Since the sighting at Down House , all four BH egg sites have been regularly checked . Last Sunday , Keith and myself visited all four , coming closest when at a site alongside a footpath in Keston , where Keith spotted a butterfly high in the Ash tree that stands high above the blackthorn , but wit...

A better than average transect yesterday at High Elms LNR near Bromley , Kent , produced 18 species which included :
Brown Argus (14) , Clouded Yellow (3 , 2F1M) , Painted Lady (7) ,WLHairstreak (1) and SWF (11) .

Like many places , the Brown Hairstreak emergence on the Kent / Surrey border has been almost non existent .That was until Thursday of last week , when a member of Kent Butterfly Conservation visited Down House at Downe , the home of Charles Darwin . During that visit , an adult BH was seen and phot...

However, all was not lost as I came across this Gynandromorph Chalkhill Blue.

What a fantastic find , and just reward for staying out in that heat . Well done .
Greenie

The cloud cover rolled in at High Elms LNR this morning .
But at least it kept this Comma still for a while . Looking at the species abs , it looks most like ab. reichstettensis .

Near Biggin Hill airport in Kent , 4 Small Blue still on the wing , no sign yet of Chalkhill Blues , but 131 Marbled White , with just one female was compensation .

Went yesterday with fellow enthusiast Keith to enjoy the Small Blue bonanza at Hutchinson's Bank . In the sunny spells they put on a great show , not just in their usual hot-spots , but all over the reserve . Amongst their vast number were several pairings . _MG_0461.JPG We watched females egg layin...

Hi Dave , The bridleway runs alongside Jackass Lane , fron the bottom of Fox Hill / Fox Lane ( side of the Fox PH ) , and runs towards Keston church . The start of the bridleway is opposite the entrance to Walnut Tree Cottage , about 300 yards from the above junction , and just looks like a gap in t...

Three ' new for the year ' species whilst out today . _MG_9772.JPG Grizzled Skipper on transect at High Elms LNR near Bromley . _MG_9786.JPG Dingy Skipper at Biggin Hill , _MG_9815.JPG Just before leaving , Small Heath . _MG_9797.JPG At the same site , 25+ Brimstone , with a shortage of females it s...

Visited two of the sites where eggs were wired into blackthorn on my way back home this afternoon . With the plants coming into leaf , quite a job to find the wires . The good news is that 75%+ of eggs found on both sites have hatched . _MG_9654.JPG I hope to get to the other two sites in the next f...

Hi Allan , The BH eggs were harvested in September when the bridleway looked as in the first picture . After the contractor flailed the bridleway in February , shown in the second picture , the eggs were returned and wired into the small amount of blackthorn that survived the flail , and also into b...

I tried to attach two photos to the original entry , but they proved to be too big to upload .
I have managed to reduce them and giving it another go . The bridleway last autumn . The track can just be seen bottom left of centre .
After the flail .

After a handful of adult sightings in the Edenbrige area over the last couple of years and about a dozen eggs found over the same period in two areas along the Kent / Sussex border , an email from fellow enthusiast Eric saying that whilst on a bird walk on the 13th. September in the Keston area , he...

Having looked back again at the shots , I agree with Millerd and Bugboy , they are female Common Blues .
Yet another senior moment , they are happening too often these days !!
Thanks lads for keeping an eye on us oldies .

After a dull morning , the sun appeared after lunch , and having read Essex Bertie's report of 2nd. brood Chalkhill Blue on the wing a few days ago , decided to head out to a local Chalkhill Blue site , below Biggin Hill airport in Kent . Very quiet to begin with , then a movement in the grass was t...

Further to my posting last Saturday ( 28th. ) After another heavy shower this morning , I waited for things to get better and arrived on the Chalkhill Blue site near Biggin Hill in sunshine and a warm breeze . I repeated my search of Saturday , finding 134 males and 11 females , including 3 paired ,...

Back on the 30th. June , I recorded my first Chalkhill Blue of the year on a site near Biggin Hill airport in Kent . Very slowly to begin with , numbers gradually increased , until last Thursday when I recorded 234 including the first female who had already been paired and several other males trying...

A catch up on a few recent visits , included several Purple Emperor on the ground at Chiddingfold , _MG_5084.JPG and at the same site , a White Admiral ' with attitude ' _MG_5016.JPG Nearer home , an unusual combination of a very fresh Brimstone , nectaring on Pyramidal Orchid . _MG_5191.JPG on the ...

Before starting back-to-back transects this morning , I stopped off up on the Common and was pleased to find 5 Purple Hairstreak , 3 high flyers , but the _MG_4881.JPG other two did come down briefly onto low vegetation . The first transect at High Elms LNR produced 49 Marbled White and an irregular...

Made a return visit to Ditchling Common yesterday with fellow enthusiast Keith , who had been working all week , in the faint hope of a Black Hairstreak sighting for him . But , it wasn't to be , but we did get White Admiral , Silver-washed Fritillary and just before leaving , several tree top sight...