A few days ago, as Sarah and I were getting ready to go out, I glanced out of the back door and lo and behold saw a Painted Lady on the garden path, a first for the garden and the 2nd in just a few weeks of finding one at The Lodge. I was about to go for the camera when it took flight over the neighbours garden. Fortunately Sarah had gotten sight of it before departing. With not much time before we were going to leave the house, I scoured the large buddleia outside our front window and refound it amongst the many Small Tortoiseshell butterflies. This time I managed a few shots before it again took to the air and disappeared over the neighbours roofs.
Once back from our morning/lunchtime out I had a quick visual scan of the front garden but could not see the Painted Lady. But I would keep checking just in case it was still around, and luckily for me that I did, as it wasn't long before it once again visited the Buddleia to feed. I headed outside and it gratefully posed for some more photographs before departing with no joy thereafter as the weather took a turn for the worse. The next day came and went and the Painted Lady did not turn up again. So after a few years from seeing one last, I then get 2 in the space of a few weeks, and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth on 2 consecutive days, briefly, excellent! And a day later another surprise...scroll down for what?
Well the image below now lets you know what that surprise was. After no activity for some time, I thought the emerging season for the Southern Hawkers had finished and here I was finding one on the 8th August, the figure now must be nearer 30 individuals coming from my little pond, and as of writing this I believe the casing I found this morning could be another new emerged Hawker as it was not in the same area as this recent addition. Fantastic.
