Trev Sawyer wrote:Cheers Alex,
That's a couple of areas to investigate for Dukes. Good to know I can see Grizzled Skippers in both areas too... my only local site for them is currently being cleared and turned into a guided bus route
![Evil or Very Mad :evil:](./images/smilies/icon_evil.gif)
So, "Over Railway Cutting" may unfortunately have to be removed from the website soon
Trev
Trev, this was posted on UK leps
2. Ivinghoe Beacon was quiet initially, although several Green Hairstreaks around. I went to the place I saw the Duke of Burgundy butterflies last year. Nothing. Went to the next valley to the south to find my first Grizzled Skipper of the year having a scrap with a nearby Dingy Skipper. Then returned to the Duke of Burgundy spot for a second pass. Good decision! Spotted another butterflier looking closely at something. Went to join him and ended up surrounded by 6 Dukes, of which 2 were mating. Plenty of Dingy's dotted around too. Went up to the Beacon summit to have lunch. It was blowing a hoolie up there. Went back to the car via the Duke site again. Didn't see the Dukes again but found a mating pair of Dingy Skippers. (They happily crawled up onto my finger to pose for pictures and hitch a ride for 10-15 minutes before flying off.)
3. Bison Hill also had Green Hairstreaks and Brimstones aplenty. Saw female Brimstones nesting, and 2 pairs of Brimstones in courtship flight. Briefly saw one female land wings open but failed to get a pic. Saw a single Duke there too. Up on the hill I saw 2 small dark butterflies nip past in the wind. Too dark for Small Coppers so my guess is Brown Argus. Wish I'd got a good look. Another butterflier there reported seeing lots of Brown Argus at Barton Hills.
4. A quick and fruitless trip to nearby Totternhoe before I ran out of water and headed home.
Species definitely seen today: Dingy Skipper, Grizzled Skipper, Green Hairstreak, Holly Blue, Peacock, Brimstone, Green-veined- white, Orange Tip, Duke of Burgundy, Speckled Wood.
I thought I saw Small Tortoiseshell and a possible Red Admiral but not sure. Brown Argus was unsure too. And the usual unid'd whites.
Streetmap link pointing out Ivinghoe Duke of Burgundy colony:
http://tinyurl. com/2qgmzo - Down the side of Ivinghoe Beacon there is a path that runs down from the main path at 45 degrees and as it reaches the road becomes a chalk track parallel to the road. The Dukes are not far from the bottom where there are Hawthorns on both sides.
Approx location of Bison Hill Dukes (Streetmap):
http://tinyurl. com/289yqu - Map not so clear here. Again down a diagonal offshoot from the main path. Near the bottom not too far from the overhead wires.
I will be trying those areas for my Dukes this weekend
mark