Many thanks to the Davids.

Collard Hill it is then.

I'm hoping to make a trip to Collard Hill, and/or Rodborough Common in search of Large Blue butterflies. The weather for that area looks quite inviting for Tuesday and Wednesday next week. I can do both days with an overnight stay if necessary. I've tried contacting the "Large Blue Hotline"...

First the excitement and then the let down, like a Christmas toy with no batteries. I'd not even considered Large Skipper, but I also never saw the upper side of the wings. So, is this just a "pale form", or is it fresh and the markings not fully developed yet? If I look closely at a coupl...

Does this look good for Essex Skipper? It's the same critter in both pics.

MikeOxon wrote:so, where was this 'skippeur' photographed?

In Clouseau's garden of course!

Thanks Mike, it probably is a Forestry Commission project, (but there's another two or three organisations that could also be involved).

I'll send them an email and ask for some more details.

You're probably right, and it's definitely the easiest option. it does seem a shame though to have started a project which could be beneficial only to leave it half done. Judging from my observations of another couple of projects nearby (both Forestry Commission and Natural England) that is exactly ...

Walking around one of my favourite Inclosures in the New Forest last winter I followed the sound of chainsaws until I came to a group of contractors felling some of the densely growing Silver Birch. I enquired about what they were doing and the response was "creating clearings for better butter...

Speckled Wood in Holmsley Inclosure (New Forest) this afternoon.

Digressing slightly. The ability with digital to take as many pictures as you want and then select only the best is a huge advantage over film. I use burst mode for birds and I set a new personal record last Thursday- 1,010 shots. Can anyone beat that total? Jack My son goes to various air-shows fo...

Peacock butterfly seen this morning in Holmsley Inclosure (New Forest) - 11:10 am. temp. 7°C , little wind and pleasantly sunny.

There's only one place that I can reasonably expect to see these in South Hants, and that's where this pic was taken, I only saw them once in 2015 (9th August) and this is the only pic I kept.

Plenty of these around in Holmsley Inclosure, (and my garden), a reliable butterfly in the often poor conditions encountered last year.

Two pics taken in Holmsley in September.

More from my regular venue of Holmsley Inclosure in the New Forest. The first one was quite obliging, I often see them swooping around through the trees and looking like they have no intention of stopping, but this one was hungry. First two pics taken 18th July, third pic taken 6th August. IMG_7722-...

Hi Ayjay - the top one looks like a great shot of a Dark Green Fritillary to me rather than a SWF. Dave Thanks Dave, I'm in danger of becoming a serial offender with that sort of thing, if I'm not already! :oops: Pleased you at least like the pic though. :) I'll toddle off and correct it later.

A couple of SWF from Holmsley Inclosure in the New Forest, both pics taken in July, the first on the 11th and the second on the 28th. I found them quite hard to photograph when I first found them here a couple of years ago but once they've been around for a couple of weeks they do seem to slow down ...

Looks like a rare sunny day when this first pic was taken 31st July - somewhere in the New Forest.
.....and one more from early September, an attempt at a more atmospheric pic than the usual close-up.

My favourite Small Copper pic of 2015 is also my only Small Copper pic of 2015 - they're either not numerous around here or I'm looking in the wrong places. This one was taken on Burton Common in September, right at the end of that afternoon's search for them, a hint of movement low down in some veg...

Don't remember where I took this pic, somewhere in the New Forest though, on the 30th August.

Small skipper from Holmsley Inclosure (New Forest) in late July.