Perham 26-07-2023
The summer had resorted back to typical summer weather, no long, baking wall to wall July break this year; instead a mixture of grey days and sunny intervals, the temperature set to warm and the occasional shower thrown in. To be honest it was hard to be disappointed with the cool, grey sky that greeted me when I awoke as this was what I’d been expecting for a while. And so, storing great hope in the veracity of the weather apps I set of too Perham Down to try and find some Silver Spots.
When I arrived it seemed like I was the only one willing to believe in the weather app as I had the place to myself…well almost. As I pulled my boots on a Red Admiral did a couple of passes, looping past me and round the large puddle-cum-pond which filled most of the track. There was also the occasional blast of machine gun fire from either of the small wooded areas which would be followed by cries a tactical nature. With boots on I skirted round the edge of this and set off across the field and from there up through the narrower path that brushes the edge of the small wood on my left. I’d almost gotten used to the retorts of the rifles but it still made an odd aural juxtaposition; bubbling Skylarks and rattling machine guns, the soft whistles of a trip of Bullfinches swiftly followed by screams of “watch the flank, watch the flank!”. Leaving them to their fun and war games I pressed on noting Meadow Browns and in the longer turf of the diagonal path a Brown Argus, a couple of Chalkhills and a Smessex. As I reached the toe (note quite the foot) of the Down a few more Meadow Browns drifted past and then something buzzed past and seemed to drop by my feet. I leant down to get a closer look and couldn’t believe my eyes as there was my first Silver Spot; it had come and found me.
As I peered down at it where it sat in its shelter down in the turf I could see that it wasn’t the thing that had buzzed me as its wings seemed tiny in comparison to its enormous abdomen. They also seemed a little crinkled and pleated and so surmising that it was still waiting for its wings to dry I offered it a finger and moved it to the edge of some taller scrub so it didn’t get squashed under foot. It was very placid and after plenty of shots of it ‘in situ’ I couldn’t resist trying for some on a Thistle. With these on the memory card I quickly returned it to its favoured spot and wishing it well I set off over the turf once more. I didn’t get far before stopping again, literally just across the open slope as then I reached a line of scrub at the far end of which was a large Bramble. There were 3 or 4 Whites clinging to various florets for a few moments at a time and a Red Admiral fed greedily. But I’d not come for these species and so I got back to the turf…
As I strode across the slope, a slight spring in my step conveyed by the thin turf a Green-veined White passed by and a Common Blue paused just long enough to reel me in before it shot off. I set about scanning left and right as I walked slowly forward and back across the slope in a series of interminably small zig-zags. This technique of covering almost every square inch of the down paid off as I managed to pick up a couple more Silver Spots. These were much more active than my initial finding, displaying much more typical behaviour. I would have gotten many more shots but it took me a while to dredge through my memory and recall the method of following and locating them that I developed last year. Once I’d remembered the shots started mounting up on the memory card counter. I’d be walking along scanning the ground about 2 metres in front my footfall and one would go up. Next I’d watch as it would skim across the grass veering left and right. Eventually I’d lose sight of it and once this happened I’d quickly head to the last point that I’d seen it. As I neared this spot I’d slow my pace and move more stealthily, scanning the ground ever more intently. Generally there it would be, only a metre or so to the left or right away from I’d last seen it flying.
At the top of the slight rise it levelled off somewhat and there were clumps of Hawthorn or Bramble giving a mosaic appearance to this part of the site. I picked my way around and in between various clumps of scrub before reaching the foot of the Down proper where the thorny vegetation was replaced by the familiar thin, springy turf. When the sun poked its head round the cloud the butterflies would take to zooming about at breakneck speeds making counting very tricky. This was compounded further by their habit of setting off a nearby neighbour in an almost chain reaction of ‘spooking’. There was a definite Brown Argus, 4 Chalkhills and a Common Blue whilst the seemingly ever moving Brimstones I jotted down as ‘lots’ in my notebook. I carried on, relocating the main track as it started upwards. To be fair at this end the slope is none too difficult, one of the reasons I frequent this end of the site. On my way up to the hotspot I passed a tall Bramble with Ivy growing up through it and supporting a Red Admiral and a Peacock. And at the Hotspot itself things were very quiet as this end had lost its lustre in recent years. The best I could come up with was singletons of Brown Argus and Common Blue while once again my notebook had ‘lots’ written next to Brimstone. On the return the tall bush had added 2 Commas and a smattering of Hedgies to its collection.
From here I allowed gravity to do its thing and so I ended up traversing the flat field at the bottom of the hill. Again there were plenty of non-stop butterflies – Brimstones seemed to have multiplied during my time wandering round the old hotspot as had the other Whites and I was fairly convinced that I saw all three of the white species though proving it wold be something else as they kept flying non-stop. Again there were a smattering of Blues as well, some of the Chalkhills looked almost White-like as they flew in the sun and the light bounced off them at unusual angles. A Common Blue appeared as well as a brace of Silver Spots which seemed to prefer the margins of the thinner turf and scrub. Once I’d finished with one of the Silver Spots a DGF flashed by and as I made to follow it down the path it picked up the pace and left me for dust. Trailing its wake however was another one of the White looking Blues – this one was a Holly Blue which looked a little out of place here on a Chalk Down.
Have a goodun
Wurzel
Martin Down certainly does alright in terms of quality and quantity but I think the site that's produced the largest number on one day is 26 I think from Durlston? We missed Clouded Yellow and Grayling else it could have been even better! 
You've certainly seen more than I have this year, not to worry though, hope fully next year will be better, lovely calendar ,I look forward to your Calendars , but aren't the months going quickly and nights getting shorter. Goldie 
