Cheers Dave, there seems to have been a flush of new fresh Specklies around here over the past few days
Thanks Goldie, Cinnabar Moths can also have a habit of settling low down in the grass so getting a photo is still tricky even when you see where they settle.
Cheers Buggy, I often feel that nature is far more fluid than we sometimes give it credit for...all these sub-species, forms, variations and abs are not so easily pigeonholed as we would like them to be. It is our human condition that wants to clearly label everything into its assigned place but nature isn't quite so organised.
Sunday 28th May
Three O'clock on a Bank Holiday Monday afternoon and it is lashing down with rain here. Oh well!, it has given me chance to catch up on a few things, including keeping up to date with this post.
As I mentioned previously, I was keen to check out my local spot at Castle Hills near Solihull again this week in order to see if Common Blues were on the wing there yet, having failed to find any on my visit last weekend.
My son Chris had said he was popping in on Sunday so I hung on until he arrived and we both headed off to Castle Hills on what had turned into a pleasant afternoon with plenty of high thin cloud and some good spells of warm sun.
It wasn't long before we found some male Common Blues in the usual spots and over the next hour and a half or so we saw a dozen or more scattered about the site.
![Castle Hills 28.05.2017 019.JPG (579.63 KiB) Viewed 651 times Common Blue - Castle Hills 28.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_3091fa224646f3eff5733e64f16467d2)
- Common Blue - Castle Hills 28.05.2017
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- Common Blue - Castle Hills 28.05.2017
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- Common Blue - Castle Hills 28.05.2017
I was pleased to find a few more Small Heath there this week in a few other spots than where I found some last week.
![Castle Hills 28.05.2017 056.JPG (691.96 KiB) Viewed 651 times Small Heath - Castle Hills 28.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_f11eeb6b8505692ca2d8e2a94cb23744)
- Small Heath - Castle Hills 28.05.2017
![Castle Hills 28.05.2017 060.JPG (593.55 KiB) Viewed 651 times Small Heath - Castle Hills 28.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_8f732e3a4795b790767ccc4e0bb1d23c)
- Small Heath - Castle Hills 28.05.2017
![Castle Hills 28.05.2017 105.JPG (564.7 KiB) Viewed 651 times Small Heath - Castle Hills 28.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_6a8f0f1d18f734da0f179dce41ea53ca)
- Small Heath - Castle Hills 28.05.2017
We also spotted a couple of brighter orange little blurs that resolved themselves into a couple of sparring male Large Skippers, my first this year, and we saw another half a dozen or so during our wandering around, all fresh males.
![Castle Hills 28.05.2017 008.JPG (611.83 KiB) Viewed 651 times Large Skipper - Castle Hills 28.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_fd25342b118b9254b60055b3877a045a)
- Large Skipper - Castle Hills 28.05.2017
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- Large Skipper - Castle Hills 28.05.2017
A male Small Copper that looked like he had been around for a while was vigorously defending his spot in one corner which I was pleased to see, as I mentioned last week, I hadn't found a first brood Small Copper at this spot until I saw the nice female here last week.
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- Small Copper - Castle Hills 28.05.2017
Other butterflies seen were Half a dozen or so fresh looking Speckled Wood, a few Green-veined Whites and a surprisingly fresh looking male Orange-tip that slowly flew past us on his patrol.
Fingers crossed now for the weather for the rest of the week, Jane and myself are heading down to Cornwall tomorrow morning for a few days in a B&B on the Lizard
Bye for now,
Neil.