My wife, Sarah, and I took a walk around the The Lodge RSPB in Sandy. My targets were butterflies, notably the Silver Washed Fritillary which had been reported there. The weather was beautiful, with a slight breeze that made focusing a tad awkward at times. We headed towards the house and checked the surrounding woods. There was plenty to photograph but unfortunately no sign of any Fritillaries.
The Red Admirals are stunning, even alongside the Peacocks they compare just as beautiful.
With so many species flying around and feeding I tried to capture a image of as many as I could. There were Large Whites and Small Whites but neither would pose for a photo, not like this Green Veined White did.
There were a few Ringlets, some rather tatty, around. And a lot of Gatekeepers too, alongside Meadow Browns.
On the Buddhelia there were good numbers of Six Spot Burnet moths.
Just the one Small Copper was found.
The Commas were in lovely bright condition.
Still no sign of the Fritillary but then a real bonus was found, a single Painted Lady. What a lovely butterfly this is, and one I hadn't seen for a long while, not since the invasion of them a few years ago.
Sarah and I ventured away from the house and on to Jack's pond and the old heath. A male Southern Hawker patrolled the pond there.
And on the heath a stunning Orange Underwing moth. The colours and patterning on the upperwing were lovely.
We decided to head back to the house and check again near the Owl carving before heading back to the car.
After a few hours of walking around, not far from the car park, we stopped to look at the butterflies on some Buddhleia and low and behold, Sarah said "whats that one there", to which I replied that's "the Fritillary"!
Wow what a lovely butterfly, and what a bonus connecting just as we were heading home. Even though I only had the macro gear with me, I was still close enough to get some shots.
Awesome! This was a new species of butterfly for both of us and a joy to see.
This shot above was the closest I was able to obtain as it landed nearer on some ferns, it then flew into a hollow out of sight and rested there. It shortly after flew off only to return again.....no this was another one, the markings on the wing where it was faded identified it as another. After it fed for a short while it too headed off across the road and out of sight. What a tremendous end to the walk, superb.
