I got back from Cambridgeshire late morning so after some lunch and unpacking, I thought I may as well make the most of the day's warm sunshine to find some green hairstreaks at Rodborough Common where they have been reported already this year.
There was a bit of a breeze but I knew that there were some areas where it would be sheltered from the easterly wind, I therefore headed across the plateau and downhill to an area of brambles and hawthorn which I thought looked a likely place to find some green hairstreaks. Within seconds I had found my first green hairstreak on some bramble, and very quickly another on some hawthorn. After spending some time photographing them I went further downhill to where I could see some gorse bushes in flower and here again found more green hairstreaks. During my visit I saw about a dozen amongst the various hawthorn bushes scattered on the hill side but I am certain there were probably many more.
I'd heard that Duke of Burgundy butterflies had already be seen this year in Bucks, so I decided to head to the usual hot spot to see if there were any here too. As I traversed the slope, I noticed some dingy skippers here and there - first sightings for me this year . I approached the sheltered corner where the butterflies are usually found, where a couple were sitting on the grass and they informed me they'd seen a couple of 'dukes'. However, the next butterfly I saw was not a duke of burgundy but a small heath, another early sighting. With the sun out, there were frequent small brown butterflies, all appearing to defend their territories, and eventually I managed to find a duke of burgundy amongst them which settled long enough to identify. As someone commented, how appropriate to find a first 'Duke' on the HM the Queen's birthday!
I got into conversation with someone also looking for butterflies who told me he'd just retired and was hoping to see all 59 species this year! It would be interesting too see if he managed it, but I forgot to ask if he was hoping to do a blog! He told me he usually has an anuual competition with his brother to see who can find 50 species first each year!
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