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On arrival he texted me to say he had already located the first male so I scurried off to find him. ("Scurried" is perhaps the wrong word, indicating an element of youthful exuberance that sadly no longer fits. Substitute "walked a bit faster than usual"...
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
By the time I reached him, the original male had departed, but Bugboy had found another not far away, but not very accessible for my short-range abilities. Nevertheless, it was a first sighting - though I have to admit to disturbing the butterfly in my vain attempts to get a decent shot of it. At this point, Bugboy had to dash off (though I believe he found further Hairstreaks on the way to the station I'm pleased to say...
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Over the course of the morning I ended up finding perhaps six individual males, all down nectaring. The majority somehow managed to sit themselves with the light behind them, so some of the shots were initially a bit dark. I'm still not entirely sure that the last one above was not actually a female, because of the brighter colour, but no glimpse of the upperside was forthcoming and no obvious flash of orange when it finally departed from the thistle.
Male Brown Hairstreaks seem quite happy to nectar on the hogweed in bright rather than sunny conditions, and have a knack of sneaking down to do so while your attention is elsewhere so you can turn to find one right behind you that wasn't there a moment before. They are also not easily disturbed once engrossed, and will readily return to the same spot (or one nearby) if something does interrupt their concentration. However, it takes a bit of sunshine to persuade them to open their wings, and sometimes they will forego their lunch to bask for a while. I was pleased to have one do just that today. All in all, a very successful start to the Brown Hairstreak season.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Dave