Apologies for late post.
Fathers day and good weather to boot meant time for anther recce at Wrecclesham to check on whether the Heaths were about. In the end all the Orange butterflies I checked turned out to be Glanvilles, perhaps the Heaths will be later
.
Although sunny the windy conditions made photography difficult. Those Glanvilles that patrolled the windswept track down to the lake were particularly hard as they would fly for a couple of yards then the wind would catch them and they'd be gone. When they landed the butterflies would seek some shelter and this raised the chances of the inadvertent grass blade spoiling what would be otherwise good shots. On occasion the wind would drop and a good picture was possible.
- Glanville at Wrecclesham
In addition to the Glanvilles I encountered a fresh female large Skipper who was also sheltering from the wind. I was even able to get close to a Beautiful Demoiselle in a sheltered spot and get a first time photo. Impossible to photo were the numerous Cinnabar moths. Blurred images were the order of the day.
Around the back of the site was a field sheltered by a row of trees and although I saw 3 Glanvilles there I expected more. Also seen was this Green Hairstreak, flitting amongst the grass and so easily lost when taking back to he wing.
- Volucella bombylans Red-tailed Bumblebee mimic fly
For over 2 hours searching I would say I saw around 15 or so Glanvilles. Most were slightly faded, but baseing their condition on those seen last year I would say they'll be around for a couple more weeks at least. The only other butterflies seen was a single male Common Blue and a (the) Speckled Wood on the entrance in.
My next port of call was Denbies. This was a bad choice as the wind was much more blustery and some cloud had returned. Very few butterflies were seen (No Marbled Whites, too late for first brood Adonis and too early for Chalkhills; no skippers except Large, no Small Copper, no Common Blue, perhaps I was expecting too much
.
- Nursery Web Spider with egg sac, Denbies
By 17:15 after leaving Denbies the threatening cloud cover had gone, the wind had dropped and the sunshine was back
(often the case I find with Denbies
). I took this last opportunity to go to Box Hill zig zag where my daughter Isabella soon found me this lovely Small Blue. A walk up the hill revealed as few meadow browns (all males) settling down amongst the grasses for the evening.
All in all a great way to spend Fathers day
( I know - they are called Divorce Lawyers, Accountants, Civil Servants and sundry other Bureaucrats all after your money)
. Not sure whether it was because I paid an evening visit and they're morning butterlies like the Green Hairstreaks or becuase they haven't emerged yet - the usual phenology reckons main flight time is the third to last week of June so perhaps in a few days IF we get some good weather 
