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Friday 27th October
We recently spent a few days in Kent enjoying a family break. Apart from the Wednesday and Friday, which were sunny and warm, the weather was mainly grey and mild. On the Wednesday we were at Kingsdown for lunch with friends, after which we were gagging to take a walk along the clifftop, but not wishing to appear rude we had to pass up on the opportunity. We did, however, spot a Small White and some Red Admirals from the balcony of their home which overlooks the clifftop. Given the shirt sleeve weather, and with Calais clearly visible across the channel, we felt that a Long-tailed Blue could have been a real possibility!
On the Friday, as a means of compensation, we headed over to Dungeness to see what we could find. The car temperature sensor was showing seventeen degrees as we parked up by the lighthouse. We headed across and into the moat with no real expectation, but to our joy we quickly spotted our first Small Copper. Exploring the area we began to find more, some which were fairly worn but also some lovely fresh looking individuals.
![P1000651.JPGResize.JPG (1.23 MiB) Viewed 1500 times Some of the Blackthorn was in flower](./files/thumb_11970_20addf2099d2bb835b2fd353c801db45)
- Some of the Blackthorn was in flower
![P1000622.JPGResize.JPG (1.61 MiB) Viewed 1500 times A lovely caeruleopunctata female](./files/thumb_11970_512cea5efa1ecba7a28b4fab2f6a4b86)
- A lovely caeruleopunctata female
![P1000671.JPGResize.JPG (1.46 MiB) Viewed 1500 times A fresh female](./files/thumb_11970_87b0bf49f0c131d0004313df81326416)
- A fresh female
And this stunning individual
Surprisingly, we also found two Small Heaths which were in remarkable condition.
And several Red Admirals
![P1000645.JPGResize.JPG (1.32 MiB) Viewed 1500 times The moat](./files/thumb_11970_a33af237c2872baeb2a407fd73ef2964)
- The moat
After spending a couple of hours in the moat we decided to head for the power station wall in the hope of finding a Clouded Yellow. Although it didn’t look particularly promising territory we were very pleased to find a total of three flying along the wall, stopping to nectar on dandelions. They were a little flighty as it was particularly warm in the shelter of the wall, but we managed a couple of shots.
![P1000684.JPGResize.JPG (1.51 MiB) Viewed 1500 times The power station wall](./files/thumb_11970_d33ce996b05602440235cca782af227b)
- The power station wall
Four butterfly species seen on a late October day, now that really made our trip special!