16th June - Abbotts Wood, Alice Holt Forest, Hampshire

A warm sunny day and while it is early in June, I was banking on the summer butterflies behaving like the spring ones and arriving early.  With this in mind it was another short drive to Abbotts Wood in Alice Holt Forest.  There was a surprise awaiting me in the car park, the need now to pay for parking.  Hopefully these charges will allow the Forestry Commision to improve the woodlands, we will wait and see.

From the car park I headed down the main track and almost immediately saw, Silver-washed Fritillary and White Admiral, last year these did not appear until the 23rd June.  However they didn't stop and I had to make do with a Speckled Wood on the bracken.

A little further along there was a male Beautiful Demoiselle, but for some reason the males do not stop on leaves for long, but fortunately this female did.  In many ways I think the female looks the better of the two with its metallic bronze and green colouring.

When I reached the roman statue I managed to get a Silver-washed Fritillary nectaring.  They appeared to be everywhere and on the whole visit I counted eighteen, but there was probably a lot more.

Quite a few Meadow Browns about as well.

At the 'T' junction I turned left and came across this Painted Lady with a huge chunk out of the hind wing.

Checking the bramble bushes that were in plenty of flowers I found two dragonfly species.

This a female Black-tailed Skimmer.

Another female, the Broad-bodied Chaser this time.

There is a spot where the track turns right where for the last two years I have seen Broad-leaved Helleborine and they were there again, although not yet in flower.

These orchids can grow quite high as the spike unfolds holding up to a hundred flowers.  Flowering is usually from July, but again these may be early.  This is the most common and widespread of the Helleborines and grows in and around deciduous woodland, preferring the lighter glades and woodland edges.

As I headed to the junction where the best Purple Emperor sighting are I stopped to watch a lot of activity around a large clump of bramble.

An immaculate Painted Lady this time.

A Large Skipper that was always returning to the same leaf and strand of grass.

Love this view.

There were at least five Silver-washed Fritillaries and they would duel with the two Painted Ladies and two White Admirals.

Showing off the silvery wash on the under wing that gives the butterfly its name.

One of the White Admiral had a small tear in the hind wing.

The other, though, was in immaculate condition.

A very nice Red Admiral.

I walked along the track scanning the tops of the oaks for any sign of Purple Emperor without any luck.  Coming back to the meeting place I came across the other Purple butterfly though, the Purple Hairstreak.  It was flying beneath an Oak before settling on the leaf of a Sallow tree.

It was quite high up and the light was a challenge, but I was quite pleased with these efforts.

I turned into the woods and found a patch of bramble where I could have my lunch and watch the movement amongst the flowers.  There were at least three Comma.

It turned out to be a good place to stop as the bramble was visited by a Hummingbird Hawkmoth and I was able to get the camera before it moved away.

After my lunch I headed back to the patch of bramble I had been at earlier and the same butterflies were present and still showing well.  I was looking for some 'different' angles to try and photograph them from.

The Painted Lady

Again love this one.

The White Admiral:

And last but not least a Silver-washed Fritillary.

The cloud drifted over and there was even a spot of rain and the butterfly action quickly dried up.  Walking back to the car there was a man in front of me staring up into an oak.  I stopped and he told me he thinks he saw a Purple Emperor at the top.  WE both stood and waited and sure enough, one flew around the oak and then out of sight.  I waited to see if it would show again, but after awhile I conceded it wasn't.  Still it was my earliest ever and hopefully a start of a good season this year.