Six of the Best

This morning I headed over towards the Eurohub with a vague notion to check the nearby Southwood area and pond for anything of interest. Things started off very well indeed with the sighting of a Wheatear on a construction site next to the Tesco store. Wheatears used to be regular passage migrants here before they built the shop but have now become decidedly rare. Any thoughts of staying in the area however were dashed by the presence of several noisy motorbikes racing around the old railway track bed. Realising that they were unlikely to move on I decided to come up with a plan B which meant taking the relatively short walk to the old patch near the STW.

Wheatear

Hoping to catch up with the Large Red Damsel that I'd seen oh so briefly on Wednesday I walked very slowly checking any likely spots. Although I saw many hoverflies and solitary bees the damsel(s) remained elusive and I didn't catch up with any. If the damsels were hiding then the butterflies were thankfully not and I was delighted to see my first Green Hairstreak of the year as these are one of my favourite Spring butterflies. As well as being attractive they can be very obliging and I managed to get a few pictures.

Green Hairstreak

Walking on around the site I was treated to views of a further five Green Hairstreaks and was struck once again by just how aggressive these little butterflies are. Two males whose territories were evidently a little too close fought a running battle lasting for several minutes on and off while another was seen pursuing a Peacock. Other butterflies noted today included a Green-veined White, two Orange-tips and a site first year tick Speckled Wood.