With a day of (rather windy) sunshine forecast, on
Saturday 13th May I headed for Rewell Wood in Sussex. I parked at Fairmile Bottom and traversed a large part of the slope up to the gate at the bottom of the steep climb to the wood. It was very windy and despite the sun I saw no butterflies down here.
Once in the wood and among the various familiar rides, deciding where to look for the target Pearl-bordered Fritillaries was the conundrum. The coppicing cycle here means that each year makes the place look different from the last, and the trick is in judging which compartment is "just right" for fritillary activity.
During a long period of fruitless searching (along with one or two others similarly disappointed) I came across a small colony of Small Coppers.
A Painted Lady caused momentary excitement too.
However, branching out on my own along one of the rides, I disturbed another orange butterfly and found myself following a PBF at fast walking pace. Thank goodness for the wind and the relatively low air temperature, as the butterfly periodically stopped to rest and warm up, allowing me to catch it up and manage a few shots.
With this modicum of success under my belt, I decided a gentle stroll back was in order, taking in a few sallies into some of the other compartments along the way. During this, I came across Bugboy just arriving, and after a bit of chat I set off searching once more (good to catch up, Paul
). I did then find another four or five PBF, none of which stopped for a moment, and (predictably, really
) nearly trod on a puddling male Holly Blue.
My crossing of Fairmile Bottom (into the wind this time) was no more productive, with just a few Brimstones flying and nothing else.
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Long May days do mean that stopping somewhere on the way home is entirely feasible, and one of the "prettier" ways back to Heathrow is via Chiddingfold. Wood Whites beckoned!
Despite walking from the Botany Bay entrance right over to Oaken Wood and back, though, I found just the one - and that was within a few metres of the car.
However, the walk was worthwhile as I bumped into Bob and Lisa and was shown the extraordinary shots of the female SWF they had just seen. Nearly three months adrift of its normal season, I feel sure this had to be a release as no other scenario makes any sense. Good to see you both and catch up too.
Other butterflies seen included quite a few Brimstones, a Red Admiral, a Speckled Wood and a nice female GVW.
There was also a female Holly Blue that teased me briefly before making for the trees.
The other noteworthy part of the visit was coming across an adder basking on the path near Oaken Wood. It saw me just after I'd spotted it and set off beautifully sinuously (though not all that quickly) into the grass on the verge. This gave me just long enough to wield the camera from a bit of a distance and capture its departure for posterity.
A very worthwhile day showing that numbers aren't everything (though they are of course worrying looking at a broader perspective...
).
Dave
And then the female Orange-tip makes up for it by having three times the size of discal spot (slight exaggeration for effect there 
) 
The Marshies were out at Battlesbury last Wednesday and there has been a flurry of sightings over the weekend...
Looking forward to your Western reports 
