Plenty of Comma's On Show Today.

 My first butterfly sighting of the year  was a Red Admiral that I disturbed while it was enjoying the sunshine in my garden yesterday. A first outing of 2022 was taken today with an afternoon walk through Walters Copse at Newtown.

It was a fabulous early spring day with full sun and a temperature of around 16 celsius.Immediately on entering the copse I came across a Comma and during the visit at least eight other individuals were encountered. It was not until leaving that I saw one other species, a Peaccok.

  

Weather Perks Up & Butterflies Respond.

Today we enjoyed  the first true spring day of the year with plenty of warm sunshine, and the butterflies certainly responded. A first Brimstone, and two duelling Comma's appeared in my garden this morning.A lunchtime visit to Walter's Copse at Newtown produced four Peacock,seven Comma,and three flyby Brimstone.

Primrose rides at Walter's Copse

Summer Butterflies on the Wing.

A long overdue visit to Walters Copse at Newtown today was rewarded with a bevy of summer butterflies.At least six Silver-washed Fritillaries,all males,good numbers of Marbled White,two White Admirals,and a rather worn Painted Lady.The latter no doubt,one of many to reach our shores this week from the south.

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.

First Butterflies of the Year as the Fine Weather Continues.

The very mild weather continues and temperatures reached nearly 20 Celsius today.A first trip of the year to Walters Copse,Newtown owned by the National Trust resulted in five Comma butterflies and at least four Brimstone.The Commas were basking in their usual spots, namely sunny and sheltered rides whereas the male Brimstone flew energetically about looking for females, pausing briefly to nectar on the few primrose flowers and enjoying a sunny location.

Orange Tips Busy in my Local Woods.

It was shirt sleeve weather today with temperatures topping 23 degrees celcius.At Walters Copse the trees and saplings are bursting into green and the primroses carpet the rides.To add to the colour the first Orange Tips are on the wing.Firstly a female busily searching for places to lay her eggs and a male trying to take her interest.He was given the message that she was not available and he quickly flew off to feed on the woodland flowers.

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.

Spring Returns for One Day Only.

With the prospect of yet more cold weather on the way this week,today was perhaps only the second springlike day of the year.This sunny and warmish morning heralded the first butterfly of the season in the garden.The ever reliable Peacock appeared in the flower border close to the rear of the house where it nectared on the perennial wallflower 'bowles mauve',a real favourite it seems for butterflies.

Later,a walk around my local copse at Newtown saw an increase in the number of butterflies compared to last week's visit.Although the species were the same,more Comma,Brimstone,and Peacock were on the wing.It seems that the weather is not yet right for new emergents .and it could be another couple of weeks before the first of them will be seen locally.

Springlike Temperatures Encourage First Butterflies of the Season.

A soggy walk through my local copse today produced my first butterflies of the season.The cold wind had abated and the sun was shining with a temperature of 13 degrees centigrade.There were at least five Comma together with two Peacock and a bright male Brimstone. 

  

Summer Butterflies Enjoy the Bumper Bramble Bounty.

There were a prolific number of butterflies at Walters Copse today.The most impressive were the Silver-washed Fritillaries and the White Admirals.These and many other species were busily feeding on the bramble flowers that seem to be abundant in the copse this year.Although male and female Silver-washed were on show I was not lucky enough to see the female Valezina. In the south of England it is estimated that up to 15% of the females are of this beautiful form.

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.

On The Up.

A further visit to Walters Copse today saw an increase in butterfly sightings compared with a fortnight ago despite a brisk easterly wind.However in some spots of the copse it was sheltered away from  the cool breeze and became relatively warm in the sunshine.Best of all was the number of Brimstone, reaching double figures as the males patrolled the rides on the lookout for females.Occasionally they took time out to visit the many primrose plants that now bloom throughout the copse.Unfortunately I did not encounter any new spring  emergents, as the only other butterflies on the wing were Peacock and Commas.

A Repeat Performance.

While in my local copse today I encountered this Meadow Brown aberration.Funnily enough it was in the exact same location as another similar aberration of the same species from last year.An offspring perhaps.

The 2015 aberration can be viewed here.

New Summer Sightings.

Three first of the year sightings were made yesterday.On West High Down the Dark Green Fritillaries are on the wing and flying at great speed,not taking time it seems to stop and settle.Two other  sightings were that of a male Small Skipper on the Down and  a fresh Gatekeeper in Walters Copse.Other butterflies now becoming numerous are Marbled White and Meadow Brown.

Orange Tips at Walters Copse.

It was a sultry afternoon at Walters Copse yesterday.Fortunately the thunderstorms had not yet  rumbled by and I was treated to some hazy sunshine.Earlier in nearby fields I had heard my first  cuckoo of the year and also a nightingale from the hedgerows.

In the copse there were plenty of Orange Tips to see and several females fluttered around the Lady's Smock or cuckooflower as it commonly known.Named of course for the plants flowering time which coincides with the arrival of the first cuckoo.This is a primary larval plant of the Orange Tip so it is a usual sight to see the females laying their single egg on it.For both the male and female it is a favourite nectaring flower.

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.

First Butterflies of the Season.

Although I have already seen a  Red Admiral this year on the 25th February,today was the first time that the butteflies were around in numbers. This morning the sun shone in a cloudless sky and in Walters Copse any trace of the nagging easterly breeze that we have had recently was gone.It was very pleasant along a rides with primroses now in flower.In flower too were the sallows which attracted numerous hoverflies.Visiting the primroses was the odd queen bumblebee and also I noticed a Dark-edged Bee-fly. 

A female Brimstone was my first sighting of the day. I disturbed her enjoying a sunny moment.She took off and disappeared into the trees.It was not long before I came across a Comma and during the course of my wander in the copse I encountered at least three more.Finally,I finished by again disturbing a butterfly which had found a sunny spot,this time a Peacock.