Hertfordshire & Middlesex Branch
Saving butterflies, moths and our environment
Brimstone at Southgate. Male Brimstone at Dalrymple Close, N14 this afternoon at 1303 GMT. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Early Thorn at Southgate. 1 Early Thorn at ASDA Southgate this afternoon - my first of the year [FOY]. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Hedge planting at Lannock Farm, Weston. Volunteers from Herts CPRE and Butterfly Conservation planting hedges on Lannock Farm this morning. All 15 species of hedgerow plants have been selected as being particularly attractive for butterflies and moths. More planting sessions are planned at Lannock Farm and at Woodhall Estate. Contact james@cpreherts.org.uk if you would like to join in [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. Lots of sunshine today in my part of the world, though it was relatively cool after a chilly night. It proved enough motivation for a few butterflies, and during early afternoon, I managed to find nine Commas, three Peacocks and a Red Admiral. This last butterfly was in exactly the same spot as others seen both this year and at the end of 2025, but wasn't the same individual as any of these. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Comma & Peacock at Grovelands Park, Southgate. 1 Peacock near Rangers' Hut at 1316 GMT & 1 Comma near Priory Hospital at 1440 GMT, at Grovelands Park, Southgate [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Peacock resumes hibernation. Surprised to record four hibernating Peacocks on todays shed transect. There were four there two weeks ago, but one had subsequently emerged (see news for 9 March). Three of those recorded today were in the same positions as they had been since July. The fourth was in an entirely different location. So it seems that the individual which emerged on March 9th thought better of it! I have witnessed Peacocks breaking their hibernation before, by emerging for supplementary feed in August or September. I've never known one re-enter hibernation after Spring emergence and would be interested to know if others have witnessed this [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. More sunshine round my way than yesterday, but it was a bit cooler and breezier. Butterflies seen today comprised two Peacocks, three Red Admirals and four Commas. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Oak Beauty at Southgate. 1 Oak Beauty at ASDA Southgate this afternoon [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. There was some decent sunshine for an hour or two in the middle of the day today, and a local walk revealed a handful of butterflies: three Peacocks, two Commas and a surprisingly fresh Red Admiral. I wondered if the Red Admiral might be an early migrant rather than a local overwinterer. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Comma at Trent Park. 1 Comma along Leeging Beech Gutter near 'Three Bridges', Trent Park this afternoon at 1314 GMT. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Peacock emerging from hibernation. Cold and overcast all day in St Albans and just 10 degrees when I stepped out at lunchtime. Surprisingly one of my Peacocks had chosen today to emerge from hibernation. It was sitting with wings closed in the middle of the doormat outside my back door. To arrive in this position it must have dropped to the floor of the shed and then walked out, squeezing itself through the gap underneath the door, rather than taking the more obvious route of flying out of the unglazed window. I’ve seen both exit routes from the shed used before. Not sure why they’d use the walking/squeezing exit route, which must be more risky? Maybe it’s just too hard to warm up sufficiently to fly on a cold day? Or is it a sign their bodily reserves are low after an unusually long hibernation (2025 saw the earliest recorded hibernation) [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
Garden sightings. Two Brimstones and a Comma in my Harpenden garden. [Posted by Robin Pearson]
Brimstone. 1.40. Brimstone in my garden Acton W3 6DR. [Posted by Trevor Porter]
Small Tortoiseshell and Brimstones. Walking the dog this morning in North Mymms I saw my first butterflies of the year, 1 Small Tortoiseshell at TL226031 and 1 Brimstone at 217031. Then in early afternoon I saw a further Brimstone in my South Mymms front garden (TL221008). [Posted by Terence Wood]
Sightings at Enfield, Cockfosters & Trent Park. At a private site near Trent Park - male Brimstone, 1 Comma & 1 Peacock late morning. Near Enfield Rd, EN2 - male Brimstone & 1 Peacock. At Westpole Ave, Cockfosters - male Brimstone. At Trent Park 'New Fields' [1300 to 1400 GMT] - male Brimstone, 2 Comma & 1 Peacock. At Bramley Rd, N14 - male Brimstone. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Alexandra Park Sightings. Saw 5 Brimstones and 1 Peacock this morning. The Brimstones were patrolling the edge of the anthill meadow. The Peacock was puddling at the bottom of the eastern slope below the BBC tower. [Posted by Dee Cullen]
Therfield Heath and Royston. Saw my first Peacocks today, along with Brimstone. Saw Comma a couple of days ago. I also saw a Pieris, which I think was a Large White, flying strongly on Heath. [Posted by Nick Keep]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. The sun finally appeared in hazy fashion around half one today, too late for Brimstones it would seem, and there was just the one Peacock. However, on my usual walk I still managed to see six Commas and three Red Admirals, two of which were conducting an aerial battle high above my head at one point. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. Today's sunny intervals were not really ever long enough to tempt the butterflies out, but on my local patch I managed to find just one each of Comma, Brimstone and Peacock. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Brimstone at Wareside. Finally the rain has stopped, and in the fine summer sun one male Brimstone seen in our Wareside garden this lunchtime. [Posted by Philip MacMurdie]