Thanks, Wurzel - yes, it was three weeks earlier than I've ever been up there and there were no Scotch Argus out. Hopefully I'll manage another trip at the end of the month and unless they've taken one look at the hot weather and given 2018 a miss they should be flying. There might still be a female HBF then, but I can't see the NBA asting that long.
Cheers, Ernie - a pair of faded jeans is all you need and Graylings will be your best buddies!
So... over the top to York, and a couple of days with my sister. On
Tuesday 3rd July while she was at work (I vaguely remember the concept...
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
), I drove up onto the North York Moors to a spot roughly halfway between Pickering and Whitby. This is Fen Bog, an upland bog whence streams flow out both north and south. However, trickle would be a better word at the moment. It lies in a bowl with heather covered banks at the sides, and is bordered by the North York Moors Steam Railway.
It was blissfully cool when I arrived (only 17 degrees), with overnight cloud just beginnining to clear. Nevertheless, there were butterflies from the moment I stepped out of the car, with the heather and bracken full of Ringlets, plus Meadow Browns and Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries. The latter were common and ubiquitous and the efforts I made to see them in Sussex and Wiltshire seem bizarre in this context.
![SPBF2 030718.JPG (3.38 MiB) Viewed 555 times SPBF2 030718.JPG](./files/thumb_9839_2721ad57fbb89822b41f385fb6db1b83)
![SPBF3 030718.JPG (2.56 MiB) Viewed 555 times SPBF3 030718.JPG](./files/thumb_9839_6f3d9bee8a61d69ba6bd118c3c96bd09)
![SPBF5 030718.JPG (1.63 MiB) Viewed 555 times SPBF5 030718.JPG](./files/thumb_9839_eadcfffa54f4dff4c4a329b37fb8e281)
![SPBF6 030718.JPG (1.55 MiB) Viewed 555 times SPBF6 030718.JPG](./files/thumb_9839_6d1493b3ce91c223439e91c92b9ca5d2)
I made my way down to the flat area of the bog itself, noticing that the side slopes "leaked" trickles of water every so often. There was one solitary fellow out in the middle with a camera, so I hailed him and asked where a safe route might be out to where he was. He replied that normally it wasn't possible to get get out there easily, but in this very dry spell, it was actually possible to just walk straight across. So it proved: the ground was tussocky and even between tussocks the grass gave a bit underfoot, but nowhere was at all squishy. Now, why was I here? Ah yes, this location is a known hotspot for the Large Heath, a species I had never seen, and the cotton grass all around was evidence of this. However, the first thing I noticed was that the thistles around the edge of the bog were hosting a gathering of Dark Green Fritillaries - almost all fresh males.
More Small Pearls were also flying over the bog itself.
However, I eventually noticed another kind of butterfly popping up whenever the sun shone (and sometimes when it didn't). I had been led to expect that Large Heaths would be difficult to approach, but it was only really the nature of the terrain that proved any obstacle. Given a clear path I found I could get pretty close, especially if the sun went in. I probably saw fifteen to twenty individuals at varying distances, mostly quite worn as it is at the tail end of their season this year.
![LH1 030718.JPG (2.58 MiB) Viewed 555 times my first ever Large Heath!](./files/thumb_9839_b8bae0c44c9d199b96a6cb3b425cf623)
- my first ever Large Heath!
At one point, I did find my knees were wet from getting down close to one target - the water hadn't completely disappeared.
Returning to the car park, I found the thistles amongst the heather and bracken were home to more splendid fresh DGF.
Mission accomplished - and at a lovely spot as well, enhanced by the astonishing weather. No doubt this is quite a different place at other times!
Dave