A visit to my local Dry Sandford Pit reserve, Cothill, on Tuesday 19th found rather few butterflies, despite the very warm and sunny weather.
The large patch of Primroses just inside the entrance gate was, unusually, devoid of Brimstones, although a I did see my first Orange Tip there - definitely not stopping for a photo! Several of the Primroses were frost-burned, which may be the explanation for there being few butterflies about.
By the sun-trap quarry face, there was a very well worn Peacock and roughly equal small numbers of Orange Tips and Green-veined Whites, all restlessly patrolling the entire length of the face. As the afternoon wore on, a few began to make brief re-fuelling stops at the flowers and I managed a few record shots, all taken at long range with my 100-400 mm lens.
![Orange-Tip-2021.jpg (101.47 KiB) Viewed 768 times Dry Sandford Pit, Cothill, Oxon - 19th April 2021<br />Olympus E-M1-ii with 100-400mm lens - 1/2,500s @ f/8 ISO 640](./files/thumb_11310_b743aaabf1bd3e0180c435c394f7d16f)
- Dry Sandford Pit, Cothill, Oxon - 19th April 2021
Olympus E-M1-ii with 100-400mm lens - 1/2,500s @ f/8 ISO 640
![Green-veined-White-2021.jpg (109.17 KiB) Viewed 768 times Dry Sandford Pit, Cothill, Oxon - 19th April 2021<br />Olympus E-M1-ii with 100-400mm lens - 1/2,500s @ f/8 ISO 640](./files/thumb_11310_44620f5caf9130c2a43af28da2fd029a)
- Dry Sandford Pit, Cothill, Oxon - 19th April 2021
Olympus E-M1-ii with 100-400mm lens - 1/2,500s @ f/8 ISO 640
I have never noticed the ridges on the wings of a GvW before, looking almost like a planked surface!
One or rwo more Peacocks rose momentarily from basking spots and I saw one Comma, visiting a rather spiky-looking perch on a Teasel.
![Comma-2021.jpg (137.67 KiB) Viewed 768 times Dry Sandford Pit, Cothill, Oxon - 19th April 2021<br />Olympus E-M1-ii with 100-400mm lens - 1/400s @ f/11 ISO 640](./files/thumb_11310_046e9010b7b011494a1422fbcb8d9487)
- Dry Sandford Pit, Cothill, Oxon - 19th April 2021
Olympus E-M1-ii with 100-400mm lens - 1/400s @ f/11 ISO 640
Very occasionally, a male Brimstone passed through briefly.
In my garden, Holly Blues have now emerged.
Mike