Elmley and Blean.

 Our final two days of our early summer trip were spent at Elmley and then Blean woods. Unfortunately, both these days involved more rain and strong breeze.

The Elmley day it didn't matter quite so much, although I was hoping for some rarer day flying moths, which obviously didn't happen. However, the drive along the entrance track did give us some excellent views of some young Oystercatchers out with their parents. We also saw half grown Lapwing and Redshank chicks as well as the usual Elmley Brown Hares and Marsh Harriers.

Oystercatcher with chick.

Oystercatcher with chick.

At one time one of the chicks came very close to the car.

Oystercatcher chick.

Our day in Blean was weatherwise even worse, with very dull conditions and drizzle on and off. However, as usual we didn't let that bother us too much, especially as Heath Fritillaries are quite easy to find in poor weather as they often roost on top of the Bracken.

As we moved along the woodland paths we found several fritillaries with ease, as well as a very fine example of one of my favourite micro moths. I have only seen the Dasycera oliviella once before and that was last year in virtually the same spot. A few were seen, but one did pose extremely well. Bear in mind this lovely moth is only 6-8mm long, it really is a tiny beauty.

Dasycera oliviella (Cream-spot Bark Moth).

Some areas of the woodland had more Fritillaries than others. Despite the wet weather we were surprised to find a mating pair of Heath Fritillaries. There were none flying at all so this pair probably joined up the previous day and then spent the night and following day attached to each other!! During the stroll we actually found 24 Heath Fritillaries scattered through the woodland.

Heath Fritillaries roosting on Bracken.

However, the best moment came when Lisa spotted a brand new Purple Hairstreak. It appears that this may well have been the first record for Purple Hairstreak in Kent this year. Strangely, a couple of days later we had the first Sussex record as well.

Purple Hairstreak.

It had been an epic trip with great butterfly stops on the way up and back from Yorkshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Kent. With so many birds also seen at Bempton, Hickling and Minsmere there were many highlights. Certainly a trip we will remember for a very long time.