Thanks Dave. I think that was the only occasion I've seen a Holly Blue on a flower.

A very quick visit to the Holly Blue patch this morning found this waiting for them......

Thanks Katrina. That image is a little historic, but it's my best Holly Blue shot to date.

Cheers Wurzel, I could do with Dave's expertise. My local Holly Blues seldom
come within camera range, and when they do they don't open right up.
Having said that they are having a brilliant Spring, with plenty of sightings.

Below is an impeccably behaved Wiltshire specimen, a gorgeous female.

I couldn't agree more David, the first Orange Tip sighting is one of the highlights of the hobby.
They are also a symbol that winter is behind us ( even if the winter weather continues ).
Even better most of us don't have to travel far to see them.

Flowering Herb Robert is useful for patrolling OT's in full sun, as they will usually pause on it
for a moment, but the camera has to ready for action! Some of my shots have been obtained this way.

Good to see your Small Tortoiseshells, they seem to be even scarcer than usual around here.

The Holly Blues defied the cold this morning, especially during sunny spells, For a change some even landed low down, but unlike those near Heathrow none would completely open up. A far from accurate count suggested about 6 males, and 1 female were present. A small White was the only other butterfly...

HI Ben, Sad to relate that so far this year I have seen just two Small Tortoiseshells, both on a farm at Halnaker, West Sussex, where they hibernate in the roof spaces of the barns and outbuildings. In the past when ST's had a good Summer the previous year, every Dandelion in a neighbouring meadow w...

Many thanks everyone. Just 1 Green Hairstreak today, and something rare and exciting. As I was photographing the sole GH seen today, a woman walking along the main path called out " anything exciting ". I called her over and showed her the GH. It transpired she was a botanist and offered t...

After lunch I drove over to Horseshoe Plantation to see if any Green Hairstreaks were about. Eventually two were seen, one perfect, the other with some scale loss. Typically after whizzing around at high speed both settled for a reasonable period, to allow me time to kneel down then focus the camera...

Cheers Wurzel. I 'went out anyway' today a scored rather well ( only 11c though ). Thanks Katrina. Somewhere I have an image of a steam train in that exact spot, that would add even more context to what is now a butterfly haven. I will have to split today's expeditions into am & pm again. This m...

That last Holly Blue is a cracker, as is the image!

During one of the longer sunny spells between the showers this afternoon it was just fine enough for a visit to the Cuckoo Trail. A male OT was flying near the entrance and with one eye towards the sky I decided to follow it. A brief pause allowed a single shot before it carried on and found a femal...

I must admit to not being fan of snakes, but several years back I took my eldest Grandson to Blackberry farm, near Park Corner. Afterwards we went to Park Corner and I lifted one of the corrugated rubber mats to hopefully show him a snake. We hit the jackpot, not only an Adder but a Grass Snake and ...

I have many English Bluebells in the garden ( Spanish are banned ) but this one
must be prizeworthy for the number of flowers on one stem!

Apart from ' long periods ' your last sentence came true around here
when we had a few near perfect days last week. My local site went mad on Friday.
On the other hand we had a gale with heavy horiizontal showers and hailstones yesterday.

It's amazing what a few decent days can do, ( as above ).
Today we've had gales, horizontal lashing rain and hailstones, yet Saturday was perfect.

OH WELL !

That's a wonderful shot of the female OT. Is that the same one in my shot ?
You obtained a better angle too. Great wing detail.

Worth the trip !

When a female Holly Blue landed in my garden today despite less than ideal conditions I thought a visit to the Cuckoo Trail might be worthwhile after all. I had not been there long when I met James Arnott ( B.Saurus Rex ), after initial pleasantries James offered to show me a resting female OT he ha...

You really exploited that last OT to the max! Lovely shots.
Hope to see you at other sites as the season progresses, thanks for a great day.

Thanks Katrina. A truly memorable day. The master stroke yesterday was our return to the Cuckoo Trail in the afternoon, instead of going home. That last OT certainly gave great value! Thanks for a great day. Cheers Wurzel. I think I can safely say that ' my boots overfloweth ' this spring. Always a ...