Cheers Dave
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
"I think my benchmark for the species is still that day we had with them a few years back at Wrecclesham.
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
" Was that the day we were visited by 'Fenton!'
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
Definitely worth a trip as there are a couple of other great sites very near by
Cheers Neil
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
I've since discovered that early in the morning is nice and quiet and another trick is to wait until the images have been put up on 'The Evil Book of Face' as then the majority of people move onto a different site/species
Compton Down Part 2
After this Philzoid and I left the masses and made our way up the track and then up onto the Down proper. A couple more Glannies flew along the bottom track along the hedgerow and as we followed the track up and down we carried on racking up the species with Greenstreak and more Small Heaths, Grizzlies and Dingies. We kept working along the bottom of the hedge as this seemed to act as a magnet for the butterflies and in the next little alcove a Brown Argus held court battering anything that drew near. A Greenstreak kept out of the way of the small chocolate and orange psycho by sticking to the taller Hawthorns that were sprinkled across the bottom of the down. There was also a Marshie that dropped in and was promptly sent packing by the Brown Argus. This got my goat a little as there was something odd about the Marshie, it was almost two tone. Luckily it didn’t fly too far and I was able to grab a few shots before it decided to move on. It was swiftly replaced by a second more conventional looking Marshie.
![25-05-2024 17.JPG (1.37 MiB) Viewed 73 times Two tone](./files/thumb_9821_417e9a1fb292f8da159040f5686bd94e)
- Two tone
![25-05-2024 18.JPG (1.47 MiB) Viewed 73 times 25-05-2024 18.JPG](./files/thumb_9821_7a20eac1a0423632ab10b2635ea7d15f)
We moved on slightly only to pause for a dazzling mustard coloured moff – it was a Wood Tiger, a stunning looking moth and a species that I’d seen here before and also one which was actually sitting still. It seemed that we were walking in a butterfly wonderland and so our progress was ridiculously slow as every few steps something else would appear and tempt us to photograph it. A Small heath here, a Grizzlie there or even a fine looking Marshie. I knew that they could be very variable but today was proving just how variable whilst still keeping to the familiar pattern/lay-out. The next couple proved a prime example. The first was very dark looking from afar and when I got in closer I could see that the ground colour was black and not dark brown. I’ve seen the effect light can have on Marshies in the past; under cloud cover they appear black and then as the sun comes out they lighten to a milk chocolate brown, but this one was black in full sun. The second took on a more yellow hue as it flew due to the nice combination of light orange and cream chequers on a brown background.
![25-05-2024 19.JPG (1.51 MiB) Viewed 73 times Wood Tiger moth](./files/thumb_9821_ae5af878a93c5785071104f11903562a)
- Wood Tiger moth
![25-05-2024 22.JPG (1.54 MiB) Viewed 73 times Quite dark](./files/thumb_9821_0615f42759882ae206c3f58812b1fa05)
- Quite dark
After much more stumbling and pausing for this and that we reached the corner of the down and the area that the Marshies have a penchant for. Sure enough a couple took to the air including one that was struggling to fly as she was so eggbound. She was also a bit of a looker with the usual oranges and cream replaced in part by whites giving it the slight appearance of a Cynthia’s Frit. I spent a good while with this one as she bumbled about and managed to pick up a nice selection of shots including some undersides. I once again called out and Philzoid and Calvin came to the viewing, Calvin with a Marshie hitching a lift on his camera hood. A pale and greasy looking Marshie appeared at one point but I found myself back with the ‘Stunner’ without even realizing that she’d lured me back.
Have a goodun
Wurzel