Shipton Bellinger 23-08-2016
What with one thing and another I didn’t get out again properly for another 5 days but it was shaping up to be a good day as it was to be the annual meet at Shipton with Philzoid. Conditions looked favourable with a warm and sunny day ahead of us and favourable reports from the site recently. So after the first meet in the Central car park in Salisbury we headed off into the wilds of Wiltshire and Hampshire to Shipton Bellinger.
Once we arrived we chatted as we made our way up the hill and it was all pretty quiet. There were no Brostreaks waiting for along the way although there was a Small Tort, a few Specklies and good numbers of Holly Blues. The quietness continued all the way along the duel track with not a single sighting of Brostreaks. In previous years we’ve encountered them all the way along here with 6 sightings before we’ve even gotten to the hotspot but this year nowt. It seems that the Japanese collector from 2015 had done some serious damage in 2016.
Once at the Hotspot however our hopes rose and there were Brown Argus and Blues fluttering around amongst the Meadow Browns and Holly Blues up in the bushes. There were one or two others around further along but we started checking all the usual inlets, bays and breaks amongst the cover where Brownies have hung out in the past. However it was hard work and the bushes were all looking very worn and in places depressingly trampled. Eventually our waiting, scanning and chatting paid off and a female flew down from on high and landed very briefly on a Bramble leaf. Unfortunately she then walked into the shade and was partially hidden from view.
Slightly further on where I’d previously found my two males I came across a male. It was in such poor nick I didn’t know if it really was a Brostreak at first. I went through a range of species first – Hedge Brown, small Meadow Brown and because of the damage to the wings Small Copper; before edging close enough to make out the very faded livery and coming to the correct identification.
With two Brostreaks in the bag as it were and all the girls settled down in their camp, we carried on working our way along the hedge. Along the way we met the same bloke from Collard Hill and had a bit of a chat and a catch up. From there we tried round the back and the small area alongside the roadside. Once again there were good numbers of Common Blue and Whites, the odd Brown Argus and even an aged Hedge but try as we might we couldn’t locate any more Brostreaks.
Once we were back from our circuit the girls went on back ahead and we pottered along in our own time. On the way we walked through the hedge tunnel and encountered a failed menage a trois before finding a more standard mating pair of Holly Blues
Once the girls had joined us back at the cars (they’d gotten lost on the way back) we stopped for a much needed drink on the way to Duke site and then once there promptly set about looking for more species to add to the days tally. Again it was really quiet with none of the Adonis or Chalkhills I was hoping for. We came across another mating pair this time Common Blues and there were plenty of Meadow Browns and Small Heath but not the hoped for Wall or Cloudy and no Small Copper either.
It had been a great day company wise, we’d found and photographed our quarry but it felt like a bit of an anti-climax to the season. Perhaps we’d left it too late? Oh well lesson learned for next season – get on and get to Shipton early!
Have a good
Wurzel
. Glad you got your Cloudy and number 49.
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. I managed 47 but missed out on notable species that I might’ve got with a bit more effort : - White-letter Hairstreak; Wall and Lulworth Skipper (all seen last year). A 50 species total looks to be in reach ...one of these days 
Maybe I'll find a LTB or geranium Bronze in the veg section of the supermarket 
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I've even sent a letter to Father Christmas 
