Out for the Count

Well it's Big Butterfly Count time of year again, and unlike in previous years when the obligation on me to promote it via this neglected corner of the internet was purely moral, happily I am now professionally obliged to big it up. Not that it needs much help from me of course: it is already the world's biggest butterfly survey and the data gathered represents one of our finest examples of  'citizen science'.  Spending 15 minutes in a sunny spot - and there have been plenty of those around lately - is all it takes, and it's good for you too, so there's no excuse not to join in really. Even if you don't see much, it's still important to record it. So, off you trot. And if that's not encouragement enough, here are a few pictures to whet your appetite, highlights from many happy moments photographing butterflies over the last few months.

Painted Lady: this pristine migrant brightened up the weekend on the Purbeck coast

This White-letter Hairstreak was also in good condition - my first in Purbeck (14 July) 

The underwing of this Silver-washed Fritillary reminds me of  the iridescent lining of a mollusc's shell (Purbeck, 14 July)

An Essex Skipper in my tiny town centre garden was a surprise

The antennae tips look dipped in ink with black undersides

Attracted into the garden by our fine display of drought-resistant lavender

Silver-studded Blues emerged in good numbers on the Dorset heaths this year - this a male...

...and this a female (Studland, 24th June)

Silver-studded Blues have also been dispersing to non-traditional sites, presumably a function of the heatwave

Note the silver studs on the hind-wing of this female

White Admiral also appears to have had a good summer - this one was at Queen's Copse near Wmborne (23 June)

I visited there shortly after the White Admirals had emerged

'Who doesn't love a White Admiral underwing' I asked on Twitter. 114 kind souls agreed!

A business trip to Northern Ireland provided my first opportunity to see the Cryptic Wood White - having seen all the other regularly occurring species in the UK, this was a highlight of the year for me

There was a good colony at Craigavon Lakes, a grassland site well managed for the butterfly by Craigavon Borough Council (8 June)

We even saw a Cryptic Wood White egg-laying - I don't carry a macro lens so this photograph came out surprisingly well

An evening visit to the extraordinarily beautiful Murlough NNR enabled us to catch up with the Irish form of Marsh Fritillary (7 June) - this an iPhone photo

Adonis Blue at Dancing Ledge on 1 June - a species which doesn't cope well with drought conditions

And here's the English form of Marsh Fritillary (Cerne Abbas, 26 May)

Possibly my favourite fritillary underwing - Marsh Fritillary at Cerne Abbas on 26 May

Marsh Fritillary, Cerne Abbas

A fresh Brown Argus at Cerne Abbas (19 May)

Duke of Burgundy, Cerne Abbas (19 May)

The Duke is another species for which there is concern that the foodplant may be suffering in the drought, causing problems for the caterpillars

Small Blue was doing well this spring on the Weymouth Relief Road verges - more good local authority management by my former employer Dorset County Council

The Small Blue colony is thought to be one of the largest in England - and there were none there at all in 2011 (photo taken 18 May)

So the warm weather has certainly been kind to some species - but there are growing concerns about the impact of drought on the next generation: all the more reason to submit your records for the Count.

Purple reign

Yes I realise the terrible pun in the headline would be more fitting for the Purple Emperor than the humble Purple Hairstreak - but I haven't had the opportunity to look for the former so far this summer, whereas a spare Sunday morning a few weekends ago provided just enough time to look for the latter at Butterfly Conservation's superb reserve at Alners Gorse. Like the majestic Emperor, the Purple Hairstreak reveals its colourful sheen when light refracts from the wings at certain angles. I had never really managed to photograph this feature well so that was one objective of the visit. It was easily achieved as tens of this characterful insect were seen, many down at eye level in the relative cool of the morning. As usual my time was a bit limited but a White-letter Hairstreak feeding low down on brambles as I made to leave was a huge bonus.

Male Purple Hairstreak at Alners Gorse

This is the same individual at a slightly different angle - note how the extent of the purple varies with the angle of the light

Another angle on the same individual

Another male complete with short tails

All the Purple Hairstreaks I saw with wings open appeared to be males

Purple Hairstreak underwing shows an eye-spot near the short tail

Buds of Buckthorn appeared as cat-nip to the Purple Hairstreaks

They were present on one small tree in double figures

An attractive species - compare to....

...White-letter Hairstreak, which never sits with the wings open

Comma also on the wing at Alners Gorse...

...and plenty of Ringlet

A fresh Southern Hawker also present...

...and one of our most impressive British species, the Silver-washed Fritillary

A pristine male Silver-washed Fritillary

A slightly worn female Silver-washed Fritillary...

...and here a mating pair

Purple Hairstreak at Alners Gorse - a superb reserve, hats off to BC for making it so

Summer meets autumn coming back

High summer means butterflies and there has been a wide selection on view at Butterfly Conservation's Alners Gorse reserve in North Dorset recently. The smartest of these was undoubtedly:

Silver-washed Fritillary - female of the rare form valezina

Valezina underside

About 15% of females are said to be of this form. Compare to...

...a regular female Silver-washed Fritillary...

..and a male of the same species...

...males being identified by the parallel black bars on the forewing 

Silver-washed Fritillary underwing

Silver-washed Fritillary with Meadow Brown for size comparison

Purple Hairstreak - these can be seen flying around the tops of oaks usually, but occasionally they will come down to a lower perch.

Another Purple Hairstreak - this one on the favoured oak

The rarer Hairstreak - White-letter - wouldn't play ball on a morning visit on Saturday - this shot of one high in the canopy was taken on a late evening visit earlier in the week.

White Admiral - there were a few around but this one was the only one to land, and then only briefly.

Ringlet - one of the most attractive of the 'brown' family.

Commoner species included: Comma...



...Gatekeeper - this one a female...

...Gatekeeper - a male...

...and Meadow Brown.

Also on the wing at Alners Gorse was the Beautiful Demoiselle

The same individual but with the light behind me this time.



High summer also means the start of return wader passage - the rarest so far in Dorset has been a White-rumped Sandpiper which spent a few days at Lodmoor in Weymouth last week and stayed until Saturday:

White-rumped Sandpiper (left) sadly not quite as in focus as the Dunlin

An adult bird



Another imperfect flight shot - this time into the light, but clearly showing the white rump

Another comparison with Dunlin