Thanks chaps, much appreciated
My first post for a long while and like most others we have been ‘confined to quarters’, apart from our daily walks and trips to the supermarket.
We decided to take our daily exercise at Noar Hill on Monday, as it looked like our last chance before the weather changed for the worst. It’s less than a thirty minute drive from us, although the roadworks on the A31 made it exactly 31 mins, door to door. However by the end of our visit we had clocked up almost 10,000 steps, in the five hours that we spent in this beautiful location. Hopefully this falls well within the government’s latest recommendations for time spent travelling versus time spent walking in the countryside.
Of course we wanted to see the Dukes, and they certainly didn’t disappoint, and we remarked that it was almost as if Covid-19 didn’t exist, such is the beauty and tranquility that prevails, at this most lovely of sites.
During our visit we only saw one other person with a camera (at a distance), and a couple walking along the adjoining footpath.
![P1040524(1)Resize.JPG (1.08 MiB) Viewed 773 times Noar Hill.](./files/thumb_11970_b2fb418d8dffbbde6906b36c1b4080d6)
- Noar Hill.
Walking up the lane and into the site we soon encountered our first Duke, perched on a Cowslip, a nice dusky individual..
![P1040453Resize.JPG (973.64 KiB) Viewed 773 times Duke of Burgundy male.](./files/thumb_11970_17a1bee318677eb8b21d4b3c8f86f94b)
- Duke of Burgundy male.
And another just along the path..
![P1040484Resize.JPG (930.05 KiB) Viewed 773 times Duke of Burgundy male.](./files/thumb_11970_2ebfac612da74679d7b3f7b65da40168)
- Duke of Burgundy male.
And then a different butterfly landed in front of us,
which turned out to be a lovely Dingy Skipper.
![P1040471Resize.JPG (1.1 MiB) Viewed 773 times Dingy Skipper male.](./files/thumb_11970_2ef3e2b65c7677ad28380a78c44c43c0)
- Dingy Skipper male.
As we neared the end of the pit we found our first Duchess sitting low in the grass, what a stunner..
![P1040540Resize.JPG (1.1 MiB) Viewed 773 times Duke of Burgundy female.](./files/thumb_11970_df32e29836ab7b16f8cda6c925f01082)
- Duke of Burgundy female.
![P1040499(1)Resize.JPG (1.36 MiB) Viewed 773 times The pit where we found our first Dukes and Dingy Skipper.](./files/thumb_11970_494d759bf8e07cf4f150703f76e54870)
- The pit where we found our first Dukes and Dingy Skipper.
We made our way up through the site finding some more Dukes along the way. When we reached the top pit I noticed two Dukes flying very close to one another, and, as luck would have it they both landed on a Blackthorn branch right in front of me at about chest height. I then realised that they were male and female and watched as the male bent his abdomen around and coupled with the female, without any kind of protest from her.
![P1040485Resize.JPG (1.24 MiB) Viewed 773 times Male coupling with the female.](./files/thumb_11970_0b256a40a55dadd9014b245c3ab06e66)
- Male coupling with the female.
This is the first time I have witnessed the actual moment of coupling
![P1040496Resize.JPG (994.17 KiB) Viewed 773 times The mating pair.](./files/thumb_11970_5ff36b1cecd087a2bc6f61e693ceeda7)
- The mating pair.
One thought I had on looking at the photos is that the female appears to have a very enlarged abdomen, and I wonder if she has already mated?
This was a real highlight.
Walking back down through the site we saw a flash of blue and managed a quick shot of a very fresh looking Common Blue, before it was disturbed by a bee and disappeared high into a tree and was lost from sight.
![P1040482Resize.JPG (1.35 MiB) Viewed 773 times Common Blue male.](./files/thumb_11970_fa5e224299ddc71493551c8fbe731c46)
- Common Blue male.
We only saw the one Common Blue as we did with the following..
![P1040533Resize.JPG (1.16 MiB) Viewed 773 times Small Heath male.](./files/thumb_11970_cd48284b87ac65259837e96e26eb33c6)
- Small Heath male.
We also found this Duchess, with a different ground colour to the others we saw..
![P1040516Resize.JPG (1.1 MiB) Viewed 773 times Duke of Burgundy female.](./files/thumb_11970_3666e60697445f728c477dc2c416ecc5)
- Duke of Burgundy female.
What a fantastic way to spend a sunny afternoon, in the summertime
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)