Noar Hill 20-04-2019
Having gotten home from a great day I was starting to think what I could do with the final remaining days of my holiday. I’d caught up with pretty much all that I could butterfly wise barring one species a Duke. We’d had good weather for a few days and as they’d started emerging 3 weeks before hand I thought that they should be starting to appear in sufficient numbers to make finding them relatively easy even in the Labyrinth that it Noar Hill. So I made the spur of the moment decision to head over to see what the score was.
Come the morning the weather looked great, my only fear was that the warmth and sunshine might make them a bit too hyper. As I obediently followed Shelia my Satnav with Iron Maiden Killers at just the right volume (loud enough to melt ear wax but not quite cause bleeding) I was happy to see butterflies along the verges en route including a Holly Blue on one of the narrowest and therefore slowest parts of the drive. I made really good time and only encountered one or two cars over the whole journey. Pulling up I grabbed my gear and made my way up the hill. Once the ascent was complete I made straight for the biggest ex working; ‘Pit 1’. I climbed down into it feeling the temperature rise as I did so and slowly strolled to the other side sweeping my gaze left and right. I was almost at the end of pit when a little brown job buzzed out from the undergrowth ahead of me. Job done, it was a Duke.
After a quick coffee and more than a few shots I checked the time and found that I had about an hour to go before I’d be joined by Philzoid and so I set off to do a recce and see if I could find some more Dukes. As I climbed up the steep bank I was joined by a male Orange-tip and as I worked into the second Pit with was more of a scrape with a few little cuttings in it I spied a couple also enjoying a Duke. It turned out that they were Mr and Mrs Whitlock
and after the introductions we chatted and watched. There were two in the little, narrow cutting one of which was very really well marked with immaculate fringes. He posed well, tightrope walking along a dead grass stem so I was able to get below him with the light streaming through his wings.
The next pit on was much quieter although there was a brief blue blur as a Holly Blue landed on a large Juniper(?). I was followed by a Greenstreak that almost played ball with us; he’d look like he was coming in to land low down and then veer up to perch above us from where he’d peer cheekily down at us. Eventually they carried on but I wanted to keep trying for the Greenstreak and so wishing them well I turned my attentions back to the cheeky little chappy. He kept up this game for a while and I was just thinking about moving off and leaving him to it when he did his last turn. Again looking like he was going to perch within easy distance of my lens but instead of the final veer upwards he landed so that was able to kneel down level to him. Brill.
As I carefully straightened up I noticed a notebook on the floor and so set off to the last pit, Pit 4, hoping to catch up with Ashleigh. Once I had and the book was safely back in the bag we had a look around. Various Whites flew by including a male and female Orange-tip and a Small White. A Specklie put in a very brief appearance. But these were just ‘fillers’ as I was waiting for a particularly well posed Duke on a Cowslip which was being enjoyed by another enthusiast. Once I’d had my turn I wished all luck and started to make my way back to the first Pit ready to meet Philzoid. I did alright managing to get from 4 to 3 to 2 but then things went a little strange and I got a little sucked into the space warp that is Noar Hill. I followed a very familiar path out over the top of Pit 2 and it should have been a shirt walk across the path and then down into Pit 1 where I’d started. Only it wasn’t, over the top of the Pit 2 was a buckled and uneven field, no big scar dug into the earth just turf. Wandering a little confused and lost into it I stumbled across a couple of Greenstreaks one of which was exceedingly fresh, it looked so new I think the paint was still wet! As I clicked away I realised that the bushes and scrub that the Greenstreaks favoured was actually the same scrub that lined the top of Pit 1 and so I headed back into the reserve following the line of trees and there before me was Pit 1. Relived I sank down into it, poured a coffee and reacquainted myself or possibly introduced myself to the Duke which was holding territory at the end. Occasionally I would climb back up and scan the horizon looking for Philzoid and soon there he appeared. Right to business…
Have a goodun
Wurzel
Lovely Dukes and Greenstreaks 
It would be a bit a bit easier if I stopped going out looking for other stuff, like Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk Moths 
I find the bird song just about cuts through the static after the journey 
)
I've been fortunate enough to catch up with them at four different sites this season 
