Bank Holiday at Lulworth and after...07-05-2018
“What’s the weatherperson just said – the Bank Holiday is going to be hot and sunny?”
“Now they’re just taking the piss!”
But indeed the weather was hot and sunny so no urine had been extracted.
Having been out the previous two days (albeit one of those was childminding) it would have been bad form to have suggested another butterflying trip. Luckily my wife suggested a trip to the coast, to Lulworth Cove and as a back-up I had to take Little L to her tutoring in the evening so I could also nip up the Down. So with things warming up nicely we set off early so as to beat the traffic.
Once there we made to use the facilities and I noticed that the wildlife area has been flattened and all life grubbed out. From here we carried on our way to our usual little spot in the far right hand corner of the Cove. My wife and I took it in turns to paddle and find sea glass and after a quick rock climb with L I watched the bags while L and my wife paddled almost the whole way round the Cove and back. I was biding my time see and when they got back I vamoosed up the small track to my usual spot. It was disappointingly quiet with not even a Skipper to greet me. I’ve seen 6 species here in the past but it was far too early for three of them though I was hopeful of my first Dingy or Grizzlie. No such luck. In fact after wandering the paths several times I was bereft of butterflies. Surprisingly I wasn’t that bothered by the lack of butterflies as a lizard had clambered out like a Dinosaur on the Jurassic coast and there was the stunning Lulworth Crumple to see as well as erosion taking place before my very eyes at the caves at Stair Hole. I know that being from Dorset I may be considered slightly biased but it is a simply stunning place. Eventually I saw a few butterflies; a distant White and the incongruous sight of an OT set against a turquoise backdrop as it patrolled along the surf line. On the way home I caught a fleeting glimpse of what could have been a Peacock or more likely a Red Admiral though I wouldn’t like to have called it. Sun-soaked we made our way back home revelling in the stunning sights, sounds and smells we’d sensed.
- Yellow-legged Gull?
And that would normally be where I’d leave it. But it being a Monday I had to take Little L to her tutoring and so once I’d dropped her off I hared up the dusty tracks to Laverstock Down. As I approached the lower slopes of the Down a male OT flew by and this put up a Peacock not exactly looking brilliant but still impressive in stature when compared to the roving OT. It settled back down after clearing its airspace and so I managed a couple of shots.
Leaving the senior citizen in peace I carried on feeling the path start to head upwards. Just at the point where it really starts becoming a Down (i.e. steeply rising) a small block of scrub causes the path to fork. To the left it cuts across the Down diagonally taking longer to reach the top but at a more gentle gradient. I opted for the right hand path where it just goes up and as I made to mentally shift my pace to a lower gear two brown blurs diverted me and stopped me in my tracks. I was pretty sure that one would turn out to be a Dingy but the other was smaller and really moving so I wasn’t really sure if it was a brown blur, it was just ‘a blur’. I watched and waited and eventually one had enough, they separated and both settled. By almost going cross-eyed I managed to note where one had landed but and then set about to investigate. It was a Dingy, my first for 2018 and one of the species that I’d hoped to find albeit much earlier today.
I started up the tracks again but didn’t get far as another small blur caught my eye. As it was so small I was convinced that this one was a Grizzlie. It landed and I approached managing to confirm my ID and get a couple of record shots before it was off hassling the nearby Dingy (again?). I watched the ensuing battle and then somehow managed to follow the smaller Grizzlie once it broke away landing just a short way from where it had originally come from.
I hung around here for a bit and the behaviour that I’d witnessed continued with a second Dingy also getting into the mix. I’d watch one settle, move in and get a few shots and then it would be off either because another Skipper was hassling it or it wanted to hassle another Skipper. I was a joyous sight to behold and it made me feel a little like a Grandad – the grandkids were enjoying some rough and tumble and then at the end of the day I could pass them back to the parents and let them sort them out LOL
All too soon the hour was almost up and I was hightailing it back to pick Little L up. Finally I’d gotten my Skippers!
Have a goodun
Wurzel
lovely shots of both Skippers 
Start your campaign of persuasion now and drip feed the idea of a visit - that's my tip 
You should have read some of the nonsense and fuss made by some of the locals - they were concerned about their dogs getting bit by Adders and their toddlers tripping over in the long grasses - all the while missing the point that they shouldn't be on the field anyway 
