Butterfly Diary
- field notes by Adrian Hoskins
my earliest
sightings of each brood are highlighted in bold type
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Sightings
policy - details of certain sites where visitor pressure
or trampling may pose a threat to butterflies or alienate
landowners are excluded from these pages.
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2009
Jan
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Feb
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Mar
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Apr
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May
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Jun
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Jly
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Aug
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Sep
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Oct
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Nov
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Dec
August
Saturday
29th August
I visited Steyning in West Sussex today, a trip which proved
extremely rewarding. Within minutes of arriving I saw a male
Clouded Yellow fly past and settle in the grass a few metres
ahead, providing me with my first chance this year to
photograph the species. Before long I had also seen a
Painted Lady, a Small Tortoiseshell, a Wall Brown, a Brown
Argus, 2 Common Blues and a Small Copper, plus several
Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers and Small Heaths.
The purpose of the trip however was to see Brown
Hairstreaks. The first males appeared at Steyning on 2nd
August so it seemed unlikely that I would see anything other
than one or two faded and worn females. There had
clearly been a new wave of emerging butterflies however, as
between 11am and 2.30pm a minimum of 9 females, mostly in
fresh condition, were seen by myself and other visitors.
Most sat obligingly on blackthorn or bramble leaves, basking
with wings outspread or posing nicely for underside photos.
One female was particularly accommodating, sitting
stationary for several minutes, then laying eggs in front of
us, before finally flying up to the top of an ash tree where
we could see her feeding at secretions on the buds.
At Steyning I spoke to Neil Hulme of Sussex Butterfly
Conservation, who informed me that the number of Painted
Ladies at Ditching ( see 6th August entry ) has been
revised. Using satellite photographs to determine the area
of occupied thistles, and based on an estimated average of 3
Painted Ladies per sq metre, it is now believed that
somewhere in excess of 250,000 butterflies emerged at the
site !
Brown Hairstreak, female, Steyning, West Sussex
Brown Hairstreak, female, Steyning, West Sussex
Friday
28th August
The commonest butterfly today at Alner's Gorse was Speckled
Wood. I saw about 30 in various states of wear, flying in
areas that were sheltered from the strong breeze. In spring
and summer this species rarely visits flowers, usually
preferring to imbibe aphid secretions from the surface of
oak and hazel leaves, so it was interesting to see how the
autumn generation differed in its behaviour. Several were
nectaring at fleabane, while some fed at fermenting
blackberries. I saw several others feeding at the berries
and flowers of alder buckthorn, but the majority spent most
of their time walking about on ash twigs, feeding avidly at
sticky secretions on the buds. Other species seen included
18 Meadow Browns, 5 Gatekeepers, 3 Painted Ladies, 1 Small
Tortoiseshell, 2 Common Blues, 1 Small Copper, 1 female
Brown Hairstreak, 4 Large Whites and 15 Small Whites.
On the way home I stopped for about half an hour at Martin
Down. Butterflies numbers were low due to the blustery
weather and the lateness of the season, but I
managed to see about 10 Small Heaths, 20 Meadow Browns, 4
Small Whites, 1 Painted Lady, 2 fresh Adonis Blues ( 1m, 1f
), 5 Chalkhill Blues, and 1 Brown Argus.
Monday
24th August
In cool cloudy conditions this morning I arrived with a
friend at Broughton Down, and saw about 250-300 Large
Whites, all basking with wings half open on low herbage
across the site. Other species were much harder to see, but
I managed to find 2 Brimstones, 2 Green-veined Whites, 6
Small Whites, 20+ Small Heaths, 100+ Meadow Browns, 8
Speckled Woods, 8 very worn Painted Ladies, 4 Brown Argus,
about 30-40 Common Blues ( mostly females ) and 2 Chalkhill
Blues. Silver-spotted Skippers were very difficult to
find in the heavily overcast conditions, as they normally
hide deep in grass tussocks in cool weather, so I was
surprised to find a female at roost, hanging from the tip of
a grass head in a large patch of tall grasses at the bottom
of the hill.
In the afternoon we travelled to Hod Hill, arriving in cool
overcast weather, but by the time we had climbed to the
ramparts of the hill fort, weak hazy sunshine began to arouse
the dormant butterflies, allowing us to see 4 Large Whites,
3 Small Whites, a mating pair of Green-veined Whites, 1
Small Copper, 1 Brown Argus, about 10 worn Common Blues, 18
fresh Adonis Blues, 10 Painted Ladies, 1 worn male
Wall Brown, about 25 Speckled Woods, 40+ Meadow Browns, and
16 Small Heaths.
Adonis Blue, male, Hod Hill, Dorset
Saturday
22nd August
Last Monday my car engine decided to
self-destruct, leaving me stranded on the motorway for
almost 3 hours, and I'm likely to be without a vehicle for
several weeks, so today's sightings are limited to what flew
into my small garden at Havant ! Throughout the day
there were always at least 4 Small Whites and 3 Large Whites
present, along with 2 resident Speckled Woods and a male
Comma that has been using the same leaf as a territorial
perch for the past 3 weeks. The large Buddleia bush at the
end of the garden no longer has Peacocks visiting, but today
attracted a Red Admiral and a single Painted Lady. Much of
the garden is overgrown with nettles, and these have
regularly attracted female Red Admirals and Commas through
the summer, although I have found no larvae of either. They
do however support an enormous colony of the Mother of Pearl
moth Pleuroptya ruralis
- commonly up to 40 of these fly out if I stroll down the
garden at dusk.
News coming in from other recorders indicates that at most
sites the butterfly season is winding down, with low numbers
of Common Blue, Small Heath, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Small
Copper etc, and the odd Silver-washed Fritillary hanging on
here and there. Brown Hairstreaks are still being seen in
very low numbers in Sussex, Hampshire and Oxfordshire, but
at it's former stronghold at Noar Hill it has suffered badly
as a result of inappropriate management.
At Old Winchester Hill, which is on high ground and hence a
"late" site, there are still good numbers of Chalkhill Blues
being reported, including several fresh males.
Silver-spotted Skippers, there and at other sites are still
flying in good numbers, but have suffered slightly as a
result of the poor weather during the 2008 egg-laying
season. Clouded Yellows continue to be reported
sporadically, with a maximum of 6 seen last Thursday at OWH,
and singletons reported from various sites in Sussex and
Dorset. Adonis Blues have had a poor 2nd brood at almost all
sites, but Small Tortoiseshells appear to be sustaining
their slow recovery from the nadir of 2007, with two's and
three's reported from almost all sites visited in August.
Friday
14th August
Cool, dewy nights are signalling the approach of autumn, and
most butterfly species are diminishing in numbers. Many wild
flowers have already gone to seed, and those that are still
flowering have had most of their nectar washed away by the
recent rains. Consequently butterfly numbers at Noar Hill
this afternoon were low in comparison with the swarms seen
just 2 weeks ago. Most Peacocks have now entered
hibernation - just 5 were seen today. Painted Lady
numbers have also dropped significantly, with less than 20
flying; but the species showing the most dramatic drop in
numbers was Large White, which fell from an estimated 250 on
31st July, to a pathetic 4 adults today. Small Whites
however are still present in good numbers ( 40+ ); and Small
Tortoiseshells have increased, with 15 fresh looking
individuals seen today, mostly nectaring at marjoram.
Brown Hairstreaks continue to be elusive - I found a single
female basking on a grass blade but she was a little too
nervous for photography, and flew up over a blackthorn bush
before disappearing into a tall ash tree beyond.
Other species at Noar Hill included 20 Brimstones, 2 Brown
Argus, 50+ Common Blues, 1 pristine male Holly Blue, 1
Comma, 2 very faded Silver-washed Fritillaries, 2 Speckled
Woods, 30+ Gatekeepers, 7 Small Heaths, and about 40 Meadow
Browns including a fresh mating pair.
Sunday
9th August
At Broughton Down this afternoon I saw about 80
Silver-spotted Skippers, mostly of which were fresh males
although some appeared to have been flying for about a week.
The female emergence has only just begun but despite
emerging later than the males most were quite worn, having
spent most of their adult lives fluttering about amongst the
grasses laying eggs. By far the most abundant species was
the Large White, with at least 700 seen. Small and
Green-veined Whites were also in reasonable numbers - about
30 of each. There were also impressive numbers of
Brimstones, with at least 120 fresh adults avidly nectaring
at basil thyme and other flowers. Highlight of the afternoon
as far as I was concerned was a pristine male Clouded
Yellow ( which sadly declined to have its photo taken !
).
I spent about 3 hours at Broughton, which isn't enough time
to do justice to the site, so the following is a
conservative estimate of the other species seen - 2 worn
Essex Skippers, 3 Small Skippers, 1 Small Copper, 15+ very
worn Chalkhill Blues, 150+ Brown Argus, 100+ Common Blues, 1
Holly Blue, 1 Red Admiral, 300 Painted Ladies ( mostly very
worn specimens ), 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 2 Speckled Woods,
10 Small Heaths, 50+ Gatekeepers, and 150-200 Meadow Browns.
Another visitor to the site told me he had also seen a Small
Blue.
Holly Blue, female, Broughton Down, Hampshire
Silver-spotted Skipper, male, Broughton Down, Hampshire
Saturday
8th August
Today I revisited Noar Hill for yet another attempt to see
Brown Hairstreaks, which seem to be more elusive than ever
this year. I might well have failed again had it not been
for a friend ( thanks Mike ! ) who spotted one at roost,
about 6 metres up, on an ash stem. Peering through borrowed
binoculars I could see that it was a male, and in fresh
condition, so hopefully there should be further
opportunities to find females ( which emerge a week later
than males ). In comparison with my trip to Noar Hill on
31st July butterfly numbers in general were higher, and the
species balance was different - 2
Speckled Woods, 40+ Gatekeepers, perhaps 60-70
Meadow Browns, 2 fresh Small Heaths, 1 Large Skipper,
2 Small Skippers, 6 Brimstones, 40 or 50 Large Whites,
10 Small Whites, 20-25 Green-veined Whites, 3 Small Coppers,
2 Brown Argus, 40-50 Common Blues including many fresh
females, 3 Holly Blues, 2 Red Admirals, 5 Commas, 9
Small Tortoiseshells, 6 Silver-washed Fritillaries, about 35 Peacocks and between 70-80
Painted Ladies.
Small Tortoiseshell, Noar Hill, Hampshire
Friday
7th August
In sharp contrast to the report from Ditchling ( see below
), a walk around Stansted Forest early this afternoon
produced only 14 Painted Ladies, although butterfly numbers
in general were reasonably good - 2 Small Skippers, 1 Small
Copper, 12 Common Blues, 11 fresh Brimstones, 15
Green-veined Whites, at least 40 Large Whites, 3 Small
Whites, 2 Red Admirals, 2 Small Tortoiseshells, 9 Commas,
about 35 Peacocks, 16 Silver-washed Fritillaries, 8 Speckled
Woods, 6 Meadow Browns and about 30 Gatekeepers.
Thursday 6th August
I've just I spotted an amazing report on the Sussex branch
website of Butterfly Conservation in which an estimated
120,000 Painted Ladies flew up from a 200 x 300 metre patch
of thistles on hills above Ditchling on the evening of 4th
August. Even
allowing for possible over-estimation this must represent
easily the greatest concentration of Painted Ladies ever recorded
in the UK, and must have been an incredible spectacle.
Other news includes several sightings of Clouded Yellows in
Sussex; 2nd brood Dingy Skippers, Wood Whites and Small
Blues in Dorset and Hampshire; and fresh Brown
Hairstreaks in north Hampshire, Bucks, Dorset and
Sussex. Among the more interesting moths turning up at traps
recently have been Garden Tiger, Black Arches, Magpie and
Pale Prominent. There have also been several records this
week of Hummingbird Hawkmoth.
Sunday 2nd August
After another abortive attempt to see Brown Hairstreaks this
morning at Noar Hill, I decided to spend the afternoon at
Stockbridge Down. Chalkhill Blues were in quite good
numbers- about 400, many of which were quite fresh and
undamaged despite the wind and rain we've had over the last
couple of weeks. My target species for the trip was
Silver-spotted Skipper, and after a lot of searching I
was lucky to find 2 fresh males on different parts of the
reserve. Other species seen included at least 50 Large
Whites, about 20 Small Whites, 3 Brimstones, 5 Silver-washed
Fritillaries, 15 Peacocks, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 4 Commas,
20 Common Blues and 1 Marbled White. Meadow Browns and
Gatekeepers were in quite low numbers but uncounted.
Silver-spotted Skipper, male, Stockbridge Down, Hampshire
Saturday 1st August
The unsettled weather of July looks set to continue well
into August, and right now it's pouring with rain again, so
to brighten up the day here are a few photos taken at Noar
Hill yesterday :
Peacocks, Noar Hill, Hampshire
Common Blues at roost, Noar Hill, Hampshire
Peacock, Noar Hill, Hampshire
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