Saturday 30th.May 2009

Today's target species was the Adonis Blue butterfly , so an early start to miss the traffic saw me at Denbies Hillside , high above Dorking , shortly after 0830 this morning . This has got to be one of my favourite butterfly sites . I was taken to the site , many years ago , by a couple of old boys I used to go out with every week , and have been going back ever since . This is the view from the far end of the site , looking over Dorking .On arrival , and for most of the morning , I was the only person on the site , and on such a glorious morning , I felt privileged to be there . There was a stiff breeze blowing along the South facing slope , and the morning dew was still lying , and very few butterflies were seen to begin with . One of the first things I found , was my first Bee Orchid of the year , surprisingly in flower . I found another later , but someone/thing , had trampled on it . Also found were large numbers of Fragrant Orchids (pictured) , a couple of Man Orchids and a single White Helleborine . I started to find a few butterflies , and then found my first Adonis Blue , a female , which like many of the Blue species , is brown . The identifying feature is the castellated white/black border , as opposed to the white border of the Common Blue . Soon after , I found the first male , not pristine , as they have been out for a while already . These are part of the first brood , usually quite small in numbers , and later in the year , late July /August , a second , larger brood will hatch . To show that they have been out for some time , this male proves the point . Like the Chalkhill Blue which will emerge before the second brood , the Adonis Blue lays it's eggs on the large amounts of Horseshoe Vetch that grow on the site .

My attention was drawn away from the butterflies , when a 'mewing' was heard overhead , and looking up to the top of the slope , a pair of Common Buzzards came drifting across on the thermals , looking absolutely majestic against the cloudless blue sky . Down in the grass , an old friend , the Cardinal Beetle put in an appearance , and also amongst the grass , Eyebright , so called because it used to be made into a solution to 'make the eyes sparkle' , was also wanting to be seen . Further down the slope I came across a pair of Adonis Blues , with the male with only one thing on his mind . He chased the female from pillar to post , and would not take no for an answer . Eventually , he must have worn her out and joined her on the ground . Within a short period of time , he had his way , and the deed was being done . Whilst photographing this pair , my attention was being constantly dragged to a Yellowhammer in a bit of scrub , constantly telling me that he had 'a little bit of bread , and no cheese' . Further on down the slope , I found two Green Hairstreaks , one of them feeding on the Horeshoe Vetch . Another first for the year was the Burnet Moth , just freshly emerged , and not yet coloured up fully , and also good numbers of Burnet Companion moths , as you would expect , and a single Mother Shipton .

Up in the top corner , a male Kestrel was looking for a meal , hanging on the wind , his head perfectly still . At one point , he did drop to the ground , and seemed to fly off with what could have been a Slow Worm , but I couldn't be sure . Along the top path , and for the second day running , I found a single male Meadow Brown , but this one was happier to pose than yesterday's , even though his wings were not fully inflated . On the top edge against the scrub , Common Rock Rose , the food plant of the Brown Argus , is brightening things up . Readers from last Winter , might remember me posting that the Surrey Group were hedgelaying along the railway line , near Dorking , at the bottom of the Downs . Well , this is the view of our work from the top of the slope . The tall hedge on the left of the shot , this side of the railway line is where we finished this Spring , and will continue this Autumn .

Apart from those posted , 17 other species of birds were recorded , and including the Adonis Blue , 8 species of butterfly . Of note , Butterfly Conservation asked people to do a 2 hour count of Painted Ladies today , but my experience was that the migration is all but over , having only seen 10/12 passing through whilst I was there .

And finally , another moth ID please . Quite a large one , but not willing to come out fully into the open , pity , because it looked colourful .