Neil - I enjoyed your Frit Gallery from Heddon very much. I went there years ago before I got into butterflies. Even without that interest it is a very beautiful location and the Hunters Inn is great. I did not stay there but did have a couple of beers! By the way - do they still have the Peacocks? ...

Hi, Katrina - Great Purple Emperor shots. The four wing purple is wonderful. I have only ever achieved this once but my effort is a foreshortened view because I was at a distance. You seem to have managed to get the shot directly from above.

3rd July 2019, 9-11 am, Alice Holt – Straits Enclosure, Full sun then clouding to 80%, 18 degrees The White Ad and SW Frit counts are going up rapidly now. Here is the full set: 10 Wt Ad, 15 SW Frit, 3 Pstreak, 1 P lady, 1 L White, 2 Comma, 1 S White, 6 Red Ad Also MBrown, Ringlet, L&S Skip but ...

2nd July 2019, 9-9.30 am, Broxhead, 95% sun, 18 degrees SSB survey this morning. There were 101 in total, of which 8 were female and there was one mating pair. This is around double the numbers of my last survey day on 28th June. It seems they are still on the increase whereas around this time last ...

Thanks, Goldie - I consider myself very lucky in being there in the right place at the right time. 1st July 2019, 10.30-11.30 am, Odiham Common, 50% sun, 18 degrees First the bad news. My main reason for coming to this site is for White-letter Hairstreak. I saw none today but that is not my bad news...

Trevor - Until you mentioned it I didn't realise my luck on getting male and female pics from the same tree. Wurzel - It did seem odd to have a pair of copulating butterflies on my finger - but I quickly got over it when I found I could get close-up shots, albeit with my camera in one hand and butte...

30th June 2019, Alice Holt, 9.30-10.30 am, overcast with the odd bit of sun, 18 degrees 1 Wt Ad, 4 Red Ad, 2 P Lady, 1 Comma, 3 S Skip, 11 L Skip, 1 L White. Suddenly the Ringlet emergence has erupted. I am sure they outnumbered the M Brown here today. a.JPG b.JPG I found a pair in-cop. The grass th...

Kev, Wurzel, Dave - Last year I saw hundreds of Purple Hairstreak - it was a great year for them, but not once did I see this behaviour. I guess it usually happens in the higher canopy and only at places like Browndown where the canopy is low is it possible to witness it.

29th June 2019, 6 - 9.30 am, Browndown, Full Sun, 18-23 degrees The hottest day of the year so far – it peaked at 31 degrees in Alton mid-afternoon. Phew what a scorcher! Of course we were pre-warned about this so I decided to go very early. I arrived at 6 am, and it was already 18 degrees! Browndow...

28th June 2019 10-11 am, Binswood, Full Sun, 19 degrees I added a Sp Wd, S Skip and Cinnabar to my list of yesterday at this site. The Cinnabar had almost completely lost a wing. Cinnabar with only one wing.JPG Also a Sicus ferrugineus fly Sicus ferrugineus fly.JPG 11-11.30 am, Broxhead, Full Sun, 2...

Dave

Perfect WLH shots only to be followed up with a pair of in-cop Heath Frits. You are having fun, aren't you? I have still yet to see my first WLH. I must make an effort soon.

Dave, your last High Brown pic is my favourite. Great stuff. Not a butterfly I have ever seen and maybe never will. I don't think there are any sites for it within a 2 hour drive of where I live (which is my limit currently).

27th June 2019, 11.15-12 noon, Binswood, 20 degrees Last year in July Binswood gave me the most Purple Hairstreaks I have ever seen at one location and some fair pics too but I was a little late and by then many of them were a bit tatty. I decided to go earlier in the year this time. Butterfly count...

27th June 2019, 9.30-10.30 am, Magdalen Hill, 18 degrees Part 2 of todays posts. I parked at the bottom of the hill in the lay-by. There is access to the reserve from here but mainly I did it because of the huge number of Dark Mullein growing by the roadside. I have never seen so many Mullein spikes...

I was up quite early today and covered three reserves before noon. It was quite a varied day for wildlife with some unexpected encounters. My main task today was to try and get a close-up of a Dark Green Frit. I got a fleeting chance at my second reserve. I think I'll do this in three separate posts...

Thanks, Wurzel.

Small droplets of rain running over their compound eyes!!! My you do set the bar high, don't you?
I need to add a bottle of eye-drops to my butterflying kit now just to get that shot!

26th June 2019, 3.30-4.30 pm, Windmill Hill Flower Meadow, 90% Sun, 22 degrees, breezy. P1090136.JPG I just had to come back again to my new most local site. I wanted to see what was there now the sun had come out. And the result was: 4 Painted Lady 1 Red Ad 1 L White 2 Marbled White 10 Large Skips ...

Thanks Old Wolf. I don't know whether the droop is due to the weather being cloudy or not, it was 16 (going on 17) degrees so while not hot, it wasn't particularly cold either. At the time I first spotted him I assumed that it was a roosting posture but he did it every time he landed after a short s...

26th June 2019, 9.30-10.30 am, Odiham Common, Overcast, 16 degrees, fair breeze 6 Painted Ladies, mostly coming to the ground or low on the grass, 2 Marbled White, 1 Large White, loads of Meadow Brown. I came out under these conditions and early-ish on purpose. When it gets much warmer or sunnier th...

Thanks, Dave. The painted Ladies are really picking up around here now. I saw lots more today, in various states of tattiness - mostly fading colours.