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| male Chalkhill Blue on chalk |
On Saturday after taking Sue and Jean to The Brighton Centre I went to the Paramo shop in Wadhurst to check out their rainproof outdoor wear and ordered a pair of trousers and gaiters. Then I headed to Windover Hill to try to find a Grayling. I asked a lady coming off the path with her dog if she had seen many butterflies. “I haven’t seen any“ she replied. I immediately spotted Chalkhill Blues everywhere, which indicates that if you are not looking for them you won’t see them. The views are amazing, the sea was a lovely blue. Arlington Reservoir and a White Horse were clearly visible.
I saw hundreds of Chalkhill Blues during the morning, including mating pairs plus Meadow Browns, a Small Copper and a pair of mating Six-spot Burnet moths. I also spotted 4 Dark Green Fritillaries, 3 of which zoomed along without stopping. My target species, the Grayling, proved elusive, but I finally spotted one in the grass. He landed, then as I peered to make him out, he rose up and was gone. I managed to recognise its pattern, but its camouflage is so good I lost sight of it very quickly.
Afterward this enjoyable walk I visited the Newhaven Reserve where there were few butterflies but plenty of flowers, a ground beetle and two lizards.
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| Poppies |
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| Scentless Mayweed Tripleurospermum inodorum |
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| Ragwort |
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| Mallow, Malva sylvestris |
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| Bloody Nosed Beetle Timarcha tenebricosa |
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| Violet Ground Beetles Carabus violaceus |
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| Sweet pea |
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| Common Lizard |
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| Fennel Foeniculum vulgare |
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| Common Evening-Primrose Oenorthera biennis |
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| Viper's Bugloss Echium vulgare |
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| unknown flower |
Hi Colin,
ReplyDeleteExcellent blog. The Chalkhill Blues just are stunning Butterflies. Great mix of wildlife and nautre. Nice to see we have this in common. Keep up the good work. John