Hertfordshire & Middlesex Branch
Saving butterflies, moths and our environment
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. After another cold (but not frosty) night, chilly sunshine followed. On my usual local walk, I managed to find three Red Admirals. The first took off for the treetops, the second one was looking for nectar (and eventually found a white dead-nettle) and the last one seemed to be simply enjoying the winter sunshine in a very sheltered spot by the River Colne. I recognised it from previous encounters by its wing damage. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Red Admiral. A Red Admiral was enjoying the warmth of the sunshine in our Harpenden garden at 12:45. [Posted by Tim Hill]
Whitings Hill & Whitings Hill Wood, Barnet. I spent 3 hours searching Whitings Hill and the Woodland Trust Whitings Hill Wood today for Brown Hairstreak - it was very cold! 4 eggs were found in February 2024 so I was hopeful that the numbers would be higher; however it was over an hour before the first eggs were found! In total 25 eggs were found, 6 on Whitings Hill and 19 on the Woodland Trust site so an improvement on 2024. There is plenty of blackthorn to search! (note for visitors, parking is limited parking permit restrictions are now in force) [Posted by Liz Goodyear]
Sighting from Stanwell Moor. No frost overnight locally, but a high of just 7 degrees in the sunshine before it clouded over this afternoon. One Red Admiral braved the conditions to bask for a while. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. Lots of sunshine today locally after the rain cleared at 10 o'clock. Around the middle of the day it felt warm in spots sheltered from the breeze, and I found three different Red Admirals (all of which I'd encountered before recently). However, the surprise sighting today was a male Holly Blue on one of the last remaining bramble flowers. It wasn't fresh, so must likely have emerged before the recent frosty spell. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Prestwick Road Meadows. I conducted a relatively casual search of the blackthorn today in far too sunny conditions - over a two hour period I found 42 eggs scattered across the site from the roadside to the top end - several found in areas benefitting from last winter's work. (It was a lovely sunny albut cold day but bright sunshine makes egg searching much harder!) [Posted by Liz Goodyear]
Sightings at Stanwell Moor. After several frosty nights and some wet snow flurries a couple of mornings ago, the sun shone today round my way and the temperature climbed from minus one just before dawn to plus seven by lunchtime. This was enough to tempt a couple of Red Admirals out into the sunshine. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Grand Union Canal - BH Egg. Visited Willow Tree Open Space by canal and searched a few Blackthorn clumps in wild meadow area. Only had an hour but rewarded with a Brown Hairstreak egg. Plenty more Blackthorn here to be searched, majority of which had not been flailed. [Posted by Paul Busby]
Painting Butterflies in Watercolour. Gillian Elsom from the Surrey and SW London branch gave a Zoom talk on YouTube on 18 November. Click here to view. [Posted by Peter Clarke]
Rewilding in Verulamium Park, St Albans. Two years ago the Abbey View Golf Course was closed, providing a great opportunity to enhance the space for wildlife. Working with St Albans DC and Friends of Verulamium Park, we have helped plan a planting scheme for wildflowers, shrubs and trees. This will support and enhance the habitat for butterflies and moths. Listen to my recent interview on local radio station MiX 92.6 to find out more click here [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
New butterfly mound in St Albans. Last winter St Albans District Council carried out alterations to Batchwood golf course. This revealed chalk bedrock, some of which was set aside to form a butterfly mound. Today I seeded it with Kidney Vetch and Birds-foot Trefoil. These plants should encourage both Common Blue and Small Blue. Both butterfly species are already present in the landscape. This site should provide a valuable stepping stone to help connect their existing sites [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
Unexpected Sighting in St Albans. 2 degrees when I woke up this morning and I’ve seen no butterflies here for a month. So it was a surprise to find a Red Admiral out sunbathing before 10 am [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. A very sunny morning locally, but much colder (only 8 degrees at noon). However, on the sheltered brambles next to Hithermoor Lake I found firstly a fresh-looking Red Admiral, and then more surprisingly a rather worn male Small Copper. I don't find many of the latter species in this spot, so I'm pretty sure this is the one I saw here on 28th October (but curiously not since then...). Regardless of that, this is my latest ever Small Copper sighting. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Brown Hairstreak at Croxley Common Moor. 27 Brown Hairstreak eggs found at Croxley Common Moor. [Posted by Rohan Harris]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. Even warmer and sunnier than 12th, a slightly different set of butterflies were seen on my local walk today: Five Red Admirals, a Brimstone, the same Speckled Wood as yesterday (but on the other side of the A3113 dual carriageway!), and a female Holly Blue. The last of these was being pestered by a Red Admiral, so only poor photos. Likewise the Brimstone was only caught as it flew past. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Female Brimstone in garden. A female Brimstone was in my Harpenden garden around noon, on the wing and investigating ivy flowers. Couldn't get a photo as I was talking to someone at the time. [Posted by Robin Pearson]
Brimstone, Red Admiral & Small White at Enfield. 1 Red Admiral seen in flight at a private site near Trent Park at 0930 GMT, male Small White 'fresh' settled along 'London Loop' near Brooke Wd [TQ304984] at 1003 GMT - possibly my latest record for this species & male Brimstone at Gordon Hill Station at 1218 GMT - my latest record for this species. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. Sunshine was added to the warmth today on my local patch and it felt almost springlike. It certainly brought out the Red Admirals, and altogether I counted seven of the species. One of them annoying disturbed a Peacock I was trying to photograph, but the surprise of the day was an elderly Speckled Wood, a species I hadn't seen since 15th October. I wonder where it had been hiding? [Posted by Dave Miller]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. Some hazy sunshine after the early fog over my way this morning before cloud crept in from the west. I managed to spot a couple of Red Admirals, and then flying low across the very dewy grass I found a Small Heath. Surprisingly, this individual was one I'd last seen on 30th October, rather than the one encountered on 4th and 5th November in the same spot. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Brown Hairstreak eggs. Five Brown Hairstreak eggs found at Park Fields and Allum lane spinney. Also one egg found at Harper Lane footpath near Shenleybury TL 168 022. [Posted by Rohan Harris]
Trent Park. We visited the area of Trent Park referred to as the butterfly fields today, and spent 2 x 3 hrs searching the blackthorn extensively. The blackthorn in these fields has been regularly searched since 2018 and as recently as January 2025. 4 Brown Hairstreak eggs were found close together on what was the best looking blackthorn we found - a resounding success! [Posted by Liz Goodyear and Ian Watts]
BH eggs in river Pinn catchment. Three Brown Hairstreak eggs found good quality Blackthorn hedge near River Pinn and Cannon Brook confluence. Previous had a zero result along good quality but short Blackthorn hedge in Long Meadow, Eastcote. Certainly worth checking along Pinn catchment, as adult found by Pinn meadow transect walker earlier this year [Posted by Paul Busby]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. Frustratingly, the very warm weather today contained just one decent sunny interval. However, I found two butterflies making the most of it - one of the Small Heaths I'd seen yesterday, and a female Small Copper I'd previously encountered in the same place on 26th and 30th October. She looked somewhat slimmer now, presumably after ten days of laying eggs on the many sorrel plants around this spot. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. Another very warm day for November, and some sunshine too after lunch. After finding a couple of Red Admirals (I don't think either were any I've seen in recent days), I then disturbed a fresh male Common Blue from the grass. However, it sailed off directly into the low sun and I lost track of it. No Small Coppers appeared today, but in the same general area where they've been flying I found two Small Heaths, one of which was the one I saw here on 28th October. I've never seen the species anywhere in November before. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Clay Hill area of Enfield. In light of a report on social media of 4 Brown Hairstreak eggs being found in the Picketts Lock area of Enfield, I revisited the Clay Hill area again, hoping that I might find some Brown Hairstreak eggs on the extensive blackthorn - unfortunately I failed but I did find a White-letter Hairstreak egg on an elm that I have looked at on several occasions over the years with the last success in 2021! This was at least some form of compensation! [Posted by Liz Goodyear]
Merry Hill (Woodland Trust) Brown Hairstreak egg rescue. We were asked by the Woodland Trust to search for Brown Hairstreak eggs that were vulnerable to a programme of imminent hedge and tree work around the site. These eggs were subsequently rescued and put into safe storage for return to the site when the work has been done. The areas that needed to be checked were scattered across the site and varied in quality. In total a minimum of 55 eggs were rescued and casual sampling of blackthorn that was not at risk yealded 42 eggs (32 yesterday on one hedgeline alone!) - completed over 3 days by myself, Pete Fewell and Rick Vickers [Posted by Liz Goodyear]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. Just two Red Admirals today, sitting not far apart in the brief spell of sunshine here around 1030 this morning. The feeble November sun couldn't provide enough energy to get through the cloud and wake anything else into action for the rest of the day despite the air being warm. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. After the overnight rain there was cool sunshine through the day, but I managed to find a few butterflies on my local patch. The Red Admiral came as no great surprise, but I was pleased to find a Small Copper still flying in the usual spot and also a male Small White. However, the best of the lot was a fresh male Clouded Yellow that I only managed to photograph from a distance before it headed off downwind in the stiff breeze and I lost sight of it among the sea of yellow flowers that persists here at present (mostly bristly oxtongue and some hawkbit). [Posted by Dave Miller]
Clouded Yellow butterfly. At College Lake, Bulborne, Tring. SP93101491. Feeding on Hawkweed sp. [Posted by Judith Knight & Bob Hook]
Hartham Park Hartford. Three Red Admirals seen together in the sunshine feeding on Ivy. [Posted by Nathan Ellis]
Red Admiral in Hertford. Nectaring on ivy in the Warren, Hartham Common. [Posted by Andrew Wood]
Red Admiral at Trent Park. 1 Red Admiral settled near top of Snakes Lane, Trent Park at 1228 GMT. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]