Painted Lady and one Comma at 11.25am. The Comma made return visits at 12.15 and 12.50, but I did not see the Painted Lady again."
Dave Maunder sent this news on 12th November: "Today I had my latest ever sighting of a Painted Lady at 9.00am, sunning itself on a house near mine here in Aylesbury, Bucks. Last week I also saw Painted Lady(1), Red Admiral (1) and Small Tortoiseshell (1), all on the 4th November." Tuesday 10th November 2009 Tony Short sent the following sighting on 9th November: "In case it’s of interest, I sighted a very fresh specimen of the Clouded Yellow in Windsor Great Park, Berks (outside the Royal School), at 11:30am on 25th October 2009. It was sunning itself at the edge of a field fringed with brambles and bracken, near a very tatty Red Admiral." Sunday 8th November 2009 David Redhead wrote the following on 7th November: "At 11am this morning, 7th November, I decided to examine the ivy bank in my neighbour's field (Littlemore, Oxon). That drew a blank so I walked up to the rotting apples at the top of the field and just as I picked up their heady aroma I was met by a Comma which circled round me before alighting on a bramble leaf to bask in the sun at 8.2C. Shortly after it moved on to an old stone wall where I left it. On the way back to the house I examined the sunny face of the assorted vegetation that hides the derelict Thames Water building from our houses when a faded Speckled Wood flew before my eyes and landed on a laurel leaf to bask in the sun." Dave Wilton reported the following: "A Red Admiral was active in our garden at Westcott, Bucks, during the morning of 7th November (sunny but only 7 celsius) and at lunchtime it was joined by a Small Tortoiseshell which was found flying around inside the house. The last Painted Lady sighting here was on 30th October." Helen Hyre sent the following sighting: "Thursday 5th November - after early showers, the sun came out in Bierton, Bucks and so did the butterflies. 4 Painted Lady, 1 Comma and 1 Red Admiral." Tuesday 3rd November 2009 Dave Maunder sent this news today: "A few recent sightings here in Aylesbury, Bucks have been:- Painted Lady (1) and Red Admirals (2) on 2nd November - almost beat my latest ever sighting for Painted lady, which was 4th Nov. 2006!" John Parsons sent this report on 2nd November: "Two Painted Ladies seen on Greenham Common, Berks on 2/11/09 in a sheltered sunny area."
This sighting came from David Redhead on 2nd November: "Seen today, Monday 2nd November, on my neighbour's ivy bank (Littlemore, Oxon), a single nectaring Comma." On Monday 2nd November Mick & Wendy Campbell saw a Comma on the Ridgeway near Swyncombe Downs, Oxon. "It must have been sunning itself on some dead leaves - we wouldn't have seen it if it hadn't flown up, as it was an exact colour match for the fallen leaves." Wednesday 28th October 2009 Peter Vaughan reported the following on 26th October: "At Harwell Science Campus (Didcot, Oxon) (map ref SU 477 873) on Monday 26 October in the bright mid-day sunshine, I saw ten butterflies on a single flowering bush. These were four Small Tortoiseshells, five Painted Ladies, some looking very fresh, and one fresh-looking Red Admiral. When disturbed by my shadow they briefly rose to produce a small cloud of butterflies - not something I'd expected to see in late October!" David Redhead sent this update on 26th October: "Since my last report on 4th October our garden in Littlemore, Oxon, has been almost devoid of butterflies with just a single Comma seen on the 8th October. However, since then I have still managed to see butterflies near my house on my neighbours bank of ivy. On the 11th, 12th and 13th 3 Commas and a single Painted Lady were to be found there each day, either nectaring on the blossom or basking. On the 14th the Painted Lady was replaced by 3 Red Admirals and on the 16th all three species were there together with 2 Red Admirals and a single Painted Lady and Comma but the day after it was just a single Red Admiral. I did not manage to get there for the next few days but on the 23rd a single Painted Lady was still to be found there. Since then the ivy bank has been devoid but a couple of Red Admirals were to be found on the 24th on rotten apples beneath an aged apple tree nearby. The surprise that day was a female Brimstone fluttering about the ivy growing up the apple tree, presumably disturbed from hibernation. On Sunday 25th I went further afield in search of Brown Hairstreak eggs finding five between Elsfield and Beckly but also seeing a Painted Lady. Back at home today (26th) a single Red Admiral was feeding on one of the rotten apples. This makes my October count to date 46 butterflies from four species (28 Comma, 10 Red Admiral, 7 Painted Lady & 1 Brimstone) - all bar one seen within 100 metres of my house." Judith Barnard reported as follows on 26th October: "Sighting today at grid ref SP8841 - 1 Painted Lady." Dave Ferguson wrote the following on 26th October: "On a warm and sunny morning (26th October) two fresh Red Admirals were taking in the rays on the fence by Amersham CG at Shardeloes in Bucks." Chris Brown reported the following on 26th October:
"Having just checked out the UTB sightings page it reminded me to send in some late observations. The week ahead
promises more to come hopefully as this fine autumn weather continues. Wendy Wilson sent this report on 25th October: "Today (25th) I went back to the same field in Dorney, South Bucks, I told you about on October 13th. Amazingly for so late in the season the oilseed rape is still in full bloom and butterflies were making the most of it. It was a bright and breezy day with a temperature of about 16C. I recorded 1 Small White, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 3 Peacock, 3 Comma and 8 Painted Ladies. All except the White were in excellent condition and nectaring on the rape flowers or nearby sow thistles. Butterflies are still around wherever there's some nectar, but there aren't many nectar sources left now and I have not seen much elsewhere."
Saturday 24th October 2009 This news came from Nick Bowles today, 24th October: "I see that sightings reports are tailing off, so you might like to hear of a Small Tortoiseshell on a late dandelion, a Red Admiral and at least one, possibly two, Painted Lady on ivy at the end of the garden here (just over the border in Tring) mid-day on Friday 23rd - where I was marooned with a bug. They lifted my spirits." Dennis Dell reported as follows: "Peacock seen in Aylesbury yesterday, 23rd October, sunning itself on a south facing window ledge, taking full advantage of the warm sunshine. Although there is little doubt that Peacocks enter hibernation around mid-August, it is obvious from the sightings page that they will awake, briefly,on sunny autumn days." Helen Hyre sent the following report on 21st October: "On Wednesday 21st October a Painted Lady was nectaring on Verbena bonariensis and Erysimum in our garden in Bierton, Bucks. It was cool, windy and only a hint of a watery sun. I think it/they may be residing in our eaves at present." Sunday 18th October 2009 Dave Miller reported the following on 18th October: "I took my three sons to the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton Road today (18th). There was a bit of sunshine, but it wasn't any warmer than 13 degrees at most. Nevertheless, around the miniature railway area, we saw at least four individual Small Coppers, two new-looking Painted Ladies, a Red Admiral and a Large White. Someone we talked to claimed to have seen two 'yellow butterflies' earlier in the day. Some photos below - two were from a bit of a distance and aren't quite so good."
Wednesday 14th October 2009 Wendy Wilson sent this news on 13th October: "This morning, 13th october, I went birdwatching at Dorney Wetlands, Berks. The first bird in my sights was a kingfisher which was a good start. The temperature was only 8.5C, so I wasn't really looking for butterflies. However, I changed my mind when I came upon a very late crop of oilseed rape in full bloom in a huge field bisected by the public footpath from Jubilee River to Dorney village (SU933792). The flowers were still wet with dew, but the sun was warming up fast and Small Whites started to fly around and a Comma basked on the path. As the flowers dried, Peacocks and Painted Ladies started to appear, all looking fresh and in beautiful condition (see below). My count for the morning was seven species: 1 Large White, 21 Small White, 1 Small Copper, 1 Comma, 5 Peacock, 17 Painted Lady and 1 Speckled Wood. Not bad for mid-October! The Small Copper and three of the Painted Ladies were nectaring on sow-thistles along the path, but all the rest were on the rape flowers. By lunch time they had mostly had their fill of nectar as I didn't see much in the afternoon apart from the Whites still flying around, so I went back to birdwatching."
Peter Vaughan, BC Hampshire Branch member, sent the following report on 12th October: "During a mid-day walk around part of Harwell Science Campus (Didcot, Oxon) (map ref SU 477 873) on Monday 12 October I saw a Clouded Yellow butterfly. I had a good view of the insect for several minutes while it was feeding on Dandelion flowers in a lawn. I also saw a fresh-looking Painted Lady and two rather worn Speckled Woods." Sunday 11th October 2009 Dennis Dell writes: "Seen on 10th October in fine weather in the valley between Waddesdon and Upper Winchendon, Bucks: Painted Lady [5], on thistle patch; Brimstone [3], Small White [5], Comma and Small Tortoiseshell. The Painted Ladies were in good condition." Jan Haseler sent this report: "Butterflies in the sunshine at The Grove, Shinfield Park, Reading yesterday (Thursday 8th Oct): 4 Small Copper, 2 fresh Brown Argus, 1 male Common Blue. On ivy blossom nearby at Shinfield Park: 2 Red Admirals, 1 Peacock and 1 Speckled Wood. Ben Carpenter took advantage of the good weather on 8th October: "I went to Radley Lakes, Oxon and saw 1 Red Admiral, 1 Small Copper and 1 Clouded Yellow." Dave Maunder sent the following catch-up on 8th October: "On Sunday 27th September we went to Waterperry gardens, Oxon for our annual visit and noted a reasonable selection of butterflies on the flowers there:- Painted Ladies (11 - all fresh); Red Admirals (6); Peacock (1); Commas (6); Small Tortoiseshells (3); Large Whites (2); Small Whites (10); Speckled Wood (1) and Small Copper (1). Not as many Small Tortoiseshells here as last autumn, although we visited two weeks earlier last year. Anyway, a nice day here in perfect weather! On Sunday 4th October we went to Hillesden, north Bucks, and saw Painted Ladies (2); Commas (3); Large White (1); Small Whites (3); Green-veined Whites (2); and Small Coppers (2)." Tuesday 6th October 2009 David Redhead reported the following on 5th October: "In our garden on Sunday 4th October in Littlemore, Oxon, 3 Commas were to be found nectaring on ivy flowers and another was on the michaelmas daisies (mentioned in Dennis Dell's report below). A Red Admiral was dividing its attention between the two nectar sources. This garden count of 4 Comma and 1 Red Admiral does not compare too well with a year ago when on the 3rd October 2008 I was able to report 10 Commas, 2 Red Admirals and a Small White in our garden. I need to point out that the original source of our michaelmas daisies was Frank Banyard's garden. This year, although we augmented the Autumn Joy hybrid with a couple of true Ice Plants (Sedum spectabile), the sedums in our garden have proved very unattractive to butterflies and I have only ever seen one Comma and a couple of whites on them and then only for a short while." Friday 2nd October 2009 There are still a few butterflies to be seen during warm, sunny spells: In our Bucks garden this morning, 2nd October, Mick & I had one each of Large White, Small White, Red Admiral (on ivy) and Small Tortoiseshell (on michaelmas daisies). Then this afternoon during a walk through Wendover Woods we added 2 Speckled Woods and 2 Commas to the count. Wendy Campbell This news was sent by David Redhead from Littlemore in Oxon on 1st October: "The first day of October found a fresh Painted Lady nectaring on our michaelmas daisies and a Red Admiral basking on the vegetable garden fence. A quick inspection of my neighbour's ivy flowers produced three Commas and two more Red Admirals." Dennis Dell sent this report on 1st October: "Last autumn, I was impressed to read about the number of butterflies David Redhead was seeing on his Michaelmas Daisy. He was kind enough to dig some roots up for me, and I'm very pleased with the results. The Beijing Buddleia is finished and the only remaining nectar sources in my garden in Aylesbury, Bucks, are a very small Ice Plant and this Michaelmas Daisy. The Michaelmas Daisy has been attracting a fresh looking Painted Lady every day this week and, in addition, during a long spell of sunshine a Small White, a Peacock and a male Brimstone made brief sorties without stopping to nectar. The last time I saw these latter two species in the garden was on August 16th and 9th, respectively." Helen Hyre reported the following on 29th September: "On Sunday 27th September our Aylesbury (Bucks) garden butterflies included a male Brimstone and a very photogenic Painted Lady which spent hours on our Cosmos. On the same day we went to Ellesborough for the last teas of the season. In the churchyard were Small White, Comma, Painted Lady and two very mobile Small Copper. On the nearby hills were chalkland flowers, a possible Small Copper (it didn't cooperate!) and a surprising Meadow Brown."
Chris Lamsdell sent the following report: "At Wraysbury Gp in east Berks, a fresh Brown Argus on 26/9 and at Stanwell Moor (just over the border in Surrey) a Clouded Yellow on 27/9." Saturday 26th September 2009 Mike Collard reported the following sighting today: "Whilst undertaking some badger surveying this afternoon, 26th September, I saw a Clouded Yellow over cut fields in Chartridge, Bucks." David Redhead writes: "Whilst looking for Brown Hairstreak eggs today (26th), with some success, west of Woodeaton in Oxon I recorded 5 Red Admirals, 2 Painted Lady, 2 Comma and 1 Green-veined White. All except one Comma and the White were nectaring on ivy flowers." Dave Wilton sent the following report today: "This afternoon (26th September) I paid yet another visit to my local biodiversity hot-spot, the disused railway cutting west of Westcott airfield in Bucks. I thought it would be a struggle to find any butterflies because numbers seem to have dropped off quite noticeably following the recent run of cold nights, but I managed to see the following: Large White (1), Small White (1), Small Copper (1), Common Blue (1), Red Admiral (1), Painted Lady (10), Small Tortoiseshell (1), Peacock (1) and Comma (15). They were out enjoying the sunshine, most of them on devil's-bit scabious flowers although four or five of the Commas were on blackberries. Double digits of species was achieved by managing to locate Brown Hairstreak eggs in two different kilometre squares there, so a very pleasing result for the end of September. The Painted Ladies were all very fresh individuals and some (presumably females) seemed noticeably larger than those I've seen over the past month or two." Friday 25th September 2009 Click here for news about the Sheepdrove Rare Butterfly Project ... Chris and Pat Dennis sent this report on 24th September: "The pictures below were taken today (24th) at Bernwood. There were a lot of butterflies about today, including Painted Lady, Red Admiral and Brimstone but we were surprised to see a Brown Hairstreak. It was a bit pale but otherwise in good condition. The pictures of the hairstreak were taken at about one o'clock down the main track just on the edge of the meadow on the right hand side that had just been mowed today."
Dave Wilton sent this report yesterday: "This afternoon, 24th September, I had a quick look at the meadows at Leaches Farm, adjacent to the A41 north of Ludgershall, Bucks, which BBOWT are hoping to purchase to add to their River Ray Reserves (see www.bbowt.org.uk/appeal). As I set foot on the public footpath which runs along the western edge of the site I met a female Brown Hairstreak coming the other way. She made a valiant attempt to cross the A41 but was beaten back by a stream of lorries, so took to prospecting the adjacent hedge on the south side of the road for some blackthorn on which to lay an egg. Other butterflies seen included Large White (1), Green-veined White (2), Small Copper (10, including a mating pair), Common Blue (2), Peacock (1) and Comma (3). Enjoying what remains of the blooms on our buddleias at Westcott were single examples of Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Comma, but most of the vanessids seem to have deserted us for ivy elsewhere in the village which has just come into bloom. The Painted Lady looked very fresh and is the first we've had in the garden for two weeks."
Tony Croft reported the following on 24th September: "I completed the final transect of the season at Rushbeds Wood this afternoon in glorious sunshine. I counted 3 Small Copper, 5 Speckled Wood and an astonishing 87 Comma. Practically all the Comma were on blackberries in the south-facing hedge of the tramway meadow. In the garden today (Easington, Bucks) were Small White, Comma, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood, Red Admiral and either a Brown Hairstreak or Vapourer Moth. It could have been either as they have both visited from time to time." Dave Maunder sent this news on 24th September: "On a visit to Hartwell cemetery in Bucks yesterday (23rd) I saw in a brief warm and sunny spell quite a nice number of Vanessids on Ivy bloom:- Red Admirals (4); Painted Lady (1), and Commas (14). Also seen were 1 Speckled Wood and 2 Green-veined Whites." David Redhead sent the following sightings: "On Tuesday afternoon, 22nd September, the michaelmas daisies in our garden in Littlemore, Oxon were playing host to two Red Admirals along with singletons of Large White, Painted Lady and Comma whilst another two Commas were on the ivy flowers. Meanwhile on the sun-blessed and sheltered ivy growing over an old wall on our our neighbour's land eleven Commas and nine Red Admirals were to be found. A dog walk up the top led to two more basking Commas and a Speckled Wood. So a total of 30 butterflies from 5 species in SP5202 was not a bad haul considering it was the first day of Autumn - all the vanessids, except for one Comma but including the Painted Lady, were in very good condition. Two days previously, on Sunday 20th, we visited Swyncombe Down to complete week 25 of the transect, and saw two dozen Small Copper plus a Brown Argus in surprisingly good condition. Also seen were Brimstone, Small White, Common Blue, Peacock, Comma, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Small Heath making the species count for the site 10. A report just received from Bob Ellisdon showed that on Friday 18th he set an all time record for the Shabbington Wood transect, when he counted 96 (ninety-six!) Commas nectaring on the ride-side devil's-bit scabious. He also saw another six species - Brimstone, Green-veined White, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell and Speckled Wood."
Friday 18th September 2009 Judith Barnard saw a Small Copper in Willen, Milton Keynes today 18th September at grid ref SP8841. Tuesday 15th September 2009 Chris Lamsdell wrote the following on 12th September: "Clouded Yellow at Wraysbury GP in east Berks today, 12th September and another just over the border in Surrey on 30th August at Stanwell Moor." Saturday 12th September 2009 The following report came from Richard Soulsby on 12th September: "After several days spent topping up tetrads in 10k square SU59, today’s sunny afternoon was spent at Swyncombe Downs and Aston Rowant (North). The general transect at Swyncombe, followed by a Silver-spotted Skipper transect, produced in total 7 Brimstones, 2 Large Whites, 7 Small Whites, 23 Small Coppers (all over the place), 3 Brown Argus, 1 Common Blue, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 8 Speckled Woods, 14 Meadow Browns, 6 Small Heaths and the highlight, two Small Blues. One was quite worn but the other was fairly fresh. But no Silver-spotted Skippers remaining, nor were there any here a week ago. Then I spent an hour at Aston Rowant walking to the far end and back, where butterflies seemed much thinner on the ground. This yielded 1 Speckled Wood, 10 Meadow Browns, 3 Small Coppers, 15 Small Heaths, 4 Common Blues, 4 Small Whites, 2 Brown Argus, 1 Brimstone, 1 Red Admiral and, the highlight here, three Silver-spotted Skippers. Two were very worn, but one female was fairly fresh. After seeing lots of vanessids in farmland tetrads in recent days, it seemed strange to see so few at today’s downland sites."
David Redhead reported the following on 12th September: "Yesterday, 11th September, Commas were putting on a very good show in Bernwood Forest - the ride edges remain uncut and there is abundant devil's-bit scabious for them to nectar on - my final Comma count was 62 including 35 on the Shabbington Wood transect. The Small Tortoiseshell transect count was 7 which is the highest count since 13th September 2002 when 21 were recorded, so still some way to go until the recovery of this species is complete. However, my sighting of the day was an off-transect female Silver-washed Fritillary, somewhat dull in appearance but otherwise in reasonable condition with only a slight nick out of one wing. I also did the transect in the M40 Compensation Area, which is adjacent to the eastern edge of the Forest, and here the Comma count was just 8 with no devil's-bit to attract them and they were all nectaring on ripe blackberries. My final total count for both sites was 154 butterflies from 11 species - Comma 70, Speckled Wood 33, Red Admiral 10, Small Tortoiseshell 9, Green-veined White 9, Brimstone 7, Small White 7, Common Blue 6, Large White 1, Peacock 1 and Silver-washed Fritillary 1. When I returned home (Littlemore, Oxon) I managed to increase my day species count to 12 as there was a faded Painted Lady nectaring alongside a Peacock on our michaelmas daisies - interestingly Wendy told me earlier there had been 3 Peacocks - two in good condition and one extremely tatty. Before I left home for Bernwood I had received the results for the previous week's Shabbington Wood transect walked on Saturday 19th September by Beryl Hulbert. In not so good conditions Beryl counted 50 butterflies with only 2 Commas but 5 Brown Hairstreaks - all females basking low down on various vegetation. 5 Brown Hairstreaks is an all-time record for this transect which has been walked since 1995. You will have noted, as the Species Champion, my nil return for this species in my report above! However, I did manage to find 9 eggs in about as many minutes - 4 in the Compensation Area and 5 in the Forest itself. Finally, on Wednesday 9th September I saw my second Hummingbird Hawkmoth of the year nectaring on a garden buddleia in Church Lane, Kidlington." David Redhead sent the following request: "CALLING ALL RESIDENTS AND WORKERS IN OXFORD. Please, during your everyday life in the city and for the next month, keep an eye out for the Brown Hairstreak butterfly. Although it is a UK Biodiversity Action Plan Priority Species we now know the only extant population in Berks, Bucks & Oxon spreads significantly into the city. Over the last four seasons some 200 eggs have been found at numerous locations within the city boundaries. Also seven sightings of the elusive adults have been made, including two in back gardens. Last summer a female was seen in a back garden in Dene Road and this summer another female was seen in a back garden in Bullingdon Road. By this time only females are about and they will be beginning to show their age like the one depicted in the photographs below, taken on 17th September 2005. Please report any sightings to this website. Listeners to the Archers on BBC Radio 4 will also realise this rare species has recently joined the cast!"
Paul Warham reported the following on 8th September: "A one-hour visit to Homefield Wood, Bucks in this afternoon's warm sunshine produced: Comma (10) feeding on blackberries; Speckled Wood (10); Peacock(1); a couple each of Large & Small White and Common Blue (7) in the "meadow". Chris Brown sent the following update for Crowsley Wood, Berks on 8th September: "No Silver-washed Fritillary seen at the Crowsley Wood site since my last report on 27th August. However, there are plenty of other butterflies about and nectar sources still around though sparse. Today (8th Sept) I counted: Brimstone 1M, Small White 1, Small Copper 1, Red Admiral 1, Comma 16, Speckled Wood 17 and Meadow Brown 6." Monday 7th September 2009 Dave Miller reported the following on 6th September: "I decided to pay probably my last visit of the year to Aston Rowant (N) this afternoon, 6th September. Usual weather! Intermittent sun and very breezy... Nevertheless, I found at least six Silver-spotted Skippers, including a mating pair. Also braving the wind were five Common Blues, a single Chalkhill Blue, a Small Tortoiseshell, four Painted Ladies, ten or so Small Heaths and the same number of Meadow Browns. Also seen were three Brown Argus, one of which was egg-laying. Finally, the path back to the car park provided five or six Speckled Woods and a couple of Green-veined Whites."
Judith Barnard reported the following on 6th September: "Sightings over the last week or so at grid ref SP8841 (Milton Keynes area) included 7 Speckled Wood, 14 Small White, 3 Large White, 1 Green-veined White and 1 Painted Lady." Thursday 3rd September 2009 Mark Bunch, Cambs and Essex Branch, reported the following: "I visited Aston Rowant on Bank Holiday Monday, 31st August. I started on the west side of the M40 motorway. Butterflies fewer now, but still some good ones present - Silver-spotted Skippers down to around 10, though some in excellent condition. A lovely male Clouded Yellow. A few Common and Chalkhill Blues and Brown Argus, all faded. Lots of Brimstone, plus Large, Small and Green-veined Whites, Small Coppers, Painted Ladies, Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Comma, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and lots of Small Heaths. I walked to the other side of the M40 mid-afternoon but it was windy there. Similar species seen, including several more lovely Silver-spotted Skipper and, of course, buzzards and kites!" Mark Ward sent the following report on 1st September: "A few records for the website from my trip to Oxfordshire on Saturday 29 August. A quick visit to Aston Rowant in the early afternoon produced around 30 Silver-spotted Skippers doing their best to shelter from the strong wind on the slopes. Also 2 worn Chalkhill Blues, c10 Common Blues, c15 Small Heaths, 2 Painted Ladies and 2 Brown Argus. Whitecross Green Wood mid-late pm - 3 sightings of female Brown Hairstreaks coming down to blackthorn to lay eggs along the ride leading off from the car park during the handful of brief sunny intervals in my hour's visit. Also a worn Purple Hairstreak in an oak." Saturday 29th August 2009 Wendy Wilson sent the following report: "On 2nd August I watched a Green-veined White lay two eggs on garlic mustard in my garden in Gerrards Cross, Bucks. I kept them and on 7th August they both hatched and ate semi-circles out of the edges of the leaves for two weeks. Both pupated on 22nd August, one under the top of the insect cage and one on a leaf stem of the food-plant. The attached photos show them at the three stages, the larvae are ten days old here. Every time I picked leaves for them to eat I found more eggs, so I now have another lot to look after. Then today, 29th August, I was surprised to find that one of the butterflies had emerged from its pupa. Below is a photo of it warming up on my finger. I thought I would have to wait until next Spring. Is it a third brood or what? The other pupa looks as if it might emerge soon."
Chris Brown sent this update on 28th August: "It's been a good season for the Silver-washed Fritillary judging from the numbers seen at Crowsley Park Wood in Berks, but all good things come to the end and it cannot be far off when looking at recent sightings. I recorded 8 Silver-washed Fritillary on 13th, 4 on 19th and 3 on the 27th August. Below are a couple of photos of one of the females showing how worn they have become. Just wonder if they can survive into September this year?"
Dave Maunder visited Watlington Hill reserve on 27th August: "I saw a Clouded Yellow (my first this year) and a female Helice specimen - difficult to get a good photo! Other species seen were: Silver-spotted Skippers (4); Painted Lady (1); Brimstones (3); Large Whites (3); Meadow Browns (15); Hedge Brown (1); Small Heaths (9); Chalkhill Blue (1); Common Blues (9)."
Ian Stevenson reported the following on 26th August: "Just to let you know that whilst conducting a heathland rapid assessment at BBOWT's Broadmoor Bottom Reserve in Berkshire on 26th August, we disturbed 2 Grayling and a Heath Rustic, which were busy dodging the showers." Wednesday 26th August 2009 Clive Burrows spent two hours at Lardon Chase on Tuesday afternoon, 25th August: "I saw a total of 15 Adonis Blue including 5 females. A single Clouded Yellow was seen amongst the other species."
On Monday August 24th Richard O'Dare visited Little Marlow gravel pits: "On the way I came across a Buddleia with several species nectaring, these included Small White, Large White, Comma, Painted Lady and a Red Admiral (pictured) - wonderful!"
Nick Bowles walked two transects on 24th August and was disappointed with numbers: "No Peacock or Small Tortoiseshell anywhere, no Brimstone, Meadow Brown or Gatekeeper at one site and only one Painted Lady and one Silver Y moth after both transects. However my first Clouded Yellow at Coombe Hill, near Wendover, Bucks. I also heard of an accumulation (my description) of Clouded Yellow in Chacombe, near Banbury two weeks back - estimated at 50 Clouded Yellow in a field margin. Could they have been a local hatch?" Rupert Perkins saw the following on 23rd August: Bernwood Meadow - Brown Hairstreak, 6 seen on the southern side, 4 females and 2 males. Otherwise quiet with a few Painted Lady (3), many Common Blue (20+), Gatekeeper (about 5) and the usual common species, Meadow Brown and White spp. Aston Rowant NNR - Silver-spotted Skipper - at least 30 seen in a 1 hour visit, including egg laying females. Also a surprise of an Adonis Blue, a single male, a few Chalkhill Blue still flying (6), many Common Blue and Brown Argus (50+ of each) and the usual common species including a very fresh Brimstone."
News via Ched George on 23rd August: "I have it on good authority that a Wall Brown was seen in a garden very recently. Grid ref SP 848199, Aston Abbotts." Sunday 23rd August 2009 Judith Barnard reported the following today, 23rd August: "Sightings last week at grid ref SP8841 (Milton Keynes area) included 21 Small White, 5 Large White, 3 Speckled Wood, 2 Gatekeeper and 1 Painted Lady." Tony Croft sent this news on 21st August: "I found three Brown Hairstreak eggs yesterday (20th) on blackthorn which I have been planting over the last two winters. This is near the house on an area of neglected ground which used to be completely overgrown with nettles. It happens to be close to three ash trees and a bank of bramble so I have been hoping that it would eventually be used by a Brown Hairstreak for egg laying. They are all on the same bush and the photo below is one of them."
Paul Warham sent the following on 19th August: "I visited Homefield Wood, Bucks, on 19th August and saw 3 male and 4 female Silver-washed Fritillaries. One female was still being chased in nuptial flight!" Malcolm Brownsword did his BBOWT transect at Homefield Wood on 19th August: "Although the numbers of Silver-washed Fritillary have now declined significantly, the count of six, including one Valezina form, still made it the third most numerous butterfly species on the transect route. Others seen were 2 Small Skippers, 9 Brimstones, 7 Large Whites, 4 Green-veined Whites, 2 Common Blues, 5 Painted Ladies, 1 Peacock, 1 Comma, 2 Speckled Woods, 1 Gatekeeper, 13 Meadow Browns and a single Silver 'Y' moth. There were many less butterflies than expected in the meadow area, doubtless due to recent grazing by sheep, resulting in many flowering plants being flattened. Shortly after completing the transect, I returned to the main track and covered the first 300 metres of the first section of the transect again and saw an additional 20-30 Brimstones nectaring on wild basil (see photo below) and a rather battered Silver-washed Fritillary Valezina form, alive but trapped on a broken leaf stalk. The long stalk had passed through one of several holes in its wings. I released the butterfly and it flew away (see photo). The green sheen can be clearly seen and is presumably due to refraction, since it is only visible at certain angles. In the last 2 years, this is the third time I have visited Homefield Wood and found Valezina forms. The books seem to agree that they prefer more shade than the normal females, but in my experience, if anything they prefer the sun. In July 2008 I followed one in full sun in the meadow area for about 20 minutes."
Francis Gomme popped into Grangelands on the afternoon of 19th August: "Predictably large numbers of Common Blue, Brown Argus, Small Coppers, Small Heaths, Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers, Small Whites, Large whites, Green-veined Whites, Brimstones plus Small Tortoiseshells, Commas and Painted Ladies. Reasonable numbers of Chalkhill Blues on Rifle Range Bank and Grangelands. At least six Clouded Yellows flying across Grangelands itself and a late and very worn Large Skipper on Rifle Range Bank. However the highlights were Silver-spotted Skippers. 4 seen on lower slopes of Grangelands, at least 2 on north end of Rifle Range Bank and 3+ very fresh specimens inc 1 female on the Rifle Range itself!" Ian Gamble and David Turnbull visited Bernwood Meadows and Whitecross Green Wood on 19th August: "Between 8am and 10am we were unable to locate any Brown Hairstreaks in Bernwood Meadows. We did see several other species including Painted Lady, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Common Blue and Green-veined White all in small numbers and single Comma, Red Admiral and Small Copper. We arrived at Whitecross Green Wood at about 10:30am and stayed until just after midday. During our visit we found 6 Brown Hairstreak all females and four of these were seen laying eggs. The only other species noted which we had not seen during our visit to Bernwood Meadow was a Brown Argus. This was an interesting individual as it showed characteristics of the Northern Brown Argus having a distinct white spot in the centre of the forewing."
Richard Soulsby wrote the following on 19th August: "I spent a baking hot afternoon among the dust and smells of Didcot Power Station (Oxon) ash-dumping yard and landfill site doing some atlas grid-bashing. Despite the industrial desert landscape I managed to raise SU5092 from 2 to 13 species and SU5292 to 7 spp. Surprising finds were plenty of Common Blues, quite a good haul of Brown Argus, a few Small Heaths and a Small/Essex Skipper, a well as the usual 3 Whites, Speckled Woods, Painted Ladies and Small Tortoiseshells, Meadow Browns and a Gatekeeper. Dave Miller drove up to Whitecross Green Wood on the morning of 18th August: "Leaving home in wall-to-wall sunshine, it was disappointing to have the cloud close up the moment I arrived. However, I wandered hopefully up the main path, disturbing Common Blues, Meadow Browns and the odd Gatekeeper. Gazing optimistically at the favoured ash tree, for some reason my eye was drawn down to the blackthorn below: there was a small splash of orange in amongst the leaves at about head-height. I couldn't believe that this was not (as I expected) a dead leaf, but was a rather new-looking female Brown Hairstreak. Allowing me a few photos, of which the one reasonable one is below, it suddenly took off across the path and disappeared into the trees on the other side. After a further hour of neck and eye strain and no sun or hairstreaks, I headed back home to near Heathrow - where the sun burst forth of course. I hope the other enthusiasts I left behind, including a determined gentleman from North Yorkshire, fared better later on. They had missed my original encounter unfortunately."
Tuesday 18th August 2009 Ched George sent this exciting news today: "I recorded a single Wall Brown today, 18th August. It was on a private site close to Brush Hill NR near to Princes Risborough, Bucks." Don Otter writes: "I had a Clouded Yellow at Incombe Wick on the Ivinghoe Hills today, Tuesday 18th August." Malcolm Brownsword reported the following: "On Sunday afternoon, 16th August, after the Brown Hairstreak Field Meeting, I went on to Little Linton Wood for a BBOWT Dormouse field meeting. Most of this was in dense shade, so few butterflies were seen, but on a ride we did see a male Silver-washed Fritillary, which I was informed had not been recorded here. Then on my BBOWT Hartslock transect (including the extension) on 17th August, a total of 13 species were seen. Notable features were the large numbers of Large Whites, Common Blues and Gatekeepers and a reasonable number of Small Heaths. Totals were: Large White 32, Green-veined White 1, Small Copper 1, Brown Argus 3, Common Blue 25, Chalkhill Blue 10 (see image), Painted Lady 5, Small Tortoiseshell 2, Speckled Wood 1, Gatekeeper 25, Meadow Brown 66 (see image of male with opened wings), Ringlet 1 and Small Heath 8."
David Redhead reports on the Brown Hairstreak Field Meeting at Whitecross Green Wood on 16th August: "Walking much the same route, with much the same number of observers, we saw only nine Brown Hairstreaks as opposed to fifteen last year. Five of our sightings were of females sitting in oaks in the sunshine but with their wings closed rather than basking - fortunately they all did partially open their wings for a short while to allow us to sex them. We saw two males, one very briefly as it flew down to wild angelica before almost immediately returning to the oak tree from whence it had come. The other male, somewhat worn and faded, offered close up photographic opportunities as it nectared on one of the very few bramble flowers still to be found. It was disturbed several times by other insects, including Meadow Browns, but immediately returned to the same flower. After some time it flew off to, very briefly, alight on a wild angelica flower before flying away over the blackthorn. When we got back to the first ride there were two females down on the blackthorn briefly but neither appeared to lay eggs. Finally back in the car park a female, most probably the first we had seen in an oak very near the car park, kept making appearances. She spent some time on the blackthorn but again there was no evidence of egg laying. A search of the blackthorn around the car park also produced no eggs. Reported sightings are running at about a third of last year, so it appears the Brown Hairstreak is not having a good year in our area. Other species seen were Brimstone, Brown Argus, Comma, Common Blue, Gatekeeper, Green-veined White, Large Skipper, Large White, Painted Lady, Peacock, Purple Hairstreak, Ringlet, Small Copper, Small Skipper, Small White, Speckled Wood and Silver Y. On my way home from the Brown Hairstreak meeting I stopped off at Shotover Plain where I saw my second Clouded Yellow of the year, the white helice form of the female."
Dave Ferguson visited Wapsey's Wood WDS near Beaconsfield in Bucks on 16th August: "I saw a male Clouded Yellow fly past. Also, there were Brown Argus (2), Common Blue (40) and Small Heath (1). On a small pond there I found a pair of Small Red-eyed Damselflies, I think the 3rd record for Bucks. On 14th August I went to Yoesden Bank. Didn't see any Adonis Blues but 100+ Common Blues." Dave Maunder wrote: "On Sunday 16th here in Aylesbury I was very lucky to come across a Silver-washed Fritillary in a woody glade by Coldharbour Way, near Fairford Leys - it must have strayed quite a long way from its breeding grounds, I should think - the nearest I've seen them is probably Finemere woods - certainly a first for me in town! Anyway, I've attached a photo to prove it!"
Adam Bassett reported as follows on 16th August: "Just returned from a week away and it was nice to see a male Silver-washed Fritillary sailing around the back garden in Marlow Bottom, Bucks, this afternoon (16th) before sunning itself on the patio table. It was a fairly worn individual. The buddleia at the front of the house is beginning to go over and the numbers of Peacocks and Painted Ladies have fallen away from their peak a couple of weeks ago, but it was nice to see 5 Small Tortoiseshells nectaring, as I don't normally see this butterfly very often in the garden." Andrew Ashworth sent the following report on 16th August: "Ian and I made it to Lardon Chase for 10am on Saturday 15th August to view it through the drizzle! Returning after a look along the river at Goring. things eventually warmed up enough for butterflies to move without our encouragement: approx 10 Adonis, fewer Chalkhills and more Common Blues. We had intended looking across at The Holies but by now it was 2pm due to the bad weather start, so we went straight across to Aston Rowant. Still breezy but an oasis at the bottom of Bald Hill in the shelter was very busy with Brown Argus, Silver-spotted Skippers, Small Skippers etc and the Chiltern Gentians just nicely out. I find it so much more pleasant here than the Beacon Hill side. Still mustn't complain too much about motorways - they got us down (from Yorkshire) for the day!!" Sunday 16th August 2009 Dave Wilton sent this report today, 16th August: "An afternoon wander around the meadows that make up BBOWT's River Ray Reserves, adjacent to the A41 on the Bucks/Oxon border, produced nothing unexpected. However, there were really good numbers of some of the more common species, of which Common Blue (127), Small Tortoiseshell (66) and Small Copper (58) had the highest scores. The Small Copper seems to be having a particularly good second brood everywhere and the number of Small Tortoiseshells to be found, at least here in the northern half of Bucks, makes one wonder what all the fuss has been about with this species recently! There are still plenty of Painted Ladies about (26 seen) although not as many as a week ago. One small patch of flowering devil's-bit scabious in the Grange & Long Herdon Meadows held Small White (1), Small Copper (13), Common Blue (11), Painted Lady (16), Small Tortoiseshell (32), Peacock (8), Comma (1), Meadow Brown (2), Silver Y (6) and Straw Dot (1), showing just what a good nectar source the plant is at the moment. Elsewhere the butterflies were found on fleabane, water mint and ragwort alongside ditches and hedgerows because most of the meadows had already been cut for hay. Other butterfly species seen included Large White, Green-veined White, Brown Argus, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Small Heath." Becky Woodell reported the following on 15th August: "This afternoon I saw a pale, creamy coloured Clouded Yellow in Asham Meads (Oxon) but do not know which one. It landed quite close to me several times, but then flew off rapidly." Friday 14th August 2009 Ben Carpenter spent a few hours at The Holies and at Lardon Chase today (Friday 14th August): "At The Holies I had the following: 216 Meadow Brown, 29 Large White, 12 Painted Lady, 19 Adonis Blue, 48 Common Blue, 12 Chalkhill Blue, 8 Brown Argus, 3 Brimstone, 1 Clouded Yellow, 6 Small Tortoiseshell, 3 Green-veined White, 4 Small White, 1 Dingy Skipper, 4 Small Heath, 1 Gatekeeper and 2 Small Copper. At Lardon Chase I had the following: 23 Large White, 42 Meadow Brown, 35 Common Blue, 6 Painted Lady, 1 Green-veined White, 7 Chalkhill Blue, 3 Adonis Blue, 2 Small Tortoiseshell, 1 Small Copper, 1 Small White, 1 Peacock and 1 Speckled Wood."
Maureen Cross sent this news on 13th August: "Adonis Blue are on the wing. Several were seen on Lardon Chase today (13th), so please watch out for them and mail your sightings to Maureen Cross, Branch Adonis Champion." Paul Warham visited Bernwood Meadow on 13th August: "Highlights were one male and 2 female Brown Hairstreaks along with one Purple Hairstreak. Also near Picadilly in Oakley Wood were Purple Hairstreak (6) and Silver-washed Fritillary (one female)."
John Ward-Smith sent this report on 12th August: "On 11th August, whilst dragonfly recording at Swinley Brick Pits in Berks, I counted at least 7 Grayling and there were probably plenty more. Also noted Common Blue, Gatekeeper, Large Skipper and several Painted Lady." Graham Taylor was at Oxford Airport on the afternoon of 11th August and saw his first Clouded Yellow of the year. Helen Hyre sent the following on 12th August: "Birdsfoot Trefoil has flowered well at Stewkley churchyard (Bucks) this year. On 11th August my survey was dominated by Common Blue. In the past the best total has been 3. There were 12 on 11th August, ranging from the pristine to the very scruffy."
Monday 10th August 2009 David Redhead sent this report today, 10th August: "Although I did not see a Brown Hairstreak, the weekend just gone proved to be memorable for its butterflies. On Saturday morning, accompanied by Wendy, I walked week 19 of the Shabbington Wood Transect in Bernwood Forest. The total butterfly count was 256, which is the second highest total for this week since the transect was started in 1995. Piccadily was awash with Painted Ladies and the 33 recorded on transect played a part in the high overall count. But the Piccadily Painted Ladies were out-numbered by the Common Blues and 36 were recorded on transect, second only to the Gatekeepers with 53. The Common Blue count surpassed the total recorded on transect for the whole of 2008 (24) and 2007 (a meagre 11) combined. Three Silver-washed Fritillaries were also recorded and this year this species is going to achieve its highest ever count for the transect. In the afternoon I did some tetrad bashing in my ten km square and visited Kendal Copse, a new wildlife area created by Oxford City Council near Templeton College. I did not see any Common Blues there but I did come across a Brown Argus and my first Clouded Yellow of the year. On Sunday I accompanied Becky Woodell to the disused railway line in N Bucks in search of egg laying Wood Whites. We saw seven second brood Wood Whites including two females but neither obliged us by laying any eggs. The Common Blue activity was prodigious and our count for the one and a quarter miles we walked was 299! Several times we noticed spirals of half a dozen or so cavorting Common Blues - one of these happened just in front of us when it was plain that the butterfly at the bottom of the spiral was a female whilst all the others were males. Back home, Wendy & I took the dog for a walk up to the grassland above our house at about 6pm - during the last few days I had become rather worried about the state of the small Common Blue colony here as I had only ever managed to see two males. It did not take us long to find 8 roosting Common Blues, in a limited area, of which at least two were obviously females, so we returned home feeling somewhat reassured about the future of our local colony. My species count for the two days was 22 with the following seen in addition to those already mentioned - Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Purple Hairstreak, Small Copper, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Ringlet. Additionally, whilst I was out on Saturday afternoon, Wendy saw a Holly Blue in our garden." Helen Hyre walked along Wendover Arm near Aston Clinton, Bucks, on 10th August: "It was cloudy and very windy, no butterflies seen until beyond the bypass bridge, where a few Peacock and Large White were nectaring on buddleia. A Painted Lady flew up and then I noticed others, sitting on the chalky slope. Some were very tatty, others looked new. There was another large group further along, again on chalky slopes. I saw 14 Peacock, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 1 Common Blue, 1 Comma, 8 Large White and 4 Small White. I counted 58 Painted Lady, on a very gusty day. During the summer I have seen very few Painted Lady on Wendover Arm, so today's sighting was unprecedented. [This is the same place where I saw a few Painted Lady flying northwards on 29th May. Could they be preparing to migrate?]"
Wendy Wilson reports on the Field Event at Winchmore Hill on Sunday, 9th August: "It was a warm sunny morning and a small group of five members set out to count butterflies in and around the villages of Winchmore Hill and Coleshill, Bucks. Between us we recorded fifteen species: large numbers of Painted Ladies, Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers and Small, Large & Green-veined Whites, a few Small Coppers, Peacocks, Red Admirals, Commas and Speckled Woods and one each of Brimstone, Common Blue, Small Tortoiseshell and Essex Skipper. On the way home, I stopped off at another under-recorded 4km square near Chalfont-St-Giles and, in addition to seven of the above, spotted two Purple Hairstreaks." Nick Bowles visited the Pitstone area on 9th August: "At Pitstone Hill, Bucks, this am/lunchtime a few Chalkhill Blue and all other anticipated species plus at least three and probably 4 Dark Green Fritillary. One female was attempting to lay first on some hanging dead Hawthorn leaves and then into moss in almost non-existent turf (by the side of some scrub) - approx 50cm from nearest sizeable violets which were also in full sun. Conceivably there were violets I couldn't see under the scrub. I couldn't find any eggs after she left. Grazing is current and probably benefitting this site after all the rain has led to greater than average grass growth." Peter Hall sent the following on 9th August: "My garden buddleia (Ballinger Common, Bucks) is covered with Peacocks, Small Whites, Large Whites, Small Tortoiseshells, Red Admirals, Painted Ladies and Meadow Browns. Must be a hundred on the bush at a time!" On Friday 7th and Saturday 8th August in ideal weather Mick & Wendy Campbell did some atlas grid-bashing in SP70 on the Bucks/Oxon border near Thame: "Although a lot of the area we walked is predominantly arable and livestock farmland we found an extraordinary number of butterflies in the hay meadows, setaside fields and field margins, especially where there were flowering thistles or red clover. Over the 2 days we counted 685 butterflies of 18 species: Brown Argus (33), Common Blue (58), Small Copper (17), Holly Blue (1), Gatekeeper (77, inc. mating pair), Meadow Brown (76 inc. mating pair), Brimstone (2), Large White (135), Small White (39), Green-veined White (5), Comma (6), Painted Lady (151), Peacock (37), Red Admiral (2), Small Tortoiseshell (32), Small Skipper (10), Speckled Wood (2), Purple Hairstreak (2). Moths were: Dusky Sallow, Silver-Y (they were everywhere and in pristine condition, so must be a new influx or second generation from here), Straw Dot and a Smoky Wainscot." Saturday 8th August 2009 Richard Soulsby reports on the field meeting to Aston Rowant on 8th August: "The beautiful weather today attracted 12 members of Upper Thames and other branches to the field trip at the Aston Rowant North (Beacon Hill) National Nature Reserve. Plenty of butterflies were flying, including the main target species, Silver-spotted Skipper, with 90 seen in 60 minutes across the best area of habitat – in fact, possibly the most numerous species seen. Most identified were males, but some females were also seen – although no eggs could be found. The second target species, Chalkhill Blue, was seen in smaller numbers, yielding about 7 males and 3 females. The following additional species were seen in greater or smaller numbers: Comma, Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Painted Lady (lots, of course), Peacock, Small, Large and Green-veined Whites, Small, Essex and Large Skippers, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Small Heath, Small Copper, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood and, right at the end, a probable Dark Green Fritillary. Moths included innumerable 6-spot Burnets and Silver Y’s and a Treble-bar. Silver-spotted Skippers are now at, or near, their peak, so if you haven’t seen any yet, now is the time to start looking! Please report any sightings to the Upper Thames Branch website." Ian Gamble visited Aston Rowant this morning, 8th August: "I saw eighteen species of butterfly. Good numbers of Silver-spotted Skipper and both Common and Chalkhill Blue were present. Also of interest were 8 Small Tortoiseshell, 1 Red Admiral, 15 Brown Argus, 6 Small Copper, 4 Brimstone, 2 Essex Skipper and a Clouded Yellow. In the afternoon I visited Whitecross Green Wood. I failed to see any Brown Hairstreak. I did however see 1 Purple Hairstreak, 1 Ringlet, 2 Small Copper and many more Common Blue than on my visit a week ago, otherwise the numbers of the other more frequent species remained much the same."
Ben Miller reports that there were great numbers of butterflies around the Ivinghoe Hills this morning, 8th August: "I recorded 18 species - 1 worn Dark Green Fritillary north of the S-bend (SP959165), 40+ Painted Ladies, 1+ Small Skipper, 3+ Essex Skipper, 2 Brimstones, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, 2+ Brown Argus, many Common Blue, Chalkhill Blue, 2 Small Tortoiseshells (also 4 at College Lake later), Peacock, Speckled Wood, 3 Ringlets, Meadow Brown, 30+ Gatekeepers and 5 Small Heaths. A few photos below - Painted Ladies seem to be becoming more obvious by the day!"
Paul Warham visited Lardon Chase on 8th August: "Highlights this morning were Adonis Blue (3 males - one photographed) and a Clouded Yellow that landed twice before continuing on through. Other sightings were: Brimstone(3); Large & Small White (c.100 in total); Green-veined White(3); Holly Blue(2); Common Blue(c.10); Chalkhill Blue(10+); Small Copper(2); Brown Argus(3); Painted Lady(20+); Small Tortoiseshell(4); Peacock(3); Comma(1) and a few Meadow Brown."
Jon Mercer, Wilts BC, spent an hour Friday afternoon 7th August at Linkey Down, Aston Rowant, in sunny conditions: "I saw 6+ fresh Silver-spotted Skippers also 2 Chalkhill Blues and 12+ Common Blues, 2 Brown Argus, 3 Essex Skipper, 2 Small Heath and 1 Marbled White (+ other common species)."
Dave Wilton reported as follows on 7th August: "While mowing the lawn in our Westcott (Bucks) garden late this afternoon I disturbed a butterfly that was sunning itself at ground level. It flew up to join the hordes of Peacocks on the buddleia and I assumed it was just another worn Painted Lady. Then I put my glasses on and got a surprise - not a Painted Lady but a worn Silver-washed Fritillary. It remained on the buddleia for a couple of minutes, giving time to grab the camera for a quick record shot before it flew to the top of a laurel for a brief sunbathing session and then disappeared over the fence into next door's garden. Our nearest colony is about two miles away in the woods at Kingswood and that is probably where this specimen had wandered in from."
Chris Brown sent this update for Crowsley Wood on 7th August: 21 Silver-washed Fritillary seen on 30th July including this female (see below) which was testing out the violet foodplants on the woodland floor. Then 17 seen today, 7th August, the males were actively patrolling the central ride and challenging anything flying, even a dragonfly! Less females today so whether they are in the woods egg laying whilst the boys are all out showing off I do not know. Roughly half of the males seen were looking tatty. A couple quite fresh."
Nick Bowles sent this news on 7th August: "Dark Green Fritillary and Silver-washed Fritillary (minimum of two of each) at a private site in Wendover, Bucks, this afternoon. 20 species of butterfly were seen altogether and a large number of Silver-Y moths. The butterflies included second brood Dingy Skipper. Thursday 6th August 2009 Dave Ferguson sent this email today, 6th August: "I thought you might like to see these pictures of what I think is the butterfly of the summer - the Large White. They were taken on Steps Hill in Bucks yesterday (5th)."
Dave Wilton reported the following on 6th August: "This morning the garden here at Westcott, Bucks produced a typical return of about 60 butterflies, with Large White (10), Small White (2), Green-veined White (2), Common Blue (2), Red Admiral (3), Painted Lady (5), Small Tortoiseshell (4), Peacock (33), Comma (1), Gatekeeper (1) and Meadow Brown (1) enjoying the buddleias. We have had in excess of 40 Peacocks on one occasion but around 30 seems to be the norm. Just why the Painted Lady total has never exceeded five I don't understand because in the adjacent fields there are many times that number, making do with thistles, ragwort and clover when they could be enjoying our far superior nectar! The Brimstone caterpillars on our alder buckthorn are still showing no signs of wanting to pupate, meaning that they are unlikely to emerge as adults until September. One is still quite small (2cm) but the others now appear to be fully grown. With little of the warm morning sunshine remaining before the appearance of the first of the day's thunderstorms, I decided to make a quick hour-long survey of the fields close to our house until the rain set in. Most of the expected candidates were to be seen, comprising Small Skipper, Brimstone, Small Copper and Brown Argus in addition to those species already recorded in the garden. Needless to say, the most numerous butterfly in the fields was the Painted Lady with 67 recorded, but it was a very pleasant surprise to find that the Small Tortoiseshell came second with a total of 53. Of that number, no less than 45 were counted on thistles surrounding what seems to have become the butterfly's favourite local nettle patch (see report for 23rd June)." Tuesday 4th August 2009 Richard O'Dare visited Aston Rowant reserve on 3rd August: "On the slope I saw 6 Chalkhill Blue and 3 Silver-spotted Skipper. Two of these were close to each other and I was able to take the following photograph."
Dave Miller (Herts & Middx Branch) reported as follows today, 4th: "Having met Andy King at both the sites he visited on 2nd August, I shall leave the tallies to his accurate recording as already posted. I think he may not have arrived in time to see the tired looking White Admiral at Whitecross Green Wood, however! We also saw Common Blues at Aston Rowant, including a female with large red mites piggy-backing. I have attached some photos from both - Purple Hairstreak and the White Admiral from Whitecross and the others from Aston Rowant. Many congratulations to Andy on his achievement for the year (see report below for 2nd August)!"
May Webber sent the following from Long Hanborough near Witney, Oxon on 4th August: "I have attached a photograph of a Peacock that was feeding on my apple and sugar solution that I made, it seemed really successful."
Ched George visited Buttlers Hangings in Bucks on 3rd August: "I thoroughly searched the southern paddock between 3pm and 4pm. Some breeze and some sun (also lots of flowers, but sheep dung betrayed previous presence). 1 male and 1 female Chalkhill Blue. Definitely 6 Silver-spotted Skipper (from 9 - 10 sightings) and, surprisingly, 1 male Silver-washed Fritillary. I entered the north paddock to find few flowers and 10 sheep. With the sun now in, I only recorded Meadow Browns but the set-a-side field yielded a Small Copper. The rest was much as one would expect, with a few Gatekeepers, maybe 20 Meadow Brown, a dozen-or-so Painted Ladies, a few Brimstones, Large and Small Whites, 5 Peacocks, 1 Comma, a dozen Common Blue and an Essex Skipper." Malcolm Brownsword reported the following on 3rd August: "A week or so after my visit to Aston Upthorpe Downs and Oven Bottom, I returned on 2nd August in more favourable weather conditions. On Juniper Hill and approaches, I saw: 10 Small Skippers (including 2 with red parasitic mites), 30 Chalkhill Blues, 20 Common Blues (including one 'Blue' Female - see photo below), the very welcome sight of 2 Small Heaths and 1 Brown Argus, 2 Ringlets, 25 Large Whites, 4 Small Whites, 5 Green-veined Whites, 5 Meadow Browns, 1 Brimstone, 5 Small Tortoiseshells, 34 Peacocks and 60+ Painted Ladies. The latter three species were mainly nectaring on Ragwort. Surprisingly, I did not see any Marbled Whites. At nearby Oven Bottom, the following were seen: 1 Brown Argus, 2 Small Skippers, 3 Meadow Browns, 15 Chalkhill Blues, 5 Common Blues and 4 Peacocks. Again, surprisingly there were no Marbled Whites. Returning towards the grain drier, close to the 'Y' track junction near the lower entrance to Juniper Hill, at 5 pm I saw the remarkable sight of a roost of Common Blues (20+) with about 6 Brown Argus. They were mainly head-down, perched on tallish dried grasses (see image of 4 on a single plant)."
Adam Bassett sent this report on 3rd August: "A Silver-washed Fritillary made a brief appearance at the garden buddleia bush (Marlow Bottom, Bucks) on August 2nd, the first since July 19th, but too brief to sex. Both Painted Lady and Peacock numbers have climbed considerably over the past 2 weeks and are now in daily double figures, with 15 of the former and 20 of the latter the peak so far feeding on the same buddleia bush." Monday 3rd August 2009 Dennis Dell reported the following on 2nd August: "This surprisingly intact valezina form of Silver-washed Fritillary was seen in Romer Wood, Bucks today, plus 4 standard ones. I also found 4 Purple Emperor larvae [3 on one bush!] and one egg there, but saw no adults."
Dave Turnbull wrote the following on August 2nd: "I visited a site in Pitstone, Bucks two weeks ago and it revealed two fresh Small and Common Blues, heralding the start of their second broods. A two hour visit today revealed the field had been cut but I counted 30+ Small Blues and probably 100 Common Blues. A single Brown Argus and 6 Dingy Skippers completed the second brood tally. Another two species of orchid now brings the number to seven at this site." Ben Miller reported the following on 2nd August: "Having got family duties done and finally finishing my section of systematic list for the '08 Bucks bird report, I finally got into the field late afternoon... Took Hazel for a walk round Ivinghoe Beacon, Bucks. The highlight was a wonderful show from c.60+ Chalkhill Blues at the usual spots on the northern slope of Gallows Hill (SP965171), including a number of very fresh insects. Other butterflies in the area included 3+ Essex Skippers, 2+ common Skippers, just 2 Marbled Whites, 2 Painted Ladies, 4 Gatekeepers and one very worn Ringlet." Andy King visited two sites on 2nd August:
"I saw the following species: May Webber sent this news on 2nd August: "At last the sun came out this afternoon for an acceptable period of time! I was sitting in my garden in Long Hanborough near Witney, Oxon and was completely surrounded by butterflies! On one of my Buddleias this afternoon I saw: 11 Peacocks, 7 Large Whites, 3 Small Whites, 3 Painted Ladies, 1 Red Admiral and 2 Meadow Browns (one that I had never seen on a Buddleia)."
Tony Croft reported the following on 2nd August: I've just seen a male Brown Hairstreak in the top of an ash tree near Long Crendon, Bucks. I watched it flying round the tree for a while before it settled at which point I was able to make a positive identification." Chris and Pat Dennis managed an outing to Finemere Wood on 31st July between 12 noon and 2-30pm: "We saw 1 White Admiral, 2 Purple Hairstreaks, 4 Silver-washed Fritillaries, 1 Brimstone, Large Skippers and Small Skippers. On our way home we had a look along the disused railway line between the Edgcot Road and the bridge over the road to Kingswood, we saw 1 male and one female Common Blue plus one Brown Argus, it seems to be another poor year for the blues this year."
Friday 31st July 2009 Tony Croft said he had a very good transect result at Rushbeds Wood, Bucks, this afternoon, 31st July: "It yielded 20 species. Particularly gratifying were 2 Clouded Yellow in the tramway meadow. The others included 78 Meadow Brown; 59 Painted Lady; 42 Peacock; 41 Large White; 36 Green-veined White; 31 Gatekeeper; 26 Common Blue; 25 Speckled Wood; 23 Ringlet; 10 Small Copper; 9 Small White; 7 Comma; 5 Small Heath; 4 Silver-washed Fritillary; 3 Red Admiral; 3 Small Tortoiseshell; 2 Brown Argus; 1 Small Skipper and 1 Brimstone." Dave Turnbull and Ian Gamble visited Whitecross Green Wood on the morning of 31st July: "We recorded twenty species of butterfly. The highlights of the trip included 4 Brown Hairstreaks, 6 Purple Hairstreaks and a female Silver-washed Fritillary form valezina."
Mick & Wendy Campbell went to Stanton Little Wood (Oxon) on Friday 31st July: "We managed 19 species, the most surprising being a very worn female Purple Emperor which glided very slowly across the track and disappeared behind a sallow. Other species seen were: Clouded Yellow, Brown Argus, Comma, Small Skipper, Painted Lady, Purple Hairstreak, Large White, Small Copper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Gatekeeper, Small White, Peacock, Silver-washed Fritillary, Green-veined White, Common Blue, Brimstone and Speckled Wood." Thursday 30th July 2009 Don Otter writes: "A tatty old female Purple Emperor at Ringshall (Ashridge Estate) on 28th July." Quite close to the Herts border but definitely in Bucks. It was hanging around a Sallow bush." Ben Miller sent this report on 26th July: "I visited Wendover Woods on 25th July and saw: Brimstone (4+), Comma (3), Peacock (25+), Green-veined White, Small White, Large White, Speckled Wood (4), Small Copper (3), Large Skipper (1), Silver-washed Fritillary (15+), Ringlet, Gatekeeper (5+), Meadow Brown, Painted Lady (5+), Red Admiral."
Tuesday 28th July 2009 This news came via Jim Asher today: Roy Alliss had a White Admiral in his garden in Reading on 26th July. Dave Ferguson sent this sighting on 27th July: "While looking for a Whinchat on the edge of Beaconsfield, Bucks, this afternoon (27th) a female Clouded Yellow flew over a clover field and landed nearby." Malcolm Brownsword wrote the following on 27th July: "Exactly one week after the BC Upper Thames Branch visit to Homefield Wood, when we saw a total of 21 species of butterfly, on Saturday 25th July I saw 14 species on my monthly BBOWT transect. Notable was my first White-letter Hairstreak on the transect route and the continuing large numbers of Silver-washed Fritillaries. Individual totals were: 2 Small Skippers, 2 Large Skippers, 9 Large Whites, 7 Green-veined Whites, 1 White-letter Hairstreak, 4 Common Blues, 27 Painted Ladies, 11 Peacocks, 2 Commas, 22 Silver-washed Fritillaries, 2 Marbled Whites, 25 Gatekeepers, 28 Meadow Browns and 14 Ringlets." Chris Brown sent this update on 27th July of the Silver-washed Fritillary colony at Crowsley Wood, Berks: "On the whole with the cooler weather the Silver-washed Fritillaries are somewhat inactive. The males are patrolling the area to some extent but, like the females, are mostly feeding. Numbers overall seem better this year so far: 9 seen on 10/07/09, 8 on 16/07/09, 12 on 22/07/09 and 10 on 24/07/09. Also of interest is the sudden emergence of Peacock and Comma on 22nd July as I had a bewildering time counting the SWF from the many Commas on the wing. I counted 25 Peacock and 26 Comma in all and the central ride of the wood was 'on-the-boil' with all butterflies such that I had to give up counting to concentrate on the SWF." Ben Carpenter reported as follows on 27th July:
"I have managed to get round to sorting out my butterfly (and moth) records for the last month or so. These are the more recent ones: Steve & Mary Woolliams were in Bernwood Forest on the afternoon of 25th July: "We spotted this Silver-washed Fritillary, one of three we saw during the afternoon. Unfortunately our camera isn't great so the picture is quite blurred. We also saw four White Admirals, numerous Marbled Whites both in the forest and in the meadows, one Small Copper, several Common Blues and Purple Hairstreaks. We saw many Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers, Ringlets, Large and Small Skippers, Painted Ladies, Peacocks, one Brimstone, Commas, Large Whites, Small Whites, Speckled Woods. I think that's the lot!"
Sunday 26th July 2009 Ian Gamble sent the following sighting on 25th July:
"I was in Oakley Wood (Bernwood) today, 25th July, and saw two
Brown Hairstreaks. I met a gentleman who said he was the Brown Hairstreak champion
and asked me if I would send in a picture. I have not sent the picture of the one I saw first but a
second individual which was found later in the afternoon. Some twenty species of butterfly in the wood including
four White Admirals."
Mick Jones says it was a red-letter day at Dancersend (Bucks) on 25th July: "Good sightings of two species I've searched for unsuccessfully for a number of years - Purple Hairstreak (4) seen on two Oak trees along our main woodland ride and White-letter Hairstreak (2) seen on one of our Wych Elms. Also White Admiral seen in the same area where Robin Carr saw one about a fortnight ago and a total of 7 Silver-washed Fritillaries. Also seen were Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Small Copper (11), Brown Argus, Common Blue, Painted Lady (lots), Small Tortoiseshell (2), Red Admiral (1), Peacock, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Marbled White, Meadow Brown and Ringlet. A total of 23 species making one of my best butterfly days ever at the reserve." Michael Pitt-Payne reported the following on 25th July: "During the past few days my garden has been attracting a large number of Peacocks which look as if they have just hatched. Below is a picture of one I took this afternoon."
Martin Rowland says he was pleased to attend BBOWT's Butterfly ID workshop at Warburg Nature Reserve on 25th July: "During this event we achieved a species count of 19 - my best day and some personal firsts: Small and Large Skippers, Brimstone, Large, Small, Green-veined and Marbled Whites, one elusive Purple Hairstreak, Small Copper, Common Blue, one Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Peacock, Comma, Silver-washed Fritillary, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Small Heath." David Gantzel wrote the following on 25th July: "On buddleia in Hazlemere (Bucks) today July 25th, several Large and Small Whites, 3 Painted Ladies, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 1 Gatekeeper, a few Peacocks." Dave Ferguson sent this report on 25th July: "I saw a male Silver-washed Fritillary at SP748278 today (25th) which is a bramble patch on the edge of Addington Park, Bucks. I also saw a female in Finemere Wood on the trunk of an oak c4m up. It appeared to be ovipositing but it was some distance away. It was on the E side of the main track c30m from the track." Dave Maunder sent the following news on 25th July: "We've got good numbers of Vanessids here in Aylesbury (Bucks) now. This morning, 25th July, I did a little survey in a rough field adjacent to Coldharbour Way on the edge of town and saw Painted Lady (25), Peacock (46), Comma (3). All were nectaring on Thistles in the morning sun! There were good numbers of Small Tortoiseshells in the same field a week or so ago, so I'm thinking the Sturmia Bella parasitic fly hasn't affected the local vanessids too much this summer, I'm pleased to say! Also today in my small garden on my Buddleias I've had Painted lady (3); Peacock (7); Red Admiral (1); Comma (1); Small Tortoiseshell (1); Brimstone (1); Large Whites (8+); Small Whites (6+) and Green-veined Whites (2)."
Friday 24th July 2009 Judith Barnard reports on this week's sightings in Willen,
Milton Keynes: "Sightings this week at grid ref SP8841 were: Caroline Searle, National Trust Warden for White Horse Hill in Oxfordshire, sent the following sighting on 24th July: "One Clouded Yellow sighted during transect walk at Uffington White Horse on Wednesday 22nd July." Malcolm Brownsword says that despite a strong wind (force 5) and the likelihood of showers, he went to Aston Upthorpe Downs early in the afternoon of 24th July and on to the nearby SSSI, Oven Bottom: "Between the grain drier and the top of Juniper Hill I saw the following: 10 Chalkhill Blues (all male), 2 Common Blues, 1 Brimstone, 1 Small Copper, 8 Small Skippers, 3 Marbled Whites, 2 Large Whites, 15 Gatekeepers (including a mating pair), 10 Meadow Browns, 1 Small Tortoiseshell (nectaring on Ragwort), 3 Ringlets, 30+ Peacocks. The Peacocks were nectaring on the vast area of Oxford Ragwort. Shortly after arrival at Oven Bottom the promised rain started, but before this I saw: 1 Common Blue, 5 Small Skippers, 1 Marbled White, 6 Meadow Browns, 1 Ringlet, 1 Peacock and 1 Large White."
David Redhead reported the following on 24th July: "Yesterday, 23rd, I spent the day in Haugh Woods in Herefordshire seeing the first of their second brood of Wood Whites plus several Comma, but only a couple each of Painted Lady, Peacock and Red Admiral and a single Small Tortoiseshell, amongst other things. When I got home to Littlemore, Oxon at nearly 7pm Wendy told me at 5pm there had been 8 Painted Lady, 3 Peacock and 3 Comma on the smallest of our garden buddleias which gets the late afternoon/evening sun. This morning, 24th, at 9.10am in hazy sunshine there were 12 Painted Ladies on or around our second largest and most sheltered garden buddleia which gets the morning sun. They were accompanied by 3 Comma, 2 Red Admiral, 2 Large White, 2 Green-veined White, 1 Peacock and 1 Speckled Wood. 30 minutes later the Painted Lady count had risen to 14 although half of them were now basking on some long grass near the buddleia. In the intervening half hour during a short walk outside the garden another 6 Painted Ladies were seen - so my Painted Lady count by 9.40am was 20. After the daily deluge I decided to pop over to Shotover and by the time I got home my Vanessid total for the day was 71 - 33 Painted Lady, 18 Peacock, 14 Comma and 6 Red Admiral but a local Small Tortoiseshell eluded me." Thursday 23rd July 2009 Richard Soulsby sent the following: "Yesterday afternoon, 22nd July, I saw my first Silver-spotted Skippers of the year at Swyncombe Downs (Oxon) – two fresh-looking males (see photo) plus another probable. A major national survey of Silver-spotted Skippers is underway this year, so please report any sightings (with approx number seen and location) to this website and they will be passed on. Records from sites where they are rarely seen, such as the northeast Chilterns, will be especially valuable. But beware! There are still quite a few fresh Large Skippers around, so do check carefully for silver spots on the undersides of the wings!"
Dave Ferguson sent the following sightings: "On a day of sun and showers I walked in and around Waterperry Wood, Oxon today (23rd July) seeing 25 species. They were: Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Essex Skipper (1), Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Purple Hairstreak (1), White-letter Hairstreak (3), Common Blue (1), Brimstone (1), Painted Lady (9), Peacock, Comma (6), Red Admiral (1), White Admiral (5), Silver-washed Fritillary (3), Purple Emperor (1), Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Ringlet, Marbled White (3), Speckled Wood. The Emperor was a female flying around a sallow by the main ride, the Fritillaries were on the southern edge of the wood while the White-letter Hairstreaks were at Drunkard's Corner. I had already seen Small Copper and Small Tortoiseshell near home (Beaconsfield, Bucks) so I thought, as I was on a roll, I would stop at Aston Rowant for some chalk grassland species but a short visit only produced 5 Chalkhill Blues. I also saw 5 Chalkhill Blues at Grangelands on 18th July." Dave Wilton says he had a couple of transects to complete in the Bucks Chilterns this morning, 23rd July: "Aston Clinton Ragpits produced a pleasing total of 18 species in half an hour, comprising Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Common Blue, Chalk-hill Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Silver-washed Fritillary, Marbled White, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Ringlet, while at Coombe Hill near Ellesborough I added Essex Skipper, Brown Argus and Small Heath to the list. An attempt to refind Purple Emperor in private woods at Kingswood, Bucks this afternoon was thwarted by some very heavy showers but while there I did see Purple Hairstreak and White Admiral, making an effortless 23 species for the day. Assuming that the weather remains as currently forecast, those of you who will be attempting to see 27 species in Berkshire on Sunday should have no trouble at all achieving that target!" Chris Iles sent the following report on 22nd July:
"A fair few butterflies and moths around despite the poor weather: Monday 20th July 2009 Paul Bowyer reports on Saturday's field trip to Homefield Wood in Bucks: Saturday 18th July. 8 UTB members met at Homefield Wood near Marlow on a bright and breezy morning. The event started with a look at part of the catch from the previous night's moth trapping which included a photogenic Leopard Moth. The butterfly walk started slowly and got slower because there were so many species to identify and photograph. The list of 21 species was impressive and consisted of the following:- Silver-washed Fritillary(36), Dark Green Fritillary(1), Comma(15), Peacock(1), Painted Lady(3), Red Admiral(1), Speckled Wood(6), Gatekeeper(17), Meadow Brown (39), Ringlet(22), Marbled White(5), White-letter Hairstreak(5), Purple Hairstreak(4), Large White(12), Green-veined White(5), Small White(5), Brimstone(1), Large Skipper(12), Small Skipper(3), Common Blue(9) and Brown Argus(3)."
Adam Bassett sent this news on 19th July: "I have had 2 Silver-washed Fritillary visiting my garden buddleia (Marlow Bottom, Bucks) this weekend - a tatty female and quite a smart male. The male seems quite aggressive and whilst it feeds occasionally, it also seems to sun itself/lie in wait for a female and will actively pursue Painted Lady and Comma (I suppose because they are orange). When the female approached this afternoon, the male pursued her and they collided into one of our bedroom windows! Also, while at a friend's garden on Saturday about a mile or so to the south of here, but still in Marlow Bottom, I found another female, not quite so tatty, also feeding on buddleia. With 3 definite sightings in the last 4 years from the garden, I suspect that there is a small colony in the surrounding woodland."
Dave Turnbull sent the following reports: "A quick visit to Pitstone in Bucks on 16th revealed two fresh Small Blues suggesting a start to a second brood. In May there were several hundred seen at this site. Then on 19th July while walking my dogs in the Bucks section of Ashridge and in between the torrential downpours I saw 2 Silver-washed Fritillaries nectaring. I also saw two a week earlier in the same spot. Must be a good year for them as I believe this to be an unusual sighting for this 10k square." Jim Asher sent this report on 19th July: "I did some solid atlas bashing in a number of 2km squares in SU47 (Berkshire) yesterday (Saturday 18th) in the morning sunshine, plus a few in SU39 in the late afternoon. The prize of the day was to find a large population of Silver-washed Fritillary in the wooded ridge to the west of Curridge (around SU487722) - I counted at least 22. I also found Silver-washed Fritillary SE of Bussock Wood (at SU468722) - 3 seen there. A total of 20 species overall, and records from 13 2km squares during the day. Today (19th) was a near washout, although I did go out and see at least 40 Painted Lady in a lane to the south of Fernham (SU29/39), even in dismal weather, mostly basking on the ground or vegetation. Records from only three squares: total of only 9 species."
Saturday 18th July 2009 Graham Taylor sent the following report today, 18th: "I know large numbers of Painted Lady are old hat now, but particularly impressive this morning was a group of upwards of 200 Painted Ladies (I stopped counting at 100) basking or nectaring over a 50m stretch of field edge at Badbury Clumps (Oxon.), which flew up in great clouds as I walked through. All were in pristine condition and of very variable size. Dozens more Painted Ladies over the rest of the site, along with Comma, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Ringlet, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Small White, Large White and Green-veined White. Other winged things overhead included a Peregrine, a Raven and a B52 bomber displaying at RAF Fairford. Who says SU29 is dull?" May Webber sent this unusual garden sighting today, 18th July: "I was able to use my next door neighbour's camera to photograph this female Silver-Washed Fritillary. It was such a thrill to see one in the garden (in Long Hanborough, Oxon)!"
Mick & Wendy Campbell visited Sheephouse Wood in Bucks on 18th July: "This lovely wood is an SSSI and produced 19 species of butterfly despite the weather being rather mixed. Marbled Whites, Ringlets and Green-veined Whites were seen in good numbers along most of the rides and we were pleased to find a strong colony of White Admirals (22) gracing the wood. A single Purple Emperor female was seen flying around a Sallow and 6 Silver-Washed Fritillaries were patrolling the rides and nectaring on bramble flowers during the sunny spells. The full species list was: Red Admiral, Ringlet, Green-veined White, Purple Hairsteak, Meadow Brown, Comma, Gatekeeper, Marbled White, Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Small White, White Admiral, Purple Emperor, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Painted Lady, Silver-Washed Fritillary, Common Blue and Large White. 8 Small Tortoiseshells in a nettle-filled corner of the nearby farmyard brought our total species count for the day to 20."
Judith Barnard sent the following sightings:
"This week at grid ref SP8841 in Willen, Milton Keynes, I recorded: Chris and Pat Dennis visited Homefield Wood in Bucks on 16th July: "The main ride was surprisingly alive with butterflies. Silver-washed Fritillaries were in abundance - we stopped counting after 20. There were at least 10 Common Blues and we also saw 1 Purple Hairstreak. At Grangelands (Bucks) yesterday, 15th, we saw Chalkhill Blues." Helen Hyre sent this news on 16th July: "On 12th July I had spent a while surveying in Gt Brickhill churchyard (Bucks) and thought I had seen everything. As I turned to leave, something else appeared, which turned out to be a Brown Argus. Great Brickhill is in the greensand area so I was surprised to see it." Friday 17th July 2009 Dave Ferguson sent this news on 16th July: "A walk in Finemere Wood today (16th) on a warm, humid, but mostly cloudy day produced 22 species. They were: Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Brimstone (1), Common Blue (1), Bläck Hairstreak (1), Purple Hairstreak (2), Small Tortoiseshell (1), Peacock (2), Comma (3), Painted Lady (3), Silver-washed Fritillary (6-10), Marbled Fritillary (4-8), White Admiral (1), Purple Emperor (1), Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Marbled White. The Bläck Hairstreak was a very worn, tired individual, the Purple Emperor was a female flying round a sallow by the main track. The Marbled Fritillaries were quite aggressive, one leaping up from its perch and chasing a Silver-washed Fritillary and another whizzing round several perched Ringlets." David Redhead, Littlemore, Oxon sent the following: "On 15th July between 6pm and 6.30pm the feral buddleias still in the sun near our house were adorned by at least 4 Comma, 3 Red Admiral, 3 Painted Lady (all fresh) and 2 Peacock. When I returned home there was still a fresh Painted Lady on our smallest garden buddleia which gets the early evening sun. Last Sunday (12th) our garden count was 11 species - Comma, Green-veined White, Gatekeeper, Large Skipper, Large White, Meadow Brown, Peacock, Red Admiral, Ringlet, Small Skipper and Small Tortoiseshell." Ched George visited the Holtspur reserves on 15th July, accompanied by Frank Banyard on Holtspur Bottom: "No sign of Dark Green Fritillary (I saw one at Bradenham on the 10th). I/we saw Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers, 1 Large Skipper, 1 Small Skipper, Ringlets, 2 Commas, 2 Peacocks, 1 Red Admiral and 1 Common Blue." Malcolm Brownsword writes: "Despite the windy weather on 15th July, it was pleasing to see the following butterflies in my garden in West Hagbourne, Oxon: Comma 3, Large White 4, Gatekeeper 1 (very scarce in the village this year), Peacock 1 (see image), Meadow Brown 1, and about 15 Painted Ladies (see image) - all of the latter were newly hatched. At 2pm several were on an earth patch in my vegetable garden sheltering from the wind before unsuccessfully attempting to alight on a nearby swaying Buddleia. These are presumably the next generation from those arriving at the end of May. At 5.30pm there were 8 on the Buddleia flowers."
Wendy Wilson sent the following report: "Peacocks have suddenly started to emerge. On Tuesday 14 July, I counted at least 17 on two short strolls in the Chalfonts. Seven were on one bramble bush at Newlands Park where I also spotted a fresh-looking Painted Lady (see photos). The previous day however I saw neither while I was filling some gaps on the map at eight places near Newport Pagnell, but I recorded 20 Small Tortoiseshells there. On a country lane near Hardmead, close to the Bucks/Beds border I witnessed an amazing sight. Upwards of 30-40 assorted Whites, mostly Green-veined Whites, were mud-puddling at the side of the road. Every time a car went by, they scattered among the thistles on the verge but, in less than a minute, they were back again feeding on the minerals in the damp mud (the attached photo shows 15 of them). This behaviour went on for half an hour while I sat and ate my lunch, accompanied by an equally fascinated local dog-walker. This part of north-east Bucks is full of interest and there are still many more gaps-in-the-map to be filled before the end of the season ( click here to see Jim Asher's plea). I've spent three most enjoyable days up there this year and can thoroughly recommend it."
Tuesday 14th July 2009 Martin Harvey sent this report on 13th July: "This White Admiral photo was sent to me by Bobby Franklin, who found it in his conservatory in Butler's Cross (near Wendover, Bucks) on 28 June. He tells me that the last time he saw one of these was many years ago in the New Forest. Presumably it must have dispersed from a breeding colony somewhere, but where?"
Dave Wilton wrote the following on 13th July: "A Small Skipper visited our garden at Westcott, Bucks today, taking this year's garden tally to 19 butterfly species. A female Meadow Brown was noted laying eggs on our back lawn but I don't think I'll get away with that as an excuse not to mow it until this time next year! A casual inspection of our four alder buckthorn plants, purchased from the Woodland Trust a couple of years ago and plonked into a large pot pending a decision on where to put them, brought to light five Brimstone caterpillars. They vary in length from 12mm to 20mm so even the largest has some way to go yet before pupation. The books say this usually occurs in mid-July but it doesn't look as if these particular caterpillars are in any great rush to comply with the written word."
Rob Hill sent this report on 13th July: "On 10th July, at Ravenstone STW (near Stoke Goldington in Bucks) a BTO breeding bird transect was predictably quiet, but there were a few butterflies about, mainly Large and Small White (dozens), 7 Small Tortoiseshell, 14 Gatekeeper, 1 Painted Lady, 2 Comma, 4 Ringlet and 9 Meadow Brown. On 11th July, a visit to a slightly overcast and breezy Little Linford Wood (Bucks) was still worth it for the 3 pristine White Admirals I saw there. There were also lots of Large and Small Whites, 4 Small Tortoiseshell, 15+ Meadow Brown, 55+ Ringlet (and I think that was an under-estimation), 7 Comma, 8 Gatekeeper, 1 Peacock, 1 Marbled White and 3 Large Skipper, but curiously no Speckled Wood – obviously I wasn’t looking properly! Today (13th) at Finemere Wood, I saw 3 Purple Emperor, 2-3 Silver-washed Fritillary and 1 Marbled Fritillary, all along the main ride before the turning circle, plus 1 Purple Hairstreak, 5+ Comma, plus the usual commoner species. Again, Ringlets seemed particularly abundant." Steve Croxford sent the following on 13th July: "I thought the attached photos of Marbled Fritillaries may be of interest. I bumped into Dennis Dell at Finemere Wood on the 10th July so was interested in your report on the sightings web site. The photos were taken on the 12th a couple of days later. I have been seeing good numbers of the Marbled Fritillaries at Finemere for the last couple of weeks. Today I took a walk over to the adjoining Greatsea and Sheephouse Woods to see if they had spread into these woods. There was no sign of Marbled Fritillaries but there were good numbers of both Silver-washed Fritillary and White Admiral at both woods, I stopped counting afer a dozen of each. I also saw a single Purple Emperor at Sheephouse Wood."
Helen Hyre says she had a nice visit on 4th July to Slapton churchyard in Bucks: "There was high cloud but I saw 2 Small White, 1 Large White, 2 Green-veined White, 9 Meadow Brown, 2 Ringlet, 7 Small Skipper, 1 Large Skipper, 2 Marbled White. Also at Cheddington churchyard on 30th June I saw a Small Skipper which I don't think I've seen there before."
14th July - The following Märsh Fritillary reports have been held back until the flight season has ended to provide some protection to this fragile colony: Steve Croxford visited Seven Barrows on the 1st June: "Below are a couple of photos of Märsh Fritillaries taken at Seven Barrows. There were several individuals there on the 1st June 2009. As you can see from the images they looked like they had been on the wing for several days."
Martin Townsend reported the following on 31st May: "3 Märsh Fritillaries at Seven Barrows this morning, one fresh, one quite worn and one I didn't get close enough to see the condition of." Andy King visited Seven Barrows Reserve on the afternoon of 30th May and saw the following: "4/5 Märsh Fritillaries (hard to be sure as I was there quite some time and then, of course, I was seeing the same ones again and again) - but rather disappointing figures, I think. Also a few Small Blues (2/3 positive id's) and several, mostly worn Brown Argus. Also double figures of Small Heath and 2 or 3 Common Blues and 2 Dingy Skippers. Lastly, there was a constant stream of Painted Ladies, in ones and twos, ploughing straight lines across the scene and never looking remotely interested in stopping. I wasn't counting or looking hard but I wouldn't be surprised if the rate was an individual every minute or two for 3 hours." On 30th May Jon Mercer, Wilts BC, saw 6+ Märsh Fritillaries at Seven Barrows, Lambourn, also a Dingy Skipper and 2 Small Blue, many Small Heath, a Common Blue and a Brown Argus. Nigel Parsons stopped off at Seven Barrows on the way back from Somerset on 26th May: "Although it was windy I did manage to see 3 Märsh Fritillary in a sheltered sopt on the reserve. Other sightings included Small Blue (1), Brown Argus (1), Small Heath (1), Large White (1), Common Blue (1), Dingy Skipper (3) and of course several Painted Ladies. I expect everyone has experienced the mass invasion of Painted Ladies over the last week or so. I was amazed and delighted to see over 100 in about 15 minutes whilst in Somerset and another 65 in about 10 minutes during my lunch break on Friday near Aston Abbots and Weedon. On both occasions the butterflies were flying rapidly across a field and along field hedges." On 24th May Jim Asher visited Seven Barrows: "I saw at least 9 Märsh Fritillary before 10.30 - all males I think, before going off to target some blank squares nearby. Good to see that the horses haven't obliterated them. Also: Dingy Skipper, Brimstone, Green Hairstreak, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Small Heath, plus a Small Blue flying at the entrance to Crog Hill." Sunday 12th July 2009 Nick Bowles reported as follows today, 12th July:
"I had my first Chalkhill Blue today at Aston Clinton Ragpits though there were none at Coombe Hill
(or at least none 'on transect'). There were NO Dark Green or Silver-washed Fritillaries either, though I did
clock up 17 species in the combined hour of transect time. Having seen both these frit species in good numbers
at private sites I am concerned that they are not appearing at sites where I have previously seen them. Signs
are that Ringlet are giving way to Gatekeeper. Painted Lady larvae all seem to have vanished as
they pupate, though adults continue to fly on hill tops and fresh Peacock and Comma were about,
along with many Green-veined White. I saw two Common Blue and my first Small Copper (on
transect) of 2009. Jim Asher carried out his Aston Upthorpe transect this morning,
12th July: "Conditions were rather breezy but I saw 4 Chalkhill Blues - my first this year,
but only one Common Blue - what has happened to Common Blue this year? Also fresh Peacocks and
Brimstones and, again, lots of Commas - more Commas than Small Tortoiseshells.
I managed my 1km Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey square this afternoon and also visited three 2km squares to get total of species up to at
least 10 for every 2km square in SU49...a busy day! One Scarlet Tiger moth seen between Steventon and
A34 (and one at home on Friday night)." Dennis Dell sent these reports today, 12th July:
"On 10th July in Finemere Wood with Richard Soulsby, we saw 5 Purple Emperors spread throughout the wood.
The territory at the high northern end along a line of Ashes is reliable for sightings, although you have
to concentrate because only very short flights [2-5 seconds duration!] occur in the narrow canopy gaps. A couple
leaving the wood as we entered had seen a Marbled Fritillary [remember last
year?] and took a photograph: there is no doubt about it. So either they are breeding, or someone is releasing
them again. We did not see them.
Stuart Hodges did his transect in Finemere on 12th July: "Linda and I saw one Purple Emperor along the main ride which, looking through the binoculars, I'm fairly sure was a male. Also 4 Silver-washed Fritillary. There were loads of butterflies including my first of the summer Peacocks and lots of Commas, one was being eaten by a Dragonfly." David Redhead reported the following on 12th July:
"In Bernwood Forest today, 12th July,
the Shabbington Wood transect score was 203 Ringlet vs 3 Gatekeeper, so Gatekeepers have not really
got going here yet. On the M40 transect on Friday it was 160-6. Silver-washed Fritillaries and
Purple Emperors did break the monotony of counting Ringlets on both occasions. Interestingly White Admirals
are noticeably scarcer in the eastern part of Bernwood than in the SW sector whereas, if anything, the opposite is
true of the Silver-washed Fritillaries. Back home today (in Littlemore, Oxon),
the garden buddleia which gets the late afternoon sun was sporting a Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Red Admiral,
Meadow Brown and 3 Commas - there were actually two different Small Tortoiseshells in our garden this
afternoon as the one Wendy saw earlier had part of a wing missing and the one I saw was intact. I saw my first
second brood Common Blues at Holtspur yesterday afternoon plus my
first Essex Skipper of the year. The wild angelica is coming into flower in Bernwood and are already
"active" and covered in Soldier Beetles - we are now less than a week off the earliest ever sighting of
Brown Hairstreak - so please start looking for them in ash & oak and try to decide if those smaller
Purple Hairstreaks really are purple!" Following up on Malcolm Brownsword's report of Silver-washed Fritillary sightings on 9th July, Mick & Wendy Campbell visited Homefield Wood on 12th July: "Although it was cloudy Silver-washed Fritillaries were very active throughout the wood. Male and female numbers were very even and, while searching higher up in the wood, we observed a female Silver-washed Fritillary oviposit on the trunk of a large oak tree, about 3 metres above the ground. Further into the wood, at 3 different locations, we found White-letter Hairstreak at the top of some nice quality Elms. We counted 11 altogether. Only one caterpillar of Striped Lychnis moth was found on the Dark Mullein. Best find of the day though was our sighting of a Purple Emperor flying high up above the tree canopy - a possible first for this wood!"
Becky Woodell visited Rushbeds Wood on 9th July: "In the car park at 13.25 I saw a Purple Emperor flying briefly in the tops of the trees before settling again." Malcolm Brownsword reports seeing the following at Homefield Wood on Thursday 9 July (not on transect): "Small Skipper 2, Large Skipper 1, Marbled White 12, Comma 20, Large White 2, Meadow Brown >20, Ringlet >40, Silver-washed Fritillary: difficult to estimate, since they kept largely to the main ride to the left of the BBOWT reserve, but sightings were in excess of 50. Three were often seen in flight at the same time. The number of individuals was probably in excess of 25. I have never seen so many of this species at Homefield Wood. As last year, there were no Dark Green Fritillaries. See images below - Silver-washed Fritillary, Small Skipper and Meadow Brown with upper wings displayed."
Friday 10th July 2009 Judith Barnard's sightings in Willen (Milton Keynes) this week, grid ref SP8841, were: Monday 6th July - 1 Holly Blue; Tuesday 7th July - 3 Large Whites, 2 Comma, 3 Gatekeepers; Wednesday 8th July - 1 Gatekeeper, 1 Comma, 4 Small White, 2 Small Tortoiseshell, 1 Ringlet; Friday 10th July - 8 Gatekeepers, 1 Comma, 4 Small White, 5 Large White, 1 Meadow brown, 1 Green-veined White. Dave Wilton did his transect in Waterperry Wood today, 10th July: "The sun was out for less than 20% of the entire period but I was still surprised not to see a single Silver-washed Fritillary. Species found on transect were Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Large Skipper, Large White, Green-veined White, Purple Hairstreak, Purple Emperor (4), Red Admiral, White Admiral, Comma, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper & Ringlet." Sezar Hikmet sent these reports: "On 9th July at Black Park - Gatekeepers, Speckled Woods and several Large Skippers. At Langley Park today, 10th July, a number of Commas, Gatekeepers, 3 Large Whites."
Mick & Wendy Campbell visited three woods today searching for Purple Emperor and Silver-washed Fritillary: "We had success in two out of the three woods for Purple Emperor with 6 being seen in Stanton Little Wood and another 6 in Stanton Gt. Wood (southern edge). Other species recorded were: Silver-washed Fritillary (6), Small Tortoiseshell, Purple Hairstreak, Large Skipper, Large White, Small Skipper, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Green-veined White, Comma, Brimstone, Painted Lady (pristine), Marbled White, Red Admiral, Small White (50+) and Peacock (pristine)."
Dave Ferguson was out bird atlassing on 5th July: "I saw a pair of White Admirals in Oldfields Copse (SP630280) which is 2km NE of Stratton Audley." This report came via Dennis Dell: "In Bernwood on 5th July, new UTB member Robert Lewis took this excellent shot of a Purple Hairstreak with its wings open - quite difficult to get normally!"
Monday 6th July 2009 Paul Furtek sent the following today, 6th July: "I wondered if you might be interested in a picture I took on Saturday afternoon in my back garden in Langley, Berkshire of a Holly Blue. Amazing detail for a point and shoot camera!"
Chris Hazell visited Black Park, Iver, Bucks on Sunday morning 5th July 2009: "Between 9.30am and 11.30am I saw the following species: Purple Emperor - 1 male gliding around one of the large oaks in Strawberry Wood; Silver Washed Fritillary - At least 4 in the same area. I've never seen these at Black Park before, so wonder if they are recent colonists this year; White Admiral - At least 7 in the same area as above; Purple Hairstreak - 30+ all flying around the tops of smaller oaks and Ringlet - 10+ feeding on brambles along woodland rides." 6th July - Chris Brown says that the Silver-washed Fritillary have finally made an appearance at Crowsley Wood in Berks: "The emergence of Silver-washed Fritillary seems to be in a sudden rush this year rather than starting with a few and numbers building so it will be interesting to see if the numbers increase further. On 3rd July my attention was first caught by a lot of orange flying about in the trees. Indeed on nearly all occasions it was several of the many Commas which are also on the wing, but eventually I was able to count 3(F) and 6(M) Silver-washed Fritillaries. Other species seen were singletons of Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Small White, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Marbled White plus Comma 17, Meadow Brown 29 and Ringlet 35."
Paul Bowyer sent the following on 6th July: "I am not able to get to a computer very often so I am sending a late entry for the Gatekeeper now. On Thursday 25th June while walking the worst of my tetrads I saw a Gatekeeper near Dorney between Sainsbury's and the M4 bridge along Lake End Road. I saw little else in the haze of car fumes along a road which runs between sprayed fields of arable farmland." Jim Asher sent the following on 5th July: "I decided today that I needed to tackle SU29 (Faringdon, Oxon) which had become the most poorly recorded square (due to efforts made elsewhere). I was in the area NW of Faringdon this morning and notched up two White-letter Hairstreaks in near-showery conditions at Eaton Hastings and then a solitary White Admiral at a woodland edge near Taylors Hill north of Buscot House. This afternoon, I was in the Great Coxwell area, W of Faringdon, and had another White Admiral to the west of Badbury Clumps, along with at least 22 Commas! Even the dull squares have their redeeming features! Altogether, I visited 7 x 2km squares (9 x 1km squares) in total, with at least ten spp in each. (8 x 2km squares yesterday, not including Bernwood)."
Mick Jones reports on Saturday's (4th July) Joint Bucks Invertebrate Group/BC/BBOWT event at Dancersend: "Just four people attended the afternoon session and we concentrated on the Meadow Plots/Anthill area of the reserve. Part of the plan was to search for primrose plants with signs of damage from Duke of Burgundy larvae as I have only found one damaged clump so far this year in the centre of Anthill. We were surprised to find two areas with extensive larval activity along the fence-line across the middle of the Meadow Plots. This was exactly where I had one of the few definite sightings of a female in early May this year, but it does challenge the view we've developed over the last few years of the ideal conditions for egg-laying and larval survival - I think we will have to go back to the drawing board. Covering a small area in the centre of the reserve we saw large numbers of Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Large Skipper and Marbled White, 8 Commas, 6 Small Tortoiseshells, 3 Painted Ladies, 5 Small Skippers, 2 Common Blues, 7 Speckled Woods, 4 Large Whites, 2 Small Whites, 1 Green-Veined White, 3 Gatekeepers, 1 Brimstone and 2 Silver-Washed Fritillaries. Most amazingly, two of us had two brief sightings of a female Purple Emperor - the first ever sighting at the reserve! Other invertebrates included the large longhorn beetle Stenocorus meridianus and dragonflies Brown Hawker, Broad-bodied Chaser and Black-tailed Skimmer. On a return visit today - Sunday 5 July - to check the circular ride through Bittams Wood, I saw 5 Silver-washed Fritillaries and stopped counting Commas at 20. Sadly, no further sightings of Purple Emperor." Pete Eeles made the following interesting observation: "I believe that Wendy Wilson's image of a Gatekeeper on 30th June is actually ab. excessa (note the extra spots on the forewings)." Chris Lamsdell visited Black Park on 5th July: "I saw around 8+ White Admirals, one Silver-washed Fritillary, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Large Skipper, Painted Lady (1), Large White, Green-veined White, Comma, Peacock."
John Parsons writes: "I went to Greenham Common, Berks, on 5/7/09 and saw Grayling butterfly, caterpillars of Beautiful Yellow Underwing and Cinnabar moth."
Chris and Pat Dennis sent this report on 5th July: "On the 2-7-09 we had our first sighting this year of a Purple Hairstreak at about 1-45pm in Waterperry Wood, Oxon, along the main ride by the seat marked with a plaque to "Mr. Bernwood". The other picture of the Dark Green Fritillary was at a place called Smalldean Bank on the 5-7-09 about 2-00pm. This site is part of the national Trust estate at Bradenham Woods."
Saturday 4th July 2009 Dennis Dell reports on Saturday's (4th July) very successful Purple Emperor Field Meeting in Bernwood Forest: "Eighteen people turned up for the Bernwood field meeting today, including four from the Chesham Natural History Society. As soon as the arrivals got out of their cars in Oakley car park, they were greeted by two grounded male Purple Emperors, one on dog poo in long grass and the other on a metal post (see photo). We moved on down the main track to Piccadilly, where we saw seven along the length of the path between the car park and Piccadilly Circus. They were flying low around the small Oaks and sometimes landing briefly. The group then split up: half went along to the right to Yorks Wood and Hell Coppice, and the rest of us continued along the main track towards the turning circle at SP627106. From SP623108, at three discrete places along a 500m stretch, we saw nine. We finished at the turning circle. The nine were variously engaged in gliding around the Oaks and Sallows, perching and aerial battles. The other group only saw one in York's Wood. We also saw all the usual suspects, plus about six Silver-washed Fritillaries and the same number of White Admirals. Several Purple Hairstreaks were also spotted. So, a total of seventeen Purple Emperors is more than I have ever seen in one day, anywhere: we will not forget 4.7.2009!"
Rob Hill sent this report on 4th July: "Today, on a quick visit to Broughton Grounds in north-east Milton Keynes, I was delighted to see a minimum of 8 Marbled Whites in the grassy margins of the plantation, the first I’ve seen here in 10 years of watching this site. Also 10+ Meadow Browns, 5+ Large Skipper, 2 Small Tortoiseshell, plus Large and Small Whites." Dave Wilton did a couple of transects in private woods in north Bucks on Saturday 4th July: The weather was mixed with sun and cloudy spells but Dave reports that there were plenty of butterflies on the wing, the most significant being good numbers of Purple Emperor, with a final tally for the day of 19! Also seen were 7 Silver-washed Fritillary, 1 White-letter Hairstreak and 1 Bläck Hairstreak which was unfortunately in the grips of a spider.
Peter Cuss had a walk at Warren Bank on 4th July: "It's a BBOWT Reserve in Oxon (os 175 653 859). I went late afternoon and on the wing were Meadow Browns (40+), Marbled White (20), Large Skipper (12), Brimstone (1), Painted Lady (1), Ringlet (5), Comma (10+), Large White (4), Dark Green Fritillary (2) and Gatekeeper (2)." David Redhead sent the following report: "On Thursday (2nd July) by spending just over three hours at three very diverse sites (Otmoor, Bernwood Forest and the grass/scrub area near my house in Littlemore, Oxon) I managed to see 17 different butterfly species. I literally lost count of the numbers at times but I must have seen over 300 butterflies of which half were Ringlets. The ones I did count very carefully were Silver-washed Fritillary (6), Gatekeeper (4 - my first of the year), White Admiral (2), Red Admiral (2), Bläck Hairstreak (1), Purple Emperor (1 - also my first of the year), Small Tortoiseshell (1). More numerous were Meadow Brown, Marbled White, Large Skipper, Comma and Small Skipper, while ones and twos of Large White, Small White, Green-veined White and Speckled Wood completed the list. Also seen were a good number of Narrow-bordered Five Spot Burnet moths, including three mating pairs, and a couple of Cinnabars. I was also surprised to find a single nearly fully grown Cinnabar moth caterpillar." Becky Woodell's visit to Oakley Wood on 01-07-09 yielded: 10 Comma, 2 Purple Emperor, 4 White Admiral and 4 Silver-washed Fritillary among others. Thursday 2nd July 2009 Mike Wilkins walked the Lardon Chase (Berks) transect today, 2nd July, and recorded 10 Chalkhill Blues on transect and a similar number off. Wendy Wilson sent this report today, 2nd July: "I was looking for Purple Emperors between 9.00 and 11.00am in Black Park, Bucks this morning but although I recorded 11 species including 9 White Admirals (all normal sort), I did not manage to see a Purple Emperor. However I was delighted to see a male Silver-washed Fritillary. Last year I saw one in both Langley Park and Philipshill Wood, but I have never seen one in Black Park and I am wondering if they have been recorded there before. It was flying low over a large patch of brambles opposite the gate and being very aggressive, seeing off the many intruders, (mainly Large Whites and Meadow Browns). It settled briefly a few times so I managed to get good views of both top and undersides, but dog-walkers kept disturbing it so I never got a photo." Robin Carr writes: "Just to let you know I saw my first Silver-washed Fritillary of the year at Dancersend this morning." In Wendover Woods this morning (2nd July) Dave Ferguson saw: 8 male Silver-washed Fritillaries but no Purple Emperors. "In the afternoon I went to Black Park and saw c12 White Admirals, one of which was an obscura, I think a different individual to the one I saw two days ago as it seemed to have more white. It had similar characteristics, though. It was small and habitually landed on the ground just resting for a period slightly shorter than I can point and focus the camera. I also saw a male Silver-washed Fritillary, the first I have seen here."
Don Otter went to some woodland in the Bucks section of the Ashridge Estate on 2nd July: "I saw three Silver-washed Fritillaries and a couple of other people have reported them in the same area in the last couple of days. This follows on from me seeing one in the Herts section on Saturday. Also today, a few Dark Green Fritillaries on the Ivinghoe Hills, Bucks." John Ward-Smith sent this report today: "I mainly record dragonflies around South-east Berkshire, but I have had two very interesting records of butterflies recently. On 29 June, I recorded White Admiral at Rapley Lake. This is a site I have visited regularly for twenty years and this is the first time I have seen it there. Then yesterday, 1 July, I visited Felix Farm Trout Fishery at Binfield. At this site, I look out for Purple Emperor and Purple Hairstreak. In the past I have seen both species here, but there were none around yesterday. However, I was rewarded with the sighting of a Silver-washed Fritillary. It was very lively, but with a lot of patience I managed to obtain a photo when it alighted briefly. Also present on the site was a Marbled White and a few more common species."
David Redhead reported the following: "Yesterday, 1st July, our garden in Littlemore, Oxon, was visited by its first Small Tortoisehell since the 15th March and its first Red Admiral of the year. Also about were a few each of Comma, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Scarlet Tiger Moth plus a lone Large Skipper which is the only butterfly to date to show an interest in the buddleia flowers. Best of all was the pristine male Silver-washed Fritillary in combat with a pair of Commas above the brambles growing alongside the transformers serving the nearby Thames Water pumping station. We have now had Silver-washed Fritillaries in or near our garden in three of the last four summers. This morning at 7:40am the Large Skipper was already active on the buddleia flowers and a Scarlet Tiger Moth was flying around. Crossing the nearby marshland we were sworn at by two Cetti's Warblers before coming across at 7:55 a Small White flying about and a pristine Red Admiral basking on a Comfrey leaf. At 8:00am three Ringlets and a Meadow Brown were seen flying about on the small meadow in the Rivermead Nature Park and a Comma and Red Admiral (in good condition but not pristine) were basking on the nearby brambles. Re-crossing the marshland the Cetti's Warblers ignored us but we did put up a Common White Wave. Back in the garden at 8:25am, where the temperature was already 19.9C, the Large Skipper was still on the buddleia and as we watched it a Meadow Brown alighted on a nearby flower." Sezar Hikmet wrote the following on 1st July: "Today at Black Park in Bucks two White Admirals, 15 Comma, Speckled Wood and a few Large Whites."
Jeremy Soane visited Black Park on the afternoon of 30th June: "I saw 7 White Admirals in the areas North and West of the heathland, quite widely spaced in woodland glades. I also spotted an early, and very confiding, Purple Hairstreak on the Western edge of the heathland. Other species included several Commas, several Large Skippers, Meadow Browns, possible Ringlets (they flew fast in the hot weather), a Brimstone and a Large White." Peter Cuss sent this report on 1st July: "I did the same walk today (01/07/09) between Chazey Heath (Berks) and Blagrave Farm as on 28th June and again saw good numbers of Marbled White, Meadow Browns, Large Skippers, Small Skippers, Ringlets, Commas, another Small Tortoiseshell, also two Gatekeepers." Tuesday 30th June 2009 Dave Ferguson visited Black Park, Bucks today: "This morning (30th June) I saw 3 Purple Emperors and 13 White Admirals in Black Park. 2 of the Emperors were along the main E-W ride in Strawberry Wood while the other was around a clump of sallows in the heathland. One of the White Admirals was of the melanic form obliterae which has the white bands replaced by whitish dots. It was so dark it almost qualified for nigrina which has no white at all." On 30th June Wendy Wilson stopped off at Little Boys Heath, Little Kingshill, Bucks: "It's an unrecorded square (SU9098) and I saw my first Gatekeepers of the season (at 10am). Actually there were three of them, by a gate (of course!), the photo shows a male on bramble. Also there were numerous Ringlets and Meadow Browns, four Speckled Woods, two Large Skippers, a Large White, Comma and Red Admiral."
Malcolm Brownsword sent these sightings on 29th June:
27 June : Whitecross Green Wood (13.00 -14.30 hrs.) - 4 White Admirals,
over 30 Ringlets, Meadow Browns 25, Large Skipper 4.
Tom Stevenson says the birds weren't up to much during his regular monthly survey around Battle Farm, Preston Crowmarsh (Oxon): "But the following butterflies were recorded - and all before the official start time for butterfly surveying! Small Skipper 8, Large Skipper 2, Large White 18, Green-veined White 3, Small Tortoiseshell 4, Comma 2, Marbled White 15, Gatekeeper 1, Meadow Brown 227, Ringlet 136 and Small Heath 4." Tony Croft writes: "On Sunday 28th June I was helping to lead a BBOWT mid-summer wildlife walk at Rushbeds Wood and, amongst the usual butterflies, we saw one Silver-washed Fritillary and one White Admiral. Then on Monday 29th with Mick & Wendy Campbell, we saw two Purple Emperors in the ash trees near the gate to the meadow." Sunday 28th June 2009 Robert Lewis attended the field meeting to Ivinghoe Beacon (Bucks) on Sunday 28th June: "One of several Dark Green Fritillaries seen during the Ivinghoe Beacon event led by Paul Bowyer. Taken close to noon they were very lively. Managed to capture this one by waiting for it to return to a favourite thistle. Paul informs me that they should be easier to photograph in the evening. Thank you Paul for a great day, the first time I have ever seen Dark Green Fritillaries."
Mick & Wendy Campbell walked from Holton to Waterperry Wood, Oxon, on 28th June: "It was a perfect day for butterflies and was very warm and humid. At Holton we counted 5 Small Tortoiseshells, one of which was laying eggs plus a Red Admiral (also ovipositing). Our main targets in Waterperry Wood were Purple Emperor (3 seen), White Admiral (18+) and Silver-washed Fritillary (5), but there were many other species active: Marbled White, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Comma, Large White, Small White, Painted Lady, Large Skipper, Green-veined White, Speckled Wood, Essex Skipper, Small Skipper and Purple Hairstreak." Dennis Dell walked the footpath to Little Wood, Oxon, on 28th June and saw a Purple Emperor flying at the top of an ash tree. Martin Kincaid writes: "On Saturday 27th June, myself and Chris Winnick took a longish walk along the North Bucks Way on the western boundary of Milton Keynes. The warm, humid weather had certainly brought out the butterfies in numbers and although we didn't count we saw hundreds of Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood and Large Skippers with lesser numbers of Marbled White and second brood Common Blue. Pleasingly, we also saw our first White Admiral, Gatekeeper (2) and Small Skipper of the year. Also seen were Large, Small and Green-veined Whites, Painted Ladies (5, rather worn), Commas, Small Tortoiseshells (12) and abundant Peacock larvae. This must be the best butterfly walk anywhere in MK and it was a pleasure to introduce Chris to it. We then went on to nearby Howe Park Wood SSSI, where earlier in the week several people had sightings of Bläck Hairstreaks. We spent about half an hour looking but didn't find any Bläck Hairstreak, however we were happy to add a fresh Red Admiral to our day's list. Today (28th) I visited BBOWT's Little Linford Wood nature reserve looking for Purple Emperor which I keep expecting to find here. No joy, but the butterfly highlights were 2 White Admiral, 1 Red Admiral and 1 Purple Hairstreak. I've never had Purple Hairstreak before 1st July before but patient scanning of the oak canopy was eventually rewarded." Jim Asher sent this news today, 28th June: "After visiting 7 unrecorded squares in SP60 yesterday afternoon, I went to Finemere Wood this morning in search of late Bläck Hairstreak, but drew a blank. I did however see many Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Large Skipper, a few Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Marbled White, 3 White Admirals and one Silver-washed Fritillary - seen long enough to identify clearly, and one male Purple Emperor on the main ride, near the signboard. Pity about the left hindwing - so no danger of a competition entry!"
Dave Wilton paid another short visit to the disused railway cutting west of Westcott Airfield today, 28th June: "It produced plenty of active butterflies so they were obviously quite adept at sheltering from yesterday's massive hail-storm. Seen were Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Grizzled Skipper, Large White, Small White, Bläck Hairstreak, White-letter Hairstreak, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Speckled Wood, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Small Heath. The single Grizzled Skipper came as rather a surprise and looked very fresh. The one Bläck Hairstreak was worn and tired-looking while the two White-letter Hairstreaks, which occasionally shared the same bramble patch as the Black, were fresh and sprightly. They engaged in a couple of upwards-spiralling aerial battles while I watched them. This is the third year running that I've found them on the same quite insignificant-looking young elm here. All five British hairstreaks can be found at this site - I wonder if anywhere else has that claim to fame? Moths seen during today's visit included Chrysoteuchia culmella, Opsibotys fuscalis, Pyrausta purpuralis, Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet, Six-spot Burnet, Barred Straw (egg-laying on lady's bedstraw) and Blackneck. The burnets, a couple of dozen of them altogether, were feasting on clover flowers in an adjacent field and their colonies must be somewhere on the airfield itself because I've not seen them using the bird's-foot trefoil in the cutting." Peter Cuss sent this report on 28th June: "I went for a walk along the bridleway that runs between Chazey Heath (in Berks) and Blagrave farm (os 175 693765) and can report Meadow Brown (40+), Marbled White (4), Large White (2), Small white (2), Red Admiral (2) Comma (10), Large Skipper (6), Small Skipper (8), Essex Skipper (1) and (very nice to see as I have not seen them in this area for some time) Small Tortoiseshell (2), Scarlet Tiger moth (1), Cinnabar moth. Also several large groups of Peacock caterpillars." On 27th June Michael Anderson reported that he visited Steps Hill (just S. of Ivinghoe Beacon, Bucks) recently: "I saw Dark Green Fritillary on Tuesday, 16th June (just 2) and Tuesday, 23rd June (maybe as many as 6 but very difficult to be sure as they were constantly on the move). I have not seen them on Steps Hill before but maybe I have not been there at the right time." Judith Barnard paid several visits to Willen, Milton Keynes (SP8841), recently: Monday 22nd June, 1 Meadow Brown. Tuesday 23rd June, 1 Meadow Brown, 3 Small Tortoiseshell, 1 Speckled Wood, 1 Painted Lady. Thursday 25th June, 1 Speckled Wood. Thursday 25th June 2009 Tony Palmer from Burghfield Common, Berks sent this news today, 25th June: "I had my first sighting of Purple Emperors at Burghfield Common on Thursday 25th June at 19.20pm in the top of an oak tree local to my garden." Ian Stevenson writes: "Just to let you know that whilst doing the rounds on BBOWT nature reserves in my job as Berkshire Reserves Officer on 25th June, we disturbed a nice specimen of a Four-dotted Footman (f. flava) on Wildmoor Heath and a number of Scarlet Tigers at Moor Copse. A quick visit to Hartslock revealed hundreds of Marbled Whites and numbers of Comma, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Large/ Small and Essex Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Speckled Wood, Six-spot Burnet and Yellow Shell." Wendy Wilson sent the following report: "I went to Black Park, Bucks, at 8.30am this morning, 25th June, to look for Purple Emperors. First I took a photo of a White Admiral but though I spent an hour or two looking in various places, I had no success, so I gave up and went to Langley Park, Bucks (which is also in my 10km square) to do some run-of-the-mill recording. At about midday, on my way back to the car-park there, I was amazed to see a lovely male Purple Emperor flying low just in front of me. It did a couple of low passes above the grass verge. It was much bigger than the White Admirals I'd been looking at and I could see its purple sheen with the naked eye. Then I got an excellent view through binoculars when it settled on a bare patch of ground for a minute. Unfortunately as I switched on my camera, a very noisy helicopter flew over and spooked His Imperial Majesty. He shot up into the oak trees behind the Wellingtonias. I got my lunch out of the car and sat scanning the oak trees for ages, but saw no movement apart from a nice view of a nuthatch having a spat with a tree creeper (the nuthatch won). I also saw Red Admiral, Comma, Speckled Wood, Large Skipper, Meadow Brown, Painted Lady, Small White, Large White and Ringlet."
Chris and Pat Dennis were in Bernwood Forest (Bucks) today, 25th June: "These two pictures were taken today at Bernwood Forest along the main path not far from the car park. My wife and I went there today looking for White Admirals (2 spotted) but at 12 noon we found a Purple Emperor instead."
Chris Brown writes: "The forecast for Friday is thundery showers so I went back to Crowsley Wood (Berks) today. Still no Silver-washed Fritillary seen despite optimal weather - 26 to 28 C, no breeze, humid, hazy sunshine. Other butterflies seen were: Meadow Brown (32), Ringlet (17), Red Admiral (1), Comma (5), Speckled Wood (6), Large White (1)." Richard Soulsby had a wander around the lanes and roads of Benson (Oxon) for a couple of hours on Wednesday afternoon, 24th June: "I was pleasantly surprised to see 12 butterfly species, many of them along the verge of the busy A4074 Oxford – Reading road. These were: Large Skipper (19), Small Skipper (1), Meadow Brown (31), Ringlet (6), Marbled White (7), Speckled Wood (1), Comma (8), Small Tortoiseshell (2), Brimstone (1), Green-veined White (3), Small White (4) and Large White (4). The Ringlets, Marbled Whites and Small Skipper were all first-of-the-year for me. It was nice to see such good numbers of Large Skippers (mainly male, but at least one female) and Commas." Andy King sent this report on 24th June: "Black Park, Fulmer (Bucks), entered from Fulmer Road, yielded views of White Admiral from the moment I walked into it. Sightings may well have numbered around 30 or more. Of course, this will include the same individuals more than once, however, I would think 6 to 8 would be a reasonable minimum count. They are very mobile insects for a lot of the time. The woodland at that end of the park must be a White Admiral paradise, with plenty of bramble patches edging plenty of rides and glades and copious honeysuckle of the right, straggly sort within the woods, as well as everywhere else. Also seen: quite a few Meadow Brown, Large Whites, one Green-veined White, 3 Large Skippers and two or three Commas. Iterestingly, there appeared to be no Ringlets. One or two impressive Hornets were patrolling. The heathland part of the park, the (very different) woodland at the other side and even a flowering Buddleia there had no butterflies, however, except a Large Skipper and a Comma." Dave Turnbull went to Whitecross Green Wood on three occasions recently looking for Bläck Hairstreaks: "June 19th, 21st and 23rd revealed a number of Bläck Hairstreaks, 10+ being seen on the 19th and 5 or 6 on the subsequent days. On the last visit there were two fresh specimens so they should be around for a couple of weeks or so." Malcolm Brownsword went to Bernwood Meadows and the adjacent part of Bernwood Forest on 23rd June: "I saw the following: 20 Marbled Whites, 25 Ringlets, 30 Meadow Browns, 3 Large Skippers, 1 Common Blue, 1 Painted Lady, 1 Comma and 1 White Admiral. Sadly, no Bläck Hairstreaks. In the afternoon I went to Woodsides Meadow, Oxon (BBOWT reserve) and saw 3 Small Tortoiseshells, 10 Ringlets, 12 Meadow Browns and 2 Large Skippers. Surprisingly, there were no Marbled Whites and no dragonflies or damselflies by the pond."
David Lloyd visited BBOWT's Broadmoor Bottom Reserve in Berkshire on 22nd June and saw 3 male and one female Silver-studded Blue there. Tuesday 23rd June 2009 Dave Wilton reported the following today, 23rd June: "I had a day off from Bläck Hairstreak searching today and instead enjoyed the sunshine here in the garden at Westcott, Bucks. It gave me an opportunity to see what was using it and I was pleasantly surprised to find six different species, comprising Large Skipper, Brimstone, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood and Meadow Brown. I usually have to wait for the buddleias to be in flower before getting that much variety in one day. A short walk around the adjacent fields added Painted Lady, Marbled White, Ringlet and Small Heath, but there was no sign of White-letter Hairstreak yet on our local elms. Three nettle patches were inspected. One contained five Peacock larval nests, another contained two nests and the third (the largest patch) contained one nest. The caterpillars ranged in size from quite small to almost fully grown. The last nettle patch, surrounded by thistles just coming into flower, was also the Small Tortoiseshell's favourite. Ten adults were seen there and I was surprised to find three or four Small Tortoiseshell caterpillars almost fully grown (I'm not sure which generation they'll belong to!). A single Painted Lady caterpillar was also spotted. There seems to have been a mass emergence of Seven-spot Ladybirds locally because I counted over 100 just on this one nettle and thistle patch, several of them still sitting next to their vacated pupae." Paul Warham visited Finemere Wood on 23rd June: "Today, one Silver-Washed Fritillary, my first of the year, but I couldn't find a Bläck Hairsteak." Chris Brown sent the following report: "I'm delighted to report my first observation of a Silver-washed Fritillary for this year, although not at the Crowsley Wood site. In fact it was at Moor Copse, Berks, on 22nd June in the same locality as last year. I am unable to confirm sex as it was just too active. I have also attached photos of a Peacock caterpillar group found locally and Large Skipper (Crowsley). On 23rd June I visited Crowsley Wood in 23 degC, mixed cloud/sunshine, but no Silver-washed Fritillary found. Other butterflies were present: Small White 1, Comma 2, Speckled Wood 5, Meadow Brown 12 and Ringlet 11."
Monday 22nd June 2009 Malcolm Brownsword did his BBOWT transect at Homefield Wood this morning (22nd June): "I saw the following during my transect: 3 Large Skippers, 1 Large White, 1 Common Blue, 3 Red Admirals, 1 Painted Lady, 7 Commas, 2 Silver-washed Fritillaries - my first of the year, 10 Speckled Woods, 10 Marbled Whites - my first of the year, 27 Meadow Browns, 42 Ringlets -my first of the year and a Cinnabar Moth. Sadly, no sign of Dark Green Fritillary." Dave Ferguson reports seeing 5 fresh White Admirals in Strawberry Wood, Black Park (Bucks) this morning, 22nd June. David Redhead walked part of a disused railway line near Winslow, Bucks this morning, 22nd: "My total butterfly count during the two miles was 148 and that was with three of the major contributors not being at their peak and a few Whites going unidentified - 37 Meadow Brown, 28 Ringlet, 24 Marbled White, 23 Small Tortoiseshell, 11 Large Skipper, 8 Painted Lady, 6 Speckled Wood, 5 Brimstone, 4 Common Blue, 1 Large White and 1 Small Heath. At one stage I went back a decade watching a small patch of knapweed adorned by three Small Tortoiseshells, a Marbled White and a Painted Lady. The latter rather spoilt it for a photo as rather more of it was missing than was there, but one of the eight seen was in surprisingly good condition considering the distance it had flown." Mick Campbell went to Chearsley Furze wood (Bucks) this afternoon, 22nd, looking for Bläck Hairstreaks: He recorded Small Tortoiseshell (6), Painted Lady (4), Comma (1), Small White (1), Large White (1), Speckled Wood (2), Large Skipper (20), Ringlet (10), Meadow Brown (15), Peacock caterpillars (about 50, 3rd instar) and a Brimstone. Moths were: Large Yellow Underwing and Yellow Shell. No Bläck Hairstreaks unfortunately. Sunday 21st June 2009 Nick Bowles writes: "I know the Green Hairstreak flies in late Summer in some heathy parts of the UK but around the Chilterns I don't think it goes into July. Certainly, the one I saw today (21st June) at Coombe Hill, Wendover was late (in terms of my personal records). Rather few of anything else but good to see a few Painted Ladies and fresh Small Tortoiseshells about, with small numbers of Large Skipper, Small Heath and slightly more Ringlet. Meadow Brown relatively scarce. I also heard of a presumed 'old' brood Comma today in Surrey - that really is late." John Ward-Smith visited BBOWT's Broadmoor Bottom Reserve today, 21st June and saw: two male Silver-studded Blues in pristine condition. Saturday 20th June 2009 Dave Maunder sent the following: "While cycling home from school on 19th June, I saw 28 Small Tortoiseshells in the fields near Fairford Leys on the edge of Aylesbury, mainly nectaring on thistles, so they seem to be doing really well in my area this summer, I'm very pleased to say! Also saw a couple of worn Painted Ladies near my house, nectaring on Cotoneaster flowers alongside 4 Small Tortoiseshells, plus my first Small Copper of the year. On nettles near my house I also found 6 more batches of Peacock larvae, all 3rd/4th instar, so hopefully these are also going to do well this year!" David Redhead visited three known Bläck Hairstreak sites on 18th June: "In spite of the far from ideal weather, I was delighted to be successful at two of them. Altogether I saw eleven Bläck Hairstreaks and got very good views of eight of them. Five were still in good condition, like the one in the photo below, but three were beginning to show signs of ageing with the tail region looking slightly tatty and faded. This is usually a sign that numbers are about to start waning and my advice, if you have not already seen a Bläck Hairstreak, is to take corrective action this weekend. Please report any sightings to our Bläck Hairstreak Champion, Stuart Hodges. Besides the Bläck Hairstreaks, the highlight of my day was my first Red Admiral of 2009! A truly pristine example which had obviously only just emerged locally. My total butterfly count at the end of the day was 68 comprising the following in addition to those already mentioned - Large Skipper (20), Meadow Brown (12), Ringlet (7), Speckled Wood (6), Small Tortoiseshell (5), Comma (2), Marbled White (2), Painted Lady (1) and Common Blue (1). Both the Commas were also pristine but the Painted Lady hardly qualified as half a butterfly.
Also, in his garden in Littlemore, Oxon, David thought the Orange-tip had not laid on the Sweet Rocket this year: "But catching sight of a couple of Orange-tip caterpillars today, 20th, proved me wrong. Further inspection produced an even bigger surprise as one Sweet Rocket plant was being ravaged by about 20 Large White caterpillars. I have never seen them on Sweet Rocket before, they appear to be most partial to the leaves but also evidence that they eat the seed pods."
Thursday 18th June 2009 Don and Sandra Otter had a quick visit to Finemere Wood this morning, 18th June: "We saw about 6 Bläck Hairstreaks at 9.30am." Stuart Hodges led a field trip to Finemere Wood on 17th June with Bläck Hairstreak the target species: Five Hampshire members and a hard core of UTB members took part. An early sighting was Small Tortoiseshell, a new species for the year for some of the members from Hampshire where Small Tortoiseshell numbers are still severely down. Local knowledge proved invaluable and Stuart took us to the hot spot where we quickly saw a good candidate for Bläck Hairstreak in flight. It kept us waiting, but eventually settled and allowed itself to be admired. This proved to be the first of several sightings and there were at least three individuals. We then went into the wood proper where we found a fourth individual. A total of five butterfly species in mid June may not sound anything to write home about, but no field trip which finds Bläck Hairstreak can be anything but a memorable one! The full butterfly list was Green-veined White, Bläck Hairstreak, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown. Wendy Wilson sent the following news on 17th June: "Large Skippers have been out in force and by far the commonest species during the last few days. Today I was lucky enough to watch, but not photograph, one lay an egg at Hardings Row Local Nature Reserve in Iver Heath, Bucks. I did get a photo of the egg though (see below). Also below is a different Large Skipper taken the day before at Little Chalfont, Bucks. I am also seeing Small Tortoiseshells regularly, which makes a nice change from last year."
John Parsons writes: "Today 17/6/09, I saw a Ringlet along the canal path west of Newbury, Berks. Marbled White also appeared this week."
Dennis Dell spent two hours on the afternoon of 16th June looking for Bläck Hairstreaks: "I visited the many Bläck Hairstreak hotspots in some privately owned woods in Bucks and counted 18, spread fairly evenly over 8 discrete hotspots. The whole stretch I walk [about 2.5 km] consists almost entirely of blackthorn which is either at the edges of the woods or as separate hedgerows. Every year, however, Bläck Hairstreaks are only seen at the same specific spots on the blackthorn." Judith Barnard writes: "In Willen, Milton Keynes (SP882414) this week: Monday 15th - 4 Speckled Woods, Tuesday 16th - 2 Meadow Browns." Tuesday 16th June 2009 16/06 - David Redhead wondered about the effects of yesterday's torrential downpours: "However, a visit to the grassland above our house in Littlemore, Oxon just now would suggest they are insignificant - I found 4 Marbled Whites (only 2 yesterday), a Ringlet, 2 Meadow Brown, 4 Large Skippers and plenty of Narrow-bordered Five Spot Burnet Moths plus a Silver Y, Cinnabar and Burnet Companion. A fairly typical haul for a short visit to this site at the moment. At Shotover I was delighted to see a Small Tortoiseshell and a beautifully fresh Comma. 4 Bläck Hairstreaks were also seen at sites in Shotover and Bletchingdon (both Oxon)." Dave Wilton visited a number of Bläck Hairstreak sites in Bucks today. He found 8 Bläck Hairstreaks and said it was also nice to see a couple of Marbled Whites in Finemere Meadows and his second Red Admiral of the year in Piddington Wood. Mick & Wendy Campbell visited Bernwood Forest today, 16th June: "We were looking for Bläck Hairstreaks and managed to see 7 altogether. Other species included Speckled Wood (4), a worn Brown Argus, Painted Lady (4), Large Skipper (8), a Red Admiral, Meadow Brown (6) and a fresh White Admiral, our first of the year. At Sydlings Copse (Oxon) later on we also saw our first Ringlets and Marbled Whites of this season along with 3 Small Tortoiseshells, 1 faded and the other two in pristine condition." Jan Haseler says she was delighted to see 3 Small Tortoiseshells on University of Reading (Berks) farmland on 15th June. "It's the first time in 3 years that I have seen so many Small Tortoiseshells in a single day in Berkshire. There were also Painted Ladies, Red Admirals and Large Skippers there." Ched George writes: "I spent an hour at Bradenham (Bucks) on the 14th June hoping to see a first Dark Green Fritillary. No luck, just 2 Marbled White, 1 Painted Lady, a few Large Skippers and a few Meadow Browns. A Small Tortoiseshell was tasting nettles near our allotment in Radnage, Bucks earlier in the day." Jon Mercer, BC Wilts Branch reported as follows on 14th June: "4-5 Bläck Hairstreaks at Whitecross Green Wood early pm, mostly high in the blackthorn and flying actively, also Large Skipper and Green-veined White, but no Wood Whites." Most of the places we visit are pretty inaccessible by public transport but Dennis Dell managed to achieve the following: "I was interested to see what was logistically possible and since I have a senior bus pass it costs me nothing! On June 11th I took the 16 bus from Aylesbury to Quainton, arriving there at 10.35. It took me 40 minutes to walk from there to Finemere Wood. My plan was to walk westwards, going through several Bläck Hairstreak hotspots and ending up at Edgcott [about 5 miles] to catch the 4pm bus back to Aylesbury. It worked a treat! The weather was less than ideal however [16 to 18 degrees, partly overcast, some light rain], which probably contributed to the relatively poor yield of species and numbers. Species seen along the way: Meadow Brown [29], Speckled Wood [17], Large Skipper [17], Small White [6], Common Blue [4], Small Tortoiseshell [5], Large White [1], Large Skipper [17], Brimstone [1]. Only two Bläck Hairstreaks were seen: at the Finemere Wood hotspot, and another at Finemere Bridge." This news came via Dennis Dell: "A friend of ours, Janet Simmons, saw 2 Small Skippers on 7th June in her garden in Waltham St Lawrence, Berks, feeding on Spirea flowers." Saturday 13th June 2009 Wendy Wilson reports on the Winchmore Hill field meeting this morning, Saturday 13 June: "The meeting achieved its objective which was to fill in some gaps on the map. It was overcast to start with but the sun came out and it soon warmed up to 20C. Five people came and we split up into three groups and walked in different directions, recording all the species we saw before meeting back on the common at 12.15pm. The final tally was 10 species: Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Orange-tip, Peacock, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown and Speckled Wood and included 3 nests of Peacock larvae. Also seen were Cinnabar and Brown Silver-line moths. We covered two unrecorded tetrads (SU9294 Winchmore Hill area and SU9494 Coleshill area), not the four I'd hoped we'd manage, but still worthwhile. We all enjoyed ourselves too!"
David Redhead sent this report on 13th June: "My Swyncombe (Oxon) transect this afternoon produced my first Small Blues of the year - 49 of them! Also my first English Dingy Skippers of the year (15 seen in Scotland) - a couple, both tatty and studied carefully to make sure they were not Burnet Companions. Surprisingly no Marbled Whites in view of the one I saw nr Wytham yesterday and the one I saw on grassland by my house before leaving for transect - this had become 2 by the time I returned. Finally I pushed my luck and went to Shotover at 5.25 but still 22C and stayed 40 minutes with 50% sun and still 21C when I left but no Bläck Hairstreak. I have seen them still active at this time of day in the past - two Speckled Wood were active and lots of nice pink bramble flowers about which were good enough for a Painted Lady. Also saw a tatty Peacock which was my 11th species of the day which also included a late Orange-tip." Mick & Wendy Campbell went to Waterperry Wood on 13th June to look for Bläck Hairstreaks: "We walked the southern edge of the wood and counted a total of 15 Bläck Hairstreaks, all very active flying over the blackthorn. Other species seen were Large White 6, Small Tortoiseshell 4, Meadow Brown 14, Common Blue 2, Large Skipper 25, Speckled Wood 3, Painted Lady 4. Moths seen were: Straw Dot 5, Yellow Shell 2, Mother Shipton 2 and numerous Green Oak Tortrix flying in the Oak trees." Dave Maunder sent this news on 13th June: "Last weekend I had 51 Small Tortoiseshells hatch from a batch of larvae I found near my house in Aylesbury (Bucks) - only one had a parasite pupa in it, so a good success rate! I've seen 12 Small Tortoiseshells locally over this last week, so numbers seem quite good around here at the moment. Other species seen this week were:- Brimstone (1, 13th); Peacock larvae (4 batches of 4th instar); Large Whites (2); Small Whites (4); Meadow Browns (2); Large Skippers (25+); Common Blues (4)." Friday 12th June 2009 Nick Bowles sent this sighting today, 12th: "On my way home from work today I was passing by my transect site in Bucks when I decided that it would be best to make sure that I did actually visit this week (in case of rain at the weekend) so I wandered around in some glimpses of sun and saw a Ringlet, my first for the year." Tony Croft sent this report today, 12th: "On my Rushbeds Wood (Bucks) transect this afternoon, I saw one Bläck Hairstreak in the green lane. Later on at Whitecross Green Wood I bumped into Dave Dennis and we saw ten individuals including the one pictured."
Whilst surveying a meadow besides the River Thames and just north of Wytham Woods, Oxon, for TVERC this afternoon 12th June, David Redhead saw his first Marbled White of the year. "In spite of the overcast conditions, by the time I got back to my car my butterfly count was 34 - Meadow Brown 18, Speckled Wood 6, Small Tortoiseshell 4, Painted Lady 2, Large Skipper 2 and Green-veined White 1. Some day flying moths also seen - 3 Yellow Shell, 2 Straw Dot and a Silver-Y." Dave Wilton wrote the following today, 12th June: "Despite good weather, a day spent searching the Bucks/Oxon border area for Bläck Hairstreak was rather disappointing (six known sites visited, just the one butterfly seen). However, this was more than made up for by seeing no less than 23 fresh Small Tortoiseshells during the course of the day and, at Edgcott, Bucks, my first Ringlet of the season." David Redhead reported the following on 11th June: "Besides visiting a number of Bläck Hairstreak sites in Oxon today, 11th, my butterflying included dog walking in the setaside field near our house in Littlemore, Oxon. My total butterfly count in addition to 1 Bläck Hairstreak was 12 Common Blue, 8 Large Skipper, 6 Speckled Wood, 3 Meadow Brown, 1 Painted Lady and (pick of the day) 1 Small Tortoiseshell. There was a White flying in our lane as well but I did not manage to id it. Two of the Large Skippers were mating but when I moved in for a photo they flew. I looked around and all I could find were an individual male and female sitting on nearby leaves - think they must just have decided to separate at that very moment." Sunday 7th June 2009 Tim Watts sent this report today, 7th June: "I spent half an hour watching Blackthorn on the Calvert Jubilee BBOWT reserve, Bucks (members only) hoping to see my first Bläck Hairstreak of the year. There is a small recently discovered colony here but I saw none in flight. I was just leaving when I spotted one, motionless, resting on a leaf low down allowing me to get this photo."
Andy King visited Finemere Wood, Bucks, on Sunday 7th June: "I saw 7 Speckled Woods, 6 or so Green-veined Whites, 1 Large White, 2 Large Skippers, 1 (90% certain) Meadow Brown, 1 Painted Lady (probably a female looking for egg-laying sites), 1 Bläck Hairstreak and 1 male Orange Tip (also a possible Common Blue)." Nigel Parsons says he's been out and about doing some more tetrads in his lunch breaks this week: "On Thursday (4th June) I visited a riverside site in the Meadowcroft area of Aylesbury (Bucks). On this area of disturbed land (due I think for future house building) I found several species and surprisingly Small Tortoiseshell was the most numerous (12), mainly nectaring on creeping buttercups - a new brood must have emerged recently. I also saw my first Meadow Browns (8) of the year. Others included Small Copper 2, Small White 1, Brown Argus 1, Speckled Wood 1, Common Blue 2 and Large White 1. Also a couple of moths, Straw Dot 1 and Mother Shipton 1. For any botanists out there I saw a very large specimen of Celery-leaved Crowfoot - not seen this very often." Friday 5th June 2009 David Redhead reported the following on 4th June:
"I arrived at Otmoor Rifle Range range just after 9.30am today, 4th June, at 11C
and sunny to look for Bläck Hairstreak. I went to the west thicket hot-spot - sheltered bramble
not in flower and no evidence of Bläck Hairstreak. I walked up & back down the east (sunny) side of the west thicket but still no
action. I crossed the range and walked up the east side of east thicket and still no action, but as I got back to the
southern end of the thicket there was a short typical flight of a dark small butterfly - I was 90% certain it was a Bläck Hairstreak.
I hung around for five minutes but no reappearance. I then went into scrub area to the south and searched the three south facing "alcoves"
all produced a negative result on the first visit but on returning to the best of the three there was again a short typical flight.
I hung around and there was a prolonged repeat flight about 5m to the west of the first - I got a much better view in flight of this
one and now 99% certain I was seeing Bläck Hairstreaks. I hung around for some time and there was another short flight in the same place but every time they were
settling out of sight. At 10.50 I returned to the hot-spot on the west thicket and after
a couple of minutes a couple spiralled up a few feet from the blackthorn and just as they returned to it there was
another in flight 5m to west and this time it briefly landed on a leaf giving me a good but short view of the
underside - now 101% certain I had seen at least 5 Bläck Hairstreaks (with a possible sixth)." Andrew Bolton reported the following today: "A couple of minor sightings from a corner of Berkshire at Lakeside Garden Centre, Brimpton Common, grid ref SU 573628 - 24/05/09 Painted Lady 7, Holly Blue 1, Large White 1, Comma 1; 31/05/09 Painted Lady 2, Small Tortoiseshell 1, Large White 1." Maureen Cross visited the Holies, Berks on 3rd June: "I was fortunate to see 11 Adonis Blue, a good mixture of male and female which bodes well for the next brood if the weather is kind, but drew a blank at Hartslock. Today, 4th, we saw our first freshly emerged Small Tortoiseshell on Lardon Chase." Wednesday 3rd June 2009 Martin Mitchell reported the following today, 3rd June: "These sightings are from the southern edge of the western (Crookham Common) end of Greenham Common, Berks: 1 Green Hairstreak, 3 Dingy Skippers (all very worn), 1 Large Skipper, 1 Small Copper, 1 Small Blue, 40+ Common Blues, 2 Brown Argus, 10+ Small Heath, 2 Painted Lady, 1 Speckled Yellow moth." David Redhead sent these sightings on 2nd June: "An excursion to Shotover (Oxon) this afternoon has reassurred me that not all the Painted Ladies have gone to the North Pole. The first hour was spent at Slade Camp. The most numerous butterfly here was Speckled Wood (5) and my first Large Skipper of the year plus a fresh Holly Blue (only my second of the year) were nice to see. Also singletons of Large White, Brimstone, Peacock and Common Blue - the latter showing a worrying scarcity in spite of there being plenty of Bird's-foot Trefoil about. I then went to the meadows below Westhill Farm, the western margin of which is my local hot spot for Small Coppers and usually good for Common Blues & Brown Argus. The Small Coppers were a slight disappointment with only two faded individuals seen but the Common Blues and Brown Argus were a total disappointment - both with a zero score. There was another Large Skipper jousting with one of the Small Coppers and 3 Peacocks also seen around the edge of the meadow. A setaside field produced another Peacock and a Large White and also a Painted Lady - the first of five that I saw altogether." Terry Hotten sent this news on 2nd June: "Clouded Yellow at Homefield Wood, Bucks on Saturday May 30th together with a few Painted Ladies, Common Blues, Small Heaths, Orange Tips and a Large White. Painted Lady also seen at Hambleden Mill, Bucks." On 2nd June Judith Barnard saw 4 Speckled Woods and one Painted Lady (on the wing) in Willen, Milton Keynes, (SP879413). Tom Stevenson sent this report on 2nd June: "Following the sighting of a single Small Blue on 29 May amongst the radishes down my allotment in Benson (Oxon), yesterday I saw at least 8 very mobile individuals along the Ridgeway path that leads SE from North Farm (1km SE of Britwell Salome). This is less than 500m from the Swyncome site so not quite as surprising as the allotment location."
Monday 1st June 2009 Colin Everett (Assistant Recorder for birds in Herts!) sent this report today: "Monday 1st June: On rough land off Lodge Lane nr Chorleywood/Little Chalfont, Bucks TQ0096, a CLOUDED YELLOW paused briefly on Red Clover before continuing NE. Also seen there: 3 Large Skippers, Common Blue, 20+ Painted Ladies (including 8+ flying N & 2 NW) and a Peacock on bramble blossom. At nearby Roughwood Park Lodge TQ0095 was a male Orange-tip." On Sunday 31st May Graham Taylor visited Wytham Woods, Oxon (permit only) and had sightings of: 1 Green Hairstreak, 3 Red Admiral and 1 Brown Argus on the hilltop. Wendy Wilson was walking in and around Coleshill in Bucks this morning, Monday, 1st June: "I saw my first Meadow Brown of the season - a dark male in mint condition. During our two hour walk Maggie Cartridge and I also saw 11 Large White, 12 Small White, 2 Green-veined White, 1 female Orange-tip, 1 Holly Blue, 3 Peacock, 2 rather faded Painted Ladies, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 1 Red Admiral (which Maggie rescued from under the net on someone's allotment), 1 Comma, 3 Speckled Wood and numerous other unidentified whites. We also spotted 2 Burnet Companions. Painted Ladies are still around, but not in such huge numbers as last week. I have recorded 187 at various places in Bucks and Slough during the last two weeks." Mick & Wendy Campbell went to Asham Meads on 1st June and saw 3 pristine Small Tortoiseshells. Other species recorded were Common Blue, Small White, Speckled Wood, Large White, Painted Lady (5 - 1 very worn, nectaring on bramble flowers), Small Heath and Green-veined White. Moths were Silver-Y (3), Burnet Companion (2) and a Grass Rivulet. On May 31st David Turnbull paid another visit to Pitstone in Bucks: "The site still revealed 60+ Small Blues (see report for 22nd May) and now a similar number of Common Blues. Strangely no Skippers were seen but 10+ Small Heaths, only 2 Painted Ladies and a late male Orange-tip. Also of note were 5 species of orchid with White Helleborine in profusion and a Lesser Broomrape." Pete Eeles paid a visit to Hartslock, Oxon on Friday 29th May and saw: 6 Common Blue (all male), 4 Dingy Skipper, 1 Grizzled Skipper, 5 Small Heath, 1 Large Skipper and 12 Painted Lady. He was also surprised to see his earliest ever Meadow Brown (male) of the year. He then paid a visit to Lardon Chase, Berks, finding 6 Small Blue (all female), 7 Common Blue (all male) and 4 Adonis Blue (3 male and 1 female)." Nigel Parsons writes: "I expect everyone has experienced the mass invasion of Painted Ladies over the last week or so. I was amazed and delighted to see over 100 in about 15 minutes whilst in Somerset and another 65 in about 10 minutes during my lunch break on Friday (29th May) near Aston Abbots and Weedon, Bucks. On both occasions the butterflies were flying rapidly across a field and along field hedges. I have also been out tetrad bashing near Chalfont St Giles on 31st May and saw my first Large Skipper of the year. Generally, the number of butterflies has dipped from a few weeks ago but I still managed to see several species, including Orange-tip (4 males), Large White, Small White and Green-veined White (15, 4 and 7, respectively), Peacock (6), Painted Lady (4) and Speckled Wood (3). I noted that many of these butterflies were attracted to the flowers of water cress along the sides of the River Misbourne." |
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