Downshay Camp 26-05 onwards…
With the holiday due to start and the weather reaching into the mid-twenties a few days camping down at Downshay looked like a really good bet. Most of my previous trips here have been in August but the first time we visited I photographed my first ever Silver-studded Blues at Arne and also got my first ever Wall Brown 2 metres from our Bell tent. And it looked like being a great one with glorious weather on the trip down and glorious weather for the weekend head according to my latest check on my weather app. Then on the first night there was a massive thunderstorm a real Roarie bummlers and it seemed to go on for hours, waking both the girls, the lightning intermittently lighting up the tent brighter than the torch.
We awoke to find the tent hadn’t let in any water, it was still standing but outside was all grey cloud and it was noticeably cooler! We headed to Studland Beach anyway even if it was too early for Grayling and too grey for Silver studs on the heath…Instead I made do with taking photos of a few gulls.
Once back at camp and with the girls showered and the tea underway it started to brighten ever so slightly so I wandered to the top of the Camp. Previously here I’ve found Lulworth Skipper and Common Blues but no such luck this time though there were a few nice bits; a Red Admiral flew into the ‘grass fence’ on the walk up but quickly righted itself and flew off again before I could get a photo, there were some nice micro moths, a Cardinal beetle and Azure Damselflies. There was also another (or the same?) Red Admiral playing hard to get but eventually it landed long enough for me to get the first, if somewhat distant butterfly shot of the holiday.
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That night the weather was okay, no storms but the next morning I could barely see beyond a few metres. The mist but did start clearing so we set out to take in the delights of Swanage getting there by Steam. On the walk to Harman’s cross I stopped for a Specklie at the Rope Swing, butterfly number two – I didn’t think it was going to be this hard going!
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From the train I spied a White and despite looking in likely looking places; gardens, the several planted areas and also a nice looking bank near the play park I didn’t find anything. We had chips for lunch on the seafront and then a further wander round Swanage. I was called over by the girls as they’d seen a butterfly. I was expecting it to be a wind up, some garish foil butterfly shaped kite or a plastic butterfly on a stick but there was a Meadow Brown sitting on a shop window. I grabbed my camera, turned it on, removed the lens cap and as I start focusing it shot upwards, caught the breeze and was gone. I did find it several windows along up higher and took a record shot as it was still my first of the year. Home/back at camp and I nipped off to check the top again. There were no more butterflies to add to the paltry list but the Damselflies put on a show again.
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On the final day I would have liked to have checked out the car park at Corfe Castle as Lulworth Skippers are often recorded here early in their season but again the weather, cool and grey with a touch of drizzle, put a spanner in the works (Lulworths were recorded here 3 days later). So I just enjoyed the sights and running around in the ruins with the girls. We stopped on the way home to drop girls at my mums who wasn’t in so we took the girls to the play park while we waited. The girls swung and see-sawed and I had a bit of a mooch in the damp grass finding a roosting Common blue.
So a bit of a mixed bag - disappointing in terms of butterflies but still great as a camping trip and spending time with my girls…I’ll be back for Lulworths soon anyway!
Have a goodun
Wurzel