1st - 15th July - You Were My Silver, You Were My Gold

Mid summer, the butterfly season continues, with most of the activity in Old Down Wood.  As you can see the thistles are flowering and these are a major attraction to the summer butterflies.  This Marbled White one of a few found in the wood.

The weather has not been that conducive to butterflies, periods of overcast days with rain interspersed with the odd day of sun, the weekend of the 11t/12th was probably the best weather and there were many butterflies about.  However when the sun did come out so did the butterflies with many large and Small Whites about and towards the end of the period good numbers or Red Admiral and Peacocks

Late June and early July is the peak time to see the Silver-washed Fritillary, this is the United Kingdom's largest Fritillary and is a powerful flyer.  They were on the wing in June and if you have read my previous post you will know that the biggest challenge then was getting this beautiful butterfly to land and show itself.  It would seem that with the thistles flowering they were more prepared to settle and with some lovely black backgrounds some great photographic opportunities.

Also an opportunity to appreciate the "silver wash" on the under wing

This is a beautiful butterfly that performed really well.

The blur of the wings as it moved on to another flower head.

Meadow Browns are everywhere regardless of the sunshine, but another brown butterfly was also about in good numbers, the Ringlet.  Brown butterflies are usually the first to emerge in the morning and Ringlet can be seen wings spread on the bracken fronds as they take advantage of the little radiation that is about.

Once warmed up the wings close up showing the roundels that give the butterfly its name.

Of all the butterflies to photograph the whites are probably the hardest, once on the wing their visits to the flowers are quick and they move on to the next.  I just managed to secure this Small White.

The second brood of Brimstones are on the wing and they are attracted to the bramble flowers.

While Large Skippers rest on the bracken as they wait to attack on engage with any passing butterfly.

Towards the end of the period there were plenty of Comma about.  Orange in colour like the Silver-washed Fritillary but a lot smaller they too will vigorously defend a territory from other butterflies.

Against the dark green backgrounds they can easily be picked out.

Red Admirals have had a very good year and they too, can be picked out sunning on the leaves.

A new butterfly for the year was the Gatekeeper or Hedge Brown as it is sometimes known.  Smaller than the Meadow Brown they emerge at this time of year and can be seen in large numbers around the Bramble, but this was the only one I could find so far.

On the last day of this period Old Down Wood appeared to be full of Peacock, they were everywhere.

I have said it many times before but if the Peacock was a tropical butterfly it would be lauded as a real beauty.  It is a real beauty and here the two just produce a flash of amazing colours.

Away from the butterflies numbers of Starling have built up around the village, flocks of juvenile birds wheeling around the house and like this collecting on the TV aerials.

Calls from the wood of young Buzzards to their parents, begging for food can be heard.  The adults seen soaring over the fields in search of prey.

At home the Blackbirds continue to feed juveniles from their third brood, hopefully this will be the last as I can't see the male's plumage lasting.  The Robins have finished and are now hiding away to moult.  One Robin that comes to the hand continues to do so but only at the start or end of the day.  Donald is tucked away in the hedge coming for meal worms again at the same time, while a juvenile will come close to the house to get food.

At the pond a pair of Moorhen have raised two young, this individual hiding beneath the lily pads as I came close, but then when it had to surface scurried away across the pads like Jacana.

The butterflies will still be about to the end of July and hopefully I can find some Common Blues and maybe Small Copper.