The last couple of days have brought me a few more sightings of dragonflies and butterflies. On Bank Holiday Monday I went to Goring on the way to my daughter in the hope of seeing a newly emerged clubtail dragonfly near the railway bridge which is a popular spot for them. Sadly I didn't find one, but did see several banded demoiselles, new for the year.
Today I spent the first part of a warm and sunny day in an area of woodland near Cirencester, known for its pearl bordered fritillary butterflies. The usual car parking layby had been tidied but there were no parking signs there, and a notice directed you to 100m down the road to a pedestrian gate. I parked nearby entered via the gate. However this was an entrance track I was unfamiliar with so I had to sort of guess where I had to turn to get on to the path I was looking for. Thankfully several previous visits had given me a good idea so I managed to find the area I was looking for without too much difficulty, though it took slightly longer. I turned down a narrow path into a fairly newly planted area and immediately saw several pearl bordered fritillaries, their orange wings showing up well as they fluttered a few inches above the woodland vegetation. With clear, sunny skies, the butterflies were on the wing constantly and I spotted two or three in every direction I looked. Very few individuals were settling but in the end I did manage a few record shots, including showing the beautiful underwing pattern.
I then drove over to Rodborough common, which was only 15 minutes further on, hoping to see some blue butterflies on the wing.
There were a few common blues, but no Adonis or small blues today. I did find a few brown argus as well as dingy skippers and small heaths. I also spotted one duke of Burgundy.
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