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Sunday 30th June 2013 - 14 hour day....

Spent the day in the illuminating company of Willrow (Bill) today, searching for the elusive Black Hairstreak in both Whitecross Green Wood and then Bernwood Forest.

I'm delighted to say we saw about a dozen of these striking insects, most notably in the much frequented pond area of Whitecross, where a minimum of 5 were seen in the scrubby area by the water, and another absolute minimum of 3 in the main ride by the entrance to the pond.

They were frustrating subjects at first, and it was only when Bill and I decided to come away from the pond area that I got lucky and saw one at chest level on some blackthorn:
It was only when an egg-laying female was spotted that we all got a reasonably close audience:
I think she may have actually just laid an egg in this image, but she flew out at this point and in my determination to track her I obviously lost sight of the original spot where she'd been twisting her abdomen round the fresh growth:
I wasn't the only UKB'er seeing this species for the first time - Rob S was also present and managed to get a few decent shots in - we also traded insect repellant!

Bill and I moved on to Bernwood Forest down the lane, but although we didn't see any Marbled Whites, we DID find another two Black Hairstreaks in the compensation area right next to the M40 motorway. This was between 4.15 and 5pm, so this species will fly quite late into the afternoon.

Not too many other species about to be honest. I had half hoped to see a Silver Washed Fritillary but no doubt in a week's time these will be around in decent numbers. Ringlets were around in decent numbers but that will become a 'given' in a week or so.

All in all, a marathon day (I left a grey and drizzly Swansea at 7am and returned to a grey and drizzly Swansea at 9.30pm), but a highly rewarding one.

Friday 5th July 2013 - An audience with...Large Heath....

I've only ever seen Large Heaths twice, and on both occasions I was unable to do them justice.

In 2011, I saw a dozen or so in a brief hour at Bettisfield Moss in Shropshire, but given that I wanted to see Silver Studded Blues at nearby Prees Heath, I'm afraid this species was merely a convenient hors d'oeuvre.

Last year, I made a first visit to Cors Caron, near Tregaron in mid-Wales, which is the most southerly UK site at which Large Heaths can be found. Unfortunately, it was in the middle of an appalling spell of cool and wet weather, meaning that I only saw three, and had no idea as to how prevalent this species was at this site.

Well, today I got my answer, and the good news is that it's a cast iron site for them, with 60 or so seen in a 4 hour stay. What's more, Cors Caron is impenetrable but for the area around the boardwalk, so I suspect that the reality is that this butterfly is present in the hundreds here in peak flight season.

I confess I'm not a fan of raised peat bogs, but it was a Friday afternoon, so having arrived at 1.05pm, there was no point in me leaving before 4.30, as I'd simply have got snarled up in the pre-weekend rush.

This gave me time to sit, relax, observe and enjoy, and I'm pleased to say that there were plenty of Large Heaths to be seen, albeit that most were highly active in the warm, sunny conditions and not in the mood to settle.

I found a patch of fairly bare ground with several cross-leaved heath flowers in bloom, and eventually I was rewarded with three or four individuals settling for a dose of nectar.

These were the best images I could manage:
It seemed strange visiting a site in July where there were no Meadow Browns present - the only other butterflies I saw were 3 Green Veined Whites and a tatty Peacock. However, if you get bored, there's always the Red Kites overhead to keep you entertained, as well as the huge numbers of dragonflies which can be found near the ponds.

The site was much drier than when I visited last year, and looked in fine fettle set against the backdrop of the nearby hills:

Thanks for the input, folks. Much appreciated.

Saturday 6th July 2013 - Make the most of it while it lasts....

I wasn't really in the mood to get up at 5.30 this morning, but then I thought of those awful winter days when the butterfly season seems so far away....

...so, by 9.40am I had arrived at Lulworth Cove, ready to track down a species I haven't seen since I was a teenager. It was still slightly misty when I arrived but there were already plenty of people about:
Thankfully I managed to locate a few of my target species - 10 in total - all of them being found on the lower part of the slope as soon as the track up the hill had been negotiated. Here's a male:
...and a female:
I watched with interest as a male and female encountered one another. The female kept vibrating her wings while the male looked on. They went their separate ways so I assume this behaviour was the equivalent of the abdomen raised signal used by Whites:
Of all the four Skippers I saw today (Large, Small and Dingy being the others), the Lulworths were easily the most accommodating; happy to bask for long periods whilst generally refraining from dithering in the air for an eternity...the only major problem was tracking them in flight due to their tiny size.

I was staggered that there were no Marbled Whites about on this coastal site, but there were plenty of other species flying: Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and faded Adonis Blues were all encountered in double figures, whilst there were a handful of Common Blues, Brown Argus and Small Tortoiseshell. I also saw singleton Wall Brown and, surprisingly, Green Hairstreak.

I decided to move on at about 12.30pm to Studland Heath which is about half an hour away. To avoid the traffic, I parked in a lay by well before the ferry terminal and just walked into the fields more in hope than anything.

In the hour I spent in these fields, I managed to find a total of 14 Silver Studded Blues, all males:
I decided to head back up the A350 at about 3pm, but the absence of Marbled Whites was still rankling with me. Given that I was driving past Chippenham, it was no diversion at all really to pull into West Yatton Down, a site I've visited several times before.

Sure enough, there were two dozen or so Marbled Whites on the wing (skittish as ever, so this was little more than a routine record shot:
I also saw four other species that I hadn't encountered earlier in the day: Brimstone (3 males), Small Blue, Large White and Speckled Wood.

Wurzel, I parked in the Heritage Centre and made my way up the hill from the path next to the beach. It was at the lower level of this hill that I found the Lulworths.

Sunday 7th July 2013 - Fritillary frenzy....

I visited 3 sites yesterday and didn't see a single Fritillary. Today, however, I saw nigh on 200.

First up was Old Castle Down/Alun Valley to see how High Browns were getting on. A good omen was 2 unidentified Frits on the steep bank whilst climbing the Down. Near the top was a Small pearl Bordered, one of 7 seen in just over two hours.

I positively identified 2 High Browns along the gully area, with about 10 other Frits spotted. This HBF was feeding on Cross-Leaved Heath; not seen that before:
The 'meadow' was where the highest concentration of activity was to be found. There were Fritillaries flying all over the place. The river has dried up and the vegetation is more patchy, which is how these species like it:
I got a definite ID on 9 High Browns and 6 Dark Greens, but I saw at least 30 others which didn't come close enough for me to distinguish between the two.

It was getting very hot down in that meadow so I left for the coastal site at Crymlyn Burrows at 12.30pm.

A month or so ago, I was so amazed by Small Blue numbers that I decided to count them. Today, I did likewise for Dark Green Fritillaries. Starting at the woodland edge before crossing over to return via the crest of the main dune, the 'transect' took me just less than 50 minutes. Astonishingly, the DGF count was 132. I don't quite know what attracts them in such numbers to this site, but this afternoon they were everywhere - on the thistles, fluttering low amongst the grasses, zooming purposefully in the air, jousting...and indulging in other activities too:
These two were so engrossed I was able to gently take the top of the plant and bend it ever so gently to get a clearer view:
Quite a few females have joined the party now, and most of the males still seemed in peak condition so these numbers could last till the end of this month.

Small Blues have now gone and I saw just 1 Common Blue. A handful of Small Heaths still about, but Large Skippers, Meadow Browns and Ringlets are the predominate species now...along with Dark Green Fritillaries of course!!

Excellent reports from the past three days David, your getting your just rewards for your efforts, and your certainly clocking up the miles Great summer days glad to see your making the very most of them.

Your Lulworth Cove image reminds me very much of a day I spent there last year, azure skies and lovely and hot...it's a very beautiful area, and they have their very own brand of skipper too

Regards,
Bill

jenks wrote:And Sunday 7th I headed up to Cors Caron (Tregaron Bog ) where I saw Small and Large Skippers, Dark Green Frits, Ringlet, Meadow Browns in profusion and NO LARGE HEATH !. Which is why I`m annoyed. I assumed that with this late year for butterflies they had still not emerged but 2 days before you had seen 40 or more ! Where did I go wrong ? Looking at your photos I certainly walked along the same boardwalk.

Hi Jenks, good to see you back on here.

It's surely impossible to miss Large Heaths at Tregaron Bog, and given that you saw several species I didn't, then I can only assume you took the circuitous walk around the fields.

Let me tell you what I did - I walked all the way down the boardwalk from the main entrance until the T-junction where you are forced to go right towards the bird hide. However, if you look left, there's a 25 yard stretch of boardwalk that is effectively a cul-de-sac. Beyond this point is open heath and you daren't really step onto it for fear of sinking! Importantly though, there's a bench situated here. Seeing as I had time on my hands, I put my belongings down and simply sat there and watched things go by. Not only did I see a Large Heath every few minutes (sometimes two or three simultaneously), I also had a number of cross-leaved heath flowers unobstructed by long grasses nearby. Over a period of 60-90 minutes spent there, several Large Heaths came to investigate and a handful settled. Both the images I took were on the same clump of flowers. In fact, the photo I posted giving an overview of the site was taken from that very spot!!

Don't go beyond the first pond on the walk towards the hide, as Large Heaths seem to disappear at this point. Dragonflies abound here and I guess the butterflies don't fancy being chased down by these monsters.

Thursday 11th July 2013 - cooler conditions...

I haven't bothered going out after work this week as it's been too hot even for butterflies. Swansea doesn't normally get above 25c in summer but it's been as hot as 28c in the late afternoon recently, however today it was a more pleasant 21c, meaning that I chanced an hour's hike up and down Kilvey Hill opposite my house.

Nothing terribly exciting to report; just the usual stuff - Speckled Woods, Ringlets, Meadow Browns, Large Skippers, a Large White....however I also spotted my first Graylings of the year, only two, and neither allowed me to get too close.

You sure know you're on the wrong side of mid-summer when these critters appear!

Saturday 13th July 2013 - Oh, to be 50 feet tall......

Sweltering day, much of which was spent at Bentley Wood, where I arrived at 8am to a car park already half full!

Most of the others were content to stay in this area, but the sun was insufficiently high to light up this spot, so myself and two others decamped to the ride just prior to the car park, which was well lit by the morning sun and pleasantly warm.

Two Emperors were seen flying purposefully overhead, but neither was interested in descending; in fact, nobody I spoke to saw one on the ground all day, which was a surprise to me as I'd have thought the baking hot conditions would see them MORE likely to seek ground-based minerals.

I mustn't complain, because I saw a grounded Emperor last year at Bernwood in 15c and damp conditions, but it's obviously disappointing for all not to see this noble beast at close quarters. I'm off to the Tyrolean Alps on Wednesday too, so my chances of an audience with H.I.M in 2013 now seem remote...still, there's always next year.

The same was true of White Letter Hairstreaks. There are three lovely elms further on into Bentley, and there was much activity going on at the tops of these trees, however that's where they all stayed much to everybody's chagrin - I'd love it if a site had a raised platform where you could get up near canopy level (it'd improve our understanding of this elusive species as well).

Of course, there were hundreds of other butterflies about on a hot, sunny day like this, but by 10am most of these had hit hyperdrive, so I was glad I got a few early shots in before they'd fully warmed up:

Dozens and dozens of Silver Washed Fritillaries about, but all were males. Those emerging females are going to be MUCH in demand:
White Admirals were about in fair numbers. I reckon I saw at least two dozen:
Other species seen were all three of the Whites, Small and Large Skipper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Speckled Wood, Marbled White, Comma, Red Admiral and two Hedge Browns, my first of the year:
By 2pm I was shattered as it was 30c by then (and rose to 31.5c on my car thermometer on the way back home near Gloucester). These temperatures look set to remain for a while, meaning that I'm going to be in the rather unusual position of going somewhere COOLER for my summer holiday! Still, at least we're finally having a good summer, and let's all hope that butterflies will make the most of it and bounce back after a few appalling years lately.

Tuesday 16th July 2013 - High Browns outnumbering Dark Greens...

Visited the Alun Valley site between 9.45am and midday, and can report that High Brown numbers have definitely exceeded those of Dark Green.

The Dark Green males are also beginning to fade noticeably now, meaning that practically any fresh looking Fritillary heading your way is likely to be a High Brown.

There were plenty of both racing round the meadow this morning, although I chanced upon a sleepy male in a different part of the site:
Before the cloud burned off, I spotted a female Meadow Brown basking wings open. I noticed she had a second eye-spot on each forewing. I don't know how common this is:
The Frits in the meadow were understandably supercharged given the hot conditions. That said, one very fresh looking female perched for a while:

Wednesday 17th July 2013 - missed my flight but caught His Majesty...

I missed my check in time by 2 minutes at Gatwick airport this morning, meaning that I had a long and sad journey back home in front of me. So, in an attempt to ward off depression, I called in at relatively near Botany Bay and sure enough, the depression lifted almost immediately as I finally stumbled upon a grounded Emperor on the main track and I had him all to myself
This specimen was in full shade even at 9.30 in the morning! I spent a few minutes with him until I heard a cyclist approaching. I was about to raise my hand in an attempt to prevent him from disturbing the butterfly, but as he approached I recognised the face - UKB's Emperor-smeller pursuivant, Neil Hulme.

I learned a fair bit from Neil today and am extremely grateful for it. I spotted another Emperor near a stagnant pool further along, and Neil arrived soon afterwards and shared all his tips on eliciting a 'performance' from these magnificent beasts (I was also witness to Neil's 8th 'trousering' of the PE season):
Passers by soon spotted us and before long there was a small crowd:
Other butterflies to note were Purple Hairstreak (too far up the tree for an image), female Silver Washed Fritillary and a 2nd brood male Brimstone.

I'd like to say it was a wonderful day, but of course, it wasn't. Still, nothing I can do about the flight now but it's amazing what a Purple Emperor can do to lift the spirits!

Yes, you're right, Wurzel, the two things are mutually incompatible really, aren't they? I believe it's persisting it down right now in the Tyrolean Alps so perhaps I wouldn't have been able to get out and do much anyway.

Thursday 18th July 2013 - The ground is moving with butterflies...

Time for a bit of a pause today, so just a quick 100 minute visit to Crymlyn Burrows near my home.

The sheer numbers of butterflies here right now are a real sight to behold. I was disturbing Meadow Browns every other step and Dark Green Frits every third!!

People have been complaining about getting underside shots of these butterflies yet the incredible abundance of them here means that it's almost impossible not to come across one in a decent wings-closed pose:
The above female was starting to fade, and many of the males are exceedingly pale now. That said, once again I saw 100+ and watched fascinated as they interacted with the copious numbers of Meadow and Hedge Browns present.

Talking of huge numbers, the second brood Small Blues have emerged here:
Given that the first brood was about in stratospheric numbers, I dread to think what's going to develop over the next couple of weeks. We shall see.

It was nice to see second brood Small Coppers about too. This one was abnormally dark in colour, rather like the ones you encounter in France:

Wednesday 24th July 2013 - killing a couple of hours...

I didn't much fancy going through the M4 roadworks near Bristol at rush hour during my return trip from Gatwick airport, so I took junction 17 and headed for West Yatton Down where I stayed until gone 5pm.

The site was fair teeming with butterflies, but I only saw four Chalkhill Blues, though all had clearly only recently emerged as they were in mint condition:
Marbled Whites were probably the commonest species - well over 100 flying around the site:
Other species seen were Large, Small and Green Veined White, Brimstone, Large & Small Skipper, Meadow and Hedge Brown, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Ringlet, Dark Green Fritillary, Peacock, Comma, Small Heath and a couple of Purple Hairstreaks high up in an oak.

Pauline wrote:Just caught up with your diary David. Shame about the missed flight but those PE shots have to be worth it

Sure was, Pauline, and I was able to book onto another flight so no major damage done!!

Thursday 25th July 2013 - High Browns rule at Alun Valley...

I spent between 10.45am and 1.55pm at Alun Valley in Glamorgan today and it would appear that Dark Green Frits are now spent and that any medium sized Fritillary seen will be a High Brown (Silver Washed not yet out here).

I positively identified 17 HBFs and I reckon there were at least 30 more that didn't settle so they've still got a week or two of life yet. Obviously, many are now looking fairly battered but some are still in decent condition:
This female was just about the 'freshest' I encountered.
Still, as some species fade, others emerge pristine and Green Veined Whites seem to be fair exploding forth! This female was unusually heavily suffused:
The cloud cover made photography a lot easier today; this fresh Peacock was irresistible:

The gun club meadow was overrun with butterflies. I'm not sure if I can remember seeing so many Whites in a single location in the last few years. Hedge Browns and Small Skippers are still fairly numerous and fresh, whilst Meadow Brown and Ringlet numbers are showing no real signs of easing. Large Skippers are looking tatty and the solitary Small Heath I saw was positively geriatric!

Two Red Admirals seen, along with a dozen or so Small Tortoiseshells and 3 Commas; a Brown Argus popped up too. However, I'd really come to track down White Letter Hairstreaks and I'm pleased to say I did find one in an elm tree not far from the gun club meadow. It frustrated me at first by refusing to come down below 15 feet:
Eventually, it got down to chest level but just as it came out of the shade a strong gust of wind rocked the branch it was perching on and it was off to the canopy leaving me with this last, unsatisfactory image:
Even that was a massive improvement on the Purple Hairstreak image I took. This irritating little blighter played cat and mouse with me for half an hour, persistently landing on the upperside of an oak leaf out of my view. I took a few pot shots with my camera and managed to get a silhouette at least
I'm determined to get a half decent shot of this species before I die....watch this space!

Sunday 28th July 2013 - close encounter of the White Letter kind...

At last! A female White Letter Hairstreak on an egg laying run decided to give me an audience this afternoon (after I'd patiently spent at least 2 hours underneath her elm). I'd seen a male earlier but he remained firmly out of zoomable reach:
Last Thursday, the wind stymied my attempts to photograph a male, so this time I grabbed tight hold of the end of her branch and held it steady while I worked my camera with my right:
It was interesting to watch her behaviour higher up the tree when the heavy rain showers arrived. She'd sit it out for a couple of minutes on the upperside of a leaf before waving the white flag and crawling under it to take cover.

Still plenty of High Browns (particularly in the gun club meadow). This female is surely a borderline aberrant:
There are now quite a few female Hedge Browns about:
They're all in great demand!:
Saw my first Silver Washed Frits on this site today too, as well as a soon-to-be-departed Dark Green, who didn't care about the rain pouring down and just carried on resting wings open:
I hung on in till mid afternoon, but the Purple Hairstreak I'd seen in the morning didn't make a further appearance. I'm glad I left when I did though, as by the time I got home it was lashing it down. Still, won't do the plant life any harm.

nfreem wrote: I don't know about borderline David, surely that is a definite, very nicely marked too

Would seem so, Neil. It's now in the species-specific album!

Wurzel wrote:Congrats on the White Letter your patience paid off

Indeed. 2hrs + standing by an elm tree would normally arouse the suspicions of the local constabulary.

Given the regular heavy showers though, I'd say a third of that time was protecting myself from a drenching rather than scanning for Hairstreaks.

Saturday 3rd August 2013 - it'll be a long time before this record is broken....

At 9.51 this morning, I hit a major traffic jam on the M4 just 3 miles from the Bridgend junction. What's more, it was pelting it down and 16.5c was showing on my car thermometer. If I'd been offered an escape route back home right then I'd have taken it.

Fast forward to 1430hrs and I was still shaking my head at how I'd seen TWENTY FOUR different species of butterfly in WALES at a single site on the same day.

The clouds evaporated, the sun came out and stayed out and the wind dropped too. In spite of that, I still spent far too much time underneath the elm that had yielded the egg laying White Letter Hairstreak last weekend. I did see another of this species here but I'm pretty sure it was a male:
I then snapped this female Hedge Brown which looked to have an extra forewing spot:
A Comma basked invitingly:
Is it just me or do Meadow Browns seem to rest wings open far more regularly late in the season?
I moved into the gun club meadow which was again replete with butterflies. Whites weren't quite as ubiquitous as they were a week ago, but they were still about in serious numbers. Common Blues have suddenly hit their straps, and they proved quite irritating as they interfered with many of the other species nectaring on the thistle heads, in particular three different White Letter Hairstreaks which I was trying to photograph. Even High Brown Fritillaries were constantly challenged, although I did get a few shots, including this individual who was still in reasonable nick:
Fellow UKBer Willrow told me a few weeks ago that Graylings were present in the quarry on this site. For only the second time in my life, I went into this quarry today and sure enough there were a small number gliding about, coming to rest on the sheer rock faces:
This quarry is used by the gun club and there is debris everywhere. By 1pm though it was deserted and I revelled in the peaceful conditions here. I spotted a few buddleia bushes growing at the bottom of the sheer faces, so I thought I'd go and check them out and treat myself to a few vanessids. What ACTUALLY happened shocked me considerably.

Amongst the numerous Whites, several Peacocks, the odd Tortoiseshell and a single Red Admiral, were double figure numbers of High Brown Fritillaries avidly nectaring from these buddleia blooms:
I had no idea this species had such a weakness for buddleia. It seemed quite incongruous to see them in such a setting, but they clearly loved it. On a couple of occasions, I spotted one sharing a flowerhead with a Peacock. I really wish I'd been able to capture that on camera but it wasn't to be, sadly, as on both occasions the HBF fluttered off to another floret before I could get my camera ready.

I emerged back onto Old Castle Down and was about to head back to my car, but something told me to spend a few minutes in the steep dip by the top of the path that leads down to the gun club meadow. Within seconds, I saw what I thought was a Holly Blue settle amongst some leaves, but when, after a minute, it still remained hidden I thought I'd creep over and see what was going on.

I'd seen where it had come down, but there was nothing obvious visible, so I gently took hold of the branch and slowly turned it over to reveal this little stowaway:
Off he/she went after thirty seconds or so, but the butterfly remained within camera reach for the next 5 minutes:
I genuinely don't know whether it was a male or a female as the purple reflections weren't terribly visible with me being below the butterfly:
Still, it was nice to get relatively close to this species and it topped the day off in grand style.

I honestly cannot remember seeing or hearing of more butterfly species seen at a single location in Wales before, 24 is a very significant record, your perseverance certainly paid off. The quarry is a rather dangerous environment but it can act as a heat trap, just add Buddleia and its surprising what can turn up Super day and great report David.

Kindest Regards,

Bill

Sunday 4th August 2013 - no right to be seeing anything...

Needing to visit the Isle of Man, I deliberately booked the overnight ferry from Heysham with the intention of spending three hours or so at Arnside Knott prior to my sailing.

Unfortunately, I chose to travel north on the Sunday. The rain was lashing down from Abergavenny all the way to Stafford. It then cleared up a little, but I got snarled up in a horrific traffic jam just south of Knutsford Services which was attributable to a very serious accident.

The result was that I arrived at Arnside at 6pm instead of 4pm and conditions were pretty grim - dull, cloudy, cool and spots of rain too.

Having made the effort though, I climbed up the hill and walked through the long grasses. I disturbed a couple of Meadow Browns and a Fritillary, but no Scotch Argus. However, walking through the ferns was a different matter, as four individuals took flight and came back down to earth fairly promptly. Obviously, there was no way they were going to open their wings under these conditions, but I was mightily pleased not to have completely wasted my time coming here:
I really must make an effort to justice to this site next year; preferably in decent weather.

By the following day, the weather had brightened up and my mum's buddleia in the Isle of Man once again proved a magnet for vanessids. I managed to get my best images of Red Admiral this year:
There was also a Painted Lady spending time in the garden:

Thursday 8th August 2013 - Aston Rowant (Part 1)...

So much happened on this visit that it would be impossible to deal with it all in one post. Butterflies were about in the sort of numbers you normally only see on the continent.

It was a beautiful morning and I actually arrived at the site much earlier than anticipated. I left Abergavenny at 5.30am expecting to be there between 8.30 and 9am, but traffic was light and by 8am I was in the car park. A quick walk to the entrance and I soon realised I was the only soul present:
Of course, Silver Spotted Skippers are the main attraction here and within 5 minutes I'd seen my first. More soon followed and in all I reckon I spotted approaching 100 of these engaging little insects.
The majority seen were males, but there were a few females if you looked hard enough.
This species must have a proboscis longer than its body!!
I went to the meadow over the fence at the top of the site and even found half a dozen or so through there!

I spent from 8am to 1pm on site and that gave me sufficient time to concentrate on many of the other butterfly species found here.

CJB wrote:Hi David,

I would love to know how many species you clocked.

CJB

21 is the answer to your question, CJB. Had I seen the Clouded Yellow reported that day along with Speckled Wood, Red Admiral and Large Skipper (individuals of which I'm SURE must have been on site that day) then I'd have beaten my record of 24 at a single site set only the previous weekend!! What made it special though was the sheer numbers of butterflies. I must have seen 2,000+ which is noteworthy in this country.

Thursday 8th August 2013 - Aston Rowant (Part 2)...

Silver Spotted Skippers had been seen, photographed and conquered well before 9am (although I kept adding to my memory card afterwards on those occasions I saw fit), so I was finally able to concentrate on the UK species I've probably ignored more than any over the past 4 years - Essex Skipper.

The first 3 or 4 I checked were Small Skippers, but I then struck gold with my first Essex and plenty more followed. Here's a male:
Females were encountered too....
...along with their undersides:
And finally, a little bit of cheeky self-indulgence:
Once you get a proper underview of lineola there can be absolutely no doubt. The antennal tips are glaringly black, and the "dipped in inkpads" description is as apt as any I've seen. In short, if you position yourself to see the butterfly from this angle and you're still not sure, then it's NOT Essex.