Thanks chaps, I was delighted to have the chance to examine the Brown Hairstreak up close, definitely one of our most exquisite butterflies
Portland
Having visited the legendary 'isle' of Portland before, and been amazed by the quantity of rare butterflies, and the place itself, I was delighted to get the chance to visit again this August, with some friends.
For me, Portland always seems like a giant industrial estate, with grassland interspersed with both abandoned and working quarries, after the island's sought after honey-coloured limestone. Despite the heavy industry, and no doubt because of it, butterflies thrive on Portland, with the abandoned quarries, with poor stony soils perfect for Kidney and Horseshoe Vetch hosting thriving colonies of Dingy Skipper, Small Blue, Adonis Blue, Common Blue, Silver - Studded Blue, and one of my targets, Chalkhill Blue.
Safe to say, they were absolutely everywhere, indeed, they could hardly be avoided, being found in small numbers in any area on the island with wildflowers, and in extremely large numbers in the quarries on the West Cliffs, in particular Bower's Quarry, where spectacular communal roosts could often be found during the evening - amazing!
Lulworth Skippers were still around in small numbers, in the grassland around the bird observatory (where I stayed - great place!), albeit looking rather sad, along with a few Small Blues, Common Blues and Wall Browns - a thoroughly enjoyable trip
![IMG_1898.JPG (2.05 MiB) Viewed 1901 times Chalkhill Blue](./files/thumb_13033_e0c8e3fff88336fae68b061ed9804ad8)
- Chalkhill Blue
![IMG_1862.JPG (956.63 KiB) Viewed 1901 times Chalkhill Blue](./files/thumb_13033_8a21b10fa5f693ee8aa4c5bbbff95243)
- Chalkhill Blue
![IMG_1923.JPG (1.65 MiB) Viewed 1901 times Chalkhill Blues](./files/thumb_13033_7b8c63952fc94583f3cd7e58d0f98e5e)
- Chalkhill Blues
![IMG_1980.JPG (1006.47 KiB) Viewed 1901 times Chalkhill Blue](./files/thumb_13033_001fa0e01dd9ab5171c9c79f00dc0fb2)
- Chalkhill Blue
![IMG_2049.JPG (843.83 KiB) Viewed 1901 times Chalkhill Blues](./files/thumb_13033_0928aca5c3f697be7dfafc34231b1e9e)
- Chalkhill Blues
![IMG_2182.JPG (1.2 MiB) Viewed 1901 times Chalkhill Blue](./files/thumb_13033_f16725a298c126f0a2109c2c8e528913)
- Chalkhill Blue
![IMG_2275.JPG (1.34 MiB) Viewed 1901 times Chalkhill Blue](./files/thumb_13033_82eddcacd18ff677dac35becf2aabbc5)
- Chalkhill Blue
![IMG_2301.JPG (1.27 MiB) Viewed 1901 times Chalkhill Blue](./files/thumb_13033_929db5dd0aea42d371e59a6781d52bc8)
- Chalkhill Blue
![IMG_2839.JPG (1.5 MiB) Viewed 1901 times Chalkhill Blue](./files/thumb_13033_8cd060d534afa77052b6cb0764956ca9)
- Chalkhill Blue
![IMG_3078.JPG (1.19 MiB) Viewed 1901 times Chalkhill Blue - Marbled White Combo](./files/thumb_13033_275d9ea09ca8ae364db9d39e400cd983)
- Chalkhill Blue - Marbled White Combo
![IMG_3093.JPG (1.3 MiB) Viewed 1901 times Chalkhill Blue](./files/thumb_13033_9ad7456492a0f20a1d7020534f982718)
- Chalkhill Blue
![IMG_3647.JPG (1.5 MiB) Viewed 1901 times Chalkhill Blue](./files/thumb_13033_8d41fddad8134bea913c38eb7a8e0f13)
- Chalkhill Blue
And my favourite picture, a blue and a view - Portland at its finest
![IMG_3705.JPG (2.17 MiB) Viewed 1901 times Chalkhill Blues](./files/thumb_13033_ff218e26d9566d4769996b2774fab928)
- Chalkhill Blues