Thank you Mike - That was a great Clouded Yellow shot you got
My carefully planned day out yesterday to find Glanvilles was in serious danger of being scuppered due to a small fledgling Magpie falling out of its nest in the garden a couple of days earlier. I have hand reared a huge number of birds - Nuthatch, Woodpecker, Dove, Blue Tit etc and it is incredibly hard work so I was reluctant to take on the task especially as the parents were present. However, they could not protect it from the numerous cats and the swooping crows despite their on-going attempts. More importantly they were not feeding their offspring. I began by feeding the little'un, ignoring the protests of the parents and then putting him back outside, guarding him from the kitchen window, and placing him in an aviary overnight. After 36 hours of this it was clear I was his sole source of nourishment and I could not stand guard all day. He would have to stay in the aviary. Unfortunately, this little bird was the most difficult I have ever had to feed. Despite trying a wide variety of suitable foods, he would immediately regurgitate them. I was managing to get enough nourishment to stay down to keep him alive but I could not expect a stand-in carer to take on such a difficult task. So, should I cancel my precious day out? In the end I decided on a compromise - I would go late, miss out on my planned pub lunch, and come back early; a bit rushed but better than the alternative.
I arrived at *************** about 11.00 am and the first butterflies I saw were a trio of lovely fresh Painted Lady:
A quick look round provided no sightings of Glanvilles and given the experience at Wrecclesham I was worried that they had not emerged here either. However, several other folk were looking for the butterfly and one of them assured me that local knowledge had informed him that they had emerged here just 2 days earlier. It was very warm and humid but the sunshine was mostly hazy. Other species were on the wing including Small Blues, Large White, Common Blue, Small Heath but there was no sign of a Glanville. I only had 4 hours and one of them had already gone! I was dismayed that the next thing I was to stumble upon was :
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Suddenly, a Glanville was spotted and just as quickly it was gone again. In total we must have seen a maximum of 4 Glanvilles, possibly only 3 and thanks to a very docile, accommodating individual, everyone at last got a photo opportunity. I was concerned that there seemed to be little regard or respect shown for the site or for the butterflies by some, with butterflies being somewhat persecuted and harassed. I also worried that nesting birds might be disturbed (there were a lot of youngsters around) and this tended to spoil the experience for me. I don't know what these birds were but they were really cute:
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![P1160022ad.jpg (278.46 KiB) Viewed 661 times P1160022ad.jpg](./files/thumb_1095_e809c255de15007341b20d575d32d2d9)
I spoke to a couple who were interested in wildlife but knew nothing about butterflies. After telling him a little bit about butterflies his enthusiasm and interest were apparent and whilst we were chatting about a Small Heath that was flitting about, a Glanville actually landed on the path at his feet!! This happened twice more during the morning - he was like a butterfly magnet! I'd like to know what aftershave he was wearing
All too soon it was time to go. I had left myself an hour to spare to see if I could locate any Wall Browns and because time was short the boat was the only option:
Once back on dry land I started to walk along the usual path. I have never before seen a Lapwing so spent a good 10 minutes watching when I came across one. It allowed me to get remarkably close:
As I continued I came across a group of birders (is that the correct term? apologies if not), obviously intent on something. What nice folk these guys (and gals) are. They explained that there was a couple of Spoonbills out there and let me view through their scopes. Sadly, they were roosting but the photos the birders showed me were just magnificent. I would have loved to have had more time to spend here:
The birders confirmed that there had been several Walls along their patch a few hours ago but the cloud had now come over and there were none to be seen. This was a bit of a relief as my camera battery had started flashing red and the frustration I would have experienced had I seen a Wall might possibly have outweighed the joy at seeing it. As I returned to the car park I used the last of the battery on this Common Blue. Is it my imagination or is it paler than normal - perhaps just worn?
On returning to my car I was dismayed to find a parking ticket slapped on the windscreen. I had paid using my mobile phone as instructed and had been told there was no need to display a ticket. It took me another 20 minutes to sort it out and get the ticket cancelled when all I really wanted to be doing was getting back. Thankfully, the little Magpie was OK but more about him another time
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)