First of all, I must thank my dear husband who kindly worked from home one day last week so I could go and chase butterflies through the meadows. We must have spotted the location on Countryfile again and it was duly entered on my ever-growing list in OneNote. Although our local nature reserve has been very quiet this year, I’ve had a lot more luck venturing further afield. Foxearth Meadows – the only dedicated dragonfly and damselfly reserve in the country. Thursley Common – with insects by the thousand and lizards numbering well over a hundred. Wakehurst Place for almost guaranteed kingfishers. My collection of birds, dragonflies and damselflies has grown nicely.
I‘ve only photographed one butterfly all year though and with August fast disappearing, I knew I had to move quickly. The weather hasn’t been suitable for some considerable time, so when the forecasters predicted sun with no strong winds, we made our arrangements, I charged my batteries and I set out bright and early last Thursday morning.
By Thursday afternoon I arrived at the location. Yes… it took me THAT long. I’m not averse to motorway driving, but it’s boring and recently I’ve been stuck in heavy traffic both ways. This time I thought I would take the scenic route and it was very pretty indeed. I had plenty of opportunities to admire the views, stuck behind one lorry after another going at less than 30mph. No matter. I eventually reached the village where I had committed the directions to memory. (No Sat Nav to my destination I’m afraid, it doesn’t do detailed post codes and I couldn’t find a name for the no-through road). Driving through I eagerly anticipated the right-hand fork, but it never came. A couple of miles later I parked up by some lavender fields. Very pretty, but it wasn’t what I was after and anyway… it was the wrong time of day. A feeling of deja-vu washed over me and not for the first time I wondered why on earth I try to find an unmarked field in the middle of nowhere.
Then I remembered a blog post by a local gentleman that mentioned the sun to the south and I realised it was behind me. My directions were back to front and after a rapid U-turn, I exited the village once more to find the lane I had been looking for. After that, it was all downhill. Or uphill really, as the medieval chalk workings are situated on one of the biggest hills in the area.
It was glorious, with meadow flowers all around in every colour and so many butterflies that I didn’t know where to start. The images above and below are of a stunning yellow brimstone. I had never seen one before, but I recognised it instantly.
This is a gatekeeper – you can tell by the double white pupils within the eyespots.
Here is a rather large meadow brown.
A small tortoiseshell.
Finally a common blue. I have been after one for a long time. We did get one in our fields last year, but it was old and looking rather tatty. I was pleased to find this little specimen intact.
