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2024 Field Trip Highlights 

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Field Trip notes 2024

 

The field trip programme in 2024 was severely interrupted by the weather with several cancellations and re-scheduling of some as well. The Duke of Burgundy was seen at West Wood and a female was observed laying eggs, and at Butser Hill the species were evident but very low in numbers.

Again, one of the highlights of the season was the New Forest trip to see the Pearl Bordered Fritillary and in the afternoon the Emperor Moth. On Martin Down it was rare to see the sunshine, but once it did shine there were good amounts of butterflies including our target species the Marsh Fritillary with the added bonus of Emperor moths.

 

Into the summer the weather again played a big part in the season and several target species were well down in number or not seen at all. On Broxhead Common the Silver Studded Blue was seen in good numbers, and the highlight of the field trip was seeing a lovely Emperor Moth caterpillar feeding on Heather.

On other summer field trips the Purple Emperor was seen in good numbers in short bursts of sunshine, at Alice Holt Forest and seen in singletons at West Walk, and Micheldever Wood.

 

The new member’s day at Magdalen Hill down was a success today despite the weather being very cloudy and drizzly at times. In the morning, we had talks about Gardening for butterflies, Butterfly and Moth recording, Photographing Butterflies and Moths, Introduction to the BC reserves, Volunteering for the branch, and then Butterfly Walks. We then had lunch on the down and then we all split up for a wander around the site. We saw several Adonis Blues many Chalk hill Blues, Brown Argus, Common Blues, Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers, Six Spotted Burnet Moths, Silver Y Moths and an Oak Egger Moth. A very enjoyable day and hope to see some of you on the next set of walks scheduled for this month and September.

 

Shipton Bellinger was a treat with Brown Hairstreak Wall Brown and Magpie Moth, and of course the other sites like Old Winchester Hill Silver-Spotted Skipper put in and appearance, along with Adonis Blue, but our last trip to Portsdown Hill was marred by cloudy weather , but it was good to see some fresh faces and hope I will see them again in the future.

it was always good to welcome some new field trippers this year and long may it continue…I like to thank all who came on this year’s field trips and hopefully 2025 will be a better year!

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2023 Field Trip Highlights 

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The weather played a big part in the field trip programme again in the spring and several trips were cancelled, but several went ahead despite the weather being less than adequate. One of these was the first gathering at Broxhead Common, where we managed to see one Emperor Moth, and the weather was no better at Butser a week later where the cloudy conditions made the counting very easy as there wasn’t anything to count. However in the afternoon the sun did come out and it was a totally different day with lots of Duke of Burgundies, and other chalk downland species to see, and with that two Emperor Moths were also seen!

 

In the New Forest the Pearl Bordered Fritillary was seen in reasonable numbers, with a visit in the afternoon to Pig Bush Inclosure and hey-presto 20 or more Emperor moths visited us! At Coulters Dean there were excellent counts of Green Hairstreaks, and Small Blue amongst the rare Orchids. Into the early summer the sun was now sizzling, and brought out many summer species early including Grayling, Silver-Studded Blue and the Purple Emperor, which was seen at West Wood and Alice Holt Forest, and a new site for many at Micheldever woods, where Assembly Points became the centre of attention. One of the highlights for me was seeing two aberration Silver-Washed Fritillaries on one field trip, at Alice Holt Forest. The 'Valezina' which was a very fresh specimen, and a very rare 'Ocellata', which got everybody's attention, this is what field trips are all about everybody seeing something new and unusual.

A good turnout at West Harting Down saw several female Purple Emperors which were searching good areas of Sallow to lay their eggs. Unfortunately the weather turned again and the summer became quite damp, but the later target species like Brown Hairstreak still appeared at Shipton Bellinger in good numbers along with Wall Brown, this site is a very popular field trip, and I always look forward to it, as it a site where being flat makes the trip a bit more enjoyable, looking for that elusive Brown Hairstreak. Unfortunately we haven’t seen the Magpie Moth for several years now which is quite worrying.

 

The weather at the end of August turned back to summer and the beginning of September it was clear blue skies and was very hot. The last of the walks were done with plenty of water to hand and the butterflies were flying in a frenzied manner especially the Silver Spotted Skippers which I love to see. Several females on Old Winchester Hill were observed laying eggs and also mating. The site has now managed to save the Adonis Blue from disappearing from the Meon Valley, and can be found now at several other sites like Butser Hill, Oxenbourne Down, but it seems to be reluctant to breed on Beacon Hill, maybe the grazing regime can reverse this trend.

 

I would like to thank all who made the effort to come and join me on my walks and look forward to seeing some of you again in 2024.

Ashley Whitlock Hampshire Field Trips Organiser

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Photographs of field trips in 2023 by Donald Simcox

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2022 Field Trip Highlights 

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Photo: Bryn Jones

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2022 had a full programme of walks starting in late April in the New Forest with a look at the Emperor Moth where we saw several fresh males on the heathland. Into May and the Duke of Burgundy was seen at two sites visited in one day, Beacon Hill and Stephens Castle Down, we also saw another (14) species of butterfly. One of the best spring field trips was at West Wood looking for the woodland Duke of Burgundy and a count of (25) were seen in the small clearing where they breed on Primrose. Stockbridge Down turned out to be sublime, with another impressive amount of species counted (19). Cool overcast weather greeted us at Martin Down in the last week of May but we managed to see our quarry the Marsh Fritillary and Adonis Blue.

 

The summer field trip programme started in Bentley Wood, but we were unfortunate not to see our target species, the Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillary and the Argent and Sable Moth, however later in the month the Silver-Studded Blue impressed at Broxhead Common.     The biggest prize in the field trip calendar, the Purple Emperor turned in a good performance at West Wood with up to (8) individuals being seen, along with Silver Washed Fritillaries, White Admirals, and Scarlet Tiger Moths. In the afternoon we were entertained by good counts of Dark Green Fritillaries skimming over the tall grasses at Pitt Down. Now we were into a long hot summer and we all sweltered at Pamber Forest although not seeing our quarry, the Purple Emperor. Although hot at Creech Wood we were luckier and saw the Purple Emperor at one of the Assembly Points.

 

West Harting Down is a walk not for the faint hearted, but the view and the species count is well worth the effort, we had a good count of Purple Emperor for once, with two on the ground, and other species making it an impressive (20) species in total. Several field trips had to be rearranged as the heatwave broke due to low pressure systems. However at Shipton Bellinger, the Brown Hairstreak and Wall Brown were counted in good numbers and at Broughton Down the Silver-Spotted Skipper was whizzing about keeping everybody happy. Butser Hill NNR turned out to be a triumph as the site was covered in a veil of cloud at 10:30 but as the morning wore on the sun came out as the mist lifted, and the butterflies were flying in droves, including in the list were Silver Spotted Skippers, Clouded Yellows and Adonis Blues.

 

2022 was a successful year and I would like to thank all of you who came and hope you will join me again in 2023, my 10th anniversary year of arranging field trips.

 

Ashley Whitlock Hampshire Field Trip Organiser

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2021 Field Trip Highlights 

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Abbotts Wood Inclosure Field Trip July 2021

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Another season of field trips, several of which had to be cancelled due to the inclement weather we have encountered in 2021.  

 

We started in the New Forest in April looking for the Emperor Moth, this was during the period when only 6 people could meet outside due to Covid. We were successful in attracting one fresh male with my ‘lure’. In early May the Duke of Burgundy's were beginning to emerge in reasonable numbers on the slopes of Butser Hill and later in the month the rearranged Bentley Wood and Martin Down trips turned out to be rescheduled luckily for the better weather.

 

At Bentley Wood Pearl-Bordered Fritillaries were past their best and we didn’t see the Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillary as to was too early, but the Martin Down trip on the last day of May was a triumph, seeing the Duke of Burgundy at this site for the first time and also plenty of Marsh Fritillaries and Adonis Blues plus other flora and fauna.

 

In mid-June Dark Green Fritillaries adorned Abbotstone Down which also appears to be one of the best sites for the Green Hairstreak.  However due to the wet weather several summer walks were rearranged but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the Purple Emperor was late to emerge in 2021!

 

In July we had two Purple Emperor field trips to Alice Holt Forest and West Wood in the space of three days and saw an extraordinary (24) Purple Emperors, and also another male of this impressive species was seen at West Harting Down the following week. In addition the beautiful Silver-washed Fritillary Valezina was seen in Crab Wood on the West Wood field trip.

 

August was no better weather wise but we managed to get in one of the best Field Trips at Shipton Bellinger where all the target species were seen. The Brown Hairstreak was noted about a dozen times despite the weather being cloudy with short periods of sunshine, and the elusive Wall Brown was encountered at least three times, along with good counts of Magpie Moths.

 

The New Forest at Beaulieu Heath produced the Grayling and in September the Adonis Blue and the lovely Silver-Spotted Skipper were seen in reasonable numbers at old Winchester Hill and Beacon Hill.

 

I would like to thank all those who joined me in 2021 and hope to see you all in 2022.

 

Ashley Whitlock

Field Trip Co-ordinator

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Field Trips of Yesteryear Highlights

 
Meanwhile let's have a look at some fields trips from yesteryear....There have been so many highlights over the years and for those who have been on my field trips I hope this brings back some memories. For any of you reading this and thinking of dipping your toes into the Hampshire Butterfly field trips in the future, then I hope these notes and pictures will encourage you to come along. Join me and my other fellow field trippers for a day out looking at Hampshire's glorious flora and fauna. On most occasions we find our' target' species, but even if we dont we have a good go, and I must say we tend to learn a lot from other people's knowledge.
 
These are just a snapshot of many field trips I organise every year. There are invariably up to 20 walks starting at the end of April with at least 3 or 4 every month and these will go on until the first week of September. I try and start them about 10:30 am, so everybody who is coming can get to the site in ample time. As the Purple Emperor is such a fickle butterfly and very weather dependant, it can be flying very early in the rides, so some of the field trips will start at 09:30 am in June and July.  
 
Field trips are for everyone, however rough terrain over fields and in woods could regrettably make access impossible for some people with mobility issues...although having said that there are exceptions and photographs in this section under (May 2016 Martin Down) show a mobility scooter moving over the chalk downland with some ease and the owner saw everything he wanted to see! 

Two Field Trips in 2020 under Government Covid restrictions were to Shipton Bellinger to see the Brown Hairstreak and Wall Brown on the 9th August and the 20th August at Old Winchester Hill to see the Clouded Yellow and Silver Spotted Skipper

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Female Wall Brown Portsdown Hill (3) (10

Adonis Blue

 Wall Brown

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 Female Brown Hairstreak

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 Male Brown Hairstreak

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 Male Adonis Blue

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 Brown Argus

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 Painted Lady

 Silver-Spotted Skipper

 Clouded Yellow

May 2019 New Forest : target species : Pearl-Bordered Fritillary and Raft Spider

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Class of 2019

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 Raft Spider

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 Female Broad-bodied Chaser

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 Pearl-bordered Fritillary

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 Tiger Beetle

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Pearl-bordered Fritillary

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 Common Lizard

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Ranmore Inclosure New Forest

May 2018 Botany Bay Surrey Target Species :Wood White and Nightingale

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One Wood White

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Two Wood Whites

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 Mating pair of Common Darters

 Nightingale

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 Speckled Yellow Moth

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 Three Wood Whites

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 Four Wood Whites

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Green Hairstreak

August 2017 Beacon Hill NNR (Exton) target species: Silver-spotted Skipper

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Class of 2017

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Female Chalkhill Blue

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Comma on Bramble

Silver Spotted Skipper September 2013 OW

Silver-Spotted Skipper

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 Old Winchester Hill from Beacon Hill

May 2016 Martin Down target species: Marsh Fritillary, and Adonis Blue. 

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Mating Small Blues

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Female Marsh Fritillary

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Female Holly Blue

You and everybody enjoying the scenery a

Class of 2016

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Female Adonis Blue

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 Burnt Tip Orchids

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Male Marsh Fritillary

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Male Brown Argus

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Horseshoe Vetch

July 2015 West Harting Down target species Purple Emperor, Hummingbird-Hawk Moth

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West Harting Down 

Mating Silver-Washed Fritillaries August

Mating Silver-Washed Fritillaries

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A rather battered male Purple Emperor

At the summit spectacular views West Har

Always time to eat!

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Hummingbird Hawk Moth

May 2014 Hyden Wood target species: Orange Tip and Bluebell woods.

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Admiring the view

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Robin on her nest

Along the South Downs Way from Hyden Woo

 Part of the south downs way

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 Bluebells in all their glory in the wood

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Speckled Wood

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 Male Orange Tip

June 2013 Setley Common target species:

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Silver-Studded Blue

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 Male Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

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 Mating Silver-Studded Blues

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Male Clouded Buff Moth

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Large Skipper

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