Brown Hairstreak sighted at Ravensroost Meadow
Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 5:05 pm
Two individuals sighted. One took off and flew to the other side of the hedge. It was low down originally so was probably a female.
A second was a bit more accommodating and I shot the photos below. The poor thing, a female, was very tatty but still looking around for egg-laying locations.
Park in the Ravensroost Wood car park but don't go west into the wood, head north into the meadow past the information sign at the gate.
Head north to the end of the first field and through the five bar gate towards the left.
Continue north to the far end of the second field and you'll see two oak trees midway along the top hedge, one large and one smaller to its left. I saw the first BH to the left of the smaller oak, and the second midway between the two. The second flitted around several spots all below four feet high. It only rested on blackthorn.
They are VERY difficult to spot as when at rest they look a bit like a dead blackthorn leaf and they don't always perch where you can see them. I was lucky to see one land. If I hadn't I'd have walked right past it.
Grid reference for the car park is: SU024877
Grid for the actual spot is: SU026881
![Image](http://upload4.postimage.org/1073925/brownhairstreak.jpg)
![Image](http://upload4.postimage.org/1073929/brownhairstreak2.jpg)
A second was a bit more accommodating and I shot the photos below. The poor thing, a female, was very tatty but still looking around for egg-laying locations.
Park in the Ravensroost Wood car park but don't go west into the wood, head north into the meadow past the information sign at the gate.
Head north to the end of the first field and through the five bar gate towards the left.
Continue north to the far end of the second field and you'll see two oak trees midway along the top hedge, one large and one smaller to its left. I saw the first BH to the left of the smaller oak, and the second midway between the two. The second flitted around several spots all below four feet high. It only rested on blackthorn.
They are VERY difficult to spot as when at rest they look a bit like a dead blackthorn leaf and they don't always perch where you can see them. I was lucky to see one land. If I hadn't I'd have walked right past it.
Grid reference for the car park is: SU024877
Grid for the actual spot is: SU026881
![Image](http://upload4.postimage.org/1073925/brownhairstreak.jpg)
![Image](http://upload4.postimage.org/1073929/brownhairstreak2.jpg)