Northward Hill 29th June

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After failing to find White-letter Hairstreak at Rede Common (Strood) last week I tried my luck at Northward Hill for this species. The weather was far from ideal when I arrived, being windy and generally overcast. I was not very hopeful but there was the odd sunny interval so persevered. 

The spot where the butterfly had been seen by others had a couple each of Comma, Red Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary, but no hairstreaks. Walking further on I came to the southern edge of the wood which had many elm saplings/small trees as shown in the picture below. This looked ideal and within 15 minutes I found the first hairstreak.


The weather improved in the afternoon with longer sunny intervals and this side of the wood was also quite sheltered from the wind. Other butterflies appeared including Green-veined White, Ringlet, Speckled Wood, Marbled White, and a single Small Copper. A total of four White-letter Hairstreaks were seen, generally at about head height on the elms, though on a couple of occasions on low bramble. They were generally confiding for viewing and photography. 









There were also numerous dragonflies in this area, practically all being Common Darter it seemed.





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