Purple Patch

While the weather was not ideal I still decided to give Harry's Park Wood a bash in case any interesting butterflies were on the wing. Several periods of morning sunshine did bring a few out and while they didn't include any Purple Emperors amongst their numbers there was enough to keep me happy.

Purple Hairstreak and young Blue Tit.

Despite the absence of those emperors a little splash of purple did brighten my morning and it came in the shape of a Purple Hairstreak that had ventured down from the tree tops long enough to let me take a pic or two. Three more were observed during the rest of my walk. Four Silver-washed Fritillaries were noted too while five White Admirals included one in very good condition, most are looking a little ragged now. Some colour was provided by several pristine looking Peacocks and a few Red Admirals. Most of the other species seen were either whites or browns though I did see some Commas and a couple of Large Skippers.

White Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary.

Two species of dragonfly were hunting along the woodland rides and these were Emperor and Brown Hawker while the best birds on view were a Raven and several Siskins. Once I'd finished checking the wood I went along to see if any White-lettered Hairstreaks were showing at a nearby site but sadly I couldn't find any.

Meadow Brown and Peacock.

My final stop of the day was at Weldon where thick cloud cover all but put a stop to any hopes I may have harboured of seeing Willow Emeralds. Very few odes were braving the conditions with several teneral damsels being joined by an ovipositing Brown Hawker.

Small Tortoiseshell and Brown Hawker.