BUTTERFLY DAY OUT

With the birds drying up, me and Dianne had a day out and visited Shropshire to a butterfly site at Prees Heath common.This is the last sanctuary for the Silver studded blue butterfly in the Midlands.The reserve is on a large common that had been a World war 2 airfield.The Silver studded blues were in good numbers as we walked around the common.

SILVER STUDDED BLUES

Other species of butterfly were seen as we walked around the common and a cracking Green woodpecker showed well for a few minutes before a dog walker flushed it.

Painted Lady

RINGLET

SPECKLED WOOD

After a good walk around the site and a bit of lunch we moved on to Eyarth rocks near Ruthin in Denbighshire which is being carefully managed to sustain North wales strongest populations of the threatened Pearl-bordered fritillary.After one hell of a hike up a mountain we eventually found the site which was well overgrown.We did connect with a Dark green fritillary and gave it a good hour searching around but couldn't connect with any Pearl bordered fritillary and then the weather started to deteriorate so we called it a day.

 DARK GREEN FRITILLARY