Today was my first visit this year to Ravensroost Wood to look for butterflies. According to various sightings records, both silver washed fritillaries and white admirals had been seen here already, in numbers up to 12 each. So I was hopeful of seeing at least one of each!
For the first time on any of my visits, cars were parked on the roadside just outside the small car park, so I found a space there, as it can be quite tight in the carpark especially when trying to turn round. It was obviously a good day for butterfly spotting, little wind, sunny and very warm.
The first person I met, informed me he had seen a dozen white admiral, mostly on a track parallel to the main ride. I therefore continued up the main ride, seeing a rather tatty specimen (already?) of a white admiral and a couple of silver washed fritiallaries. which were reluctant to settle. Taking a path of to the left I joined another path, but it seemed overgrown and apart from large numbers of meadow browns, I saw nothing else.
I returned to the main ride and took a route through a gate which leads round a few bends toward a pond. A few silver washed fritillaries were around, one settling with wings closed briefly, but no more white admirals, though I have seen them regularly in this area before. However the pond was buzzing with dragonflies and there I found black tailed skimmers, broad bodied chasers and four spotted chasers as well as common blue and large red damselflies.
I got chatting to another lady, who told me she had seen several white admirals at nearby Somerford Common so I decided to stop off there next before returning home.
I did see my first ringlets of the year, but unlike the meadow browns they were reluctant to settle. I had a quick check for white letter hairstreaks but it is still quite early for them. In the field were more meadow browns, marbled whites and large skippers.
At Somerford Common I did find a couple more silver washed fritllaries and on pristine white admiral which settled with wings closed. Hopefully I will be able to revisit both sites again before long.
large red damselfly
broad bodied chaser male
..and female
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