Summer 2022
July. Summer advanced, as did record breaking temperatures but at the start of the month I was unfortunate to end up looking for Large Blues under leaden skies and had to shelter in the pub for 2 hours whilst it tipped down, but I still managed to find a few when the sun eventually appeared. I decided to return a week later under slightly better conditions to find a few more.
Those July Stalwarts, Chalkhill Blues and Gatekeepers predictably turned up in their respected preferred habitats.
My search for Purple Emperors was more frustrating, it didn’t sound like a vintage year for them anyway, at least at the sites I can get to, but I managed a few glimpses in the treetops at Bookham.
The other summer Purple one seemed to be less numerous than in previous years too, but the summer heat did bring some down to re-hydrate on morning dew.
I think I missed to main peak of Silver-washed Fritillary, but they were still regulars whilst searching for other summer woodland species.
I’d seen my first Lulworth Skippers at the beginning of June but they were still going strong a good six weeks later, and of course you don’t need much of an excuse to spend a second day on the coast of Dorset on a summers day!
Near the end of the month I made the discovery that after all these years I could actually get to Chiddingfold Wood. I made use of this discovery by catching up with the Wood White second brood. Hopefully come this summer I might be able to catch up with HIM there too.
Edit:
Going through photos I realised I'd missed out the Silver-studded Blue, which considering the awful season (at least on their Surrey Heathland sites), is perhaps not a surprise. Last year I made two visits to Fairmile Common where I found very few and only males.