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Tag Archives: migrant butterfly

Beach butterflies

05 Wednesday Oct 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects

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Tags

British butterflies, butterflies at the beach, Clouded yellow, migrant butterfly

I went to Sully beach on Monday specifically to look for the two Grey plovers that have been frequenting the waterline on and off in recent days. (I saw them but too distantly for good photos – I’ll try again when the tide is higher, so may yet post about them.) What I did not expect to see was two – or perhaps, three – Clouded yellows along the beach. I only managed to get photos of two so can’t confirm the third sighting was a different individual – they fly so fast, one could easily have passed me! Doesn’t their amazing yellow pop against the colour of the beach pebbles?

221005 clouded yellow

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Three days in a row

15 Monday Aug 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Tags

British butterflies, butterfly, Clouded yellow, migrant butterfly

I couldn’t believe my luck (and wondered whether I should’ve bought a lottery ticket) but, after the first lucky day (Brown argus) and a second lucky day (the Silver-washed fritillary), the very next day my luck was in again. I’d seen Clouded yellow butterflies already in 2022 (one on 16 June; two – probably the first one and a friend – on 17 June; one – probably one of the previous two – on 20 June; all in the same general area) but hadn’t been able to get any reasonable photos. With the new camera, and a slightly more co-operative subject – it stopped a few times to feed, this time I managed to fire off several quick shots. This is the best of them.

220815 clouded yellow

p.s. I wrote this blog a few days ago and, since then, we’ve had an amazing influx of Clouded yellows, with five noted yesterday at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, so here’s another of these beauties.

220815 clouded yellow (2)

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232/366 Third time lucky

19 Wednesday Aug 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

British butterflies, butterfly, Clouded yellow, migrant butterfly

I had hoped the recent combination of southerly winds and heat wave would bring a wave of migrants to our shores and it did. The most exciting for me was the Clouded yellow butterfly. I saw my first on 10 August but, as is often the case with these beauties, their rapid flight can make them difficult to photograph, and this one flew over a fence into a shrubby area, disappearing immediately. My next Clouded yellow sighting came on 16 August, in a different location but with almost the same result – over the fence and gone! I managed to grab a single ‘record’ shot, below.

200819 clouded yellow (1)

Then, last Monday 17 August, I got lucky. I did have to follow this Clouded yellow around a sizeable field, watching intently, not following too closely so as not to spook it, waiting for it to settle but, finally, it paused briefly to feed and I got my photograph. They are such lovely butterflies, so different from anything else in Britain – I just wished they lived among us.

200819 clouded yellow (2)

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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