23rd August (continued): Denbies Hillside
This was more like it. Though the number (and condition) of Chalkhill Blues had dropped a bit now, there were still plenty around, especially females.
There were still mating pairs to be found, including this worn-looking couple. Surely this female must have mated before...
In fact, unmated females generated some extraordinary attention.
The 2020 second brood of Adonis here had been very sparse, but the 2021 spring showing was more encouraging. I'd say the current second brood was a bit better than 2020's but still nothing special: I saw maybe 20 males at most today, and no obvious females.
There were plenty of other butterflies - with more showy species around, the many Meadow Browns tend to get overlooked.
In amongst them, well past their prime, were a couple of female Silver-washed Fritillaries.
After that came something that could not possibly be overlooked - a brand-new Painted Lady.
I then started to concentrate on Silver-spotted Skippers. I became aware that there were actually quite a few flying, some of which seemed relatively fresh. They were in their element, with plenty of scabious to choose from.
On the dot of three o'clock, I spotted this one which had managed to find a scabious flower growing up through a bit of blackthorn.
As it flew off, my eye followed it and then stopped - there on the blackthorn right in front of me was a female Brown Hairstreak.
She was busily wandering down the stems looking for a good spot to lay.
I have to say the shrub here looked in excellent condition, and an egg hunt after the leaves have fallen will be interesting. As ever, after her exertions she decided to bask, but chose to do so downslope of me on the sunward side of the bushes - this is all I could see!
Having seen the male here back on 5th I did wonder if I'd see a female - but this was way across the other side of the slope. Another first for me at Denbies.
Well chuffed with this, I wandered back across the hillside. My attention was diverted by a shiny new Small Copper - so new that it was a bit unsteady and needed a helping hand.
Then, as I scanned the view from the top of the slope, an unmistakeable Clouded Yellow careered past further down. Somewhat foolishly I headed after it, and though I did get nearer, I could only manage some rather distant shots on the rare occasions it stopped to nectar. It never paused for long, as other butterflies repeatedly "bounced" it off the flowers: Meadow Browns in particular.
![CY3 230821.JPG (4.6 MiB) Viewed 308 times This highly out-of-focus photo has been heavily manipulated.](./files/thumb_9839_114b0bc6c29ec6a15551ed57733e91d5)
- This highly out-of-focus photo has been heavily manipulated.
What an extraordinary afternoon. The combination and variety of species seen was for me unprecedented - Brown Hairstreaks, Silver-spots, Adonis, Cloudies and SWF at the same site on the same day - plus all the others. There were also a few other species I haven't even mentioned: Common Blue, Brown Argus, Large and Small Whites, Red Admiral, Brimstone, Small Heath, Gatekeeper.
Denbies was really showing off today.
Dave