Early on Thursday morning I spent a couple of hours wandering across the chalk heath and downland at Headley in the hope of adding a few species to my photo album for this season before joining an pre-planned Butterfly Conservation fieldtrip around this National Trust site.
Not unsurprisingly the most numerous species were the Gatekeeper (above) and Brown Argus (below) frantically nectaring everywhere I trod.
Not initially finding any of my target species I decided to sit awhile at a convenient spot and just soak up the atmosphere and monitor the comings and goings and nearby I spotted a couple of moths.
A Silver-Y and a Common Purple and Gold (Mint Moth).
As the temperature started to rise there was a marked increase in aerial activity and whilst I had seen Dark Green Fritillary at another site earlier this month I had not previously managed to grab any images so finding a female briefly perched was a bonus. I also saw two others, probably males, flying strongly across the hillside.
A few minutes later I located the species I was hoping to find, the rare Silver-spotted Skipper (Hesperia comma).
Linking to:
A few minutes later I located the species I was hoping to find, the rare Silver-spotted Skipper (Hesperia comma).
At around midday I was joined by the large group of BC members on this section of open hillside where a few more Silver-spotted were seen.
A male Chalkhill Blue (Lysandra coridon) was another first for me for 2018.
Above are just a few of the other species logged during our walk, including Silver-washed Fritillary, Marbled White, Speckled Wood, Common Blue and Brimstone.
The final new sighting was a very drowsy female Purple Emperor (below) who eventually fluttered high into the nearby woodland
They are all so pretty!
ReplyDeleteAll great find and phtographs Frank
ReplyDeleteI am jealous looking at all of your photos, Frank. Perhaps today, I'll go for a stroll myself!...:)JP
ReplyDeleteHello, looks like a great fieldtrip. Beautiful collection of butterflies and photos. Thank you so much for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Frank,a nice number of Butterfly,all which would be wonderful to see,you did very well.
ReplyDeleteWonderful images,also a bonus.
John.
Wonderful moths and butterflies! Headley heath looks like a wonderful place to hike!
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos, amazing blogue.
ReplyDeleteMany Greetings
Maria
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Lovely photos, I've found it's a good year so far for Butterflies!
ReplyDeleteThank you for including some moths as they are so often over looked...Michelle
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