Thanks Trevor and David.

I was at Knepp yesterday when Matthew Oates saw the first three Emperors of the season, but unfortunately, I was not at the right place at the right time.

Knepp still in the June Gap - But maybe a small hint of Purple I spent yesterday (13th June) wandering around Knepp, mainly Green Lane and Benton's Gorse. Conditions were rather cool when I arrived at about 11 am, but in the first warm sunny interval, I spotted a Purple Hairstreak jinking high up i...

Ditchling Common A visit to Ditchling Common this morning yielded a few Black Hairstreaks (maybe 5-6) jinking about when the sun came out, but only one posed for a photo. DSC_0070a.JPG The Bee Orchids were easier because they don't fly off! However, the site is more overgrown than last year and cou...

Marsh Fritillaries in the Chilterns I was in Buckinghamshire on a family visit last weekend and visited the area around Ivinghoe Beacon in the Chilterns. I vaguely remember seeing reports that Marsh Fritillaries had been unofficially released some time ago. I didn't really know where to go, but as ...

Pearl-bordered Fritillaries at Abbot's Wood Two or three Pearl-bordered Fritillaries seen at Abbot's Wood near Hailsham, East Sussex this morning. Conditions were rather cool and I just managed to get a record shot of one of them before it did a disappearing act. Hopefully the weather will warm up ...

Friston Forest and part of the Gallops We went for a nice long walk on Friston Forest yesterday, starting from the FC car park near West Dean. As we walked east up on to the Downs, the path was lined with stands of Hemp Agrimony on each side. Every one of these seemed to have a Red Admiral on it, a...

I have had more Small Tortoiseshells in my garden in East Sussex recently than I have seen in the last 10 years combined. A couple of days ago, I counted 6 on my Buddleia, together with similar numbers of Peacocks and Red Admirals, plus the odd Comma. It's an absolute delight to see them after so ma...

Thanks Ben. I forgot to include Small Copper to the tally.

Chalk Hill Blues at Friston Gallops I visited Friston Gallops again this morning. Conditions were a bit cool at first but there were a few Chalk Hill Blues hunkering down with open wings, trying to warm up. As I climbed higher, the sun came out and suddenly hundreds of Chalk Hill Blues appeared, fl...

Friston Gallops (knot Knepp) With reports of continued poor weather at Knepp, I decided to give it a miss today and went to Friston Gallops. I thought it might be sunnier near the coast, but I was wrong. Conditions were cloudy and only about 17C when I arrived at about 11:30 am. However I quickly s...

Knepp still not Purple I spent yesterday fruitlessly searching for Purple Emperors at Knepp. First prize is seeing one on the track at Green Lane, which has happened to me only once, in 2018. However, I did see a newly minted Small Tortoiseshell on the ground, soaking up the warmth of a rather wate...

Friston Gallops and Park Corner Heath I visited Friston Gallops around lunchtime today. There was quite a fresh sea breeze blowing in from the south-west and it was a lot cooler than the last few days. However, both Common Blue and Adonis Blue were present in good numbers. Plenty of Small Heath and...

Dozens of Dingies at Friston Gallops I visited Friston Gallops today. As I entered the site, there was a nice female Orange Tip egg-laying on Garlic Mustard. On the gallops themselves, the most numerous species by far was Dingy Skipper. I must have seen at least 100. At one point, walking along the...

My First Pearls of 2021 I finally saw my first Pearl-bordered Fritillaries of the year at Abbot's Wood today. Despite the sunshine, it was still quite cool when I arrived at Site 1, and no fritillaries were seen. However, my spirits were lifted by an enthusiastic Nightingale singing nearby. At the ...

The diagnostic I use when I can't see the underside is the alignment of the 3 spots on the bottom edge of the forewing. In the PBF, the 2nd of the spots is in the middle. In the SPBF, it is offset toward the edge of the wing. See area highlighted on the pic. SPBF.jpg So, on that basis, this is a SPBF.

Friston Gallops turning Blue (despite the wind) I went for a bracing walk on the South Downs at Friston Gallops yesterday. It was sunny and reasonably warm, despite the fact it was blowing a gale. Most butterflies were hunkering down from the wind, but I saw a lot of Marbled Whites, a myriad of &qu...

Another visit to Knepp I had earmarked yesterday for yet another visit to Knepp, on the basis that the forecast had indicated that it would be the least windy day of the week. However, there were heavy showers around when we set off from home at about 1 pm, and almost immediately we ran into a torr...

I must confess I share some of your concerns about the Heath Fritillary locations being artificial. I have visited East Blean Woods in Kent most years recently (but not this year), and the place is always full of them if you go to the right place at the right time in the right weather conditions. Bu...

Slow Progress at Knepp Purple Emperor numbers are starting to increase at Knepp, but it's still slow going. My wife and I saw a total of 18 in about 4 hours today in very warm conditions with a moderate SE breeze. None came down to ground, but the last one we saw landed fairly low down, just within...

No more Emperors at Knepp yet I spent about 3 hours at Knepp today. Conditions were mostly sunny and warm, with the temperature in the mid 20's. The moderate south-easterly wind of Saturday had changed to a very light south-westerly. Despite this, and having been shown many of the favoured territor...