Tuesday June 23rd
Spring butterflies passed me by this year. Coronavirus has made me re-think so many things as I am sure it has many people – so I took the government advice and stayed at home.
Until June that is…
It was safe enough in Hampshire to go local and my annual Silver Studded Blue survey needed to be done and that is what finally gave me the impetus to get off my backside and venture warily outside.
My God, what’s that big, yellow thing in the sky? Oh, yes - The Sun – I had almost forgotten about that!
Since Broxhead Heath where I do this survey is less than around 10 miles from me – that was pretty local I thought. But I have not finished my survey yet so the results will have to wait for another post.
Virtually next door to Broxhead Heath is Alice Holt Forest – just a mile further as the crow flies (but possibly 10 or more as the butterfly flies!) so that is where I went today.
Alice Holt is popular with people but when I got to the car park there was only one other car there before me. Great – social distancing will be a doddle I thought. Immediately I came across a runner and had to dodge out of the way – then another runner, then a woman on her mobile walking along totally oblivious to her surroundings, then a dog-walker and then a cyclist! What the…?
The car I had seen in the car park was certainly not big enough for them all, the dogs and the cycle. Blast - I had forgotten about the locals!
Never mind, the butterflies were just as numerous as the people.
My targets were Silver-washed Frit, White Admiral, Purple Emperor and Purple Hairstreak. I was prepared to see none of them and just satisfy myself with the Small and Large Skippers, the Meadow Browns and Ringlets, the Large and Marbled Whites and the Commas. But it was my lucky day because I DID see them all. The Frits decided to keep dashing about and when one stopped just long enough for me to set my camera it laughed at me and flew off again before I was even able to point it roughly in the right direction. I got a fair record shot of a Purple Hairstreak reasonably low down but they often creep around, half hidden behind those pesky Oak leaves, and this one was no exception. The Purple Emperor was fooling around in the canopy and didn’t come down to play while I was there…
… but the White Admirals were something else. Settling on leaves, flowers and the ground and allowing me to get close. On one occasion, one came up to me and posed no further than a metre away from my foot. But my best photo opportunities were when they sat up on branches at my eye-level – no unpleasant bending required on my part. I was particularly startled by the way the sunlight glinted off the blue underside of one individual. I had never noticed this effect before.
Before I left there was a very early second brood Holly Blue on the ground – perhaps my earliest ever second brooder.
Since I was on a roll I decided to do another local trip – to Odiham Common – one of my local White-letter Hairstreak sites. I have been there a few years now with some limited success but last year, after repeated visits I saw none and it really did worry me that they may have become extinct at this site. Still – ever the optimist and with so many firsts-of-the-year already under my belt I gave it a try.
I set up camp in my usual spot and craned my neck up to the tops of the somewhat raggedy Elms. It didn’t look too promising. I scoured the brambles and thistles – loads of Small and Large Skips, Marbled Whites galore and one Comma nectaring directly above another (the pair forming a semicolon perhaps?). But no Hairstreaks. I was just about to leave when out the corner of my eye I espied a zig-zaggy flying object (ZZFO). I span round just in time to see it land way up on a Sycamore. I focussed my camera and took the shot of it without really being sure but when I zoomed it up on the camera screen it was definitely my target butterfly. Hopeless picture to post here but hey – I had just proved to myself they had not gone extinct here after all – they had just been avoiding me all last year – the little blighters.
Well that was it – I left Odiham Common a very happy bunny. On my return I celebrated with a glass of wine – well that was my excuse anyway.
Cheers.
I'm glad you managed to get out 
Stay safe.
and I might have to nick your ZZFO - it would fit in nicely with UFW 
They do seem to be having a good year.
