Tuesday 16th. With a bright morning and increasing cloud forecast, I got an early start and, despite lots of traffic, arrived at Bison Hill, Whipsnade, by 9.15am. The main target here were the Duke of Burgundy and the Green Hairstreak, but with a good supporting cast of other species.
It didn’t take long to find the Duke, at first warming up it the most sheltered spots, but later seen more widely across the site. Estimate about 20-30 in all, about the same as last year. Given the indifferent weather this year, I reckon that is pretty good.
I also saw a pair copulate. Little ceremony surrounded the event, he simply landed, spun round her a couple of times, flapping his wings and they were joined.
Greens had an excellent season last year, but this time they were back to normal, low numbers. My first, perhaps only ones this year.
All to the backdrop of good views, and the glorious sight and scent, of May blossom. What a great site this is. More to come...