On a recent dog walk I noticed the Essex Skipper above struggling to get a grip on a grass stalk in the undergrowth. Made me think of athletes doing a workout on the bar, but more slapstick comedian than dainty little gymnast. In one of the shots it even looks as if he/she has deadpan eyebrows. These are unconventional little butterflies.
More conventional were the Gatekeepers I saw a couple of days ago on some bramble bushes – the first of the year for me. They have more varied markings than most butterflies, and some quite exotic – in a brown and orange sort of way.
Otherwise not many new arrivals around. The cloudy weather is probably not helping but it should get more lively within the next week or two. Didn’t see many Common Blues earlier in the year – just one in the field next to the house and not many up on the plain. It’ll be interesting to see how many we’ll get in the second generation. Sunny days forecast for next week so should find out soon.
Learning about Photography, Butterflies and the White Rainbow 
We’ve got hundreds of the usual garden butterflies suddenly. Red admirals, tortoiseshell, peacocks etc. Wonderful!
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Now the buddleia is out we’ve got quite a few as well – mainly Peacocks and the Odd Red Admiral. But also saw a Meadow Brown this morning that seemed to have fallen asleep while sipping nectar. Maybe he was just exhausted with all that flitting about over the meadows and decided to take advantage of buddleia mattress for a while!
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Good luck with your butterfly hunt. I was trying to track down a few in our garden yesterday but those pesky grasshoppers kept leaping out of my way as I approached and scared the things away! I shall have to try my usual path up the back of the chalet.
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Thanks, Mike. Sometimes those insects just conspire against us. Nice to have the sound of chirruping grasshoppers around us though so I think they should be forgiven!
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