Ravensroost Wood.....

29 June - an afternoon visit in intermittent sun, and my first White Admiral of the season briefly in typical gliding flight - also seen, 4 Large Skippers (3,4), a Green-veined White (2), Ringlets (5) and Meadow Browns - also 2 Brown Hawkers, and Common Blue Damselflies (6).

Large Blues at Daneway.....

24 June - The fine spell continues, and a visit to Daneway Banks near Sapperton resulted in good views of 3-4 Large Blues (2,3). Butterflies in general were very active in the warm sunshine, but hard to photograph as only settled fleetingly, but I managed a couple of shots of one of the many Marbled Whites (4,5). Large Skipper, Ringlet, Small Tortoiseshell and Meadow Brown also seen.

Whitecross Green Wood

14 June - A very late first post of the year, as I've been travelling for birding a lot - butterflies earlier in 2014 have included the usual Brimstones, Orange Tips etc and it seems to be an early season due to the good weather. Yesterday I saw a single Silver-studded Blue in the New Forest. This afternoon, in intermittent sun and a temperature of 21-22c, I saw at least 10 Black Hairstreaks (2,3) at Whitecross Green, including a couple of fairly faded individuals. Also seen were good numbers of Large Skippers (4,5), a Brimstone, and 2 Ringlets. Dragonflies included 2 Emperors and a Brown Hawker.