20th July - Browndown South, Hampshire

After the morning at what has been a closed Titchfield Haven for several weeks, we were off to Browndown South.  Browndown has been closed, it seems, forever.  The last time we were able to get in was mid April.  So we had the chance to find two specialties of Browndown, both were butterflies and we were confident that despite the overcast conditions it was warm enough for them to be on the wing.

We were encouraged when we saw a Small White flying, eventually settling on the bramble.

There were lots of Ragwort in flower.  Ragwort is poisonous to many, but not the caterpillars of the the Cinnabar moth.  The bright yellow and black stripes warning off would be predators.

The first butterfly we were looking for was the Grayling.  It likes the shingle and heather and this was looking spectacular alongside the golden grasses.

Nature produces the best gardens.

A Grayling flew past us and usually they drop to the ground almost immediately, but this one kept flying.  However we soon found another one.  Whilst they never settle with wings open, there is a prominent "eye" on the closed underside of the upper wing, but the Grayling only shows it briefly as it settles, then with a snap it drops the wings and what you see is in the photo.

So the challenge is: get the picture before it snaps the wings down.  Managed this but not the best image, however you can see the eye

Again didn't get the shot before the snap!

But this time I did, changes the whole appearance of the butterfly.

With there a breeze and not much sun about, the Grayling would settle down between the pebbles, presumably to get out of the wind.

After the first find we saw around a dozen of these frustrating butterflies, they are beautifully camouflaged and when they settle they can completely disappear.

There are only so many images of a Grayling you can get so when I was satisfied with what I had, and I had found Ian we went looking for the other specialty.  Browndown has a lot of stunted Oak trees that spread across the shingle rather than growing tall, presumably due to the wind and sea spray on the beach.  This means that the oaks are at eye level.  Purple Hairstreak feed on honeydew and are commonly found on Oak.  Normally they are high in the canopy and difficult to photograph, but here a quick shake of the tree and they will fly up and settle back on the leaves, pretty much at eye level.

This was the case today, despite the overcast conditions they were also quite active.

The Purple Hairstreak is our commonest hairstreak, but due to its favoured habitat, oak trees is not easy to see.  So Browndown is quite special.

There is one brood a year with adults emerging in late June and being seen through July and into August.  Eggs are laid at the base of an oak bud, usually where it is sheltered and in full sunshine.  They also have a preference for solitary trees, which is much the case here on Browndown.

The larva eats part of its eggshell on hatching before burrowing into a developing bud where it feeds fully concealed. After the first moult, the larva lives outside the bud, under a loosely-spun silk web. This web catches all sorts of debris and acts as camouflage as a result. The larva is extremely well-camouflaged and, in later stages when the larva lies under an oak bud, is very difficult to locate. The larva rests during the day, feeding only at night and there are 3 moults in total.

A break in the clouds and some sunshine saw the butterfly open its wings, but it was never in a position to see the upper wing colour clearly.

We must have found at least six individuals, which was a lot more than we have found over previous years

This individual a little worn.

Looking down on me from one of the higher trees.

We visit Browndown at certain times during the year, early spring for the newly emerging Adders.  March / April for the spring migrants and hopefully more Adders.  Then this time of year for these two special butterflies.  There is also the chance of Nightjar, but we missed out this year.  A good thing I had those two at Pig Bush and the single at Broxhead early in the year.