Kithurst Meadow

 

With the Pearl-bordered in the bag I needed my second spring priority, the Duke of Burgundy. Kithurst Meadow was an all but guaranteed location and it would give me some of the other spring butterflies.

It fills you with confidence when you walk into the meadow and see Cowslips the preferred egg laying plant and Bugle a good nectaring plant growing everywhere.

The Dukes were soon found with probably a dozen flying in the sheltered part of the meadow.

There were also lots of other species flying

Brown Argus

Dingy Skipper

Green Hairstreak

Grizzled Skipper

Orange Tip

Common Blues, Large and Small Whites, Brimstones, Red Admirals and Peacocks were also seen but were not stopping for a photograph.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

As I have written before, for me, the emergence of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary marks the start of the butterfly season. So today it was the annual trip over to Rewell Wood to see if they were flying. The date was about right but with the cold nights we have been seeing recently and with some aspects of the flora and fauna appearing to be running a couple of weeks behind schedule we were not sure what we would find.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Arriving just before ten it all looked quiet but as the cloud cover burnt off and the temperature started to rise the first pearls took to the air. It is mostly the males that you see flying. If you can catch up with them, before they warm up, you have a good chance of a picture. Once they get up to speed they are difficult to follow and rarely put down for any length of time.

On Bugle

If you miss the morning sweet spot your best chance of a picture is either, late afternoon when the males are worn out and may be found nectaring on Bugle,  patchy cloud cover which could freeze the action, or find a female which will either have a male in attendance or be egg laying on nearby violets.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

A trip to Mill Hill added a few more of the spring Butterflies.

Dingy Skipper

The Grizzled Skipper was particularly taxing. I pursued one for about 20 minutes trying to get a picture only to find that it was missing a rear wing. Fortunately one in better condition turned up just as I was leaving.

Grizzled Skipper

Two pictures of the Green Hairstreak, such a fabulous little butterfly  .......

and a small copper. The picture doesn't do it justice but I couldn't get the open wing shot which would show the bright upper wing colours.

 

We also had a Common Blue fly by today. There was no picture opportunity but it is worth recording as it was my first blue of the year. It's very unusual not to have seen a Holy Blue in the garden by now.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

An hour at Mill Hill NR on the 25th had got the butterfly list off to a good start with ten species recorded in just over an hour. I didn't manage to photograph them all but at least I got plenty of exercise chasing the Brimstones and Orange tips on the steep slopes.

Best finds of the day, Small Copper and Green Hairstreak. Unexpected were a couple of Wall which I had not recorded at this site before. More worrying was the lack of Grizzled Skippers, usually guaranteed at Mill Hill. Perhaps it was just too cold for them.

Dingy Skipper

Green Hairstreak

Speckled Wood

Wall

We followed this up with our annual pilgrimage to Rewell Wood to see the Pearl-bordered Fritillary. Somehow this always feels like the start of the butterflying season.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Underwing view of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

We also had a supporting cast of Grizzled Skipper, a butterfly I had missed at Mill Hill, and a good number of Orange-tips. Picture below is of a female, I don't think I saw a male stationary all day.

Grizzled Skipper

Female Orange-tip

Underside of the female Orange-tip

Although Duke of Burgundy have been reported from some locations I haven't seen any on the local patch. Heyshott Down always seems to be a week in front of other sites. No Blues seen yet either.

Dukes and Frits

The Butterfly season really gets off to a start with the emergence of the Orange Tips but it's a couple of weeks later that the action really starts. The first spell of warm weather results in the emergence of a lot of the early season butterflies. A visit to Kithurst Hill and Rewell Wood at the end of last week proved a bit disappointing with nothing found. A quick visit to Mill Hill on Monday gave me Dingy Skipper, Grizzled Skipper, and Green Hairstreak, plus a few Small Heath and a lot of day flying micro moths. Good sightings but not many picture opportunities.

A few days of sunshine over the weekend and today we returned to Kithurst and Rewell Wood confident of finding our target species, the Duke of Burgundy and the Pearl Bordered Fritillary. First stop was Kithurst and as we walked into the meadow, it was clear from the number of people already there, that the butterflies were on the wing.

Duke of Burgundy

If you can find them Duke of Burgundys are an easy butterfly to photograph. They get up late, don't move around much, go to bed early and seem quite content to sit for long periods to have their pictures taken. The only problem was that we were at risk of having more photographers then butterflies.

Pearl-bordered Fritillaries are a lot harder to photograph. They tend to be very active, fast moving, and have a remarkable ability to just disappear from sight when you are watching them from only a few feet away. Also, Rewell Wood is not the easiest place to get to. There is very limited parking unless you use the layby at Fairmile Bottom and walk in over the hill. Hard work on a hot day.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary on Bugle

To find the butterflies you are looking for a broad sunny ride alongside an area of felled or pollarded trees with one or two years growth on the cleared ground. It is not worth chasing the butterflies into the undergrowth. It is best to wait until they come out to nectar on the Bugle growing along the ride.

The pictures are always better when you find freshly emerged specimens. Also seen at Kithurst Meadow where a few Dingy Skippers, plenty of Brimstones and a couple of Common Blues.

Dingy Skipper

Dingy Skipper

A good start to the butterfly season. The next challenge is to add the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary to the Sussex list.

Duke of Burgundy

Good conditions for butterflying this morning. About 13°C with broken clouds and sunny spells. A good chance of finding butterflies before they became too active and an opportunity to improve on my year list.

First Stop was Rewell Wood for the Pearl-bordered Fritillaries. I always find the Pearl-bordered here but it sometimes takes some searching. Fortunately I was on a working party in the wood about 18 months ago cutting scallops for the butterflies to move into and it seemed like a good place to start.

There was nothing moving when I got there but then the sun came out and they began to appear. I think about twenty five sightings with a max of five butterflies in the air at any one time. It looks like another good year for the Pearl-bordered.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

The pearls are on the underside of the wing but with these butterflies just warming up none would oblige with a closed wing shot. The problem is that once they warm up they become very active. They move quickly, they do not put down much, and they have a habit of just disappearing in front of your eyes. So I decided to cut my losses and move on.



Next stop was Kithurst Hill to look for the Duke of Burgundy. No rush here, the Dukes are late risers and it's not worth looking much before eleven o'clock. Fortunately I found a Green Hairstreak to keep me busy, my first of the year,

Green Hairstreak

and there were a few Dingy Skippers flying in the meadow.

Dingy Skipper

The Dukes are easy butterflies to photograph. They do not fly very fast or very far and they usually return to the same small territory where they are happy to sit whilst you take your pictures. But don't be fooled, anything flies into their territory, particularly another Duke and they are off in hot pursuit.

Duke of Burgandy

The Dukes are the only members of the Metalmark family to be found in Europe. They were in serious decline but the last couple of years has seen them expanding their territory in southern England. Butterfly Conservation and its teams of volunteers are restoring habitat along the downs and the butterflies seem to be taking advantage of the opportunity.


Only one Blue seen today, a Holy Blue passing through the meadow. Traditionally I see the Dukes and Pearl-bordered on the same day in early May and I usually manage to find a Small Blue at the same time. No such luck this year.

Holly Blue