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The weather at home on Friday, with clear blue sky and very hot sunshine, very nearly
persuaded me to contact Wurzel in order to postpone yesterday's trip to Shipton Bellinger.
Fortunately the weather on Saturday, at least in the morning, was perfect, with high
cloud allowing just enough sun to filter through and keep us comfortable, and the butterflies active.

Wurzel had high hopes that the conditions might provoke the Brown Hairstreaks to appear early.
Not a bit of it!, as he showed me the ' hot spots ' nothing appeared, as we toured the famous hedge
and beyond. For a moment I'm sure we were both thinking that the wrong day had been chosen.

Then bang on 11.00 Wurzel spotted a male BH nectaring on a thistle, and kindly offered me first pickings.
This male often had to share his thistle with a female Meadow Brown, which sent him up several times,
but this male was persistent and kept returning to the same flower head.
The general area of this first find was to produce a further four males in fairly quick succession,
to the delight of us and several other visitors.

Up to now no females had been seen, but this was to change when we toured the famous hedge.
Wurzel was responsible for spotting at least three female BH along the length of the hedge.
Even when we decided to call it a day we found a fresh female posing perfectly, not far from our cars.
But this one was very flighty and eventually escaped without a single image for either of us.

An observation of the day was that males were always found on thistles, and the females preferred ripe blackberries.
The day also provided a personal first. The only time I have photographed male and female BH on the same day!!.

My sincere thanks to Wurzel for a most fabulous day!
Trevor.

A postscript from Saturday. I did achieve one ambition, an open wing male.
But it was a poor old thing who had been around for a while!.

Never mind, he'll do for now.

Trevor - I am so glad you achieved you ambition of an open-wing male Brostreak.

I, too am "a poor old thing who had been around for a while" so I empathize with him a bit.

And I loved all your other pics of them as well, particularly the blackberry shot - that's a winner.

Great stuff Trevor. A for that open wing male, something I'm still looking to achieve. I was going to join you but events conspired to make that plan impossible . Happy to report though that I spent my spare time wisely and found 10 BH at Bookham instead, so not a complete washout for me

A cracking set of images from a cracking day Trevor - and glad Shipton delivered the goods . Brostreaks are a most contrary species - never sticking to the rules - last year when it was a similar temperature they were all out early yet this year - bang on 11am

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Great set of Brown Hairstreak shots Trevor . Another for the double with the Meadow Brown, I am a sucker for multi species shots

Cheers,

Neil.

I also have to give you a for the double

Wurzel wrote: ↑Mon Aug 10, 2020 7:35 pm bang on 11am

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Exactly the same over this side of the country, can wander around for a couple of hours and see none then 11am arrives and they're everywhere

Looks like you had a splendid day over at Shipton B., Trevor: it has to be one of the top spots for Brown Hairstreaks anywhere, though it does help to have local knowledge on hand to lead you to them (which is exactly what happened on my visit too!). A great record of your stay too, with some memorable shots - I like the blackberry one as well...

Cheers,

Dave

Many thanks all for your kind comments.

I have just returned from Wiltshire ( didn't take my lap top ) so a bit late with reports.
Suffice to say that Friday and Saturday were a write off due to grey gloom and drizzle,
But Sunday and Monday were simply WOW!.

Trevor.

Looking forward to the WOW days Trevor - unfortunately both those days I was booked in for Family Duties Even worse tomorrow it's the Blue and Yellow Hell with it's Maze of Madness and its Sinus Sapping Scents

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Sunday 16/8. Part 1.

After two days of grey gloom while I was in Wiltshire, the Sunday showed some signs of promise.
So I didn't hesitate to drive the 5 miles over to Tilshead.
On arrival all was unusually quiet, but then the Sun had hardly broken through the gloom of the
previous days. Fortunately it was warm and the Adonis Blues started to respond slowly, allowing
for some very relaxed photography. Many shots later, I was attracted to a fairly distant bright blue
object which could have been a discarded sweet wrapper. As I got closer I could see it was a male
Adonis Blue displaying full ' electric blue ' on all four wings, something I've never seen before.
I have included an image of what I saw, but the camera hardly did the butterfly justice.
The other species seen at Tilshead speak for themselves, with the exception of a solitary Chalkhill Blue.

Then, after Tilshead I drove over to Shipton Bellinger..................

Looks like you were in a bit of Blue heaven, Trevor - the colour of those Adonis is absolutely stunning. Less than brilliant sunshine is definitely the best for getting good shots of them. That's a splendid new female, too.

Cheers,

Dave

Cheers, Dave. Tilshead never disappoints.

On arrival at Shipton Bellinger the cloud had reasserted itself, but it was very warm.
The temperature alone gave cause for optimism, but a thorough search of ' the hedge '
revealed nothing. So I retraced the route that Wurzel had taken the previous week
and to the same thistle that the first male was found. To my astonishment there was
a male Brown Hairstreak on the very same thistle from a week ago!.

The same male, we will never know, but quite possibly!.

Keep well, all.
Trevor.

Well done with the brostreak!

Many thanks, Katrina. On Monday I went back to Shipton B., and Hairstreak heaven !.

Monday 17th Aug. Back to Tilshead.

When I left for Tilshead there seemed an improvement in the weather, but driving over the plain
a thick mist covered most of the area, including the Tilshead site.
Wellies were a requirement as the tall grass was very wet, and most roosting butterflies were
covered in dew, and were inactive for over an hour after arrival.
When the sun got to work the photo opps kept coming, including a male Adonls Blue ab, which
had yet to open up, allowing shots of both sides to be taken. This specimen was devoid of hind wing markings.
As well as the many Adonis Blues, of both sexes, a few Common Blues were found,
along with another lone male Chalkhill Blue.

It was by now 10.30, and time to head over to Shipton Bellinger.

Monday 17th Aug. Shipton Bellinger.

The weather had really improved by the time I arrived at Shipton B.
Indeed I was enjoying probably some of the best Brownie weather possible.
Bursts of hot sunshine, with lots of fluffy white cloud and no breeze gave cause for optimism.
So I slowly toured the famous hedge, when nearer the ' Tidworth ' end of the hedge I spotted the
unmistakable sight of a BH in flight. When I caught up with it, it had landed high up and was perched
with wings slightly open. After a few zoomed in shots, this BH began to wander, then flew almost from view.
I stood for ages watching and hoping that this butterfly would come down lower, but it was clearly
not going to co-operate so I reluctantly disturbed the foliage, with nothing to lose, gently shook the general
area the butterfly was occupying. It worked!, and I could now clearly see a pristine female BH.

Having spent the best part of an hour with that BH, it was time to carry on searching.
Back at the ' Bulford ' end of the hedge an elderly couple were searching for BH. After a short
conversation with them I started to resume my search, then I heard the woman shout out
" I've just disturbed one ", I was, after a short while, able to relocate this perfectly fresh female BH.
And after many underside shots, this perfect female began to open up, and eventually opened up fully.

Beautiful shots, Trevor - pretty well the holy grail as far as Brown Hairstreak is concerned. Not a mark on her.

I'd put your feet up for the year now!

Cheers,

Dave

I can't put my feet up yet, Dave. I'm hoping for a long Autumn with Cloudies and Long Tailed Blues.
And having been away recently, I still have to check Park Corner for second brood SPBF.

I have to agree, female Brownies don't come any better than those two!.

Stay well!,
Trevor.