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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Painted Lady migration (1 Viewer)

StuartReeves

Local rarity
It lools like the anticipated influx of Painted Ladies got underway today. I noticed a few moving steadily through my garden early on so opted to do some counts. I managed 67 in 15 minutes watching from my front garden, then a move to a more open area south of the village produced 164 in ten minutes. All were heading steadily North-west. A picked up a couple of Red Admirals heading the same way too.

Stuart
 
They have been moving through Paris for the last week. A constant stream, with the highest numbers probably last Thursday and Friday. A few still going through this morning.

DiP
 
It lools like the anticipated influx of Painted Ladies got underway today. I noticed a few moving steadily through my garden early on so opted to do some counts. I managed 67 in 15 minutes watching from my front garden, then a move to a more open area south of the village produced 164 in ten minutes. All were heading steadily North-west. A picked up a couple of Red Admirals heading the same way too.

Stuart

Hi Stuart

The Painted Ladies are on a positive mission at the moment. That is a large number you counted in a short space of time.

You should have seen the numbers of them in Menorca, Spain over the past 2 weeks. There was also numerous Painted Lady Caterpillers swarming over every crevis there was - over walls and up doorways. :eek!:

I liked the Caterpillers which hung from a thread from a branch of a tree so it would hitch a ride on your head. :eek!::eek!:

Interesting to hear they are doing well in the UK too. ;)

Lots of Red Admirals too. o:)
 
c200 westwards per hour outside my cottage today. Never seen anything like it, it is compulsive counting them as they fly past
 
Almost stopped now here in Beccles, the estimated total in Norfolk was 1000 plus an hour flying west. The internet news groups are alive with huge counts.
 
200+ around Lizard Point, Cornwall today and 100's every day over the last week along the Lizard Peninsula.
The most spectacular numbers i've ever seen, but is this an annual phenomenon at this magnitude?
Thanks. Henry.
 
I saw what I think is a Painted Lady this morning on the outskirts of Chelmsford in Essex... will attach a photo. I've not seen one before and she was very faded and ragged!
 

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That is a Painted Lady Fozzy.

Fantastic numbers, mirroring what happened in the Netherlands a couple of days ago (reminds me of my record counts of Red Admirals in autumn)...
Of course what I saw today came nowhere close... had eight on a short stretch of Stort towpath near Harlow this morning, and about the same number in various places in East Herts.
 
Loads around Ashtead Forest, Sussex, too, heading vaguely north.
If there is an associated movement of moths, it could be an exciting night.
Ken
 
Saw hundreds of Painted Ladies at the PGA golf at Wentworth today all heading north. It was a sight to behold. The golf was good too.

Clare
 
At Woodwalton Fen this afternoon we cud not believe the numbers passing thru...i personally have never seen anything quite like it! We estimated, conservatively, that over a one Kilometre stretch there must have been about 1500/2000 an hour going by...sounds crazy i know....
Observations between 1.30 to about 5.30pm.....as we left they were still going by. Friend of mine was in Essex yesterday and he informed me that there were thousands coming in......[he was at Rutland Water today and he was seeing hundreds]...amazing migration!
 
Excellent, had an very good butterfly season last year, but didn't see a single Painted Lady in Lithuania last year, hopefully they'll be up here shortly.
 
I know this will sound like a daft question...and i'm sure it is...but when are these hordes of butterflies actually going to put the brakes on and stop?!...[apart from when the sun goes down]! Majority we observed today were quite faded/abraded...so presume they have been flying a long time....and we did not witness a single one perched/resting anywhere...

ps...hope you get 'em in Lithuania soon Jos....
 
I know this will sound like a daft question...and i'm sure it is...but when are these hordes of butterflies actually going to put the brakes on and stop?!...[apart from when the sun goes down]! Majority we observed today were quite faded/abraded...so presume they have been flying a long time....and we did not witness a single one perched/resting anywhere...

ps...hope you get 'em in Lithuania soon Jos....

I had 2/3 per minute heading NNW in a park in Dartford this afternoon. Other observers noted similar passage in other parts of West Kent today.

So, who would like to exprapolate a total figure for today passing through Southern Britain?
 
This is a repete of a post i put on the Norfolk Thread

" Huge numbers of painted ladies passed through North Norfolk this afternoon. At Swanton Novers the movement started about 1.00 pm ( though there had been a trickle through the morning ) By 2.00 they were pouring through two wide rides in the woods all passing from east to west. They averaged 8 per minuet for about 3 hours before the flow slackened , but they were still trickling through at 7.00 pm. I was doing a butterfly survey and got 104 with in the 5m survey box in about an hour, though probably 3-4,000 passed through. I was told even move were passing along the coast with one friend telling me he had 40 per minuet at one time near Cley. As the sun started to set some of the stone tracks were covered with then basking on the warm ground. Also had my first red admiral of the year which probably came in with the painted ladies.


The direction of all these butterflies was from east to west with the majority not stopping until early evening when they droped down to bask in the warm sun.
 
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