Small Copper.

This is my fourth year of walking the same 1770 metres transect through ancient oak woodland and on Tuesday I recorded my first ever sighting of the Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) on this walk.

Their appearance can only be attributable to the continued hot, sunny weather. A bonus find that lifts my transect specie tally to 25.

Silver-studded Blues.

The Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus) is a rare species that locally inhabits acid heathland which requires habitat management to provide a succession of sparse young heather. All these images were shot at Thursley Common in late June.

Whilst I failed to find a female on her own there were plenty of opportunities to capture mating pairs.

Large Skipper.

Large Skipper (Ochlodes venata) captured using the 70-300mm lens plus 1.4x converter.

Silver-washed Fritillary.

Had just one brief opportunity yesterday morning to snap a male Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia) before it recommenced its territorial sorties. FAB.

Dark Green Fritillary.

During a very blustery morning on the slopes at Juniper Bottom I saw my first Dark Green Fritillary of the season. This powerfully fast flying male led me a merry dance but I eventually gained just one opportunity as it briefly rested amongst the grasses. FAB.

Some Spring Highlights.

Treecreeper in Ashtead Common woods. (8 April)

Ring Ouzel at WWT Barnes. (18 April)

Cuckoo in Priest's Field, Thursley Common. (28 April)

Northern Wheatear in Priest's Field, Thursley Common. (28 April)

 [Northern] Lapwing over Rushett Farm fields. (1 May)

Mistle Thrush in a local horse paddock. (3 May)

Brimstone on Bluebell - Ashtead Common. (3 May)

Duke of Burgundy at Bonsai Bank, Kent (12 May)

Singing Yellowhammer on Witley Common. (19 May)

Canada gosling at Epsom Common Stew Pond. (23 May)

Adonis Blue [male] on Denbies Hillside (27 May)

Blue Tits - sucessful breeding in the garden. (28 May)

Linking to:

Saturday's Critters
I'D-Rather-B-Birdin'

Small Heath.

One of our smallest and an inconspicuous butterfly is the Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) which always settles with its wings closed.

Linking to:
Macro Monday 2
 

Tenacity.

An overcast and windy morning today so definitely not ideal conditions for seeking out any wildlife around the margins of a local grassy meadow that I discovered on arrival had been mowed a few hours earlier! Unperturbed I wandered until a small blue flutter dropped into the vegetation to ride out the gusty conditions.

A quick search revealed this male Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) gripping on tightly to the dried seed pods of a grass stem. I was amazed at the tenacity of this tiny, flimsy butterfly, as the wind blew the stem and its rider in all directions, often bending to within inches of ground level, thereby posing the 'watcher' with a few challenges including keeping the subject in focus.

  

Both images taken handheld with the 70-300mm lens plus 1.4x converter [ISO 400; f/11: 1/320-1/500 @ 330 & 420mm respectively].

Linking to:

Nature Notes hosted by Michelle:

Through My Lens, a new meme hosted by Mersad. 

New Flutters.

A warm, sunny but windy walk across a sloping chalk downland meadow above Juniper Bottom on Monday morning produced two new sightings.

Excellent numbers of Marbled White (Melanargia galathea) flitting about so I was able to locate a few resting individuals fairly easily.

However capturing a Dark Green Fritillary (Argynnis aglaja) was far more problematical. Typically the males fly close to the ground constantly searching for a hidden female in the grasses and rarely take a rest so I had to be very, very patient and eventually caught up with the one below. 

More images to follow later this week ... see 'Friday Flutters' on my main blog. FAB.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday ..on Tuesday and Nature Notes.

First Blue of the Year.

An infrequent garden visitor is the Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) so when this female was found resting on a rose leaf I took the opportunity to gather a few images.

The Blues.

 Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus).

Photographed on 6 June at Denbies Hillside.

 Silver-studded Blue (Plebeius argus).

 Photographed on 26 June at Whitmoor Common.

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus).

Photographed on 26 July at Epsom Common.

Chalkhill Blue (Lysandra coridon).

Photographed on 28 July at Denbies Hillside.

Adonis Blue (Lysandra bellargus).

Photographed on 18 August at Denbies Hillside.

A roundup of the blue flutters I have encountered locally during the past few months.  FAB.

Linking to Macro Monday 2.

Comma.

A resting Comma (Polygonia c-album) soaking up the very limited sunshine during one of my patch walks earlier this week.

Both images (straight out of the camera) taken 'handheld' with Cannon PowerShot SX50 HS.  FAB.

Linking to Camera Critters and Saturday's Critters.

Dark Green Fritillary.

A breezy day yesterday but I finally got the lens to focus on a Dark Green Fritillary (Argynnis aglaja) during a search of the grassy downland slopes below Juniper Top, Box Hill.

I managed to bag a few images of this fast and powerful flying butterfly so it will also feature on my main blog in the near future.  FAB.

Black and White Beauties.

During the past few days I have been fortunate to catch up with two of our very distinctive black and white butterflies.

Last Thursday it was the Marbled White (Melanargia galathea). Photographed amongst the tall grasses on the southern slope of the North Downs at Ranmore Common. [450D with 70-300 lens].

Today it was the turn of a White Admiral (Limenitis camilla). Photographed in a small sunlit glade along a path leading to Banks Common. [PowerShot SX50 HS].

Both species are likely to also feature in posts on my main blog very soon. During today's stroll I also saw plenty of Meadow Brown and Ringlets, Comma, Red Admiral, Large Skipper and a handful of Silver-washed Fritillary. You can view my photos of all of these species HERE.  FAB.

Linking to Nature Notes and Our World Tuesday.

Silver-washed Fritillary.

My first sighting of a Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia) this year during a stroll around the woodland glades on Bookham Common. This male was constantly on the wing and only settled briefly on two or three occasions so I was pleased to capture a decent image with a single shot.  FAB.

Linking to Saturday's Critters.

Silver-washed Fritillary.

Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia)

After a few visits to a local habitat I finally managed to find an adult male resting in-between territorial chases around a sunny woodland glade.

Linking to Camera Critters and NF Winged

Green Hairstreak.

Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi). I found this individual soaking up the sun during a wander around Thursley Common. From memory this is the first time I have managed to get a decent image of this usually well camouflaged species.  FAB.

Brown Hairstreak.

During a brief afternoon visit to Bookham Common I was fortunate to add another species to this years list ... a Brown Hairstreak ( Thecla betulae).
Although this individual didn't open its wings I'm guessing that it was a female feeding inbetween egg-laying.   Click here for more images of this species.  FAB.

Speckled Wood and a Fly.

A Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) is being watched by a Fly!     FAB.
 
Please check out this link for more of our Winged Friends hosted by NatureFootstep.

White Admiral.

White Admiral (Limentis camilla), a species that graces sunlit woodland glades.    FAB. 

Please check out this link for more of our Winged Friends hosted by NatureFootstep.

For more Critters of all kinds visit our friend Misty at Camera Critters.