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Welcome to Daves Moth and Butterfly World -
Weekly Report - April 2009

Welcome to Dave McCormick's Moth and Butterfly World. Here is our weekly reports on what I have seen every week when I have been out and about. This report is for April 2009.

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April 2009

Weather Average for April 2009 in UK

Temperatures were above average across all of the UK, ranging from 1.3C above in south-west England and south Wales to about 2.3C above the average in East Anglia, south-east England and northern Scotland.

Provisionally it was the third warmest April over Scotland and equal third over England, in series from 1914, but not as warm as April 2007 (ranked first).

Rainfall ranged from above normal in Northern Ireland and the western fringes of Scotland, Wales and south-west England to well below normal in much of eastern Scotland and England, with less than 40% of the average rainfall across East Anglia.

Provisionally it was the wettest April over Northern Ireland since 1996. In contrast, over England and Wales it was the third consecutive month to be markedly drier than average.

Sunshine totals ranged from close to normal over Northern Ireland, Wales, south-west England and southern and eastern Scotland. In East Anglia, parts of north-west England and north-west Scotland, sunshine amounts were much higher than can usually be expected at this time of year.

A maximum temperature of 22.1C was recorded at East Malling (Kent) on the 15th.

Kinbrace (Highland) recorded a minimum temperature of -5.8C on the 19th.

56.8mm of rainfall was recorded at St Mary's, Isles of Scilly on the 24th.

Report

8th: Went out on a walk as it was a nice warm, but windy day. Rained slightly, but when it was warm I saw about 4 Small Tortoiseshell, there was more there probably, but I did not look at the whole area I was in. These photos were taken at map Reference: J56100

Small Tortoiseshell
Small Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis urticae) - Photo David McCormick

Mountstewart Fields
Fields in Mountstewart where I saw Small Tortoiseshell - Photo David McCormick

I found this Small Tortoiseshell about a few hundred yards back from where I found the one above at a place that used to house pigs many years ago:

Small_Tortoieshell2
Small Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis urticae) - Photo David McCormick

A close up of the Tortoiseshell, which was hard to photograph, would not sit still:

Small Tortoiseshell CLose
Small Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis urticae) - Photo David McCormick

Been a while since last update here, seen a few things in the past two weeks

9th-26th: Seen numerous things, at first mostly Small Tortoiseshell.  Then Green Veined white, Water carpet moths and Speckled wood. Plus the first sighting in Mountstewart of Holly Blues this year. Also seen first load of barn swallows.

16th: Went to Castle Espie (Click link to see its website) and saw a few Green Veined white (around 4)

Swallow on Wire
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 19/04/2009 - Photo David McCormick

21st: Saw 3 Small Tortoiseshell, 1 Peacock (Inachis io) and a Diamond-Back Moth, only got a photo of Diamond-Back moth in Mountstewart (J557701).

DiamondbackMoth01
Diamond-Back Moth (Plutella xylostella)

It was a very warm afternoon, but it began to rain. I looked for Orange-Tip butterflies but only found their food plant, Cuckooflower:

 CuckooflowerHead
Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis)

25th: Warmest day I have seen so far this year. Seen numerous things. A Buzzard, two Green veined Whites, and a speckled wood male in Mountstewart:

GVWhite_Small
Green Veined White (Pieris napi) - Photo David McCormick

I noticed that when I went close to this male with my camera, it pushed up its abdomen, like it was refusing to mate. I have heard this happen to someone else trying to photograph a different butterfly, but never noticed this myself until I saw this one. Click the image to see a bigger photo.

Speckled_Wood_Male1
Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) - Photo David McCormick

This was the only good photo I got of a speckled wood male, it seemed to be sensitive to the camera shutter noise. It flew off and I never saw it again, or any more.

Buzzard thumb
Buzzard (Buteo buteo) - Photo David McCormick

Found a buzzard flying in the air around where I was. I have always loved birds of prey. Click the image above to see a larger image.

 

Page last edited: 05/07/2009 23:40

(c) David McCormick 2009