Mill Hill and Anchor Bottom

Today was on-going rehabilitation , with the weather set fair I decided that a full morning on the Downs was in order. The plan was to find and photograph more orchid botany, unfortunately our late spring meant that this was a forlorn quest. However, the slopes of Mill Hill were alive with butterflies, and as a nod is as good as a wink to a blind man, I adapted the plan to lepidopteran macro photography.

Now, to me, butterflies can be classified as those that I know and the rest which fall into categories such as, brown, orange, blue and white. Simples! Well the upshot is that I spent several happy hours engrossed in watching butterflies, the downside is that I am going to have to buy a new book. Nice to meet Ian again who was engaged in the same activity. I managed to record: Common Blue, Adonis Blue, Dingy Skipper, Small Heath and a Grizzled Skipper that flew away before I pressed the shutter button - just like birding!
The blues seemed to be preoccupied with another activity which made some of the shots easy to achieve.

Feeling quite pleased with myself I moved on to Anchor Bottom where I recorded Wall Brown and a Green Hairstreak. I had a pleasant conversation with a fellow member of SDOS who politely enquired "Any Green Hairstreaks?" I of course replied in the negative, wondering inside what on earth one might look like.  As it happens, just five minutes after this gentleman had departed, one settled in front of me - definitely green, the record shot is not the best, too much excitement. Perhaps there is more to this than meets the eye, though I shall have to rely on people like Leigh Prevost and Mike Hook to correct my IDs.

And finally! At home I recorded Holly Blue and a superb micro moth that loves my potato patch - Pyrausta aurata

 

 

Some flora -

 

Bladder Campion, Silene vulgaris

Houndstongue, Cynoglossum officinale