Noar Hill, Broxhead Common, Tice's Meadow - the return (22nd August 2020)

On a blustery day I tried one more time for Brown Argus and Silver-studded Blue at Noar Hill and Broxhead Common respectively with no success.

Highlights were fly over Raven at Noar Hill, 3 Crossbills at Broxhead Common and Southern Hawker at Tice's Meadow on the path as I was leaving

Damp and dingy (Noar Hill, Broxhead Common & Tice's Meadow)

The weather was very overcast and damp so very little optimism on seeing anything on the butterfly front but i needed to get out so went anyway and was right - very little seen - the highlights being some new flowers for my growing plant list.

Skippers & L Emperor in the scorchio heat (9th August 2020, Butser Hill & Tice's Meadow)

 After I managed to finally somewhere to park without having to pay an extortionate amount of money I spent a pleasant couple of hours looking for butterflies and got the hoped for Silver-spotted Skippers.

I then moved to Tice's Meadow for the hoped for Lesser Emperor and was pleasantly surprised to see 3 of them even with a pair ovipositing in front of the hide.

Stockbridge Down, Shipton Bellinger (1st August 2020)

Stockbridge Down as a new place for me and was very good for butterflies although still no Silver-spotted Skippers although they were supposed to be there.  I've been to Shipton Bellinger before but very many years ago.

I great selection of butterflies at Stockbridge Down and two cracking Adonis Blue's.

After a great deal of perseverance a Brown Hairstreak suddenly popped up from nowehere and stayed long enough to photograph it.

Unbelievably, I was watching for  hairstreaks along a hedgerow on the border of a massive field.  I had a telescope, a camera and binoculars so was obviously nature watching and needed a little peace and quiet.  A guy in a van drives up, parks within 50 yards of me and then spends the next hour walking his dogs with one particular noisy individual.  Why he couldn't park in another area of the field defeats me!

Beacon Hill, Alice Holt, Buckler's Forest (26th July 2020)

Two new sites for me were visited today as well as a final attempt for Purple Emperor at Alice Holt Forest (which was a wash out because it started raining and I only saw a few butterflies).

Beacon Hill was alive with butterflies especially Chalk-Hill Blues and good numbers of other blues.  No sign of any Silver-spotted Skippers but I think I saw Small and Essex Skippers.

Buckler's Forest is near the old TRL testing station in Crowthorne and is still in development but I did see a small selection of dragonflies but no sign of the Lesser Emperor although it was fairly overcast.

10-12 July 2020 (Alice Holt, Thursley, Martin Down, Bentley Wood)

When the weather eventually improved went to a number of sites - actually Alice Holt twice in the hope of seeing Purple Emperor but no luck there.

At Alice Holt I photographed what I thought was a Migrant Hawker when in fact it turned out to be a Southern Hawker.

A nice selection of butterflies over the days with the highlight being a couple of fritillaries and purple hairstreak - the hairstreaks were playing hard to get to photograph - but no Turtle Doves at Martin Down.

A few new flowers as well.

2nd July 2020 (Burley Mill Lawn / Ober Water - New Forest)

Although the weather looked changeable I decided to go for some dragonflies in the New Forest.  It was very hard work but did eventually see Southern Damselfly and Keeled Skimmer.  Butterflies were only represented by a Meadow Brown and some unidentified blues.  New plants included a Heath Spotted Orchid.  Best of the birds were 4 Crossbills over Blackwater Arboretum.