7th August - Noar Hill, Hampshire

 Another day of sunshine, albeit a lot fresher and the sky looking that lovely azure blue.  I decided on a visit to Noar Hill hopeful that I might be able to find the elusive Brown Hairstreak.  I walked from the car to the other footpath that leads to the entrance on the west side of the reserve.  Above me were two juvenile Red Kites calling to each other.

Once through the gate you are immediately faced with Hemp Acrimony everywhere and there were a few white butterflies about, but the first insect that caught my eye was this large fly.  It is in fact a Hornet Plumehorn or Hornet Mimic.  Despite the size it is harmless to us and uses the mimicry to evade possible predators as it searches for nectar.  It can be distinguished from the real Hornet by the size of its eyes and the lack of a sting

First butterfly was a Cmma, looking rather worn.

And then as I walked into an open area a Small Heath.

At the first chalk pit I came across there was a lot of Hemp Acrimony and along with a couple of Red Admiral there was a Painted Lady nectaring.

Walking on there were more Painted Lady.  Here a slightly different pose.

And here showing the liking for the Hemp Acrimony.

There were good numbers of Common Blues from their second brood.  Here two males.

And a female.

As well as the Small and Large Whites there were a few Green-veined Whites, this one looking quite immaculate.

And for once I was able to get close in with a Large White nectaring on a Field Scabious.

The first Hummingbird Hawkmoth I came across was unusually stationary, settled on a leaf.

But a little further along I found one nectaring around the Thistles Thyme and Field Scabious.

I was now at the top end of the reserve with a lovely view across the harvested field though a gap in the bushes with small clouds floating in the azure blue sky.

Unfortunately there wasn't any sign of Brown Hairstreak, but I carried on walking the bridle way back towards the entrance.  I cut across to some more pits and again more Hemp Acrimony and again more Painted Lady.

They did seem to be everywhere, I counted eighteen on my walk around the reserve.

There were two Clouded Yellows that flew past me never to stop and then this moth which I have identified as a Sulphur Pearl.  This moth is right at the end of its flight period and feeds on the wild Carrot of which there was a lot on the reserve.

I walked around the same areas once again in the hope of finding the Brown Hairstreak, but without any luck at all.  They are appearing to be very elusive for me this year.  The last butterfly of the day was this Speckled Wood as I walked down the path back to the car.

It was lovely to walk through the wild flowers and the hordes of butterflies around this lovely reserve, it was just a shame the one butterfly I was hoping to find was not playing ball