Garston Wood
Garston Wood is a 34 hectare RSPB reserve in North Dorset close to the village of Sixpenny Handley. For a couple of years it was my "local patch" for birds but I discovered it was great for butterflies too after a late season trip with Lottie, my younger daughter. It is an ancient Hazel coppice with a number of woodland clearings. The RSPB have stepped up their management over a number of years; even opening up the small, dark and at times seemingly impenetrable area of conifers and exotics. Indeed this area has provided some of my best butterflies at this site...
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These shots were taken relatively early in the season as a reccee for future visits and part of a whistle stop tour of a day that included Slop Bog and Martin Down! Once I'd pulled up in the car park I headed off to the right of the car park to the previously mentioned cleared area. It was a warm day and I worked my way along the edge of the reserve where there were plenty of large bramble bushes left intact. As I wandered up the hill the path veered into the middle of the clearing and here was a large strip of bramble bushes, standing like an oasis amongst the desolation of logs and stumps. This served as the focal point for the butterflies with Comma, Meadow Browns, Ringlets and Speckled Wood all visiting the flowers to nectar with the added bonus of a picnic table and benches. Somewhere to sit back, pour a coffee and enjoy being surrounded by butterflies! With whites, more Meadow Browns and the addition of some Ringlets, it made a great pit stop.
Stars of the show were the Large Skipper and beautiful, velvety Ringlet, almost galaxy chocolate covered. The skipper acted in typical skipper fashion - a psychotic ball of rage buzzing everything in sight and sitting still for no longer than 2 seconds at a time. The Ringlet was much more reticent, walking over leaves to avoid my camera lens and trying to hide under the bramble leaves.
Slightly later in the season I made a number of visits even taking the whole family. As it's so close to my parents we could stop off for a "quick" walk before heading on for a huge lunch, almost the appetiser!
The "clearing" as I called it was the main focus and provided most of my shots. The Brambles provided excellent habitat for Silver Washed Fritillaries. I had a couple of different techniques to get shots of them. There was the "follow" where I’d literally stay on the tail of one individual until it had landed three times, and then I'd back off and then let it go about its business. Or I could use the dash and grab where I'd stand back then nip in, get my shots and nip back before it had a chance to realise that I'd snapped it. The easiest strategy by far was to just stand by a bush and wait for them to come to me, or even better wait with a coffee at the picnic bench!
This year certainly seemed to be a good one for Silver Washed at Garston and I was rewarded with some cracking sights on a number of visits. As seems the way the males were out first, earlier than expected and then the females by some of my later visits. I did find my way round the whole of the reserve a number of times, and whilst there were Silver Washed along the rides, the clearing offered easier photographs and greater numbers of butterflies.
During one of these visits to find Silver Washed I managed to find and photograph a real gem of a butterfly, the jewel in the crown of Garston Wood - Greenish Silver Washed Fritillary. This is the common name for the form valesina which only affects females; where the orange is replaced with a bluey green.
The first time I ever encountered it was last year, here at Garston, on brambles in the clearing before it was cleared. This year I was with my family, we were just heading back to the car park when I came across a small bramble bush along the main path. This one bush held a Comma, male Silver Washed and a White Admiral. While trying to get some shots of the White Admiral something else almost black and white, but larger, drifted down from the shadows. It was a pristine Valesina. Unfortunately I'd been using my camera for portraits and hadn't reverted back to macro settings so the shots weren't great. Cursing we headed off for lunch at my parents. The following weekend I was back, all set up properly this time! As well as more usual Silver Washed there was also a cheeky little Small Copper, and an aberrant Gatekeeper with unusual spotting. But I was here for Valesina and back at the same bush it was there again, hanging back, staying in the shadows where its colouration helped it blend in...stunning!
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Have a goodun
Wurzel
p.s. Happy Xmas and a prosperous New Year!