Wednesday 22nd July. Another day of warm sunshine in prospect, and I set out on a trip I'd be promising myself, taking in a few of the Sussex sites I tend to visit as it gets a bit later in the season. I started off the furthest away, up at
High & Over at around 1000. It was probably a bit late, as with the strong warm sunshine the species I'd hoped to see were already very active: the Walls. There were well over a dozen I'd guess, at and close to the viewpoint, as well as along the open bit of downland by the road down to Alfriston. This area also had good numbers of Chalkhills, Common Blues, Brown Argus and a few rather worn Marbled Whites. The wooded area at the hilltop had Red Admirals, Specked Woods and Holly Blues, plus one or two Peacocks and Commas. I managed a few shots of the target species, but nothing at all special. A return trip early in the third brood in less sunny weather seems like a good idea.
The Chalkhills weren't easy either...
...but a Common Blue found up in the woods was more obliging.
To add to a somewhat frustrating visit, I came across a Hummingbird Hawk Moth, but it constantly sought nectar sources down in the grass, so offered no decent views at all.
I headed back westwards, and considered stopping at Tide Mills near Newhaven, but the car park was full and overflowing so I carried on back past Brighton and down to the sea at Southwick (Shoreham Harbour). A walk back and forth along what has in the past been a very productive path was surprisingly sparse in butterfly life - a few Red Admirals and Whites was pretty well it. However, hopes were raised by a Clouded Yellow flyby. I expected this butterfly to return as they so often do when patrolling up and down - not that there was any cloud to potentially cause it to come to ground. In fact I didn't see it again. I decided to cut my losses and carry on a bit further to the slopes of Mill Hill.
Mill Hill of course had lots of butterflies. I made my way down to the bottom of the main slope, where there were good numbers of Chalkhill and Common Blues, Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers, Brown Argus, Brimstones and various Whites. Curiously, both these butterflies show similar v-shaped "beak marks" from unsuccessful bird attacks.
There were also one or two Walls, generally no more cooperative than those at High & Over, though I did track down a female (probably egg-laying).
One oddity was the electric blue flash of a worn male Adonis Blue. This had to be a leftover first brood individual, on the cusp of the emergence of the second.
Also unusual, though becoming less so these days (I think they are seen here most years) were second brood Dingy Skippers. I saw at least two, and probably three, of these along the hedge margin at the bottom of the hillside.
I looked up from following the rapid flight of this species and started watching a few white butterflies. One of these was flying more rapidly than usual, and away from the edges of the hillside - quartering the territory with brief pauses to nectar, across and back, across and back. Something clicked - this was how a Clouded Yellow flies. I managed to get close enough to a flypast to see the wings, and my suspicion was confirmed - it was indeed a Cloudie, and a very pale
helice one at that. I attempted to get close enough for a shot or two, with a modicum of success, but the lack of clouds was annoying. The disappearance of the sun for even a couple of minutes would have been enough to ground the butterfly and allow a close approach. However, this is what I was able to manage in the end.
I realise that I hadn't seen the
helice form of the female Clouded Yellow since the big influx of 2009 when I had seen several at the same time down near Birling Gap. Quite a day in the end!
Dave