I was meeting Ian at Broxhead Common, an area of heathland in the north east of Hampshire. The common is a special spot for one particular blue butterfly, the Silver-studded Blue. I was a little early, for once it isn't too far for me to drive from home. I wandered out to the heather and immediately found the Silver-studded Blues. You would see one then others would start to appear, then more and more. Last year they were hard to find, this year they just kept on appearing, the last time I had experienced this many was years ago on at Beaulieu Heath.
Ian arrived and I walked back to meet him, then we both headed out to the heather and came across a mating pair. The male looked quite worn and the male attacking the pair was in a much better state.
The inter loper moved away and the pair resumed mating.
We walked off coming across plenty of blues, a female.
And a smart male.
We were walking around the heath hoping to find the Nightjar we had seen last year. There were two Woodlark overhead and a Great Spotted Woodpecker family. A Tree Pipit was singing in a small birch tree and gave some great views.
An interesting yellow moth was seen in amongst the heather. Locally it is fairly common throughout much of Britain, this
species inhabits heathland and similar rough habitats. The males, which are larger and more brightly
coloured than the females, are often active during the day. The females are
more docile and mainly nocturnal. The
moths fly in June and July, and the slow-feeding larvae feed on heather (Calluna)
and various herbaceous plants.
It was back to the Silver-studded Blues.
another pair mating, showing the differences in the male and female, the male on the left hand side.
This delightful blue butterfly is named for the small silver studs on the black markings on the underwing of the hind wing.
The male and female pair separated.
We left Broxhead and took the short journey to Noar Hill, just outside Selbourne. At this time of year the reserve is covered in orchids, they have replaced the multitude of Cowslips that were all over the reserve in late April and early May.
Walking around the first chalk pit there were some nice Pyramidal Orchids flowering.
The most dominant orchid across the reserve though was the Chalk Fragrant Orchid, pink colour without the markings of the Spotted Orchids.
In amongst the colourful orchids were the Common Twayblade, the flowers having the split feathers and an all green colour for the flower.
It was an overcast day and there were few butterflies about, but this one male Marbled White showed well.
The underwing is just as spectacular.
In amongst the Fragrant, Spotted and Pyramidal orchids were the smaller Musk Orchids. Like the Twayblade they are all green, but much smaller and have a distinct musky scent.
The tall one is small the smaller even more so.
Common Spotted and Chalk Fragrant Orchid side by side.
The Chalk Fragrant Orchid.
Chalk Fragrant Orchids amongst the grass and flowers.
We were looking for Frog Orchid, Ian had two sets of coordinates and we searched areas of Noar Hill we had not been to before. In doing so we came across a few Small Blue Butterflies.
We didn't have any luck with the Frog Orchids, maybe still too early? But we were able to enjoy the fine collection of Spotted and Fragrant Orchids. Here Common Spotted Orchid.
An all white Spotted Orchid!
Heath Spotted Orchid, the spots on the spotted are joined together.
We came across another group of Musk Orchids.
They are initially hard to find amongst the grass but once your eye is in they are quite easy to find.
We had one more orchid to find today and this took us to Beacon Hill, just outside Warnford. After encountering a large running event we walked across the slope to the location where last year we had found Man Orchid. As we reached the area we found a section fenced off with an electric fence. We were able to step over ht fence and after a brief search we found one Man Orchid.
the spike is about 6 inches high and the flower petals look like a body and legs.
Up close they are quiet a detailed orchid.
The view from Beacon Hill looking north, it was now quite a beautiful day.
Walking back up the hill, and back to the car an orange butterfly flew past us and settled on the ground in front of us. It was a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly, a species that has been quite rare recently, but this year seems to have been a little more common.
This used to be an overlooked butterfly, but with its rarity over the last few years it is good to take the time to appreciate its beauty.
Overall a successful day, with eight orchid species. We missed out on Frog Orchid, but may have another chance later this week.
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