Pearl-bordered Fritillary

 

I have seen a few butterflies during the January to March period, mostly Brimstones and Peacocks, but for me the butterfly season does not really start until I see a Pearl-bordered Fritillary. That usually means a trip over to Rewell Wood at the end of April.

This year, with a cold and wet spring, everything seemed to be two to three weeks late. I made trips to Rewell Wood in the last week of April and also the first week of May but there was no sign of the Pearl-bordered. Even on the 13th May I was not having much luck. Four hours walking around the wood had not given me any sightings and it was only late afternoon walking back to the car that I took a detour down a previously unvisited track and came across some signs of Spring beginning to happen.

Three Pearl-bordered seen, only one of which I managed to photograph.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

The track also gave me views of a couple of moths, the Speckled Yellow which had shown at various places in the wood and the Treble-bar with about a dozen flying in one small area.

Speckled Yellow

Treble-bar

Also seen whilst searching for the Pearl-borders were Painted Lady and Orange Tips

Painted Lady

No Duke of Burgundy butterflies in the glades or in Fairmile Bottom but they are usually a week later than the Pearl-bordered. I will have to give Kithurst Meadow a visit.

Rewell Wood

 

I have written this same blog, around the end of April, for many years now and it has always been titled Pearl-bordered Fritillary. It marks the start of the butterfly season for me and usually consists of three parts, see and photograph the Pearl-bordered, see and usually fail to photograph the Speckled Yellow moth and then, in the afternoon, go looking for the Duke of Burgundy at one of its locations on the downs.

Today that all changed. The Duke of Burgundy had come to Rewell Wood.  How it got there is open to speculation but it was definitely flying there.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

We found the first Pearl-bordered about a quarter past nine. The sun was starting to warm the ground but there was still a cool wind blowing. Ideal conditions, the butterflies were just starting to move but were still sluggish and thus giving good views as they basked in the sun.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

They could also we found basking on the dirt paths which warm up faster than the surrounding vegetation.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

All very much as expected until another butterfly came into view. At a distance, the right colour, but a bit on the small size and flying a bit closer to the ground, a Duke of Burgundy. A quick record shot and a phone call to Dave, who at this point was out of sight about a quarter of a mile away and then I had to make sure I kept sight of it until he managed to get back to see it.

He made record time. It is not an unusual butterfly for us to see but this was a first for us in Rewell Wood and he wanted to record it himself. He probably also wanted to check that I had the identification right. A Duke of Burgundy and it had only just turned nine thirty, something of a record as they don't usually put in an appearance until closer to eleven.

Duke of Burgundy

Although we are used to seeing the Duke of Burgundy on open chalk downlands it was, in the past, more a butterfly of coppiced woodland. So it is perhaps not unusual to find it somewhere like Rewell Wood. We did not see any of its favoured foodplant, the Cowslip, in the area but there were plenty of  Primroses growing which are from the same family Primulaceae. 

The mystery is how they got there. I am not aware of any colonies within a reasonable migration distance of the wood. An assisted migration or perhaps they have benefited from the " Fritillaries for the Future" program?

Duke of Burgundy

Duke of Burgundy

We saw probably half a dozen Dukes allowing for multiple sightings from some of them. This is a good number for a coppiced woodland so early in the season and suggests there may be a sustainable population there.

The other encouraging aspect is that in the past the Pearl-bordered had been holding on in just one or two areas of the wood. Today we found them along rides where we had not seen them before and in widely dispersed areas of the wood.

A couple more of the early season butterflies, a Dingy Skipper and Grizzled Skipper from a recent trip to Levin Down.

Grizzled Skipper

Dingy Skipper

I have also seen a few Green Hairstreaks, one of my early season favourites, but as yet I have not been able to get a photograph of one.

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

For me the emergence of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary marks the start of the butterfly season. There are butterflies on the wing earlier in the year, Brimstone, Comma, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral that have spent the winter hibernating. Holly Blues are in the garden, Dingy and Chequered Skippers as well as Green Hairstreaks and even Duke of Burgundy are out on the downs.


Lots of butterflies flying but the Pearl-bordered is the first one that I have to search for and there is always the fear that it may not be there. Lockdown posed a problem this year but I have been good so far so the short drive over to Rewell Wood seemed like just reward.

Slightly worn Pearl-bordered Fritillary

It was good to see that they were still there and in what appeared to be increasing numbers. I saw somewhere between twelve and sixteen specimens in a couple of hours searching as compared to six or seven years ago when you would be lucky to spot one or two flying.

As butterflies go it was as annoying as ever. You see them in the distance, some even come close but they have an uncanny ability to just change direction and seemingly disappear completely, right in front of you. I also got there too early in the day and the males seemed hyperactive. The best picture I managed was the slightly worn specimen above. The shot below is from a previous year and shows a more pristine image.

My suggestion is aim for mid or late afternoon when the males are starting to tire and can be found nectaring. Stake out a patch of Bugle and wait for them to come to you. If you are worried about self isolating, the woods were very quiet, I only saw one other person in the time I was there.

A better specimen from 2018

It was also nice to get a decent shot of a Lesser Treble-bar, one of the day flying moths.

Lesser Treble-bar

Having found my main target for the day I decided to call in at Kithurst Meadow, on the way home, to see what else was about. The Duke of Burgundy is a much more accommodating butterfly. It doesn't fly very far or very fast and seems quite happy to pose for pictures although not always on such a good perch as the one below.

Duke of Burgundy

Duke of Burgundy

Dingy Skippers were easy to find but the only Chequered Skippers  I saw were two that were involved in an aerial skirmish which gradually took them away down the hill and out of sight.

Dingy Skipper

Also a Green Hairstreak

Green Hairstreak

 and back home one of the many Holly Blues we have had in the garden this year.

Holly Blue

Holly Blue open wing shot

Not a bad start to the butterfly year but the most impressive thing is the continuing recovery of both the Pearl-bordered Fritillaries and the Duke of Bugundys. Work in West Sussex by the Butterfly Conservation Organisation and some of the more enlightened landowners is really starting to have an impact.                                                                                                                                                         

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