BARBURY CASTLE

A gorgeous morning at Barbury Castle for my walk this morning; a gentle breeze and a few clouds made the temperature rather more bearable at 10 a.m. although within an hour it had started to heat up once more. 

After walking the 500m to the old earth works, I made for the gulleys where it is more sheltered and consequently  it's where most of the  butterflies are found. Good numbers of butterflies about at this hour, mostly meadow browns, gatekeepers and whites and well as a few small coppers, marbled whites, and common blues. At one time a fritillary flew past at speed, presumably a dark green fritillary, although could have been a silver washed fritillary.  However my main purpose in visiting this site was to find some chalkhill blues and I managed to find a few of these, and they were reasonably obliging for photos too. 

Butterflies seen included:

large white, small white, green veined white, marbled white, chalkhill blue, common blue, peacock, red admiral, fritillary (?) small copper, meadow brown, gatekeeper. 

meadow brown

chalkhill blue

peacock

common blue

chalkhill blue

small copper

small white

BIG BUTTERFLY COUNT (1)

As it started to get slightly cooler I thought I'd do my first big butterfly count of the year  in my garden.

I was slightly surprised to find that my first two butterflies were a common blue and a large skipper!  These were both in my wild area of the garden which consists of a large patch of lawn that I have left unmown. As I waited for the common blue to settle, I realised that there was another one  clinging to a long stalk of grass right in front of me!  

A comma flew back and forth for a while, before I lost it, then realised it had actually landed on the camera I was holding!  Later it, too, settled on one of the grasses. During this fifteen minutes I also saw  5 small whites, fluttering to and fro amongst the grasses, occasionally stopping for a few seconds.

My wild area is giving me a lot of pleasure at the moment; apart from reducing the amount of time mowing it, it has succeeded in attracting five new species of butterfly to the garden
 ( ringlet, meadow brown, gatekeeper, common blue and large skipper). On the downside it looks as if it has been regularly trampled in certain area, possibly by foxes.   I have mown a path through the middle of it, but it was quite a challenge for my lawnmower whereby I had to  stop to remove the grass from the blades at intervals. I'm not sure how I will manage to mow it at the end of the summer!!

comma

common blue

large skipper

A VERY HOT DAY

It was already 27 degrees at 10.15 when I arrived for my annual visit to Aston Rowant NR in search of the silver spotted skipper. Butterflies were everywhere, the abundance and variety  of wild flowers on this chalk hillside was wonderful sight and wherever you looked butterflies were flying from flower to flower, or chasing each other.  

I took the path along the top of the reserve which looked down over the M40 motorway. Although hot, there was a welcome breeze, however this made it hard for butterflies to land, or stay still enough for me to capture them on my camera.  My main target for today was the silver spotted skipper, of which I saw a good number, though difficult to photograph, as no sooner had I located one that had stopped for a while, it was off again, chasing away another butterfly. 

I followed the track down the hillside where it was less windy, but increasingly hot! 

There were many meadow browns, as well as whites, common blues and gatekeepers. I also saw brimstone, peacock, small copper and small skipper. Every now and then I spotted the closed wings of a slightly larger blue butterfly, the chalkhill, but disappointingly  I didn't  get to see one open its wings.

I would have stayed on this reserve for longer, only it was getting unbearably hot and I decided I would make my way home. 

chalk hill blue

silver spotted skipper

LAVENDER AND BUTTERFLIES

With lavender season in full swing, I found that there was a lavender farm in the Cotswolds so decided to pay them a visit. I'm not sure how busy they usually are on a Saturday, but my arrival coincided with about 5 coach loads of  youngJapanese tourists!!  However, with such a vast area of lavender there was no difficulty in finding space to enjoy the sight and smell of these lovely flowers. Many of the female tourists were dressed in floaty dresses and wide brimmed hats and spent their time either taking selfies or posing for their friends! It certainly was a lovely place for photos, and I saw an official photographer taking family portraits there too - you have to get permission for that! 

With the sun mostly hidden behind the clouds, there weren't many butterflies around, but nevertheless I did  few individuals of different species, namely small and large white, comma, peacock, red admiral, also gatekeeper, meadow brown and small copper. If the sun had shone I am sure the lavender would have been alive with the fluttering of wings. 

The harvesting of the lavender had just begun in the field over the road, and the farm closes to the public at the beginning of August. 

As well as lavender, the farm boasts large areas of wild flower meadow, with a range of colourful reds, yellow, purples, blues and whites - the sort of flowers you see on greetings cards. It was a beautiful sight and one I  would return to another year. 

WOODLAND TREATS

The woods are full of butterflies at present, and yesterday I took the opportunity of an additional inset day to go further afield in a quest for a couple of  species new to me. Consequently at 10.15

a.m. I pulled up at the entrance to Botany Bay, part of Chiddingfold forest in Surrey. 

I originally hadn't planned to come here at all, but a visitor to Ravenswood recently recommended this area as an excellent place to see Wood White butterflies,  a small delicate butterfly with rounded wings which favours shady rides and clearings. There are normally two broods, flying May- June and July- Aug and I was unsure if the second brood would be on the wing yet. 

The weather was cloudy but warm and as I made my way along the main track no butterflies could be seen. Better weather had been forecast, however, and as I continued to walk up a slight incline,  it seemed to become a little brighter.  A few ringlets  began to flutter around then a white admiral floated past. Then I noticed a small white butterfly a little way ahead, fluttering just above the flower and grasses.  It didn't stop but then I saw a second one a little further ahead. Could these be wood whites? Their small size and weak flight made me optimistic but I couldn't be certain unless one of them stopped.  Then one of them did so, suspended delicately from some tall grasses. Yes...it was a wood white! I couldn't believe how quickly I'd found one. I took a number of photos; occasionally it would flutter off but not very fast or far and I was able to catch up with it easily.

As I still had a long journey ahead of me I decided I would return to the car; on my way I came across three white admirals, taking it in turns to fly then stop on the track ahead of me. They were rather tatty but still lovely butterflies to see. 

Two hours later and I was at East Blean woods near Canterbury. By this time the skies had cleared and the sun had come out and it was getting quite hot. This time I was looking for heath fritillaries - rare butterflies that can only be seen in one or two places in the uk.  Again, I feared that their main flight period was over, but I was hoping that one of two might still be around. I spoke to a couple of visitors who were just leaving their car, armed with a camera and enquired about heath fritillaries. 'We saw some here on Tuesday,' they said, and suggested I followed them which I did. Only about 50 yards from the car we found the first few fritillaries. The yellow flowers of  cow-wheat - the caterpillars' food plant - were fading  but amongst the vegetation were ringlets, meadow browns, gatekeepers and the heath fritillaries. It was sometimes quite hard to spot them when they were flying, with so many brown species, but once they landed we could see their beautiful patterned wing pattern. One obliging individual stayed for ages on one plant, which was growing up in the middle of the path giving ample photograph opportunities, even being joined by a mate. 

 We saw easily a dozen fritillaries, but also other species  butterflies around included silver washed fritillaries, and white admirals, and underneath some oaks I had brilliant views of purple hairstreaks at two different locations.

 As I continued on my way to  stay overnight with one of my daughters, who lives not too far away, I felt it had been a successful day, with two more new species to tick off on my year list, bringing it to 40 so far. 

BUTTERFLY FEST AT RAVENSWOOD

Ravenswood is a great place to go for butterflies at the moment.  Woodland butterflies are plentiful, including silver washed fritillaries and the occasional white admiral; also white letter and purple hairstreaks can be found there if you know where to look! They favour the oak and ash trees, and can be seen flitting high up around the edges of the branches, only occasionally coming lower down. 

silver washed fritillaries

Today  I had another attempt at finding a purple hairstreak that I could positively identify. On recent visits I have seen their small grey shapes whizzing up and down the rides but not stopping. I met a couple of photographers who both agreed that they had seen them today but none had stopped. Oh well, it was worth another try I suppose. 

I took my usual route, deciding to go as far as the pond to give me a good chance of seeing some. As I passed the white letter hairstreak hot spot, I looked up and waited but saw none and made a mental note to stop off on my way back, as I had seen them on each previous occasion I had visited. 

Brimstones and other whites were everywhere,  as well as ringlets, and meadow browns. Now and then a silver washed fritillary flew past at great speed. There was an occasional fly past of a purple hairstreak too.  If only one would just stop for a moment! 

female brimstone

male brimstone

green veined white

On reaching the pond, the area was alive with butterfly activity. Everywhere I looked there was one species or another flying or feeding . One or two purple hairstreaks were also tantalisingly close, and one did eventually stop half hidden on a leaf, but at a distance.  
Now and then a silver washed fritillary paused on a bramble, and I  also had sightings of white admiral and peacock, although the white admiral was feeding mostly out of sight.  

  As I was enjoying this hot afternoon with butterflies I suddenly became aware of a small grey butterfly circling lower and lower close to  the path - would it land?  I waited while it flitted about for a bit longer  - and then it did...right at the tip of a small twig jutting out of the top  of a bush close to the path.  At last a purple hairstreak!

purple hairstreak

Mission accomplished I made my way back; nearing the car park, I suddenly noticed a small brown butterfly almost dancing about on the path in front of me, looking closer I could make out the white letter W identifying it as a white letter hairstreak. I crouched down trying to take a photograph, but it was only landing for few seconds, before fluttering on a bit further down the path and barely enough time to focus my camera before it was off again. 

white letter hairstreak

Once back at the car park, I opened the gate and ventured into the meadow adjacent where I spotted several gatekeepers, and marbled whites and the odd small skipper. 

gatekeeper

Before I left, I totalled up the butterfly species I had seen today - a pleasing total of 15 species.

brimstone, green veined white, small white, large white, small skipper, peacock,  meadow brown, ringlet, gatekeeper, white admiral,  purple hairstreak, white letter hairstreak, marbled white, silver washed fritillary and comma. 

white letter hairstreak

With white letter hairstreaks being regularly reported from Ravensroost Woods, I decided to pay a third visit to try and find one for myself. It had been a sunny morning with less wind than last time, so I was hopeful, although it had begun to turn more cloudy by the time I arrived.

I walked the short distance to an area where they have been seen and stood and waited, scanning the leaves for a small dark butterfly. There were plenty of meadow browns and ringlets, and a few whites and eventually I saw something small,  fly rapidly between branches and land   amongst some leaves several metres away from where I stood, was it  a white letter hairstreak?  It disappeared behind some leaves but as it emerged  I could see from the white letter 'W' that it was the butterfly I was waiting to see!

After a minute it flew off again and landed further back out of sight, and then several minutes later flew again and landed where I could make it out. . Just then I was joined by a photographer I have come across before and I  showed it to him. Another couple of visitors came up but the butterfly flew off and we were unable to relocate it; a pity as one of them had never seen that species before.

I was also looking for another hairstreak, the purple hairstreak but with it getting more cloudy and even a few spots of rain falling, I was unlikely to be successful, although the person I showed the white letter  hairstreak to had walked ahead and  managed to find one on the ground, which sadly had gone by the time I caught up with him!

Butterflies seen today included marbled white, small white, ringlet, meadow brown, small skipper, red admiral, silver washed fritillary, comma. 

white letter hairstreak

small skipper

PRESTBURY HILL

Dark green fritillaries are now on the wing, and I drove the half hour journey from work to the Butterfly conservation's reserve at Prestbury Hill, overlooking Cheltenham race course. 

It was hot (29 degrees), but a breeze made it pleasant to walk down the chalk hillside toward the area known as 'Happy valley' where I've located these fritillaries on previous visits. There were numerous marbled whites around, either fluttering about or nectaring on the purple coloured scabious flowers which dotted the hillside. There were also good numbers of  meadow browns, small heaths, and ringlets. 

marbled white

view from the top of the reserve

When I reached the valley, I stood for a while, noting the many butterflies all around, but without seeing the familiar large orange shape of the fritillary I was looking for. Suddenly I saw one flying quickly past and up and over the bank. Well at least I'd seen one! A further wait  ensued before  it, ( or another one) reappeared and began to nectar on the flowers a little way up the side of the valley. I clambered a few metres up the bank and managed to get a few shots of it before it flew off again.

Although I did see it a couple more times, it did not land, I also  checked out the hillside further along in a neighbouring reserve where I saw a few more of these fritillaries but again no landings!! 

 I think I will need to return on a slightly less breezy and slightly cloudier day which might encourage them to stop more frequently to feed and provide slightly improved photo opportunities.