Another of the fritillaries is now on the wing, namely the dark green fritillary. There are number of places where these can be seen within reasonable driving distance but I opted to visit Cherhill Downs near Calne as a few days ago 17 were recorded therefore I thought my chances of seeing at least one were reasonable!
After a sunny morning there was more cloud around by the time I reached the reserve at 1.50.pm, but hopefully that would encourage some of the butterflies to settle rather than be seen whizzing past at top speed!
I parked in a the usual layby on the nearby A4 and climbed the fairly steep chalk pathway to the top of the hill, taking in the view of the white horse and monument that marks this particular National Trust spot. Part way up the path opened out into some grassy banks and it was there I spotted my first fritillary, nectaring on a thistle at the side of the path, its green underwings confirming its identity as a dark green fritillary.
Reaching the top I continued along the path looking out for further dark green fritillaries and even a possible Wall brown, which I've previously seen at this spot but not recorded so far this year. There was an abundance of meadow browns, and good numbers of small heath. I also saw marbled whites, small and large skippers and a couple of rather tatty common blue. Small tortoiseshells were also regularly spotted .
I followed a gully which was sheltered from the slight breeze, hoping for more butterflies, but there were no more than anywhere else, although a dark green fritillary did eventually choose to settle and allow a few photos.
path leading to the top of the hill
meadow brown
dark green fritillary - underwings
path along top of the hill leading to monument, with white horse in background
small skipper
dark green fritillary
large skipper
marbled white
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