Wednesday 20th. June 2012

Yesterday's 'away day' started very early , alarm at 0430 , getting back , 1900 , but was worth every minute . By the time we ate , 'that match' was on , so I didn't manage to post last night .For several years now , I have read with envy , reports of a rare butterfly that became extinct in the UK in 1979 , then re-introduced a few years later from Scandinavian stock on a few favourable West Country sites . The problem has always been the distance , short flight season , and as with all species the British weather , which so far this year , as we all know , has been terrible for butterflies . Once again I watched reports of the emergence and started planning the 'away day' with fellow enthusiast Keith . Late last week , it looked like a window of opportunity would open on Tuesday or Wednesday and we decided to go on the Tuesday , hence the early alarm call , to try and miss the M25 / M3 traffic , as we headed to Collard Hill , just outside Street in Somerset , some 150 miles away . The planning worked , and we pulled in at the car park at 0830 on a beautiful morning , already having seen people up on the hill searching for the butterflies as we passed by . We hot-footed it to join them , finding the overnight dew heavy in the long grass and soaking our walking boots in a matter of minutes , but I don't think we noticed at the time . A chap we spoke to had been there almost two hours already , without a sighting was not the news we wanted to hear , but started our own search on the information he gave us regarding the site . We decided to head up onto the Eastern Glade , and within minutes of our decision , found our first Large Blue flying amongst the tall grasses , before

coming to rest , and making the early start and wet feet well worth it . I checked out some Bramble

hoping to find other warming up , didn't , but found a fresh Small Tortoiseshell doing so . Later on , we got our first Marbled Whites , which slowly increased in number . With the sun getting warmer we searched the upper areas of the glade , meeting another chap who said he had specimens with open wings earlier almost at the top of the hill , which we headed for , finding a

single individual doing exactly that . The warmer temperature brought several more Large Blues out , but like other species , once warmed up , make photographing much harder , but their need to feed meant that the patches of Wild Thyme /Thymus serpyllum , a member of the Labiate family , were

the places to keep an eye on , and with a bit of luck , they would open their wings whilst nectaring . Keith came up trumps when watching a male , finding a female and spiralling into a courting

display , before dropping down into the vegetation to mate . Unfortunately I was way down the hill when he called , and by the time I scrambled back up they had gone deeper into the vegetation , but got this shot whilst feeling very unfit . By 1115 we were considering moving on , having seen some 10/15 specimens , much more than any reports I had read previously , and feeling very happy with ourselves . When I got that call from Keith , I was down the bottom of the hill photographing a special orchid that was on site . Along with several Bee Orchids were a few variant specimens of

Wasp Orchid , Ophrys apifera var. trollii , a new species for me . Another interesting find was this

Ermine Moth , one of two seen on site .The plan was , that if successful at Collard Hill , to try for another rare species , Marsh Fritillary , 34 miles away at Cotley Hill near Heytesbury , knowing that the species was coming to the end of it's flight period , but neither of us had seen it before . As we were leaving Collards Hill , I heard someone call 'mating pair', and as it

was just slightly higher and behind some trees , I decided to have a look , and was glad I did . As we walked back to the car park it was very warm and humid with it , but found very few butterflies on a small meadow we passed , but it did hold several Greater Butterfly , Bee and Common Spotted Orchids along with lots of Common Twayblade . We reached Cotley Hill about 1230 , and after a quick sandwich , headed off to see if we could find our second target . I had emailed the Wiltshire Butterfly Recorder and he had recommended the site , so we were quite hopeful . The weather was

holding as seen by the sky behind a hunting Kestrel , photographed with macro lens , found on our arrival , but clouds were building in the distance . Making our way along the bottom of the hill , alongside a field of Rapeseed , we didn't have to wait long for our target species , the endangered

Marsh Fritillary , albeit a worn specimen . At emergence , it is considered the most colourful of the Fritillaries , but if we had gone for their emergence , the Large Blue wouldn't have been out , so this

was the best compromise . Later on in the visit , we managed to get some underwing shots too . This

site turned up lots of other species too , including Dingy Skipper , Small Heath , Adonis (pictured) ,

Common and Small Blue (pictured) , Small Heath , Small and Large White , Meadow Brown , Brown

Argus and some very fresh Large Skipper , like this dapper male . We found about 10 of our target species and once again were well happy with our efforts , but equalling the star spot in our opinion ,

was the beautiful Small Elephant Hawk Moth that Keith spotted , tucked down deep in the long

grass , and being so docile , it was quite happy to pose on the finger , before being replaced where it was found . I was also able to add another Orchid to my recent list , as along with Pyramidal , lots of

Fragrant Orchids were also found . Although I haven't seen any locally yet , there were good numbers of 5-spot Burnet Moths on the wing , and also several mating pairs were found , but after complaints

of 'too much adult content' on a previous post from a fellow Blogger , have decided not to post those shots , in fear of more adverse comments . By 1430 , and with the wind getting up and the clouds rolling over , we decided to leave for the third part of this trilogy , but on our way back to the car , I was convinced that I was finally going to get a mating pair of Small Blues in the viewfinder . We watched them for several minutes , spiralling and landing , frustratingly , only to take off again . It

was a case of 'so near , yet so far' . The only consolation being that the previously mentioned comments will not be forthcoming . The third part of the trilogy involved stopping off at Esher Common , just off the M25 on our way home , having read of a good population of Silver-studded Blues  on site . By the time we arrived , the cloud was thicker , the temperature was dropping , and the car park I had read about was in woodland , not good when looking for a heathland species . Regardless , we set off looking for open heather areas , and particularly for the purple of Bell Heather / Erica cinerea , which I new was in flower , having seen it up on the Common locally , and having read was abundant on the site . We saw lots of trees and Honeysuckle , but no White Admirals , in fact we saw hardly a single butterfly as we searched . We asked local passers by if there were any Heather about , but hey just looked at us as if we were mad , they were probably right . A good two hours of walking did find small ares of Heather/ Bell Heather , none of which was in flower , and the highlight of the visit was a single Broad-bodied Chaser , enough said ? I did take one

shot of a Swan family on one of the lakes we passed , but we were glad to get back to the car and head home . All in all , a tiring , fascinating , rewarding day out , in a beautiful part of the country , with good company , what could be better .
And as Meatloaf said , 'Two out of Three ain't bad' .
A cautionary note to finish on . After wandering around in long grass all day , I had a bath before turning in . Waking this morning , I found blood on my pillow . I washed my hair , which thinking about it , should have done last night . Later I found a tick attached to the inside if my leg . First time I have picked one of those up in the wild . I compassionately did a text to Keith warning him , and got a reply that it was because I was moving too slowly on the hills and he was moving faster . Later in the day I got another , he found one attached to his knee . Slow ?