Monday 16th. July 2012

Got out yesterday , but didn't have time to post , so catching up in the rain today . With Kent BC coming next Sunday for their visit , I decided to head for High Elms to see if any of the Silver-washed Frilillaries , White Admirals or White-letter Hairstreaks had managed to emerge during the week while I was away . On the way , and to give High Elms a chance to warm up , I stopped off at all three Purple Hairstreak sites on the Commons to see if they were showing . One of the two on West Wickham Common did have a couple of PHs , high up on an Oak , but the other site , where I have photographed them in the early morning in past years , didn't produce a single sighting . Whilst

waiting , I was rewarded with my first two Gatekeepers of the year , both males , identified by the

dark sex brands on the upper forewing , and as a species on the underwing by the white spots on the under hindwing . The sunshine was starting to produce some movement , and the male Large Skipper

on the right seemed to have a bit more on his mind , but the female unfortunately flew off quite unimpressed . The Brambles were also alive with Crickets and Grasshoppers of all sizes :

Meadow Grasshopper ,

Roesel's Bush-cricket , this a female , with upcurved ovipositor ,

Field Grasshopper ,

And Speckled Bush-cricket .
The Ash tree on Hayes Common also produced 3 PHs , but they too were high up out of camera range . The only other interest found was Red Bartsia /Odontites verna , a common relation of the

much rarer Yellow that I was lucky enough to see at Ditton Quarry , thanks to Mike .
It was still cool when I arrived at High Elms , and that was reflected on the butterflies seen , almost none , as I made my way to Burnt Gorse . That produced a few Large and Small Skippers , Ringlets and Meadow Browns , and at least they are doing their best to ensure butterflies for next year . This

was one of two mating pairs recorded , the female with her wings open . Just before leaving Burnt

Gorse , a sigh of relief , as I found my first SWF of the year , a male , nectaring on Red Clover , but not willing to be approached closely , and a second that was just a fly by . Only other interest found

was a specimen of White Mullein / Verbascum lychnitis , found right down the far end . . The small glade beyond the gate , where the female SWFs lay their eggs produced a single Large White , but very little else . The other small glade , heading for the Orchid Bank , produced Keith , with whom I made the trips for Large Blue and Swallowtail earlier in the year . He had been photographing a White Admiral , which I just saw as it soared high into the trees . He had also had a couple of female SWFs down earlier , so things were looking up . A blanket of cloud then masked the sun , so we decided to try for WLHs in the lower glade , stopping for a look at the Yellow Birdsnest on the way . 300 was the last number I

had heard for this rare plant , but today we put a conservative estimate of 1,000 on the plants we saw , and there still seem to be new plants emerging . The lower glade produced another male SWF , this one having one wing that hadnlt inflated fully , but he seemed to be flying OK , so hopefully he will find a mate . The Canadian Golden-rod , on which the WLHs were nectaring last year , is still in tight bud , hopefully it will open before the weekend and attract any WLHs that will have emerged . We headed back to check the glade where I had found Keith , and when the sun finally emerged again , a

female SWF dropped out of the trees to nectar on Self-heal , showing perfectly how the species gets it's name from the silver-washed underwing . She then spent some time , just soaking up the rays and

showing her topwing , duller in colour and lacking the dark sex brands of the male . With more cloud than sunshine , and with us both expected home , the final find of a very blue coloured dragonfly ,

much bluer than the shot shows , flying very slowly around the glade , and only too happy to pose on Keith's finger . I must admit that I was hoping for a rare migrant species , but with books out at home , can only make it an immature Southern Hawker , the blue markings usually being very drab , and when an adult , will be green , apart from the last three at the end of the abdomen , which will be

blue . Oh , and if you ever wondered what a dragonfly looked like when it was smiling !
Good job I didn't leave the visit till today , it's hardly stopped raining all day .