My first stop was Denbigh's Hillside , overlooking the outskirts of Dorking , Where I hoped to find the Skipper and Yellow . Having driven there in sunshine , I arrived just as some large dark clouds rolled in and the wind increased . The hillside was alive with Chalkhill Blues , but as I was in Surrey , I could forget about counting them and just enjoy them . Mating couples were everywhere , and even when a male did manage to join with a female , there were always other
males trying to muscle in on the action , like these two making it a foursome . The wind was making photography very difficult and with looking down all the time , I missed a Common 
Buzzard until it called right overhead , providing another of my silhouette shots of the species . One surprise on the butterfly species found ,was a second brood Dingy Skipper , my first 
2nd.brood sighting , and the first brood found mid May-mid June . It took a little while to get my first target species , but eventually , a Silver-spotted Skipper settled on a Black Knapweed and I managed a couple of shots . I only saw 8/10 specimens on the visit , as they have only just 
emerged , and that meant that they were in really nice condition . Also on the wing were lots of 
second brood Adonis Blue , the males with their vibrant blue colouring . Common Blues were also about , so it was hard work separating some of the Blues . The clouds I mentioned stayed for the rest of my visit , which put the butterflies down , but gave a chance to look at some of the chalk grassland flowers , like ,
the parasitic Common Dodder-Cuscuta epithymum , using Black Knapweed as a climbing frame .
Eyebright-Euphrasia officinalis , which was used to make ladies eyes sparkle ,
Harebell-Campanula rotundifolia , 
another of the same family , Clustered Bellflower-Campanula glomerata ,
Ploughman's Spikenard-Inula conyza , which was used as a house deoderant ,
and Restharrow-Ononis repens , a member of the Pea family .I didn't see a Red Admiral , Small Tortoiseshell , Comma on the site , just one Large White , and no sign of a Clouded Yellow .
From there , I headed for a site near Gatwick Airport , to search for Brown Hairstreak . On arrival , I couldn't believe my eyes with the flood plain of the River Mole , flailed to within an inch of the ground , and with that , an abundance of nectar rich plants that attracted and sustained lots of invertebrates . A local dog walker said it had been done in the last two weeks , when most of the plants would have been in full flower , why ?
I checked out the spot where I have had Brown Hairstreaks in previous years , but there was no movement at all . The area where I had photographed Clouded Yellow in the past , had also been raised to the ground , so I missed out on them again . After over an hour , I decided to go round to another site , on the same river , but the other side of the airport . If anything , the wind was even stronger here , but I checked the large stands of Blackthorn , and any blossom in the area . I must admit , I was beginning to think it wasn't going to be , and decided once more round the bushes , then home . In a sheltered gap in the Blackthorn with Bramble filling the space , an area
I had searched every inch of on previous visits , I finally got my second target species , Brown Hairstreak , at last .I drove home happy , two out of three ain't bad !
(9) , Meadow Brown 197 (24) including this mating pair , Silver Washed Fritillary 12+ including 
five egg laying females and two courting couples (1) , Brown Argus 43 (25) , Small Heath 10 (2) , 
(1) so come on Warren , they are still about even if they are past their best , White-lettered 
Hairstreak 4 (0) , Marbled White 0 (3) pictured below .
Apart from butterflies , I must have seen 40/50 Silver Y moths , migrants from the near 
Continent , but no sign of the Hummingbird Hawk moth that I found last visit .
Purple Hairstreak low down on the site this year , and my only positively identified female too .
Whereas the male , in the right light and from the right angle , shows a purple sheen all over the topwings , the female just has the sheen on small patches of the forewing . As can be seen from the condition of the scales on the wings and the almost bald back of the thorax , she has been emerged for some time , so hopefully , she will have mated and her offspring will be seen next year . Apart from her , butterflies were few , mainly Gatekeepers and a few Meadow Browns feeding on the Heather on the heathland area . It was amongst the same Heather that I caught a movement from the corner of my eye , waited , and after a couple of minutes , this Common 
Lizard came back out of hiding to continue it's sun bathing .
bottom Pond had five youngsters , and a sibling from a previous brood , on the right in the shot , was helping the two parents feed the latest brood , an action I had heard of , but never seen before . Alongside the road that splits the top two ponds from the bottom , Broad-leaved 
Helleborine were found in flower , but seemed to be suffering from the dry weather .
Black Knapweed , I found the seed head of Crow Garlic-Allium vineale .
and a very dull specimen of a female Common Blue . When the specimens are in good condition like the two above , two more points to help with identification . The white wing fringe on the Common Blue is unbroken , but on the Brown Argus , there are lines through the fringe . Also , on the back of the hindwing of the BA , there is very little white around the orange/black spots . On the CB , the orange/black spots are surrounded by white . These points are very difficult to
see when the wings are worn . I also recorded three Small Heaths , a species I haven't seen much of this season . On a patch of Yarrow-Achillea millefolium , I spotted something pink , 
which turned out to be a Shield Bug . It had all the markings of a Sloe Bug , and was fully grown , but I cannot find any images of the species with this colouring . Perhaps it is like an albino or lutino form , I just don't know .
it settled a couple of metres away on a Cotinus shrub , and I managed to get a shot . The stripes on the topwing brought Garden Tiger to mind , and a little later , an article in last weekend's paper that Carol showed me , and I had it , Jersey Tiger . It stayed for a short while , allowing several shots , then in a orange flap and glide , flew to and settled in a conifer , this time above head height . It flew so fast , I couldn't get a decent flight shot . But I did manage to get a couple 
of shots of the underwing and abdomen , before it flew off again , this time landing high in a neighbour's Sycamore . We still had the paper , and I see there have been several sightings in the London area over the last few weeks . It is a day flying moth , originally from the Mediterranean , but as we have got warmer , have spread to the Channel Islands and the South West . It feeds on Buddleia and Thistles , and with several of the former and stands of Echinops-Globe Thistle in the garden , we might be lucky enough to get further sightings , if the cloud were to break up .
their tea , and when they finished , a mixed Tit flock came through , Blue , Great and Coal , for 
their tea , and also for their evening ablutions .
of those jobs . On arrival , only one adult and one juvenile Little Grebe were found , and I thought the worst . After yesterday's heavy showers , Odonata were very few , but the Black Tailed Skimmers were getting on with the important things in life .
were found . Just a single Common Darter was recorded , it would appear that they are not 
having a good year on this site . Most interesting specimen found , was a Common Blue 
Damselfly , trying to be an Emerald Damselfly , from the way it was holding it's wings at rest . 
Another single was a male Emperor Dragonfly , that flew in to shelter from another cloudy spell . From the condition of his wings , he hasn't seen much conflict .
Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns . This one nectaring on Purple Loosestrife . A small fly caught 
my attention on Wild Carrot . A closer look showed a very long ovipositor on a female Ichneumon Fly sp.
Little Grebe . So they have lost one juvenile , but much better than my first findings .
one . The male definitely has the touch , going by the Doe's eyes .
camera out of the bag . I quickly got it out and put it on the tripod , to find the buck had hardly moved . I had expected him to be well gone , but he just slowly moved out of the long grass into 
the cut , turning occasionally and stamping his hoof . He moved off further , but then turned and came back to the long grass . By this time , I had got 25+ shots of him at close range . Then , I 
found out why he didn't run off , when his girlfriend stood up in the middle of the long grass . She 
wasn't as keen to be photographed , and almost immediately led the pair off at speed . They stood and looked back every now and then , before disappearing over a rise and out of sight ,
by which time , my shot total had exceeded 55 . I noticed that whenever the pair did stop , the buck was very interested in the doe's rear end , and when I got home , I checked up and this is the time of the rut for this species of Deer , unlike September/October for the Fallow and Red . In the woodland , the Violet Helleborine , that I posted as a 10cm. plant on my last visit , is now
60-70cms. high , and the lower flowers are fully out . As I said , butterflies were few , but there
was still a very fresh looking female Meadow Brown , nectaring on the Creeping Thistle . As other posts have pointed out , Autumn is approaching , and a couple of examples were , the 
seeds on the Hornbeam , unlike the mast on the Beech , and the acorns starting to form on the 
evergreen Holm Oak . A quick look in at High Elms on the way home , for once in some 
sunshine , found several species , including Red Admiral sharing the Buddleia flowers , just three
White-letter Hairstreaks , but it was quite breezy on the Orchid Bank , and three female Silver 
Washed Fritillaries , this one missing half of it's hindwing , were busy egg laying on the Scots Pines . 
Hawker , escorted outside once she settled on the fish pond net .
