Birding and other distractions

A visit hopefully to see White-letter Hairstreak in view of recent reports from the site. After parking the car in Northward Avenue I crossed the meadow and entered the wood from the top end. To my pleasant surprise I found a hairstreak within 10 minutes, on Elm though coming down to take nectar from bramble flowers, and on occasions no more than two metres away. From there I followed the path south through the reserve and stumbled across another Hairstreak on the way, on Elm saplings. This one was even closer, down to 1 metre. At the lower end of the reserve I bumped into Trevor and Den, so spent the next couple of hours with them exploring the east end of the site. We found 2-3 more hairstreaks, though none so obliging as those I'd previously seen. Other butterflies seen on the day included my first of the year for Ringlet, Large Skipper, and Essex Skipper. The site was alive with dragonflies, especially darters, though I also found Black-tailed Skimmer, and what I thought were S...

Sunshine was forecast this afternoon so I arrived at 12:30. As it happened the sun didn't properly appear until two hours later so very few butterflies were seen until then. The recent reports of Black-veined White at the site were the main reason for visiting though none were seen by anyone today. Not to worry as this is such an enjoyable site to visit and views of Glanville Fritillary are always welcome. Several were found, while other butterflies included Small Blue, Common Blue and Brimstone, the latter now rather worn at this stage. A Common Lizard and Red Kite were also seen. Glanville Fritillary Small Blue Common Blue Common Lizard The Upper Meadow where Black-veined White originally emerged from the clump of bushes in the middle of the picture 

Mostly sunny this afternoon though the NE wind continues to hold temperatures down. The growth of vegetation is such that it's now difficult to find any Adders. Nevertheless, I managed to see two at the far end of TF, both coiled up in the grass. It would be easy to tread on an Adder when they are concealed like this! Another Adder seen today was a handsome male at the opposite end of TF. However, Slow-worms were by far the most numerous reptile, with a total of 14 today. I barely saw any butterflies in TF though PV provided more shelter and I came across three Small Blue, not a common species in this area. The first one appeared very fresh. However, it was in SB that most butterflies were seen, predominantly in the sheltered conditions at the north end. Adonis Blue was surprisingly the most numerous species, including some stunning males. One individual, with a distinct row of black spots on the trailing edge of the hind wing, proved even more handsome than usual. Adonis...