Saturday, August 29, 2009

A tale of two Hairstreaks.

A visit today to Chambers Farm Wood near Wragby,got Dave and myself some excellent sightings over the 6 or so hours we where on site.The reason we had visited today,was to look for the elusive Brown Hairstreak and luckily we managed to find a single female,which basked briefly on a hawthorn in a warm spell of sunshine.This is one of the most sought after species in the UK along with Purple Emperor and Swallowtail,a real beauty!!But unbeleivably later in the day,i managed to find a single,late,Purple Hairstreak,which i also managed to get a decent shot of,these are another elusive species,as are all the Hairstreaks,another lovely butterfly.Other notable highlights observed through the day included a couple of Grass Snakes,a Hornet which we watched decapitate and de-wing a Small Tortoiseshell,an amazing sight,a cluster of Buff-Tip moth larvae and Roesel's and Dark-bush Crickets.The only bird highlights where at least 6 Siskin's on the feeder's in the visitor centre car park.A cracking day out in this great woodland complex.

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