Thanks David, we are having a bit of rain as I type this and a mix of cloud and sunny spells (with the odd shower) are forecast here for the weekend. But in the meantime, I managed a mid-week session
Cheers Wurzel, oh I know that 'hard stare' as well but that is usually reserved for when I have really pushed my luck
Thanks Goldie, she was in some quite deep shade low down in the grass and given the circumstances that shot came out better than expected.
Wednesday 10th May
With a whole day of blue skies and sun forecast for Wednesday I decided to cash in some brownie points and go straight from work to Ryton Wood Meadows. This Warwickshire BC reserve is only a short drive from where I now work but under normal circumstances I usually go straight home when I finish and my 30 minute lunch break is just not long enough for it to be worthwhile going then.
The forecast proved to be bang on for once and on arriving and walking through the wood to the meadows I soon saw Green-veined Whites, Orange-tips and Holly Blues, all of which were highly mobile in the warm sun. There are some nice displays of bluebells here but I always feel that photos of these fail to capture the full impact of the scene.
![Ryton 10.05.2017004 resize.JPG (1.27 MiB) Viewed 700 times Bluebells- Ryton Wood 10.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_ecad727e70806c242ae1fae079684f81)
- Bluebells- Ryton Wood 10.05.2017
It was also noticeable how dry the paths in the wood are with none of the wet muddy patches that are usually there at this time of year.
Anyway, my main target for my visit was Green Hairstreak and making my way to the usual ‘hotspot’ I spotted a couple of males chasing each other around the higher reaches of a hawthorn. I soon saw plenty more, mostly males scrapping with each other in twos and threes, but also a number of females who tended to be flying lower down a little further away from the hedge line and exploring the clumps of birds-foot-trefoil which is the larval food plant at this site.
![Ryton 10.05.2017022 resize.JPG (604.48 KiB) Viewed 700 times Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_0d2c7f386ee2ecefb1f1074d20ba326b)
- Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017
![Ryton 10.05.2017074 resize.JPG (607.81 KiB) Viewed 700 times Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_6433c3d6dd1178b53cb51734e71b7d5d)
- Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017
![Ryton 10.05.2017035 resize.JPG (588.44 KiB) Viewed 700 times Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_e8ccdf782465cee583892100b4212789)
- Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017
![Ryton 10.05.2017137 resize.JPG (657.65 KiB) Viewed 700 times Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_26d4486b93b26e7fb1f91577ea702ded)
- Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017
There were also a number of Dingy Skippers along this spot rapidly chasing each other about, but as the time approached 5.30pm they started to slow down and spend more time replenishing their energy reserves. At one point I counted five on one patch of bugle.
![Ryton 10.05.2017065 resize.JPG (713.64 KiB) Viewed 700 times Dingy Skipper - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_b6e9cbcdbd3b1470f37e6687a2c736b3)
- Dingy Skipper - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017
![Ryton 10.05.2017116 resize.JPG (801.3 KiB) Viewed 700 times Dingy Skippers - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_8a95ffcaacd5fa552602bd1ae052d2bb)
- Dingy Skippers - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017
![Ryton 10.05.2017129 resize.JPG (623.95 KiB) Viewed 700 times Dingy Skipper - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_ac0f510f13070e360c91ccd96b25430e)
- Dingy Skipper - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017
Looking along the hedgerow I spotted a Dingy Skipper at about head height on hawthorn blossom and then noticed that there was a Green Hairstreak also on the blossom. I have seen Dingy Skippers on Hawthorn blossom before but this is the first time I have managed to get a photo of these two species together like this.
![Ryton 10.05.2017104 resize.JPG (681.89 KiB) Viewed 700 times Dingy Skipper and Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_f6791e24a6420633cad09414a170ff9e)
- Dingy Skipper and Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017
Whilst I was watching one of the Dingy Skippers, he took off and chased after another butterfly with a more orange hue and after they separated I tracked it to where it settled where it proved to be my first Small Copper of the year. I managed one quick record shot before he was off again and unfortunately I failed to relocate him, maybe he thought he was too outnumbered by the Dingies in this spot and went to find his own territory elsewhere.
![Ryton 10.05.2017034 resize.JPG (2.16 MiB) Viewed 700 times Small Copper - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_e9bcab3f1c846db793b86ddc56a1df74)
- Small Copper - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017
I also had a look for Grizzled Skippers having missed them last year but without success today. It seems that this species has had a couple of bad years in Warwickshire with numbers being down at most sites in the county.
Before making my way back I stopped to check out a patch of bluebells and spotted another Green Hairstreak flitting about amongst them,
![Ryton 10.05.2017144 resize.JPG (596.51 KiB) Viewed 700 times Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_c9533c4e2a823fcf718bc5a4c5773296)
- Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017
![Ryton 10.05.2017145 resize.JPG (584.4 KiB) Viewed 700 times Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_15c49adf4f97b80a793b107cce5d0d5b)
- Green Hairstreak - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017
Also on this same patch there was an Orange-tip and a couple of Peacocks were close by.
![Ryton 10.05.2017153 resize.JPG (577.07 KiB) Viewed 700 times Orange-tip - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_e602d42c3f3439ee6e29bcf3dd095e0a)
- Orange-tip - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017
![Ryton 10.05.2017159 resize.JPG (836.91 KiB) Viewed 700 times Peacock - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_78bef65418ea0cacea4422c57bc31765)
- Peacock - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017
And finally a little further down the path I saw a Brimstone come to ground and managed to grab a shot before he was off again.
![Ryton 10.05.2017166 resize.JPG (619.08 KiB) Viewed 700 times Brimstone - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017](./files/thumb_10101_2d885b6069d5e5a02c007efec764339b)
- Brimstone - Ryton Wood Meadows 10.05.2017
A great couple of hours that I only decided to do the night before when I saw the forecast for the next day...really glad I did
Bye for now,
Neil.