Hi Davedave_b_james wrote:First time posting so I thought I'd share a few of my sightings from the weekend. On Saturday the 17th of May me and a couple of mates drove from Northampton to spend the day searching the hot spots between Cirencester and Stroud. We had a great day with Hailey Wood being the first port of call. Lots of Pearl Bordered Frits were in the small clearing south of the sawmill but we only managed to get record shots despite spending a few hours there chasing them around. After this we headed to Strawberry Banks for Marsh Fritillary despite the lack of recent records hoping the recent hot weather would bring them out. We wasn't to be disappointed as lots of Marsh Fritillaries were present all over the two fields. I couldn't believe just how many there were! Everywhere we looked they could be seen flying along the tops of the flowers! A few Small Blues, Common Blues, Small Copper and Green Hairstreaks were also present. After a couple of hours we tore ourselves away (and I do mean tore as it was quite a spectacle) and headed over to Rodborough Common. The wind was quite strong and we headed to the bottom of the steeps slopes which was much more sheltered. Lots of Forrester Moths were on the wing all over the site but the bulk of the butterflies were at the base of the slope with Adonis Blues, Brown Argus and lots of Small Blues present. We hadn't been to any of these sites before and all the planning was done using information found on this forum so it's a big thumbs up to everyone who contributes to it.
Have you checked out http://www.bugalert.net for recent sightings of butterflies and dragonflies?
Adrian Riley