Hertfordshire & Middlesex Branch
Saving butterflies, moths and our environment
Brown Hairstreak eggs Brockley Hill. Six Brown Hairstreak eggs found at Brockley Hill [Posted by Rohan Harris]
Brown Hairstreak egg in Composers Park. One Brown Hairstreak egg found at Composers Park, Elstree [Posted by Rohan Harris]
Brown Hairstreak eggs in Hertfordshire, at Merry Hill, Bushey. Ian Watts and myself decided to look at Merry Hill in Bushey following on from our close but not close enough Brown Hairstreak egg find last week. There is a lot of blackthorn although some looked unsuitable - some areas ticked all the right boxes, oak, ash, bramble and nectar! In the end we found 14 Brown Hairstreak eggs although nothing for the last hour!!! We think the site, or at least where the eggs were found is about 1.5km inside the Hertfordshire border so we now wonder where else they can be found! [Posted by Liz Goodyear & Ian Watts]
Brown Hairstreak eggs in Fryent Country Park and Welsh Harp Reservoir. Two new Brown Hairstreak eggs found at Fryent Country Park. Two also found at Welsh Harp Reservoir [Posted by Rohan Harris]
Brown Hairstreak eggs in London Loop between Aldenham Country Park and Stanmore Common. So close but so far!! Following on from Rohan Harris' recent very successful Brown Hairstreak egg finds at Stanmore Country Park, Ian Watts and myself decided to try and find an egg in Hertfordshire today so we followed the London Loop from Aldenham Country Park towards Stanmore Common. Needless to say the first decent blackthorn we found was where a ditch forms the boundary between Greater London and Hertfordshire. We found two Brown Hairstreak eggs one was 25 yards from the county border and the second was even closer at 10 yards! After that on our very muddy route back via Elstree, there was more blackthorn along the London Loop (which we didn't search) but after we turned off back towards Elstree we found very little! [Posted by Liz Goodyear & Ian Watts]
Brown Hairstreak eggs in Stanmore Country Park. Nine Brown Hairstreak eggs found at Stanmore Country Park [Posted by Rohan Harris]
Peacock at Trent Park. 1 Peacock seen in flight & settled on base of Hornbeam, edge of Williams Wd/Trent Park [TQ294973] at 1325 GMT - my earliest ever, I don't think I have ever seen one in January [Posted by Robert Callf]
Brown Hairstreak quietly retaking London and beyond. Brown Hairstreak quietly retaking London and beyond in today's Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/31/brown-hairstreak-rare-butterfly-quietly-retaking-london [Posted by Peter Clarke]
Red Admiral in Bayfordbury. Saw my first butterfly of the year: a Red Admiral flying in the sunshine in the Pinetum at Bayfordbury [Posted by Ian Flack]
Brown Hairstreak eggs in Fryent Country Park. Three Brown Hairstreak eggs found at Fryent Country Park [Posted by Rohan Harris]
Brown Hairstreak eggs in Fryent Country Park and Stanmore Country Park. 17 Brown Hairstreak eggs on the North West side of Fryent Country Park. Also 7 Brown Hairstreak eggs found at Stanmore Country Park [Posted by Rohan Harris]
Brown Hairstreak eggs in Fryent Country Park. Six more Brown Hairstreak eggs found at areas not previously searched on the East side of Fryent Country Park [Posted by Rohan Harris]
Egg finds in Ware. Took a walk around my local fields in Ware this morning and finally found a White-letter Hairstreak egg on the elms by the playing field (usually much easier to find). Of note was that some of the elm flower buds were starting to burst. On blackthorn 5 Blue-bordered Carpet along Wood Lane and a further egg along the hedge near Hollycross Road. Had an odd egg which was on an oak leaf bud, where a Purple Hairstreak egg would be found - but it was ridged. Looked like a Green-brindled Crescent but wrong larval food plant and laying location??? [Posted by Liz Goodyear]
Brimstone at Oughtonhead Common. Tony Hukin saw a Brimstone at Oughtonhead Common, Hitchin at around 1pm [Posted by Peter Clarke]
Brown Hairstreak eggs in Fryent Country Park. Searched six field enclosures at the East side of Fryent Park. Brown Hairstreak eggs found in every field but one. Total of 13 eggs found [Posted by Rohan Harris]
Peacock in Bengeo. Had a Peacock in my back garden in Bengeo [Posted by Steve Kiln]
Red Admiral in Bishop's Stortford. A single Red Admiral flying north along Stansted Road Bishops Stortford at Fullers Court lunch time TL492212 [Posted by Laurence Drummond]
Brown Hairstreak eggs in Fryent Country Park. Short visit to Fryent Country Park, found four Brown Hairstreak eggs three of which were in a field enclosure not previously searched [Posted by Rohan Harris]
Brown Hairstreak eggs in Fryent Country Park. A longer visit to Fryent Country Park, searched four field enclosures and found 27 Brown Hairstreak eggs [Posted by Rohan Harris]
Big City Butterflies Project Update. Big City Butterflies Project Update - Ele Johnstone and Steve Bolton YouTube video can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB63vbwQwbs [Posted by Peter John Clarke]