A couple of stories just posted to the BC Sussex website. Might be helpful for those wanting to see Brown Hairstreaks.
Neil
News for Saturday 8 August 2009: I visited Steyning Rifle Range in warm sunshine, almost immediately seeing 4 male Brown Hairstreaks flitting around the Master Trees above the spring-fed ponds. After getting no more than a brief glimpse of a female Brown Hairstreak heading across the open fields, I was about to change venue when a second one appeared, giving a small group of us superb views as she sat in the hedge-line for a while, before heading off on an egg-laying run. I then moved on to Steyning Round Hill, where the very steep slope allowed head-height viewing of two male Brown Hairstreaks in the Master Tree above the quarry. My ninth of the day was a female, again on a mission to lay eggs along the blackthorn scrub-line. The Wall Brown is certainly having its best year in Sussex for a very long time and I counted 22 here without searching exhaustively. A female Clouded Yellow provided a nice bonus.
News for Sunday 9 August 2009: 46 people attended the BC walk on the Rifle Range - part of the Steyning Downland Scheme Area. Most were keen to see the Brown Hairstreak, one of our two target species and Britain's most elusive butterfly. Guardian journalist Patrick Barkham joined us, in the hope of seeing the last of the 59 species he needed to complete a 'full house' in the course of his 2009 UK tour. After just over an hour, and with the pressure to deliver building, I was delighted to hear Roger Martin shout that he had a Brown Hairstreak in front of him. There was no panic and no need for crowd-control, as a long string of people patiently queued to see this pristine female through a telescope - a quite unusual scene! For much of the time she sat 'flat open', showing off the beautiful, fiery orange patches on her forewings. As is often the case, quite a number of people stayed on after the official end to the walk, adding a few more species to the already impressive tally we had accumulated. The list included Wall, Clouded Yellow, Silver-washed Fritillary, Small Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Small Copper, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Chalkhill Blue, Holly Blue, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Marbled White, Meadow Brown and Small Heath. While waiting for the Hairstreaks to show we were treated to the sight of a Hobby and Sparrowhawk thermalling above us. Thanks to all that came along and made it such an enjoyable event.
News for Sunday 9 August 2009: A brief stop and search of the earthworks at Chantry Hill was all that was necessary in providing the good news I was hoping for. The Silver-spotted Skippers that arrived here in August 2007 have managed to hold on through the diabolical late summer weather of 2008. I am now confident that the species has really got a foothold here, seeing 9 males quite quickly. The slopes here are alive with butterflies and there are very high numbers of Brown Argus to be seen. Wall have also colonised the site and a previous visit on 3 August (prior to the Silver-spotted Skipper emergence) produced my first ever sighting of Small Blue here. Those visiting to see the Silver-spotteds need to sift through quite high numbers of Small and Essex Skippers, which are persisting much later than on most sites in Sussex.
so it's definitely time to get out there. Happy hunting!
I think I'll give it a miss, perhaps go and find some Adonis instead.