A Garden Speckled Wood.

Following a night of constant rain,this morning was dry,bright, and mainly sunny.Around lunchtime a first of the season Speckled Wood was seen flying about in search of a sunny spot.It decided to land on a bamboo leaf close to my pond where it stayed to enjoy the warmth.

A Slow Start to the Spring Emergence.

With the first appearance of the Green Hairstreak at Whiteway's on the 23rd of this month,I would have expected to see other spring species following very soon afterwards at this site. However to date the Green Hairstreak is still a lone occupant. As the weather is now it seems improving, I am hopeful that everything will quickly catch  up.

With little new to see at  Whiteway's today I visited Bouldnor Forest and all was quiet with just four species on show. Brimstone male's were evident along with this female resting on a bramble in the sun. Several Speckled Wood were recorded  as well as a first Comma sighting of the year.

Spring Butterflies Thin on the Ground.

Following a short cold snap,today's sunshine and mild temperature encouraged me to pay a second visit of the year to Bouldnor Forest. Immediately on entering the forest I was passed by a very fast flying male Brimstone but just a few yards farther on I came across this Speckled Wood butterfly. This is a first sighting of the season of this species for me and it obligingly settled on the side of the track for a few seconds. The only other butterfly encountered was a Comma, and it was not until I was returning that a rather tatty Red Admiral appeared on the track.This was followed by a second Speckled Wood fluttering around and landing in a sunny spot.

 

The Cool Weather Persists.

Despite the sun today, temperatures were disappointing with a persistent cold wind that has prevailed for over a month. However some butterflies were to be seen in my local forest with several Brimstone and the occasional Orange Tip. Other  butterflies on the wing were a Green-veined White, a Red Admiral, one Speckled Wood, and a few Large White.

Out and About At Last.

Following seven weeks of lockdown it was great to get out and enjoy nature.Today's first visit of the year to Bouldnor Forest at Yarmouth was rewarded with a Glanville Fritillary nectaring on bird's-foot trefoil. Other species encountered along the forest rides were Wall Brown,Green Hairstreak,Grizzled Skipper,Small Heath,and Speckled Wood.All were recorded as my first of the season.

The First Speckled Wood of the Year.

A walk along the wooded banks of Shalfleet Stream today was rewarded with a sighting of the first Speckled Wood of the year.Alas it was only a brief glimpse as this new emergent quickly flew over the stream into the woodland.

Just the Usual Suspects.

With the spring weather warming up over the last few days and set to continue,I was very hopeful of seeing the first newly emerged butterflies of the year today.

Speckled Wood and Orange Tip have already been sighted on the Isle of Wight and an afternoon walk through Bouldnor Forest and later Walters Copse at Newtown proved to be a disappointment as I failed to see any of these two species.Still,the usual suspects were out and about.Male Brimstone forever on the move, along with several basking Comma,a Red Admiral or two on the tracks,and good numbers of Peacock.The latter it seemed always to be found close to  Pussy Willow which is now flowering in our damp woods.

Spring Gets Underway.

Spring it seems has finally arrived and in the garden a first of the year Small White. A visit to my local copse was rewarded with another first of the season,a Speckled Wood. As the warm and sunny weather is promised for the rest of the week it looks as though more species will be out and about.

Speckled Woods & Peacocks On Show.

It was a lovely sunny spring afternoon although the butterflies did not seem to be much in evidence during my walk in Walters Copse at Newtown.Still,at least six Speckled Wood had claimed several sun dappled  spots in the wood and I had a glimpse of a Small/Green-veined White as it flew along a ride as I entered the Copse.
The Peacock seems to be very abundant this year and they are a regular sight here.Male Peacock butterflies set up their territories on the ground often in a sunny location at the end of a woodland ride and I came across one such spot in the copse today.The male(pictured below on the left of the photo) had attracted a female and he was gently opening and closing his wings in a courtship ritual while edging as close as possible to her.An example of this behaviour can been seen HERE The display abruptly ended when she flew off into the high branches of a nearby tree swiftly followed by the male.In contrast to the prevalence of the Peacock,the Red Admiral is a rare sight at the moment so I was glad to have a single sighting.Another all too brief sighting was a Holly Blue flying busily along a sunny track.

Bright & Beautiful.

With autumn here any nectar rich flowering plants in the garden are now attracting butterflies. Along with the reliable Red Admiral. I am still seeing the odd Speckled Wood,an occasional Painted Lady stopping off to feed on the buddleia,Large and Small Whites,and today this very colourful Small Copper.A very recent emergence by the look of it with bright markings. Individuals from later broods such as this tend to be often larger and brighter.This one also has a slight row blue dots on the hindwings of the form caeruleopunctata.   

Villa Garden Visitors.

Although butterfly friendly plants were very limited in the extensive garden of our holiday villa on the Greek Island of Lefkada last week, up to fifteen species were noted either in the garden or passing through it.Fortunately the grounds were sided by olive groves and pasture pens,both with a profusion of wildflowers so there was plenty to interest the butterflies.

The villas vast lawn had patches of clover which attracted Long-tailed Blues and Common Blues while a large fig tree at the front housed a couple of Lattice Browns and Speckled Woods.The former nectared from any damaged half ripe fruits while the Speckled Woods competed for the dappled sunny spots around the base of the tree.A small honeysuckle plant on the porch was favoured by a Southern White Admiral and the magnificent flowering geraniums along the length of the rear veranda were visited by Cleopatra's as well as that Geranium Bronze already mentioned in the previous blog entry.

A Walk in the Wood.

it was a case of sunny intervals this morning when I visited my local copse.However when the sun did shine it was pleasantly warm and it enticed several butterflies into activity.My total count of butterflies after a couple of hours strolling along the rides were 3 Comma,3 male Brimstone,2 Peacock,and a Speckled Wood.The latter was my first sighting of this species of the new season and over a week earlier than last year.

Not Just Another Brown.

Butterfly sightings were somewhat disappointing today along my local forest rides.Plenty of Meadow Browns and Speckled Woods but none of the larger woodland butterflies to see.However the Ringlet is now fluttering about and when in the company of the Meadow Browns it can be tricky to separate the two. In flight the upperside of the Ringlet is a tasty chocolate brown whereas the Meadow Brown is a lighter brown.The Ringlet has no orange on the underside unlike the Brown,just a collection of attractive tri-coloured rings.

  

Slow Going.

I must say that my spring sightings of newly emerged butterflies have been poor so far with just a couple of Small Whites to date.However a stroll around my local copse at Newtown today did produce at least three Speckled Wood and a possible female Orange Tip having an aerial duel with a Brimstone, before they both flew off at speed.Of course I may have been mistaken as my 'Orange Tip' could have been just another Small White.

Still the weather this week is settled and we are hoping for some near summer temperatures.So things are set to improve.

Wight Elegance.

A quick visit to Walters Copse today in the hope of seeing some new species for this year.It was a very sunny late morning with a light breeze.I soon came upon numerous Meadow Brown butterflies together with some Speckled Wood.However a butterfly flitting around the tree tops at about thirty feet up took my eye and it was my first White Admiral of the season.Eventually with that very elegant flight,it made its way down  to feed on the ample crop of bramble flowers that are dotted along the ride edges.This individual was quickly joined by another and despite a few encounters with the resident Speckled Woods they remained on the bramble for a time.

A little later I had two further White Admiral sightings in the copse plus a well traveled Painted Lady.

Marsh Fritillary.

There are butterflies that can no longer be seen on the Isle of Wight and the Marsh Fritillary is one of them..As a breeding species it disappeared some years ago, so in order to see it now I took a trip to Dorset where it can still be found at several locations

I chose Hod Hill situated north of the town of Blandford Forum,at a site and owned by the National Trust.Here is a vast Iron Age hill fort comprised of ditches where lush vegetation and wooded banks are home to numerous species of butterfly.The Marsh Fritillary is resident at Hod Hill so a wander around would hopefully produce a sighting.I  soon came across Small Blue ,Dingy & Grizzled Skipper,Common Blue,and Speckled Wood.The weather was not as good as predicted and it could only be described as bright but cloudy.After an hour and a half of searching  the first Marsh Fritillary was seen in a sheltered grassy ditch away from the brisk breeze