The opportunity to go and see Duke of Burgundy Fritillaries today was just too good to miss so a mid morning drive down to Bedfordshire in the company of two other wildlife watchers was in order. Bison Hill was the, to my ears at least, somewhat unlikely sounding name of our destination but it certainly did deliver the goods.
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| A nice start, Green Hairstreak. |
Soon after arriving we found at least half a dozen Green Hairstreaks around a beech tree, I suspect mostly males as they spent the time fighting. Orange-tips, Brimstones and Large White also put in an appearance as well as we made our way down the path. Luckily for my nerves a Duke soon put in an appearance and I enjoyed good views of this very attractive though small species. It turned out to be a good day for them as we saw at least twenty during our visit, a good way to get a new species!
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| Undoubted star of the day, Duke of Burgundy. |
A male Holly Blue was seen next and soon afterwards both Grizzled and Dingy Skipper were seen. Both species proved to be rather obliging and we had good views of several during the course of our stroll. Satisfied that we had done the place justice we headed back to the car for a spot of lunch.
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| Nice back up, Dingy and Grizzled Skippers. |
Afterwards we paid a visit to nearby Tottenhoe where butterflies seemed to be in short supply. We saw a few of the commoner species, Green-veined White and such and also more Dingy Skippers but a female Holly Blue was the best insect. Highlight here for me was a Corn Bunting seen and heard briefly though a Raven was also seen. With time ticking on and little prospect of seeing anything new we returned to the car for the journey home.
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| Tottenhoe and Holly Blue. |
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