A text to Julian Perry last night to find out if any White letter Hairstreak were on the wing in the Reculver area proved to be a good decision as he had seen 5 earlier the day before. I have never seen this species in the area and tried a number of times last year but the weather did not work in my favour on my visits. With the sun shining and hardly any wind I arrived at Bishopstone and made my way to the area concerned. A few seconds later and a few small butterflies could be seen flying around the Elm trees. They were hard to pick up on and could only be seen for a few seconds at a time. I moved to another area where the viewing was a little better and at last was rewarded with some nice views through the binoculars but frustratingly too far away for any type of shot. I moved on again and checked some more Elms and eventually found some more. I ended up seeing 15+ White letter Hairstreak in the areas I checked and after a bit of waiting and trying, I eventually managed to capture a shot of these hard to see butterflies. I think this shot is a 'work in progress' and hopefully in the next week or so I will be able to find some better viewing areas and maybe get a shot as they come down to nectar on the brambles. Other butterflies seen included 3 Speckled Wood, lots of 'whites', a few Skippers, 1 Red admiral, 3 Comma and 1 Holly Blue.
White letter Hairstreak
You are picking up a lot of new insects Marc, great stuff :-)
ReplyDeleteVery nice Marc, I have not seen these and would appreciate seeing them. Perhaps you would let me know how to get there or maybe if you go out next week we could meet up ?
ReplyDeleteMarc, I'm told it's easiest to see WLHs in the morning or evening when they may come down to brambles to feed.
ReplyDeleteMost of the middle of the day is spent playing around in the treetops.
Also, as they prefer to feed on aphid honeydew they tend to stay in the trees, but when rain washes this away they may be more likely to visit the brambles.
That's the theory, anyway! Good luck.
Wow, the White letter Hairstreak, I've never seen one, and you have, well done Marc.
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