On Monday evening I managed a very quick visit to one of my favourite Small Copper colonies. This has been a very successful area for me over the past few years, but with it being a few weeks into the 3rd brood I really thought that all the best specimens would be over and I would have missed my chance.
As it was, it was clear right from the start that there were still plenty of butterflies about with lots of butterflies taking advantage of the sunny conditions. However, as expected most were showing signs of being on the wing for some time, and several had probably also got a bit battered over the weekend that had been extremely wet and windy.
Eventually though, a couple of reasonably fresh individuals were found and they performed reasonably well as they started to go to roost. A short 30 minute session, but great to get out with the camera again.
Small Copper on Agrimony.
Small Copper going to roost.
Small Copper on Agrimony seed.
It has been a very good year for Small Coppers up here. They were on the wing until last week, but I haven't seen any since Storm Ali came through. I had to scrape ice of the car windscreen this morning, so I suspect the days of butterflies are going to be numbered.
ReplyDeleteCheers Nick. We haven't had the ice yet, although it has been getting cool overnight. Good to see you had a successful trip to Spain. So many more species to identify there!!
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