Back for the Hairstreak!

With the sun shining and only a gentle breeze I thought I would have an hour over Bishopstone Glen near Reculver to look again for White letter Hairstreak. My last visit here was made in the early afternoon where I saw some flying high around the tree tops but never any real chance of a shot. The plan was simple today, arrive about 5.30pm as the weather was cooling off and check all the bramble bushes as often I have read that they come down to feed early morning or early evening. I spent some time checking various bramble bushes without success, giving each patch a couple of minutes before moving on to the next patch. There were a few other butterflies on the wing including 3 Speckled Wood, a few 'Whites' and a probable Holly Blue flew through quickly. As I was making my way back out towards the car I had one more large patch of bramble to look at. A few minutes of scanning was finally rewarded when a small dark butterfly appeared from the tree tops and landed on the bramble out of sight. I was not appropriately dressed really with shorts on and so didn't want to walk in and get cut to pieces. Thankfully the bees helped me out and eventually the butterfly appeared and could be seen as a White letter Hairstreak. Over the next 15 minutes I was able to get lovely views and take a number of shots but as ever, I could not get as close as I wished to to the brambles. With the sun in and out and the Hairstreak not wanting to come any nearer it eventually made its way higher into the tree and was lost to view. Hopefully I will return in time before they have vanished for another year but at least I have managed a few respectable images of this secretive species.

White letter Hairstreak