The Queen of Spain is I'm sure a wonderful woman much loved by her people and the nation at large. The fritillary that bears her name is fairly popular too whenever it makes one of its rare forays across the Channel. When news emerged that up to nine had been seen at Walmer in Kent it was enough to tempt Phil Rogers, Alan Shorrock and I down there in the hope of catching up with them.
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| Sickly looking Wood Mouse |
An overly optimistic weather report suggested a mix of sunshine and showers would greet us on arrival and I for one was feeling fairly confident of bagging my first UK sightings of Queen of Spain Fritillaries. Sadly the actual weather turned out to be more a mix of cool northerly winds and sustained rain showers with only brief views of a pallid sun. An initial walk around their preferred field was brought to an end by a heavy shower causing a return to the car. A pub lunch and a pint then followed and fortified us enough to have another try but the weather once more conspired against us and the other people hoping to catch a glimpse. Our chances of seeing them effectively went down the pan when a distant patch of blue sky that briefly raised hopes remained as such and we eventually had to concede defeat. Even a late burst of sunshine was not sufficiently warm enough to draw any butterflies out bringing to a close one of my worst days out for a long time, good job the company was OK! No other wildlife of note to report other than a sickly looking mouse while the best thing on the wing was a two seat Spitfire.
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| Spitfire |
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