Ainsdale Dunes - 12th July

Another trip across to Ainsdale Dunes to monitor progress of the Helleborines. Among the dune slacks I found three Dune Helleborines in flower although they were all quite small and two of them had started to finish flowering. However on the edge of the Scots Pine forests it was a different story with large numbers of tall Dune Helleborines, most just starting to flower, as well as a few Green-flowered Helleborines in full flower. It looks like being a very good year for both species. I also found an attractive Dune Pansy.

Dune Helleborine

Dune Helleborine

Dune Helleborine

Dune Helleborine

Green-flowered Helleborine

Green-flowered Helleborine

Green-flowered Helleborine

Green-flowered Helleborine

Green-flowered Helleborine

Dune Pansy

Green-flowered Helleborine

High and Over & Hollingbury Park & Horseshoe Plantation - 10th July

An all day trip that started with my first visit to High and Over - a beautiful location on the South Downs that overlooks the Cuckmere Valley on one side. Plenty of Pyramidal Orchids still in flower here and my first Chalkhill Blue of the year plus several Marbled White. Then on to Hollingbury Park in Brighton where I managed to find a couple of White-letter Hairstreak nectaring on the thistles as well as a pair of Small Skipper mating. On the way home I dropped in at my patch Horseshoe Plantation to watch the Blues and the Browns slowly going to roost - always a magical moment.

view from High and Over

Marbled White

Pyramidal Orchid

Pyramidal Orchid

Shaggy Ink Cap Mushroom

Small Skipper pairing

White-letter Hairstreak

White-letter Hairstreak

White-letter Hairstreak

Brown Argus

male Common Blue

male Common Blue

Marbled White pairing

male Chalkhill Blue

Horseshoe Plantation - 7th July

Quite a diverse range of butterflies at Horseshoe Plantation today including a pristine Brown Argus, Small Skipper, Marbled White, Dark Green Fritillary, Gatekeeper, Common Blue and Chalkhill Blue, some of which were caught in the act of pairing.

female Brown Argus

male Chalkhill Blue

female Common Blue

male Dark Green Fritillary

Marbled Whites pairing

Small Skipper

Small Skipper

Small Skippers pairing

Knepp Estate & Ditchling Beacon - 6th July

Spent the morning doing a 10Km walk around the Knepp Estate 'purple path' where we saw a lot of Purple Hairstreaks and one Purple Emperor high up in a tree. Also some Marbled White, Small Skipper and fresh Gatekeepers. In the afternoon we paid our first visit to Ditchling Beacon where we found a few pale pink Marsh Fragrant Orchids coming into flower on the steep chalk slopes as well as Round-headed Rampion.

Purple Hairstreak

Purple Hairstreak

Marsh Fragrant Orchid

Marsh Fragrant Orchid

Marsh Fragrant Orchid

Marsh Fragrant Orchid

Marsh Fragrant Orchid

Round-headed Rampion

Round-headed Rampion

Fore Wood & Marline Wood - 5th July

These two woods are close to each other near the village of Crowhurst in East Sussex. Fore Wood has a small population of White Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary as well as Purple Hairstreak although the latter not seen on this occasion. There were also some Common Spotted Orchid which were a little past their best. In Marline Wood I found a couple of Broad-leaved Helleborines which were still a few weeks away from flowering. Also saw a Comma and Small Copper.

Comma

Silver-washed Fritillary

Small Copper

Small Copper

White Admiral

Ainsdale Dunes - 1st July

A cloudy and cool day at Ainsdale Dunes which slowly brightened up during the morning and by early afternoon there were some butterflies on the wing - Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Small Skipper and Dark Green Fritillary. However the main purpose of the visit was to check on the progress of the Orchids and Helleborines. I quickly found a few Marsh Helleborines in flower in the wet area near to the entrance, in amongst the much more numerous Early Marsh Orchids, some of which were quite small. I also found an unusual looking, but impressive and stately, plant which I take to be a hybrid Southern Marsh x Common Spotted Orchid. The leaves were completely free of any spots but the (beautiful) flowers seem to have contributions from both species. Along the central path through the dune slacks there were some Dune Helleborines just starting to come into flower and plenty of Pyramidal Orchids all around.

Dune Helleborine

Dune Helleborine

Early Marsh Orchid

Marsh Helleborine

Marsh Helleborine

Marsh Helleborine

Pyramidal Orchid

Southern Marsh x Common Spotted Orchid

Southern Marsh x Common Spotted Orchid

Southern Marsh x Common Spotted Orchid