PB... On the Road Again!

Negative test, feeling stir crazy.... weather forecast hot... Back to Alners Gorse, nice and local, in case I come over "iffy"!

Greeted by an extraordinarily marked Green Veined White, it's like someone was drawing the tree of life!

A fleeting Red Admiral landing

Lots of Gatekeepers again, some apparently made of crepe paper!

I only saw a few Speckled Wood

But even more Skippers than last time, still confusing as ever!

Probably half a dozen Peacocks, through the walk

A few damsels crossed my path, this a Variable I think

Not many whites about, this Small was one of the few

Soldier Beetle..... probably 100's more than I spotted!!

More Skipper....?

Some more unhelpful Marbled Whites were about

Along with a vast combination of bees and hoverflies

Small Skipper

Probable Green Bush Cricket

There appeared to be far more female than male Ringlets

And some of the Skippers looked positively ancient!

Spot of the day...... Purple Hairstreak Grinning (First for me!)

Excitement of the day.... 5 Silver Wash Fritillaries frolicking in close vicinity to one another

Brimstone, showing well in nice light

Ten seconds later, having moved a smidge...

Either a Common Hawker or a Migrant Hawker, difficult to tell for sure in the shadow

2nd spot of the day.... a different Purple Hairstreak, 10 feet up in the air rather than eye level

Heading back toward the car now, another Brimstone

The only Comma I saw

And a final Green Veined White

It was nice to be out again for a couple of hours, hope you enjoyed the walk, and those whose butterflies have been blown south.....Ta very much JoyJoyJoy

Stay Safe All

  • Glad to see you are 'up and running' again and the Silver Wash are just gorgeous as is everything else to be honest

    Cin J

  • I'm going on a walk tomorrow, through a woodland besides the Straits, I have no ploy other than to mutter PB PB as I wander through, and just maybe those elusive Butterflies will appear.
    Good to see you're feeling better and can I sign up to the course too please. :-)

    Lot to learn

  • Beautiful photos PB and glad to hear you are up and chasing after butterflies so we can share in your adventures ! You certainly saw a good number of species and the weather will keep enticing the flutterbys out although we'll be needing oxygen assistance by Tuesday when temperatures hit the mid 30's. I think a trip to the coast for us next week. !

    _________________________________________________________________________

    Regards, Hazel 

  • We managed to see a Silver Wash last weekend on our local reserves open day,first time I've had a decent look at one,the Marbled are mega rare locally for us. Great selection thanks for adding to me education, Chris is the flutterby expert in our house but how many blokes listen to their wives?

    Pete

    Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can

  • "Running" is a bit optimistic!
    I was delighted with the frits, as I've never seen any other than as soloists, there were 2 duets plus a gooseberry lol And the Hairstreaks were a complete surprise, the 1st one I just sort of turned to look back where I'd just walked, and looked straight at it, and thought...that's butterfly shaped!
  • Well you never know your luck Gaynor, I tend to mutter "will you bleedin well land you little beggar"!!
    If you're referring to Dave's course, Cin would be a much better guru than me... plus she's got a Bear if things turn dicey!
  • I'm back at work from Sunday, so will have the joy of that for the heatwave, but Mrs PB's off Saturday, so I think we're headed to Portland for a cooling clifftop meander :o)
    Talking of oxygen assistance, I'm still struggling a bit, but I suppose only first negative day, so no real surprise I'm still a bit breathless
  • I do, Pete, all the time (just in case Mrs PB reads this lol)
  • Dave - CH.
    Collins Butterfly Guide Tolman & Lewington ISBN 978-0-00-727977-7
    Apps.... Obsidentify - its European based rather than the others that always have a strong American flavour
    Website - to narrow things down if there is some debate https://www.leps.it

    And you can always post to the Butterfly & Moths thread and we can all have a go

    Cin J

  • Hi PB,
    Glad you're back up and meandering, and quite effectively as well.
    Still waiting for my first Purple Hairstreak, amongst many others.
    As for ID'ing I use Google Lens quite a lot, just need to get the image from camera to phone, telepathy doesn't work if you don't manage a decent picture. I use an Android phone and I found a mystery icon at the bottom of images and found out what does by trying it. It's quite good as long as you get a decent clear image, but every now and then it can be quite spectacularly wrong, just use it with common sense, if you can find anyGrin.
    Best wishes,
    Trevor