Saturday 21st June 2014
Midsummer's day, and Summer was certainly in full swing. In the warm, still sunshine I visited Gamlingay Woods, South Cambs for Silver-washed Fritillaries, which were not hard to find. As usual they were fairly active patrolling the ride and not stopping for long, so I mostly just decided to enjoy watching. But I did try a few pictures:
Silver-washed Fritillary, Gamlingay Woods, Cambs
There were also Large Skippers zipping about, Speckled Woods spiralling up to the skies, and Meadow Browns and Ringlets bobbing in the grass. This Ringlet was a bit more sedentary:
Ringlet, Gamlingay Woods, Cambs
From there, we ventured to the the adjoining Sugley Wood, currently a meadow but long-term planned to be expansion space for the main wood. This was alive with Summer butterflies, all very active. It was hard to know what to watch with so much activity, so again I mostly just enjoyed the spectacle. Marbled Whites everywhere, plus Large and Small Skippers, Meadow Brown, Small Heath, a few Common Blues, lots of Small Tortoiseshells - just glorious. A fast-flying fritillary passed me, which I think might have been Dark Green, although I did see another Silver-washed nearby later, so maybe it was just one of those.
Marbled White, Sugley Wood, Cambs
There were some impressive orchids (Common Spotted?) too. Mostly they were past their prime, but this cluster was very nice:
Back home, along the track near my house there was an explosion of Small Tortoiseshells. It's great to see them doing so well.
Small Tortoiseshell
I watched this courting couple for a while. There was much wing-shivering and antenna-flicking from the male before they flew off to a nearby nettle patch. Then inevitably another male flew too close and, like a "Are you looking at my girlfriend?" bar brawl, it all got messy as the males flew off in a spiral leaving the good lady on her own.
Small Tortoiseshell courtship