Small Copper

My wife has a saying - "What's for you won't pass you by" - normally quoted when I am ranting because I've missed something.. When we were up on Windover Hill the other day I sort of missed the opportunity to get some nice shots of a Small Copper, perhaps I should have been a bit keener. However, today the forecast for the morning was good so I went hotfoot to my local patch.

Last week when I visited, the Hemp Agrimony was just coming into bloom and I expected that one week on it would be just right for nectaring butterflies. When I arrived the place was buzzing - Red Admirals, Silver-washed Fritillaries, Peacocks, Commas and all the smaller butterflies were everywhere. Best of all fresh Small Coppers were about, I counted ten on the patch, which is something of a record, but when I got home I noticed that one specimen "Nick" was putting himself about a bit and had been photographed several times. Still, whatever the number, it is more than I have seen here before and they haven't passed me by.

"Nick" - a small portion of the port forewing missing.....



..... the loss of which is more than compensated by the stunning iridescence - both green and red.



I think the wiggling of the hind wings means "not today - thankyou"

 

Some fresh Peacocks too, which posed for some excellent records, the  Silver-washed Frits are looking a bit worn though. The Brown Argus was a pleasant surprise for the patch.

 

All in all a cracking couple of hours - glad I went.

Silver-spotted Skipper and Chalkhill Blues

 

Today's outing was a walk up Windover Hill in East Sussex, supposedly a search for Grayling, unfortunately they appear to be a little late this year. I diligently searched the area, where last year we found plenty on  a date nearly a fortnight earlier, with no success. Never mind there was still much to be found and photographed. I was very pleased when a Silver-spotted Skipper photo bombed the recording of a fresh Chalkhill  Blue. Plenty of other Skippers and Small Coppers on the wing, most of them looking fairly fresh too.
A strong south westerly breeze wasn't helping so I gave up early - hope the weather is better tomorrow.

A Large Skipper for comparison

Deep Dean - home of the Grayling

 When I took the Deep Dean photograph I was sat on a bit of an anomaly, Chalk Heath, a habitat that forms very locally when a shallow layer of sand or acid drift material overlies the chalk. Heather (Calluna vulgaris) and other calcifuges, plants that normally avoid calcareous soils growing in gay abandon.


It is so interesting that Miss M Cheveley Rayner published an article about it called "The Ecology of Calluna Vulgaris" in 1912.

 

 

   

 

 

Wild Strawberry, Fragaria vesca - delicious