Ladies Man

 After yesterday's adventures out of the county I kept things local today with a walk around Harry's Park Wood being the limit of my ambitions. Although I failed in my efforts to see any Purple Hairstreaks I enjoyed my wander around and saw plenty of other butterflies during the sunnier parts of the morning.

Silver-washed Fritillary and Painted Lady

During the early part of my visit it was fairly cloudy and only a few browns and whites were on the wing. It was pleasing to see quite a few Large Whites though I'm fairly certain that any growers of cabbages might disagree! Another species putting in a good showing was Painted Lady, about half a dozen were seen which constitutes a return to form after last year's dismal showing. With sunny spells now becoming more frequent and longer there was a noticeable rise in butterfly numbers. Both male and female Silver-washed Fritillaries were seen with the male looking in good shape given that it's quite late in their season. One White and two Red Admirals almost gave the morning a nautical theme while more new brood Peacocks were noted. One male Common Blue was a good record for the site while the skipper tally was made up of Large and Small. 

Large White and Peacock.

A good number of Migrant hawkers were hunting over the rides and they were my first of the year. They were way too active to photograph and so too was a Brown Hawker. More accommodating in that respect was a male Southern Hawker just outside of the wood along Bears Lane. Other odes noted on my walk were Common Darter and Common Blue Damselflies.

Common Blues.

Best bird today was a Raven and I heard a good number of Nuthatches suggesting that they've enjoyed a decent breeding season. The only other wildlife that showed were a couple of Brown Hares, one on the airstrip and another in a field neighbouring the wood.

Southern Hawker, Common Darter and Wren.