Hertfordshire & Middlesex Branch
Saving butterflies, moths and our environment
Painted Lady. This pristine Painted Lady visited the dwarf lilac in our front garden today. There are a few of them around. [Posted by Andrew Wood]
Orange Beauty at Oakwood Park. 2 Orange Beauty [Commophila aeneana] at Oakwood Park this afternoon - one fresh & another faded [FOY]. Also at this site - 1 Speckled Wood, 1 Holly Blue, 4 Mother Shipton [FOY] & 7 Silver Y. At Houndsden Gutter, N21 - 2 Speckled Wood together. At Grovelands Park - 2 Holly Blue included a female settled, 1 Peacock, 1 Speckled Wood & 1 Silver Y. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Addition to walks programme. I am planning on a butterfly recording walk this coming Sunday (19th). I have advertised it on the Stortford Nature FB account. Meet at Tescos car park by Timpsons at 11am for a 4-5 mile walk taking in footpaths to Hadham Hall, Millennium Wood, Bury Green, Stocking Wood, East Wood and the adjoining footpaths. Weather forecast looks fine. Meet at CM23 4DD. [Posted by Jono Forgham]
Bug for missing photos on duplicate news items fixed. To prevent creating duplicates in the first place when asked to re-submit form please do not accept unless you need to, e.g. if you made a mistake and want to go back. Either click 'Cancel' on message prompt or do not refresh browser. [Posted by Peter Clarke]
Late afternoon sun. Decided to pop into Rickneys as some late sun. 4-15 -5 pm. The place was buzzing. 2 Treble Bar Moth, 3 Silver Y to start. Then 5 Brown Argus, 3 Grizzled Skippers, Small Heath, Large White, Peacock and 2 Common Blues my first of the year. Decided to pop to Waterford Heath. 5 Treble Bar, 4 Silver Y, 4 Burnet Companion. 1 Peacock, 1 Grizzled Skipper, Small Heath, Brimstone, Brown Argus. Worth going. [Edited by Peter Clarke] [Posted by steve kiln]
Grizzled Skipper at Waterford Heath south. An hour or so of warm sunshine saw me up at this site where I saw 7 Grizzled Skippers, including a mating pair. Also present were Common Blue, Brown Argus, Small Copper, Small Heath, Small White, Peacock and for moths Treble Bar, Silver Y, Cinnabar, Burnet Companion, Celypha lacunana, and Pyrausta aurata and Pyrausta purpuralis. [Posted by Andrew Wood]
Trackside Survey and garden butterflies. The annual track side survey north of Hertford went ahead today, in perfect roosting conditions (initially). Accompanied by Alan we found 3 Grizzled Skippers roosting on knapweed seed heads quite close together (they appeared to be all male). A further Grizzled Skipper was disturbed on the opposite track side when it had brightened up. Also seen were 6 Small Heath and 1 Burnet Companion. The highlight was repeat of yesterday when I selected a random agrimony leaf and found 4 Grizzled Skipper eggs underneath! Thanks to Network Rail for allowing this annual survey to continue. Meanwhile back in my Ware garden as the afternoon brightened up there was almost immediately a Holly Blue, female Brimstone, Green-veined White and a manic immaculate Red Admiral! [Posted by Liz Goodyear]
Alabonia geoffrella, Brimstone, Green Carpet, Green-veined White, Holly Blue, Orange-tip, Painted Lady, Peacock, Red Admiral, Silver Y, Small White & Speckled Wood at Enfield & Trent Park. 1 Alabonia geoffrella at Rough Lot/Trent Park [FOY], male Brimstone at a private site at Enfield near Trent Park, 3 Green Carpet at a private site at Enfield near Trent Park [FOY], 10 Green-veined White [7 at private sites at Enfield near Trent Park & 3 at Trent Park], 3 Holly Blue [1 at a private site at Enfield near Trent Park, 1 at Enfield Road, EN2 near Jolly Farmers PH & 1 at Oakwood Station], 2 male Orange-tip at private sites at Enfield near Trent Park, 1 Painted Lady at a private site at Enfield near Trent Park [FOY], 4 Peacock [3 at private sites at Enfield near Trent Park & 1 along Leeging Beech Gutter near Water Grdn/Trent Park, 1 Red Admiral at a private site at Enfield near Trent Park, 10 Silver Y at a private site at Enfield near Trent Park & 3 Speckled Wood [2 at private sites at Enfield near Trent Park & 1 at Rough Lot/Trent Park][Edited by Peter Clarke] [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Grizzled Skipper in the Beane Valley. We visited a private site today and found 3 adult Grizzled Skippers and Liz discovered three eggs on the same agrimony plant. The First one she looked at! [Posted by Andrew Wood & Liz Goodyear]
Painted Lady seen in White City. We spotted a Painted Lady in Hammersmith Park (W12) whilst walking the transect(not yet set up on the system). [Posted by Catharine Sowerby]
Green-veined White, Nettle-tap & Speckled Wood at Enfield. Female Green-veined White at a private site at Enfield near Trent Park, 1 Nettle-tap settled on nettles at a private site at Enfield near Trent Park [FOY] & 3 Speckled Wood [2 at private sites at Enfield near Trent Park & 1 at Enfield Road, EN2]. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
HEXTON CHALK PIT: DINGY SKIPPERS, SMALL HEATHS & my first BROWN ARGUS of the year.. A quick lunchtime visit to Hexton Chalk Pit yielded half a dozen Dingy Skippers, 2 Small Heaths, 1 Large White and 1 Brown Argus. Not bad considering it was also breezy with intermittent sunny spells. [Posted by Julia Hawkins]
Silver Y & Speckled Wood at Enfield & Trent Park. 2 Silver Y [1 at a private site near Trent Park & 1 at Icehouse Wd/Trent Park], 1 Speckled Wood near Icehouse Wd/Trent Park [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Caterpillar on Hounslow Heath. This caterpillar spotted on Oak during the Branch butterfly walk this afternoon is a Small Quaker. Confirmed by Andrew Wood who advises that there are a lot around. Full report of the trip to follow [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
Holly Blue, Red Admiral & Speckled Wood at Enfield & Oakwood. 2 Holly Blue [1 at Oakwood Park this morning & 1 at Holly Walk, Enfield Town this afternoon], 1 Red Admiral & 1 Speckled Wood along New River at Town Park, Enfield this afternoon. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Dukes and Grizzleds. Went to Incombe Hole yesterday just in Bucks. Saw 16 Duke of Burgundy, 25 Brimstones ,1 Green Hairstreak, plenty of Dingy and Grizzled Skippers. Today on usual sites. No Grizzled Skippers on Rickneys ,10 on Waterford Heath North pit and 2 on South pit. Saw 3 Holly Blue on Goats Rue. [Edited by Peter Clarke] [Posted by steve kiln]
Roughdown Green Hairstreak. A single Green Hairstreak welcome sighting after 2 years of no record. [Posted by Brendan Sheridan]
Waterford Heath. Perhaps it was a little too warm for many butterflies to be flying at lunchtime today, I could only find 1 Grizzled Skipper on the North pit and nothing else, on the South pit 0 Grizzled Skipper and two Holly Blue also my ffy Brown Argus and Small Heath. [Posted by Laurence Drummond]
Brimstone, Common Carpet, Green-veined White, Holly Blue, Orange-tip, Peacock, Silver Y, Small Heath, Small White & Speckled Wood at Enfield & Trent Park. 3 Brimstone [2 males at a private site at Enfield near Trent Park & female near Ride Wd/Trent Park], 1 Common Carpet at a private site at Enfield near Trent Park, 10 Green-veined White [6 at private sites at Enfield near Trent Park & 4 at Trent Park], 2 Holly Blue [female settled on Holly, Rough Lot/Trent Park & 1 at Oakwood Station], 2 male Orange-tip [male at Hadley Road, EN2 & male at a private site near Trent Park], 3 Peacock at a private site at Enfield near Trent Park, 1 Silver Y at a private site at Enfield near Trent Park, 1 Small Heath at a private site at Enfield near Trent Park [FOY], 1 Small White at a private site at Enfield near Trent Park & 4 Speckled Wood [3 at private sites at Enfield near Trent Park & 1 at Rough Lot/Trent Park]. [Edited by Peter Clarke] [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Dingy Skippers & Green Hairstreaks @ Hexton. Plenty of Dingy Skippers today at Hexton Chalk Pit and several Green Hairstreaks [Posted by Ian Carle]
