When I got to Dungeness this morning there was a chilly wind blowing and it felt decidedly cold, especially when cloud got in the way of the sun. I'm usually in shirt sleeves and sun hat when I go Coppering but today it was wooly hat, coat and scarf!
So today it took awhile but I managed to find some Coppers. Two males were sheltering from the wind close by each other
One of which had a pale and damaged right fore-wing
(something I see quite often)
Cold though it was, these are tough little butterflies and I was surprised by how active they were despite the conditions
I came upon a female with minimal markings
and even though we were only getting brief periods of warmth from the sun , she was actively looking for a suitable place to lay eggs
and i saw her go through the motions of egg laying.
I'd reached a count of 6 Coppers
all snatching their moments in the short periods of sunshine
when it grew dark, very cold and looked just about to rain.
I'd set off back to the car when I chanced to find my final Copper of the day - a gorgeous fresh male
He perched on the Gorse flowers for a minute then headed off on the cold wind, doubtless hoping to find a more sheltered spot to set up a territory