SILCHESTER COMMON

A very quick visit to  Silchester Common this afternoon to check for silver studded blues. It was quite cloudy but the sun did break through once or twice, which was the signal for several butterflies to lift off and flutter about before landing again amongst the gorse and heather. I grabbed a single shot of a silver studded blue, my 29th butterfly of the year,  before being distracted by some young stonechats perched on nearby bushes. However with no more breaks in the cloud I decided to leave, and drive the  ten minutes  to meet my daughter and family for a socially distanced cup of tea in her back garden. Hopefully I'll be back on a sunny day, and will try and get a photo of the underwings showing those silver studs that give the butterfly its name. 

the heath at Silchester common

stonechat juvenile