BUTTERFLY SIGHTINGS SUMMARY 2020

This is the summary of the UK butterflies I have seen this year.

My aim is to see between 45 and 50; the last two years I managed 47. 

We were in lockdown when the first of the spring butteflies were on the wing. My first sightings of the year were on the local  disused golf course  during the  weeks of 'lockdown' due to Covid 19 when I took my daily exercise . The first records I made were on 31 March: peacock, brimstone and small tortoiseshell.

 During the next couple of weeks  I added a comma to my year list, together with orange tip and green veined white, again all seen at the golf course.

small tortoiseshell

orange tip (m)

brimstone (m)

comma

peacock

green veined white

Still limited to local walks, in the middle of April I I was please to find five speckled wood butterflies,  and a small white at the golf course.  In my garden the holly blues had also begun emerging and at Highworth's Pentylands country park, I found my first red admiral. On 12 May as restrictons were about to be lifted I saw a large white as I walked through the fields to Pentylands.

 In the middle of May we were at last  permitted to visit places further afield,  and it was time to do some  serious catching up on the butterflies which I would normally have seen by now. I therefore headed over to my usual hot spot at Oakley wood near Cirencester for Pearl bordered Fritillaries followed by a visit to Rodborough Common where I clocked up seven more species ; duke of burgundy, small heath, dingy skipper, brown argus, small blue, adonis blue and common blue .The following day I visited Morgan's Hill and ticked off Marsh Fritillary, grizzled skipper ( my first for several years!) and small copper. I felt my year list would be reasonable after all!

brown argus

common blue

dingy skipper

duke of burgundy

small blue

small heath

Adonis blue

Less than a week later  I decided to make the  drive to Bucknell Wood (after a visit to Farmoor reservoir),  in order to look for wood white butterflies, and was glad I did as I found half a dozen.

wood white

It is always good to add a never seen before butterfly to my year list, and I decided this year I would target the small pearl bordered butterfly. Having tried unsuccessfully to find it in previous years at various locations ( usually being either too late or too early in the season) I decided my best chance was to travel down to  Priddy Mineries in Somerset after reading some reports of sightings in the area. My visit paid off, even to the extent of having one land on my camera bag, and I was able to add species number 51 to my personal records list.

small pearl bordered 

 

With the end of May approaching, a further visit to  Morgan's hill  yielded a single green hairstreak and my first large skipper and meadow brown of the year. 

green hairstreak

large skipper

meadow brown

Some good weather in early June gave me the opportunities for specific butterfly recording;  I found black hairstreaks at Bernwood Meadows ( a change from my usual location at Whitecross Green wood, which was closed) , large blues  and marbled whites at Daneways, and silver studded blues at Silchester Common. 

black hairstreak

large blue

marbled white

silver studded blue

A few days later I located small skippers and dark green fritillaries at Cherhill.

dark green fritiallary

small skipper

I paid a visit to Ravensroost wood at the end of June to see White admirals and Silver washed fritillaries, but despite searching several times in July , I failed to record any white letter hairstreaks, which was a disappointment. I shall have to find a more reliable location another year I think, as it is rare that I have seen more than one at any time at Ravensroost anyway. I did record a probable Essex skipper in the meadow,

essex skipper

silver washed fritillary

white admiral

A revist to Bucknell woods in mid July, this time to meet my sister, enabled us to find  purple hairstreaks and ringlets but sadly no more wood whites, as it is between broods. No purple emperors either. A week later I added chalk hill blues to my list from a visit to Lardon Chase, on the way to visit my daughter who had also  just discovered she has purple hairstreaks visiting her garden  from an old oak tree at the back of her garden.

purple hairstreak

chalk hill blue

ringlet

By the end of July, brown hairstreaks were already on the wing and I made my customary visit to RSPB Otmoor to find some. I had also been seeing plenty of gatekeepers about.

brown hairstreak

gatekeeper

A conifer plantation  at Mortimer, in early August gave me my usual grayling record, although I only saw two this time,  and during a visit to Labrador Bay looking for cirl buntings, I spotted several wall browns, an unexpected bonus from the visit. 

wall brown

grayling

I was unable to record any silver spotted skippers at Aston Rowants;  the day I visited was unbearably hot and also breezy so nothing was settling. 

I did however get a final tick of the year  with some clouded yellows at RSPB  Otmoor in an area I had not previously visited known as Julys fields, having found details on the Upper Thames butterfly blog of some that had been seen there. 

During the year I have heard that it may be possible to see  Glanville Friitillaries at a site near Croydon, rather than at their stronghold on the Isle of Wight, and there were also autumn records at Brighton for Long tailed blue, another visiting migrant. Maybe next year....

My total for the season was 44. 

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