A derelict car park in Gosport, Hampshire, 7am on a Saturday morning, isn't everyone stimulus to get out of bed at silly o'clock, but that's what drives myself and Chris to rise and catch the early Butterfly.
If you want to see this little beauty then that is what it takes, and boy was it worth it. Well we think so anyway and that's what counts.
It's a White Letter Hairstreak, which spends the majority of it's time high in the Wych Elm treetops fighting off rivals in search of a mate and well away from our expectant gaze.
Chris and myself had spent the early morning the previous week at the same spot without close up success, so this weekend we decided an even earlier start was required. The weather was still and hot, the perfect conditions.
We were clearly rewarded as this specimen sat basking in the early morning sunshine for several minutes. So we indulged ourselves....
The total area of this brownfield site is some 80 x 40 feet, but it packs a biodiversity punch well above it's size.
Bordered by Oaks and Wych Elms with bramble and grasses filling in the lower gaps across the rapidly diminishing tarmac this is an easily overlooked little gem.
There is a housing estate to one side, small parkland to the other, while across the road lies the edge of Portsmouth Harbour with MOD facilities dotted around. Even in the creek there are decommissioned naval ships waiting for disposal but you wouldn't know from the cover of trees and scrubland in the surrounding area.
It was the last days of June, blazing hot and ripe for the emergence of Marbled Whites' which didn't disappoint either.
Along the myriad of low growing grasses and flowers, several Skippers buzzed around.
Small Skippers with their clean copper coloured wings.
Meadow Browns thrive in this habitat too and showed very well.
Nice to see Ladybirds around also. This is a Seven Spot.
It was only around 8.30 by now and we had seen our target for the morning and some. Our next destination lay in Whiteley Pastures a few miles to the North. We had our sights set on the Butterfly most naturalists have near the top of their lists, the Purple Emperor...
We managed to park close to the beginning of the path just off of the main Whiteley shopping area.
I was here a couple of weeks ago if you have read my blog recently. Back then the Emperors hadn't emerged. Now we should be in the zone, at least we hoped so, they can be unpredictable but the weather was in our favour, along with the time - early morning is normally better.
A basking Black Tailed Skimmer was the first point of focus as we started out along the central path.
A female Broad Bodied Chaser was next in line...
A Longhorn Beetle, possibly a Variable Longhorn was on the ground nearby.
Butterfly wise, one so similar to the Emperor is the White Admiral and can be confused at first glance, but it ain't the real deal. Still beautiful nonetheless...
Halfway along the main path Chris spotted a moth. A Moth like no other. The Hummingbird Hawkmoth. A migrant to these shores that feeds just like it's avian namesake. With a proboscis as long as it's body, on the very first sighting of this strange creature you could be mistaken for thinking it was a bird. It never seems to get close enough to a flower to do anything though. Until, that is, you happen to capture it on film to reveal it's business.
And it flies fast, lightning fast, gone in the blink of the eye..
And so it did. In our gaze for seconds, enough to focus briefly before it's departure.
The Common Spotted Orchids below us in the ditches were much easier fare.They weren't going anywhere quickly.
We carried on up the main ride. I'd mentioned to Chris as we walked that this was a great place to see Silver Washed Fritillaries. The didn't let us down.
They are fast fliers also. Not in the bracket of the Hawkmoth but rapid enough. They stop for a drink of nectar for a while longer however.
They have a penchant for thistles but today was a bramble flower day...
Skippers are common here, this is a Large with prominent markings on the forewings.
It's Small Skipper cousin was nearby.
Ringlet Butterflies danced in and out of the ditches and kindly settled for a few shots...
I also came across this. I think it's a Blue Mint Beetle. It colonised the UK in 2011 in Kent and has spread to Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Hampshire and parts of London. The RHS says it wants to hear of any sightings to keep it monitored. No doubt because it may have an impact on the native species in this country. It effects Mint species due to it's name but it certainly isn't on mint in this picture. It looks more like some sort of Vetch. The only mint I can think of here is Water Mint. I've definitely seen it before. I will keep an eye out in future.
Small Whites were about along the path to add to the growing Butterfly list.
What looked like a Cream Wave Moth I disturbed in the grasses bordering the path.
Hedge Woundwort were thriving along the woodland edges.
And a favourite of mine, the Hornet was doing well this year it seems. At least I have seen quite a few times. They may be larger than wasps but they are less aggressive but then I find wasps fine. The old adage of 'They won't hurt you if you don't annoy them' always bears fruit. I can happily let a wasp crawl on me. I've only been stung when threatening them. Think I would do the same !
More White Admirals appeared. Definitely a good year for them.
Beautiful Demoiselles were around just as they were a couple of weeks ago. I do love their exotic colours when close up. Their wing texture is a work of art.
Red Admirals, while not as common as in previous years, still popped up occasionally.
Even a distant Comma couldn't escape our lens'. Well at least Chris's, he had to point this one out to me.
Still they all kept on coming. The sun bringing out the best in their colours.
Large Skipper..
White Admiral..
Male Banded Demoiselle...
In between, a mating pair of Large Red Damselfly.
Meadowsweet does exactly as it says. Such lovely fragrance as we passed by.
Then high up in the Oaks, our second quarry of the day. A Purple Emperor 'Oak Edging'
It seemed to be a male but from here it doesn't look very purple. The light needs to refract along it's wing edges to get the purple glow but it was too high up.
We waited, gradually getting cricks in our necks from gazing into the tree tops.
Eventually we caught sight of one, despite a group of people seeing it first and not telling us !
It settled in the trees lower down opposite our position. Not perfect but much better. It was a female too. Not our target but still exciting nonetheless.
The male refused to show again. They rarely come to the ground to feed, the conditions and your luck have to be intertwined. Plus the density of them helps too. They seem a little thin on the ground around Whiteley.
We decided to head off into the woods for a different quest. Nightingales and Dragonflies were next on the menu..
An Emperor of a different kind appeared... the largest Dragonfly in the UK.
A different Woundwort this time too. Marsh Woundwort grew in the damp ditches as we strode down the path into the woodland.
As we expected, the Speckled Wood flitted in the shafts of light managing to make it down to the forest floor.
Toby's pond showed some great sights the last time I was here and it repeated that fact again.
A female Black Darter was hiding amongst the grasses a little way from the pond itself.
On the pond, the Four Spotted Chasers were in command once again...
Having left the pond we looked and listened for the Nightingales but it just a little too late in the season to be successful in either category so we carried on down the main tarmac road.
It was fairly quiet apart from an encounter with a young Roe Deer which didn't hang around long once it saw us.
We retraced our steps in the hope of an encounter with a male Emperor.
The Demoiselles by the brook in the middle of the woods gave a chance to try and capture some in flight. Not too shabby...
They were to be our swansong for the day. The Emperor wasn't to show again. It was far too hot by now. They get very indolent when the weather gets too stifling, so we headed off back to the car and van and called it a day. A highly pleasing day though and always a pleasure to share it with good company.
The title of this post is a line taken from the poem 'To a Butterfly' by William Wordsworth
http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Poetry/WordsworthButterfly.htm
