Sting In The Tail.

Once again I ventured out with Alan Shorrock though this time we headed over to Fermyn Wood with the hope of seeing some butterflies. Hope seemed to be the operative word too as the cloudy skies looked far from promising. Indeed it took before we got to Lady Wood before we saw so much as a sign of a butterfly and that was a Meadow Brown. Ringlet and Large Skipper soon followed but thing got a little static after that.

Variant Purple Emperor and standard one for comparison.

Continuing on with what appeared to be a bit of a fruitless trek our attention was diverted by a chap ahead pointing to something nearby. That 'something' turned out to be a resting Purple Emperor with its wings firmly closed, an unexpected treat on what was still a pretty dull day. We walked on as far as the orchid meadow which had lots of Pyramidals growing. Conditions by now did appear to be brightening and a few other species were becoming active with Small Skipper and Small White being seen. Returning to the wood the same fellow drew our attention to the Emperor once more as it had now opened its wings. It turned out that this was a rare colour variation lacking most of the white markings and a little band of four admirers took lots of photos.

Silver-washed Fritillaries.

As we walked further along both Silver-washed Fritillaries and White Admirals put in brief appearances and two male Purple Emperors teased us by flying around but did not settle. Other species were now being seen with Red Admiral and Comma as well as Speckled Wood showing. An attempt to find White-lettered Hairstreak sadly failed but we did catch a couple of Purple Hairstreaks a little later on though rather distantly at the top of an Ash tree.

Comma.

Acting on a tip from one of the other visitors we followed the edge of the wood and were treated to good numbers of Silver-washed Fritillaries many of which showed well. As well as seeing a pair in cop we also had views of a very heavily marked female as well as other more standard ones. It was probably my best day for this species with perhaps as many as fifty being seen during our walk.

Peacock.

Once we were back in the wood we paused to admire a new brood Peacock though when Alan went to grab a pic he realised that he had lost his camera. Anxiously retracing our steps did not produce the missing Nikon unfortunately despite a thorough search. If it dropped in the undergrowth or long grasses it could likely remain hidden for some time. If you should happen to find a Nikon camera while wondering around could you please take it to the visitor centre at Fermyn CP?

Small Skipper, Speckled Wood and Ringlet.

Heading back to the car feeling a little deflated we were treated to excellent views of a male Purple Emperor on the path. I guiltily took a few shots before we returned to the motor prior to going home. A decent day out but we could have done without the unpleasant little bit on the end.