Wow - thank you all for the lovely comments about the Silver-spotted Skipper and her egg.
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
As always, it was pure luck - I didn't realise there was an egg in the shot until I looked at the photos later. I was far more excited by the Adonis Blue!
25th August
I realised that with work and weather and other commitments, I hadn't had a good look at my local patch for nearly three weeks, and decided to make good the omission this afternoon. After a selection of Whites in the front garden on the dandelions, the walk started as it often does, with a territorial Red Admiral and a couple of Commas, and several Speckled Woods fluttering about in the shade. However, the next sighting was a bit of a surprise, with a Small Heath seen a considerable distance (a good km or so) from the usual area. Progressing along the edge of the river, there were more Commas (all quite worn ones), and several Common Blues appeared, male and female, and far more than I've seen before in this particular part of the walk. One of the females was entirely brown, not a blue scale to be seen, and I had to make sure it wasn't a Brown Argus.
![CB1 250813.JPG (383.03 KiB) Viewed 389 times Completely brown female Common Blue](./files/thumb_9839_05fea94b827fe53f14c67e29d3d76f08)
- Completely brown female Common Blue
![CB2 250813.JPG (401.42 KiB) Viewed 389 times Male Common Blue underside](./files/thumb_9839_0058baf6ad248132fa079dcbbae8f820)
- Male Common Blue underside
Another was found wandering amongst the trefoil plants, and after she'd flown off, I found a tiny white dot on top of a leaf - a single egg.
![CB3 250813.JPG (358.58 KiB) Viewed 389 times Another dark female Common Blue wandering on Birds-foot Trefoil](./files/thumb_9839_7d309f9eedc11de04dd7c2fd0d03320c)
- Another dark female Common Blue wandering on Birds-foot Trefoil
![CB egg 250813.JPG (342.69 KiB) Viewed 389 times Common Blue egg on BFT](./files/thumb_9839_637b3520bffc694c864f3424f9ad2ed0)
- Common Blue egg on BFT
No doubt there were more if I'd looked, but they are very small and only by taking a photo and zooming in could I be sure it definitely was an egg. My attention was then grabbed by a small butterfly with a different type of flight altogether - a worn Small Copper. This was the first I've seen on my patch this year (though I had to wait until October for one in 2012...).
Just before moving on to the open field north of the A 3113, a bright new Comma appeared, intensely orange and brown, and such a contrast to its faded cousins seen earlier.
In the field area itself, I was greeted by a basking Small Tortoiseshell that looked to be freshly emerged.
The abundance of Meadow Browns had now dwindled to a few very dull individuals, and there were fewer of these than there were of Small Heaths - though there were not as many of the latter as I expected. Common Blues were all along the path at regular intervals, and having seen so many small ones this year, and so many dark females, I very nearly ignored the Brown Argus that jinked across in front of me. Again, this was the first of these I've seen here this year, and I'm glad to say the second and third followed quickly afterwards.
Returning the way I'd come, I had a different perspective on a "wild" buddleia. There were several Whites and a couple of Peacocks enjoying the purple bloom, but my eye was drawn to a pinky-brown butterfly that periodically sailed off in great arcing flights before coming back to the same spray of flowers. It was a Painted Lady, and yet another species I'd not seen here this year.
That brought the local tally for the year to 23, with only Ringlets being absent this time round from my all time local list. A good afternoon!