AUGUST BUTTERFLIES

I am nearing the end of my butterfly count for this year,  but there are a couple of butterflies I target for the school holidays as they fly during August, so today I paid my annual visit to the NNR at Aston Rowant to look for the silver spotted skipper. Although it was fairly sunny, I was surprised to find only one other car in the car park, which left as I was reading the new parking meter. I took the top chalky path, rather than the lower one which passes through some woodland, and realised why I might be the only person there... there was a steady breeze which would not favour butterflies. However, within five minutes I had found my first silver spotted skipper.  Then another.  I continued walking, seeing a couple of painted ladies, and one or two chalkhill blues, as well as gatekeepers and meadow browns. Towards the end of the reserve, I headed downhill where it was a lot calmer, and here there were a lot more chalkhill blues, but no more skipper. This must be one of the noisiest reserves, as the busy M40 runs alongside the bottom of the hill! 

path leading along the top of the reserve

motorway passing at the bottom of the reserve

chalkhill blue

silver spotted skipper

On returning to the car,  I realised I had time to drive over to nearby RSPB Otmoor and have a look for my second target butterfly, the brown hairstreak.  A new parking fee had been introduced here too, but thankfully I had my RSPB membership ticket to put in the window. 

From the car park its only a few metres to the old Roman Road which is the place to look for brown hairstreaks. For the past two years I have had to make do with glimpses of these butterflies high up in the elms, but today,  within a few minutes I had found one close at hand on some brambles.  I was told by another visitor that he had seen four altogether, but only males.  During my visit I saw three different individuals, all males, but two of them were slightly damaged. I then found another, on brambles in the car park. 

Back home, I found three common blues in my 'wild' grassy area at the rear of my garden, which were first I've seen there this year.