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Baltic Butterfly Challenge, 2016 (1 Viewer)

Jos Stratford

Eastern Exile
Staff member
United Kingdom
INTRODUCTION

The Baltic States are characterized by an extremely diverse selection of butterflies, this especially true of Lithuania in the south. At the season's peak in early July, the range and abundance of species is truly dazzling, a tantalizing 50 species possible in eastern Lithuania on an exceptional day, including many species of fritillaries, blues and coppers.

Including such stunning classics as Swallowtail, Camberwell Beauty, both Purple and Lesser Purple Emperor and Poplar Admiral, a typical active year (April through to September) will see me recording 60-70 species during the season, the highest ever total being 78 in 2010.

Setting myself a target for 2016, the holy grail of 100 species is rather over-ambitious I believe, but including Latvia and Estonia into the recording area, it is at least theoretically possible, so there we have it, a probably unachievable total, but a nice one to aim at. In reality, I will be happy to break my existing record of 78 species, hopefully also finding a few new species of butterflies for me, chiefly amongst them the rare Clouded Apollo, a localised species that can be found in parts of Latvia and Estonia.
 

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JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016

In the depths of underground chambers, vaults and tunnels, sharing a winter home with roosting Daubenton's Bats and unusually good numbers of Barbestrelles this year, the first butterflies of the year were found – Peacocks hibernating in good numbers in virtually all sites visited, mostly in the sections nearer the entrances to the outside world.


MARCH 2016

27-28 March, the first relative warmth of the year, bright sun and temperatures touching 10 C on the 27th and a positively tropical 13 C on the 28th.
Still patches of snow lingering, shaded pools frozen, but there they were, eagerly awaited splashes of yellow fluttering along the byways ...and so opened the 2016 butterfly season, ten Brimstones on the 27th, another half dozen the following day and two Small Tortoiseshells too!

And with the sun, so too the first flowers of the season poking up in the meadows, my first incoming White Stork of the year, plus the first frog, the first bumblebee and the first ticks, three of the latter crawling up my leg!


YEAR LIST
  • 1. Peacock
  • 2. Brimstone
  • 3. Small Tortoiseshell
 
APRIL 2016

4 April, Mass Emergence!

A little over a week into the season and a positive explosion in butterfly numbers! With sun and temperatures reaching 16 C, it was the warmest day of the spring so far, perfect conditions for a few early butterflies. What I found however far exceeded my expectations – grand masses of butterflies out enjoying the sunshine, an estimated 230 butterflies and no less than six species! By any standard, this was superb for so early in the season.

I started the day on my plot at Labanoras, yellow flowers poking through the meadows and a carpet of blue flowers dotting the woodland. Not on these though were butterflies congregating, instead mostly settling to lap up the oozing sap from the stumps of birches recently felled by Beavers – not a behaviour I have noted before, but a good 35 or so Small Tortoiseshells doing this, plus a couple of Commas. A handful of Brimstones also fluttering past.

Next up, a 20 km meander through neighbouring pine forests. Brimstones super abundant, my first Peacocks of the year on the wing, then an absolute classic – repeatedly settling on a sunny track in an area of open pine, one smart Camberwell Beauty, a top butterfly indeed. This was soon followed by the first of four Yellow-legged Tortoiseshells (another rather uncommon species) and endless more Brimstones, plus another two Commas and a few Small Tortoiseshells.

I had expected a mere two or three species this day and perhaps a dozen or so individuals, but by the trip's end, I was staggered – totals sat at approximately 170 Brimstones, one Camberwell Beauty, four Yellow-legged Tortoiseshells, at least 40 Small Tortoiseshells, 12 Peacocks and four Commas!

Amongst the non-butterflies, several more White Storks had arrived atop their nests, the first displaying Green Sandpipers had returned, a singing Chiffchaff was active in the forest, one Moose went crashing through my reedbeds and a gentle procession of Common Toads lumbered towards the breeding pools.


YEAR LIST
  • 4. Comma
  • 5. Camberwell Beauty
  • 6. Yellow-legged Tortoiseshell
 
Sapsuckers!
 

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And bigger cousins...
 

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6-11 April. All Fizzled Out!

After the glorious start to the month, a predictable shift in the winds brought cool northerlies, generally overcast skies and temperatures barely topping 10 C.

Still, spring pushes on, good numbers of Common Toads and Common Frogs spawning, a continuing trickle of bird migrants arriving and, in a few hours of sunshine at Labanoras on the 11th, a small collection of butterflies in sheltered spots - four Small Tortoiseshells, six Brimstones and, my fifth of the season, another Yellow-legged Tortoiseshell.

Forecast for the next week ...much the same, cool northerlies, occasional sunny patches, probably no new species of butterfly on the wing.
 
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Hi
Great post, I am in the south of France on the Spanish border, for the last 6 years stuck on 98 species it will be great to hit 100

Steve
 
Wonderful to have so many butterflies this early.
Have only seen a single Red Admiral plus a handful of Cabbage Whites thus far here in NYC, even though our cherry trees are now in full bloom.
 
After doldrums for near three weeks, finally the list starts to climb...


21-25 April. Snowing!

One degrees and snow, the culmination of three weeks of fairly abmissal weather, temperatures rarely exceeding 10 C and absolutely not conducive to flights of butterflies. Needless to say, not a single butterfly to be seen. Surprisingly good however for birds, quite a few migrants moving despite the conditions - the Labanoras selection including a healthy dose of raptors, with White-tailed Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Osprey, Montagu's Harrier, Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Common Kestrel amongst the species seen.


28-30 April. Month out on a High.

A change in the weather! A rare sun putting in an appearance and, for a handful of days at least, the temperature rising to a pleasant 17 C.

Harbingers of pleasant spring days, Brimstones were up and about, pastel yellows along woodland edge. At Labanoras on the 28th, no less than eight species seen, many in good numbers. A dozen Peacocks, a few Small Tortoiseshells, several Commas and a Yellow-legged Tortoiseshell all attracted to flowering willows, while at meadow edge the first Orange Tips, Holly Blues and Green-veined Whites of the year. On the bird front, Pied Flycatchers and Wood Warblers were back on territory and both Water Rail and Moorhen were back in the flooded forest, hopefully to repeat last year's breeding performances.

Two days later, in a few hours before cloud returned to dominate, it was even better - a total eleven species and perhaps 70 individual butterflies seen, including a very nice Large Tortoiseshell (never a very common butterfly) and the first Map Butterflies and Wood White of the season. Excellent for raptors too - Osprey, Montagu's Harrier, Lesser Spotted Eagle and Black Kite all seen, along with the more usual Marsh Harriers, Common Buzzards and Sparrowhawks.


BALTIC YEAR LIST

7. Orange Tip
8. Green-veined White
9. Wood White
10. Holly Blue
11. Large Tortoiseshell
12. Map Butterfly
 
End of April butterflies. Note the well-spotted Holly Blue, seems these first generation are much better marked than those later in the season.
 

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5 May. Spectacular in Green.

Heatwave by this year's standards, 23 C and wall-to-wall sunshine! A marked reduction of Small Tortoiseshells on my land at Labanoras, but a big rise in the numbers of Map Butterflies, Orange Tips, Wood Whites and Green-veined Whites. Also first Speckled Woods of the year (never very common here, but four active this day) and a Yellow-legged Tortoiseshell.

Out in the pine forests beyond, a very nice surprise was awaiting. A surprise in very big numbers! One of the daintier of the early spring butterflies, Green Hairstreaks are fairly widespread in the open pines of eastern Lithuania, but rarely common, usually just the occasional one or two seen here and there. Not so today! In the chunk of forest that I covered, they were absolutely everywhere ... after initial excitement with four in a sunny patch of lichen-draped bilberry, I then went on to find them in virtually all open areas.

The highlight of the morning was 25 or so Green Hairstreaks clustering around a single small Salix bush, all the more impressive for the fact that two stunning Camberwell Beauties patrolled the very same clearing and yet another Yellow-legged Tortoiseshell fluttered in to join the Green Hairstreaks on the Salix!

So, what a day - a grand total of about 70 Green Hairstreaks, by far the highest ever day total that I have recorded (also significantly exceeding the average number that I usually see in an entire year). Also two cracking Camberwell Beauties, two Yellow-legged Tortoiseshells and a whole host of other butterflies. In total, fourteen species and over 300 individual butterflies.



BALTIC YEAR LIST

13. Small White
14. Green Hairstreak
15. Speckled Wood
 
Some of this day's haul...

Map Butterfly, Green Hairstreak, Camberwell Beauty, Speckled Wood
 

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7-8 May. More Spectacular in Green!

Well, I had been bowled over by 70 Green Hairstreaks on the 5th ...little did I expect this to rise yet more! After another 40 or so in Labanoras on the 7th, I spent the morning of the 8th in pine forest south of the Vilnius ... 23 C, perfect sunshine and Green Hairstreaks by the bucketload!

With dozens flitting in sunny glades and endless excellent habitat stretching in all directions, I quickly realised I was going to smash my record of two days earlier. Trying to get some sort of count, I resorted to following a forest track and counting on a ten kilometre transect through the habitat (which passed through a mix of good clearings and less good mature growth) - result, a grand total of 190 Green Hairstreaks!!! Truly amazing, must have been thousands flying on this day across the forest.

Few other butterflies were active in this area however, so I then shifted to adjacent meadows that are very productive later in the summer. Not so bad today either - several hundred whites flying, Green-veined Whites, Small Whites and Wood Whites in the main,but a good scatter of Orange Tips too, plus the icing on the cake, at least three Bath Whites. A localised species in Lithuania, I have only ever seen this on a handful of occasions, always second generation individuals in the late summer.

So there we have it, a top day for early butterflies, 190 Green Hairstreaks and three Bath Whites!


BALTIC YEAR LIST

15. Bath White



Aside the butterflies, Eagle Owl, Wryneck, Red-backed Shrike, Golden Oriole and Corncrake also recorded.
 
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Rather less pleasing than the above, I also managed to accidentally throw my camera into a river, complete with attached macro lens! Oops, those Green Hairstreaks worked out at about 8 euros each!
 
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After a bit of time out in Japan, need to get this back on track, so a quick update from late May, then onward to the current day...



29-30 May. Second Wave Starts.

After Japan, I arrived back in Lithuania to all change on the butterfly front – the first wave of the butterfly season was effectively over, the second main wave just beginning to kick in.

In warm sunny conditions and temperatures sitting at a pleasant 25-26 C, my first impressions on my land at Labanoras were of very much reduced butterfly numbers - no sign of any of the early spring butterflies, with previously common species such as Small Tortoiseshell, Map Butterfly and Brimstone all conspicuous by their absence. Lots of nice birds, including Red-backed Shrikes and two Great White Egrets, but I saw very few butterflies at all.

A few kilometers away at lakeside meadows though, the first hints of wave two were fluttering across a small patch of slope - a half hour or so producing a whole bunch of new species for the year, Large White, Heath Fritillary, Small Heath, Sooty Copper and Common Blue included.

This did not prepare me for the afternoon however - shifting to flower-rich meadows south of the capital, I was in for a real treat. Sixteen species of butterfly on the wing, again not including many of the typical first wave butterflies, but instead quite a few Common Blues, a bunch of Sooty Coopers, a single Small Copper and, very pleasing, five species of fritillary (Pearl-spotted, Small Pearl-spotted, Weaver's, Queen of Spain and Heath Fritillaries). Also, several rather early Pale Clouded Yellows, quite an emergence of Small Heaths and a couple of Grizzled Skippers.

With the forecast promising continued sun and high temperatures, all was looking good for some excellent action in the subsequent days. One day later, I added six Little Blues to the collection of special butterflies, these flying on roadside verges at a location near my home.



BALTIC YEAR LIST

17. Large White
18. Pale Clouded Yellow
19. Small Copper
20. Sooty Copper
21. Little Blue
22. Common Blue
23. Queen of Spain Fritillary
24. Pearl-bordered Fritillary
25. Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary
26. Weaver's Fritillary
27. Heath Fritillary
28. Small Heath
29. Grizzled Skipper
 
Some of the late May species ...
 

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Hi Jos,
interested in your Green Hairstreaks. A new species on site here on my patch this year (St Pete's)) with 3 seen, what's going on here then?

Also new for the site and in very good numbers is Moorland Clouded Yellow, pic on Surfbirds.

3 Scarce Fritillaries so far as well but SpB Frits are late and low in numbers probably due to chilly weather.


Andy
 
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