Hertfordshire & Middlesex Branch
Saving butterflies, moths and our environment
Clouded Yellows at Albury. Three Clouded Yellows in the lucerne field below Albury Church, as well as good numbers of Common Blues. No Clouded Yellows were seen in the other lucerne fields in the area. Otherwise very quiet, but a rather late Gatekeeper at Braughing allotments and one Small Copper at Braughing Friars. [Posted by Andrew Wood]
Clouded Yellow in Greenwood Park. I was working on the Chalk Bank in Greenwood Park this afternoon, with Malcolm Hull and Nigel Floyd when we all saw a Clouded Yellow fly past an couple of times and land on some flowers in the nearby Community Garden. Other sightings in that area were 2 Small Copper, 1 Small Heath, 1 Meadow Brown, 2 Small White, 1 Large White and 1 Green-veined White. I have recorded these sightings on iRecord butterflies. [Posted by Mandy Floyd]
Brown Hairstreak. I saw a female Brown Hairstreak this morning at Shafford Road Open Space. [Posted by Michael Robinson]
Nomansland Common. Disappointing numbers of Small Coppers today, only 4 seen. 19 Small Heath, over 100 Meadow Browns and a few Common Blues and Brown Argus. Popped next door to Heartwood East and was able to repeat Andrew Steele’s sighting of a Clouded Yellow. Although most sightings of the species in Herts this year have been associated with Lucerne, this one was in a field rich in Birds-foot Trefoil [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
Prestwick Road Meadows. After seeing a photo of a Brown Hairstreak from this site( informed by Caroline Craing) Rick and myself were itching to go and investigate Prestwick Road Meadows. I parked up on the corner of Ashridge Drive and Prestwick Road and the first butterfly we encountered was a Small Copper on the corner verge there. It turned out to be the only Small Copper seen and the afternoon became persistently overcast. We were seeing white butterflies, Large, Green-veined and probably small. Rick managed to spot the only Brown Hairstreak seen of the day which stayed put long enough for a photo before ascending over the blackthorn. Rick also found a mating pair of Common Blue with a total of 4 at Prestwick Road Meadows and another in the fields we explored towards Oxhey Woods. Speckled Wood 3, Small Heath 1 at P R Meadows a further 4 across the fields. It does look like the Brown Hairstreak will continue to thrive at this location! [Posted by Peter Fewell]
Holly Blue at Town Park, Enfield. 1 Holly Blue at Town Park, Enfield this afternoon. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Sightings at Enfield & Trent Park. At a private site near Trent Park - 2 Clouded Yellow, 2 Common Blue & 1 Brown Argus. At Trent Park - 5 Green-veined White [3 by lower lake, 1 near Water Grdn & 1 edge of Icehouse Wd]. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Branch Walk On Therfield Heath. Fifteen people gathered for the walk on Therfield Heath today. We were blessed with a couple of hours of sunshine, which has been in short supply this week. Everybody got to see smart Adonis Blue, both males and females, maybe around 50 individuals in total. Meadow Brown and Small Heath were also present in good numbers (several tens). Common Blues, including some very fresh ones, were found, particularly at the bottom of the Rifle Butts bowl (above 20 individuals). In contrast, the Chalk Hill Blues had almost disappeared (compared to the hundreds in July). I saw barely a handful of males, often flying around fast, and I am not sure we managed to show them to everyone. A few more females were fairly confidently identified and a fair proportion of the 'too faded to be sure' 'blue' females were probably Chalk Hill Blues. A couple of Brown Argus were seen by some people. Small White, Green-veined White and Large White were present, but numbers were not tracked. My personal highlight was the two Small Coppers, which most people saw at least one of. I have only seen them on the Heath twice in the last 5 years and I am a very regular visitor. [Posted by Nick Keep]
Common Blues at Sutton’s Farm. Overcast all afternoon with no sign of sun. Despite this my trip to the old gravel pit in Hatfield was rewarding. Common Blue (33) were out in numbers. Small Heath (11), Brown Argus (4) and Small Copper (2) were also flying. Meadow Brown (91), Small White (34), Large White (12), Latticed Heath (1) and Purple Mint moth (1) also spotted [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
Batch Wood St Albans. 12 Small Coppers at William Bird OS in my timed count for Wilder St Albans this afternoon. Common Blue, Brown Argus, Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Large White and Small White all still flying. On the far side of the wood, Brown Argus were dominant in the fallow field with a total of 11. Holly Blue and Green-veined White also present Looks like being a good year for Small Copper. Half todays individuals were nectaring on Knapweed, one on Yarrow and the rest on Ragwort [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. Much of the day was cloudy, but was redeemed by sunshine after three o'clock. On my local patch near Heathrow the highlight today was a trio of Clouded Yellows - a rather worn female egg-laying and two males. The smarter of the two males discovered the female and spent quite a while trying to persuade her to mate but ultimately failed. This bit of behaviour produced some interesting photo opportunities. Overall, I counted 150 butterflies of 13 different species: Meadow Brown (30), Small Heath (30), Common Blue (25), Small White (20), Green-veined White (20), Brown Argus (8), Large White (5), Small Copper (4), Clouded Yellow (3), Speckled Wood (2), Holly Blue (1), Red Admiral (1), Peacock (1). [Posted by Dave Miller]
Sightings at Enfield & Southgate. At a private site near Trent Park - 1 Latticed Heath. At Southgate - 1 Small Blood-vein attracted to kitchen light last night. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Branch walk at Clothall Common. A grey start for a group of ten. We found a Lime-speck Pug larva on Mugwort at the group assembly point . A short time after the start of the walk a Meadow Brown appeared followed by a number of others and then Small Heath and Common Blue. There were a few Small Whites and Large Whites and particularly on the plateau area, in a short spell of sunshine, a good number of Chalk Hill Blues, about 90% female. The few males were still trying to court the females. The group also found two adult Lime-speck Pugs in this area to go with the larva. Other moths recorded were Turnip Moth, and the larvae of Cinnabar Moth and Brown-tail and some emerged 6 spot Burnet pupae. [Posted by Andrew Wood]
Sightings at Enfield. At private sites near Trent Park - 4 Common Blue & 1 Small Heath. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Ruislip Gardens/ Ickenham marsh. Had a brilliant walk with many sightings of Brown Hairstreak as in the earlier report. Many thanks to Nick and Peter for generously sharing their knowledge and for putting me on to these beauties, had the best day, great fun in great company. [Posted by Ashley Cox]
Branch Event - Ruislip Gardens and Ickenham Marsh. 12 of us assembled on a sunny breezy Sunday for a 3+ mile circuit around the thickets and fields of Ruislip Gardens and also the grazed Ickenham Marsh Reserve for those that chose the optional extended walk or chance to return home from Ickenham Station. 6 endured the full tour back to the start point. The days final tally: Brown Hairstreak 15 (all low down sightings), Small Copper 10, Speckled Wood 9, Gatekeeper 2, Holly Blue 7, Meadow Brown 17+, Small Heath 12, Common Blue 10, Brown Argus 7, Red Admiral 1 and numerous Whites plus another speckled wood or 2 and GV whites for those who joined us early at R-Gdns station for the pre walk along the Yeading Brook. It took about 15 minutes to locate the first settled Brown Hairstreak with the remainder seen at various points along the route, mostly females with all bar 4 resting for long periods mostly on bramble enabling everyone to get good views and photos especially of those occasional open wing moments. The clouded yellow seen by Duncan a few days earlier failed to show nor the resident purple hairstreaks but for the latter the lack of gatekeeper reveals how early the season is. A big thank you to all the attendees for their enthusiasm, input and appreciation which really made my day. A gold star to Pete Fewell for his attached photos, book keeping and trained eyes. [Posted by Nick Furtek]
Sightings at Enfield & Trent Park. 2 Common Blue [male & female] & 1 Latticed Heath at private sites near Trent Park. At Trent Park - 1 Clouded Yellow in field near Dew Pond. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Sightings at Enfield. At a private site near Trent Park - 1 Common Blue & 1 Vestal. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Brimstone Moth at Southgate. 1 Brimstone Moth at ASDA Southgate this afternoon, above the ATM machines. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Lots of Common Blues near Albury. A walk from Albury Hall to Patience End along the footpath produced well over 50 Common Blues (males and females) feeding on the lovage crop and the blackberries. Also 10 Small Heath, 3 Clouded Yellow, 2 Meadow Brown and 2 Small White [Posted by Paula Moore]