Still not 100% but it was such a gorgeous day on Friday that I decided to take a leaf out of Paul's book and search for discarded WLH eggs. I don't know why I have never thought of doing this before as I have foraged both BH and PH eggs from fallen trees/branches and the Hairstreaks are my favourite group. I headed for Cosham and was quite taken aback at the changes there. Following my last visit I commented that there were signs of intrusion - litter and beer cans strewn around for example. Security has clearly been tightened up with a new fence and new signs warning of trespassing and prosecutions:
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Whilst this has always been a private site, I was led to believe that IBM actively encourage wildlife and in the past they have been very tolerant of the butterfly folk who wait patiently just inside the boundaries for a glimpse of the WLH and perhaps the opportunity of a photo. However, these new measures have caused me some concern. I was discussing the implications with Paul and I am sure he won't mind me mentioning that he has a contact at IBM through whom he is endeavouring to find out our 'official' position and whether it will curtail our activities this season. I trust that you will update us all through your diary in due course Paul?
There were a lot of Elm branches down due both to the gales and also a fair bit of strimming had been carried out to open up the area. I was not quite sure what I was looking for apart from the image I had in my mind of Paul's WLH egg. After about an hour I came across something that looked like an egg but it seemed the wrong colour - too dark and possibly not in the right position. I decided to 'save' it anyway, whatever it was, and subsequent photos have shown that it is indeed a WLH egg:
Well, this was a first for me as I have never, ever seen one. Having found the first egg, having 'got my eye in' so to speak, subsequent eggs were easier to locate:
Just like the BH that I rescued recently I found a branch with 3 WLH eggs on - not very easy to see as they were largely covered in green moss. Not sure what these other eggs are which were on the same branch:
Before leaving I noticed that on some of the trees the blossom was starting to burst open. I wondered if this was a sign that the eggs might hatch earlier than usual? Coincidentally, 2 of these trees were where I spotted most of the butterflies last season. Perhaps they can sense which position provides the best/earliest food source?