Hertfordshire & Middlesex Branch
Saving butterflies, moths and our environment
Whippendell Woods Watford. A further visit to Whippendell Woods this afternoon in hot weather did produce 2 confirmed sightings of Silver-Washed Fritillary. White Admiral were playing hard to get. I saw 2 chasing each other before having a lovely chat with a bloke with a dog. It didn't help with the White Admiral search though. In all 3 confirmed sightings with a possible 4th. Other butterflies seen Comma 5, L Skipper 5, Holly Blue 1, Ringlets 20+ Meadow Brown 20+ and one unidentified White at Rousebarn Lane. A probable sighting of a Brimstone Moth, I can't think of another similar sized moth in that colour. [Posted by Petr Fewell]
Trent Park Equestrian Centre & Trent Park. 1 White-letter Hairstreak settled in grass at Trent Park Equestrian Centre this afternoon at 1240 BST [FOY]. 1 Red Admiral at North Lawn/Trent Park & 2 Comma [1 near Ride Wd & 1 edge of Moat Wd/Trent Park]. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
White Admiral at Balls Wood. One very fresh and mobile White Admiral at the usual area in Balls Wood. Seen on the wing at 10.30am and on the muddy path leading to the wooden walkway at around noon. [Posted by Annie Sutcliffe]
The more you look.... These last couple of days I had a few possible high speed tree sightings after walking along the forest between Monks Green and Danemead HMWT in the hot sun but it finally paid off. A hundred yards from home and I found this pristine male Purple Emperor searching the track for salty licks. Usually you get a couple of photos and they fly away but this guy was there for 30 mins and completely unfazed by me. Here are some (cropped) pictures from my trusty old camera phone once my hands stopped shaking! [Posted by Nathan Ellis]
A quick look at Merry Hill Bushey. A brief visit this afternoon in rather hot conditions to Merry Hill to see how the Marbled White was doing there was lovely. I didn't pack a pen in my rush from work so these numbers are approximate. Marbled White 20+ Meadow Brown 50+ Ringlet 50+, Small Heath 8+, Large White 1, Large Skipper 8-9. Several flying Burnet moths also caught my attention. [Posted by Peter Fewell]
Purple Hairstreak at Trent Park. 1 Purple Hairstreak settled on the ground in Shaws Wd/Trent Park this afternoon [FOY]. 1 Large White along bridle-path near Merryhills Brook/Trent Park. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Oakwood Park, Trent Park & Southgate. 1 Holly Blue, 32 Marbled White & 1 Cinnabar at Oakwood Park this morning. Female Common Blue & 1 Comma by lower lake, Trent Park this afternoon. 1 Common Emerald at ASDA Southgate this afternoon. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Silver Washed Fritillary and Purple Hairstreak. One Silver-washed Fritillary (surprisingly tatty) on my Balls Wood Transect today, no White Admiral or Purple Emperor. Yesterday three Purple Hairstreaks at Mount Pleasant on Hertford Heath. [Posted by Andrew Wood]
SWF at Hertford Heath NR. Spent a few hours this morning at Balls Wood NR, no White Admirals seen. On the way home, I saw my FOY Silver Washed Fritillary zooming up and down the main ride at Hertford Heath NR (Hailibury college side). [Posted by Nathan Ellis]
White Admiral search Whippendell Woods. A visit to Whippendell Woods this Sunday to look for White Admiral worked out well with 4 seen. Hopefully their numbers will increase for next weeks butterfly walk. Other butterflies seen Red Admiral 1, Speckled Wood 2, Comma 2, Large Skipper 1, Meadow Brown 10+, Ringlet 20+ . Also unconfirmed a possible sighting of a Brimstone by Rick, we both clocked a glimpse of what looked like a Silver-washed Fritillary. No Whites seen on this occasion. [Posted by Peter Fewell]
Bramfield Park wood. No sign of any White Admirals today , 3 Marbled White in the meadow next to the Bramfield village hall car park, no White Admiral at Balls wood either Wed/Thur or Friday. [Posted by Laurence Drummond]
Walkern Road Bennington. Two Dark Green Fritillaries along Walkern Road adjacent to High Wood Bennington. Circa 30 Marbled White, 8 Ringlet also present. [Posted by Phil Bishop]
White-letter Hairstreak at Six Hills Common. At least 5 White-letter Hairstreaks, including 2 pairs of males clashing, over the elm canopy at Six Hills Common Stevenage at 0950 hours [Posted by Peter Clarke]
Garden Carpet & White Ermine at Southgate. 1 Garden Carpet & 1 White Ermine near outside lights at ASDA Southgate this afternoon. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
21.06.24 - Batford. 2 WHITE LETTER HAIRSTREAKS in small oak tree by large bramble bush SW in the Weedy/ scrubby field by KW school. Thanks. Darin. [Posted by Darin Stanley]
White Admiral on the wing in Whippendell Woods. On a fairly brief visit to Whippendell Woods 2 White Admiral seen one at “Camilla Oak” the other by the fork in the path by Strawberry Fields. 2 Comma also seen with a growing mixture of Meadow Brown and Ringlets. [Posted by Peter Fewell]
Small Blues still flying at Hillbrow (Letchworth). I found seven Small Blues whilst looking round the fields behind Hillbrow (Letchworth) today. Also seen: Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Brimstone, Small Heath, Common Blue and a Cinnabar Moth. [Posted by Martin Johnson]
Dark Green Fritillary on Therfield Heath. A Dark Green Fritillary (my FOTY) was on Church Hill this morning, together with hordes (conservative estimate - 80) of Marbled Whites. Also seen were Small Heath (lots), Meadow Brown (lots), a few Speckled Woods (in Fox Covert) and a single, faded Brown Argus - the last(?) of a very poor spring showing here. A Scarlet Tiger Moth was an interesting find: the first I've seen on the heath. [Posted by Martin Johnson]
Trent Park. 4 Marbled White [FOY], 2 Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet [FOY] & 3 Small Skipper at 'New Fields' Trent Park. 1 Ringlet near Ride Wd/Trent Park & 1 Straw Dot [FOY] at 'Old Golf Course' Trent Park. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
BRANCH EVENT THERFIELD HEATH CANCELLED 21st June 2024. Unfortunately I will not be able to lead tomorrow's branch walk on Therfield Heath due to illness. There are two more walks planned for the Heath in July and August. You are of course welcome to do a self guided walk on the Heath at any time. Apologies Nick Keep [Posted by Nick Keep]