The unseasonally warm and sunny weather has brought out a surprising number of butterflies, with no fewer than seven species noted in Tower Hamlets on 25 October.
As usual, Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park was the best butterfly site, with a Clouded Yellow in Scrapyard Meadow the most notable sighting. This species, a scarce visitor to Britain only a few years ago, is now a regular migrant, with a few breeding in southern England. A Clouded Yellow was seen in Scrapyard Meadow at the beginning of the month (when the photo on the left was taken by Ken Greenway), and another was there a couple of weeks ago. Another in the same place suggests local breeding. At least two were present here in July, so it seems these might have bred successfully.
Other butterflies seen in Cemetery Park were a Comma, two Red Admirals, two Small Whites and a Large White. At East India Basin there were two or three more Red Admirals (header photo), a Peacock (photo left) and a Holly Blue.
Postscript 27 October
Three Common Blues in Scrapyard Meadow on 27 October were the eighth species of butterfly to be seen in Tower Hamlets this week.
