Many thanks for the comments Pauline, I really appreciate them
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
,
and yours Wurzel.....I think
Monday 5th – Thursday 8th August, part 1.
We returned home today from a fantastic few days at Arnside with over 1200 photos to sort through so I think I will be updating this diary in instalments over the next few days as I have time.
Last year I went up to Arnside for a couple of days, primarily to see Scotch Argus which up until then was a species I had never seen. I saw plenty then but it turned out to be at the beginning of their flight season and when I got home I realised that every photo I had taken was of a male and I don’t remember actually seeing a female.
On Monday we made our way back up the M6, driving through some horrendous rain
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
, on our way to spend three nights in the same wonderful B&B, at the foot of the lane leading up to Arnside Knott that we stayed at last year
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
.
Calendar wise this was a few days later than last year and I was hoping to photograph some female Scotch Argus, although given the way this year has been so far, I realised that this was taking a bit of a flyer.
On our arrival our hosts told us that they had just ‘enjoyed’ thirty-six hours of incessant rain although it was clearing and the forecast looked good for the next few days.
After settling in, at around 5.00pm, the rain had stopped and it was cloudy but warm so I decided to take a walk up to the Knott to stretch my legs after the journey.
Walking up to one of the areas that I knew to be good for Scotch Argus I was pleased to find a good number flying despite the cloud cover. I soon found a mating pair and was quite amused by the way that the female was dragging the male through the wet grass, possibly to try and find a dry spot to rest up.
![Arnside 5-8.08.2013 043resize.JPG (469.61 KiB) Viewed 1201 times Scotch Argus pair - Arnside Knott 05.08.2013](./files/thumb_10101_999f42f7403dcffbe317a26a39dc8401)
- Scotch Argus pair - Arnside Knott 05.08.2013
![Arnside 5-8.08.2013 059resize.JPG (404.81 KiB) Viewed 1201 times Scotch Argus pair - Arnside Knott 05.08.2013](./files/thumb_10101_54a512dd719b456665759959f6e5c29c)
- Scotch Argus pair - Arnside Knott 05.08.2013
Soon after with the sun getting lower everything went quiet so I made my way back to get ready to go out for a meal.
![Arnside 5-8.08.2013 074resize.JPG (314.22 KiB) Viewed 1201 times Arnside Knott - 05.08.2013](./files/thumb_10101_01e285a5ff9676f1ac4bb7780a0c3529)
- Arnside Knott - 05.08.2013
The next morning was dry and warm with some high overcast so after breakfast I decided to go back up the Knott to take some more Scotch Argus photos. I remembered from last year how difficult it could be to get the exposure right with their dark wings if the light was too bright and so wanted to try while the light was softer.
It soon became apparent that were hundreds of Scotch Argus about and as I wandered through the grassy slopes which are the best spots, more and more took to the wing.
A lot of the males were looking very tired and tatty, not surprising I suppose if they had been out in 36 hours of solid rain, but there were also some fresher looking ones about.
![Arnside 5-8.08.2013 180resize.JPG (473.72 KiB) Viewed 1201 times The good, the bad and the ugly.....](./files/thumb_10101_018a61ac03f56e0d128945fd6bc5a541)
- The good, the bad and the ugly.....
![Arnside 5-8.08.2013 087resize.JPG (364.5 KiB) Viewed 1201 times Scotch Argus male - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013](./files/thumb_10101_44f985fde190f58c4eef9d7ea43a68b6)
- Scotch Argus male - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013
![Arnside 5-8.08.2013 206resize.JPG (409.7 KiB) Viewed 1201 times Scotch Argus male - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013](./files/thumb_10101_983d5a657b8c09d11a4bb7b610746896)
- Scotch Argus male - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013
![Arnside 5-8.08.2013 265resize.JPG (442.5 KiB) Viewed 1201 times Scotch Argus male - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013](./files/thumb_10101_7cca8606ca2947414686adda5dd966e3)
- Scotch Argus male - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013
I also soon found some nice looking females but there were so many males flying that often, as soon as I got a shot lined up on a female, a male would dive in and accost her. Sometimes this resulted in a pairing, sometimes not. Whatever the result it meant that I had to look for another basking female (hmmm…that sounds familiar
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
)
![Arnside 5-8.08.2013 179resize.JPG (373.38 KiB) Viewed 1201 times Scotch Argus pair - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013](./files/thumb_10101_5069031240732f1eda2b4d9f924d54c0)
- Scotch Argus pair - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013
In fact the males seemed to be chasing each other almost as much as the females....
![Arnside 5-8.08.2013 185resize.JPG (423.97 KiB) Viewed 1201 times Scotch Argus males - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013](./files/thumb_10101_459046d7441073612e811396bd1e6f38)
- Scotch Argus males - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013
In the end I managed to get some shots of females that I was happy with…..
![Arnside 5-8.08.2013 125resize.JPG (462.36 KiB) Viewed 1201 times Scotch Argus female - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013](./files/thumb_10101_058fc30084c85635e4db1d948d963f88)
- Scotch Argus female - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013
![Arnside 5-8.08.2013 164resize.JPG (392.2 KiB) Viewed 1201 times Scotch Argus female - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013](./files/thumb_10101_68cc0d06a05d0314b00f381053225cd1)
- Scotch Argus female - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013
![Arnside 5-8.08.2013 247resize.JPG (489.63 KiB) Viewed 1201 times Scotch Argus female - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013](./files/thumb_10101_52798a4f73b11b80d15c4cb72f3175f2)
- Scotch Argus female - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013
![Arnside 5-8.08.2013 271resize.JPG (407.95 KiB) Viewed 1201 times Scotch Argus female - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013](./files/thumb_10101_a2a6d553f6ceff6ae51620838f5da0f2)
- Scotch Argus female - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013
![Arnside 5-8.08.2013 277resize.JPG (397.48 KiB) Viewed 1201 times Scotch Argus female - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013](./files/thumb_10101_d9c83d93ca3c4b4f63ef3ed52b5aa337)
- Scotch Argus female - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013
![Arnside 5-8.08.2013 302resize.JPG (338.3 KiB) Viewed 1201 times Scotch Argus female - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013](./files/thumb_10101_6ea9e83472cf18a8b1daf6144e90c322)
- Scotch Argus female - Arnside Knott 06.08.2013
After a couple of hours I went back to meet Jane. I had only just started the first full day here and I had achieved one of my main targets, things were looking good
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
......
Bye for now,
Neil.