Today I took a trip over to Glapthorn Cow Pastures near Oundle with Black Hairstreak the target species. Upon arrival at the wood I made my way to their favoured patch of brambles and was immediately rewarded with one performing very well. Over the next hour or so, three or four individuals came down to the brambles from the overhead trees all being very approachable and giving excellent views.
With the forecast of it clouding over later, I thought I'd make the most of the current sunny weather and quickly move on to look for my second hoped for new species of the day, the Scarce Chaser which is far more numerous in Northamptonshire then it is in Norfolk.
With information kindly supplied by a local at the Hairstreaks, I made my way to the River Nene at Wadenhoe Mill and quickly located a few males which were patrolling the river and landing on the bankside vegetation. After a lot of patient stalking I managed to get a nice set of photos, including a pair in tandem, which perfectly illustrates how the males get the 'pinch' marks half way down their abdomen!
Other highlights at Wadenhoe included a number of Red Kites passing overhead, numerous Banded Demoiselles, a few Four-spotted Chasers and a female Emperor Dragonfly oviposting.
With the warm and sunny weather lasting longer than predicted I decided to make an unscheduled late afternoon stop at Twywell Hills and Dales which is just off J11 of the A14 to check out the site as I intended to visit it later in the month to look for Marbled Whites.
However that visit was made superfluous as I quickly located about half a dozen presumably very recently emerged individuals just beyond the car park. Obviously I was delighted with my unexpected find, especially as it must be about 25 years since my only previous encounter with the species, so they almost felt new.
A nice range of other more common butterflies were also present, along with a few Six-spot Burnet Moths, and I'll definitely be paying a repeat visit to this excellent site, if not later in the summer, then certainly next year.
A nice range of other more common butterflies were also present, along with a few Six-spot Burnet Moths, and I'll definitely be paying a repeat visit to this excellent site, if not later in the summer, then certainly next year.
